Structured Peer Collaboration: Teaching Essay Revision to College Students Needing Writing Remediation

Abstract

This study investigated the use of structured peer collaboration in teaching essay revision skills to college students needing remediation in writing. It also sought to ascertain the adaptability of this approach to whole-class instruction and to existing classroom curricula. Thirty-seven students (17 in the experimental group, 20 in the control group) were given developmental writing instruction. Students in the control group received traditional teacher feedback on their writing, whereas experimental subjects received structured peer-group feedback. Peer groups were characterized by the use of active alternating roles: a writer/reader and three listener/essay-monitoring roles. The latter three roles were adapted from the existing classroom curriculum and reflected essay monitoring variables most closely associated with the needs of an absent audience-unity, support, and organization. Each listener role was further structured through the use of scripts. The treatment was found to significantly improve experimental subjects' use of support statements, as well as the unity and organizational coherence of their essays. Students also appeared to develop an internal sense of audience. Despite these gains, there were no between-groups differences in students' passing rates on the exit essay examination and, hence, on the remedial writing course. The only variables statistically associated with passing scores were language/diction, grammar, and thesis support; the first two of these were not targeted for intervention.