Collaborative learning & Cooperative L

 Collaborative learning Wk,pd

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_learning

Collaborative learning is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together.^[1] Unlike individual learning, people engaged in collaborative learning capitalize on one another's resources and skills (asking one another for information, evaluating one another's ideas, monitoring one another's work, etc.).^[2][3] More specifically, collaborative learning is based on the model that knowledge can be created within a population where members actively interact by sharing experiences and take on asymmetric roles.^[4] Put differently, collaborative learning refers to methodologies and environments in which learners engage in a common task where each individual depends on and is accountable to each other. These include both face-to-face conversations^[5] and computer discussions (online forums, chat rooms, etc.).^[6] Methods for examining collaborative learning processes include conversation analysis and statistical discourse analysis.^[7]

Thus, collaborative learning is commonly illustrated when groups of students work together to search for understanding, meaning, or solutions or to create an artifact or product of their learning. Furthermore, collaborative learning redefines the traditional student-teacher relationship in the classroom which results in controversy over whether this paradigm is more beneficial than harmful.^[8][9] Collaborative learning activities can include collaborative writing, group projects, joint problem solving, debates, study teams, and other activities. The approach is closely related to cooperative learning.

Theoretical background

 Collaborative learning is rooted in Lev Vygotsky's concept of learning called zone of proximal development. Typically there are tasks that learners can and cannot accomplish. Between these two areas is the zone of proximal development, which is a category of things that a learner can learn but with the help of guidance. The zone of proximal development gives guidance as to what set of skills a learner has that are in the process of maturation. In Vygotsky's definition of zone of proximal development, he highlighted the importance of learning through communication and interactions with others rather than just through independent work.^[10] This has made way for the ideas of group learning, one of which being collaborative learning.

Collaborative learning is very important in achieving critical thinking. According to Gokhale (1995), individuals are able to achieve higher levels of learning and retain more information when they work in a group rather than individually, this applies to both the facilitators of knowledge, the instructors, and the receivers of knowledge, the students.^[11] For example, Indigenous communities of the Americas illustrate that collaborative learning occurs because individual participation in learning occurs on a horizontal plane where children and adults are equal.^[12]  

... Workplacе

The popularity of collaborative learning in the workplace

According to a collaborative learning study conducted by Lee & Bonk (2014), there are still many issues that are still being resolved when dealing with collaborative learning in a workplace. The goal was to examine corporate personnel, including learning managers and instructors, plus the tools that they use for collaboration. The researchers conducted an online survey to see what aspects of collaborative learning should be investigated, followed by an open discussion forum with 30 corporate personnel. The results showed that collaboration is becoming very necessary in workplaces and tools such as wikis are very commonly used. There is implication for a lot of future work, in order to have collaborative learning be highly effective in the workplace. Some of the unsolved problems they identified:

1. Cultural diversity, and accordingly a lack of awareness of cultural norms
2. Geographical distance and time zone differences
3. Member isolation in virtual teams
4. Generation gaps and age differences in the acceptance of collaboration tools
5. Lack of technology support for learners
6. Lack of learners' awareness about effective collaboration processes and strategies
7. Lack of learners' technological skills and knowledge about collaboration tools ^[23]

It is crucial to consider the interactive processes among people, but the most critical point is the construction of new knowledge brought about through joint work.

 ... Cultural variations

There also exists cultural variations in ways of collaborative learning. Research in this area has mainly focused on children in indigenous Mayan communities of the Americas or in San Pedro, Guatemala and European American middle-class communities.

Generally, researchers have found that children in indigenous Mayan communities such as San Pedro typically learn through keenly observing and actively contributing to the mature activities of their community.[31] This type of learning is characterized by the learner's collaborative participation through multi-modal communication verbal and non-verbal and observations.[31] They are highly engaged within their community through focused observation.[32] Mayan parents believe that children learn best by observing and so an attentive child is seen as one who is trying to learn.[32] It has also been found that these children are extremely competent and independent in self-maintenance at an early age and tend to receive little pressure from their parents.[32]

Research has found that even when Indigenous Mayan children are in a classroom setting, the cultural orientation of indigenous learners shows that observation is a preferred strategy of learning.[33] Thus children and adults in a classroom setting adopt cultural practice and organize learning collaboratively.[33] This is in contrast to the European-American classroom model, which allocates control to teachers/adults allowing them to control classroom activities.[34]

Within the European American middle-class communities, children typically do not learn through collaborative learning methods. In the classroom, these children generally learn by engaging in initiation-reply-evaluation sequences.[31] This sequence starts with the teacher initiating an exchange, usually by asking a question. The student then replies, with the teacher evaluating the student's answer.[35] This way of learning fits with European-American middle-class cultural goals of autonomy and independence that are dominant in parenting styles within European-American middle-class culture.[31]

 ...  Adults and children in indigenous communities of the Americas participate in a horizontal organizational structure; therefore when they work together with one another they are reciprocals of each other.[41] This horizontal structure allows for flexible leadership, which is one of the key aspects of collaborative learning. The indigenous communities of the Americas are unique in their collaborative learning because they do not discriminate upon age, instead Indigenous communities of the Americas encourage active participation and flexible leadership roles, regardless of age. Children and adults regularly interchange their roles within their community, which contributes to the fluidity of the learning process. In addition, Indigenous communities consider observation to be a part of the collaborative learning process.[

 Collaborative learning can also be incorporated into university settings. For example, the Intercultural Maya University of Quintana Roo, Mexico, has a system that incorporates elders, such as grandparents to act as tutors and as a resource for students to discuss information and knowledge regarding their own language and culture. The elders give their recommendation at the end of a semester in the decision of passing or failing a student, based on his/her behavior in the community and how well he/she is learning Maya. The system is called IKNAL, a mayan word that implies companionship in the learning and doing process that involves several members of the community.[42]