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1.1
What is Collaborative Learning?
Submitted by Nicholas Longo
It is said that, “the many are smarter than the few,” but under what conditions? This activity encourages participants to reflect upon their own collaborative successes and failures for the purpose of determining which factors help to achieve effective collaboration.
Learning Goals
Describe strengths, benefits, and challenges of collaborative learning.
Identify key attributes associated with successful and unsuccessful collaborative learning.
Instructions
Set Up: Prepare for the Activity
Prepare to record the discussion on a white board, flip chart, shared document or slide deck, or using an online whiteboard tool.
Begin by introducing the learning goals of this activity.
Step One: Individually Reflect on Positive Collaboration Characteristics (5 min)
Introduce the following prompts. Allow five minutes of silent reflection and writing before inviting participants to share their answers.
Think back to a time when you had a positive collaborative experience. Really try to remember a specific example. Where were you? Why were you collaborating?
Take a moment to remember it. If you have a piece of paper, jot down a few descriptive words. Why did it work well? What made it a positive collaborative experience?
What are the traits or characteristics of a positive collaborative experience?
Step Two: Share Positive Collaboration Characteristics (10 min)
Once participants have had a few minutes to reflect, ask the group to share their positive collaboration traits or characteristics. Try to record the answers thematically, if possible. Do not engage in discussion or explanation of traits. Generate a broad list of positive attributes.
Step Three: Share Negative Collaboration Characteristics (10 min)
Next, using a slightly expedited process, invite participants to think back to a negative collaborative discussion experience:
Why was it bad? What are some characteristics of negative collaboration?
What should be avoided when collaborating with others?
Invite participants to think for a couple of minutes and then share 2-3 characteristics of a negative collaborative experience. Record as before.
Step Four (optional): Rank Top 5 Positive and Negative Collaboration Attributes (20 min)
In pairs or small groups, invite participants to review the lists and identify at least 5 common attributes associated with successful collaboration. Discuss their importance and rank them. For example:
Diversity of perspective
Trust and respect within the group
Responsiveness to team members
Familiarity
Playfulness
Repeat this process for negative collaborative experiences.
Step Five: Debrief as a Full Group (15 min)
Invite participants to review the full lists on the flip chart, the online whiteboard, or shared document/slides. Discuss what collaboration means to the full group:
What are some common observations? Do themes or schemes of analysis emerge from these lists?
Which attributes are most likely to undermine the success of collaboration?
Which attributes would make for the most ideal discussion environment?
Who is responsible for successful collaboration?
How do we create a positive collaborative experience?
TIME
40
min
MODULE
Introduction to Collaborative Discussion
This activity can be completed by any discussion group.
This activity can be easily modified for asynchronous learning. See Sample Asynchronous Certificate Program Design to illustrate sample sequencing.
This activity is suitable for professional or more formal learning environments.
This activity can be used to support facilitation skills. See Sample Facilitation Certificate Program Design to illustrate sample sequencing.
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0 Comments
YD
December 3, 2022 at 2:39:23 AM
Activity 5.4 uses the fun method of role playing and builds on other activities to help participants develop questions and practice gathering information to collaborate effectively with communities as partners. This activity involves working together in small groups and as a large group. It also includes multiple additional resources for participants to continue learning methods and skills to build community partnerships.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 2:39:00 AM
Activity 1.8 provides a very useful survey to gather information on and help support participants' different discussion styles and needs, exploring various areas like preferences for group size, ways of participating in discussions, any fears relating to discussions, etc.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 2:34:46 AM
Activity 5.8 further explores direct democracy by proposing the idea of "legislative juries" to improve the current initiative process through collaboration and deliberation. This activity uses role playing to have participants practice deliberation as part of a mock legislative jury to craft ballot initiatives on a given issue.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 2:27:35 AM
Activity 5.7 uses a fun and tactile activity like building LEGOs to explore the effects of coming together to colloborate and discuss, while also participating together in another physical activity.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 2:22:49 AM
Activity 5.6 uses memes and futuristic zombie scenarios to develop ways to change people's minds, while exploring various aspects of the methods used to change minds, like assumptions behind ideas, sticking to the facts versus stretching the truth, appealing to emotions etc.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 2:16:44 AM
Activity 5.5 uses a fun and visual/craft activity to help participants explore the many different types of knowledge, how they are valued, and the role/importance of each type of knowledge in their own lives.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 2:11:54 AM
Activity 5.3 gives participants to use writing, drawing, and/or speaking to share and discuss the various communities they belong to and/or feel excluded from, the various aspects that define community, as well as the practices of inclusion or exclusion and power distribution in these communities.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 2:07:26 AM
Activity 5.2 introduces four categories of stakeholders and multiple prompts to help participants work together in small and large groups to create comprehensive list of stakeholders, including those who are marginalized or not as obvious, for a given issue.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 2:04:00 AM
Activity 5.1 uses gamification by having participants play the Civics Topics Sweet Sixteen Competition to identify their issues they are passionate about both as individuals and as a group.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 2:01:34 AM
Activity 4.9 uses both lighthearted and serious characters, topics, and dialogue to help participants practice viewing an issue from the perspective of multiple people/characters and explain their thought processes and rationale for the choices they think these people will make in a given situation.