The Art of Learning Together: Collaboration in the Classroom

Stuti Roy works as TGT English for CBSE and CAIE curriculum at Billabong High International School, Noida, Uttar Pradesh. She has a teaching experience of almost 22 years and has held various other responsibilities in her academic career that include Head of Department English, RIDS, SQAA, School Magazine and Newsletter. She has participated in various trainings, webinars and workshops from various organisations like CBSE, British Council, Diksha, Expressions India, ELTAI, Dakshtaa and so on.

Stuti is an avid writer and many of her articles, papers, chapters and poems have been published at both online and offline platforms like books and journals. She has various awards and honours to her list like the Lighthouse Learning Educator’s Impact Award for the Best Teacher, Best Organizing Teacher Medals (All India Environment Awareness and Conservation, Jim Corbett), British Council ISA and so on.

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When we talk about the preparation of learners for a new society, economy and globalisation, we refer to some skills which are vital in the individual growth of each of them - physically, emotionally and socially, and the benefits of which are felt not only in the individual but also those who are present around.

The 21^st century is definitely an era of innovation, development and ideation with novel and limitless dimensions, opportunities and innovations, which have brought a drastic evolution in the education system. To flourish in this world, survival skills alone do not suffice; special skills ought to be nurtured from the foundational stage.

The conventional medium of education might equip them to survive in the world, but the 21^st century demands skills that empower them to master every aspect of life, from life skills to digital skills to face the challenges of unknown possibilities that the future holds.  As mentors, we should take care that these skills are embedded in all aspects of the teaching learning process. These skills encompass the 7C’s: communication, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and innovation, change, citizenship, character, 3R’s: reading, writing and arithmetic and 2M’s: motivation and meta-cognition.

Here, collaboration is one of those skills, the merits of which provide learners with life skills such as taking turns, sharing, following rules, negotiating, and compromising.

Facilitating children on how to collaborate and create multiple learning experiences stands as a remarkable method to develop an adaptable classroom and build confidence in them.

Collaborative learning refers to girding a variety of educational approaches involving an allied intellectual effort by either students or both students and teachers together.

Teachers believe that this type of learning is an educational agenda that includes equipping students with key competencies or soft skills that will prepare students for the tangible working environment and includes increased student engagement, collaboration with teammates, teamwork as well as societal responsibility.

Now let’s discuss how this very important learning stands beneficial.

Increased student engagement It develops in the learners the ability to think critically and encourage them to participate by providing an answer, explaining their point of view and justifying their opinion. Students form their own knowledge and this formation includes students delving deeper into the subject matter and building new associations from previous knowledge, resulting in learning of a higher order. Societal responsibility An educational system not only fosters habits of participation but also a responsibility towards the larger community. Collaborative learning catalyses students to express their ideas, thoughts and values as well as acquire an empathetic and sensitive ear to listen to the voices and perspectives of others through fundamental threads like dialogue, teammates might possess. Fosters interpersonal communicative skills Communication is a two-way process which involves both speaking and listening to others. Collaborative learning creates an environment where learners within the team get to file their oratory skills and absorb information, thus appreciating different perspectives from their peers on a specific topic. Strengthens critical thinking and analytical skills When learners learn to interpret the problems in collaborative learning sessions, they learn to understand them, analyse the needs of a given situation, come up with solutions and evaluate each one according to individual perspectives. Promotes diversity This form of learning brings students of various backgrounds, beliefs, education levels and ages together which stands of great significance. In the process of emerging to a solution, students hear a variety of explanations and interpretations from their peers with different opinions and perspectives. How to execute collaborative learning effectively in a classroom 1. Assign diverse groups School mentors need to pay utmost attention to group formations in order to maximise the benefits of collaborative learning. Usually learners tend to collaborate with those who are close to them or easy to work with, which results in some students being left out. So teachers must create heterogeneous groups that have groupings of varied strengths, weaknesses, abilities, backgrounds and social capacities. Encouraging diversity within groups promotes a dynamic learning community where students encounter diverse opinions and perspectives, which resembles real-life workplace scenarios. The size of the group also plays a significant role here. If a group is too small, interactions and discussions may not be varied or rich enough and if it is too large, some students tend to be left out. Therefore, the ideal group size should vary from four to five. 2. Establish a deep understanding of collaborative work When the learners are clear with the objectives and outcomes of the projects, and how the accomplishment of the task would help them achieve the desired learning goals and develop real-life skills, they participate with greater enthusiasm. For a successful collaborative learning activity, students should also be apprised on the ground rules and instructions to be kept in mind while working together. These rules should specify the language, the behaviours and the task allocation suitable for teamwork. To enable the students’ ownership of their learning, they can even be involved in drafting the collaborative working rules from objective, strategies, methodology to execution, presentation, summarisation, assessment and reflection. 3. Incorporate self and group assessment Giving a platform to the learners to assess and reflect on their group members’ performance and that of themselves promotes a sense of responsibility, ownership, and accountability during the collaborative process. A lucrative self or peer evaluation component requires the development of holistic rubrics that allow the learners to provide considerable feedback and be clear about the expectations and achievement of outcomes for the projects or tasks. Since the beginning of the content, we have been brainstorming about the benefits and implementation of collaborative learning. The techniques and strategies that can be used should not be a miss here. 4. Daily discussion questions A topic or an issue from their surroundings which they need to be aware of can be taken on a daily or alternate to a group of two or more people that ignites the sharing of ideas or opinions. Such use of topics used in classroom settings help to get students engaged, and can be a means to engage them in meaningful discussions. 5. Jigsaw technique Jigsaw literally meaning arranging pieces of a puzzle together to an idea wherein each piece of the puzzle has a significant value. This technique persuades each member of the team to get into research and deepen their understanding in the concerned area and then share their knowledge with the rest of the team one by one. Such technique enables the learners to imbibe the value of team work and improve comprehension and listening skills.  6. Role-playing and enactments Role playing, enactments, theatre, drama are examples of collaborative learning where individuals display the information and knowledge gained through acting and role play. As such kind of activities involve high energy and fun element, they are known to help increase engagement among team members. 7. Stump Your Partner Students take a minute to create a challenging question based on the content up to that point and pose that question to their partner or some other member. A teacher here can assign two to three learners a responsibility of creating a question bank based on all the questions received. 8. Fish Bowl debate/Listening Triangle The students sit in groups of three and roles are allocated among them. One person takes on in proposition of the topic for debate, the other person takes on the opposition, and the third person takes notes and decides which side is the most convincing and provides an argument for his or her choice. A few groups may be called to summarize the discussions. 9. Rainbow Research This strategy caters to bigger groups wherein the learners are divided into groups of seven and a colour of the rainbow is assigned to each member. The team members share their inputs on a particular required topic and then the members are shuffled and new groups are formed. Prior knowledge is merged with new information and more enriched presentations are achieved. 10. Story Weavers This strategy can be taken wherein a situation or topic is given and the learners share their real-life examples and anecdotes, which are further collaborated and presentations are done giving a real life connect which is an important part of any kind of learning. In the era that we are living, it becomes imperative that schools prepare the learners for the 21^st century workforce where they emerge into highly collaborative and curious and life-long learners, who are better equipped to confidently conquer hurdles and strive towards global citizens.