Date of Award

2010

Thesis Type

PhD

Document Type

Thesis

Divisions

Faculty of Education

Department

Department of Language and Literacy Education

Institution

Universiti Malaya

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to obtain insights on collaborative writing among mixed ability students in an ESL setting of an institution of higher learning. The focus of this study was on the process and the product of collaborative writing as most past studies concentrated on the process instead of the product of collaborative writing. The participants comprised two case study groups of twelve students from a Diploma in Computer Science course. Data was collected through video recordings of the collaborative writing sessions, interviews, diary entries, and observations. The data was analysed by describing and interpreting the incidents or episodes and significant critical incidents during the collaborative writing sessions. Results from the study showed that the two case study groups shared some common features such as mutual interactions, sharing of expertise and leadership styles. On the other hand, other features which were unique to each case study group were negotiation, power struggle, conflict and use of the national language. All these features except power struggle and conflict not only mediated the writing processes, but also expanded the students’ knowledge construction and language acquisition in line with Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory which provides a strong rationale for peer interactions. Significant theoretical, methodological and pedagogical implications were drawn from the findings.

Initial

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Additional Information

Thesis (PhD) – Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, 2010.

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