Collaborative learning: what is it and how should we go about it?

‘Collaboration’ is not a new term in my dictionary but I have never taught of it in reference to similar but different terms used in the academic context—for instance, cooperation, and group work. Going through the assigned literature for topic three (Learning in communities – networked collaborative learning) and watching the webinar, I see that the conceptualization of “collaborative learning” is understood differently by many. The discussion I attended with my PBL group demonstrated to me how it is difficult to recognize some elements of collaborative learning from what we call “traditional learning”.

We attend courses, seminars and other academic events with the intention of achieving a common goal—learning. However, the intended learning outcome and what we end up learning from the participation of a course might be different. The Mentimeter™ response from the participants of the ONL181 demonstrates this. In my opinion, traditional learning is an arrangement when a student is in the classroom in an attempt to learn something new. Here a student will follow a lecture delivered by a teacher, read the assigned literature/watch videos, do assignments, and take exams. Of course, traditional learning might also involve such activities as group works and seminars. However, there are important points here. First, in traditional learning settings, a student has his/her goal which might be different than what is the intention of other participants. For instance, two students taking a research methodology course might have different interests (case studies, ethnography, data collection, data analysis, etc.) and learning outcomes in mind. Second, the students work individually towards achieving their goals of learning.

Collaborative learning, on the other hand, is a form of learning where individuals go about gaining knowledge about a particular issue together with others—participants with the same/similar goals. It is no surprise that individuals working for the same purpose often find it beneficial to work together. I found a definition of collaborative learning (Dillenbourg, 1999, p. 1) that captures the main essence of collaborative learning: “'collaborative learning' is a learning situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together.” This arrangement is different from the other term closely associated with collaborative learning. From the discussion in my PBL group and the webinar, I see that many participants use the term cooperation as a synonym in the context of online learning. However, I agree with the characterization of the subtle but important difference between the two terms as presented by Siemens (2002). The author argues, even though both collaboration and cooperation entail people working together the goal and motivation is different. Cooperation happens when people work together towards achieving their own individual purposes. Collaboration, on the other hand, is the sharing of ideas and resources towards a common end.

I truly acknowledge the benefit of collaborative learning as it improves our understanding of a specific topic through the facilitation of interactive-  and deep learning. Here, I conquer with Brindley et al. (2009) for their assertion which confirmed the significance of collaborative learning and its association with high learner satisfaction and retention that comes probably as a result of the sense of community during the collaboration process. As Dillenbourg (1991) and Brindley et al. (2009) put it, the fundamental requirement of a collaborative learning is that particular forms of interaction among people are expected to occur which in turn triggers effective learning mechanism. However, it is also worth mentioning that the success of collaborative learning is the function of many factors. I was surprised when I watched the webinar for the third topic. It looks like the list of factors affecting the outcome of ‘online collaborative learning’ is too long. Indeed, good communication, good facilitation and scaffolding, understanding of collaboration as well as the motivation of team members, and good software tools are ranked to be at the top of this list.

On the other hand, the importance of ‘bringing the right people in the team’ did not attract the attention of many garnering only 10% of the vote. In my opinion, the cornerstone of collaborative learning is the common learning goal of participants. Even though we have all the necessary tools, facilitation and communication, I am confident that the effort put to assemble the right people is important. As Capdeferro and Romero (2012) put it, a collection of individuals with unshared goals, commitment imbalance defeats the purpose of collaborative learning. I do also agree that the significance of symmetry of knowledge (Dillenbourg, 1999) which refers to the extent to which the participants of a collaborative team possess a similar level of knowledge. There is nothing more discouraging than a group dynamic which results in one student playing 'catch up' while the other is not challenged enough.

In conclusion, even though collaborative learning has become to be the norm in today’s educational environment, it is worth exploring the many factors affecting its effectiveness. I find the literature to be too much concerned with the issues of online platforms and tools for collaborative learning while little attention is given to on creating a situation where groups are formed with the right people possessing similar levels of commitment, shared goals as well as a similar level of knowledge.

References

Brindley, J., Blaschke, L. M., & Walti, C. (2009). Creating effective collaborative learning groups in an online environment. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 10(3), 1-18.

Capdeferro, N., & Romero, M. (2012). Are online learners frustrated with collaborative learning experiences? The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 13(2), 26-44.

Dillenbourg, P. (1999). What do you mean by 'collaborative learning?'. In Collaborative-learning: Cognitive and Computational Approaches, 1-19. Elsevier: Oxford

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: Learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1), January 2005. (Accessed:  2018-11-04) from http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/index.htm