Collaborative learning Prof. dr. Martin Valcke http: //allserv. ugent. be/~mvalcke/CV/CVMVA. htm Ghent University Maputo July 2011
« Collaborative learning is in the air » « Everyone wants it. It is the instructional strategy, perhaps the strategy of the decade »
Aims of the workshop • To increase understanding of the benefits of collaborative learning • To be aware of how collaborative learning can be fostered • To explore different ways learners can work collaboratively and cooperatively
A definition 'Cooperative learning is the use of small groups through which students work together to accomplish shared goals and to maximise their own and others’ potential. ' Johnson, Johnson and Holubec (ASCD 1994)
Key Question To what extent and in what ways do you already use collaborative learning in your teaching?
Information Movie Collaborative Learning
Task: Try to write down one or two key points you heard in this movie. Key points that for you were the most important ones.
Key Points By working together we increase our knowledge and understanding of the world We develop skills by watching others, practising and getting feedback on our efforts Collaboration requires teachers and pupils to work in new ways and to learn new skills
• In collaborative learning situations, pupils are not simply taking in new information or ideas - they are creating something new with the information and ideas. • Students work together to learn and are responsible for teammates’ learning as well as their own. (Slavin, 1995)
Approaches to collaborative learning include: Co-operative learning Peer teaching and mentoring Peer critique sessions Brainstorming Challenge scenarios
What do we know about cooperative learning? What does the research say? • Meta-analysis cooperative learning research – Slavin (1996) – Johnson & Johnson (1989) • “The research has an external validity and a generalizability rarely found in the social sciences. ”
What do we know about cooperative learning? What does the research say American researchers David and Roger Johnson have done more than anyone to popularise the concept of collaborative learning. Their research identified 700 studies relating to cooperative efforts to learn and they identified five defining characteristics of cooperative learning.
Consistent and overwhelming positive impact on performance, motivation, social skills, development of metacognition, etc.
BUT!! Placing students in pairs or groups and telling them to work together does not in itself result in cooperation.
Task: Sit together (2 -3) • What problems are possible? • Bring up key elements you consider to be crucial to make cooperative learning effective/efficient/satisfactory
Possible problems • Vague goals • Vague expectations with regard to individual contributions • Too much responsibility with regard to their learning in the hands of the students • Too much pressure/weight on the shoulders of some students • Free riders • Time consuming
Difference between traditional grouptasks and collaborative learning: crucial elements 5 key features: 1. Positive interdependence 2. Individual accountability 3. Direct interaction 4. Social skills 5. Evaluation of the groupprocess (Johnson & Johnson, 1994)
Positive interdependence Students need each other to complete the assignment. There are different ways to be interdependent: task dependent, material dependent, role dependent, assessment dependent. Individual accountability Every individual student is responsible for his or her appointed/assigned tasks when completing the groups assignment. Didactische Werkvormen '09 - inleidende les
Direct interaction • A stimulating and motivating way of communicating, Social skills • Attention for the group performance, the collaboration skills and not only in function of the product but also with regard to the process. What went well? How would we handle it a next time? Didactische Werkvormen '09 - inleidende les
Evaluation of the group process • The group (and the teacher) controls the collaboration • For example peer assessment of the participation/collaboration in the group Didactische Werkvormen '09 - inleidende les
Design guidelines 1. Garantee that there are clear and shared learning objectives in a team 2. Build on team responsibility to reach the goals. 3. Build individual responsibility to reach goals. 4. Guarantee equal opportunities in the team activities. 5. A clear planning.
6. Break down larger tasks into subtasks. 7. Take into account individual differences (level, interest, intentions, . . . ). 8. Blend group activities with face-to-face activities. 9. Develop communication skills. 10. Monitor communication processes. 11. Explicit evaluation criteria
video The focus of this perspective movie is collaborative learning. Dylan Wiliam reviews the benefits of learners working in group situations and highlights the importance of group goals and individual accountability.
Role of the teacher The teacher’s role is to create an environment • where young people are willing and able to work collaboratively, • where there are plenty of opportunities and stimulating contexts for learners to work with others, • and where they feel safe to share their emerging ideas and understandings.
Teachers need to control less Although pupils become the crew rather than the passengers, the teacher still remains the pilot Role: Setting the classroom on course and ensuring that the pupils work and learn together effectively. Paradoxically, the less controlling the teacher, the better the students will perform.
The changing role of the teacher requires them to use new techniques, skills and strategies • doing more planning and design work in advance • forming different kinds of groups for different purposes • using different methods to compose and recompose groups • working out ground rules with students to help them move from debate and discussion to dialogue • training peers to teach peers • taking time to give more feedback on the process of learning as well as the product of learning and on how well students work together.
Assessment • Evaluation of individual contributions • Next, evaluation of group product/output • Evaluation of the group process • Research points at critical importance of individual input
different ways learners can work collaboratively and cooperatively
1 st example: revising together Video: High school staff and pupils describe the benefits of working collaboratively and benefits for learning.
THINK-PAIR-SHARE THINK Assign a topic. Students think. PAIR Students move to assigned partners. “Please move to your partner that we assigned earlier. ” Students discuss with partners. SHARE Teacher calls on students to share with class. “Student #4, Derick, what did you and your partner say about how to best solve word problems? ”
Modification: Timed Pair Share If you want to prevent one person from monopolizing the conversation, set a time limit and students take turns talking. Modification: Rallyrobin If the discussion is supposed to generate a list from the pair of students, the students can take turns writing. Modification: Think-Write-Pair-Share Slows pace of discussion. All students write their ideas so teacher can monitor the participation.
Managing student behavior Assign partners to avoid issues of popularity. Change partners to allow students to experience each other’s communication styles. Require quiet think time. Monitor discussions. Ask students to share what their partner said to emphasize that listening skills are important.
By communicating freely and cooperating in planning and carrying out their chosen topic of investigation, they can achieve more than they would as individuals. The final result of the group's work reflects each member's contribution, but it is intellectually richer than work done individually by the same students.
Where Did it Come From? It was developed by Sharan and Sharan in Israel in the 1970’s. The original model was based on Dewey’s philosophy of reflective thinking and active experience.
Initial Intent • One of its initial goals was to improve relationships between racial and ethnic groups. • Emphasis was placed on interests and friendships rather than on abilities among students.
The Learning. . . • Students have a role in implementing the learning tasks from the start. • Communication and cooperation between students is necessary. • Students also take a role in evaluating the final project.
The Teaching. . . • The teacher does not dispense the knowledge. • The teacher’s role is to guide and offer advice.
Steps: This strategy encourages students to work cooperatively to learn content. 1. Have students identify the topic. 2. Each team decides what resources they will need to carry out their investigation. 3. Groups gather information from a variety of sources 4. Groups prepare a final report. 5. The class meets all together and presents their findings to one another.
Steps: This strategy encourages students to work cooperatively to learn content. 1. Topics and teams -- Topics for study are identified and students are placed in teams. 2. Planning -- Team members decide what sub-topics are to be investigated as well as the goals of their study and how the topics are to be studied. 3. Action -- Team members gather information, review it, analyze/evaluate it, and reach some conclusions. 4. Final Report Preparation -- Each team must prepare a summary activity. It may be in the form of a report, a briefing, etc. , for the entire class. The teams, via representatives, must coordinate this activity.
5. Presentation -- Each team presents its findings to the class. Reduce “lecture/telling” by using role plays, panels, simulations, etc. 6. Assessment/Evaluation -- The purposes, methods, and means of evaluation can be negotiated collaboratively among the students and the instructor. This is usually a tremendous learning experience in itself.
Four Dimensions in the Group Investigation Model • Topics must be general enough to encompass a number of subtopics. • The subtopics must constitute a level of challenge that requires its own independent group. • There must be frequent interaction and integration of work between groups. • The teacher must create an environment where all this can take place.
Implementing the Model The teacher selects a general topic. Brainstorming is done with the whole group or class.
Students Need to Answer. . . What shall we study? How do we study it? For what purpose are we studying it? How will we share the knowledge we gain?
Organization of Class • Students join a group of their choice. The teacher may need to offer advice to keep the groups a manageable size. • Students organize the classroom itself to facilitate their needs.
Within the Small Groups set goals and identify subtopics that will be addressed. Groups divide the tasks among its members.
Carrying Out the Investigation Students put their plans to work, collecting information, analyzing it, and drawing conclusions. This often takes longer than planned, but should be allowed as long as students are working productively.
Preparing the Final Product Within a group, it must be decided how to present their information to the others. Planning must also take place between groups to decide how their presentations will be coordinated.
Teacher introduces a unit. Students list topics to be investigated. LEARNING GROUP chooses a topic. LEARNING GROUP determines subtopics for members to investigate. Members prepare report on subtopic for LEARNING GROUP. Subtopics combined into information on topic. LEARNING GROUP presents their topic to class.
Coach learning groups into equitable distribution of subtopics and work-load. Listen to students as they respond to the reports presented by individuals. Encourage sensitivity and demonstrate examples of respectful disagreement. “I sense that you are displeased with your team-mate’s research. Talk to me about what you would have done with that subtopic. We’ll figure out how we can work with him. ”
Effectiveness In 1984, a large scale study was done to study the effectiveness of Group Investigations Group Investigation showed significantly higher scores on questions requiring complex thinking skills. Students aren’t necessarily going to be able to remember facts and dates any better, but they certainly are going to understand concepts better. Better still, they find out how and where to find out things when they need to.
So What Can Possibly Wrong? • Gifted students often end up doing all the work in a heterogeneous group. • Students sometimes need to be taught social skills. • Teachers need to be extremely flexible.
Technology is Ready to Help. . . • Students can find unlimited resources with a single computer and internet service. • Students could possibly interact with other groups through distance learning. • Sights and sounds are available at the click of a button to enhance any presentation.
Some Online References What people are saying. . . http: //cal. bradley. edu/Hyper. News/get/forums/ETE 653/58. html Some recommendations. . . http: //www. ucc. uconn. edu/~wwwgt. /robinsoa. html A place to start. . . http: //intranet. cps. k 12. il. us/Training/Courses/DOS/Technology_ Integration/Activity_3_TI_Class/Small_Group_Investigation/sm all_group_investigation. html
Problem-Based Learning and Maastricht experiences
Peer tutoring • Peer tutoring is a very old practice, traceable back at least as far as the ancient Greeks. • Archaic definitions of peer tutoring perceived the peer tutor as a surrogate teacher, in a linear model of the transmission of knowledge, from teacher to tutor to tutee. • Later, it was realised that the peer tutoring interaction was qualitatively different from that between a teacher and a student, and involved different advantages and disadvantages.
"people from similar social groupings who are not professional teachers helping each other to learn and learning themselves by teaching. "
Peer tutoring is characterised by specific role taking: at any point someone has the job of tutor while the other(s) are in role as tutee(s). Peer tutoring typically has high focus on curriculum content.
Peer tutoring is often promoted on the grounds that, for the tutors, it is "Learning by Teaching". This view is expanded in the old saying "to teach is to learn twice".
Pedagogical advantages for the tutee include: • more active, interactive and participative learning, • immediate feedback, • lowered anxiety with correspondingly higher self-disclosure, • and greater student ownership of the learning process. • The "pupil/teacher" ratio is much reduced and engaged time on task increased.
Topping (1992) identified 28 previous reviews and meta-analyses of research on peer tutoring. Sharpley and Sharpley (1981) conducted a meta-analysis of 82 studies in schools, reporting substantial cognitive gains for both tutees and tutors. Same-age tutoring appeared as effective as cross-age tutoring, and training of tutors significantly improved eventual outcomes.
Action Planning In what ways can we make our classrooms more collaborative?
Action Planning In what ways can we make our classrooms more collaborative? What steps can we take to achieve this?
Collaborative learning Prof. dr. Martin Valcke http: //allserv. ugent. be/~mvalcke/CV/CVMVA. htm Ghent University Maputo July 2011
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