Teaching and assessing grammar in the collaborative college composition classroom : a study of my own pedagogy in the teaching of writing at California State University Monterey Bay

This study examines the teaching of writing in the college composition classroom. The study draws from students\u27 essays and quizzes, student responses on a feedback form, and field notes from the author\u27s observations. The author attempts to answer the following question: In which ways can my teaching of sentence structure and mechanics, use of instructional rubrics, and application of collaborative learning be improved to impact student writing? A total of 17 students participated in this study, which took place in the author\u27s classroom at California State University Monterey Bay. Although the students may have demonstrated some overall improvement in sentence structure and mechanics, the study is not conclusive on the extent to which the grammar instructions, instructional rubrics, or group activities influenced their writing. However, the findings of this study encouraged the author to increase his grammar instruction and use of instructional rubrics, as well as make some changes in his pedagogy of collaborative learning