High school graduates, whether bound for college or a job, need to be able do team work. In academic and office settings, many team projects involve writing a document. Collaborative writing can be daunting to anyone, but it can be especially hard on self-directed students.
Here are four ways to help teens prepare for the challenges of collaborative writing.
1. Teach youngsters to take responsibility.
Students who procrastinate, do sloppy work, or do not turn in assignments on time hurt themselves and everyone on the team. Teams work best when every member is willing to do his or her share and a little bit more.
2. Teach youngsters to be patient.
A team member who is used to taking an assignment and running with it can be perceived as dictatorial by more laid-back folks.
It takes time for a group of people to become a team. If your youngsters are hard driving, "type A" personalities, teach them to distract themselves with other work while their teammates blunder around trying to decide how to start the project. The team will not form any faster for all their impatience.
3. Give young writers a real audience.
If high schoolers' readers are usually friends and relatives who can guess what the writer intended to say no matter now badly the writing is botched. A college audience, by contrast, is more likely to include people of dissimilar background and interests. The sooner you expose students to readers who differ from themselves, the easier it will be for them to write collaboratively with a team.
4. Give students peer review opportunities.
Students have to learn accept suggestions and criticism if they are going to work on a team. They also have to learn how to say unpleasant things in kind and constructive ways. Repeated practice will help those who find peer reviews stressful and encourage those who enjoy them.
None of these recommendations is particularly difficult, but each requires some effort. You may find the best way to implement them is to join with other parents. Can you think of a better way to demonstrate the value of collaboration to your students?
Author Info:
Linda Aragoni is a writer, writing teacher, and editor of You-Can-Teach-Writing.com, the guide to enabling students grades 7-12 to become competent writers. Get a free copy of all five articles in the series "Is Your Teen Ready for College Writing? just by signing up for Linda's free monthly ezine by Aug. 1, 2008. Details at http://www.you-can-teach-writing.com/ezine.html
Copyright 2008, Linda Gorton Aragoni. You may reprint this article provided the whole text, the author's name, the links, and this copyright notice remain intact.
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