Analyze three different collaborative learning approaches

Three Collaborative Learning Approaches

Collaborative Learning

For quite a long time , learning has been associated with the traditional authoritarian approach wherein the teacher lectures while the student listens . However , throughout history , people have learned to use different styles to absorb information . Instead of using a passive approach such as the manner of teaching mentioned , collaborative learning , which can be considered an active alternative has been developed . The active style of education presents learning as a social process which takes place through communication with others (Mead , 1934 cited in Hiltz , 1998 , par

. 1 . The learner actively participates in the absorption of knowledge by conceptualizing ideas into words and these ideas form through his reactions and responses of others (Bouton and Garth , 1983 Alavi , 1994 cited in Hiltz

Lev Semyonovich , a very popular Soviet psychologist , theorized that students using the collaborative learning approach undergo two phases of social process . The first phase is the problem-solving stage wherein students encourage support and guide each other and the second phase happens when the students come to resolve the conflict through their own experiments and articulation of their arguments (Lin Hsiao , n .d , par 3 ) These phases simply prove that collaborative learning can be a very effective way to promote critical thinking and social interaction among students

Importance of Collaborative Learning Today

Globalization and the consistent development of organizational infrastructure in the workplace have placed a higher necessity for teamwork . International businesses and networks stand to gain further advancement and success in their respective fields if diversity of cultures within the workplace is encompassed and converted into good work results despite the differences that could initiate non-cooperative work relationships that could spell disaster for the company . New studies and development in organizational infrastructure are merging different departments or espousing the need for individuals from different divisions to work as teams toward problem solution Collaborative learning especially in higher education can not only help the future work force learn faster but also help develop their social skills that could benefit their careers after they graduate

Collaborative Learning and Higher Education

Collaborative learning has been used even before it was formally termed as such . History reveals that as early as in the 18th century , the then very young Benjamin Franklin was already organizing autonomous learning groups that promoted his own education (Rae , Roberts Taylor , 2006 ,

br 521 ) Interests on studies regarding collaborative learning had since had its roller coaster ride with regard to the interest of the public but this learning approach regained its popularity in the 1990s

One of such studies was made by Professor Anuradha A . Gokhale on 48 students taking up the 271 Basic Electronics Course of Western Illinois University back in 1993 . She gave a simultaneous lecture to all the students but divided the group into two . One group was issued sets of questions that were to be answered individually while the other group was given the very same questions only to be answered as a team comprised of four members each . The...