Collaborative Learning

I believe collaborative work is a useful strategy to help students develop understanding of concepts and become independent thinkers. It allows teachers to build a learning community in which students are able to work together to support each other’s learning. When using collaborative work, students become active participants of each lesson and the teacher becomes a guide that supports students throughout the learning process. I use collaborative work in my classroom because it allows me to meet the needs of my Special Education and English Language Learners. When my students work together they are able to put their strengths together to solve academic problems and complete different tasks. They are able to get along and work together to apply

To make learning collaborative, students must take responsibility for their learning. Therefore, students must watch assigned videos or do assigned readings on a topic before class to maximize time for discussion or collaborative work. In class, the first thirty minutes will be a mini-lecture on the concept they learned and a classroom discussion. This will also be time for the students to ask questions and discuss the material with other students in a constructive manner.

This part is divided into four sections. The first section is about the definition of cooperative learning approach. This section includes, theories of cooperative learning and types of models describing cooperative learning. The second section is focused on differences between western educational systems and the Chinese educational system, as well as advantages and disadvantages for the cooperative learning approach in the Chinese classroom. The third section illustrates the Chinese education situation and current cooperative learning situation in China. The last section emphasizes research that was done previously about teachers’ and students’ perceptions towards the cooperative learning approach. Lastly, I will justify that the limitation of available information in regards to my topic lead me to do further research in this area.

Allowing student collaboration in the classroom introduces the students to a variety of skills that they will use when they become adults. It teaches the students the fundamental skills associated with working as a collective unit toward a common goal. It also teaches the students time management, resource allocation and communication skills (McQuerrey, 2018). While

In today’s educational environment, the need to evaluate an educator’s approach to methods and techniques of teaching has reached a critical level. The collaborative culture in the schools allows for sharing of expertise and ideas which make for a strong learning environment (Grand Canyon University, 2012). While various collaborative approaches to education have, according to recent surveys, found favor by many, resistance still abounds. The effectiveness of collaborative approaches varies based upon leadership, time constraints, budget restraints, willingness of the participants, and personal observation in the learning environment. In spite of its limitations, one can argue that a collaborative approach to classroom education is an effective method of increasing the learning opportunities for all students.

Educators and researchers have never stopped the examination of the importance and relevance of collaborative learning that are encouraged by middle schools. When compared with studying alone, I personally believe that it is far more beneficial to students when working in groups for the following reasons.

Learning as a group consisted of working with others but also figuring out how to work with others. A person needs to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of their group to properly understand how to function efficiently in a group. If the members in the group are not able to work together and argue for the majority of the time, no work will get done. I had the luxury of having to deal with this task of having to discover which methods would work in order to work with others well and efficiently make a quality film. From past experiences, I have learned that groups work together well when everyone is on the same page. No one is confused and rarely questioning other people’s ideas. Also when communicating ideas, it is helpful to have everyone brainstorm. With everyone brainstorming about possible themes or ideas directed towards the project, it makes everyone feel involved in the process of completing the project and no one is left out. In reading different theorists, my ideas about how to work in groups was altered. The two theorists in which I studied and learned from were Knud Illeris and Etienne Wenger. Illeris’ theory emphasized that people that were learning had different backgrounds that affected their ability to learn. Illeris developed a chart in which the Basis, Internal Conditions, External Conditions all determined how people learned and how they applied the knowledge that they had. The Basis consists of the biology, psychology, and social science of the

Teamwork has a big amount of advantages which can be got by every member of the team. The article “Student’s benefits from learning in groups” (n.d.) illustrates the positive sides of group working and things that should be done in order to achieve benefits. Harvard publishes a guide to working in teams, with information significant to both tutors and students. Methods are the following: organizing the work and managing team activities; including everyone and their ideas; leading the group and focusing on a direction. As Hartley and Robson assert (1999, as cited

Krischner et al. (2006) in there article describes the social and cognitive factors driving teamwork in collaborative learning environments; mainly he focused on team learning beliefs and behaviors by performing different experiments. According to him a team is more than a group of individuals in the same space either physical or virtual. This article describes when and how teams in collaborative learning environments engage in building and maintaining mutually shared cognition and reveals conditions in the interpersonal context that contribute to engage in knowledge building practices. They present a team learning belief and behaviors model which is as shown in the figure:

Cooperative learning consist of five basic elements, 1) Positive Interdependence, 2) Face-to-face Interaction, 3) Individual Accountability, 4) Social Skills and 5) Group Processing. Research backs up Marzano’s cooperative learning strategy as a key component of a progressive learning tool. Positive interdependence is the idea that when students are grouped together, they will consciously be held accountable to one another and share in the responsibility of the project. Team members work together with the idea that each member plays a vital role in the achievement of their overall goal due to the obligation to the other members. Face-to-face Interaction involves students working together to teach each other the material. We have found, through various studies that one of the best ways to learn a given material is for each member of the group to teach a section to the rest of the group .Individual Accountability speaks for itself. When a student is held accountable for their portion of the project and is held accountable by their respective peers, they feel obligated to do their part of the project. The fourth part of cooperative learning is, in my opinion, the most important skill learned in this process, the Social Aspect. In the social dynamic of the group, students learn skills that will take them beyond the walls of the educational institution. Social skills will guide students in learning communication skills, decision making, cultural learning, conflict resolution,

Collaborative Learning refers to the grouping and pairing of learners for the purpose of achieving a learning goal. It is a learning in which the learners at various performance levels work together in small groups towards a common goal. The learners are responsible for one another's learning as well as their own. Thus, the success of one learner helps other students to be successful. Collaborative Learning is a relationship among learners that involves positive interdependence, individual accountability, interpersonal skills, face-to-face interaction and processing (reflecting on how well the team is functioning and how to function even

However in fact, both methods are very different and this is very important to understand that the differences between these two methods can be understood. Collaboration is a philosophy of interaction and personal lifestyle where individuals are responsible for their actions, including learning and respect the abilities and contributions of their peers; This is because, it is clear that collaborative learning itself emphasizes interaction between group members and not the end result of a task. In other contexts it can be stated that the quantity is focused and not quality. Thus, this study expects that all members of society to work (working)

Many different researchers in different academic fields undertook experimental studies to compare the effects of the cooperative learning methods and the traditional teaching methods on student learning and other outcomes. These varied fields are as follows: principles and methods of teaching (Kilic, 2008); and accounting education (Hwang, Lui & Tong, 2005); mathematics and science; Nattiv, 1994; Vaughan, 2002); social studies (Lampe, Rooze & Tallent-Runnels, 1996; Adeyemi, 2008); geography (Yager, Johnson, & Johnson, 1985); chemical bonding (Doymus, 2008a& Doymus, 2008b).

Collaborative learning is founded on the idea that the learning process is a naturally social act which requires the participants to talk among themselves. Collaborative learning involves small groups of students who act on a structured learning activity to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product. In simpler terms, the students work in groups to learn or understand a new concept they are studying. In this learning approach, it is important to understand that the students are accountable for individual work as well as the group work they do as a group in collaborative learning

Related Literature. According to Dr.Banerjee (2015) students gives more ideas about the task assigned to them in collaborative learning process. Each students has a very important role in having a collaborative work. Learning is what students “do” and not what they “get” as passive receivers. The teachers are the facilitators of the students and not the “giver” of knowledge. Through this process the students learn not by being fed the information, but rather giving their own insights on a certain topic as well as the insight of others. One of the benefits of Collaborative Learning is the vast difference of skills between all members. This would mean that diversity is an eminent part of Collaborative Learning with each member having specific