Constructivism and Collaboration

Collaboration has become an overwhelmingly popular term that is used throughout multiple fields and disciplines. It is rare that I can sit through a commercial break during primetime television without hearing this word used as a selling point. So what is all this hype about collaboration?

Howard Rheingold (2008) believes that it is a basic human instinct to “interact and work as a group”. Whether it’s human instinct or common sense, I believe that a group can accomplish much more than an individual. This idea isn’t new. Assembly lines show us that quantity increases when multiple people work together for a common cause. Is this collaboration? This has been known for over a century, so it still doesn’t explain the sudden focus on this single word. The problems facing our world today are too great for any one person to solve. Many are too great for a single discipline to solve. Collaboration is a platform for individuals to come together to produce a creative solution towards a common problem or cause. The quality of the end result is the key to collaboration.

Collaboration isn’t only receiving attention in the business world. Educators are beginning to understand the importance of collaboration as a learning tool in the classroom. The constructivist learning theory “rests on the assumption that knowledge is constructed by learners as they attempt to make sense of their experiences” (Driscoll, 200 p. 387). Students must experience complex problems before they can begin to solve them. Technology provides these opportunities for students. According to Edelson as cited in Driscoll (2005), with technology, “the potential is there for technology to play a “revolutionary role in supporting new forms of learning conversations in educational settings” (p. 398). As new technologies emerge, the capabilities technology will provide classrooms are limitless.

Edutopia and the George Lucas Foundation have discovered that “More than 1200 studies comparing cooperative, competitive, and individualistic efforts have found that cooperative learning methods improve students' time on tasks and intrinsic motivation to learn, as well as students' interpersonal relationships and expectations for success” (Vega & Terada, 2012). The multiple benefits discovered using collaboration in the classroom can be further explored at Edutopia. Educators are responsible for preparing for the future. In order to do this, we must prepare our students for the unknown.

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education

Rheingold, H. (2008, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

Vega, V., & Terada, Y. (2012, 12 5). Research Supports Collaborative Learning. Retrieved from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/stw-collaborative-learning-research

Engaging eLearners Graphic Organizer

    Learners today are using a variety of technological tools that can be brought into educational settings to enhance learning.  Blogs, Skype, email, and streaming video are tools that many individuals use frequently for personal use.  These same tools can be used in online learning.    Blogging is a phenomenon that is widely used throughout society.  From DIY projects to instructional activities, society utilizes blogs to enhance their personal knowledge on topics of their choice.  Blogs can be an effective tool in an online setting.  Students can explore blogs of experts in the field to increase knowledge.  Ibraheem Almuhanna states in his blog that blogs offer a place “where authors can express themselves and reflect on their knowledge while getting feedback and comments from readers”.  Blogs can also be an assessment medium.  Students can create their own blogs and write on assigned topics to portray knowledge.  This gives students the opportunity to gather feedback from individuals around the globe instead of just the course instructor.

     Wikis are widely used throughout multiple fields.  Collaboration is getting a lot of press, and schools and educators are being urged to incorporate collaboration within their instruction.  Implementing wikis in an online setting provides students with tools to collaborate with peers from across the world.  Students can work together to complete a final product.   In addition, since wikis track changes and page edits, it is easy for instructors to identify individual contributions for assessment purposes.  The benefits of this free tool should not be overlooked.

   Isolation is a major concern for many entering an online setting.  However, video conferences tools such as Skype can help alleviate this problem.  Skype has the capabilities of recreating the face-to-face aspect that many feel is lost through online education.  Synchronous discussions can occur in online learning.  Research has shown that using a variety of tools that are appropriate for specific instructional tasks can make distance, or online, learning just as effective as traditional learning (Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford, 2006).

Almuhanna,  Ibraheem  (2012).  Online learning tools and communication guidelines.  Retrieved from: http://onlinelearningstrategies.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-world-wide-web-offers-many.html

Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching,54(1), 190−193.

Comments posted to:

LeAnn Morris

http://leannmorris.blogspot.com/2013/01/module-4-graphic-organizer-engaging.html?showComment=1359305805732#c2650712318728670290

Martha Bless

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Assessing Collaboration

Module 3

In distance education, designing instruction that incorporates a collaborative learning community can be a difficult task.  However, assessing individual student contribution on the given task can be a greater challenge.  While it is acceptable to alter instructional methods to meet the demands of our ever changing society, we hold tight to the traditional methods of assessment.  However, as we’ve grown to learn that traditional lecture-based instruction is not always (or mostly) the best method to maximize student achievement and performance, educators have vastly remained stagnant in assessing.  This unbalance may be why assessing collaboration or “group work” so difficult for educators in kindergarten through grad school.

In order to prepare our students to meet the demands of our ever-changing society, our philosophical shifts must occur within instruction AND assessment.  Building learning communities that foster collaboration requires student participation (Palloff & Pratt, 2007).  The amount of information recall as student obtains is no longer our main concern.  However, the ways in which students use their knowledge to improve the overall success of the group is key.  Collaboration is often product focused, but assessing the final product does not give a fair or clear picture of individual student performance.  George Siemens offers multiple suggestions on how to change our assessment models to match our instructional goals (Laureate Education Inc., 2008).  Peer and self-assessment provide instructors with insight on how individual contributions lead to final product.  Educators need to assess collaboration work based on the contributions made by individual students and how those students fostered interaction throughout the group (Laureate Education Inc., 2008).  Wikis and learning management systems can track individual contributions throughout the entirety of a project and assist in accurately assessing participation in collaboration efforts.  This can help ensure that the product was completed collaboratively by all members of the learning community.

Not everyone openly embraces collaboration in a learning community.  Often, individual accomplishments were acclaimed in the past and due to the definition of collaboration, some can have a “loss of self” mentality (Laureate Education Inc., 2008).  This can lead to failure for not only the individual but the group.  Jeffery Hammond reminds us in his blog of the significance of communicating the individual importance of each group member.  Without individual participation, the group will be unsuccessful.  Instructors and learning communities can take measures to prevent this from occurring.  In the very beginning, instructors need to ensure that every student feels welcomed and clear and direct expectations are provided, and learning communities should create a team charter that explicitly defines individual roles and expectations from within the group (Palloff & Pratt, 2007).  If this fails, the instructor should step in to mediate without dominating the group or relinquishing control from the active members (Palloff & Pratt, 2007).  Regardless of preventative measures, there will be times when a student refuses to participate or participates in a negative manner.  This is why clear and concise expectations given at the start is so important.  The groundwork is laid and assessments should be given based on the initial expectations and charter.  Active participants should not be negatively assessed based on these behaviors.  The instructor may need to reconstruct groups in order for the active participants to be successful. 

Collaboration is an effective and meaningful instructional strategy that will provide students with the skills needed to collaborate in the corporate world.  Designing appropriate assessments for collaboration is essential for successful and productive collaboration learning communities.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Blog replies to:

LeAnn Morris
http://leannmorris.blogspot.com/2013/01/assessing-collaborative-efforts.html?showComment=1358101719892#c5821701707820266493

Karen Wagoner
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Global Diversity in Distance Education

George Siemens believes that there is a growing acceptance of distance education throughout the corporate and educational worlds.  I agree that distance education is going to continue to grow at an insurmountable pace due to the benefits provided by distance education.  Increase in global diversity, communication, and collaborative interaction are the main reasons Siemens’s believes distance education is going to continue to evolve and become more and more acceptable (Laureate Education Inc., 2008).

The element of global diversity will be my main focus throughout this post.  Whether you’re an entrepreneur trying to break through into the global market or on Wall Street trying to make investments in the global economy, global diversity is a skill that will be needed throughout all fields in the workforce.  Global diversity will no longer be an optional addition to highlight your resume.  It will be a required prerequisite.  Alphonse Badoma discusses in his blog how distance education gives the education field a medium to overcome issues in regards to diversity.  In addition, Teri Page (2012) states in her blog that “online programs are preparing students for the corporate world by giving students experiences in working with other student across the world.”

Distance education allows students to work with peers and colleagues from around the globe.  Prior to enrolling in an online degree program, the only global interaction I in education was through a foreign exchange student a friend hosted while in high school.  While working on my master’s degree, I took several courses online with students from different countries.  Interacting with them enhanced my personal learning as well as gave me insight to how education is expanding throughout the world.  Had I attended a traditional university to further my education, my peers would have been limited to others who were geographically and culturally equivalent to me.

Technological advances have provided us with a multitude of tools to interact with peers globally.  Discussion boards, blogs, and chat rooms have been around for a while and allow for basic interactions.  However, technologies such as Skype and wikis allow more personal interactions as well as collaboration from across oceans. With the constant evolution of technology, it is impossible to imagine the capabilities of distance education of the future.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author

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Replies to:

Erin Rocha
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Allison Hill
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