Collaborative Learning

I am really sure that collaborative learning is very effective. As we say, two heads are always better than one. While practicing different group activities I witnessed how my students can share strengths and develop their weaker skills at the same time. They also develop their interpersonal skills while collaborating. In some situation they even learn to deal with conflict.

So, group work can result in the production of:

·         wikis

·         proposals

·         reports of case studies

·         in-class or video presentations

·         posters

Here are some ways to provide feedback on group productivity throughout the process as well as on the group product.

·         Evaluate students on both their contributions to group processes as well as the final product.

·         Create a detailed explanation of what your expectations are.

·         Provide scores for individuals as well as groups.

·     Use rubrics.  Consider asking students for feedback and including some of their ideas to the rubric.

·         Incorporate peer and self-assessment at various milestones. This is a good way to check in on the assignment progress as well as the group dynamics.

·         Communicate clearly to students at the beginning how you will calculate their grades.

One of the first things you can do when assessing students' learning is present them with a problem that will elicit a recall of various skills learned throughout a particular course of study. In the traditional manner, give them clear objectives, criteria to demonstrate what they have been learning, and a rubric that defines clear expectations. Then, let them go. Allow your students to organize into work groups. Let them define the roles needed for the task and allow them the opportunity to use various technologies to present, but don't suggest or define a specific tool.

So to quickly review:

·         Step 1: Set clear objectives and tasks

·         Step 2: Allow for open collaboration

·         Step 3: Allow access to learning tools

·         Step 4: Limit explicit direction

·         Step 5: Define clear expectations