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Gaslight: Rethinking the Traditional Writing Assignment

The typical solo writing assignment has key limitations.

• Isolated Process: Students lack immediate peer feedback when writing alone.
• Delayed Feedback: The traditional "red pen" is often demotivating and inefficient.
• Missed Learning: Students can't pool linguistic knowledge or learn from each other's strengths.

Gatekeep: The Research on Collaborative Writing

Students writing together is a core learning activity, not just group work.

• The Article: Davison, I., Vega, J. L. M., Chew, S. Y., & Gallagher, M. (2025). Assessing the Learning Potential of Second Language Student Interaction in Collaborative Writing. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 15(5), 1410–1419. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1505.05
• Collaborative Writing: Two or more students work together to produce a single text.
• Language-Related Episodes (LREs): The crucial conversations where students negotiate language use (word choice, grammar, organization).
• Key Finding: The study found that peer feedback during collaborative writing was overwhelmingly correct (only 7 of 470 instances were incorrect), making it a reliable and powerful source of learning.

Girlboss: Making Collaborative Writing Work in Your Classroom

Adapt the strategy for any level with practical, low-prep activities.

• Write and Discuss: Model collaboration by co-creating a text with the whole class after a shared experience. Use pop-up grammar to model LREs.
• Dictogloss: Have students work in groups to reconstruct a short text they heard. This focuses collaboration on language rather than content creation.
• Formative Practice: Use collaborative writing as a low-stakes practice run before a similar individual assessment to build skills and confidence.
• Information Sandwich: Students with different texts pair up to synthesize their unique information into a single, co-written piece.

Resources Mentioned

• Honing Our Craft (Henshaw & Potowski)
• Anne-Marie Chase on AP Spanish
• languageley.com (Pets unit)
• The World Language Classroom Podcast
• Somewhere to Share (Carrie Toth)

References

The Motivated Classroom Podcast

Carrie Toth and the Huellas curriculum

Voces Digital

Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors

Gaslight
Defining Dynamic Assessment
Examples from Language Teaching
Formative Assessment in the Classroom
How are we responsive in our assessments?

Gatekeep - Najjarpour and Salimi: “Navigating Mindset Trajectories: Exploring EFL Teachers’ Evolution in Embracing Dynamic and Summative Assessment in the Language Classroom”

Dynamic Assessment

Girlboss

Successfully and Accountably Collecting Assessment Data
Taking Advantage of Opportunities to Learn
Opening Assessment Conversations Via Reflections
Baking Reflection Into Every Assessment

References

ACTFL OPI
Dylan Wiliam’s Embedded Formative Assessment
STAMP Test
AnneMarie Chase’s Magic Cards
Class Dojo

Text us about how you’ve Gaslit, or Girlbossed your language classroom.

Email us at info@slayyypod.com