Part+Two+-+Collaborative+and+Cooperative+Learning

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Post your entries for **Part Two below:**
Collaborative or cooperative learning can come in many flavors, but to me seems to be most simply an approach to education that requires teamwork. Students and teachers blur traditional lines of education, when the students become a part of constructing content and become responsible for seeking out information from a source other than their teacher. Collaborative learning is an approach that seems most closely aligned to the constructivist approach to education, since learners make meaning for the content and materials that they discover either independently from a ‘teacher’ or in conjunction with a facilitator. Collaborative learning also can occur when all learners are on the same playing field, a network of peers instead of a class of students who are dependent upon a authoritative figure. Technology allows for learners to connect to other learners that are interested and passionate in very specific elements of learning, individuals who live far away from one another are able to work together and simultaneously in a way never before possible. For example, I participate in a network of Jewish Educators who use music to teach...there are 180 or so members of the group, and we work and learn together regularly. Only 4 or 5 of them live within an hour's drive, so without technology and cooperative learning, I would have never had the opportunities to learn and share from the communal expertise of people interested in such a specific thing. EA

A good example from our studies of Collaborative learning is this Wiki .Solomon and Schrum give fine examples of writing projects where students in various settings are each assigned one part of a writing project and given guidelines for completing the project, but how they proceeded and the content were up to each student. Other students then had the opportunity to give input and share information from their own research on the assignments. In their book pg 146, "it is a cross-curricular, student constructivist model." All social interaction on the internet or using computers (so everything we are learning now and the method we are using to learn in an On LINE CLASS) is in this category.LV

I have read and re-read the Carlton.edu page posted on Diigo about Cooperative Learning and as I wrote in my comments there, I like the pair-share model as a very good example of this type of learning. Both types of learning are examples of constructivist models. LV

Collaborative learning is a process in which students are invited to join together to learn and make meaning together. The ultimate end is not necessarily known. This is embodied by Project-Based Learning, in which students are given a problem to solve and neither the students nor the teacher know what the solution will be. This corresponds closely to the constructionist theory of education because students are literally being invited to construct their own learning or meaning by consulting peers and making connections together. It is also consistent with brain-based learning, which has demonstrated that effective learning occurs when the learner can make meaning and contextualize learning for themselves, as well as when they can experience novelty (unknown conclusions, different working configurations in the class are examples of components that can result in novel experiences). EH


 * EK: Collaborative and cooperative learning promote communication between students and teachers. When these methodologies are used with tools that share the same end goal, these modalities have the potential to enable students to share their learning experience, allows for natural interactions between students, and must be easy to learn and use. Here are three examples of collaborative learning from a constructivist model: First, Pair-share cooperative learning comes from a constructivist model. This methodology is all about getting together and sharing work, but then working together to create new work too. Second, WebCanvas helps students construct projects that are relevant and meaningful to their work in a collaborative fashion. No more will the walls of the classroom limit student interaction with these helpful tools. Third, Collaborize Classroom provides a platform for students and teachers to have a structured dialog in a safe environment. These three examples are only the tip of the iceberg when determining which tools to utilize in collaborating and working together. **


 * According to Lomas, Burke, and Page (2008), “The advent of faster communication tools—from two-way audio/video to instant messaging (IM)—has allowed colleagues and collaborators to transcend the physical distances that separate them, offering a faster transfer of knowledge and quicker feedback on new ideas and results (2).” Tools such as IM, Skype, Twitter, Diigo, and Facebook are platforms where people have the possibility of working together or doing their own thing. The potential to collaborate is there but these platforms can also be used independently too by individual students or users. These authors go on to note that, “In a 2007 study of college undergraduates, roughly 41 percent of students surveyed said they use wikis, which operate like shared workspaces for collaborative editing (2).” The trend in education is thankfully moving to a collaborative place based on constructing and creating and all of these tools help us get to that place of connectivity when used appropriately and when students are held accountable for their work. **

Cooperative learning is strongly controlled by the teacher and collaborative learning is controlled by the members of the group. Cooperative learning takes place in educational settings and has a specific end goal (i.e. complete this project) and collaborative learning takes place in many settings with or without a specific outcome.

Technology can help with collaborative learning in many ways. First, technology facilitates discussions as people are learning about the subject. One group member can read an article and post interesting facts as she goes along. Another group member can simultaneously be reading another article and responding to or adding his own posts in the discussion. This discussion happens with minimal disruption to each student’s learning process as she or he can choose when to pause to read the new posts, unlike a physical conversation where one student would have to stop when the other was ready to speak. This plays into the constructivist theory of learning as it allows students to form their own understandings and create meaning for themselves. By thinking about how the activity is helping them learn the material, students will develop better learning skills. (thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism)YW

Based on the articles posted in the Class Diigo group, it seems that collaborative learning is when students and the teachers are teaching each other and learning together. They are conversing with each other to get a better understanding of what is going on. The teacher is teaching the class as well as the students educating each other. Collaborative learning also helps to prepare better listeners in the classroom and for the future. IY


 * Collaborative learning is a form of education which can be very effective. CL allows for students to work together to solve problems and gain knowledge in a more "real" environment. In the 21st century, there are more careers that focus on teamwork than not-- which means that this is what we should be teaching our students. Teamwork is key. According to an edumedic article (link posted below), students could create a movie based on the material. Each student in a group has a responsibility for creating this collaborative project. A lot of creativity is used during this project. (source:http://www.edudemic.com/2012/08/why-classroom-collaboration-is-the-key-to-lifelong-learning/)
 * Cooperative learning is a form of education where students, who all work together diligently, solve problems in a small-group setting. Technology can be used here as well. In the jigsaw model (source posted below), students are separated into groups to become experts in one area. After becoming experts, they divide into other groups where they can use their expertise to help solve a problem or create a project. For instance, let's say that we are in a history class teaching a unit on the Holocaust in a class of 20 students. On the first day of this unit, the instructor would break their students up into four groups where they will learn a skill of: how to read primary documents, how to read secondary documents, how to search online for documents, becoming a master at a basic outline of the Holocaust and World War II. After this skill is learned, each student would join three of the other experts where they would create a project on: Kristallnacht, the Kindertransport, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, or the Beilski Brothers. Using this very structured system of learning allows for students to become passionate in what they are doing as well as helps them to learn! (http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/cooperative/index.html) JG

Collaborative and cooperative learning is a type of learning where students are asked to join together to construct knowledge and learn together. This type of learning allows for the development of social skills as well as teaches respect and responsibility. Threaded discussion is a great way to facilitate this type of learning and speaks to Constructivist learning. Using Mind Mapping and other graphic tools allows the visual learners to produce work that speaks to the way they learn. Additionally, wikis and online forums are great for the students who don’t like to speak up in class but write really well. - EL

Collaborative learning holds a student more accountable than cooperative learning, because cooperative learning is more controlled by the teacher. Cooperative learning is more structured, with tasks that guide students to a goal or concept that the teacher wants to achieve. The end goal for collaborative learning is more open-ended-- students are given the initial tools to start their learning, but not really guided to a goal. They need to take more ownership in collaborative learning. Both are founded and supported by the constructivist theory, because both allow students to take learning into their own hands to an extent. For both, technology can support efforts. In collaborative learning, the initial question can be proposed by the teacher (as in this weeks collaborative learning section) and then discussion goes from there. In cooporative learning, the teacher can use technology to outline the steps they desire students to take, allowing students to check that they are accomplishing the goal at hand. AB

In this class I keep coming back to distance as the main obstacle to collaboration. Time is also a problem, as my late night skype session with Deborah can attest, but distance is the real problem for me. There is a reason that in traditional Jewish learning the partners did not simply sit in the same room, but they were facing each other. There is an energy that can be shared when studying with someone panim al panim. In some ways I find the video session we can do even more engaging since we are face to face with all the call and not just looking at the teacher. As the speed, cost, and overall user experience improves we will almost remove distance as a challenge to collaboration. (SB)

Collaborative Learning seems to be more about the collaboration than the learning in my view, meaning the experience of working together on a project develops skills that are related to team work, communication, breaking down the problem, rather than the content itself. The content still seems to suffer, although perhaps not so much more than with poorly done individual work. You get out what you put in, so those who are more easily or deeply engaged by collaborative work, gain a lot. This may not be true across the board. I agree that technology helps for the "quiet" student in many aspects and can shorten distances and minimize time issues. However I agree with Steven that there is something special about "panim al panim" that we haven't gotten good enough at yet - we are getting closer though. (HD)

I find Collaborative Learning to be a lot of what was utilized in the class. Instead of a focus on lecturing and independent work, it is more of a real life situation with group effort involved. Examples of collaborative learning would be forums, this Wiki page, etc. I find that with the development of technology, we could also develop collaborative learning since social media, apps, and certain websites have become so collaborative (RR).

DN response to Part II: Once, when I was discussing how I use the Wiki in my Graduate classes with a colleague, that colleague noted "sure the Wiki offers transparency, but what if the answers your students give are wrong, would you wish them to be exposed to incorrect information?" This class has renewed my belief that, as a teacher, I can put my faith in my students.You as accomplished professionals and adult learners have much to teach each other and me. (BTW -really inappropriate info can be excised.)

While this particular exercise was not really a collaborative production - reading through your answers I felt like you 1. read each others answers - this is good. Even the repetition helps to solidify knowledge and understanding. 2. built on each others answers - this is great for obvious reasons.

It occurs to me now that the next time I make this assignment I might require my students to build it from thread to thread in similar fashion to the collaborative learning piece in the Wiki.

100% participation - duly noted. Something about this challenge engages....