Collaborative Learning Tutorial

Collaborative learning presumes that situations are dynamic, systemic, and changing. It is a framework that can be adapted to a particular situation to generate dialog between diverse communities, improve understanding, integrate scientific and public knowledge about a problem, increase rapport, trust, and respect among participants, and result in tangible improvements to a problem. Working together on instructional projects provides peers with different perspectives and opportunities to investigate subject matter at varying levels, justify and defend their ideas, and build deeper knowledge.

Collaborative group work can be either informal or formal. Informal learning groups are ad hoc temporary clusterings of students within a single class session. Informal learning groups can be initiated, for example, by asking students to turn to a neighbor and spend two minutes discussing a question you have posed. You can also form groups of three to five to solve a problem or pose a question. You can organize informal groups at any time in a class of any size to check on students’ understanding of the material, to give students an opportunity to apply what they are learning, or to provide a change of pace.

Formal learning groups are teams established to complete a specific task, such as perform a lab experiment, write a report, carry out a project, or prepare a position paper. These groups may complete their work in a single class session or over several weeks. Typically, students work together until the task is finished, and their project is graded.

Now let’s take a look at some general strategies designed to help you succeed.