Collaborative learning

Hello Education Bloggers, I hope you are all keeping well! Unfortunately, this will be our last discussion until after Christmas, but there will be plenty more in the New Year. Let’s get to it!

I want you to think about the word ‘collaboration’ and what this means to you?

In our lecture, we came up with the idea of a group of people working together efficiently and effectively with your peers. Similarily, Donaldson (2015, no pg.) agrees that is the “ability to function effectively as a member of a team is one of the key skills” and links in with being able to work as team with new people. Teamwork could be seen as an essential feature in education as well as a modern work place, so we can engage and understand the views and thoughts of other people.

Additionally, it is supported by Dillenbourg et al. (1996); Kirschner et al. (2009a) as they state that collaboration is all about “active engagement and interaction among group members to achieve a common goal”. These definitions summarise collaboration as being about co-operation and communication with other peers, which potentially helps those children that struggle with some parts of the work. Also, teachers could point out the areas of weakness for some children because “the transfer of existing knowledge can generate context-specific knowledge” Ainscow (2016, pg.136). This gives children a chance to help each other and peer assess, and may allow children to understand their strengths and weaknesses better.

Myself and my University peers had the pleasure of teaching some children from St Nicholas Church in Wales Primary School to use GarageBand to create some songs. This was a good example of collaboration because the children were asked to get into pairs to work together on a song for a project they were doing in class. This required children to use a range of skills to produce a song efficiently and effectively. I had the opportunity to work with two girls that communicated and worked well together, therefore engaging them into an activity that involves different areas of learning and experience e.g. digital competency as they used a computer to create their song; numeracy because they encouraged to work out how long each part needed to be and where they could include new instruments and literacy to come up with a story for their song. This is showing cross-curricular in one session, and is a fun way of learning. The use of collaboration between the two girls worked well and they did seem as if they enjoyed themselves…so much that they even came up with a dance to go with the song!

Picture of the two girls using GarageBand

So, how do you think collaboration can enhance our learning? Garvey (1984, pg. 216) believes the process of how children learn is “what others first did for the child and the child next learned to do for himself, speaking aloud as did others, he has now learned to do himself”. To me, it is implied that children will gradually start to understand things the more a teacher or peer shows them, so they can eventually do it for themselves. The method of working with others to show collaboration evidentially works per Garvey, because “information discussed and delivered by friends and colleagues will be more salient” The Guardian (2006, no pg.).

However, The Guardian (2006, no pg.) have also questioned whether “group work is less efficient and productive than an individual performing a task alone” in the same article. This question is based on how teachers decide to split the groups up because some children will work differently with others. Harper & O’Brien (2015, pg. 68) show that “there are different ways of students working together for collaborative learning…ability groups, personality types, personal choice and student interest”, which is based on a teacher’s preference.

Putting children into groups based on their ability has been debated for years as to whether it works, or whether it is a complete waste of time. According to BBC (2015, no pg.), “many teachers feel they teach more effectively when pupils are grouped academically…they can offer a more tailored approach”, and this is a good way for teachers to assess based on what the children know as a group. Furthermore, children could understand more if they are around people that work at the same ability e.g. child A may be put into a group as child B, who work at the same ability. Child B may not understand fraction so; child A could explain it in terms that are suited to child B’s needs whereas if child C, who works at a higher ability explains it, child B may get confused. This encourages the children to peer assess each other’s work, so they can communicate to complete the work together.

Conversely Beatriz Pont, an education analyst states that “streaming by ability “exacerbates inequities” because immigrants and pupils from low-income families are likely to be placed in low-ability groups” The Guardian (2012, no pg.), which could be unfair because children may not be able to fulfil their full potential. Additionally, it is stereotyping those children that could have a high academic ability but because they come from a deprived area, they are seen to be ‘incapable’.

I agree with Beatriz’s point, because it is unfair to categorise those that try to complete the work to the best of their ability, and are placed in a low ability group based on who and where they are raised.

Here is a question for you all to think about, could it possibly encourage children if they are with a mixture of abilities, so those at a higher ability supports those at a lower?

So, that is all for this year Education Bloggers! It feels good to be back and I cannot wait for our discussions in the New Year. Up to now, we have had discussions about the purpose of education and pedagogy, creativity in a classroom, cross-curricular and how collaboration enhances learning. Thank you all for reading and Merry Christmas!

References:

-       Ainscow. M (2016) ‘Struggles for Equity in Education’, Oxon, pg.136

-       BBC (2015) ‘Ability grouping at secondary school’, no date. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/parents/ability_grouping_at_secondary/ (Accessed: 25/11/17)

-       Dillenbourg, P. (1999) ‘Collaborative learning: Cognitive and Computational approaches: Advances in Learning and Instruction’ Pergamon: London
     Donaldson, G. (2015). Successful futures: independent review of curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales: February 2015

-       Garvey. C (1984) ‘Children’s Talk’, London, pg. 216

-       Harper.J & O’Brien. K (2015) ‘Classroom Routines for Real Learning’, Canada, pg. 68

-       The Guardian (2012) ‘Dividing younger pupils by ability can entrench disadvantage, study finds’, 9 February. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/feb/09/dividing-pupils-ability-entrench-disadvantage (Accessed: 25/11/17)

-       The Guardian (2016) ‘Does working as a group actually help us learn?’, 9 April. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/apr/09/does-working-as-a-group-actually-help-us-learn (Accessed: 17/11/17)