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Exploring a Teacher's Facilitation of a Collaborative Story Writing Unit Using Exploring a teacher’s facilitation of a collaborative story writing unit using Google Docs in a culturally and linguistically diverse high school English class by Deirdre Wilson B.Com., University of British Columbia, 2000 B.Ed., University of British Columbia, 2007 MA in Applied Linguistics & TESOL, University of Leicester, 2009 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction Ó Deirdre Wilson, 2019 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee Exploring a teacher’s facilitation of a collaborative story writing unit using Google Docs in a culturally and linguistically diverse high school English class by Deirdre Wilson B.Com., University of British Columbia, 2000 B.Ed., University of British Columbia, 2007 MA in Applied Linguistics & TESOL, University of Leicester, 2009 Supervisory Committee Dr. Ruthanne Tobin, Supervisor Department of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Carmen Rodríguez de France, Committee Member Department of Indigenous Education Dr. Li-Shih Huang, Outside Member Department of Linguistics iii Abstract Supervisory Committee Dr. Ruthanne Tobin, Supervisor Department of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Carmen Rodríguez de France, Committee Member Department of Indigenous Education Dr. Li-Shih Huang, Outside Member Department of Linguistics This dissertation shares findings from a descriptive case study that examined an experienced teacher’s facilitation of a collaborative story writing project using Google Docs in a culturally and linguistically diverse Grade 11 English class. An expanding body of research supports the use of web-based writing tools and peer collaboration for promoting writing skills development, yet there is little research examining how these practices are integrated within the broader teaching and learning process. In the present study, sociocultural theory provided a guiding framework for exploring the complexities inherent in the teaching and learning process as students worked in pairs (and one triad) to write a story about “the future” to be shared with an audience of upper level elementary students. Data sources included field notes taken during 16 class observations, pre- and post- project interviews with the teacher, on-going reflections written by the teacher, focus group interviews with the students, and the students’ collaborative projects stored in Google Docs. The findings cohered around five key themes that describe the teacher’s facilitation of the project: (1) incorporating procedural facilitators, including mentor texts and web-based writing applications; (2) adopting a socio-cognitive apprenticeship model to guide students toward higher levels of proficiency with narrative writing; (3) building a community of practice through peer collaboration, peer sharing, and peer editing; (4) enabling a iv positive and productive learning environment; and (5) transitioning to a new curriculum. The findings from this study also shed light on the affordances and constraints associated with the pedagogical supports, the collaborative context, and the use of Google Docs as integral components of the project. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for educators who are interested in integrating collaborative story writing projects or web-based writing tools within their classroom contexts. v Table of Contents Supervisory Committee .............................................................................................................. ii Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. ix List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ x Chapter One: Introduction, Significance of Study, and Research Questions ............................ 1 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................................... 3 Significance of the Study: Gaps in the Literature ............................................................................ 6 Context of the Study .......................................................................................................................... 8 Purpose of Study and Research Questions ..................................................................................... 10 Chapter Two: Literature Review .............................................................................................. 12 Sociocultural Theory and the Construct of Scaffolding ................................................................. 12 Language development ................................................................................................................................13 Scaffolding ..................................................................................................................................................14 Developments in Pedagogical Approaches and Writing Models .................................................... 18 From product to process ...............................................................................................................................18 Genre pedagogy ...........................................................................................................................................23 New digital technologies ..............................................................................................................................26 Research on Instructional Strategies in Writing Classrooms ........................................................ 28 Explicit strategy instruction ..........................................................................................................................29 Pre-writing activities ....................................................................................................................................30 Mentor texts ................................................................................................................................................31 21st century writing tools ..............................................................................................................................31 Process writing approach .............................................................................................................................32 Goal setting .................................................................................................................................................33 Corrective feedback .....................................................................................................................................34 Collaborative writing ...................................................................................................................................37 Collaborative Writing Research ..................................................................................................... 38 Collaborative writing for language learning ..................................................................................................39 Web-based collaborative writing ..................................................................................................................45 Situating the Current Study ............................................................................................................ 53 Chapter Three: Methodology ................................................................................................... 55 Qualitative Inquiry .......................................................................................................................... 55 Philosophical assumptions ...........................................................................................................................56 Role of the researcher ..................................................................................................................................59 vi Choosing qualitative research for the current study .......................................................................................62 Descriptive case study ..................................................................................................................................65 Summary of research design.........................................................................................................................67 Overview of the Study ..................................................................................................................... 69 Case selection ..............................................................................................................................................69 Case description...........................................................................................................................................71
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