Module 12 Exercise 4: Promoting Collaboration

Module 12

Exercise 4: Promoting Collaboration

Achieving Learning Goals

Efforts to achieve learning goals can be organized in three ways:

Competitively: Learners work against each other to see who is best or fastest at achieving a goal that only one or a few can attain.
Individualistically: Learners work alone to accomplish goals unrelated to others.
Cooperatively: Learners work together to achieve shared goals.

Competitive, individualistic, and cooperative efforts all have a role in achieving learning goals. Ideally, all learners should learn how to compete, work alone, and work with others.

What might be the advantages and disadvantages of each way of achieving learning goals?
Do you think you might prefer one way to accomplish your learning goals? Why or why not?

Forming Collaborative Groups or Pairs

Learners in 21st century classrooms are often encouraged to achieve learning
goals by working cooperatively in a collaborative manner. Collaboration involves teamwork—working with one or more people to set goals and complete tasks. Research indicates that collaboration provides opportunities for learners to improve academic success in that they must ask questions, discuss ideas, explore solutions, clarify their own thinking, and develop a deeper understanding of the content. Also, social skills such as taking turns, sharing, giving help to others, and accepting help from others can be acquired through collaboration.

Collaborative groups or pairs can be formed in many ways:

By learners themselves based on friendships or interests
By random assignment
By the teacher

What might be the advantages and disadvantages of each way?
Do you generally prefer one particular way to form groups or pairs? Why?

Teachers are strongly encouraged to assign pairs that stay together for the duration of all activities in a unit, with the goal of two learners learning together. Efforts to break up pairs that are not getting along are often counterproductive. Breaking up pairs is discouraged because it denies learners the opportunity to learn the skills needed to resolve problems in collaborating with one another.

Facilitating Collaboration

Collaboration may not come naturally to learners and may require motivation, role modeling, direct instruction, and practice time. For example, ways to work together should be discussed, including taking turns, listening when others are speaking, and being responsible for one's own learning.

When learners are collaborating and working together, teachers should ensure that all group members

participate and feel included
agree to their goals and their plans for making their product
work on their assigned parts to complete their product
review their work together to see how to make it better
talk about their work and help each other as they go along

When learners work with peers, conflicts may arise. Read the following list of
conflicts and identify possible solutions as directed.

Conflict 1: A learner refuses to work with a partner or in a group.

Conflict 2: No one wants to work with a specific learner.

Conflict 3: One learner is shy and does not want to speak.

Conflict 4: One learner does not let a partner or other group members share the computer.

Conflict 5: One learner does not respect or listen to the ideas of a partner or other group members.

Next: Proceed to Take Home Exercise

Module 12 Developing 21st Century Approaches

	Module 12 Exercise 4: Promoting Collaboration Achieving Learning Goals Efforts to achieve learning goals can be organized in three ways: Competitively: Learners work against each other to see who is best or fastest at achieving a goal that only one or a few can attain. Individualistically: Learners work alone to accomplish goals unrelated to others. Cooperatively: Learners work together to achieve shared goals. Competitive, individualistic, and cooperative efforts all have a role in achieving learning goals. Ideally, all learners should learn how to compete, work alone, and work with others. What might be the advantages and disadvantages of each way of achieving learning goals? Do you think you might prefer one way to accomplish your learning goals? Why or why not? Forming Collaborative Groups or Pairs Learners in 21st century classrooms are often encouraged to achieve learning goals by working cooperatively in a collaborative manner. Collaboration involves teamwork—working with one or more people to set goals and complete tasks. Research indicates that collaboration provides opportunities for learners to improve academic success in that they must ask questions, discuss ideas, explore solutions, clarify their own thinking, and develop a deeper understanding of the content. Also, social skills such as taking turns, sharing, giving help to others, and accepting help from others can be acquired through collaboration. Collaborative groups or pairs can be formed in many ways: By learners themselves based on friendships or interests By random assignment By the teacher What might be the advantages and disadvantages of each way? Do you generally prefer one particular way to form groups or pairs? Why? Teachers are strongly encouraged to assign pairs that stay together for the duration of all activities in a unit, with the goal of two learners learning together. Efforts to break up pairs that are not getting along are often counterproductive. Breaking up pairs is discouraged because it denies learners the opportunity to learn the skills needed to resolve problems in collaborating with one another. Facilitating Collaboration Collaboration may not come naturally to learners and may require motivation, role modeling, direct instruction, and practice time. For example, ways to work together should be discussed, including taking turns, listening when others are speaking, and being responsible for one's own learning. When learners are collaborating and working together, teachers should ensure that all group members participate and feel included agree to their goals and their plans for making their product work on their assigned parts to complete their product review their work together to see how to make it better talk about their work and help each other as they go along When learners work with peers, conflicts may arise. Read the following list of conflicts and identify possible solutions as directed. Conflict 1: A learner refuses to work with a partner or in a group. Conflict 2: No one wants to work with a specific learner. Conflict 3: One learner is shy and does not want to speak. Conflict 4: One learner does not let a partner or other group members share the computer. Conflict 5: One learner does not respect or listen to the ideas of a partner or other group members. Next: Proceed to Take Home Exercise