Universidad de la Amazonia Developed and

English Language Teaching Programme designed by Oviedo

& Álvarez (2018)
Academic Writing

Undergraduates’ names: Date:

Carlos Andres Gutierrez Perez April 21th, 2019
Elder Galindo Vera
Julieth Karinna Parra Ruiz

RESEARCH
CONCERN
(your research idea)

Article Title The Role of Collaborative Work in the Development of Elementary Students’ Writing
Skills
Authors Yuly Yinneth Yate González, Luis Fernando Saenz, Johanna Alejandra Bermeo & Andrés
Fernando Castañeda Chaves
Source Yate, Saenz, Bermeo and Castañeda (2013). Pdf
Key words Collaborative learning, writing in elementary school, writing process.
Description of the problem: (Brief description of the research concern, topic and problem)
Yate, Saenz, Bermeo and Castañeda (2013) developed a research study that seeks to figure out the

relevance of collaborative work in the development of elementary students’ writing skills in their English

classes at the Corporación Colegio San Bonifacio de las Lanzas, Colombia. Since, teachers have not shown

interest in creating strategies necessary to enable students to begin to develop writing skills, and thus to

establish a starting point for creating a solid foundation for fostering an accurate writing process. From the

authors’ point of view, not having adequate and precise teaching strategies generates a stagnation in the

students and influences the development of their abilities, in this case the ability to write. In this sense, it is

important to have the correct strategies for the student begins to develop their skills from an early age, since

that is where the student acquires the skills for their development. In the same line, Smith and Macgregor

(as cited in Yate and et al. 2013) define Collaborative Learning as a powerful tool that provides meaningful

experiences for students and teachers, in which learning as a group is the motor that impulses other learning

processes.

Constructs: (Description of the theoretical categories of the study)

The main constructs that frame Yate, Saenz, Bermeo and Castañeda (2013) is Collaborative Work.

To this respect, Smith and Macgregor’ (as cited in Yate and et al. 2013) idea, stresses that Collaborative
 Universidad de la Amazonia Developed and
English Language Teaching Programme designed by Oviedo
& Álvarez (2018)
Academic Writing

Undergraduates’ names: Date:

Carlos Andres Gutierrez Perez April 21th, 2019
Elder Galindo Vera
Julieth Karinna Parra Ruiz

Learning is seen as a powerful tool that provides meaningful experiences for students and teachers, in which

learning as a group is the motor that impulses other learning processes. In the same thread of thought,

Dillon (as cited in Yate and e all. 2013) argue that collaborative authoring or writing can be defined as the

set of activities involved in the production of a document by more than one author. In this sense,

Collaborative Work is a system in which each learner learns more than they would learn on their own. It

means that is a more flexible way of working that allows different results to be achieved.

Methodology: (Description of the general steps: type of study, setting and population, data collection instruments, data
analysis procedures)
Yate, Saenz, Bermeo and Chaves (2013) carried out a research project following the principles of

action research. Participants were 32 in elementary students’ at the Corporación Colegio San Bonifacio de

las Lanzas, Colombia. Their ages range from 7 to 12 years old. In addition, learners were observed and

their written productions were collected during several classes. The data collection instruments were

questionnaires, interview and field notes with the aim to know the students’ characteristics and how they

felt in relation to writing in English, taking into account likes, dislike, and feeling during classes when they

are writing. Gonzalez and e all. (2013) analyzed the data using the needs analysis. This was done for the

purpose of collecting students' perceptions of written production in English.

Conclusions and Pedagogical Implications (if any): (Description of the general steps: type of study, setting and
population, data collection instruments, data analysis procedures)
Yate, Saenz, Bermeo and Castañeda (2013) concluded that students and teachers feel more

comfortable and prefer to engage in collaborative learning by handling more authentic and accurate

materials. First of all, collaborative learning allows the work team to plan and emboss tasks, each student

elaborates his writings and then in group the individual parts are collected and then shared in the whole
 Universidad de la Amazonia Developed and
English Language Teaching Programme designed by Oviedo
& Álvarez (2018)
Academic Writing

Undergraduates’ names: Date:

Carlos Andres Gutierrez Perez April 21th, 2019
Elder Galindo Vera
Julieth Karinna Parra Ruiz

group. In addition, this type of work makes students feel comfortable and satisfied because their ideas and

actions are part of the learning process in the classroom. Also, this type of strategy creates a plus for

students to participate more actively and naturally with their other team members. Finally, the authors

emphasize that materials adapted to specific educational contexts must be familiar with the needs of

students to achieve common classroom objectives. For this reason, this type of work generates interest in

students to participate in the teaching process.