Collaborative Learning Technique

By: Iful Rahmawati M Ayuningtyas Umi B Riska Alfin P Yuanita Chandra

Central to implementing collaborative learning effectively is constructing the learning task itself. Miller and her colleagues warn that, a common mistake of teachers in first adopting an active learning strategy is to relinguish structure along with control, and the common result is for students to feel frustated and disoriented.

The two most critical elements in constructing the collaborative learning situation are: 1. Designing an appropriate learning task 2. Structuring procedures to engage students actively in performing that task.

A. General Considerating When Structuring the Task

There are several general considerations to keep in mind when structuring the task in collaborative learning (Davis: 147-154): First, make sure that the assignment is relevant and integral to achieving course objectives so that it does not feel like busy work. Second, take care to match the task to students skills and abilities. Third, design the task to promote interdependence, so that each member is responsible to and dependent upon the others to succeed. Fourth, try to ensure individual accountability. Individuals need to know that they must do their share of the work. Finally, plan for each phase of the collaborative activity, from how to form groups to how group work will be evaluated.

B. Designing the Learning Task Prompt

What is it that we want students to learn? Most learning tasks start with a question to be addressed or a problem to be solved. Modern research in cognition is confirming, John Deweys basic premise that significant learning starts with the learners active engagement with a problem. The problems that are presented vary discipline.

But, Bean advices that generally speaking, learning tasks should be open-ended, requiring critical thinking with supporting evidence or arguments. Tasks should promote controversy. Result in some type of group product, and be directed toward a learning goal of the course. Incorporating collaborative work into other class activities may help deepen student learning.

For example: Think-Pair-Share is an effective strategy for breaking up a lecture and increasing student participation in discussion. Note-Taking Pairs is a technique in which partners cross-check notes for missing information and inaccuracies, thus helping students create a superior, combined set of notes.

C. Creating Tasks That Connect to Broader Course Design.

Fink observes wryly that in his experience, professors put together courses using one of two main approaches.

The first approach is to create a list of eight to twelve topics-drawn either from the teachers own understanding of the subject or from the table of contents of a good textbook-and then develop a series of lectures to go with. This approach is fast end efficient, but he argues it focuses on the organization of information, paying little or no attention to how that information will be learned. Fink prefers a second, alternative approach that he describes as learner centered. A learner-centered approach requires teachers to determine what would constitute high-quality learning in a given situation and then design that quality into the course and into the learning experience.

There are several models for creating a learner-centered course: Determining the learning goals and objectives. Identifying activities that help students achieve the objectives. Creating formative assessment strategies to ascertain how well students are achieving the objectives in order to make adjustments.

Following are two models that structure collaborative learning tasks so that they reflect a learner-centered approach. The first uses Blooms Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (1956), and The second uses Angelo and Crosss Teaching Goals Inventory and Classroom Assessment Techniques (1993).

1. Blooms Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

Curriculum frameworks and individual teachers often refer to Blooms taxonomy for guidance on creating learning activities and assessment strategies that address multiple levels of learning. It includes three overlapping domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. The cognitive taxonomy is referred to most frequently and consists of six levels of learning, including knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Using taxonomy as a guiding framework for designing a learner-centered course might involve: * Identifying the most important educational objectives. * Crafting learning activities that focus on the corresponding level of learning. * Creating Evaluation strategies that assess learning at the appropriate level.

Knowledge: it involves remembering previously learned material such as definitions, principles, and formulas. Task prompts typically contain words such as define, recall, recognize, remember, who, what, where, how, and when. >> Round Robin: to ensure students are actively listening during lecture, form small groups and ask students to generate a list as they recall important pieces of information from a recent lecture.

Comprehension: it involves understanding the meaning of remembered material, usually demonstrated by restating or citing examples. Typical words used for assignments include describe, compare, contrast, rephrase, put in your own words, and explain the main idea. >> Team Matrix: form pairs or small groups and ask students to discriminate between similar concepts by noticing and marking on a chart the presence or absence of important, defining features.

Application: it involves using information in a new context to solve a problem, answer a question, or perform a task. Prompts include words such as apply, classify, use, choose, write an example, and solve. >> Role Play: create a scenario and ask students to act out or assume identities that require them to apply their knowledge, skills, or understanding as they speak and act from a different, assigned perspective.