Contemporary Educational Technology, 2023, 15(3), ep428

ISSN: 1309-517X (Online)

OPEN ACCESS Review Article

Collaborative learning and skill development for

educational growth of artificial intelligence: A systematic
review

Andres F. Mena-Guacas 1*
0000-0001-8308-1712

Jairo Alonso Urueña Rodríguez 1

0000-0001-8892-0204

David Mauricio Santana Trujillo 1

0000-0002-8517-1516

José Gómez-Galán 2
0000-0002-9417-8824

Eloy López-Meneses 3,4

0000-0003-0741-5367
1
Faculty of Education, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Bogotá, COLOMBIA
2
Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, SPAIN
3
Department of Education and Social Psychology, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, SPAIN
4
Universidad ECOTEC, Guayaquil, ECUADOR
*
Corresponding author: [email protected]

Citation: Mena-Guacas, A. F., Urueña Rodríguez, J. A., Santana Trujillo, D. M., Gómez-Galán, J., & López-Meneses, E. (2023).
Collaborative learning and skill development for educational growth of artificial intelligence: A systematic review.
Contemporary Educational Technology, 15(3), ep428. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/13123

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Received: 13 Dec 2022 The diversity of topics in education makes it difficult for artificial intelligence (AI) to address them
Accepted: 17 Feb 2023 all in depth. Therefore, guiding to focus efforts on specific issues is essential. The analysis of
competency development by fostering collaboration should be one of them because
competencies are the way to validate that the educational exercise has been successful and
because collaboration has proven to be one of the most effective strategies to improve
performance outcomes. This systematic review analyzes the relationship between AI,
competency development, and collaborative learning (CL). PRISMA methodology is used with
data from the SCOPUS database. A total of 1,233 articles were found, and 30 passed the inclusion
and exclusion criteria. The analysis of the selected articles identified three categories that
deserve attention: the objects of study, the way of analyzing the results, and the types of AI that
could be used. In this way, it has been possible to determine the relationship offered by the
studies between skill development and CL and ideas about AI’s contributions to this field. Overall,
however, the data from this systematic review suggest that, although AI has great potential to
improve education, it should be approached with caution. More research is needed to fully
understand its impact and how best to apply this technology in the classroom, minimizing its
drawbacks, which may be relevant, and making truly effective and productive use of it.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, collaborative learning, skills development, educational

development

INTRODUCTION
The current revolution brought about by the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the
way people live and interact with technology (Makridakis, 2017). Some of the features of AI, such as machine

Copyright © 2023 by authors; licensee CEDTECH by Bastas. This article is an open access article distributed under the
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Mena-Guacas et al.

learning, have the potential to completely change many fields of knowledge as we understand them today
(Wang & Siau, 2019). AI is being used to develop intelligent systems that can operate autonomously, improve
decision-making processes and even provide human-like capabilities, such as natural language processing.
These particulars impact how education is delivered and received today enormous (Pereira et al., 2022;
Celik et al., 2022). To positive use, AI-based tools and systems can personalize learning experiences, improve
teacher productivity and enhance student attention. Virtual tutors could even be used to offer personalized
attention to students in need and provide them with real-time feedback and support. However, while the
benefits of AI in education may be numerous, it is crucial to approach this integration with caution and
consider the ethical implications (Coeckelbergh, 2020). Furthermore, it is essential to ensure that AI systems
are designed to augment and support human teachers rather than replace them.
In this context, we could think about the possibilities of AI in collaborative learning (CL) and competency
development, the basis of contemporary pedagogical approaches. CL allows students to work together to
explore and understand concepts, enabling a more profound understanding than can be achieved with
traditional teaching methods. It focuses on the role of social interaction and teamwork in learning, where
students work together to achieve common goals (Major, 2020). It fosters the development of essential skills
such as communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving (Ghavifekr, 2020).
The development of competencies is also likewise determinant (Ferreira, 2013), as it allows students to
become more proficient in understanding and applying the topics covered in class. CL and skill development
can be enhanced through technology, such as online forums, blogs, and other web-based tools (Molinillo et
al., 2018). They enhance blended learning, gamification, and project-based learning, so relevant in new
pedagogies. They also develop relevant 21st-century skills, such as digital literacy. And among all these
technologies, AI can undoubtedly stand out with the possibilities we have mentioned.
To improve the integration of AI in education, it would be crucial to establish the connections between CL
and the development of competencies. Once configured, it would be necessary to specify which types of AI
would be the most appropriate for its development. The complexity of today’s organizational databases
highlights the importance of complex technical skills as well as soft skills (Mitchell & Vaughan, 2022) and CL
improved students’ readiness for the workforce (Cioc et al., 2022) and transferable skills (Larraz et al., 2017),
including improving one’s ability to work with other students on assignments, listening to the ideas of others,
learning from the ideas of others, and evaluating the ideas of others (Cioc et al., 2022). The skills or
competencies required may be generic or specific. On the one hand, to face the challenges demanded by a
changing and uncertain world, students need to develop generic competencies during their studies (Mykytiuk
et al., 2022). On the other hand, today’s companies require a workforce with specific competencies to perform
increased complexity tasks (Marchi et al., 2019).
There are several ways in which skills (or competencies) development can be strengthened, e.g.,
incorporating interactive digital learning objects (McGuinness & Fulton, 2019), the use of small-space games
(Bennett et al., 2018), behavioral skills training (Kirkpatrick et al., 2019), among others. CL is also one form,
evidenced by the consistency with which studies have found evidence that peer interactions contribute to
student achievement outcomes (Shafipour et al., 2018).
When collaboration manages to consolidate, educational action is more enjoyable and effective (Lee et al.,
2011), individual learning outcomes are increased, and student satisfaction is better (Kwon et al., 2014,
Kurucay & Inan, 2017; Hernández-Sellés, 2021). In addition, CL fosters students’ sense of community,
belonging, and influence (Luo et al., 2017) and contributes to maintaining emotional support (Hernández-
Sellés et al., 2019), and is an indicator of student progress and student groups (Yucel & Usluel, 2016). Both the
interaction between students and between them and the teacher are relevant to the collaborative process
(Hernández-Sellés et al., 2019). However, each contributes differently: collaboration among students is
fundamental for knowledge-building and competency development (Pulgar et al., 2022), while teacher-
student interaction positively influences students’ active learning (Molinillo et al., 2018).
However, CL has not been able to accurately master the information (Rui & Ying-Yan, 2012) generated in
the interaction between actors. This is one of the reasons why one of the seven subjects most outstanding in
AI in education is CL (Feng & Law, 2021). Also, computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has gotten
much attention in AI (UI Haq et al., 2020). This interest has even led to the proposal of a new conceptual

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Table 1. Search code

Codes
SCOPUS (21/09/2022): TITLE-ABS-KEY (interaction OR collaboration AND “skills development” OR “competency
development” OR “development of competences” OR “developing skills” OR” development of skills” OR “competence
development” OR “development of competencies”) AND (LIMIT-TO (SRCTYPE , “j”)) AND (LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2022) OR
LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2021) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2020) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2019) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2018) OR
LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2017) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2016) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2015) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2014) OR
LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2013)) AND (LIMIT-TO (LANGUAGE, “English”) OR LIMIT-TO (LANGUAGE, “Spanish”))

framework called “intelligent tutoring supported collaborative learning (ITSCL)” (UI Haq et al., 2020). In the
studies that have been done, teachers found the AI assistant helpful in collaborative learning environments
because this technology can support the actions of teachers who implement the CL strategy, helping to detect
students with needs and providing suggestions for intervention (Kasepalu et al., 2022).
AI has permeated all aspects of the educational field (Suning & Zhang, 2020), but the diversity of topics
makes it difficult to address them all in depth, so the efforts are not enough development should focus on
those lines that could generate more significant contribution. The analysis of the development of
competencies through the promotion of collaboration should be one of them because competencies are the
way to validate that the educational exercise has been successful and because collaboration is one of the
most effective strategies to improve performance outcomes. Considering the above, two questions are
proposed in this systematic review:
(1) What are the characteristics of the studies that have been carried out about the relationship between
skills development and CL? and
(2) What should AI focus on to contribute to the understanding of competence development through CL?

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Methodology
A systematic review was carried out in SCOPUS, and the PRISMA methodology was used. The search was
done by crossing two of the three concepts (CL and development of competencies), which are the most
frequently found in the available research, thus making it possible to answer the first question posed. The
search algorithm is shown in Table 1. The concept of AI was not used in the search because it was the criterion
for analyzing the documents. This issue is further elaborated in below.

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined to identify manuscripts to be included in the review.

Inclusion criteria
Mention or describe any relationship between interaction/collaboration and the development of some
competence (for example, general, transversal, and specific, but it does not matter if classification is different).

Exclusion criteria
1. The interaction is not between people.
2. The concept of competence is associated with the dispute, contest, or competition and not with
expertise, aptitude, skill, or suitability.
3. It is not possible to access the complete document.
4. It is theoretical research.

Selection of Papers
With the search code, a total of 1,233 articles were found; after reading the title and considering the
inclusion and exclusion criteria, 981 articles were eliminated. The remaining 252 were processed by reading
the abstract, and 219 were eliminated. Three papers were discarded because the complete document was
not available. 30 works were included for the analysis by full screening test (Figure 1).

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Mena-Guacas et al.

Figure 1. Flowchart of relevant article selection (adapted from Dreifuss et al., 2018)

Table 2 shows the list of the 30 papers selected, indicating the title, authors and year of publication.

Table 2. Papers information

Title Author(s) Year
Juxtaposing generic skills development in collaborative knowledge work competences Muukkonen et al. 2022
and related pedagogical practices in higher education
Long-term collaboration with strong friendship ties improves academic performance in Pulgar et al. 2022
remote and hybrid teaching modalities in high school physics
From resistance to acceptance in small group work: Students’ narratives Wong et al. 2022
Improved self-assessed collaboration through interprofessional education: Midwifery Avery et al. 2022
students and obstetrics and gynecology residents learning together
Facebook as a flexible ubiquitous learning space for developing speaking skills Mykytiuk et al. 2022
Students’ experiences of the development of generic competences in the Finnish higher Myllykoski-Laine et al. 2022
education context–The role of teaching-learning environment and approaches to learning
Environmental capability development in a multi-stakeholder network setting: Dynamic Baranova 2022
learning through multi-stakeholder interactions
A model for incorporating information literacy and collaboration in a project-based Cioc et al. 2022
learning pedagogical exercise with application to a fluid mechanics course
Implementing team-based learning: Findings from a database class Mitchell and Vaughan 2022
Synchronous virtual environment and its effect on the development of a health program Infante et al. 2021
in the context of the pandemic
The relevance of interaction in virtual learning environments during COVID-19 Hernández-Sellés 2021
Will the COVID-19 pandemic leave a lasting legacy in children’s skill development? Werner and Woessmann 2021
Role of college environment on students’ soft skills: Achievement goal structure Zhang et al. 2021
Pedagogical strategies for the learning and development of research competences in Hernández et al. 2021
university students
Collaborative problem-solving efficacy in cognitive linguistic skill development and in the Sánchez et al. 2020
academic performance in physics
The effect of peer learning on professional competence development among Indonesian Nelwati et al. 2020
undergraduate nursing students: A quasi-experimental study
Maternal synchrony associated with academic performance in school-age children Negrete-Cortés et al. 2020
Postdocs’ lab engagement predicts trajectories of PhD students’ skill development Feldon et al. 2019
The impact of international stays on the development of skills in doctoral students and Magnani et al. 2019
their transfer in various contexts
Classroom interaction practices and students’ learning outcomes in physics: Implication Achor et al. 2019
for teaching-skill development for physics teachers
Authentic undergraduate research in plant science: The importance of mentor-student Doerflinger et al. 2019
relationships
Buildup of speaking skills in an online learning community: A network-analytic Shafipour et al. 2018
exploration
Research integration in information systems education: Students’ perceptions on Natsis et al. 2018
learning strategies, skill development, and performance

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Table 2 (Continued). Papers information

Title Author(s) Year
Effects of perceptions of the learning environment and approaches to learning on Guo et al. 2017
Chinese undergraduates’ learning
Tensions in mentoring medical students toward self-directed and reflective learning in a Heeneman and de Grave 2017
longitudinal portfolio-based mentoring system–An activity theory analysis
Collaborative work competency in online postgraduate students and its prevalence on Castillo et al. 2017
academic achievement
Transversal skills development through cooperative learning. Training teachers for future Larraz et al. 2017
A structural model of the relationship between student–faculty interaction and cognitive Kim and Lundberg 2016
skills development among college students
Classroom interaction and thinking skills development through teacher-talks Abhakorn 2013
Effects of synchronous computer-mediated communication and face-to-face interaction Mehr et al. 2013
on speaking skill development of Iranian EFL learners

Figure 2. Number of papers per year (Source: Authors)

Table 3. Subjects or disciplines

Subjects or disciplines Papers
Research 14, 18, 19, & 24
Language 15, 22, & 30
Physics 4 & 20
Sustainability 7
Engineering 8
Health 10
Nursing 16

RESULTS
Main Findings
The evolution of the number of publications about skills development through collaboration is positive
and will grow exponentially in 2022 (Figure 2). Four of the eighteen articles published between 2018 and 2022
explicitly mention COVID-19.
Table 3 shows information about the subjects or disciplines in which CL is applied to develop
competencies.

Regarding ways of interaction

25 papers mention the relationship between the interaction and the development of competencies or
skills directly, 27 papers indicate that there is a positive correlation between CL and skill development, 19
exhibits a face-to-face (FTF) interaction, nine computer-mediated interaction (CMI), one does not mention
(NM), and one presents both interactions FTF and CMI (Figure 3). Over time, the interaction that stands out
the most is face-to-face (Figure 4).

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Figure 3. Percentage of items according to interaction type (Source: Authors)

Figure 4. Ways of interaction (Source: Authors)

Table 4. Skills studied

Skills Paper ID Total Skills Paper ID Total
Cognitive [11, 12, 15, 17, 20, 22, 23, 26-30] 12 Socioemotional [12] 1
Communicative and linguistics [1, 3, 5, 8, 14, 15, 19, 22, 28, 29] 10 Research [14] 1
Collaborative work/teamwork [1, 3, 8, 9, 26 27] 6 Propositional [14] 1
Soft skills/generic [6, 13, 18, 21, 24, 25] 6 Technological [14] 1
Professionals or specific [4, 8, 10, 16] 4 Interpersonal [14] 1
Behavioral [14, 17, 20] 3 Procedural [14] 1
Relationship [7] 1 Analytical [14] 1
Structured tasks [2] 1 Intercultural [19] 1
Sustainability [7] 1 Creativity [23] 1

Regarding the skills studied in the papers in contrast to collaborative learning

Table 4 presents the list and the studies related to each. Some arouse more interest than others: cognitive,
communicative, linguistics, collaborative work, teamwork, generic, and soft skills. It is essential to mention
that 27 articles included in the systematic review found a positive relationship between interaction and the
development of competencies.
Figure 5 shows the skills influenced by collaboration mentioned in papers over the last ten years. The
slope of the curve is increasing.
Another important issue is to know the actors involved in the collaboration. Figure 6 shows the different
types.

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Figure 5. Skills studied in the analyzed articles (Source: Authors)

Figure 6. Actors who interact (Source: Authors)

In addition, Figure 7 shows the evolution over time of the types of interaction studied.
To conclude the topic of developing competencies through collaboration, Figure 8 shows the studies that
encourage interaction through teamwork.

Regarding the second question of this systematic review

The analysis of the 30 selected articles identified three categories that deserve attention: the objects of
study, how the results are analyzed, and the types of AI that could be used. These categories were proposed
by Chee et al. (2022).

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Mena-Guacas et al.

Figure 7. Evolution papers about actors who interact (Source: Authors)

Figure 8. Group and non-group interaction (Source: Authors)

Figure 9. Percentage of papers, according to how the results are analyzed (Source: Authors)

How Results are Analyzed

Figure 9 shows the percentage, and Figure 10 the evolution over time, or use of the three forms of
analysis, which can be:

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Figure 10. How results are analyzed in the papers by year (Source: Authors)

Figure 11. Percentage of papers, according to the topics of study (Source: Authors)

(a) Individual performance: analysis of each student’s data;

(b) Collective performance: analysis of data for the entire group (data processing may be individual, but
results are presented for the whole group); and
(c) Learning content: refers to the analysis of the products developed by students and can be individual
or collective.
It is proposed as another category because the analysis of documents (texts, videos, etc.) is a highly used
technique in AI.
The collective performance and learning content are subcategories defined by Chee et al. (2022). The
category of individual performance emerged in the development of this systematic review.

Study Objects
In addition to skills, the most important object of study is related to the characteristics of learning (Figure
11), which has to do with academic performance, interest, and motivation, among others; moreover, interest
in this topic has been growing since 2013 (Figure 12).

Types of Artificial Intelligence That Could be Used

Most of the studies are descriptive (Figure 13), and this is also the type that has been consolidated up to
the year 2022 (Figure 14). The IA should support this type of study.

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Mena-Guacas et al.

Figure 12. Topics of study, according to how the results were analyzed (Source: Authors)

Figure 13. Percentage of papers, according to the types of artificial intelligence that could be used (Source:
Authors)

Figure 14. Topics of study, according to the types of artificial intelligence that could be used (Source: Authors)

DISCUSSION
The first hypothesis about the cause of the growth in publications about the development of skills through
collaboration (Figure 2) is the COVID-19 pandemic because it prompted many people to learn about the
possibilities of collaboration in digital environments.
Aguilar and Perez (2021) point out that CL is essential to a new educational approach characterized by
social isolation and virtual learning experiences because of COVID-19. Other studies, such as Almusharraf and
Bailey (2021), Dewi and Muhid (2021), Handini et al. (2022), Mustakim et al. (2021), and Safta-Zecheria et al.
(2021), and also highlighted the importance of CL during the pandemic and the positive results obtained with
it.

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The data from this systematic review suggest that this may not be the final answer since many of the
papers reviewed present experiences before the pandemic or face-to-face interactions (Figure 2), and only
22% of the papers published between 2020 and 2022 explicitly mention the pandemic. The rest may have
taken the data earlier or do not expressly mention it as an element they consider relevant to the research,
which shows that interest in the topic is not only a result of the pandemic. Moreover, it coincides with the
findings of Feng and Law (2021), who mentioned that CL is one of the most studied education topics with AI.
Although there is a tendency to develop isolated studies by discipline (García-Chitiva, 2021), research on
skills development through collaboration is done in almost all of them (Table 3). This shows that the interest
in developing skills supported by collaboration does not depend on discipline.
Only one article combines face-to-face and computer-mediated interaction (Figure 3). There is still a
predilection for face-to-face interaction, even though teaching in 21st-century higher education is moving
towards e-Learning or b-Learning teaching models (Sáiz-Manzanares et al., 2021). This may happen because
educational institutions have been slowly moving to transform their offerings towards e-learning and b-
learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of higher education, many universities have adopted
the hybrid or blended medium of instruction (Singh et al., 2021), so the modality transformation could be
much more accelerated in the coming years.
Research on the correlation between collaboration and skills development has aroused more significant
interest in studies conducted in education, with a powerful tendency to increase over time. For example, in
2013, articles only mention the influence of interaction in two competencies (linguistic and cognitive), while in
2022, its influence is noted in eleven (generic, specific, teamwork, sustainability, relational, technical, linguistic,
professional, structural tasks, collaborative work and communicative) (Figure 5). This shows that
collaboration has been found to contribute to more competencies than initially thought. Several studies in
different fields of learning, such as those by Gómez-Galán (2020), Hei et al. (2020), Herrera-Pavo (2021), and
López-Meneses (2020), and have presented the reality of this fact.
The type of interaction most often studied is between students (Figure 6), indicating that teachers and
tutors recognize that students have managed to self-regulate and self-manage their learning. In addition,
student-student relationships can play a role in contributing to transformative learning and lead to personal
growth (Kelleher, 2020) and is one of the aspects that allow for a harmonious classroom environment (Luo et
al., 2022). This shows that the decision to prioritize the study of student-student interaction is a wise one.
Regarding the second question proposed for this review, AI algorithms should concentrate efforts on
analyzing the entire group (Figure 9), but in the educational exercise, it is essential to have individual data for
decision-making and strategy design. In a similar way, although in other technological contexts, authors such
as Pastora and Fuentes (2021) and Webber and Zheng (2020) have an impact on this issue. This is reinforced
by what is seen in 2022, as the interest in individual performance equaled the collective (Figure 10). This
shows that the potential use of algorithms will be more significant as they provide data about the
development of competencies at the individual and group levels. This does not imply that the indicators or
analyses are the same at both levels, but both must be carried out. For example, at the individual level, the
processing of the content of a student’s document would be automated with AI to identify the development
of competency and cross-referenced with the quality of their interaction, while at the group level, group
patterns would be placed.
Sentiment analysis has not been used much in the study of competence development through
collaboration (Figure 11), but it has been explored in depth in the AI field. Such an advance would make a
significant contribution in this field because positive feelings favor interaction, promoting collaboration and
skills development. This has been pointed out in several studies, e.g., (Zhipeng et al., 2022) pointed out that
to achieve satisfactory learning outcomes, students must maintain positive emotions during the CL process,
and Dehbozorgi et al. (2021) said that there is a strong positive correlation between students’ positive
emotions while interacting with each other with their performance in the course. Sentiments, interaction,
collaboration, and competencies are four elements connected, so it is necessary to analyze them together,
and AI can support this task. The line of work could be to explore the participants’ feelings and the interaction
that occurs in learning environments; then, it would be necessary to assess the collaboration achieved
between students and teachers through how they interact and finally to evaluate the development of

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competencies. Discourse patterns are another advanced topic in AI, as discussed by Chee et al. (2022) and
Dowell et al. (2019) but developing competencies through collaboration is not yet sufficiently addressed.
From another perspective, the results show that descriptive studies abound (Figure 13 and Figure 14),
but those that provide decision-making inputs (predictive and diagnostic) are almost not carried out. In
contrast, the research in AI-assisted decision-making is experiencing tremendous growth (Schemmer et al.,
2022) because it provides insights and methods that enable decision-making (Yong et al., 2022). Consider CL
as a practical resource for developing competencies with AI, for example, defining the most effective way to
distribute learners in groups for all participants and assessing the quality of interaction in learning
environments, among others.

CONCLUSIONS
Conclusions are proposed based on the two questions formulated for this review:
(a) What are the characteristics of the studies that have been carried out about the relationship between
skills development and CL and
(b) What should AI focus on to contribute to the understanding of competence development through CL?
Regarding the first one, it is essential to mention that studies on developing competencies through
collaboration are rising. The main characteristics of the studies are that they contribute to different areas or
disciplines and prioritize face-to-face interaction, and since 2019 there has been an increasing interest in
computer-mediated interaction. The most studied skills are cognitive, communicative, collaborative, and
generic or soft skills. Finally, the interaction between students is the one that arouses the most interest among
researchers. About the second question, AI development efforts could focus on algorithms that enable
collective and individual performance analysis, boost the study of sentiment, and provide tools for diagnostic
and predictive analysis that focus on providing information for decision-making.
AI has become an increasingly popular topic in recent years, and interest in investigating its potential
educational applications has increased, but much remains to be explored in this area. In addition, although it
has great potential to improve education, it should be approached with caution. More research is needed to
fully understand its impact and how best to implement these technologies in the classroom, minimizing its
drawbacks, which may be relevant, and making a truly effective and productive use of it.

Author contributions: AFM-G, JAUR, & DMST: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, data
curation, writing-original draft preparation, writing-review & editing, supervision, & project administration & JG-G & EL-
M: writing-original draft preparation, writing-review & editing, investigation, & supervision. All authors approved the
final version of the article.
Funding: The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.
Ethics declaration: Authors declared that no ethics committee approval was required since the study is a review of
existing literature.
Declaration of interest: Authors declare no competing interest.
Data availability: Data generated or analyzed during this study are available from the authors on request.

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