Abstract
This paper aimed at determining whether collaborative learning using dialogue journals and independent learning using self-assessment would enhance the writing skills of senior high school learners in Pasig. The research method was a mixed one, utilizing a true experiment for quantitative data and a phenomenological approach for qualitative data with a sample of 80 randomly chosen SHS learners. Quantitative data were derived from the results of the Pre-Test, End of Lesson Assessment (Essay), and Post-Test that were checked using an adopted essay rubric by 3 subject experts. Meanwhile, the qualitative data were attained by conducting semi-structured interviews with 20 participants. The statistical analysis used for the pre-test and post-test was an independent sample t-test and weighed mean for the ELA to analyze whether there was a significant difference in the results of the pre-implementation and post-implementation of the intervention used. Interview responses were analyzed through coding and thematic patterns. The results revealed that the writing skills of both CLG and ILG improved after the experiment, but ILG learners achieved a much higher score than CLG; moreover, although both groups claimed to have enjoyed and profited from cooperative and independent learning, the CLG learners, who collaborated with peers, bewailed the incompetence of some of the peers while the ILG learners, who worked by themselves, admitted that assistance from the teacher or a more competent learner could have been better.
