Collaboration has been on my mind for the
past weeks. What is the difference between collaboration and traditional group
work? Jane A. Scheuermann (5.2.2018) writes that collaborating learning needs a
group, the learners are accountable to each other and the social skills are improved.
There is also is culture of sharing and helping. In collaborative learning, the
process is in the focus, not the product. Traditional group work results to
more free riders, less interaction, helping and sharing. It emphasis on the
product, not the learning process. In the beginning, you split up the task and
in the end you glue it together. When working like this the members do not get
a broad understanding, but learn only about their own block of the work.
Embedded in these thoughts of Scheuermann
are also the selling points of collaborative learning. Other researchers do
also emphasis the importance of collaboration for learning. Brindley, Blaschke &
Walti. (2009). According to them the learning will becomes deeper and critical
thinking skills develop. Collaboration also offers possibilities for reflection
and co-creation of knowledge.
When working in collaboration with others
it is important to have a curious mind: to be curious of the world and to be
curious to get to know new people. You can use several frameworks as a teacher if
you want to engage your students in this curious tour in knowledge. One of them
is the community of inquiry. In a community of learning, the teacher and the
student, are creating a deep and meaningful learning experience. This happens through
the development of three interdependent elements – social, cognitive and
teaching presence. In this educational framework the teachers role (together
with all members) is to support the discourse, set the climate and regulate
learning. (https://coi.athabascau.ca/coi-model/)
Picture from: http://www.thecommunityofinquiry.org/coi
It is challenging to get the educational experience
right. But by focusing on these elements presented in the community of inquiry
model you can get it right as a teacher. Brindley, Blaschke & Walti, (2009)
give us some more hints:
- facilitate in the beginning
- create a good balance between structure
and autonomy
- nurture a sense of community
- monitor student activity
closely and actively
- find relevant group tasks
- choose tasks which demand
collaboration
- provide sufficient time
Resources:
Brindley, J., Blaschke, L. M. & Walti,
C. (2009). Creating effective collaborative learning groups in an online
environment. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance
Learning, 10(3). Available here.
Scheuermann, J. A. (5.2.2018) Group vs.
Collaborative Learning: Knowing the Difference Makes a Difference. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/course-design-ideas/group-vs-collaborative-learning-knowing-difference-makes-difference/
http://www.thecommunityofinquiry.org/coi
https://coi.athabascau.ca/coi-model/
