Results

Well, I didn't post progress throughout the study, but here are the results:

Data Collection

Because the data was qualitative rather than quantitative, much of it is anecdotal. I sent out a post-project survey to poll participants’ perceptions of the process. Questions included rating scales regarding the effectiveness of the project as well as participants’ opinions of the most effective part of the process. The survey was taken independently through Survey Monkey online. When I had follow-up questions related to the surveys, I contacted the participants by email.

Findings (Section Four)

The online survey generated the following results:

Helpfulness of the collaboration:

- “Really helpful… I gained a lot from the experience”         60%

- “Somewhat helpful… I’m glad I participated”                    40%

- “Not very helpful”                                                                0%

- “A complete waste of time”                                                  0%

Participants commented that the greatest benefit of the face-to-face meetings included “exchanging ideas on what actually worked in the classroom to increase editing/revising skills,” knowing that other teachers were facing the same challenges, and sharing activities, ideas, materials, and strategies to improve teaching.

When asked what could have been added to make the meetings more helpful, answers included:

-          classroom visits and observations

-          make-and-take sessions

-          exchanging ideas for conferencing

-          ideas for first semester instruction

-          extending the project to include reading instruction as well as writing instruction