Personality and Collaboration in the College Composition Classroom

Date of Graduation

Summer 2004

Degree

Master of Arts in English

Department

English

Committee Chair

George Jensen

Abstract

This thesis demonstrates the importance of collaborative writing in the college composition classroom. It incorporates personality theory as a means of studying writing processes, in addition to its use as a means of placing students into collaborative writing workshop groups. Ethnographic and teacher-research methods form the basis of data collection, including instructor journals, participant and observer feedback, and results for all participants from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Results indicate the value of instructors studying personality theory as a reflective tool, on two levels: one, it assists students in identifying strengths and weaknesses in writing; and two, it assists instructors in identifying their own and students' preferences for writing, which can lead to more flexible, appropriate assignments and evaluation.

Keywords

collaborative learning, composition, ethnography, pedagogical authority, personality theory, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), teacher-research

Subject Categories

English Language and Literature

Copyright

© Jeffrey M. Krakow

Citation-only

Dissertation/Thesis

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