MOTIVATION OF SECOND- AND SIXTH-GRADE STUDENTS REGARDING INDIVIDUAL AND COLLABORATIVE WRITING

Abstract

Writing motivation decreases in elementary school. This is an issue of major importance considering how it relates to writing skills which are necessary for education as a whole. Teachers must introduce students to the pleasure of learning, and working collaboratively is proposed as one way to sustain students’ interest in writing. However, very little is known about the contribution of collaborative writing to writing motivation. This is because few studies have opted for recognized motivation indicators or a control design that would reveal the added value of a collaborative approach at different times in elementary school. The aim of this study is to compare the writing motivation of second-and sixth-grade students depending on whether they write individually or in dyads (repeated measures). After each writing session (individually and in dyads), the students answered a likert-scale questionnaire to assess their motivation on four indicators: self-competence, self-efficacy, interest and value. Preliminary results (t-tests) showed that second-graders are equally motivated to write in both contexts but that boys’ motivation reached girls’ only in the dyad context. Results for six-graders are expected. They will be presented and discussed to highlight the contribution of collaborative writing to writing motivation, which may vary depending on students’ sex and grade level.