Collaboration by Xiaowei Ding

Collaborative vs Cooperative learning - Two terms are used interchangeably

xdin161 — 2021-08-19 03:26:52 UTC

A collaborative (or cooperative) learning approach involves students working together on activities or learning tasks in a group small enough to ensure that everyone participates. Students in the group may work on separate tasks contributing to a common overall outcome, or work together on a shared task. This is distinct from unstructured group work.

Some collaborative learning approaches put pairs, groups or teams of mixed achievement to work in competition with each other in order to drive more effective collaboration. There is a very wide range of approaches to collaborative and cooperative learning involving many different kinds of organisation and tasks. can also be considered as a type of collaborative learning, but is reviewed as a separate topic in the Toolkit.

More details are available from the Education Review Office website.

What is collaborative learning?

xdin161 — 2024-09-02 02:17:26 UTC

Collaborative learning encompasses activities ranging from classroom discussions to problem-solving in groups to working in teams throughout a semester. Tasks involving collaboration can be tightly structured or more spontaneous, based on students' questions and ideas. The goal of collaborative learning can be to either produce a clearly delineated product or drive participation in creating shared knowledge.

Collaborative learning can include experiential, problem-centred, and student-centred instruction. It is based on the premise that teachers need to “create a context where learners can discover on their own and successfully reconstruct their understanding of the world around them” (Macgregor, 1990, p. 21). Collaborative learning builds on the theory that students need to work actively with new information or skills to integrate this knowledge with their existing understanding.

More details are available at the University of Queensland website.

Design elements for collaborative learning

xdin161 — 2024-09-02 02:32:13 UTC

1. Positive interdependence: This involves designing the collaborative tasks to ensure students cannot complete the collaborative tasks individually but depend on their group members to complete the tasks and cannot compete them without each other.

2. Promotive interaction: This involves including time and opportunities within the design of the course for students to meet in person or online to discuss the course content and tasks, provide feedback and encourage and motivate each other to participate and learn.

3. Individual accountability: This involves designing tasks in such a way that students feel part of the group, have ownership over the process, feel (and are held) accountable for completing the tasks (eg this could include a group assessment form that students fill in individually evaluating how much effort they and their teammates put into the tasks).

4. Social skills: Ensuring that students have ample time and opportunities within the course to bond, get to know each other, trust and feel comfortable with each other. This will give space for students to develop leadership, decision-making, problem-solving and communication skills (eg include ice-breaker activities throughout the course).

5. Group self-evaluating/reflection: Ensuring that the course includes tasks in which students reflect on their collaboration, progress and learning (eg individual/group reflection portfolios).

More details from the European Association for International Education website.

Forms of collaborative learning

xdin161 — 2024-09-02 02:38:41 UTC

Think-pair-share
- Give students a discussion prompt, question, short problem, or issue to consider.
- Individuals work briefly on a response.
- Peers report their responses to each other in pairs.
- Some (or all) pairs summarize their discussion for the large group.
Problem-based learning (PBL)
- Problem-based learning (or PBL) introduces a specific problem to students, usually in groups, over an extended period and requires them to understand the problem and propose a response or solution. PBL begins to approximate the sort of work scholars do (think of the "problem" as a research question) and how students may need to approach problems after higher education.
Guided Design
- Guided Design, a type of PBL, leads students through steps as they work on a problem. So, for instance, groups might do preliminary research and report back simultaneously, identify stakeholders and report back simultaneously, propose compromises and report back simultaneously, etc.
Case study
- Case studies provide students with sample problems from experience.
Simulation
- Simulations ask students to adopt roles as they perform the work of a problem-solving group. For example, students of government and politics might take on the roles of business owners, city council members, and neighbourhood advocates in a zoning dispute. For instance, mooting for law students.
Peer teaching
- Peer teaching is a very effective way for student-as-teacher and student-as-learner to learn new concepts.
Small group discussion
- Small group discussion offers students the chance to interact with peers, to listen, and to teach.
Peer editing
- Peer editing guides students as they review each others' drafts of written work. This foundation of the craft of academic writing serves to teach both the editor (who must learn to read critically and communicate criticism) and the writer (who must learn to consume, evaluate, and incorporate feedback).
Jigsaw strategy
- The jigsaw strategy breaks problems into small parts and assigns parts to groups who report back, contributing a piece of the puzzle's solution. For example, each student in a group might be assigned a distinct article to read on a shared topic or issue; each would present that article to the group to synthesize all articles.
Using roles in group work
- Instructors can assign group roles to increase the structure and student engagement in collaborative activities. Group roles can promote accountability and support students in staying on task.

More details from "Teamwork & Collaborative Learning".

How do we understand this capability? What do we mean by "reciprocal", "productive" and "whanaungatanga"? (open to the team discussion)

xdin161 — 2024-09-05 03:02:08 UTC

whanaungatanga

(noun) relationship, kinship, sense of family connection - a relationship through shared experiences and working together, which provides people with a sense of belonging. It develops as a result of kinship rights and obligations, which also serve to strengthen each member of the kin group. It also extends to others with whom one develops a close familial, friendship or reciprocal relationship.

Why use collaborative learning?

xdin161 — 2024-09-05 03:10:50 UTC

Ten benefits of collaborative learning:

Enhancing problem-solving skills: Working on a problem or task as a group helps individuals develop their problem-solving skills and discover new approaches to handling various work situations.
Fostering social interaction - Solid social skills contribute to forming and maintaining strong personal and professional relationships.
Promoting diversity - As a result, collaborative learning fosters open-mindedness and acceptance in the workplace.
Improving communication skills - The more individuals practice communication skills in these environments, the stronger these skills tend to become.
Inspiring creativity - This collaborative exchange sparks creative synergies, culminating in the development of an innovative interface that integrates user experience with cutting-edge design.
Building trust - This trust can carry over into future interactions in the workplace, potentially leading to increased productivity and morale.
Boosting confidence - A supportive group atmosphere can help them build confidence, encouraging them to share their opinions and contribute to discussions. Consequently, their confidence may grow as they realise their value to the group.
Encouraging commitment - Engaged individuals in their work are often more productive and have a more positive attitude.
Fostering enjoyment - When learning experiences are enjoyable, people are more likely to remember what they learned and look forward to learning more in the future.
Cultivating critical thinking - Critical thinking is crucial for conflict resolution, idea generation, and ensuring projects are completed smoothly and efficiently.

More details are from "Ten Main Benefits of Collaborative Learning".

Research shows that educational experiences that are active, social, contextual, engaging, and student-owned lead to deeper learning:

Development of diverse skill sets: higher-level thinking, oral communication, self-management, and leadership skills.
Increase in knowledge retention and application, self-esteem, and responsibility.
Exposure to and an increase in understanding of diverse perspectives.
Preparation for real-life social and employment situations.
Improved peer support and feedback.

More details from the Cornell University website and A 2024 Guide to Collaborative Learning.

Considerations for using collaborative learning

xdin161 — 2024-09-05 03:13:46 UTC

Introduce group or peer work early in the semester to set clear student expectations.
Establish ground rules  for participation and contributions.
Plan for each stage of group work.
Carefully explain to your students how groups or peer discussions will operate and how students will be graded.
Help students develop the skills they need to succeed, such as using team-building exercises or introducing self-reflection techniques.
Consider using written contracts.
Incorporate  self-assessment and  peer  assessment for group members to evaluate their and others' contributions.

More details from the Cornell University website.

Best practices

xdin161 — 2024-09-05 03:35:33 UTC

Do not simply put students in groups with vague directions to discuss a topic. Instead, focus the discussions on a question or topical conflict.
Organise groups with a purpose. Have a learning objective in mind: Would it make more sense to assign groups randomly, allow peers to organize themselves into groups, and place students with similar performance? There are rationales for each of the preceding; just be sure your strategy is not arbitrary.
Always require a product of groups’ work, even if it is as informal as a summary of their discussion. Accountability will motivate students to put in their full effort, and the product will serve as a means of assessing their understanding.
Consider ways for assigning roles, but resist appointing a “leader,” upon whom more responsibility will fall than their peers. Instead, think about roles that share work (e.g., facilitator, recording secretary, spokesperson).
Long-term collaborative projects require regular interim reports.
Be attentive to student schedules. If requiring regular collaboration that demands face-to-face meetings, allow those meetings to take place during class.
As with any method, be wary of overuse. If each class meeting relies on group work, learning may no longer last than if each class relied exclusively on uninterrupted lectures.
Always prepare and distribute a grading rubric for collaborative projects that will be graded.

More details from "Teamwork & Collaborative Learning".

Canvas/Canvas-integrated collaboration tools

xdin161 — 2024-09-05 03:50:15 UTC

Canvas groups
Google workspace
Perusall
FeedbackFruits
Microsoft OneDrive
Zoom

More info from the TeachWell website.

Other tools

xdin161 — 2024-09-05 03:57:13 UTC

Padlet
Piazza
Slack
Microsoft Teams
Trello
Miro
Lucid

Challenges of collaborative learning

xdin161 — 2024-09-05 04:01:25 UTC

Unequal participation - To overcome this challenge of collaborative learning, scholars and teachers adopted a series of ways to encourage maximum student participation by creating scripts or role distributions or rules of discussions or using tutors or, experts or other mechanisms, helping the interaction be conducted collaboratively and cohesively.
Conflict Resolution
Various strategies can help to resolve conflicts among group members. Conflict is a healthy and normal part of working together, and resolution is not always the answer. Finding ways to foster resolution while upholding the value of conflict is essential.
Communication barriers
Seamless communication between students is crucial to fostering collaboration. However, students' ability to communicate instantly reduces when they speak different languages. These language barriers effectively stop them from sharing ideas and completing tasks. Teachers must intervene to overcome communication barriers by setting up communication guidelines. Respectful feedback, active listening, and clear expectations for communication can help students work together. Teachers can organise team-building exercises that serve as icebreakers to build trust between group members.
Diverse learning styles and cultures
When students in a group have varied learning styles and cultural backgrounds, it can result in misunderstandings. Adaptive learning solutions and interactive platforms will enable students to engage in group activities. Sensitising students with respect to cultural differences will help them find common ground and build better relationships.

More details from "Breaking Down Barriers: 5 Collaboration Challenges for School and College Students "

How to staircase/scaffold?

xdin161 — 2024-09-05 04:01:49 UTC

Prompt:

Teaching plan on scaffolding the collaborative learning through level 1 to level 4 of the university

Copilot answer:

Creating a teaching plan to scaffold collaborative learning from Level 1 to Level 4 at the university involves gradually increasing the complexity and independence of tasks as students progress. Here’s a structured approach:

Level 1: Introduction to Collaborative Learning

Objective: Introduce students to basic collaborative skills and group dynamics.

Activities:

Icebreakers: Simple activities to help students get to know each other.
Think-Pair-Share: Students think about a question individually, discuss with a partner, and then share with the class.
Group Projects: Small projects where roles are clearly defined to ensure participation.

Scaffolding Techniques:

Guided Instructions: Provide step-by-step instructions and examples.
Role Assignment: Assign specific roles to each group member to ensure accountability.
Frequent Check-ins: Regularly monitor and provide feedback.

Level 2: Developing Collaborative Skills

Objective: Enhance students' ability to work effectively in groups.

Activities:

Case Studies: Analyze and discuss case studies in groups.
Peer Teaching: Students teach a concept to their peers.
Collaborative Writing: Group assignments that require collective writing efforts.

Scaffolding Techniques:

Structured Templates: Provide templates for case study analysis and collaborative writing.
Peer Feedback: Implement peer review sessions to encourage constructive feedback.
Facilitated Discussions: Guide discussions to ensure all voices are heard.

Level 3: Applying Collaborative Learning

Objective: Apply collaborative skills to more complex and open-ended tasks.

Activities:

Project-Based Learning: Long-term projects that require research, planning, and execution.
Debates: Organize debates on relevant topics to encourage critical thinking and teamwork.
Problem-Based Learning: Solve real-world problems in groups.

Scaffolding Techniques:

Milestone Checkpoints: Set intermediate deadlines to keep projects on track.
Resource Provision: Provide access to necessary resources and research materials.
Reflective Journals: Encourage students to reflect on their group work experiences.

Level 4: Mastery of Collaborative Learning

Objective: Achieve mastery in collaborative learning and leadership.

Activities:

Capstone Projects: Comprehensive projects that integrate knowledge from previous levels.
Leadership Roles: Assign leadership roles within groups to manage and delegate tasks.
Peer Mentoring: Senior students mentor juniors in collaborative projects.

Scaffolding Techniques:

Autonomy Support: Gradually reduce guidance to promote independence.
Advanced Feedback: Provide detailed and specific feedback on group dynamics and outcomes.
Showcase Events: Organize events where students present their projects to a wider audience.

General Tips for Scaffolding Collaborative Learning

Clear Objectives: Define clear learning objectives for each level.

Incremental Challenges: Gradually increase the complexity of tasks.

Supportive Environment: Create a supportive environment that encourages risk-taking and learning from mistakes.

Continuous Assessment: Use formative assessments to monitor progress and adjust scaffolding as needed.

By progressively building on collaborative skills, students can develop the confidence and competence needed to work effectively in teams, preparing them for real-world challenges [1] [2] [3].

Source: Conversation with Copilot, 12/09/2024

Obstacles to effective collaborative learning

xdin161 — 2024-09-05 04:02:15 UTC

Lack of collaborative skills - Students' lack of collaborative skills such as accepting opposing viewpoints, giving elaborate explanations, providing and receiving help, and negotiating, prevented them working productively in groups.
Free riding - when collaborating on group assignments, some peers contributed the most, while others worked less, and some did not even put in effort when completing their tasks.
Competence status - Students reported that high-status students in their learning groups were generally considered active, competent or senior. They were often influential members whose ideas were mostly accepted by most of their group members without dispute. Therefore, they tended to underestimate the intellectual capacity of low-status members, thus dominating the group.
Friendship - Students described that feelings of friendship in the group sometimes inhibited them from working seriously and constructing sound arguments.

More details from the article Collaborative learning practices: teacher and student perceived obstacles to effective student collaboration

Collaborative vs Cooperative learning - Two terms have similarities and differences

xdin161 — 2024-09-09 21:11:24 UTC

Collaborative learning is a broad concept covering many methods and models. In contrast, the cooperative type constitutes only one of the terms falling under the collaborative framework.
Collaborative learning - The basis for it comes from the concept of social constructivism. Lev Vygotsky, the "father" of this idea, emphasized that human learning is a social process shaped by interactions with peers and family.
Cooperative learning - follows different theories. One is the cooperation and competition theory, developed by Morton Deutch. Under this framework, cooperation is only possible when positive goal interdependence results from all members reaching their goals together.
Collaborative learning is more student-centred, while cooperative learning is more teacher/facilitator-centred.

More details from "Collaborative vs Cooperative Learning: Which Will Suit Your Course Best?"

Tips/Best practices

xdin161 — 2024-09-12 03:25:43 UTC

Facilitating collaborative learning involves creating the contexts, tasks, and support students need to learn and work together effectively.

Problem-centred instruction

Guided inquiries. In Guided Inquiry Learning (GIL), you develop a goal and a process for students to follow. Students are then expected to work collaboratively through scaffolded inquiry to complete the task. Within this scaffolding, you might provide students with a process that includes problem identification, hypothesis formulation, experiments, discussion, conclusions and peer-to-peer communication.
Case studies. To use a case study approach, identify a scenario for students to investigate, which should be challenging and complex enough to yield multiple solutions. Then, provide context through additional resources or information for students to work through collaboratively. Structure this group work and outline expectations and a process for sharing products or solutions. You might also provide critical information to students in advance to prepare for the case and use collaborative time effectively.
Simulations. Simulations allow students to enact or demonstrate what they have learned. To design a practical simulation, provide students with a situation based on real-world practice problems. You might add time constraints or have students collaborate in uncertain conditions and/or with incomplete information to challenge their critical thinking and knowledge application. Consider assigning roles to students to scaffold the simulation experience further.

Following up with a debrief or discussion is essential with the above approaches. You might also include check-in times during the activity when students can share their learning and reflections and engage with feedback.

Group writing

assigning a group writing task with assigned sections or roles (less collaborative)
assigning a group writing task with no assigned sections or roles – students determine contributions (more collaborative)
assigning individual writing tasks with structured peer review.

Peer teaching and learning

Peer teaching can be beneficial for students to consolidate their learning. Students can define their knowledge through teaching others and actively fill in gaps to develop new conceptual frameworks. When conducting a peer teaching activity, providing students with instructions or written prompts for teaching, asking questions, and giving feedback may be helpful.

Some examples of peer teaching activities include:

role-plays
reciprocal peer teaching (taking turns to explain things to each other)
teaching peers through case study presentations or article summaries
problem-based learning scenarios.

Discussion groups or tutorials

It would be best to begin with an icebreaker or introduction activity to help create an inclusive environment.
Please encourage students to be constructive and positive and to establish ground rules within their discussion groups.
Once groups appear to collaborate effectively in a discussion, remember to step back and help participants become independent learners.
Debrief discussions by asking follow-up questions, by asking students to share interesting points, or by asking students to write critical comments on a whiteboard.

More details can be found on the Collaborative Learning page of the University of Queensland.

Examples

xdin161 — 2024-09-12 03:36:05 UTC

Examples from the TeachWell Digital

Conditions for co-operation

xdin161 — 2024-09-17 04:16:52 UTC