COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

What is collaborative learning?

Collaborative learning is based on the view that knowledge is a social construct. Collaborative activities are most often based on four principles:

• The learner or student is the primary focus of instruction.
• Interaction and "doing" are of primary importance
• Working in groups is an important mode of learning.
• Structured approaches to developing solutions to real-world problems should be incorporated into learning.

Collaborative learning can occur peer-to-peer or in larger groups. Peer learning, or peer instruction, is a type of collaborative learning that involves students working in pairs or small groups to discuss concepts, or find solutions to problems. This often occurs in a class session after students are introduced to course material through readings or videos before class, and/or through instructor lectures. Similar to the idea that two or three heads are better than one, many instructors have found that through peer instruction, students teach each other by addressing misunderstandings and clarifying misconceptions.

Group work or collaborative learning can take a variety of forms, such as quick, active learning activities in class or more involved group projects that span the course of a semester.

What is the impact of collaborative learning or group work?

Research shows that educational experiences that are active, social, contextual, engaging, and student-owned lead to deeper learning. The benefits of collaborative learning include:

• Development of higher-level thinking, oral communication, self-management, and leadership skills.
• Promotion of student-faculty interaction.
• Increase in student retention, self-esteem, and responsibility.
• Exposure to and an increase in understanding of diverse perspectives.
• Preparation for real life social and employment situations.

What are some examples of collaborative learning or group work activities?

Stump your partner

• Students take a minute to create a challenging question based on the lecture content up to that point.
• Students pose the question to the person sitting next to them.
• To take this activity a step further, ask students to write down their questions and hand them in. These questions can be used to create tests or exams. They can also be reviewed to gauge student understanding.

Think-pair-share/ Write-pair-share

• The instructor poses a question that demands analysis, evaluation, or synthesis.
• Students take a few minutes to think through an appropriate response.
• Students turn to a partner (or small groups) and share their responses. Take this a step further by asking students to find someone who arrived at an answer different from their own and convince their partner to change their mind.
• Student responses are shared within larger teams or with the entire class during a follow-up discussion.

Catch-up

• Stop at a transition point in your lecture.
• Have students turn to a partner or work in small groups to compare notes and ask clarifying questions.
• After a few minutes, open the floor to a few questions.

Fishbowl debate

• Ask students to sit in groups of three.
• Assign roles. For example, the person on left takes one position on a topic for debate, the person on right takes the opposite position, and the person in the middle takes notes and decides which side is the most convincing and provides an argument for his or her choice.
• Debrief by calling on a few groups to summarize their discussions.

Case study

• Create four to five case studies of similar difficulty.
• Have students work in groups of four or five to work through and analyze their case study.
• Provide 10-15 minutes (or adequate time to work through the cases).
• Walk around and address any questions.
• Call on groups randomly and ask that students share their analysis. Continue until each case study has been addressed.

Team-based learning (adapted from L.K. Michaelsen in Davis, 2009. p.215)

• Start a course unit by giving students some tasks to complete, such as reading or lab assignments. Consider assigning these to be completed before class.
• Check students' comprehension of the material with a quick multiple-choice quiz. Have students submit their answers.
• Assign students to groups and have them review their answers with group members to reach consensus. Have each group submit one answered quiz.
• Record both the individual student assessment scores and the final group assessment score (both of which are used toward each student's course grade).
• Deliver a lecture that specially targets any misconceptions or gaps in knowledge the assessments reveal.
• Give groups a challenging assignment, such as solving a problem or applying a theory to a real world situation.

Group problem solving

There are many instructional strategies that involve students working together to solve a problem, including inquiry based learning, authentic learning, and discovery learning. While they each have their own unique characteristics, they all fundamentally involve:

• Presenting students with a problem.
• Providing some structure or guidance toward solving the problem. Note, however, that they are all student-centered activities in which the instructor may have a very minimal role.
• Reaching a final outcome or solution.

Problem-Based Learning is a collaborative, student-centered approach to learning in which students learn about a subject by working in groups to solve an open-ended problem. 

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN:

Cooperative Learning is an instructional strategy that simultaneously addresses academic and social skill learning by students. It is an instructional strategy and has been reported to be highly successful in the classroom because of its increasing need for interdependence in all levels, providing students with the tools to effectively learn from each other. Students work towards fulfilling academic and social skill goals that are clearly stated. It is a team approach where the success of the group depends upon everyone pulling his or her weight.

Collaborative learning is commonly illustrated when groups of students work together to search for understanding, meaning, or solutions or to create an artifact or product of their learning. Further, collaborative learning redefines traditional student-teacher relationship in the classroom because activities can include collaborative writing, group projects, joint problem solving, debates, study teams, and other activities in which students team together to explore a significant question or create a meaningful project.