Collaborative Learning and Teaching
Collaborative Learning and Teaching Ellen Dupree City College of New York
Collaborative Learning and Teaching
In the last forty years or so, researchers have examined the idea of cooperative and collaborative learning in the school system. According to the majority of their studies, it has been shown that collaboration has positive outcomes for children and adolescents in regard to their self-confidence, friendships, higher-level reasoning, and problem solving abilities. Collaboration can be defined as: a philosophy about how to relate to others how to learn and work. (Woolfolk, 2011, p412) Education is at a crucial stage. Progressive ideas need to be explored more thoroughly and utilized in a system where better results are constantly being demanded. Collaborative learning involving adolescent students is one such idea that may become more popular as a core teaching method considering that there are various ways to implement and it can have many beneficial results in and out of classrooms. If schools are willing and able to adjust their curriculums to include some of the proven methods its possible that they can become significantly more effective in turning out well-educated and well-adjusted individuals. Educational researchers have identified one variation of student instructional collaboration cooperative group learning as one of the top nine best educational practices correlated with increasing student achievement on standardized tests (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollack, 2001). Our world is constantly changing. Parents, students and teachers are expressing concerns about the effectiveness of the traditional teaching methods being utilized in classrooms. Adolescents attention spans can be very short with all the television and technology that has been infused into modern society. This was evident over 20 years ago. According to Neil Postman (1985), the attention span of humans is decreasing as modern technology, especially television and the Internet increases. This makes it difficult to keep students actively interested in
Collaborative Learning and Teaching
what is a relatively slow-paced learning environment such as a traditional classroom where the teacher dictates and gives instruction in the front of the class. A collaborative and cooperative learning environment can have a lasting impact on a student and contribute to their educational experience and success. Students working together can learn from one another by engaging in discussions that lead to the development of critical thinking, respecting the differences of our cultural diversity, as well as the acceptance of ideas and opinions of others. In addition, allowing students to collaborate with each other may increase their interest in the subject being studied as well as a give them a more positive classroom experience overall. Many social, communication, and academic achievement outcomes have been reported in the research on peer tutoring, partner learning, reciprocal teaching, and cooperative group learning four variations of students serving as collaborators in instruction. For example, when students with disabilities have served as tutors, they have shown higher achievement as compared to when they were only recipients of tutoring (Elbaum, Moody, Vaughn, Schumm, & Hughes, 2001) Some observations that I made while visiting a secondary school was the implementation of peer tutoring and group learning. Ms. G, a former dean of another secondary school but now an 10th grade educator explained to me that she had attempted many different approaches to learning in her various classrooms as per what was mandated to her however she utilized her own ideas about teaching wherever it was more productive for her students. She enlisted the assistance of a couple of students in class as well as a student from an upper grade that had a little free time in between periods to help with the learning disabled students in her classroom. For the most part her students were separated into groups that she had created based on spreading out their abilities. For example, she put children that were a little smarter in groups with
Collaborative Learning and Teaching
children that may have needed a to think a little longer about ideas in order to utilize peer teaching. I observed that the adolescents got along well with each other and were excited to complete their assignments individually but still contributing within the group. Of course changes such as these will require new approaches to teacher education and this may not be a simple process but the reward is certainly worth the endeavor and can be accomplished with applied effort. In order to successfully prepare students for the world, teachers will also need to be prepared to deal with challenges that may arise from implementing a collaborative learning strategy. Collaborative efforts can be beneficial to teachers as they work with other teachers and administration to develop and adjust course materials using new approaches. Ongoing research into school culture, change, and improvement is finding that success is more likely when teachers work collaboratively on improvement activities resulting in a higher level of commitment, energy, and motivation while allowing teachers to manage time more productively and develop lessons that are stimulating and rewarding thus creating an innovative learning environment. (Levine and Lezotte, 1996). Although cooperative and collaborative learning and teaching are not necessarily part of a mainstream strategy in our schools today, there is relevance and importance to this type of approach. Collaboration can impact the quality of teaching and learning by enriching the work of students and teachers alike. Although challenges may be presented when implementing new ideas that require change and mass cooperation, many studies show that a collaborative approach can transform an educational setting into an enriched learning environment in which students and teachers are more successful and have increased potential for growth. The development of a strong collaborative and cooperative environment builds a foundation that is beneficial for all involved.
Collaborative Learning and Teaching Sources:
Woolfolk, Anita. Educational Psychology Active Learning Edition. 201. Reprint. Ohio: Pearson College Div, 2013. Print.
Goddard, Y. L., Goddard, R. D., Tschannen-Moran, M. (2007). A theoretical and empirical investigation of teacher collaboration for school improvement and student achievement in public schools. Teachers College Record, 109(4), 877-896.
Villa, Richard. Collaborating with Students in Instruction and Decision Making. Califormia: Corwin 2010. Print.
