Learning The Importance Of Distributed Learning Environments

A reflection on the skills acquired from collaborative learning and how they may be applied in practice

Participating in group activities have never really been my thing, but this project was a great experience. I got the chance to meet individuals with different problem solving solutions than I, and the people I communicate with daily. This project helped me gain communication skills amongst others when trying to make a decision, and the process of coming to an agreement. The knowledge, skills, and abilities I demonstrated throughout the weeks have grown and boosted my confidence when partaking in a group setting. I learned that people are easily offended and it may be hard to steer away from it, but it can be done. Teamwork has always been easy for me because I offer more help than needed to my teammates. The panel discussion taught me that not everyone one wants help, but the opportunity for their opinions to be considered. Each tool I have gained from this experience will make it easier for me to engage with others in the near future in a mannerly way whether it is for a grade or not.

Generally group learning is cost effective for employers, employees/learners and providers. Enabling continued and multi use of materials, resources and facilities. Group learning also ensures a consistent, common message and programme.

The teacher prepares the students to operate in a small group together. This practice can enhance the student’s cooperative learning skills.

• Team Learning—transforming conversational and collective thinking skills, so that groups of people can reliably develop intelligence and ability greater than the sum of individual members’ talents.

A reflective essay on the skills acquired from collaborative learning and how they may be applied in practice.

Throughout life there are many instances in which an individual has to work in a group to complete a task/project. The importance of group work is to have teamwork with each member of the group. Humans are driven to connect with each other and by working as a group ideas become much more enriched and the ideas or thoughts that each person ‘brings to the table’ each individual is able to add onto that idea or it can trigger one to think of something completely different.

With the heterogeneous groups the level of discussion and cooperative work is increased, providing benefits for every student partaking. According to Paul Burden and David Byrd (2012), “Having students work in groups generally has a positive effect on their achievement when compared to their work as individuals.” Small-group work and discussions allows for students to improve their communication skill, cooperation skills, and gain new insight and understanding from their peers in a way that could not be achieved working alone.

2. Cooperative learning directed towards focusing on students’ team work while doing their project assignments.

With knowledge gained from previous experience, I knew that the students I would be teaching were comfortable with a variety of learning methods, but work more effectively when a practical or group task is set. I shall therefore tailor my resources to promote this type of learning within my teaching group.

Collaborative learning stems from the theory of Vygotsky’s conception of Zone of proximal development. The thought is that children learn best with “help and guidance” (Ormrod, 2012). In transitioning this zone to a collaborative learning experience, children work with their peers in broadening their learning experience, allowing small groups of students to work together to share knowledge, exchange ideas, problem solve, and more. These classroom environments help to create durable abilities in students and aid in producing a “smoother integration into adult society when the activities resemble real-world tasks” (Ormrod, 2012). As students work with peers and adults, they adopt some of the learning strategies demonstrated and develop more skills in problem solving. This scaffolding creates a trickle-down effect of knowledge construction. In collaborative learning, students are afforded a myriad of enriching opportunities to explore perspectives that may differ from their own. These activities serve to create a self-awareness in the student of their responsibilities to a group, requiring them to self-monitor their activity (Lee, Tsai, Chai, & Koh, 2014).

“Group work is a form of voluntary association of members benefiting from cooperative learning that enhances the total output of the activity than when done individually”.

I used to believe that I did not perform very well in groups. I am an observer who likes to learn alone. I thought I learned best when I worked on my own. Even though I always knew group work had many positive values, I was more comfortable with the lecture-based approach and resisted group work merely because it involved change, not because it had a collaborative learning approach. However, during the learning community project, I came to realize that I learn more effectively when I work in groups. Working in a group was like an adventure for me; there were both exciting and challenging times while preparing for the learning community project.

Compared to classroom learning, the interaction occurring at online courses is more international. Learners can develop online conversations on forums and interview other students around the world by using web-conferencing technology (Kruger-Ross and Waters, 2013:182). However, it is reported that students prefer face to face contact directly with the tutor who was seen as the focal point of learning, a channel through all interaction that connects ideas, builds understanding, provides feedback and gives summary immediately (Sweeney et al, 2007:316). Additionally, establishing social relations may need classroom environment (Paechter & Maier, 2010:295). Classroom teaching and learning is a complex, multilayered, and social experience, which develops friendship, connection and satisfaction among students. Social community is considered to be relatively poorly experienced in online learning due to learners’ disconnection and could probably cause isolation (Baturay & Bay, 2010:44).

Collaborative learning is founded on the idea that the learning process is a naturally social act which requires the participants to talk among themselves. Collaborative learning involves small groups of students who act on a structured learning activity to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product. In simpler terms, the students work in groups to learn or understand a new concept they are studying. In this learning approach, it is important to understand that the students are accountable for individual work as well as the group work they do as a group in collaborative learning