Collaborative

Learning

Dr. Katerina Kourkouli

Practicum I Workshop 2022-2023
English Department
National and Kapodistrian University of
Athens
 Overall purpose

 To provide students with theoretical and practical awareness of

Collaborative Learning approaches for the EFL classroom
Objectives
 Become aware of the rationale, theoretical background, definitions,
concepts and types of collaborative learning.
 Develop a critical understanding of Social Constructivism and
instructional frameworks considered to promote collaborative
learning, particularly in view of their implications for the teaching
practice.
 Develop insights about the configurations of Project-Based Learning as
well as the challenges and opportunities pertaining to its
implementation.
 Familiarize students with the rationale for online Learning
Communities/Communities of Inquiry/Practice and their implications
for practice.
 Apply collaborative learning methods and teaching techniques in the
light of specific goals and objectives
 WEEKLY PLAN
WEEK 1 WEEK 2
Theoretical foundations & implications for practice Creating collaborative learning environments
•the fundamental elements for creating a collaborative learning
• the case for Collaborative Learning environment
• defining characteristics of effective learning • instructional frameworks that promote collaborative learning
groups •Online Learning Communities/Communities of Inquiry/Practice

WEEK 3 WEEK 4
Project – based learning
•the configurations of Project Based Learning, essential project Evaluation in collaborative learning environments
design elements and useful technology •evaluating collaborative learning, collaborative discussion and
•steps and procedures involved in creating the team contract small-group collaboration
•the presentation and evaluation phases and core competencies •implications for grading protocols and collaborative
involved examinations
•practical examples and videos for PBL implementation
 Methodology

 The course will be carried out in line with collaborative learning principles.
 Students will engage in collaborative work to explore key concepts, theoretical
frameworks, appropriate procedures and practical examples implementing
collaborative learning in the EFL teaching practice.
 Students will also engage in discussions, reflection and practical application of
enriched insights.
 Curriculum issues

Teacher-centered Student-centred
Linear & rational Coherent & relevant
Part to whole organisation Whole to part organisation
Teaching as transmitting Teaching as facilitating
Learning as receiving Learning as constructing
Structured environment Flexible environment
John Amos Comenius, a 16th Century
scholar; summarised the approach that
teaching should follow:
“The main object is to find a method by
which teachers teach less but learners
learn more”.
The Cone of Learning (Edgar Dale)
 What is collaborative learning?

 Collaborative learning represents a significant shift away from the typical teacher-centred or
lecture-centred classroom model

 “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 focus on students’ exploration or
application of the course material, not simply the teacher’s presentation or explication of
it”.
 Lecturers who use collaborative learning approaches tend to act less as expert
transmitters of knowledge and more as coaches or facilitators.
Smith and McGregor (1992)
 What is collaborative learning?

 Unlike individual learning, people engaged in collaborative learning capitalize on each

other’s resources and skills. How?
 asking one another for information,
 evaluating one another's ideas,
 monitoring one another's work, etc.
 It is based on the model that knowledge can be created within a population where
members actively interact by sharing experiences and take on asymmetric roles.
 It refers to methodologies and environments in which learners engage in a common
task where each individual depends on and is accountable to each other
 These include both face-to-face conversations and computer discussions (online
forums, chat rooms, etc.)
 What is collaborative learning?

 Collaborative learning takes place when groups of students work together

 to search for understanding, meaning, or solutions or
 to create an artifact or product of their learning
 Collaborative learning activities

 Collaborative learning activities can include

 collaborative writing,
 group projects,
 joint problem solving,
 debates,
 study teams,
 Peer learning, or peer instruction: a type of collaborative learning that involves
students working in pairs or small groups to discuss concepts or find solutions to
problems. Educational researchers have found that through peer instruction, students
teach each other by addressing misunderstandings and clarifying misconceptions
 and other activities.
 The approach is closely related to cooperative learning.
 Why use collaborative learning?

 Research shows that educational experiences that are active, social, contextual,
engaging, and student-owned lead to deeper learning.
 Benefits of collaborative learning:
 Development of higher-level thinking, oral communication, self-management,
and leadership skills.
 Promotion of student-faculty interaction.
 Increase in student retention, self-esteem, and responsibility.
 Exposure to and an increase in understanding of diverse perspectives.
 Preparation for real-life social and employment situations.
• Involvement
• Collaboration, co-operation and
teamwork
• Community responsibility
 Theoretical background

 Constructivism is the perspective contending that individuals create their own

learning. (Bruning et al. 2004).
 Constructivist theorists hold the view that knowledge is not something absolute,
waiting to be discovered, but rather, it is constructed through our interactions with
each other, the community and the environment.
 Learning experiences should be structured so as to challenge students’ thinking to
construct new knowledge.
 Lev Vygotsky – Sociocultural
Theory
Vygotsky's theory revolves around the
idea that social interaction is central to
learning.
Learning occurs through interactions
with others in our communities: peers,
adults, teachers, and other mentors.
As a result, interactive activities such as
productive discussions, constructive
feedback, and collaboration with others
should be implemented more often.
Theoretical background Lev Vygotsky's zone of proximal development.
Typically, there are tasks that learners can and
cannot accomplish. Between these two areas is the
zone of proximal development, which is a category
of things that a learner can learn but with the help
of guidance.
He highlighted the importance of learning through
communication and interactions with others rather
than just through independent work.
 Social learning theory

 The social learning theory (Bandura 1986) can be viewed as a bridge between
behaviourist and cognitivist theories because it postulates that human behavior is a series
of interactions among personal factors, behaviours and environmental events, in the so-
called “triadic reciprocality” relationship
 This theory presents an agentic perspective in which individuals are characterized as
anticipative, purpose-oriented and self-evaluative proactive regulators of their behaviour
and motivation (Bandura 2001)
 Motivation for learning is triggered by goals, outcome expectations, values and self-
efficacy shifting the emphasis from individual to collective cognitions on language
teacher education.
 Social settings and learning

 As a result, social settings and learning are closely intertwined.

 Therefore, one must identify and implement strategies that are effective in a social
context.
 One of the ways that students gain knowledge is when they collaborate with their peers
or mentors on activities that involve problem-solving skills and real-life tasks.
 The primary role of the teacher in the educational context is to act as a facilitator for
learning.
 Guided exchanges, comprehensive discussions, and the creation of an engaging
community are valuable strategies for cognitive development.
 Many educators have incorporated Vygotsky’s ideas of social connection and small group
learning in the classroom.
 Collaborativism & learning

 Learning is a socially mediated process which is facilitated by structuring learning environments to

promote these interactions.
 Instructional methods that fit with constructivism are discovery learning through problem solving,
inquiry teaching through teacher questioning, peer-assisted learning such as peer tutoring and
cooperative learning, discussions, debates and reflective teaching.
 Collaborativist learning theory, unlike behaviorism and cognitivism, focuses on collaborative
knowledge-building processes. It perceives active learning as a process of social and conceptual
development based on knowledge discourse (Scardamalia & Bereiter 2006).
 Collaborativism constitutes a learning theory that addresses the 21st century needs and
opportunities and views “learners as participants in the 21st century online knowledge communities,
whether in formal, non-formal or informal educational settings”, intertwining learning and
technology (Harasim 2017).
 Elements of cooperative learning

1. Positive interdependence
2. Group interaction
3. Individual and group accountability
4. Interpersonal and small group skills
5. Group processing
 Positive interdependence

 Each group member's efforts are required and are considered

indispensable for group success

 Each group member has a unique contribution to make to the joint

effort because of his or her resources and/or role and task
responsibilities
 Group interaction

 Orally explaining how to solve problems

 Teaching one's knowledge to others
 Checking for understanding
 Discussing concepts being learned
 Connecting present with past learning
 Individual and group accountability

 Keeping the size of the group small.

 Giving an individual task to each student.
 Asking for oral student contributions.
 Observing each group and recording the frequency with which each member-
contributes to the group's work.
 Assigning one student in each group the role of checker.
 Having students teach what they learned to someone else.
 Interpersonal and small group skills

Social skills needed:

 Leadership
 Decision-making
 Trust-building
 Communication
 Conflict-management skills
 Group processing

Group members
 discuss how well they are achieving their goals and maintaining effective working
relationships
 Describe what member actions are helpful and not helpful
 Make decisions about what behaviours to continue or change
 Assignment (20 credits)

First study the PPT slides, relative articles and video links.
Then, in groups, work on ONE of the following 5 tasks (the task assigned to you), making sure you
mention the number of the task assigned to you.
Make sure that you mention ALL names as well as personal contribution at the beginning of the
document (e.g. scribe, coordinator, contributor etc.)
Then, ALL of you should upload the SAME assignment INDIVIDUALLY, with reference to the other
members of the group too.
1. Basic tenets/principles of collaborative learning (article Collaborative learning what is it? p. 493)
2. Differences from cooperative learning (article Collaborative learning what is it? p. 494 & e-class video)
3. Benefits of collaborative learning (article)
4. Three types of teaching and learning & implications for teaching and learning deriving from the 3 rd
type (article Collaborative Learning Partnerships)
5. Examples of collaborative learning activities (Cornell University)