This document discusses the balance between individual and collaborative work for creativity and learning. It notes that while collaboration has benefits for extroverts, it can stifle creativity for introverts who work better alone. Groupthink and going along with the majority can discourage independent thought. The conclusion advocates exposing students to both individual and collaborative work to harness the strengths of different personalities and allow hidden talents to emerge for introverts through individual work.

1. When Collaboration killsWhen Collaboration kills
CreativityCreativity
The Power of Working AloneThe Power of Working Alone
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2. Why this topic?Why this topic?
Personal experience
Student support team
VC Learn
Quiet by Susan Cain
Acknowledgement of different students,
situations and learning environments
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3. Innovative learning and teaching
Challenge mode of delivery of knowledge
Little change in academic content
Change and evolving of personality make-
up of students
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4. Freedom of
choice of time
Place
Contribution
Needs to be driven
Offer opportunities not available in face to
face space
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Online PortalsOnline Portals

5. Requires
Interaction
Team/group work
Participation
Collaboration
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Face to FaceFace to Face

6. IntrovertsIntroverts
 Visual and physical withdrawal
 Fear of participation
 Fear of being ‘laughed at’
 Introspective
 Insightful
 Contribution online is
Safe
Creative
Intuitive
Academically sound
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7. ExtrovertExtrovert
Verbally interaction
Confident
Noisy excitement of collaborative
interactions
Gregarious
Noisily participatory
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8. 8
http://www.theenglishstudent.com/blog/introvert-or-extrovert

9. CombinationCombination
Maximise both extrovert and introvert
students
Identify
Quiet
Sensitive
Serious
Creative
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Loud
Confident
Expressive

10. 10
http://dsmartins.com/category/ambiverts/
No one person is 100% of either end of the spectrum
Usually a mixture – Ambivert
Usually one type being more dominant
‘Closet’ introvert
Display gregarious, outwardly social persona
Revert to the quiet personal world of their own.

11. Harness strengths of both extremes
To stretch academic and life skills
Create opportunities for
Academic
Individual
Collaborative learning
Acknowledge individuals
Strengths
Weakness
Values
Responsibilities
Accountabilities 11

12. ScreenagersScreenagers
Relationship with devices
Creative in an individualist environment
(online)
Virtual collaboration
Social strangers
Device driven gregarious animal
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13. 13Current cohort of educators
Currentstudents
Incoming!!!!!!

14. CollaborationCollaboration
“Collaboration in its simplest, and most
understandable form, is getting individuals,
who may or may not have similar interests,
to work together in an organised endeavour
to a satisfying and most appropriate group
end” (Royal, 2014).
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15. 15
http://www.ga.businessgrowthservice.greatbusiness.gov.uk

16.  Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas
into reality.
 Creativity is characterised by the ability to perceive the
world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make
connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena,
and to generate solutions.
 Creativity involves two processes:
thinking,
then producing.
 Imaginative – having ideas
 Creative – carrying out ideas.
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CreativityCreativity

17. 17
http://kclfarm.com/product/a-day-of-creativity-and-color/

18. 18
“Groupthink occurs when a group makes faulty or
ineffective decisions for the sake of reaching a
consensus” (Hartzell, n.d.)
“The New Groupthink elevates teamwork above all
else” (Cain, 2013)
Participants are encouraged (coerced) to agree
with the majority viewpoint.
Peer pressure used to obtain conformity.
In my opinion Groupthink stifles individual
creativity, spontaneity and ‘out of the box’ thinking in
group members.
GroupthinkGroupthink

19. 19
http://peterskeltonnlpcoach.com/group-think-company-organization-spell/

20.  Primary school – groups of desks
 Secondary school – assessments as a group
 Tertiary education – individual effort is diluted into
group final output.
 Stronger more confident participants over-rule
quiet less assertive participants.
 Consensus through domination
 Lazy student
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Group WorkGroup Work

21. 21
http://primemag.me/10-reasons-group-work-legal-form-torture/

22. Academic LearningAcademic Learning
Confident
Critical
Individualist thinking
Problem solving
Group thinking and team work is a critical
life skill
Not at the cost of compromise
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23. Encourages electronic brainstorming
Anonymity of Blogs and Social Networks
Solitary thinker can safely
Offer opinions
Share information
Dave Plunkert offers the opinion that ‘this
is why the internet has yielded such
wondrous collective creations’
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OnlineOnline

24. 24

25. 25
Collaborative vsCollaborative vs
Individual CreativityIndividual Creativity
 Diverse teaching platform
 Extroverts encouraged to
Listen
Understand
Acknowledge differing views
Introverts encouraged to
Offer opinions
Interact
Be different

26. Concentration:
exclusive attention to one object.
Attention:
a capacity to maintain selective or sustained
concentration
 http://dictionary.reference.com/
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27.  Our Gen Z students can have the TV on, their
devices open and still be able to practice as they
have developed the ability to be alone in
amongst their social distractions.
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28. Rethink delivery methods
Environment is dynamic
Current cohort of students:
Multitalented
Multiprocessing
Don’t retain information
Search for information
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Learning and teachingLearning and teaching

29. 29

30. Sample from ITSB - Learning Unit 6: Oral Presentations
‘Instructions:
1.As a group, research the topic above closely and carefully consider
the injustice that has already been done.
2.Return to this screen and click the link above the red arrow to open
the Wiki tool.
3.Create a wiki in which you, as a group:
– Indicate whether or not you agree with calls to exonerate all
convicts.
– who were affected by incorrect forensic assumptions.
•Show/submit evidence ………………..
NOTE: The final product will be a collective effort from everybody in
the group. If you do not agree with input from another student, make
changes and/or corrections and briefly motivate (in brackets) why you
have done so.’
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31. Introverted quietly academic student
wanting challenges
Extrovert student busy socially – too busy
to study/practice – Dr Google
Superficial information only
Require innovation within and outside of
formal lectures
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33. ConclusionConclusion
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Introvert
Usually shy, gentle, creative, online participation,
1/3 of population
Hidden talents – lost through collaboration
Extrovert
Gregarious, participatory within noisy distractive
collaboration
Teaching is very much about ‘art’ and less
‘science’, where instinct, informed by
experience, is crucial.

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References & ReadingsReferences & Readings
Cain, S., 2013. Quiet. London: Penguin Books.
Hartzell, S., n.d. Study.com. [Online]
Available at: http://study.com/academy/lesson/group-think-definition-examples.html
Learning, O., 2012. Online Learning Insights. [Online]
Available at: https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/online-groups-cooperative-or-
collaborative/
[Accessed 2015].
Plunkert, D., 2012. Dallas News. [Online]
Available at: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/sunday-commentary/20120127-susan-cain-when-
collaboration-kills-creativity.ece
[Accessed 2015].
Royal, K., 2014. EdTech Review. [Online]
Available at: http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/1527-what-does-collaboration-in-education-
really-mean
[Accessed 2015].