 WHAT IS COLLABORATIVE LEARNING?

– INPUTS FROM TEACHERS

 FOUR COMMON PROBLEMS WITH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

PROBLEM 1: STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS ARE UNEVEN; SOMETIMES VASTLY UNEVEN.

This is the most frequently mentioned drawback teachers experience with cooperative
learning. This problem shows up in different ways: The academically strong students end up doing all
the work, while others slack off or give up because they can’t find a way in. Or maybe students
contribute an equal amount, but they don’t actually work together; instead, they just divide up the
work, then copy off each other’s papers.

Unfortunately, many teachers assume this problem is caused by students not wanting to work
together, but I think it often comes down to two larger issues: First, students haven’t been taught
collaborative skills. And second, the task has not been structured for true collaboration.

Solutions

 Explicitly teach collaborative skills.

If students are going to do good collaborative work, they need to be explicitly taught
collaborative skills.

What are some of the Collaborative skills you need to ensure students know?

Collaborative skills, also known as teamwork or interpersonal skills, encompass a range of abilities
that enable individuals to effectively work together towards a common goal. While the specific sub-
strands of collaborative skills may vary depending on the framework or context, here are some
common elements:

1. Communication: The ability to convey ideas, thoughts, and information clearly and
effectively. This includes both verbal and non-verbal communication, active listening, and the
ability to provide constructive feedback.

2. Conflict resolution: The capacity to identify, address, and resolve conflicts that may arise
during collaborative efforts. This involves understanding different perspectives, finding
common ground, and negotiating mutually beneficial solutions.

3. Cooperation: The willingness to work harmoniously with others, share responsibilities, and
contribute to the team's success. It includes being supportive, dependable, and respectful of
others' contributions.

4. Leadership: The capability to take charge when necessary, guide the team towards goals, and
inspire and motivate team members. Effective leadership involves facilitating collaboration,
delegating tasks, and empowering others.
 5. Problem-solving: The aptitude to identify and analyze problems or challenges and develop
solutions in a collaborative manner. This includes critical thinking, creativity, and the ability
to brainstorm and evaluate ideas collectively.

6. Adaptability: The capacity to be flexible and adjust to changing circumstances or team

dynamics. It involves being open-minded, receptive to feedback, and willing to embrace new
approaches or perspectives.

7. Trust-building: The ability to foster trust and establish positive relationships within the team.
Trust-building entails being reliable, honest, and maintaining confidentiality.

8. Time management: The skill to effectively allocate time and resources, prioritize tasks, and
meet deadlines. Good time management within a team setting ensures productivity and
efficient progress towards shared objectives.

Teach these skills in the same way that you’d teach academic material. Explain your expectations,
make the students create a charter for group work in class and let them implement it consciously
during group work.

Do not assume students have already been taught how to collaborate or that they should know
better. Chances are very good that neither of these are true.

Train students on collaborative skills by working on shorter, easier projects at first, then have
students reflect on how well they collaborated. Only have them tackle a bigger project after they
have mastered the collaboration skills.

PROBLEM 2: INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS INTERFERE WITH PRODUCTIVITY.

Sometimes students just can’t get along well enough to work together. These conflicts sometimes
exist prior to a group’s formation; students may have a history with one another that has nothing to
do with your class. Personal problems can also arise after group work starts, as students discover
personality traits that create irritation or conflict.

These kinds of conflicts should not be treated lightly. When students don’t feel socially or
emotionally comfortable with other group members, they won’t be willing to take the kinds of risks
that are necessary for learning. In a 2-year study, Google interviewed hundreds of its employees to
determine what qualities made some teams more successful than others. They identified 5 key traits,
and the one they said was most important was psychological safety. Similarly, a 2017 University of
Washington study reported that students who “felt more comfortable” in their group showed a 27%
increase in content mastery over those who did not (Theobald, Eddy, Grunspan, Wiggins, & Crowe,
2017).

Here are some ways teachers have optimized interpersonal dynamics in groups:
 1. Start with team-building
2. Survey students during group work.
3. Some teachers have students complete daily reflection sheets where they indicate how well
they felt their group worked together that day. These can help you detect problems early on
so they can be addressed right away.
4. Work with students to problem-solve. In some cases, rearranging groups or allowing some
students to work independently may be the most logical solution. But at other times, the
teacher can work with students who struggle in groups to develop better social and
collaborative skills.

PROBLEM 3: OFF-TASK BEHAVIOUR WASTES TIME.

Whether it’s excessive talking, inappropriate device use, or general fooling around, a lot of
cooperative time can be wasted when students just aren’t doing the work they’re supposed to be
doing. Here are some ways to tackle this problem:

1. Do check-ins.
2. Establish specific tasks or benchmarks that groups need to complete and show you when
they’re done.
3. Breaking the larger project into smaller tasks not only keeps everyone moving, it can also tell
you which groups are starting to fall behind the others. These check-ins can be required for
individuals or for whole groups. Some teachers assign points or grades for these to add extra
incentive.
4. Use a timer. Several teachers said that setting a timer for the completion of certain tasks
helped keep groups on track.
5. Look at the assignment. Students may have trouble focusing on the task because it doesn’t
really engage them. Maybe it’s not personally meaningful to them, maybe it’s too easy,
maybe it’s too confusing. Any of these shortcomings can make it much more difficult for
students to stay on task, and no matter how many checks you put in place, if it’s an
uninspired or poorly designed assignment you’ll be fighting an uphill battle.

PROBLEM 4: STUDENT ABSENCES CAN THROW EVERYTHING OFF.

Ideally, all group members will be present for the whole lifespan of a project. But things happen, and
the longer the project, the more likely you are to have absent students. One missed day is usually not
a big deal, but if a student misses multiple work days when the group should be actively
collaborating, it becomes much harder for that person to make an equal contribution. Here are some
ways teachers have found to work around this issue:

Design projects where some components require all group members’ participation, but others are
done by individuals and might even be considered “like to have” rather than “must have.” That way if
one person is unable to do their part, that part can just be dropped without impacting the whole
project.
Make sure roles and responsibilities are clearly defined ahead of time for each student so that the
“work” doesn’t just get pushed around randomly. If a student is absent for a few days, it’s clear what
they need to do to catch up, and if they are unable to do it, the other group members can decide
who takes on their tasks.

If students set goals together and include contingencies for absences in a group contract, then there
will already be an agreed-upon plan to put into action.

Leverage technology. Have students use a platform like a shared Google Drive or a HyperDoc for
keeping all project materials in one accessible place. As long as the absentee has home internet
access and is well enough to work, he or she can keep at it from home.

Course correct. If a student’s absence lasts long enough to impact the group and the above solutions
aren’t working, the teacher may redistribute the workload among remaining members, remove the
student from the group, and give that student an individual assignment to replace the group task. If
you spell this out in the contract and/or rubric ahead of time, the process should be fairly
straightforward.

A FEW MORE TIPS

 Don’t send work home. Because home environments vary so greatly and students have
different access to materials, transportation, etc., it’s best to keep all collaborative work in
the classroom.
 Keep groups to 3-4 students. This seems to be the general consensus from expert readings to
talking with individual teachers. Once a group gets larger than 4 it becomes easier for
students to slip through the cracks.
 FROM THE TEACHER’S PERSEPECTIVE

STEPS TO EFFECTIVE COLLABORATIVE PLANNING-

PRE- IMPLEMENTATION PHASE

1. IDENTIFY THE TOPIC AND ITS SUB-STRANDS ON WHICH COLLABORATION IS POSSIBLE.

2. LIST 2 OBJECTIVES OF WHY THE COLLABORATION IS NECESSARY AND MEANINGFUL
3. LIST 2 TARGETTED LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR YOUR SUBJECT.
4. CREATE 2 ACTIVITIES UNDER YOUR TOPIC- ONE CAN BE MULTI-MODAL, ONE WRITTEN
WHICH WILL HELP ACHIEVE/MANIFEST LEARNING OUTCOMES.
5. CREATE SPECIFIC RUBRICS FOR THE ACTIVITIES SO THAT YOU CAN GIVE SPECIFIC QUALITATIVE
FEEDBACK ON THE PROJECT AT 2 JUNCTURES OF THE COLLABORATION.
6. APPROACH THE SUBJECT TEACHER AND DISCUSS POINTS 1,2 AND 3.
7. THE COLLABORATING TEACHER HAS TO ALSO FORMULATE POINTS 1,2 AND 3.
8. IDENTIFY ONE COMMON OBJECTIVE AND ONE COMMON OUTCOME BETWEEN THE 2
SUBJECTS- THIS CAN BE DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE 3CLER.
9. PLAN THE ROADMAP OF THE COLLABORATION USING THE FOLLOWING TEMPLATE

NAME OF THE PROJECT

UNIT/TOPIC

MONTH OF EXECUTION

SUBJECTS AND THEIR INDIVIDUAL CONNECT TO THE TOPIC

SUBJECT A- LEARNING OUTCOME

SUBJECT B- LEARNING OUTCOME

COMMON OUTCOME

DURATION -LESSONS REQUIRED – SPECIFY FOR EACH SUBJECT

SUBJECT A-

TOPIC- METHOD- (PEDADGOGIES BEING USED)

SUBJECT B

TOPIC – METHOD- (PEDAGOGIES BEING USED)

TEACHER REFLECTION

STUDENT REFLECTION

LESSON SCHEDULE – DAYS/DATES.

IMPLEMENTATION PHASE -

CREATING EFFECTIVE WORKING GROUPS

MAKE THE GROUPS YOURSELF DISTRIBUTING ABILITY EQUALLY.

REMIND THE STUDENTS THAT THE PROCESS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE PRODUCT. MOST
COMPETITIVE STUDENTS WANT TO PAIR UP TOGETHER TO GET THE BEST MARKS. THIS IS NOT THE
TARGET – TEACH THEM TO BE MINDFUL OF THEIR COLLABORATIVE SKILLS.

TEACH THE STUDENTS HOW TO COLLABORATE IN A GROUP-

Instead of assigning students to be a leader, timekeeper, researcher, or supplier, make the roles a
more significant part of the project process. Assign students to take on the role of Self-Management,
Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, or Responsible Decision Making for their group. Give them
descriptions of their competency and build in goals, tasks, and reflection questions based on their
role. Not only will this help student groups be more productive, it directly teaches Social and
Emotional Skills.
LISTING THEIR GOALS/TARGETS- AND BUILDING THE PROCESS PHASE

A REMINDER OF THE TEACHER’S ROLE IN A COLLABORATIVE EXERCISE

 Clarity in Planning- you must have a concrete plan in place with your collaborating partners
on board.
 Tangible Deliverables – specific skill sets put into use during the course of the activity,
specific concepts based on sound assimilation of concepts taught in class and the correlation
with the Curriculum Framework of our school.
 Time span- how much time you will utilise for the implementation of this exercise from end
to end.
 Resources playlist – you need to have a list of resources you will share with the students for
different phases of the collaboration. Pupils can search their own resources but you need to
give them a head start.
 Rubrics that clearly lay out what success looks like in terms of the collaborative activity- both
at the level of the class as well as at the level of each student. All the members of a group
cannot get the same final grade – they will need to get individual feedback on their role.

The teacher can use a variety of approaches in this journey-

 Hands on guide –in the initial stages of the exercise, teachers should ideally be giving clear
instructions in hard copy and explaining the journey to the students. -Discussing on how the
collaboration will be enriching and the gains from it- borrowing from the Learning Outcomes.
 Active Supervisor- while group discussions and work is on, the teacher will circulate around
the class, observing, helping, commenting, making sure students are equally contributing, as
well as learning from the time they are spending on the activity. This is a good time to make
notes on students and how each one of them are involved – these notes will help in the
qualitative feedback stage.
 Gentle Motivator- Groups can suffer from demotivation due to factors like poor group
dynamics and absenteeism. Be sure to catch onto these issues early on in the activity-
because very often the final product might just be the work of a few.
 On the same page as the collaborating Partner – It is very important to share equal
enthusiasm with the collaborating partner because then the journey is more meaningful.