Topic 3

When I went to the
university in the 90’s it was basically books, exams, and essays. That was the
whole array of learning methods used. Apart from one course in Sociology where we had group work, that we hated. I think the reason was that no one explained the added value with working in groups and I think quite many of the group members relied on one group member to finalize the work. So, what is the reason for collaboration in the university world? And why does it fail?

 

To interact in a group is
an important way to learn the skills of teamwork and serves as an excellent
back-drop for self-reflection (Brindley et. al, 2009).
They also stress that access to education should mean “rather, it should
mean access to a rich learning environment that provides opportunity for
interaction and connectedness”. A qualitative learning environment
provides opportunity for interaction and possibility to interact. Brindley et.
al (2009) also points out that you get better learning outcomes with
collaborative learning.

In my own experience the benefits
of group work are also. You learn to se the problem/topic from different
angels, especially if you have a multicultural group. If some of the group members
are weaker in one area they get help from each other. And the same “favor” can
be paid back in another course where the situation is reversed. It is much easier
to make friends if you have group work (also on-line). It is less work for the teacher,
since the students then to ask each other (especially important in on-line
teaching). It serves different learning skills since someone might be the great
reader, another a fantastic writer and a third a great presenter, but it might
be that they need help to figure these roles out in the group. And in some of
the group works they might swap roles to work on their weaknesses.

What are then the pitfalls of on-line collaborative learning. The main issues that raise frustration with the learners is the lack of the teachers support, misunderstanding and unshared goals. These three are related to the clearness of the course and the instructors, which is important to succeed in any on-line course. Miss-communication, negotiation and communication problems are other issues that raises among learners. These problems can be partly abated with clear written contracts which includes, how do we communicate, what are the rules in the group etc. Als the individual contributions imbalance can be managed with a contract, partly or fully. (Capdeferro & Romero, 2012). Of course, these suggestions do not solve all the problems with group work. But the frustration of group work is also a great learning source for working life, where there are constant conflicts in the work environment that you need to deal with.

Creating Effective Collaborative Learning Groups in an Online Environment Jane E. Brindley and Christine Walti
University of Oldenburg, German. Lisa M. Blaschke
University of Maryland University College, USA

Are Online Learners Frustrated with Collaborative Learning Experiences? Neus Capdeferro and Margarida Romero
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Spain, 2012