Collaborative Learning Tutorial

Create group tasks that require interdependence. The students in a group must perceive that they “sink or swim” together, that each member is responsible to and dependent on all the others, and that one cannot succeed unless all in the group succeed. Knowing that peers are relying on you is a powerful motivator for group work. Strategies for promoting interdependence include specifying common rewards for the group, encouraging students to divide up the labor, and formulating tasks that compel students to reach a consensus.

Make the group work relevant. Students must perceive the group tasks as integral to the course objectives, not just busywork. For example, a teacher gives groups a problem to solve: Determine whether the school should offer multiple choices for lunch. Each group prepares a report, and a representative from each group is randomly selected to present the group’s solution. The approaches used by the various groups are compared and discussed by the entire class.