The document discusses the pros and cons of collaborative learning in classrooms. It notes that while collaborative learning has disadvantages like some students dominating work or feeling pressured to conform, there are significant cognitive, social, and career benefits to students. These include learning more material and retaining it longer, developing interpersonal skills, tapping into diverse backgrounds and experiences of peers, and feeling less isolated which can help all students participate. The document concludes that while some students prefer to work alone, instructors have found collaborative work helps students apply knowledge better.

1. THE IMPORTANCE
OF
COLLABORATIVE
LEARNINGJ A N E S H A C H A N D L E R

2. MY HYPOTHESIS..
•I believe students in classrooms where the
teacher does not use collaboration are better self-
regulated learners.

3. COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
PROS
• Team work is a quality highly valued by
employers
• Interpersonal skills are sharpened
• Students working in small groups have a
tendency to learn more of what is taught
and retain it longer than when the same
material is presented in other
instructional formats.
CONS
• Relying on others to pick up the slack
• Dominant classmate may take too much
control over the assignment.
• Pressure to conform to the group’s
opinion instead of one’s own.

4. BENEFITS OF COLLABORATIVE
LEARNING
• The people in teams will get to know each other and extend their activities outside of
class. Students will contact each other to get help with questions or problems they are
having, and they will often continue their communications in later terms (Bean, J.,
1996).” (Laal and Ghodsi, 2012)

5. BENEFITS OF COLLABORATIVE
LEARNING (CONT.)
• “Collaborative work also can help students develop skills in cooperation. Furthermore,
it helps create a community of learners who have responsibility for each other’s
learning, rather than a competitive environment, which is alienating to many students,
particularly those who do not perform as well as their classmates.”
• Collaboration can help eliminate the feeling of a student not wanting to speak up and
sound like they do not understand the lesson when all the others kids do. When
students know that their peers are struggling with the same things they are, they’re
more willing to work together to problem solve.

6. CONTINUED..
• “Groups have more information
than a single individual. Groups
have a greater well of resources to
tap and more information available
because of the variety of
backgrounds and experiences”
(Burke, 2011). Students will gain
more knowledge from people of
different backgrounds and will be
able to create interpersonal skills
to carry with them throughout life.

7. CONCLUSION
• My hypothesis that students in classrooms where the teacher does not
use collaboration are better self-regulated learners was proven false.
While collaborative learning does have it’s disadvantages, like
intimidation or unfair participation, it is still one of the best ways to
create interpersonal, problem solving, and cognitive skills in the
classroom. Although many students feel as though they can accomplish
assignments better by themselves rather than in a group, instructors find
that group work helps the students apply knowledge

8. SOURCES
• Burke, A. (2011) ‘The journal of effective teaching group work: How to use groups
effectively’, The Journal of Effective Teaching, 11(2), pp. 87–95.
• Laal, M. and Ghodsi, S.M. (2012) ‘Benefits of collaborative learning’, Procedia - Social
and Behavioral Sciences, 31, pp. 486–490. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.12.091.
• Woolfolk, A. and Hoy, A.W. (2013) Educational psychology: Active learning edition.
12th edn. Boston: Pearson.