Collaborative Learning Techniques E-Book

Elizabeth F. Barkley

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 733

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

A guide to thirty-five creative assignments for pairs and groups Collaborative Learning Techniques is the bestseller that college and university faculty around the world have used to help them make the most of small group learning. A mountain of evidence shows that students who learn in small groups together exhibit higher academic achievement, motivation, and satisfaction than those who don't. Collaborative learning puts into practice the major conclusion from learning theory: that students must be actively engaged in building their own minds. In this book, the authors synthesize the relevant research and theory to support thirty-five collaborative learning activities for use in both traditional and online classrooms. This second edition reflects the changed world of higher education. New technologies have opened up endless possibilities for college teaching, but it's not always easy to use these technologies effectively. Updated to address the challenges of today's new teaching environments, including online, "flipped," and large lectures, Collaborative Learning Techniques is a wonderful reference for educators who want to make the most of any course environment. This revised and expanded edition includes: * Additional techniques, with an all-new chapter on using games to provide exciting, current, technologically-sophisticated curricula * A section on effective online implementation for each of the thirty-five techniques * Significantly expanded pedagogical rationale and updates on the latest research showing how and why collaborative learning works * Examples for implementing collaborative learning techniques in a variety of learning environments, including large lecture classes and "flipped" classes * Expanded guidance on how to solve common problems associated with group work The authors guide instructors through all aspects of group work, providing a solid grounding in what to do, how to do it, and why it is important for student learning. The detailed procedures in Collaborative Learning Techniques will help teachers make sure group activities go smoothly, no matter the size or delivery method of their classes. With practical advice on how to form student groups, assign roles, build team spirit, address unexpected problems, and evaluate and grade student participation, this new edition of the international classic makes incorporating effective group work easy.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Praise for Collaborative Learning Techniques, Second Edition

Title Page

Copyright

About the Authors

Preface

Background and Audience

How to Use This Book Effectively

Part One: Establishing the Context

Chapter 1: Collaborative Learning: Coming to Terms with the Term

What Is Collaborative Learning?

Using Cooperative Learning and Collaborative Learning in Practice

Conclusion

Chapter 2: The Case for Collaborative Learning

What Is the Theoretical, Pedagogical Rationale for Collaborative Learning?

What Is the Evidence That Collaborative Learning Promotes and Improves Learning?

Conclusion

Note

Part Two: Implementing Collaborative Learning

Chapter 3: Designing the Learning Task

Identifying the Learning Task's Underlying Problem and Prompt

Selecting CoLTs That Correlate to Course Learning Goals

Structuring the Task to Address Student Needs and Abilities

Conclusion

Chapter 4: Orienting Students

Icebreakers and Introductory Activities

Course Policies and Procedures

Orienting Students to Collaborative Learning

Conclusion

Chapter 5: Forming Groups

Group Types

Group Size

Group Membership

Conclusion

Chapter 6: Facilitating Student Collaboration

Introducing the Activity

Observing and Interacting with Groups

Structuring Reporting-Out Approaches

Helping Groups Achieve Closure

Conclusion

Chapter 7: Grading and Evaluating Collaborative Learning

General Principles of Evaluation

Important Decisions in Grading Collaborative Work

General Guidelines for Grading Collaborative Work

Grading Individuals and Groups

Conclusion

Chapter 8: Avoiding and Resolving Common Problems

Designing and Facilitating Courses to Avoid Problems

Specific Common Problems and Potential Solutions

Conclusion

Part Three: Collaborative Learning Techniques

Origin of the CoLTs

How to Use the CoLTs

CoLT Categories

Format Used to Present the CoLTs

Using CoLTs in Various Educational Environments

Chapter 9: Techniques for Discussion

Collaborative Learning Technique 1: Think-Pair-Share

Collaborative Learning Technique 2: Round Robin

Collaborative Learning Technique 3: Buzz Groups

Collaborative Learning Technique 4: Talking Chips

Collaborative Learning Technique 5: Three-Step Interview

Collaborative Learning Technique 6: Critical Debate

Chapter 10: Techniques for Reciprocal Teaching

Collaborative Learning Technique 7: Note-Taking Pairs

Collaborative Learning Technique 8: Learning Cell

Collaborative Learning Technique 9: Fishbowl

Collaborative Learning Technique 10: Role-Play

Collaborative Learning Technique 11: Jigsaw

Collaborative Learning Technique 12: Test-Taking Teams

Chapter 11: Techniques for Problem-Solving

Collaborative Learning Technique 13: Think-Aloud Pair Problem-Solving (TAPPS)

Collaborative Learning Technique 14: Send-a-Problem

Collaborative Learning Technique 15: Case Study

Collaborative Learning Technique 16: Structured Problem Solving

Collaborative Learning Technique 17: Analytic Teams

Collaborative Learning Technique 18: Group Investigation

Chapter 12: Techniques Using Graphic Information Organizers

Collaborative Learning Technique 19: Affinity Grouping

Collaborative Learning Technique 20: Group Grid

Collaborative Learning Technique 21: Team Matrix

Collaborative Learning Technique 22: Sequence Chains

Collaborative Learning Technique 23: Word Webs

Chapter 13: Techniques Focusing on Writing

Collaborative Learning Technique 24: Dialogue Journals

Collaborative Learning Technique 25: Round Table

Collaborative Learning Technique 26: Dyadic Essays

Collaborative Learning Technique 27: Peer Editing

Collaborative Learning Technique 28: Collaborative Writing

Collaborative Learning Technique 29: Team Anthologies

Collaborative Learning Technique 30: Paper Seminar

Chapter 14: Techniques Using Games

Planning to Use Games

Choosing a Game

Developing the Game

Facilitating the Game

Closing the Game

Implementing Games Online

Collaborative Learning Technique 31: Team Scavenger Hunt

Collaborative Learning Technique 32: Quizo

Collaborative Learning Technique 33: Friendly Feud

Collaborative Learning Technique 34: Team Jeopardy

Collaborative Learning Technique 35: Team Games Tournament

Appendix A: Useful Tools for Implementing Collaborative Learning in Online Courses

Appendix B: Key to Classroom Environment in CoLT Examples

Appendix C: Key to Professor Names from CoLT Examples

References

More from Wiley

Name Index

Subject Index

End User License Agreement

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Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Preface

Part One: Establishing the Context

Begin Reading

Praise for Collaborative Learning Techniques, Second Edition

“Using group work to promote learning depends on well-designed group activities. I'd give the collection offered in this book an A+. These are activities you can use with all kinds of content and in many different instructional settings. Detailed descriptions ensure successful implementation, and a clear organizational structure makes it easy to find activities of interest.”

—Maryellen Weimer, editor, The Teaching Professor newsletter

“So you have flipped your classroom, or decided to make your lectures more interactive, now what? CoLTs provides the answer with 35 specific, research-proven, and clearly described ways to promote positive interdependence, individual accountability, and teamwork skills. This is a potent cocktail of student learning that will only increase in value. As always, the authors' work rewards faculty who need either a quick idea for tomorrow or a guide for a complete course redesign.”

—José Antonio Bowen, author of Teaching Naked and president of Goucher College

“I've presented over 100 faculty development workshops and conference plenaries across the country in recent years. From here on out everywhere I go I will be recommending this new updated version of CoLTs. It is a must-have resource for faculty who wish to engage modern learners!”

—Christiane Price, professor of psychology and founding director of the Center for Academic Excellence, Dalton State College and CASE

“This book should be required reading for anyone teaching in higher education. This new edition of Collaborative Learning Techniques is filled with just the kind of sound research, practical advice, and useful strategies faculty members need to effectively include collaborative learning strategies both within and outside their classes in online settings.”

—Larry Gallagher, director of Faculty Professional Development, Northern Arizona University

Collaborative Learning Techniques

A Handbook for College Faculty

Second Edition

Elizabeth F. Barkley

Claire Howell Major

K. Patricia Cross

Cover design by Lauryn Tom

Cover image : © iStockphoto/Pavel Khorenyan

Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and is on file with the Library of Congress.

ISBN 9781118761557 (paper); ISBN 9781118761267 (ebk.); ISBN 9781118761670 (ebk.)

FIRST EDITION

About the Authors

Elizabeth F. Barkley is professor of music at Foothill College, Los Altos, California. In over three decades as an innovative and reflective teacher, she has received numerous honors and awards, including being named California's Higher Education Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, formally recognized by the California state legislature for her contributions to undergraduate education, selected as Innovator of the Year in conjunction with the National League for Innovation, presented with the Hayward Award for Educational Excellence, and honored by the Center for Diversity in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Additionally, her Musics of Multicultural America course was selected as Best Online Course by the California Virtual Campus. She was also named a Carnegie Scholar in the discipline of music by the Carnegie Foundation in conjunction with the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Beyond her academic discipline of music history, her interests include engaging students through active and collaborative learning; transforming onsite and online curriculum to meet the needs of diverse learners, especially those from new and emerging generations; and connecting learning goals with outcomes and assessment. Barkley holds a BA and MA from University of California, Riverside, and a PhD from University of California, Berkeley. She is author of Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty (Jossey-Bass, 2010) and several music history textbooks, including Crossroads: The Music of American Cultures (Kendall Hunt, 2013), World Music: Roots to Contemporary Global Fusions (Kendall Hunt, 2012), and Crossroads: The Roots of America's Popular Music (Prentice Hall, 2d ed., 2007), as well as coauthor with Robert Hartwell of Great Composers and Music Masterpieces of Western Civilization (Kendall Hunt, 2014).

Claire Howell Major is professor of higher education at University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. She teaches courses on college instruction, technology in higher education, reading research in the field of higher education, and qualitative research methods. Her research interests are in the areas of faculty work, pedagogical approaches, technology for teaching, and online learning. She also focuses on issues of higher education in popular culture and as a field of study. She typically draws on qualitative methods to answer her research questions.

Major has authored and coauthored several books, including The Essential Guide to Qualitative Research: A Handbook of Theory and Practice (Routledge, 2012), An Introduction to Qualitative Research Synthesis: Managing the Information Explosion (Routledge, 2010), and Foundations of Problem-Based Learning (Open University Press, 2004), all with Maggi Savin-Baden, as well as the forthcoming Teaching Online: A Research-Based Guide to Instructional Change. Major also publishes work in leading education journals and presents at both national and international conferences. She holds a PhD in higher education from University of Georgia, an MA in English from University of Alabama, Birmingham, and a BA from University of South Alabama.

Major is professor of higher education at University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. She teaches courses on college instruction, technology in higher education, reading research in the field of higher education, and qualitative research methods. Her research interests are in the areas of faculty work, pedagogical approaches, technology for teaching, and online learning. She also focuses on issues of higher education in popular culture and as a field of study. She typically draws on qualitative methods to answer her research questions.

Major has authored and coauthored several books, including The Essential Guide to Qualitative Research: A Handbook of Theory and Practice (Routledge, 2012), An Introduction to Qualitative Research Synthesis: Managing the Information Explosion (Routledge, 2010), and Foundations of Problem-Based Learning (Open University Press, 2004), all with Maggi Savin-Baden, as well as the forthcoming Teaching Online and Instructional Change: A Guide to Theory, Research, and Practice (2015, Johns Hopkins University Press. Major also publishes work in leading education journals and presents at both national and international conferences. She holds a PhD in higher education from University of Georgia, an MA in English from University of Alabama, Birmingham, and a BA from University of South Alabama.

K. Patricia Cross is emerita professor of higher education at University of California, Berkeley. In a career spanning forty years in higher education, she has served as dean of students at Cornell, distinguished research scientist at Educational Testing Service, and professor of higher education and chair of the Department of Administration, Planning, and Social Policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Author of eight books, including Beyond the Open Door (Jossey-Bass, 1971), Accent on Learning (Jossey-Bass, 1976), Adults as Learners (Jossey-Bass, 1981), Classroom Assessment Techniques (with Tom Angelo, Jossey-Bass, 1993), and Classroom Research (with Mimi Steadman, Jossey-Bass, 1996), her interest is primarily in the improvement of teaching and learning in higher education.

Cross has been recognized for her scholarship by election to the National Academy of Education and receipt of the E. F. Lindquist Award from the American Educational Research Association, the Sidney Suslow Award from the Association for Institutional Research, and the Howard Bowen Distinguished Career Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

Elected chair of the Board of the American Association of Higher Education twice (1975 and 1989), she has received many awards for her leadership in education, most recently the 2004 PBS/O'Banion Prize for inspiring significant change in teaching and learning. She has been awarded fifteen honorary degrees and is listed in Who's Who in America, International Who's Who of Women, and Who's Who in American Education. An electronic archive containing 250 of her speeches and papers is available at https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/kpcross.

Cross received her BS in mathematics from Illinois State University and MS and PhD in social psychology from the University of Illinois.

Preface

The twenty-first century continues to pose a paradox for higher education. At a time when students and parents consider a college education a necessity and getting into a “good” college is more important and more competitive than ever before, legislators, accrediting agencies, the American public, and educators are raising questions about what students are learning in college—and they are asking for evidence.

Widespread concern has spawned more research, more publications, more legislation, and more exhortation for improvement focused on teaching and learning than at any time in history. The scrutiny has even generated what many consider a whole new field: the scholarship of teaching and learning. The major questions driving this attention concern how to improve the quality of student learning, how to improve the effectiveness of teaching, and how to do both affordably and efficiently. While opinions differ on how much progress we have made in this quest thus far, there is virtually unanimous agreement on the enduring need for improvement.

Collaborative learning attracts interest because it addresses several major preoccupations related to improving student learning. First, the predominant conclusion from a half-century of research is that teachers cannot simply transfer their knowledge to students. Students must build their own minds through a process of assimilating information into their own understandings. Meaningful and lasting learning occurs through personal, active engagement. The advantages of collaborative learning for actively engaging students are clear when compared with more traditional methods—such as lecture and large group discussions—in which only a few students typically can, or do, participate.

Second, many employers consider willingness and readiness to engage in productive teamwork a requirement for success. For some companies and professions, it is a prerequisite for employment. Collaborative learning offers students opportunities to learn valuable interpersonal and teamwork skills and dispositions by participating in task-oriented learning groups; thus, even beyond enhancing the learning of content or subject matter, collaborative groups develop important skills that prepare students for their careers.

Third, our increasingly diverse society requires engaged citizens who can appreciate and benefit from different perspectives. At the same time, most local, national, and global challenges require long-term, collective responses. Learning to listen carefully, think critically, participate constructively, and collaborate productively to solve common problems are vital components of an education for modern-day citizenship.

Finally, colleges and universities want to provide greater opportunities for a wider variety of students to develop as lifelong learners. In traditional lectures, students generally are treated as a single, passive, aggregated entity. Collaborative learning engages students of all backgrounds personally and actively, calling individuals to contribute knowledge and perspectives to the education of all developed from their unique lives as well as academic and vocational experiences.

Background and Audience

It is in this context that we came to this work, which is a collaborative endeavor in itself. We share some characteristics: we are educators seeking to make higher education better, we are researchers seeking evidence about how to accomplish that, and we are teachers with a vested interest in improving practice. We came to this project with the following questions about collaborative learning:

How will collaborative learning improve learning? What is the theoretical basis and pedagogical rationale for collaborative learning?

What is the evidence that collaborative learning promotes and improves learning? And how convincing is that evidence?

Which students are most likely to benefit from collaborative learning? And for which learning tasks is it most appropriate?

How can discipline-oriented college teachers organize effective learning groups in their classrooms? How are groups formed and learning tasks structured?

What are some imaginative and creative strategies and techniques for challenging students? How can teachers adapt collaborative learning techniques (CoLTs) to their courses and teaching goals?

In this handbook, we address these questions as well as many others.

While preparing the first edition of this book, we considered the evidence for collaborative learning sufficiently compelling to add a new question: Given the evidence demonstrating that most students learn more and more deeply when teachers employ collaborative methods effectively, why didn't more teachers use collaborative learning? We believed the answer probably lay in the following reasons: many teachers were unaware of the evidence about the benefits of collaborative learning, and many teachers did not know how to implement group learning activities effectively. The primary purpose of this handbook therefore was and continues to be to provide college and university teachers—regardless of prior knowledge and experience with instructional design or pedagogy—a resource for implementing collaborative work successfully.

A second purpose of this handbook is to encourage faculty to experiment with collaborative learning methods in well-informed and reflective ways. It is no more possible to learn to teach effectively by reading alone than it is to learn to practice medicine by studying only books. Both are part art and part technique. Both take practice. For that practice to be most effective, however, it should be well informed and reflective. Informed teaching requires making instructional decisions based on the collected wisdom from scholarship and practice. Reflective teaching implies assessing and documenting its efficacy. Without this, it is difficult to know whether even well-informed innovations actually make a positive difference in student learning or there is enough difference to justify the effort invested. To that end, we have included advice on assessment techniques that can help document and determine the effectiveness of collaborative learning activities.

A third purpose emerged as we started revising the handbook for this new edition. During the ten years since it was first published, there has been a significant growth in online learning. While instruction in higher education has traditionally taken place during a meeting between an instructor and a group of students at a shared location, online learning, in which teachers and students are separated by distance and quite possibly by time, has become an increasingly mainstream form of higher education. A recent survey of 2800 institutions of higher education indicated that as of fall 2011 6.7 million students, representing 32% of total enrollment, were taking courses online (Allen & Seaman, 2013).

Whereas early online instructors typically focused on transmitting information to students in a manner similar to onsite lecture courses, today they are adopting a range of instructional methods, many of which prioritize learning “through interactions among students” (Stahl, Koschmann, & Struthers, 2006, p. 2). The methods they are choosing seek to contribute to the development and practice of student teamwork skills and dispositions. In short, online instructors are moving away from using content delivery as the primary instructional format and are looking for ways to create opportunities for collaboration between learners (Dirkx & Smith, 2004).

In addition to searching for strategies to enhance the effectiveness of online learning, college teachers are also experimenting with other curricular approaches. For example, in the flipped classroom, students study material independently first and then work in class in more meaningful ways with the content, including interacting with their peers. Collaborative learning activities are ideal in the onsite classroom sessions of flipped courses, so we provide examples on how to implement them throughout Part Three of this handbook.

Finally, due to the increased cost of providing higher education combined with the rising demand for it, large lecture classes, in which several hundred students are enrolled, is also becoming a more common course structure. Professors who have been asked to take a lead role in developing these high-impact classes often have demonstrated particular effectiveness as teachers. Many of them recognize the value of collaborative learning and are looking for ways to implement it effectively in classes with a large number of students. A primary third purpose of this second edition, therefore, is to provide guidance on implementing collaborative learning effectively in the online classroom and other alternative classroom environments.

This handbook is written for current and aspiring college and university teachers. However, we hope it will be read and used in collaborative ways—not just by individual teachers but also by faculty developers, instructional designers, department chairs, and other academic administrators interested in promoting teaching, and improving learning. Teaching circles, seminars, departments, and other educator groups also can employ the material presented in this handbook to provide participants with opportunities to try out, discuss, and get feedback from each other on collaborative learning techniques before transferring them to the classroom.

How to Use This Book Effectively

This handbook is divided into three parts that attempt to address the what, why, and how questions of collaborative learning.

Part 1: Establishing the Context provides the framework by defining collaborative learning and explaining the epistemological underpinnings that differentiate cooperative and collaborative learning. It also provides a brief but comprehensive review of the theoretical and research bases for collaborative learning. Finally, to answer the question of why we should use collaborative learning, it summarizes current learning theory, presents the pedagogical rationale for collaboration, and synthesizes the research regarding the effectiveness of collaborative learning.

Part 2: Implementing Collaborative Learning offers the experience of many teachers, across many types of colleges and disciplines, who have used collaborative learning in their classrooms. It addresses the issue of how to use collaborative learning effectively in the classroom. This part contains practical advice for specific topics such as how to design the learning task, how to form groups, how to assess and grade collaborative work, and how to avoid and resolve problems.

Part 3: Collaborative Learning Techniques (CoLTs) contains detailed descriptions of thirty-five techniques for creating effective group work assignments. It offers answers to the question, How can we, in a practical way, engage students actively in collaborative learning? Organized into categories based on task, the CoLTs are simple and flexible tools that can be adapted to fit a wide variety of disciplines, instructional goals, and learning contexts. In this revised edition, we have added an exciting category that takes advantage of the rise of gaming among college-aged students. While we typically think of gaming as a competitive activity, when games are team based they require a high level of collaboration among participants. We have therefore chosen to include five new CoLTs that we believe help students develop knowledge while also creating opportunities for collaboration and camaraderie.

We are deeply indebted to many colleagues, past and present. The literature of collaborative learning is large, and the number of practitioners quietly using collaborative learning in their classrooms is even larger. Researchers, practitioners, workshop facilitators, and even students have been generous in sharing their knowledge with us—contributing and reviewing CoLTs, revising techniques, critiquing chapters, and talking with us about their experiences and experiments in collaborative learning. Very little in this handbook is new. Our contribution is to pull together the vast resources that exist in collaborative learning and cast it in a format accessible to discipline-oriented faculty. Since the format of Classroom Assessment Techniques (Angelo & Cross, 1993) proved enormously popular with college teachers, we have adapted that practical format here.

This is not a book that must be read in a linear fashion. Readers may start at the point that is most useful and appealing and look at the rest of the text out of order. Thus, experts at collaborative learning may want to skip directly to Part Three to find new techniques. Those familiar with the theory and research regarding collaborative learning but with little classroom experience with it may benefit from starting with Part Two. The majority of teachers, however, will find it most useful to begin with Part One.

Part OneEstablishing the Context

Chapter 1Collaborative LearningComing to Terms with the Term

Interactive group learning has received wide attention and usage in higher education for decades. There are a number of terms for this kind of activity, each with particular elements that are thought or are demonstrated through research to enhance learning. Cooperative learning and collaborative learning are the most commonly used two terms, and each has a rich history and extensive theoretical and research base. Because our primary goal is to help college teachers implement group work effectively in a wide range of contexts, we drew from all approaches to provide the advice and activities in this handbook.

We chose collaborative learning as an overarching term for our broad, integrated approach to group learning, a decision that we describe more fully later in this chapter. The challenge with selecting this single term is that it may not help us understand differences among our instructional practices, some of which are deeply philosophical and some of which are simply practical in nature. Thus, in this first chapter, we offer an introduction to the extensive literature on interactive group learning to develop a more detailed description of the term collaborative learning that is still general enough to be useful yet specific enough to be definitional. In so doing, we address the following questions:

What is collaborative learning?

What is the difference between cooperative and collaborative learning?