Pilot wiki project at Shatin Pui Ying College
Background to the pilot project
The wiki programme involved one class of 24 students at Secondary 1 level (Year 7) in a secondary school (Shatin Pui Ying College) in Hong Kong where the medium of instruction was English [see Note below]. The 24 secondary students were first divided into six groups of four by the teacher, with each group taking responsibility for describing a particular facility in or aspect about the school – descriptions which would be included in a publicity brochure about the school
Note: There are approximately 460 secondary schools in Hong Kong. In one quarter of these, the medium of instruction is English; that is, English is used in these schools as the medium for all major content subjects and also for a lot of day-to-day-interaction within the school such as announcements, assemblies, etc.
Research questions
The research questions that the study was pursuing were that, in writing collaboratively in the wiki, students would:
Quantitative and qualitative analyses
To exemplify students' writing progress, the data has been analysed from two perspectives:
1. a quantitative analysis of the amount and type of text produced (i.e., the a mount of words and t-units (see Hunt: 1970) produced by each student, and generally summarizing students' contributions.
2. a more qualitative analysis of how students produced text collaboratively, in terms of different writing change functions – adding, expanding, reorganising, correcting text (see e.g., Falvey, 1993; Ferris and Hedgcock, 2005).
Writing change functions
Brochures produced by the groups
The 24 Secondary 1 students in the participating class were divided into six groups of four, with each group taking responsibility for describing a particular facility in or aspect about the school.
Brochure Section H Readings & Responsibility
Our School Campus : Group 1
The Shatin Pui Ying Family : Group 2
Interest Clubs / Extra-Curricular Activities : Group 3
Lunchtime and Recess :Group 4
The Secondary 1 Curriculum :Group 5
Happy and Sad Life at Shatin Pui Ying : Group 6
Brochure produced by Group 6 -- Happy and Sad Life at Shatin Pui Ying
Background to the pilot project
The wiki programme involved one class of 24 students at Secondary 1 level (Year 7) in a secondary school (Shatin Pui Ying College) in Hong Kong where the medium of instruction was English [see Note below]. The 24 secondary students were first divided into six groups of four by the teacher, with each group taking responsibility for describing a particular facility in or aspect about the school – descriptions which would be included in a publicity brochure about the school
Note: There are approximately 460 secondary schools in Hong Kong. In one quarter of these, the medium of instruction is English; that is, English is used in these schools as the medium for all major content subjects and also for a lot of day-to-day-interaction within the school such as announcements, assemblies, etc.
Research questions
The research questions that the study was pursuing were that, in writing collaboratively in the wiki, students would:
- produce a greater quantity of text
- produce text that would be coherent and accurate
Quantitative and qualitative analyses
To exemplify students' writing progress, the data has been analysed from two perspectives:
1. a quantitative analysis of the amount and type of text produced (i.e., the a mount of words and t-units (see Hunt: 1970) produced by each student, and generally summarizing students' contributions.
2. a more qualitative analysis of how students produced text collaboratively, in terms of different writing change functions – adding, expanding, reorganising, correcting text (see e.g., Falvey, 1993; Ferris and Hedgcock, 2005).
Writing change functions
Brochures produced by the groups
The 24 Secondary 1 students in the participating class were divided into six groups of four, with each group taking responsibility for describing a particular facility in or aspect about the school.
Brochure Section H Readings & Responsibility
Our School Campus : Group 1
The Shatin Pui Ying Family : Group 2
Interest Clubs / Extra-Curricular Activities : Group 3
Lunchtime and Recess :Group 4
The Secondary 1 Curriculum :Group 5
Happy and Sad Life at Shatin Pui Ying : Group 6
Brochure produced by Group 6 -- Happy and Sad Life at Shatin Pui Ying