COLLABORATIVE AND CO-OPERATIVE LEARNING

COLLABORATIVE  AND  CO-OPERATIVE   LEARNING

Collaborative learning

Collaborative learning is an educational approach that involves groups of learners working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product. It is based on the idea that learning is a naturally social act. Learning occurs though active engagement among peers, either face-to-face or online.

The main characteristics of collaborative learning are: a common task or activity; small group learning, co-operative behaviour; interdependence; and individual responsibility and accountability (Lejeune, 1999).
Collaborative learning is similar to, but not the same as, cooperative learning. In cooperative learning the task is divided vertically (i.e., members work more or less concurrently on different aspects of a project), whereas in collaborative learning the task is divided horizontally (i.e., members work together more or less sequentially on different aspects of a project) (Dillenbourg, 1999).

Cooperative learning

Learning work in a group and share idea is a great strength, one which began in a young age and is carried through in to adult life and the work place. Social Development Theory suggests that community and collaboration play a central role in the learning process as well as social interaction and behaviour.

Sharing idea however, is not easy for everyone as specially when there is a complex interplay of differing personality type – shy, extrovert, chatty or an un willingness to speak in front of the group, or individuals with stronger personalities who can don’t allow others to participate. Through collaborative learning, individuals can learn to develop more tolerance towards one another and through cooperative and encouragement, all members can successfully learn to share ideas.

Meaning collaborative learning

Collaborative learning is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together unlike individual learning, people engaged in collaborative learning capitalize on one another's resources and skills (asking one another for information, evaluating one another's ideas, monitoring one another's work, etc.). More specifically, collaborative learning is based on the model that knowledge can be created within a population where members actively interact by sharing experiences and take on asymmetric roles put differently, collaborative learning refers to methodologies and environment in which learners engage in a common task where each individual depends on and is accountable to each other. These include both face-to-face conversations and computer discussions (online forums, chat rooms, etc.). Methods for examining collaborative learning processes include conversation analysis and statistical discourse analysis

Thus, collaborative learning is commonly illustrated when groups of students work together to search for understanding, meaning, or solutions or to create an artefact or product of their learning. Furthermore, collaborative learning redefines the traditional student-teacher relationship in the classroom which results in controversy over whether this paradigm is more beneficial than harmful. Collaborative learning activities can include collaborative writing, group projects, joint problem solving, debates, study teams, and other activities. The approach is closely related to cooperative learning.

Strategy of Collaborative learning (Learning Techniques)

Think/Write, Pair, Share:

The think/write, pair, share strategy is a cooperative learning technique that encourages individual participation and is applicable across all grade levels and class sizes. Students think through questions using three distinct steps:

 1. Think/Write: Students think independently about a question that has been posed, forming ideas of their own and write them down.

 2. Pair: Students are grouped in pairs to discuss their thoughts. This step allows students to articulate their ideas and to consider those of others.

3. Share: Student pairs share their ideas with a larger group, such as the whole class. Often, students are more comfortable presenting ideas to a group with the support of a partner. In addition, students' ideas have become more refined through this three-step process.

Round Table:

Round Table is a collaborative learning technique that allows students to assess prior knowledge, recall information and practice communication skills. The steps are:

1. Write: Each student writes one (or two or 3) sentences about a given topic (or this could be an answer to a question) on a piece of paper.

 2. Share: The paper is passed around to one group member at a time. Each group member responds in writing.

3. Summarize: When the original is returned, the student reads the comments from the group and shares what the collective sense of what was said in the group about the topic (or question)

Jigsaw:

Jigsaw is a collaborative learning technique that gives students practice in the acquisition and presentation of new material, in review, and in informed debate. Interdependence and status equalisation are developed.

The method is:

1. Each student on the team becomes an “expert” on one topic

 2. “Experts” group with members from other teams assigned the corresponding expert topic.

 3. Upon returning to their teams, each one, in turn, teaches the group.

4. Students are all assessed on all aspects of the topic.

Concept Mapping:

 Concept mapping is a collaborative learning technique that allows students working in groups a way of illustrating the connections that exist between terms or concepts covered in course material.

The method is:

 1. Students write terms from the course on a large piece of paper

 2. Lines are drawn connecting individual terms to indicate the relationships between terms. Most of the terms in a concept map have multiple connections.

3. Developing a concept map requires the students to identify and organize information and to establish meaningful relationships between the pieces of information.

Meaning of Cooperative learning

Cooperative learning is a teaching method where small groups of learners work collaboratively towards a goal. It can be a very effective teaching model that allows students to interact with each other and be an active participant in their learning. Not all situations warrant a cooperative learning model though, so we’ll explore the advantages and disadvantages of this teaching method.

Advantages to Cooperative Learning

·        Students actively participate in their education by exploring and learning from each other. They are able to experience a wide range of thoughts and opinions on a subject from working with their peers. More importantly, they arrive at their own conclusions after having done research or exploring a topic thoroughly.

·        Students are able to practice and hone social skills such as working in a group, resolving conflict, problem solving, and taking directions from a peer leader to name a few. These important, life long skills are needed in the workplace but are rarely practiced in a typical lecture style classroom.

·        Cooperative learning is a teaching model that is heavily supported by research as being very effective. It can be used along with a variety of other teaching strategies, which we’ll address in a later post.

·        The teacher becomes a facilitator instead of a lecturer. They can work with the small groups individually, assisting and intervening when needed.

·        A deeper level of understanding can take place within groups as students delve into subjects they are interested in.

·        Groups can be assigned topics based on skill level or difficulty. This form of differentiation enables students of all abilities to be successful, even if their subjects or products may be different from their peers’.

Disadvantages to Cooperative Learning

Not all students work well with others, and may cause conflict within a group. This can potentially sabotage a cooperative learning environment.

• Not all lessons are ideal for group work. Easy or straightforward concepts may not be as interesting or successful in a cooperative learning assignment.
• Groups will finish at different times. This can add a layer of classroom management complexity for the instructor.
• Cooperative learning groups can create a level of noise within the classroom that the teacher might not be comfortable with, or know how to manage well.
• Some students may not do their fair share of work, or certain students may monopolise the task. This can lead to challenging grading situations for the teacher.

We will address many of these disadvantages in the coming series of posts, and discuss how to work around these challenging aspects. We’ll also look at which class situations are most suitable for cooperative learning methods. Stay tuned!

Benefits of Cooperative Learning

 How can cooperative learning benefit you and your group?

Cooperative Learning helps to:

• Raise achievement of students.
• Build positive relationships among students - important for creating a learning community that values diversity.
• Provide experiences that develop both good learning skills and social skills.

 Research shows cooperative learning helps to produce:

• Higher achievement.
• Increased retention.
• More positive relationships and a wider circle of friends.
• Greater intrinsic motivation.
• Higher self-esteem.
• Greater social support.
• More on-task behaviour.
• Better attitudes toward teachers.
• Better attitudes toward school.

Hopefully you have already had some successful experiences with cooperative learning and you can relate to many of the benefits listed above. If you haven't had any experiences with team or group work, or if you have only had bad experiences, don't worry! Becoming skilled in cooperative learning takes time, patience, and persistence. The more you learn about cooperative learning and the more you practice your skills, the better you will become and the more benefits you will experience. It takes time.

Five Basic Elements of Cooperative Learning

There are five fundamental elements involved in cooperative learning. In fact, these five elements distinguish cooperative learning from other forms of group learning. These elements can be thought of as pieces in a puzzle. When all of these elements are present in a learning situation, the result is a cooperative learning group. The five basic elements of cooperative learning are:

• Positive interdependence
• Individual and group accountability
• Interpersonal and small group skills
• Face-to-face primitives interaction
• Group processing

Positive interdependence :

This means the group has a clear task or goal so everyone knows they sink or swim together. The efforts of each person benefit not only the individual, but also everyone else in the group. The key to positive interdependence is committing to personal success as well as the success of every member of the group.

Individual And Group Accountability:

The group is accountable for achieving its goals, and each member must be accountable for contributing a fair share of the work toward the group goal. No one can "hitchhike" on the work of others. The performance of each individual must be assessed and the results given back to the group.

Inter personal and small group skills:

Interpersonal and small group skills are required to function as part of a group. These are basic teamwork skills. Group members must know how to - and be motivated to - provide effective leadership, make decisions, build trust, communicate, and manage conflict. 

• Completing tasks
• Communicating
• Decision making
• Managing conflict
• Appreciating group members

Face to Face primitives Interaction:

This means that students promote each other's success by sharing resources. They help, support, encourage, and praise each other's efforts to learn. Both academic and personal support are part of this mutual goal. 

Group processing:

Group members need to feel free to communicate openly with each other to express concerns as well as to celebrate accomplishments. They should discuss how well they are achieving their goals and maintaining effective working relationships.

To help you understand cooperative learning a little better, here are some ideas and activities that could help team members develop better skills in each of the areas listed above.

Ways to Ensure Positive Interdependence:

• The group has only one pencil, paper, book, or other resource.
• One paper is written by the group.
• A task is divided into jobs and can't be finished unless all help.
• Pass one paper around the group on which each member must write a section.
• Each person learns a topic and then teaches it to the group (Jigsaw method).
• Offer a reward (e.g. bonus points) if everyone in the group succeeds.

 Ways To Ensure Individual and Group Accountability:

• Students do the work before bringing it to the group.
• One student is chosen at random and questioned on the material the group has studied.
• Everyone writes a paper; the group certifies the accuracy of all their papers; the instructor chooses only one paper to grade.
• Students receive bonus points if all do well individually.
• Instructor observes students taking turns orally rehearsing information.

 Ways to Ensure Interpersonal and Small Group Skills:

• Be on time for group meetings and start them on time.
• Listen to others. Don't be so busy rehearsing what you are going to say that you miss other group members' points and ideas.
• Don't close the road to mutual learning by interrupting or using language that can be regarded as a personal attack.
• Make sure everyone has the opportunity to speak.
• Don't suppress conflict, but do control and discipline it.

 Ways to Ensure Face-to-Face Primitives Interaction:

• A student orally explains how to solve a problem.
• One group member discusses a concept with others.
• A group member teaches classmates about a topic.
• Students help each other connect present and past learning.

 Ways To Ensure Group Processing:

• Group members describe each other's helpful and unhelpful behaviours and actions.
• As a group, make decisions about which behaviours to continue and which behaviours to change.

Additional Elements of Effective Groups

Although team dynamics (how the individual team members work together) can differ from team to team, effective teams share the following characteristics:

Full participation - All team members contribute their time and energy to the project. More importantly, all team members participate in the decision making process.

Trust - Members trust that each member will add value to the project, and members work to ensure that everybody contributes and that appreciation is expressed for different contributions.

Open communication - Communication is the glue that holds a team together. Communication is effective when all members:

• Contribute ideas.
• Provide feedback constructively.
• Ask for clarification on anything that might be confusing.
• Provide frequent updates.
• Listen to each other carefully.

Social/business balance - Although teams shouldn't socialize 100% of the time, it shouldn't be all business either. Casual conversation allows members to know each other better, leading to better working relations.

Reference:

Dr. Spencer Kagan (1999) , Cooperative Learning: Seventeen Pros and Seventeen Cons plus Ten Tips for Success, Kagan Online Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.kaganonline.com/free_articles/dr_spencer_kagan/ASK06.php

https://clt.curtin.edu.au/teaching_learning_practice/student_centred/collaborative.cfm

http://www.masterofartsinteaching.net/best/online/