Relevance of collaborative learning in classrooms

1. RELEVANCE OF COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN
CLASSROOMS
INTRODUCTION
Learning is a social activity. In fact, this social dimension is a critical aspect in the
learning process for people of any age. People learn in communities. Together they
accomplish more than as individuals. Students are no different. Opportunities for cognitive
rehearsal, clarification and re-teaching have a positive effect on academic achievement.
When students collaborate, they get an opportunity to discuss new concepts with someone
close to their own level of understanding. When students discuss and defend their ideas or
solutions with teammates, they learn to think problems through, to support their own
opinions, and to critically consider the opinions of others before coming to a conclusion. But
the responsibility for learning still rests with the students.
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. More specifically, collaborative
learning is based on the fact that knowledge can be created within a population when
members actively interact by sharing experiences. Collaborative learning refers to an
environment in which the learners engage in a common task where each individual depends
on and is accountable to each other.
Collaborative learning is heavily rooted in Vygotsky’s views that there exists a social
nature of learning which is shown through his theory of Zone of Proximal Development.
Often, collaborative learning is used as an umbrella term for a variety of approaches in
education. Thus, collaborative learning is commonly illustrated when group of students work
together to search for understanding meaning or solutions or to create a product of their
learning. Collaborative learning activities can include collaborative writing, group projects,
joint problem solving, debates, study teams, and other activities. The approach is closely
related to co-operative learning.
Alternatively, collaborative learning occurs when individuals are actively engaged in
a community in which learning takes place through explicit or implicit collaborative efforts.
Collaborative learning has often been portrayed as a cognitive process by which adults
participate as facilitators of knowledge and children as receivers.
Principles of Collaborative Learning
Collaborative learning is based on the view that knowledge is a social construct.
Collaborative activities are most often based on the four principles:
 The learner/student is the primary focus of instruction.
 ‘Interaction’ and ‘Doing’ are of primary importance.

2.  Working in groups is an important mode of learning.
 Structured approaches to develop solutions for real-world problems should be
incorporated into learning.
Peer learning, or peer instruction, is a type of collaborative learning that involves students
working in pairs or small groups to discuss concepts, or to find solutions to problems. This
often occurs in a class session after students are introduced to course material through
readings or videos before class or through instructor’s lectures. Similar to the idea that two
or three heads are better than one, through collaborative learning, students teach each other
by addressing misunderstandings and clarifying misconceptions.
Benefits of Collaborative Learning
o Develops higher level thinking skills
o Increases student retention
o Builds self-esteem in students
o Develops oral communication skills
o Encourages diversity understanding
o Enhances self-management skills
o Encourages student responsibility for kerning
o Develops social interaction skills
o Test anxiety is significantly reduced
o Creates a stronger social support system
Collaborative learning is similar to, but not the same as, co-operative learning. In co-operative
learning, the task is divided vertically. (i.e, members work more or less
concurrently on different aspects of a project) where as in collaborative learning, the task is
divided horizontally (i.e, members work together more or less sequentially on different
aspects of a project. Collaborative learning has been called by various names : co-operative
learning, collective learning, learning communities, peer learning, team learning etc. What
they have in common is that they all incorporate group work. However, collaboration is
more than co-operation collaborative learning includes students teaching one another,
students teaching the teacher, and of course the teacher teaching the students too. The basis
of collaborative learning is constructivism. Knowledge is constructed, and transformed by
the students. Learners do not passively receive knowledge from the teacher.
Teaching/Learning becomes a transaction between the students in the learning process.
In a collaborative learning environment, students gain confidence from observing that,
if their team-mates can solve problems, they will also be able to overcome them. Speaking in
front of a small group with which they are familiar, rather than in front of the whole class, is
also less stressful. In addition, participants are better able to accept criticism, since they
themselves are also allowed to criticize. They also form close friendships with their team-mates.
The students’ level of tolerance and acceptance no doubt is beneficial in real life
situations where one often has to be prepared to compromise.

3. Characteristics of a Collaborative Classroom
Collaborative classrooms seem to have four general characteristics. The first two
capture changing relationships between teachers and students. The third characterizes
teacher’s new approaches to instruction. The fourth address the composition of a
collaborative classroom.
1. Shared knowledge among teachers and students
2. Shared authority among teachers and students
3. Teachers as mediators
4. Heterogeneous grouping of students
1. Shared knowledge among teachers and students
In traditional classrooms, the dominant metaphor for teaching is the teacher as
information giver; knowledge flows only one way from teacher to student. In contrast, the
metaphor for collaborative classrooms is shared knowledge. The teacher has vital knowledge
about content, skills, and instruction, and still provides that information to students. However,
collaborative teachers also value and build upon the knowledge, personal experiences,
language, strategies, and culture that students bring to the learning situation.
2. Shared authority among teachers and students
In collaborative classrooms, teachers share authority with students in very specific
ways. In most traditional classrooms, the teacher is largely responsible for setting goals,
designing learning tasks, and assessing what is learned.
Collaborative teachers set specific goals within the framework of what is being
taught, provide options for activities and assignments that capture different student interests
and goals, and encourage students to assess what they learn. Collaborative teachers encourage
students' use of their own knowledge, ensure that students share their knowledge and their
learning strategies, treat each other respectfully, and focus on high levels of understanding.
They help students listen to diverse opinions, support knowledge claims with evidence,
engage in critical and creative thinking, and participate in open and meaningful dialogue.
3. Teachers as mediators
As knowledge and authority are shared among teachers and students, the role of the
teacher increasingly emphasizes mediated learning. Successful mediation helps students
connect new information to their experiences and to learning in other areas, helps students
figure out what to do when they are stumped, and helps them learn how to learn. Above all,
the teacher as mediator adjusts the level of information and support so as to maximize the
ability to take responsibility for learning.

4. 4. Heterogeneous grouping of students
The perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds of all students are important for
enriching learning in the classroom. As learning beyond the classroom increasingly requires
understanding diverse perspectives, it is essential to provide students opportunities to do this
in multiple contexts in schools. In collaborative classrooms where students are engaged in a
thinking curriculum, everyone learns from everyone else, and no student is deprived of this
opportunity for making contributions and appreciating the contributions of others.
Interactions in a Collaborative Classroom
The collaborative classroom is alive with two-way communication. A major mode of
communication is dialogue, which in a collaborative classroom is thinking made public. A
major goal for teachers is to maintain this dialogue among students. Collaborative teachers
maintain the same sort of high-level talk and interaction when a whole class engages in
discussion. They avoid recitation, which consists primarily of reviewing, drilling, and
quizzing; i.e., asking questions to which the answer is known by the teacher and there is only
one right answer. In true discussion, students talk to each other as well as to the teacher,
entertain a variety of points of view, and grapple with questions that have no right or wrong
answers.
Sometimes both students and the teacher change their minds about an idea. In sum,
interactions in whole group discussion mirror what goes on in small groups. Still a third way
interactions differ in collaborative classrooms has been suggested above. Teachers, in their
new roles as mediators, spend more time in true interactions with students. They guide
students' search for information and help them share their own knowledge. They move from
group to group, modeling a learning strategy for one group, engaging in discussion with
another, giving feedback to still another.
Challenges and Conflicts
When teachers and schools move from traditional to collaborative instruction, several
important issues are likely to arise. They are important concerns for teachers, administrators,
and parents.
*Classroom Control
Collaborative classrooms tend to be noisier than traditional classrooms. Students need
opportunities to move about, talk, ask questions, and so on. Thus, we argue that the noise in
a smoothly running collaborative classroom indicates that active learning is going on.
*Individual Differences among Students
Different levels of students can be found in classrooms. This should be kept in mind
while planning a learning environment.

5. *Individual Responsibility for Learning
In collaborative classrooms, it is often difficult to assign individual grades. Effective
communication and collaboration are essential for becoming a successful learner. It is
primarily through dialogue and examining different perspectives that students become
knowledgeable, strategic, self-determined, and empathetic. Moreover, involving students in
real-world tasks and linking new information to prior knowledge requires effective
communication and collaboration among teachers, students, and others. Indeed, it is through
dialogue and interaction that curriculum objectives come alive.
Collaborative learning affords students enormous advantages not available from more
traditional instruction because a group--whether it be the whole class or a learning group
within the class--can accomplish meaningful learning and solve problems better than any
individual can alone.
CONCLUSION
Learning is most effective when learners have the opportunity to think and talk
together, to discuss ideas, question, analyze and solve problems without the constant
mediation of the teacher. Collaborative learning entails the whole process of learning.
Reaching the goal implies that students have helped each other to understand and learn. In
order to work towards a collaborative learning environment, the teachers must fully
understand their student’s performance level. A collaborative learning classroom will
strengthen the student’s learning. It will provide authentic experience and will help them
become life-long learners.
REFERENCE
1. Angelo,T (1993), Classroom Assessment Techniques, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass
Publishers.
2. Johnson,D.W, and Johnson,R.T (1997), Learning together and alone, Edina,
Interaction Book Company.
3. Bruffee,Kenneth (1999), Collaborative Learning, New York, John Hopkins University
Press.
4. Barkley,Elizabeth (2005) Collaborative Learning Techniques, California, Jossey-Bass
Publishers.
5. Brown,L, and Lara,V (2011) Professional Development Module on C0llaborative
Learning, Texas, JAI Publishers.