Unit 1 Collaboration

Objectives:
After completing this unit, students will be able to:
1. Describe how collaborative learning supports a deeper understanding of knowledge
2. List and explain ways collaborative learning builds cognitive strategy

Topic Overview:
Collaborative learning is the label used to describe any process where a small group of students work together, either independently or with assistance from experts outside the course, to resolve some problem statement. Often collaborative learning is used to give students a chance to apply basic concepts to address an issue similar to what might be encountered by professionals working in industry. Such cognitive practice is a common use of collaborative learning, but it is not the only use. For large classes, collaborative learning has been used to give students a chance to interact with some of their classmates. In those cases, the members of the small groups are changed for each collaborative learning project, so that the students get a chance to work with a larger number of classmates.

The advent of online learning has increased the interest in using collaborative learning tools. Since the students in online courses never have a chance to see each other, as there is no face-to-face lecture or lab sessions, collaborative learning gives students a chance to meet their classmates.

The problem that has been demonstrated in the meteoric rise of online learning is the fact that many course designers and instructors do not really understand how collaborative learning works. Done properly, collaborative learning provides tremendous advantages to the students. Done improperly, collaborative learning can frustrate students and reduce their satisfaction and interest in the course.

Studies have shown that effective collaborative learning can provide the following benefits:
1. Learners think through topics and procedures more thoroughly. They understand the nuances, needs, and dependencies of whatever concepts are being applied in the collaborative learning project. This truly provides deeper understanding, as students learn HOW something works, instead of just knowing WHAT something is.

2. Learners discover how to explore resources to learn more about a subject than presented in class. Many collaborative learning projects require students to expand upon the basic concepts demonstrated in class, so they need to investigate the "missing" information.

3. Learners practice critical thinking and brainstorming skills. Working with other students, they learn how to determine alternative approaches to solve a problem or address a situation. They also learn how to weigh those alternatives to select the most effective or most productive one.

4. Learners see how sharing ideas with other people can help clarify their thinking. They also learn how other people can help identify steps to take in order to complete their task.

5. Learners gain a respect for other people's opinions and ideas. They learn how to cooperate, compromise, and work together as a member of a team. This is crucial, as little effort in industry is done completely alone.

Skills developed:
Research has shown that effective collaborative learning builds the following skills in the students who participate:
1. high-level thinking, often called cognitive application
2. Negotiation and cooperative problem solving
3. Providing supportive feedback to others
4. Managing a complex project being worked upon by a team of people
5. Effective communication, especially inspirational and motivational communication
6. Self-starting and investigative techniques

Additional reading: Online Classroom, one of the major web sites to support online education, put together a comprehensive Focus paper on the subject of Collaborative Learning. It contains short articles on many important subjects. The article can be found here

Discussion: Use the Discussion tab to share your own experiences with collaborative learning. State what went well, and what didn't go so well. You will have the opportunity to reflect on these experiences in later units.