COLLABORATIVE APPROACH

Meaning and it’s characteristics

ABIGAIL R. ONG|MAED-EM 1i
Curriculum Development
 A collaborative (or
cooperative) learning
approach involves pupils
working together on
activities or learning tasks
in a group small enough to
ensure that everyone
participates. Pupils in the
group may work on separate
tasks contributing to a
common overall outcome, or
work together on a shared
task.
It includes both teaching
learning strategies and
environments in which
learners engage in a
common task where
each individual depends
on and is accountable to
each other.
 According to Gerlach,
collaborative leaning is
based on the idea that
learning is a naturally
social act in which
participants talk among
themselves. It is through
the talk that learning
occurs.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
 Collaborative learning incorporate
groupwork.

 It sets group goals and individual

accountability.

Students work cooperatively

rather than competitively.
 Students are decision- makers
and teachers are facilitators.

 Teacher and students jointly

construct knowledge.

Students master knowledge through

constructing content rather than
through memorizing content.
 There is a sharing of authority and
acceptance of responsibility among
group members for the group actions.

Student have increased control over

learning.

 Responsibility for learning is more

student centered rather than teacher
center.
 “If you have an apple and I have an apple
and we exchange these apples then you and I
will still each have one apple. But if you
have an idea and I have and idea and we
exchange these ideas, then each of us will
have two ideas.

-George Bernard Shaw

 Principles of
Collaborative Approach
Loraine R. Mandap
Curriculum Development
MAED-EM 1I
 Principles of
Collaborative Approach
1. Heterogenous groupings
2. Teaching Collaborative Skill
3. Group Autonomy
4. Equal Opportunity
5. Individual Accountability
6. Positive Interdependence
 Principle of
Collaborative Approach
1. Heterogenous groupings
Allows individual to learn
from one another’s
differences and provides a
chance to interact with
diverse individuals.
 Principle of
Collaborative Approach
2. Teaching Collaborative
Skills
It means devoting class
time for students to learn
about and reflect on their use
of collaborative skills.
 Principle of
Collaborative Approach
3. Group Autonomy
Encourages learners to
look first to their
groupmates when they
need feedback or
assistance.
 Principle of
Collaborative Approach
4. Equal opportunity to
participate
The tasks or responsibilities
should be equally divided to
the group members.
 Principle of
Collaborative Approach

5. Individual Accountability
This principle puts pressure
on members to do their fair
share in the groups.
 Principle of
Collaborative Approach
6.Positive
Interdependence
Each group member
depends on each other to
accomplish a shared goal
or task.
 Principles of
Collaborative Approach
1. Heterogenous groupings
2. Teaching Collaborative Skill
3. Group Autonomy
4. Equal Opportunity
5. Individual Accountability
6. Positive Interdependence
Features of Collaborative Approach

RICA M. PINGOL|MAED-EM 1i
Curriculum Development
 Working Together
 Students work together
to achieve common goals.

 Barkley, Cross and Major

(2014) note that the
etymology of ‘collaborate’
is to ‘co-labor’, meaning
to all put effort behind a
task.
 Shared Knowledge
Construction
 Following the 
social-constructivist
 approach, teachers and
students construct
knowledge together
during a collaborative
approach (McInnerney
and Roberts, 2004).
 Following from the belief that
knowledge should be co- Teacher As
constructed is the belief that Facilitator
teachers should act as
facilitators rather than
ultimate authorities on
knowledge. They can mediate
discussion, help students to
understand and practice
positive group behaviors, and
provide guided practice or
stimulus questions to help
students deepen their
knowledge (McInnerney and
Roberts, 2004).
 Intentional Group
 Collaboration is more than Design
just getting students into
groups. A collaborative
scenario requires students to
get together to achieve a
common goal. They need to
be intentional about their
learning, not just ‘talking
about things in a group’
(Barkley, Cross & Major,
2014).
 In the collaborative
Individual Strengths
approach, individual
strengths are embraced
Are Embraced
within the design of learning
scenarios. Individuals’ unique
abilities and perspectives are
encouraged.

 According to McInnerney and

Roberts (2004), this is one
distinction between
collaboration and
cooperation. In cooperation,
individual strengths are not
emphasized.
 Meaningful
Learning
 If students work in
groups but fail to
progress their
knowledge, then
collaborative
education has not
occurred (Barkley,
Cross & Major, 2014).
Pros And Cons

RICA M. PINGOL|MAED-EM 1i
Curriculum Development
Strengths (Pros)

• Enhances communication skills: Students need to communicate, negotiate and debate in order to

come to shared agreement on issues. These skills are very important for workforce readiness.

•Builds cross-cultural awareness: Students work with students from other cultures and backgrounds.

•Learning from Peers: When students collaborate, they learn from one another. A student will hear
another student’s perspective that may broaden their own horizons.

Weaknesses (Cons)
• Introverts Struggle: Introverted students often prefer to pause, carefully reflect and internally process
information. These students may struggle in a social situation where they have to speak up and be
vulnerable.

•Group Work Skills Training Required: Students cannot simply be thrown into groups and expected to
work well together. Teachers need to teach positive interdependence, how to deal with people with
different learning styles, and how to be inclusive of all voices.

•Assessment Inequities: Assessment is always difficult with group work. Some students may believe
others have been lazy or undeserving of the group’s high grade, while at other times students feel that
others in the group are bringing their grades down.
Sample or Possible Illustrations of
Collaborative Approach

RICA M. PINGOL|MAED-EM 1i
Curriculum Development
ONLINE FORUM

Collaborative learning is
increasingly common in
online education. It
involves getting students to
work together in online
forums or using live
collaboration software
 TABLE GROUP
WORK
Educators can use their 
classroom layout to help streamline
their pedagogies. An educator who
wants to encourage co-learning
should place students in table groups
where they can collaborate easily and
use the table as a shared space for
brainstorming or sharing resources.
Table groups ensure students are
facing one another while learning
which facilitates interaction.
 USING
TECHNOLOGY IN
THE CLASSROOM
Communication technologies such as
Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs) help
facilitate collaboration during learning.
Ask students to write their ideas on the
IWB, save the notes and email them
out to each group member. Similarly,
one group member can demonstrate
an idea on the board while other
students observe. Or, they can
collaborate with one another (or other
classes) remotely but synchronously
INTER-AGENCY
WORK
Co-learning also regularly occurs
during inter-agency and
multidisciplinary working. When a
case of child abuse occurs, for
example, often social workers,
educators, police and medical
professionals all have to collaborate
to help the child. Each member will
have their own unique input, but as a
group they are stronger together.
 PHENOMENON
BASED-
LEARNING
Finland’s 
Phenomenon Based Learning
 approach embraces collaboration. In
this approach, students do not learn
via subjects (mathematics, literacy,
science, history, etc.).