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DevelopingLearnerAutonomyThroughProjectWork
inanESPClass
Desarrollodelaautonomíadelaprendizatravésdeltrabajopor
proyectosenunaclasedeinglésconfinesespecíficos*
MarthaIsabelDíazRamírez
[email protected]
UniversidaddeCundinamarca,Colombia
This article presents the findings of an action research study on developing learner autonomy
through project work in an English for Specific Purposes class. The study was conducted at a
Colombian regional and public university with environmental engineering undergraduates. The
instrumentsfordatacollectionwerefieldnotes,semi-structuredinterviews,questionnaires,students’
artifacts,andvideorecordings.Theresultsrevealedthatlearnerautonomycouldbedevelopedbymeans
of cooperative work in order to achieve common interests and support each other. Students also
displayedself-regulationinregardtofacingfailuresthroughlearningstrategies;furthermore,thisstudy
showed how intrinsic motivation implies the desire for accomplishment and knowledge to fulfill a
learninggoal.
Keywords:Autonomy,cooperativework,motivation,projectwork,self-regulation
Esteartículopresentalosresultadosdeunainvestigación-acciónsobreeldesarrollodelaautono-
míadelaprendizatravésdeltrabajoporproyectosenunaclasedeinglésconfinesespecíficos.Lainves-
tigación se realizó en una universidad regional y pública de Colombia con estudiantes de ingeniería
ambiental.Seutilizarondiariosdecampo,entrevistassemi-estructuradas,cuestionarios,laproducción
delosestudiantesylagrabaciónenvídeopararecolectarlosdatos.Losresultadosrevelaronquelaauto-
nomíadelaprendizsepodríadesarrollaratravésdeltrabajocooperativoconelfindelograrinteresesco-
munes y el apoyo mutuo. Los estudiantes también demostraron autorregulación para enfrentar las
falencias mediante estrategias de aprendizaje y este estudio mostró cómo la motivación intrínseca
implicaeldeseodecumplimientoyconocimientoparalograrunobjetivodeaprendizaje.
Palabrasclave:autonomía,autorregulación,motivación,trabajocooperativo,trabajoporproyectos
* Received:January14,2014.Accepted:August18,2014.
Howtocitethisarticle(APA6thed.):
Díaz Ramírez, M. I. (2014). Developing learnerautonomy through project work in an ESPclass. HOW, A
ColombianJournalforTeachersofEnglish,21(2),54-73.
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DevelopingLearnerAutonomyThroughProjectWorkinanESPClass
Introduction
Theroleofteachersisnotmeaningfulfortransmittingknowledge,butforcreatingproper
conditionsfortheconstructionofknowledge.Inaddition,theColombianeducationsystem
seekstopromoteproficientlearnersinlanguageskillsaswellastoenhancetheircognitiveand
intercultural development, butsuitableconditionstomeet thisrequirement donotexistin
ourpubliceducationsystem.Thatiswhythereisahighriskthatformaleducationmayaffect
learners’autonomy(makingtheirownlearningdecisions)duetothefactthatstudentstendto
bepassive,thatis,theyjustdowhattheyarerequiredtodowithoutjudgingwhatteachers
implementinclasses.
This paper describes a project implemented in a Colombian public university with
undergraduatestudentsinaclassofEnglishforSpecificPurposes(ESP).Theideabehindthe
project was to foster learners’ autonomy through the application of cooperative work,
allowingeachstudenttoberesponsibleforspecifictasksand,ingeneral,totakechargeof
her/his own learning process. In the following section there is a brief overview of similar
studies developed around project work and an explanation of the key concepts under
discussion: autonomy (Jiménez Raya, Lamb, & Vieira, 2007) and project work with their
phases (Stoller, 2002) and their role in creating authentic conditions and activities that
encouragemeaningfullearning.Then,adescriptionofthecontextandmethodofthestudy
willbeofferedfollowedbytheanalysis,results,andconclusions.
LiteratureReview
Legutke(2005)sharedthreeresearchprojectsinGermanclassrooms,butforthisstudy
itisessentialtomentiononlyonecalled“Englishjustaroundthecorner:Theclassroomasa
place of encounter.” This study was conducted with a team using 11 and 12-year-old
studentswhodid aninterviewprojectatanairport. Thesestudentsinterviewed different
peopleofdifferentnationalitiesandchosethebestinterviewstotypetheirtranscriptions
andconstructtextsusingcomputerswhileotherscreatedawallchartaboutaportraitofan
interesting traveler at the airport. Students then shared what they had done with their
parents(creatingactionzonestopresenttheirproductions).Themaincontributionofthis
studywastoanalyzehowitwaspossibleforlearnerstomakedecisionstoachievecommon
interestssuchaswritingarticlesanddesigningtheirownmagazinestobelaunchedatthe
endoftheproject.
AnotherstudybyPetersen(2004)wascarriedouttoreflectontheuseofprojectworkand
theimportanceofstudents’needs.Petersenanalyzedteachers’andstudents’perspectivesand
theuseofproject-basedlearning(PBL)attwoESLschoolswithdiversestudentpopulations.
Petersenstatedthat“teachersmustfirstconsiderthebackgroundsandneedsofthestudents
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inordertohavelessonsandactivitieswhichsuitthemandtheirdailylanguagelearningneeds”
(p.116).
Another study concentrated on shifting teaching from teacher-centered instruction to
student-centered instruction and applying action research “to validate the project’s
effectivenessbymeasuringboththeperformanceofteachersandchildren”(Ho,2003,p.43).
This study is useful to get a better understanding of how feasible it is to have a
student-centered classroom in which learners make decisions and delegate responsibilities
amongthemembersofagroup.
Finally, Robayo Luna and Hernandez Ortiz (2013) analyzed what collaborative writing
through project work told us about students’ academic writing development at a private
universityinBogotá.Themaincontributionofthisstudyemergedfromtheneedtoapplya
pedagogical intervention in order to support students with their low proficiency level in
contrasttotheirwishesaboutlearning.Studentswerebeginners,buttheydecidedtodesign
andwritetheirownmagazinescreatingeditorialgroupstosupporteachother.
Project Work
Themainaimofproject-basedlearningis“toprovideopportunitiesforlanguagelearners
to receive comprehensible input and produce comprehensible output” (Beckett & Miller,
2006, p. 4). These opportunities are given in a meaningful context in which the learner is
motivatedtoperceivethelanguagenotjustasanacademicsubject,butasaninstrumentfor
expressionandcomprehensioninaforeignlanguagecontext.BeckettandMiller(2006)state
thatthegoalofproject-basedlearningistoprovidelearnerswithchancestorecycleknown
languageandskillsinnaturalcontexts.Infact,projectworkfostersactiverolesforstudentsin
whichthelearnerscanengageinauthenticandinterestingtaskstoachieveacommongoalby
meansofcollaborativeworkandtheteacherprovidesthemwithopportunitiestoimprove
languageskillsforcommunicatingsuccessfully.
These individual and cooperative tasks highlight the main features of project-based
instruction,whichplacesemphasisonthelearnerandhowthelearnerexercisesautonomy.
Thereareseveraldefinitionsregardingprojectworkanditisrelevanttodistinguishsomeof
them. It is suggested that a “project is the development of an experience centered on the
studentandhisenvironment,thatitisacreativeandenrichingexperienceonthestudent’s
interest”(JiménezRaya,1994,p.52[trans.]).Secondly,projectwork“isaversatilevehiclefor
fullyintegratedlanguageandcontentlearning”(Stoller,1997,p.3).Studentsareinvitedtolive
ameaningfulexperiencethatgoesbeyondthesyllabusandclassroomwalls.Thisway,learners
andteachernegotiatehowtheywillimplementaprojectintheirowncontextbasedontheir
needs. Regarding the previous definitions, project work can be understood as a successful
waytoprovidelearnerswithopportunitiestocreatetheirownplanningintheclassroom.It
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focuses on the learner, promotes the development of intrinsic motivation and positive
attitudes towards learning; it increases student responsibility, fosters participation when
makingdecisionsconcerningprojects,facilitatesthegradualacquisitionofautonomyandthe
useofthelanguage,andpromotesinterdisciplinaryandcooperativework.
Phasesinprojectwork.Stoller(2002)suggestedsomestepstocarryoutaproject(see
Appendix1).Thesestagesgofromthefirststeptoreachanagreementaboutatopicuntil
evaluatingtheproject.Itisessentialtomentionthat“whenprojectsarestructuredtoengage
studentsactivelyinearlyprojectplanning(evenifstudentcontributionsaresmall),students
gradually develop a sense of ownership and pride in the project” (Stoller, 2006, p. 27). It
meansthatwhenlearnersareprovidedwithopportunitiesthroughoutaproject,theydevelop
asenseofcommitment andinvolvementwhichpromotestheirautonomy. Itgoeswithout
saying that defining the project topic is the first phase and one of the most meaningful
decisionsthatstudentsmake.Ithasapositiveimpactonstudentattitudeandhelpslearners
feelcomfortable whileworkingforalongperiodoftime. Itisrelevantto“ensure thatthe
topic is challenging but not too difficult, allowing for imaginative and creative thinking”
(Guo,2006,p.146).Aneye-catchingtopicwilldeterminethestudents’motivationtocarryit
out. If learners do not have a deep and genuine reason for learning, they will not act
autonomously.
Inthefollowingsection,theconceptofautonomywillbegivenbecauseourstudentswere
expectedtobecomecriticalthinkerscapableofreflectionandself-evaluation,insteadofbeing
dependentonothers’directions.
Defining Autonomy
Itisnecessarytopointoutthedifficultyindefiningtheconceptofautonomy.Itisrelated
tofreedomandself-government,althoughbeingautonomousalsoimpliesresponsibilityfor
the individual’s performance. During the process of learning and teaching, responsibility
involvesboththe learner’s and teacher’s ownengagement whenpromoting independence.
Autonomy is defined as “the competence to develop as a self-determined, socially
responsible,andcriticallyawareparticipantin(andbeyond)educationalenvironments,within
avisionofeducationas(inter)personalempowermentandsocialtransformation”(Jiménez
Rayaetal.,2007,p.1).
Thisdefinition,accordingtothepreviousauthors,hasademocraticpointofviewbecause
it has holistic outcomes such as developing social skills to be placed into use in their
communitiesandstudentsaregivenpossibilitiestoexercisetheirautonomyinanycontext.It
meansthatautonomyimpliestakingone’sowninitiative,inthiscase,exercisingcontrolover
the learning process. Learner autonomy aims at encouraging the gradual development of
self-governmentwithprogressivelygreaterresponsibilitybeingtakenonbylearnersnotonly
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for increasing their level of proficiency, but also for enhancing their abilities, styles,
preferences,andparticipationinthecommunities.
ContextoftheStudy
This project was carried out in a public university located in Facatativá, Cundinamarca
(Colombia). This university looks forward to having new autonomous, leading, and
professionalcitizenstodeveloptheirflowerindustryregion.Whatismore,Facatativáhasa
high potential of agricultural and industrial work to be explored and developed by future
environmentalengineers.Asaresult,undergraduatestudentsofenvironmentalengineering
are required to be bilingual to support the process of internationalization in growing
industries.However,studentsingeneraldonothavetheminimumEnglishlevelrequiredby
theuniversitywhenseekingadmissionandtheyarenotinterestedinlearningEnglish.
Asastartingpoint,theparticipantsofthisstudytookadiagnostictestbutnoonepassed
it:Onagradingscaleof0-5.0,twostudentsgotlessthan1.0,eightstudentswerebetween1.1
and2.1,andsixstudentsgotgradesbetween2.1and3;noneofthemcouldgetmorethan3.0
and on the written part—which only 25% of the students attempted to answer—some
studentswrotedowngeneralphrases,forinstance:“OK,Igotoyourhouseat3:00pm,”“I
like eat potatoes and soda” [sic]. According to them, they did not have the appropriate
knowledge for writing and they felt very discouraged when they saw their diagnostic test
scores. In addition to the diagnostic test, students were asked to complete a questionnaire
aboutlearners’autonomy.Someresultsshowedthatnoneofthemmakesconsciousdecisions
inordertoestablishlearninggoals.
Atthisuniversity,studentsdonothaveanyspecificbookfortheirEnglishClassLevel
1—theclassinwhichtheprojectwasimplemented—soeachprofessortakesintoaccountthe
CommonReferenceLevelsputforthbytheCommonEuropeanFrameworktodesigneach
syllabusandpreparetheirclasses;inthiscase,levelA1:BasicUser.Thegroupconsistedof
tenboysandsixgirlsranginginagefrom16to22.Mostofthemworkedintheafternoonsor
onweekendstopayexpenses.Thesestudentsbelongedtoaloweconomicalstratumwhose
parents earned minimum wages. For this reason, the university offers students special
services such as scholarships, free lunch and dinner, tokens for transportation, and other
benefits.
ThisstudywasbasedonStoller(2002)since,accordingtothisauthor,theemphasisof
project work is on the student-centered classroom and the integration of skills in a real
context. The selection of project-based learning emerged from thinking about how to
maximizestudents’participationinlearninginwhichtheteacher’sroleistoactasafacilitator
inthecommunicativeprocess.
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Duringthefirststepsofprojectwork,studentswereaskedtochooseatopictheylikedto
work on during the semester. They decided to create a magazine according to their
preferencesaboutenvironmentalissues.Whiletheywereworkingontheirmagazines,they
were able to involve themselves in activities in which they could be creative and work
independentlybecausetheyassignedtaskstoeachmemberofthegroupinordertoensurea
successful completion.Furthermore, thisstudy wascarried outoveranacademic semester
taking into account ten stages in project work (see Appendix 1) in which field notes,
semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, students’ artifacts, and video recordings were
used to collect data. This study focused on promoting the learners’ L2 autonomy through
project work, bearing in mind students’ specific needs and interests as well as the social
contextintheircommunity.Thatistosay,theimplementationofthisstudyallowedstudents
to be directly responsible for their own learning by developing autonomy when learning
English,while,atthesametime,involvingtheminreal-lifesituations.Thefollowingresearch
questionwasdesigned:
WhatistheroleofprojectworkonlearnerautonomyinanESPclass?
Method
Adescriptiveandqualitativecasestudywascarriedouttoanswertheresearchquestion.A
casestudy,accordingtoWallace(1998),is“asystematicinvestigationofanindividualcase,
whether that refers to one teacher, one learner, one group, or class, or whatever” (p. 47).
Thus,acasestudyaimsatunderstandingaparticularcaseanditscomplexity.
A qualitative research project is defined as “any kind of research that produces
findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of
quantification” (Corbin & Strauss, 1990, p. 17). On the other hand, descriptive studies
offer a rich and detailed account of events and interactions, which favors an in-depth
understandingofrealitiesandcontexts.
Instruments for Data Collection
Instrumentsfordatacollectiondependonthetypeofresearch.Inthiscase,aqualitative
research approach “involves the studied use and collection of a variety of empirical
materials—case study, personal experience, introspection, life story, interviews, artifacts,
cultural texts and productions, observational, historical, and visual texts—that describe
routineandproblematicmomentsandmeaningsinindividuals’lives”(Duff,2008,p.27).It
meansthataqualitativeresearchcanusestudents’artifactsregardingtheirEnglishprocessin
ordertohavedetaileddata.Forthisreason,fieldnotes,conferences,students’journals,and
questionnaireswereselectedtoanalyzelearnerautonomyineachgroup.
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Students’artifacts.Thisstudycollectedstudents’writtenartifactssuchasbiographies,
journals, and editorials. This instrument played an important part in getting data about
students’ autonomy due to the fact that students’ production was tangible evidence of the
students’responsestoeachprojectworkphase.
Field notes. Field notes were descriptions and comments from the observer about
students’attitudes,opinions,andreactionsregardingtheirlearningduringthedevelopment
of the classes. Each class session, a field note form was filled out because it served as a
memoryaidtoregisterimportantevents.
Semi-structuredinterviews.Semi-structuredinterviewsareinterviewswithopenquestions
tofindout—withadegreeoffreedom—datatodevelopthequestionnairefacetoface.Theywere
appliedatthemiddleandendofthestudytoclarifytheresearcher’squestions.
Students’ journals. Students kept a journal for expressing opinions and beliefs about
learningEnglishsincethistypeinformationwasimportanttoverifyhowlearnerautonomy
wasworkingineachgroup.Studentswroteaboutwhattheyhadlearnedanddoneinclass,the
difficultiestheyencounteredandproposalstoimprovetheirlearning.Thistypeofinstrument
wasusefultoidentifystudents’pointsofviewabouttheirownlearningprocessduringthe
study’sdevelopment.
Videorecordings.Videorecordingsprovidedrelevantinformationthatwasnotfeasible
withotherinstruments.Forexample,non-verbalcommunicationshowedstudents’attitudes
whenworkingingroupsduringthepresentationofthemagazines.
Questionnaires. Questionnaires were applied at the beginning and at the end of the
semester.Thequestionnairesaimedtoobtaininformationaboutlearners’opinionsregarding
motivation,responsibility,learnerautonomy,cooperativework,andlearnerstrategies.
Inthefollowingsection,thedatagatheredfromtheinstrumentswereanalyzedinorderto
verifytheroleofprojectworkonlearnerautonomy.
DataAnalysis
Learnerswerecharacterizedbytheirlackofautonomywhentheyarrivedatthislevelof
EnglishasshowninExcerpt1:
Excerpt11
S1:2Teacher,wedon’thavemuchtimetopracticeEnglish.
1 Thisexcerpthasbeentranslatedfromitsoriginallanguage,Spanish.
2 Codes:S=Student,Q=Questionnaire,SJ=Student’sJournal,FN=FieldNotes,SS=Session
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S3:MyformerEnglishteachergaveusguidestocompleteandwejustfollowedhersuggestions.
S4:Onweekends,Iwork.
S7:Mostofusliveonfarmsandweonlylearnedverbs.
S8:Idon’tlikeEnglishmuch.Atschool,wejustusedtofillinforms.
S9:Teacher,weworkedworkshopsgrammar.
S10:Teacherweworkedinhighschoolwhatourmisssaid.
Since they did not usually take risks, they were not conscious of their active role in
learning,especiallyintermsofresponsibility.Theysimplywaitedtoreceiveworksheetswith
grammar structures to be completed because most of our students were taught to be
dependentasaresultofteacher-centeredschoolswheretheGrammar-TranslationMethod
wasmostlyused.
Theresearcheridentifiedthreemaincategories.ThefirstcategorywascalledCooperative
WorkInfluenceonAutonomy,whichwasevidentwhenstudents created teams anddeveloped
theirmagazines;thiscategorywasexplainedinonesubcategory.Studentswereabletowork
cooperatively because they shared a common interest: to create their environmental
magazine.ThesecondcategorywasSelf-Regulation,whichisafeatureoflearnerautonomyand
itwasshownwhenlearnersprovidedevidenceofexpressingcontroloftheuseoflanguage.
ThelastcategorywasnamedIntrinsicMotivation,thatis,studentsshowingtheirowninterest
whenlearning.Afterhavinggivenageneralideaaboutthecategories,Ithinkitisimportantto
describeandanalyzeeachofthemindepthinthefollowinglines.
Results
Cooperative Work Influence on Autonomy
Studentsdecidedtoworkinteamsinordertoreachacommongoalandtheywereableto
develop their own autonomy after being explained what project work was. In the second
session,theydecidedtoworkonenvironmentalissuesbyvoting.
Makingdecisionstogether.Thefirststepthatstudentstookwastoorganizeteamsin
ordertocreatetheirmagazinesattheirowndiscretion.Afterwards,theychosethenameof
theirmagazinestogether.Forexample,threestudentscalledtheirmagazine“Environment
CultureinFacatativá”(seeAppendix2)anddecided uponeachmember’sduties, purpose,
audience,materials,activities,andschedule.Hyland(2005)highlightedsomecharacteristics
ofwriterpositioningcalledself-mentions,which“referstotheuseoffirstpersonpronouns
andpossessiveadjectivestopresentpropositional,affective,andinterpersonalinformation”
(p.81).Studentsexpressedhowtheycreatedtheirmagazineasagroup.Fromthebeginning
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oftheapplicationoftheproject,learnersdescribedtheclassroomandprojecteventsusing
the first person plural pronoun “we” or the possessive adjective “our”. Students showed
commitment to work in groups as shown in Figure 1, where they evaluated their work.
Studentsdecidedtogetherhowtheyweregoingtodesignandtosharetheirmagazinesinthe
classroom.
Figure1.SamplefromaStudent’sSelf-Assessment
Thissocialdimensionhelpedthembuildtheirself-esteem,beresponsible,distributethe
workload,makebetterdecisions,createinvolvementandasenseofbelonging,andreinforce
individualcapabilitiesduringthedevelopmentofthemagazineproject.
Moreover, when students worked in groups, they strengthened their capacity to make
decisions when learning. One of the most important decisions that learners made was to
choosehowtheywantedtowork;aresolutionwhichfacilitatedthecommunicationineach
group(seeAppendix2).Forexample,S2wrotethat“theinteractionwasgood;becauseof
thatwehaveagoodcommunication”(SJ10).Indeed,thedelegationofrolesisakeypointin
effectivecooperativeworkasisdescribedinthefollowingpassage.
Each group assigned roles for making their magazines and accomplishing the tasks
associatedwiththisproject.Studentsidentifieddifferentrolestheyplayedsuchaseditorsand
designers, according to their capabilities. “Some students decided to assign duties in each
editorialgroup.Forexample,duringtheclasstheypointedthebestwriterineachteamand
the other duties” (SS8, FN8). In each group, there were students in charge of leading the
magazine’s process. For example, in the magazine called “Our Environment,” students
assignedthefunctionofreadertoanotherclassmate“Hágale…ustedsabemásquenosotros,sí...sí”
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[Doit…youknowmorethanus,yes…yes](S3,FN3).Theywereawarethateachmemberof
thegrouphaddifferenttalentsandtookadvantageofeachstudent’sabilitiestogetthebest
resultsoneachtask.
Sharing common interests is one of the main reasons for making decisions; students
helpedeachotherwhennecessaryintheirgroupsbecausetheydirectedtheireffortstowards
themagazine’sproduction.Itwasevidentthatstudentsdecidedtoaskforhelpwhentheyhad
doubts. Most of the groups had a collaborative climate where each member worked
according toher/hisownpace. Forinstance, S4pointedoutthatheprovided hispartners
withguidance:“theinteractionwithmygroupwasfinebutIhadtohelpallthegroupnearof
my”[sic]whileS11wassupportedbyhisgroup:“Theinteractionwithmygroupwasgood
becauseofthatmygrouphelpme”[sic].
Mostofthegroupshadacollaborativeclimatewhereeachmemberworkedaccordingto
his/herownpace.Forexample,ontheteamof“GreenPeople”magazine,S2andS1were
characterizedashavinghadafriendlyrelationshipandbothvolunteeredmoretimetowork
ontheirmagazinesincomparisonwiththeotherteams.Theycompletedalltasksassignedto
developtheirmagazine,butfirst,theylikedtohavefunforafewminutesbeforebeginning
theirwork(seeAppendix3)inwhichtheyweremoreconsciousabouttheirroleinthegroup.
In conclusion, decision making encourages students to anticipate the consequences of
their choices. In this case, they decided how to work in each group to produce their
magazines. Taskswere structured tocarry outindividualand cooperative activities such as
writingbiographiesand interviewingapersonforwhichthey had toexchange ideas, make
plans,andproposesolutionsforsolvingproblems.Asaresult,theydecidedtouselearning
strategies,definedas“thewayinwhichthelearnerselects,acquires,organizes,orintegrates
newknowledge” (Weinstein & Mayer, 1986,p. 315).Thistype ofstrategies contributed to
theirbecomingmoreself-directedbecausestudentsdidnotneedtohavetheteacheraround
toguide themallthetime. Learner autonomydidnotimplythatstudents learned aloneor
withouttheirteacherssinceitrequiredinteractionwithothersinordertosharewhattheyhad
learned withthewholegroup.Duringcooperativework,learners explored theirownlikes,
chosetheirowntopicsforwriting,andorganizedhowtheyweregoingtocreateandpresent
their magazines. These types of tasks should be completed and integrated for the group’s
success.
Self-Regulation
Peña Dix (2013) highlighted that self-regulation was “the highest form of cognitive
engagement”(p.76),whichwasusedbystudentstoperformsuccessfullyinclass.Students
developedself-regulatoryprocessestofindstrategiestocopewiththeirlearningdifficulties.
Students’self-regulationwasevidentinthecompositionofeachsectionoftheirmagazines:
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