When peer culture is embraced during interactive writing learners have the opportunity to incorporate full social membership and their individual positionings into a situated classroom structure. When peer culture is rejected in interactive writing events the instruction becomes teacher centered. The students quickly become inattentive and the writing process becomes strained. Teachers knowledgeable about child centered curriculums, student generated themes, and children's literature are most likely going to be aware of the benefits of overtly incorporating peer culture into the classroom. Interactive writing is an event where cooperative negotiation is critical to the incorporation of peer culture.
Writing is a very intricate subject, the instruction of writing is even more complex.
As an educator it was exciting to decontextualize interactive writing and siphon out the various influences that make it more or less valuable for instructional purposes. This process has enlightened me. My last two years at The Ohio State University have been spent decoding my personal views on instructional philosophies, language and relationships incorporated in learning. Using a sociocultural lens to view interactive writing has clarified some large personal aspects I was struggling with in my learning. Using a sociocultural lens will also provide for my readers a deeper and more detailed analysis of a common elementary classroom context.