COLLABORATIVE LEARNING: PRINCIPLES, AUTHORS AND ACTIVITIES - ECONOMÍA - 2024

The collaborative learning occurs in every situation in which two or more people try to learn something together. Unlike in individual learning, people who do collaborative learning will be able to take advantage of the skills and resources of the other.

The main idea of ​​this type of learning is that knowledge can be created within a group through the interaction of several of its members. This can occur even though there are differences in the prior knowledge of the group participants.

The study of collaborative learning is responsible for discovering which environments and methodologies allow a situation to occur that fosters this type of experience. This type of learning can take place both in real life (such as in classrooms or work groups), and on the Internet.

Some of the typical collaborative learning activities may be group projects, collaborative writing, discussion groups, or study teams.

Basic principles of collaborative learning

Collaborative learning theory first emerged from the work of Lev Vygotsky, a 20th century Russian psychologist who proposed the zone of proximal development theory. This theory proposed the idea that, while there are things that we are not capable of learning individually, we can achieve them if we have outside help.

The theory of the zone of proximal development had a great importance in the development of modern psychology, especially in the field of education and social psychology. She raised one of the foundations of collaborative learning: the importance of communication and interaction with others when it comes to learning more effectively.

According to several authors, at each moment in which an interaction between two or more people occurs, collaborative learning can occur. Due to the benefits that have been found for this type of learning, modern education tries to encourage the appearance of situations in which it can occur.

According to Lejeune, the main characteristics of collaborative learning are the following:

• The existence of a common task for all those involved in the learning process.
• A willingness to collaborate among group members.
• Interdependence; In other words, the result of a person's work will depend on what others do.
• Individual responsibility of each of the members of the group.

Main benefits and risks of collaborative learning

Collaborative learning has become very important in modern classrooms due to the many benefits it is supposed to produce. Despite not being the perfect solution for all types of learning, it does help to carry out certain tasks more efficiently and constructively.

In cases where collaborative learning is carried out correctly, these are some of the main benefits it produces:

• Helps develop critical thinking and reasoning.
• Increase the memory of what has been learned.
• Promotes the improvement of students' self-esteem.
• Increase student satisfaction with the learning experience.
• Helps improve social, communication and emotional management skills.
• It stimulates the development of personal responsibility, since the work of each of the students will influence that of the others.
• Improves peer relationships and encourages heterogeneity in work groups.
• Increase students' expectations about the results of their own work.
• The anxiety that occurs in many learning contexts is reduced.

Due to the large number of benefits that collaborative learning brings, new educational systems try to use it in all possible contexts. However, because not all students learn in the same way, it may not be the most effective method for all components of a class.

For example, the most introverted students will not see as many benefits if a collaborative learning methodology is applied with them. This is so because interaction with other peers will tire them out and reduce the energy they have available for the learning process.

Therefore, it is the educator's task to decide when and with which students it will be appropriate to use collaborative learning strategies. Used in the right context, they can become a very valuable resource for the teaching process.

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The importance of teamwork has been known since ancient times. In fact, several historians and anthropologists think that one of the main causes of human evolution was precisely this ability to collaborate.

Socrates

Throughout history, different collaborative learning disciplines have been developed. Socrates, for example, was said to educate his students in small groups; and in the old guilds, the more advanced apprentices were in charge of teaching the less experienced.

Charles gide

But it was not until the sixteenth century that this trend began to apply in formal education. One of the first pedagogues to be concerned with the collaborative aspects of learning was Charles Gide, who laid the foundations for the collaborative system.

John dewey

Later, in the 19th century, team learning took on special relevance, especially in the United States. For example, John Dewey, an American philosopher, created a pedagogical system based on collaboration.

This thinker believed that the individual has to be educated to make his contribution to society, and he designed his pedagogical system based on this idea.

In the 20th century, scientific and academic psychology began to be concerned with the different processes that occur within a group; among them, was also collaborative learning.

Vygotsky's theory of collaborative learning

Two of the first psychologists to study learning within a group were Vygotsky and Luria. These Russian scholars based their theories on the works of Marx on the influence of society on the development of the person, but applied their ideas to smaller groups.

Vigotsky and Luria developed their theory of collaborative learning based on the idea that the human being is a social animal, which is built on its relationships with others. Therefore, the learning process is more effective and has more benefits when it occurs in a group context.

Several of Vygotsky's writings emphasize the importance of social relations within the learning process, saying that a balance must be sought between individual and group factors. Following a very typical idea of ​​constructivist learning, he thought that students create their own learning, both in groups and by themselves.

With his theory of the zone of proximal development, possibly one of the best known of the author, Vygotsky stated that there are certain learning that can only be carried out with the help of another person. In this way, in certain learning contexts there is a synergy that allows the maximum development of knowledge.

For Vygotsky, the role of the teacher is both that of guide and that of manager. In certain contexts, the teacher must transmit his knowledge directly to his students; but in others, it must be able to accompany them in the process of building their own knowledge together.

Contributions of Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget was a 20th century French psychologist, known for his contributions to the field of children's mental and emotional development. He is considered one of the most influential psychologists of the last century.

One of his main ideas is that social relationships are a fundamental factor for the intellectual development of people. According to him, children do not learn on their own, but by internalizing what they observe in their social environment.

The main way in which collaborative learning develops for this author is through social and cognitive conflict. According to Piaget, children, when exposed to ideas other than their own, will feel an imbalance that they have to overcome by building more complex and stable thoughts.

Therefore, the main benefit of collaborative learning would be co - construction: the new knowledge and learning that is reached after a collaborative process between students.

Collaborative learning in the constructivist pedagogical model

Collaborative learning is one of the most important points of the constructivist model, one of the educational approaches that more followers have right now.

In this type of pedagogical system, collaborative learning is a tool to facilitate communication, cooperation and inclusion of students.

Most of the authors of the constructivist current also attach great importance to collaborative learning.

For example, Crook (1998) believes that learning occurs when the student has to justify their ideas in front of their peers. On the other hand, Solé believes that the fact of sharing the information with the rest favors the student's self-esteem, increases their interest, and proposes challenges.

Examples of collaborative learning activities

In this section we will see some examples of activities that promote collaborative learning in the classroom.

"Ask your partner"

Each student has one minute to think of a challenging question that relates to the content of the class. Later they will have to do it to the person next to them.

If you want to take the activity to the next level, you can collect several questions to create a small exam.

«Put in common»

When a subtopic is completed within the class, the lesson stops, and students meet in small groups to compare their notes and ask themselves what they have not understood.

After a few minutes, questions that have not been answered are raised aloud.

"Mock debate"

Students should meet in groups of three. Within each of them, three roles are assigned to form a small debate.

One student must be in favor of an issue, another must be against, and the third will take notes and decide who is the winner of the debate.

Once the discussions are over, the students should share the results of their discussion with the rest of the class.

How to promote collaborative learning in the classroom?

As has been seen, collaborative learning is one of the most useful tools in the arsenal of teachers and educators. In this section of the article we will see several ways to promote this style of learning in the classroom.

Create group goals

For collaborative learning to emerge, it is necessary to set group goals, and divide the work necessary to meet them among students.

Establish medium-sized groups

With few exceptions, it is better to divide students into groups of 4 or 5. Smaller groups may be too limited, in the sense that different opinions will not always arise; and larger groups can be too chaotic to produce good results.

Encourage communication between students

One of the most important variables when establishing collaborative learning is safe and effective communication.

To achieve this, students have to feel comfortable expressing their ideas and opinions. This can also improve relationships within the classroom, as well as the self-esteem of each of the students.

Measure the results after the experience

A good idea to see if the collaborative learning task has been successful is to measure the knowledge on the subject before and after it occurs.

To do this, taking a short test before and after the task will allow you to know if the students have really learned more thanks to group work.

Create discussions on current affairs

Experts believe that working on projects through discussion, argumentation, and open-ended questions is one of the best ways to encourage learning.

To make these types of tasks much more stimulating, it is best to raise debates related to current issues, which really concern students.

In this way, students can work on their own communication skills, while learning more about the world around them.

References

1. "Collaborative learning" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: February 13, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
2. "Collaborative learning: Group Work" at: Center for Teaching Innovation. Retrieved on: February 13, 2018 from Center for Teaching Innovation: cte.cornell.edu.
3. "20 Collaborative learning tips and strategies for teachers" in: Teach Thought. Retrieved on: February 13, 2018 from Teach Thought: teachthought.com.
4. "Collaborative learning" at: Curtin University. Retrieved on: February 13, 2018 from Curtin University: clt.curtin.edu.au.
5. "44 Benefits of Collaborative Learning" in: Global Development Research Center. Retrieved on: February 13, 2018 from Global Development Research Center: gdrc.org.