My next post will explore how collaborative learning could
impact on primary education.
What is collaboration? Collaboration is an act which all
members of a particular group has active participation to produce a solution
for a problem or work towards a goal (Smith and
MacGregor, 1992).
Collaboration is considered to be one of
the most significant skills to be taught in the classroom today. Lord Broers
believes that by allowing collaboration, there is an increased impact on
creativity because of the congregation of diverse capabilities, (Broers, 2005).
Psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Gregory
Feist’s view is conflicting to Broer’s idea about collaboration and creativity.
Their research implied that learners tend to be more creative when they have
their privacy and freedom, free from interruptions. According to their studies,
introverted people incline to be the most spectacularly creative people in many
areas (Matthew, 2014). This creative process can be comprehended by the
creation of ‘Apple’, their personal computer. Steve Wozinok was the introverted
engineering genius who worked by himself for 3months to create the captivating
personal computer. He presented the idea to Steve Jobs and handed over his idea
away for free. This illustrates that the very best of creative people work
alone. They reside inside their own head and become the very best of engineers,
artists and inventors (Cain, 2012).
Within the education setting, the
development of the extensive internet and technology has enabled for
collaboration to progress further than expected. Software programmes such as
twitter, google docs, classroom skype and many more have allowed for the
students to build on their own knowledge rather than being restricted to their
own classroom (Dillengbourg, 1999). We have employed the use of classroom skype
at university to enable collaboration with a primary school in Nairobi; Cherry
School. Here is a video blog showing their school and about their environment
from Jairus, who is the head teacher of Cherry school (Young, 2017).
This experience has freed up the walls of
our lecture room to share our experiences as well as theirs. The impact for the
class from this experience was definatly authentic and meaningful. As john
Dewey said “All genuine learning comes
through experience.” (Dewey, 1938, pg. 25). The collaboration experience with Cherry
school has met at least 1 purpose from the successful futures curriculum;
ethical, informed citizens. This will enable for learners to understand how to
respect the needs and rights of others, as a member of a diverse society. The
knowledge and awareness will develop about other cultures, communities and
societies around the world. This will encourage the learners to achieve confidence
to be citizens of Wales and the world (Donaldson, 2015).
Should collaboration in schools be
managed as part of everyday learning? If we are to compare our education system
to Finland, who have been renowned for its highest quality education system in
the world, then collaborative teaching has been made compulsory in every
Finnish school. Relevant topics are chosen by the students, and the pedagogy is
based around them. They take great advantage of the use of technology and
resources to enable them to be as innovative as possible (Spiller, 2017).
Collaboration could also have a great
impact for assessment for learning in the classroom. Peer assessment could be
used as part of a formative assessment to encourage collaboration which will
increase student engagement and they will be more able to find meaning in their
work. This will encourage students to contribute and take more responsibility
of their role in the classroom. There will be a great significance on their use
of metacognition and develop on their criticality skills. The pedagogical
experience will be beneficial as they are able to reflect on the strengths and
weaknesses on themselves and others (Blanchard, 2009) (Mcculloch, 2014).
However, there are
risks to be considered if this pedagogy style was to be implemented.
Friendships and peer pressure could have a significant effect on the
reliability of the grades. Some students may feel reluctant to make any
judgments about their peers’ work which could lead to imbalanced contributions,
therefore, will increase the workload for the teacher overall (Irons,
2008).
References
Blanchard, J (2009), Teaching,
learning and assessment. Open University press: Berkshire.
Broers, A, (2005). The
triumph of technology. (the Reith lectures) 4th May.
Cain, S. (2012) The rise of the
new groupthink. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opinion/sunday/the-rise-of-the-new-groupthink.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (Accessed:
9/12/2017).
Carroll, M & Mcculloch, M (2014), Understanding teaching and learning in primary education: Sage
publications: London
Dewey, J.
(1938). Experience and Education. New
York: Touchstone.
Donaldson, G, (2015). Successful futures: Independent review of curriculum and assessment
arrangements in Wales. Welsh Government.
Irons, A (2008), Enhancing
learning through formative assessment and feedback. Routledge: Oxon
Matthew, K. (2014) 'Creativity, Virtue and the Challenges
from Natural Talent, Ill-Being and Immorality', Royal
institute of philosophy supplement, Vol 75, pg. 203-230.
Nick Young (2017) Cheery school Nairobi Skype project..
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1csQkePU74&feature=youtu.be (Accessed:
8/12/2017).
Smith, B.L. & MacGregor, J.T, (1992). What is collaborative learning? Collaborative Learning: A Sourcebook for Higher Education. Pennsylvania State University
Spiller, P. (2017) Could subjects soon be a thing f the past in
Finland. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39889523 (Accessed: 9/12/2017).
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