When we were working on countries and nationalities in my A1.1 level English class of 9^th grades, I formed groups of 4. I assigned each group a country. They were supposed to prepare a poster and a PowerPoint presentation. I let them decide who would be the graphic designer, the presenter, the researcher and the grammar controller. Each one had a duty they chose and they needed to work collaboratively so that every part of the project would be completed. This activity is an example of high level of collaboration because the duties are like the pieces of a puzzle. If one is missing, it is not comlete. What students are supposed to do is clear.   

Low level of collaboration 

Students worked together as pairs. I assigned them to compare the different aspects of life now and then using “used to”. They were supposed to present together. Each one searched for the life in the past from the internet and combined what they at the end. They presented their work but there was low collaboration because all they did about collaboration was to put what they found on a document and present it one after another. This is an example of level of collaboration because the investigation part was not structured for fostering collaboration.

Below you will find the empty template of the collaborative learning scenario and six examples of scenarios focusing on different topics and aspects.

Following that, you will see some examples of lesson plans developed by participants in the MOOC's previous edition, which employ the Learning Designer and implement collaborative learning approaches. You can use these examples as inspiration for the final learning activity (lesson plan).

Please note that the template of a learning scenario and that of a lesson plan in the Learning Designer differ in structure. The learning scenario template is broader and designed to include contextual aspects, including assessment and final reflection. The lesson plan template focuses on the description of each learning activity.

In this video we hear from a physical educator in Greece, who talks about her experience of assessing the collaborative learning of 6- to 11-year-olds. 

Her methods are highly good. She considered three aspects for assessing them; individual perforamance, group performance and group's functinality. I especially find "group's functionality" factor very useful because it assesses, regulates and enhances the process and this way keeps students effectively collaborate. The questions she asks makes students' learning process easier.

Luís Valente, Instituto de Educação, Universidade do Minho, CO-LAB Project (2016). CO-LAB Guidelines for Assessing Collaborative Learning in the Classroom

The guidelines include:

Luís Valente & Maria João Gomes, Instituto de Educação, Universidade do Minho, Creative Classroom Lab Project (2014). COLLABORATION & ASSESEMENT: THEORY AND PRACTICE - 

Tan Huynh, Empowering ELLs blog, 2017. Collaborating for ELLs Serie – Teacher Collaboration: www.empoweringells.com/category/collaboration/

European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2015. The Teaching Profession in Europe: Practices, Perceptions, and Policies. Eurydice Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. 

European Commission Joint Research Centre (2015). Teaching Practices in Primary and Secondary Schools in Europe: Insights from Large-Scale Assessments in Education. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union