agile

We have found that three principles of agile project management*--transparency, inspection, and adaptation--are highly effective when applied to team writing and learning: 

Transparency

Making ideas, assumptions, and written work visible for ease of review by teammates and instructor.

Inspection

Frequent review of work, team processes, and communication

We have presented the writing-project framework to groups of instructors, and they commonly raise a question about the framework’s impact on course content. Does the framework reduce the amount of time spent on writing instruction?

The writing-project framework supports an environment of collaborative learning and does not interfere with writing instruction. Planning, team updates, increment reviews, and team retrospectives all focus on writing goals and teammates' understanding of writing project priorities.

The goal of team-based writing projects is to prepare students for today's collaborative, learning-intensive workplaces.