Module 3: Collaboration to Improve Learning

Whether individuals are instructed to form groups and work collaboratively, or whether they chose to, the natural ‘survival of the fittest’ instinct involves either a fierce or a friendly competition between individuals. We escape the concept of ‘prison’ when we make the right connections and work collaboratively toward a common cause (Rheingold, H., 2005). I understood Mr. Rheingold to suggest that we benefit from collaborating, and when “common [successful] design principles” are imitated, success breeds success.

With that being said, I do believe that children have a basic instinct to interact and work in groups; however, we remove that natural inclination after children attend school because teachers expect ‘quiet’ and orderly classrooms. Our students often miss out on constructivist learning because a large number of teachers are comfortable teaching in quiet rows. After a while, collaborative learning has to be “demonstrated” for students to work together successfully.

On another end, I do not believe that adults have that same basic instinct to collaborate. When we have to work with other professionals on committees at school, or in a brick and mortar classroom setting, we often cringe! By the time we’re adults, we usually do not want help completing a project whose final outcome we are responsible for – with someone else’s assistance. But once we’ve formed these ‘forced’ relationships, and we learn the skills and capabilities of others, we are more comfortable collaborating. One main reason is the busy-life aspect of most adult learners. Time restrictions limit us to completing tasks when we are not busy with family obligations; thus the reason many enroll in on-line coursework. The other reason adults do not have a natural instinct to collaborate is because we believe we can complete assignments more effectively in solo, when – in actuality – when we join more than one creative mind, we are more apt to come up with many variations of a successful outcome.

Rheingold discusses the idea that we have to prove to one another our trustworthiness by way of feedback provision (he gave Ebay as an example) so that others trust you enough based on past experiences to do business with you. This is a necessary assurance for business to continue to be successful. “New forms of cooperation create new forms of wealth” refers to recent technological innovations. I’m sure innovators like Steve Jobs have numerous team members to aid their creativity – even if the ingenious ideas innovated singularly. Based on constructivist principles, technology can facilitate collaboration among learners by helping them build upon existing knowledge and experiences from home, school, and the world, and providing new challenges and information to build their schema. Technology continues to provide tools for collaboration across time and space, as exemplified in the creation of  Wikipedia, a site consisting of “…a million and a half articles…[created] by thousands of volunteers…in 200 languages in just a couple of years” (Rheingold, H., 2005).

In seeking a current research study supporting collaboration as an effective tool for learning, I located a great research study (Wang, 2009) and 2 other great, informative articles justifying the benefits of collaboration and student learning (Harrison-Berg, Miller, & Souvanna, 2011; and Beaty-O’Ferrall & Johnson, n.d). Before you locate and peruse these studies, check out the awesome demonstration of "team work" and collaborative effort. It is not of the educational type, but OMG...! Precision to a tee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMh2dSiCugQ&feature=colike

References:

Beaty-O’Ferrall, M. E. and Johnson, F.W. (n.d).  Using supportive team building to promote improved instruction, student achievement, and collaboration in an rrban professional development school.  School–University Partnerships (4) 4, pp. 56-64.

Harrison-Berg, J., Miller, L.R., and Souvanna, P. (2011). Boston shifts learning into high gear. Retrieved from www.learningforward.org.

Rheingold, H. (2005). TED: Howard Rheingold on collaboration [video].  Retrieved from

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

Wang, Q. (2009). Design and evaluation of a collaborative learning environment. Computers & Education, Volume 53,(4), pp. 1138-1146. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2009.05.023