Collaborative writing

Recently, a group of five cohort students, me included, were asked to work collaboratively to write a two page paper. We were given a small amount of time and sent out to get it done. I worked with a group that clearly was all ready to contribute. The time constraint forced us to maybe skip steps that we would normally have taken (dividing duties, creating smaller groups within group, brainstorm session, etc.), instead, we jumped directly into writing. Two of us began typing the paper, one researched, one listened. I observed. Admittedly, I didn’t contribute much to the paper. I mostly helped with editing or shared thoughts. Instead, I took notes on the process. I began to think about how we were working as a team. Was the workload divided fairly? Was everyone playing a part while working to their strength? Was our team put together effectively? Were five too many people? This became the most important part of the exercise, in my opinion. As we look toward our capstone, creating a team that is well balanced will be imperative to a successful third year. I look forward to continuing to refine this process.

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