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CHAPTER TWO

Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

This chapter examines the review of related literature on the effectiveness of

collaborative learning for academic performance of Holy Infant Academy of Anda

Inc., Grade 10 Students, as well as students at all levels and from various schools

around the country. It contains the advantages and disadvantages of this teaching

strategy, as well as what challenges they will experience with this strategy.

2.2 Challenges Experience by Students about Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning is a concept that takes an important place in higher

education. By having students learn and work together, they can develop a variety

of soft skills that are relevant to succeed in today’s team-based work environments.

However, according to Meijer et al. (2020), one of the main challenges for teachers

and students is the assessment of collaborative learning activities. Some of the

challenges the students faced in collaborative learning are: unequal participation: In

collaborative learning, some students may dominate the discussion, while others

may be less engaged or shy. These can create an imbalance in participation and

hinder the effectiveness of the group. Lack of accountability: Collaborative learning

requires a high level of trust and accountability between group members. If one
member fails to complete their share of the work or contribute to the discussion, it

can negatively

impact the group's performance. Difficulty in managing group dynamics:

Collaborative learning can lead to conflicts and disagreements between group

members. It can be challenging for teachers to manage these dynamics and ensure

that all group members are working together effectively. Differences in learning

styles and abilities: Collaborative learning may not work well for all students, as

some may prefer to work independently or have different learning styles. It can be

challenging for teachers to accommodate these differences and ensure that all

students are able to participate and contribute effectively.

To avoid the pitfalls of assessing Collaborative Learning, Meijer et al. (n.d.)

present two approaches. Firstly, they suggest adhering to both individual

accountability and positive interdependence through the thoughtful design of the

assessment. One way could be to assess collaborative learning in a formative

rather than a summative frame, for example by having students prepare and

present content (Kagan 1995), or work in tutorial groups (Opdecam et al. 2014), all

under supervision and with feedback from the teacher. Another option could be to

provide the students with guidance on collaborative learning to practice important

skills prior to the group activity, i.e. with the aid of lectures and interactive training

like role plays (Rebollar et al. 2010).

In summary, Meijer et al. (n.d.) pointed out that all assessment approaches

face challenges with regards to individual accountability and positive

interdependence, and thereby might contradict the original objectives of

collaborative learning like knowledge exchange and social support. Students may

also need to develop skills such as active listening, effective communication, and

conflict resolution to ensure that collaborative learning is successful. Ultimately, the

effectiveness of collaborative learning will depend on the willingness and ability of

both students and teachers to work together and support each other's learning

goals.

2.3 Benefits of Collaborative Learning

Numerous benefits have been described for Collaborative Learning (Pantiz,

1999). A good way for organizing the benefits of Collaborative Learning, are to put

them in categories. Johnsons (1989) and Pantiz (1999) list over 50 benefits for

Collaborative Learning. The list below is based on their works. This paper

summarizes them into four major categories of; social, psychological, academic and

assessment, as in following:

Social benefits; It helps develop a social support system for learners, leads

to building diversity understanding among students and staff, establishes a positive

atmosphere for modeling and practicing cooperation, and develops learning

communities.

Psychological benefits; Student-centered instruction increases students' self-

esteem, cooperation reduces anxiety, and; develops positive attitudes towards

teachers.
 Academic benefits; Promotes critical thinking skills, involves students

actively in the learning process, classroom results are improved, Models

appropriate student problem solving techniques, large lectures can be

personalized, helpful in motivating students in specific curriculum, alternate student

and teacher assessment techniques, Collaborative teaching techniques utilize a

variety of assessments.

In our society and current educational framework, competition is valued over

cooperation. By asking group members to identify what behaviours help them work

together and by asking individuals to reflect on their contribution to the group's

success or failure, students are made aware of the need for healthy, positive,

helping interactions. (Panitz, 1996; Cohen&Cohen, 1991)

2.4 Disadvantage of Collaborative Learning

There are also disadvantages to Collaborative Learning in education. One of

the main disadvantages is that conflicts between group members can arise due to

conflicting personalities and/or beliefs. Conflicts can bring work to a halt, as

individuals within the group no longer feel comfortable working together. The next

qualifies as both a pro and con of collaborative learning: just as group work can

make tasks progress more efficiently, it can also have the opposite effect. Groups

can spend too long in the planning stage and not spend enough time actually

putting those plans into action to get the task completed.

 Another common happenstance of collaborative learning is that one or more

group members might try to get a free ride, assuming that the other group members

will get the task done, and they can simply reap the rewards at the end. This can

create conflicts within the group bringing a halt to task progress, or it can result in

one or two individuals taking on the bulk of the work in order to avoid conflict. As

can be seen, there are many advantages and disadvantages of collaborative

learning. Thankfully, some of these disadvantages can be mitigated with other

strategies, like

the inclusion of both individual and group grading to keep everyone in a group

accountable.

2.5 Conclusion

As a final note on this chapter, researchers have shown that collaborative

learning affects students greatly, whether those benefits are positive or negative.