Synthesis and a Collaborative Site

Collaborative website as set up by teacher. Students added pages based on class.

Synthesis is an essential skill that is present on the AP Language and Composition exam. Unlike the Rhetorical analysis, this skill doesn't explicitly parallel a skill that has been previously talked about in English classes. While students have been taught to research and argue, they rarely have heard the term "synthesize". This is a skill that I think a lot of students struggle with, in part, because they don't understand that simply repeating an answer isn't becoming a more critical or knowledgable thinker. In order to practice for synthesis, I try to replicate the idea through conversation. Using a multitude of texts, we engage in a discussion about a question. This requires that we understand multiple points of view, we bring in evidence, and we expand on that evidence with our own experiences.

My goal in designing this task was to take the skills of synthesis and break them down into smaller parts. I also wanted students to share their understanding in a collaborative site--meaning we could all see each others work. In my thinking, this would help us investigate MANY sources without taking valuable class time. Students were divided into groups of 3-4 for this assignment. While they were able to complete the tasks and use the technology, I don't think we effectively were able to connect all of the pieces.

Reflections for next year:
1. Regardless of the time, students need access to all of the texts.
2. There needs to be more focus and modeling on source analysis
3. Summaries need to be expanded. This was an issue with some groups and I'm not sure if it was timing or a lack of effort. Either way, I want to remedy this.
4. I need to brainstorm other ways to make this actual tool more useful, as opposed to a tool of substitution.

The biggest regret and lesson of this task is the final piece of discussion. Students struggled to adopt another's voice. I knew this would be a challenge, but, looking back now, I'm not sure if is a challenge we needed to go through at all. I think a discussion with a focus on using text would be more efficient.  

Here is the link to the collaborative site. Each class had their own page to work from. I would like to build this site throughout the remainder of the year, hence why it is set up as a year-long site as opposed to a one-time project.