What is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches in education that involve joint intellectual effort by students and teachers?

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Why should teachers incorporate collaborative learning strategies in the classrooms?

While teachers use collaborative learning because they believe it helps students learn more effectively, they also believe that collaborative learning promotes a larger educational agenda. This educational agenda includes equipping students with key competencies or soft skills that will prepare students for the real working environment and they include increased student engagement, collaboration with teammates, teamwork as well as civic responsibility.

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1 - Increase student engagement

Calls to involve students more actively in their learning are coming from virtually every corner of higher education policy making. By its nature, collaborative learning is both socially and intellectually involved [2]. It invites students to build closer connections with other students, their faculty, their courses and their learning. It improves the ability to think critically, and encourages students to participate in providing an answer, explaining their point of view and justifying their opinion [3]. In these contexts, students turn to active agents in the learning process and collaborate in the formation of their own knowledge. This formation of their own knowledge includes students delving deeper into the subject matter and building new associations from previous knowledge resulting in higher order learning [3].

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2 - Collaboration and teamwork

In collaborative teaching situations, students inevitably encounter differences and must get  accustomed to recognizing these differences as well as working through them. Acumen such as building the capacity for tolerating or resolving differences; building agreement that honours all the voices in a group; and caring for others, are fundamental when working in a community or collaborative real - world, working environment . Moreover, collaborative working environments aid in the cultivation of teamwork, community building and leadership skills which are key in creating an environment of positive interdependence, which is an additional benefit when working in a team (Arcas et al, 2013).

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3 - Civic Responsibility

If democracy is to endure in any meaningful way, our educational system needs to foster habits of participation in and responsibility to the larger community. Collaborative learning encourages students to acquire an active voice in expressing their ideas and values as well as acquiring a  sensitive ear to listening to the voices and perspectives of others. Dialogue, deliberation and consensus-building, from differences that teammates might possess, are fundamental  threads in the fabric of collaborative learning environments, the workplace and in general civic life [2].

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The importance of collaborative learning approaches in online learning environments

Holistically, collaborative learning approaches train learners for the 21st century workplace by aiding in the sharing of ideas and in the expression of learners' opinions.  The impact of active collaborative learning on student performance is further enhanced when combined with use of technology[2].  When students use technologies they are more collaborative in their learning processes as the use of technology in a collaborative learning environment aids in effective communication. As students are already embracing digital communication in their everyday lives, they are accustomed to understanding a vast array of subjects and expressing that information in a concise manner[2].  For example the skill of summarizing complex problems into 140 characters means a student is able to capture the fundamentals of the content which is a key competency or life beyond the classroom [3].

A great example of the enhanced benefits of technology in a collaborative learning environment includes the use case of the IE Business School. In this collaborative environment the aim was to improve students programming skills as well as their  knowledge of the fundamentals of programming in an online environment. Through Interactive Document the teacher succeeded in activating students, stimulating collaboration as well as fostering knowledge sharing between students in an online context.

Collaborative learning is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches in education that involve joint intellectual effort by students or students and teachers. Groups of students work together in searching for understanding, meaning or solutions or in creating a product. The approach is closely related to cooperative learning, but is considered to be more radical because of its reliance on youth voice. Collaborative learning activities can include collaborative writing, group projects, and other activities.

Collaborative learning has taken on many forms. One form is Collaborative Networked Learning for the self-directed adult learner.

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has emerged as a new educational paradigm among researchers and practitioners in several fields, including cognitive sciences, sociology, computer engineering. It thus constitutes a new trans-disciplinary field.

One of the learning tools of PPCR program is the collaborative learning. PPCR creates a global network of clinical researchers to enhance learning and interaction during the course.

We designed PPCR program with the goal of creating a very interactive and collaborative environment. PPCR creates a global network of clinical researchers to enhance learning and interaction during the course. One of the main important educational methods is collaborative learning. Barbara Leigh Smith and Jean T. MacGregor (in “What Is Collaborative Learning?") summarized well this concept. “Collaborative learning is an umbrella term for a variety of educational approaches involving joint intellectual effort by students, or students and teachers together. Usually, students are working in groups of two or more, mutually searching for understanding, solutions, or meanings, or creating a product.

Collaborative learning represents a significant shift away from the typical teacher-centered or lecture-centered milieu in college classrooms. In collaborative classrooms, the lecturing/ listening/note-taking process may not disappear entirely, but it lives alongside other processes that are based in students’ discussion and active work with the course material. Teachers who use collaborative learning approaches tend to think of themselves less as expert transmitters of knowledge to students, and more as expert designers of intellectual experiences for students-as coaches or mid-wives of a more emergent learning process."

Article from: http://evergreen.edu/facultydevelopment/docs/WhatisCollaborativeLearning.pdf

By Barbara Leigh Smith and Jean T. MacGregor, “What Is Collaborative Learning?" in Collaborative Learning: A Sourcebook for Higher Education, by Anne Goodsell, Michelle Maher, Vincent Tinto, Barbara Leigh Smith and Jean MacGregor. 

“Collaborative learning” is an umbrella term for a variety of educational approaches involving joint intellectual effort by students, or students and teachers together. Usually, students are working in groups of two or more, mutually searching for understanding, solutions, or meanings, or creating a product. Collaborative learning activities vary widely, but most center on students’ exploration or application of the course material, not simply the teacher’s presentation or explication of it.

Collaborative learning represents a significant shift away from the typical teacher-centered or lecture-centered milieu in college classrooms. In collaborative classrooms, the lecturing/ listening/note-taking process may not disappear entirely, but it lives alongside other processes that are based in students’ discussion and active work with the course material. Teachers who use collaborative learning approaches tend to think of themselves less as expert transmitters of knowledge to students, and more as expert designers of intellectual experiences for students-as coaches or mid-wives of a more emergent learning process.