Enhancing story writing through collaborative work: Case study in a Colombian educational institution (2022)

The integration of collaborative work in educational processes has proven to be an effective strategy in various fields of knowledge. This study focuses on the writing of stories within the Filadelfia Educational Institution in Caldas, Colombia, with the objective of analyzing the transformations generated by collaborative work in the writing of stories and the development of students' narrative skills. Such an objective is assumed to be an opportunity for the understanding and application of narrative theory and the basic principles of writing as a communication system. A qualitative route was adopted, involving 40 students from the institution. Data were collected through direct observation, field diaries, and narrative analysis of the texts produced by the participants. The selection of the students was carried out considering an intentional sample with writing skills for the school stage as criteria, and there was informed consent for the research. The findings indicate that students not only improved in their ability to apply the basic principles of writing and story theory, but they were also motivated to actively participate in the reading and writing processes. Collaborative work facilitated the collective construction of knowledge, improved communication between students and teachers, and promoted a dynamic of meaningful and participatory learning. This study concludes that collaborative work is a valuable pedagogical strategy to improve story writing. The results suggest that encouraging interaction and knowledge construction in groups can have a significant positive impact on learning narrative writing. These findings have important implications for the teaching of literature and writing in educational contexts, suggesting the need to integrate collaborative approaches into the curriculum.