Writing as a mediational tool for learning in the collaborative composition of texts

Abstract

This article explores the complex relationship between writing in the secondary school classroom as a tool for learning and the dialogical communicative processes involved in crafting and revising talk and inner speech into written speech. A theoretical framework is introduced from the work of Linell, Mercer, Vološinov and Vygotsky to develop a language of analysis for the dialogical processes involved in classroom composition. The framework draws on the concepts of the dialogical self, semiotic mediation and recontextualization. Empirically, the article reports on data from a qualitative case study of a state secondary English class for 13-14 year olds students in the UK that follows a sequence from classroom talk to a written text involving four students. The findings suggest that classroom writing that develops from socially mediated activity can become a dialogical tool for meaning making. The data reported on in this article challenge assumptions that dialogic classrooms are always spaces of concord and agreement. Critical incidents of discord, whereby students challenge, debate, argue, and ultimately recontextualise meaning, can be important precursors for some

Becoming other: social and emotional development through the creative arts for young people with behavioural difficulties

“…Positive results relating to social engagement and identity for young people have also been reported in qualitative studies in the creative fields of: art (Wallace-Digarbo and Hill 2006); collaborative dance (Rouhiainen and Hamaliainen 2013); digital storytelling (Murakami 2008); singing (Hampshire and Matthijsse 2010); mask-making (Zoss, Smagorinsky and O'Donnell-Allen 2007); collaborative writing (Thompson and Wittek 2016) and film-making (McCluskey, Lloyd and Stead 2010). A common theme of this research is the opportunity for young people to explore and experiment through a creative medium.…”

Professional Collaboration in Teacher Support Teams—A Study of Teacher and Nurse Educators’ Creative Problem-Solving in a Shared Space for Professional Development

“…In the sociocultural tradition, meaning and knowledge are not readymade and predefined entities; rather, they are constructed in situ by interlocutors around a topic that creates shared attention (Linell, 2009). Interlocutors are attuned to one another's contributions to topical conversations, and meaning and knowledge are co-constructed moment by moment (Thompson & Wittek, 2016). Knowledge is socially produced, and different individuals contribute different perspectives and interests, which might lead to the establishment of new contexts for interaction and new cultural resources that can be used to make meaning of the topic under consideration (Linell & Thunquist, 2003).…”

Nature and function of proposals in collaborative writing of primary school students

“…According to Rojas-Drummond, Littleton, Hernández, and Zúñiga (2010), writing is a sociocultural process, with learning taking place in specific cultural contexts and institutional settings. From a sociocultural point of view, education and cognitive development are considered as cultural processes, whereby knowledge and meanings are 'co-constructed' in the classroom, as joint interactional accomplishments, that cannot be separated from the cultural practices of a community (Tynjälä, Mason, & Lonka, 2001), that are shaped by cultural and historical factors (Littleton & Mercer, 2010). Analyzing peer interaction of primary school students (aged 8-12 years old) who are writing together, may consequently contribute to understanding how students participate in this learning process.…”

“…The conversation and written arguments were analyzed from the perspective of cognitive processes, using categories such as express, report, share, describe, elaborate, organize, compare, integrate and defend. Overall, studies that focus on the role of knowledge building discourse in the context of collaborative writing, are strongly rooted in the tradition of sociocultural research on learning (Littleton & Mercer, 2010;Tynjälä et al, 2001). From this viewpoint, peer interaction in collaborative writing is mainly analyzed from the perspective of writing as a mediational tool for learning, drawing on the methodology of sociocultural discourse analysis (Mercer, 2004).…”