Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning is when two or more people attempt to work and learn something together. Dillenbourg, P (1999).
Collaborative learning can involve two or more people working together on a project or learning a certain subject whilst discussing it with one another. 

This type of learning is based on the fact that socialising when learning is natural in education and when trying to learn something new.
One of the main characteristics of collaborative learning is working together in small groups to get a task or project done. Legeune, (1999).
Collaborative learning has many advantages that promote this type of learning and benefit children in learning something new. One of the benefits of collaborative learning is assimilating different peoples views and ideas and combining them all together to create lots of different opinions and bring them together as one. 

Collaborative learning has been involved in primary schools for over thirty years, proving that it is a successful way of learning for children and that it's an interesting way of educating children in schools. 
Teachers are trying to bring collaborative learning into the classroom more often, as it's something different and more fun for children to learn topics when they can work with other children and discuss ideas and views.
It's also great for children working together, as it educates them on different people's opinions and it teaches them to accept and appreciate their peers' opinions and look at different perspectives.
However, as well as acknowledging other people's ideas when working together they have to learn to also defend their own ideas and opinions and articulate them too. 

Another extraordinary advantage of collaborative learning which Dylan Wiliam strongly agrees with, is that group goals with individual accountability doubles the speed of pupils' learning.
From this video, he explains and shows how children double their learning speed when working with groups of children and learning from socialising.

The main aim of collaborative learning, is to reach an end goal at the end of discussing and working together as a group. When working in small groups, pupils are responsible for not only their own learning but for others too. 
Collaborative learning makes a significant change to the normal way of children learning in a classroom, and it gives them the chance to speak for themselves and talk about what they've learnt. 
Proven to be one of the main ways to help children to learn, this context of learning is a successful one and a useful way in educating children. 







References

1. Curtin Teaching and Learning
Retrieved on 17th April from :
(http://otl.curtin.edu.au/learning_teaching/philosophy_teaching/student_centred/collaborative.cfm)

2. Collaborative Learning Project
Retrieved on 18th April from:
(http://www.collaborativelearning.org)

3. Collaborative Learning - Dylan Wiliams
Retrieved on 18th April from:
(http://www.journeytoexcellence.org.uk/videos/expertspeakers/collaborativelearningdylanwiliam.asp)

4. Constructing Knowledge Together (21-45). Extract from Telecollaborative Language Learning. A guidebook to moderating intercultural collaboration online. M. Dooly (ed.). (2008) Bern: Peter Lang.