Collaborative learning

Collaborative learning is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches in education that involve joint intellectual effort by students or students and teachers. Groups of students work together in searching for understanding, meaning or solutions or in creating a product. The approach is closely related to cooperative learning, but is considered to be more radical because of its reliance on youth voice. Collaborative learning activities can include collaborative writing, group projects, and other activities.

Collaborative learning has taken on many forms. One form is Collaborative Networked Learning for the self-directed adult learner.

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has emerged as a new educational paradigm among researchers and practitioners in several fields, including cognitive sciences, sociology, computer engineering. It thus constitutes a new trans-disciplinary field.

Criticisms
Critics of collaborative learning techniques contend that even though the techniques have potential for great results, the application of the techniques is very difficult to do right due to factors such as group dynamics, varying skill and intellectual levels among group members, and varying abilities to interact effectively with other group members. These difficulties can easily overwhelm the possible positive benefits collaborative learning techniques may have. Thus a talented, eager student may learn little to nothing and become disenchanted. The result may be the fulfillment of the popular phrase that the pace of public education proceeds at the pace of the slowest students.

Resources
A comprehensive web site with links to articles, books, and other resources related to collaborative learning especially relevant to universities and colleges can be found at the Online Collaborative Learning in Higher Education web site.