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Collaborative Language Learning in Class and Online. Rada Balan Cem Can. Introduction:. the late 18th century, George Jardine employed collaborative learning (CL) methods for his philosophy classes at the University of Glasgow.
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Collaborative Language Learning in Class and Online Rada Balan Cem Can
Introduction: • the late 18th century, George Jardine employed collaborative learning (CL) methods for his philosophy classes at the University of Glasgow. • He came to believe that“...the teacher should move to the perimeter of the action...and allow the students freedom to...learn from one another” (Gaillet, 1994).
Introduction: • However, it is only recently, with the advent of the new technologies, that many academics and instructors have become interested in exploring possible alternative methods of course design and delivery.
individualvs. collaborative: • Individual learningcan be pretty effective, but it is well known that the involvement of students in collaborative activities contributes to knowledge acquisition (Dillenbourg, 1999). • Collaborative activities can facilitate the development of student’s personal and social skills which might not be so strengthen when learning individually, such as making ideas explicit, communicating with others, reasoning, arguing, negotiating, etc. • They reduce the potential isolation of students learning through the Web, and supports the communication among them to exchange ideas, doubts, knowledge and so on (Barros, 1998; Muehlenbrock, 1999).
Collaborative Learning • a situation in which two or more people learnorattempt to learn something together (Dillenbourg, 2003)
CL: academic benefits • promotes critical thinking skills • involves students actively in the learning process • improves classroom results • models appropriate student problem-solving techniques
CL: social benefits • develops a social support system for students • builds diversity understanding among students and staff • establishes a positive atmosphere for modeling and practicing cooperation • encourages individual and group accountability through the assignment of specific roles/tasks
CL: psychological benefits • can increase students’ self esteem • develops positive attitudes towards teachers • helps bring students to the proximal zone of development due to its very nature of collaboration
CL: areas of concern • cultural expectations of appropriate roles of teachers and learners • individual learning styles or preferences • over-reliance on the first language • exposure to imperfect language models and incorrect feedback • problems of evaluation
Project work in CL • encourages learning by doing • promotes co-operation and team work • empowers students • develops learner autonomy • enhances students’ feeling of ownership • combines process and product (process as important as product) • Enhances creativity, imagination • helps personal development
CSCL: introduction • In the 80s, a new area of research emerged: Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) (Slavin, 1980). • CSCL, if implemented appropriately, can provide an ideal environment in whichinteraction among students plays a central role in the learning process.
CSCL: theories • Some of the theories used in CSCL are: the Sociocultural Theory (Vygotsky, 1978) the Constructivism Theory (Bruner, 1966), and the Situated Cognition Theory (Brown et al, 1989) . • They all assume that individuals are active agents that are seeking and constructing their knowledge within a meaningful context.
Benefits of CSCL • CSCL can be at least as great as those within a classroom. • In an asynchronous environment, students do not need to meet at a regular place at regular times, so “missing a session” assumes less importance. • Fruitful and constructive discussion and dialogue can take place at any time of the day or night, whenever inspiration or enthusiasm strikes. • Good ideas are less likely to be lost, and thoughts can be followed through without regard to the normal time constraints. • Opinions can be considered on their merits, without some of the stereotypical assumptions that may be superimposed in a face-to-face environment based on the speaker’s gender, physical appearance, or mannerisms.
Benefits of CSCL • Employers - whether private or public corporations, government organizations, or small business - are today more than ever ranking generic skills at least as highly as subject-content knowledge when they select graduates. Among the most frequently listed and highly prized of those generic skills are computer literacy and the ability to work effectively in a team environment. If introduced appropriately into the curriculum, CSCL has the potential to provide students with both.
CSCL: difficulties • “Redesigning an education system is a relatively easy exercise. Changing one’s own method of teaching, especially when it has been acclaimed as successful by all the old standards, is very much harder.” Bruffee (1999)
CSCL: difficulties • Salmon (2000) suggests that in any computer-supported session, the instructor might need to be a chair, host, lecturer, tutor, facilitator, mediator of team debates, mentor, provocateur, observer, participant, co-learner, assistant, community organizer, or some combination of these. • The skills required on the part of the instructor are more complex and diverse than those required for a face-to-face lecture. Thus, instructors need to be prepared for the different roles they will have to assume.
CSCL: difficulties • The students coming to CSCL courses for the first time can be apathetic or sometimes openly hostile. This might stem from the “CS,” or the “CL.” • The solution to both of these problems is to ensure that students are computer-literate and used to the idea of working in teams prior to the commencement of the course. This can be best achieved by having computer skills and teamwork introduced as core components of an introductory course.
Instead of conclusions “Societies would not exist, exchange goods and services would not take place, entertainment would not be possible, occupations would not be available, education would be unheard of- complete anarchy would exist without cooperation.” ( Johnson & Johnson, 1994)
Thank you! rada_balan@yahoo.com cemcan@cu.edu.tr
two or more • may be interpreted as • a pair, • a small group (3-5 people), • a class (20-30 people), • a community (a few hundreds or thousands of people), • a society (several thousands or millions of people) . . . • and all intermediate levels
learn something • may be interpreted as • "follow a course", • "study course material", • "perform learning activities such as problem solving”, • "learn from lifelong work practice", etc.;
together • may be interpreted as different forms of interaction: • face-to-face or computer-mediated, • synchronous or not, • frequent in time or not, • whether it is a truly joint effort or • whether the labor is divided in a systematic way
the Sociocultural Theory • Learning awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that are able to operate only when the learner is interacting with people in his/her environment and in cooperation with peers. Vygotsky, 1978, p. 90
the Constructivism Theory • learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. The learner selects and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so. Bruner, 1966
the Situated Cognition Theory • emphasizes that in educational settings, students should be given authentic tasks that have a real-world focus. They complete these tasks by working together as a team, sharing problems, and acquiring knowledge that will be beneficial in the real world. Thus, the situation allows them to link the context with the knowledge learned, which can be applied in other situations.
CSCL promotes critical thinking skills • Panitz (2001) suggests CSCL develops: • higher level thinking skills; • stimulates critical thinking; • helps students clarify ideas through discussion and debate; • enhances skill building and practice; • develops oral communication skills; • fosters metacognition in students; • and improves students’ recall of text content through cooperative discussions
CL involves students in the learning process • CL: • creates an environment of active, involved, exploratory learning; • encourages student responsibility for learning; • involves students in developing curriculum and class procedures; • provides training in effective teaching strategies to the next generation of teachers; • helps students wean themselves away from considering teachers the sole sources of knowledge and understanding; • fits in well with the TQM and CQI models of effective management; • promotes a learning goal rather than a performance goal; • fits in well with the constructivist approach; • and allows students to exercise a sense of control on task.
CL improves classroom results • Panitz (2001) suggests that CL: • promotes higher achievement and class attendance; • promotes a positive attitude toward the subject matter; • increases student retention; enhances self management skills; • increases students’ persistence in the completion of assignments and the likelihood of successful completion of assignments; • helps students stay on task more and be less disruptive; • and promotes innovation in teaching and classroom techniques
CL models problem-solving techniques • CL: • fosters modeling of problem solving techniques by students’ peers; • allows assignment of more challenging tasks without making the workload unreasonable; • can help weaker students improve their performance when grouped with higher achieving students; • provides stronger students with the deeper understanding that comes only from teaching material; • leads to the generation of more and better questions in class; • provides a safe environment for alternate problem solutions; • and addresses learning style differences among students
CL develops a social support system • promotes student-teacher interaction and familiarity; • develops social interaction skills; • promotes positive societal responses to problems and fosters a supportive environment within which to manage conflict resolution; • creates a stronger social support system; • fosters and develops interpersonal relationships; • and helps students to develop responsibility for each other
CL builds diversity understanding • builds more positive heterogeneous relationships; • encourages diversity understanding; • fosters a greater ability in students to view situations from others’ perspectives (development of empathy); • and helps majority and minority populations in a class learn to work with each other (different ethnic groups, men and women, traditional and non-traditional students)
CL establishes a positive atmosphere for modeling and practicing cooperation • helpsto model desirable social behaviors necessary for employment situations that utilize teams and groups; • fosters team building and a team approach to problem solving while maintaining individual accountability; • creates environments where students can practice building leadership skills; • develops learning communities; • provides the foundation for developing learning communities within institutions and in courses; • helps to promote social and academic relationships well beyond the classroom and individual course; • and helps teachers change their roles from their being the focus of the teaching process to becoming facilitators of the learning process (they move from teacher-centered to student-centered learning).
CL can increase students’ self esteem • group learning can help to reduce anxiety; • enhance student satisfaction with the learning experience; • promote a mastery attribution pattern rather than helpless attribution pattern; • and encourage students to seek help and accept tutoring from their peers
CL develops positive attitudes • can create a more positive attitude on the part of students towards their instructors; • and create a more positive attitude by instructors toward their students; • and set high expectations for students and teachers.
CL encourages individual and group accountability • individuals are held accountable for the success of each of the other members • self -evaluation of their participation, of the value of their contribution and their attitudes and actions towards the other members is included
Cultural expectations of appropriate roles of teachers and learners • teacher centered / teacher-directed classes vs student –centered /student- directed classes • possible abrogation of responsibility on the part of the teacher • the matter of appropriateness of individual responsibility and competition in education
Individual learning styles or preferences • the amount of time students wish to spend in individual experimentation or reflection, or group discussion and processing may be affected • personality differences may be so great that a member of the group needs to be re-assigned
Over-reliance on the first language • members speaking the same first language will tend to shift to first language interaction
Exposure to imperfect language models and incorrect feedback there are voices claiming that • learners may provide poor models for each other • the inadequate knowledge of the language could result in either inappropriate or insufficient feedback
Problems of evaluation • the group accomplishment of the task makes individual assessment difficult
