collaborative learning

1. Collaborative learning

2. The term “collaborate”
• According to the Oxford English Dictionary
• from the Latin collaborat from the verb collaborare
• col “together” + laborare “to work”
“work together”
To work with each other towards the same end.

3. COLLABORATION
Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary
“to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavour”

4. • Can you define collaborative learning?

5. Collaborative learning
• Collaborative learning is defined as classroom learning techniques which require
students to work together in groups or pairs in learning tasks
(Colbeck 2000).

6. “Collaborative learning is based on the idea that learning is a naturally social act in
which the participants talk among themselves. It is through the talk that learning
occurs”.
Gerlach (1994)
• Pierce and Gilles (2008):social talk, exploratory talk, presentational
talk, meta-talk (making their talk visible), and critical talk

7. • Collaborative learning is a pedagogy that has at its center the assumption that people make
meaning together and that the process enriches and enlarges them. (Matthews, 1996, p. 101)

8. How?
• In the Piagetian perspective, cognitive conflict leads to higher levels of reasoning
and learning
• Contradiction between her existing understanding and what she hears or sees in
the course of interacting with others.
• Schema

9. Theoretical perspectives
In the Vygotskian perspective, the benefits of collaboration occur
when a more expert person helps a less-expert person (Vygotsky,
1978).
• MKO
• Scaffolding

11. Co-construction
• Students can contribute different pieces of information or build-upon others’
explanations to jointly create a complete idea or solution (Hatano, 1993).

12. Five stages of the collaborative learning process
• Engagement
• Exploration
• Transformation
• Presentation
• Reflection

13. Five stages of the collaborative learning process
• Peter Forrestal (1990) describes five stages collaborative learning
process
• 1.Engagement (or Input): In this stage of the learning process, students meet and
engage with information. Input may be provided in a wide range of ways: lecture,
reading, media, and the like.

14. 2.Exploration:
• Students have the opportunity to make an initial exploration of the
information. Students are free to think aloud, to make mistakes, or not
to fully understand.

15. 3.Transformation:
Students are asked to work with the information to better understand it. The
teachers´ role during this stage is to monitor their students´ learning, to address
misconceptions or to provide additional information.

16. 4.Presentation:
• Students are asked to present their findings to an interested and critical audience.
Group presentations can occur with varied audiences, such as the whole class or in
a combination of two groups of four into a group of eight.

17. 5.Reflection
By looking back at what they have learned and the process they have gone through,
students can gain a deeper understanding of both the content and the learning
process itself.

18. • Inclusion or exclusion of stages.substantiate..

19. COLLABORATIVE LEARNING TECHNIQUES
• Think-pair-share
1. Ask an open-ended question or pose a problem to the students.
2. Give the students a time limit in which they can ponder the answer.
3. Have them discuss their answer with someone sitting next to them.
4. Call on different pairs to share their answers

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. Challenges of Collaborative Learning:
• There are challenges with the implementation of collaborative
learning approaches:
• For instructors:
• Extensive revision of syllabus to account for increase in group work
• Revision of time allocation for assignments
• Adaptation to changing role that includes increased student
responsibility for own learning

24. For students:
• Adjustment to group work format
• Time management issues involved with working around group
members’ schedules
• Increased responsibility for own learning
• Classrooms set-up for teacher-centered/lectures
• Conversion from competitive to cooperative nature

25. Commonly Asked Questions about Teaching
Collaborative Activities
• How do I decide which assignments/activities to make collaborative?
• How do I divide students into groups
• How can I help students learn to work in groups?
• How can I deal with conflicts within the groups
• How do I grade collaborative work?
• In what ways can technology support the goals of collaborative
learning