1. Collaborative Learning In College Education April 12 th, 2004 DLC Independent Research

2. Members William Beachley Jun Chen Huda Khan Sarah Kim-Warren Scott Zweig

3. Overview Motivations  Explore benefits, disadvantages, barriers to collaboration  Explore status of collaboration in classrooms  Lead into technology suggestions for Implementation Project

4. Overview Methods  Exploration of Literature Use of Collaboration in Educational Settings Barriers to Collaborative Success  Survey Two classes  Different views on collaboration Formulate Questions of Interest Collect Answers

5. Reading List Reading  Book: Bennis, W. & Biederman, P. W. (1997) Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration, Perseus Books, Cambridge, MA.

6. Reading List (Cont.) Reading  Articles that Covered: Traditional education vs./incorporating the use of collaboration Benefits and Drawbacks of using collaborative learning methods in college education Instructional techniques and environments for using collaboration in-class Surveys and Evaluation of collaborative groups with regard to academic performance

7. Traditional Methods Knowledge transferred from teacher to students Examples:  Lecture-style classes  Limited Interaction Students:  Passive  Solve problems and study course material in isolation Isolated to allow for individual grade-based evaluation

8. Traditional Methods (Cont.) Disadvantages  Material learned to take tests, not because of personal interest Deep understanding not supported After test taken, material forgotten or not retained  Collaborating with others discouraged Information emphasized but not understanding process of where to find relevant information Skills for working with others not built  Do not understand each others’ strengths and weaknesses  Not accustomed to solving problems of real-world complexity

9. Benefits of Collaboration Solving real-world complex problems, “wicked” problems  Requires different areas of knowledge and expertise  Achieve more than working in isolation Learners engaged in the construction of their own knowledge  Knowledge Retention  Deep Understanding  Personal Relevance and Interest  “Cognitive Elaboration”

10. Benefits of Collaboration (Cont.) Social and Teamwork Skills  Interpersonal Communication  How to work with diverse people and opinions  Needed in Personal and Professional Lives Attitudes towards Learning  Students more actively engaged  Enjoy process more Academic Performance  Seen to improve with the use of collaborative groups  Test scores higher

11. Drawbacks Inadequate Contribution or Free-Riders  Not all members contribute equally  Frustration with process Time Management  Finding Meeting Times for Group Organizational Overhead  Creating timeline  Maintaining and supervising responsibilities

12. Barriers to Collaboration Focus on Isolated Work in Traditional Education Unfamiliar or Unused to Group Work Processes Must understand benefits and relevance  Overcome negative experiences or lack of experience Reflect on value to personal learning

13. Group Activity Two Teams  Become “Experts” Redistribute  Share Expertise  Necessary to Solve Problem Positive Interdependence

14. Successful Collaboration Positive Interdependence  Nature of problem: Ill-defined  Diversity of opinions, background, knowledge Symmetry of Ignorance Common Goal and Motivation  Group “Incentive”

15. Successful Collaboration (Cont.) Paradigm Shifts  Motivation and Understanding of Benefits Reflection on Group Processes What’s In It For Me?  Assessment and Evaluation Processes Free-Riders and Inadequate Contribution Individual and Group Assessment

16. Collaborative Groups Cooperative Groups  Informal  Formal  Cooperative Base Groups Pairs  Think-Pair Share  Dyads Peer-Support Groups  Workshops  Supplemental Instruction

17. Survey Broad Questions  What is the extent of collaboration in our chosen college classes? Homework, Tests, Study In-Class or Out-of-Class  What are students’ perceptions regarding collaboration? Helpful in learning Positive outcomes or experiences Negative experiences Motivated to collaborate

18. CSCI 2270CSCI 7000-001 Description  Title: Intro to Data Structures  Instructor: Prof. Main  Survey Size: 89 Students Description  Title: Discovery, Learning, and Collaboration  Instructors: Profs. Fischer, Eden  Survey Size: 13 Students Teaching Style:  Collaboration in-class infrequent  Website for assignment posting by instructor  Projects to be done individually, plagiarism punished Teaching Style:  Collaboration encouraged in-class and out-of class  Swiki site used collaboratively by students and instructors  Projects done in groups

21. Survey Questions: Attitudes  Attitudes Towards Collaborative Learning  Q.7: What do you like about collaborative learning? A) Work is Divided Up Among Each Member B) New and Different Ideas and Opinions C) I Feel that I Can Accomplish More in a Group than on My Own D) Other (Please Specify)

23. Survey Questions: Problems  Problems with Collaborative Learning  Q.8: What do you dislike about collaborative learning? A) Scheduling Difficulties B) Inefficient Organization of the Work C) “Free Riders” Not Doing their Part D) Conflicts of Opinions and Ideas E) Other (Please Specify)

25. Survey Questions: Barriers  Barriers To Collaborative Learning  Q.9: What do you consider to be barriers to collaborative learning? A) Insufficient Support from Teachers B) Incomplete Education on How to Work in a Group C) Lack of Resources (e.g. group study room) D) Lack of Technology that Support Group Work E) Other (Please Specify)

27. Survey: Positive Comments  CSCI 7000 New ideas/good idea/brainstorm Experience/more achievement/more effective Group work/group effort  CSCI 2270 Fun/interesting/entertaining/enjoyable Team work/helpful/good/effective/constructive/efficient Organized/greater potential/ideas/sharing/efficient

28. Survey: Negative Comments  CSCI 7000 Waste of time/inefficient use of time Tough to organize Not motivated to do any group work  CSCI 2270 Frustrating/arguments/conflicts/stress Free-loaders/inefficient/unorganized Difficult/complicated/time consuming/communist

29. Summary Goal: study collaborative learning in college education What we did:  Research Collaborative Learning Literature  Survey Status of Collaborative Learning in Classrooms

30. Summary (Cont.) Collaborative Learning Theory  Role of Collaborative Learning  Benefits, Drawbacks and Barriers  Successful Collaboration  Collaborative Groups Survey  Extent of Collaboration  Students’ Perception

31. Summary (Cont.) Survey data confirms theory  Benefits: different ideas and opinions, greater achievement, able to solve hard/large problems  Problems: scheduling, free-riders  More than 50% students rather work with others than oneself

32. Future Work Open questions  collaboration skills, incorporation of CL into education system, evaluation, technology support, etc. New forms of collaborative learning in lifelong learning  What: any topic  Where: school, working place, home, online  When: anytime, asynchronous/synchronous, lifelong

33. Our contribution - FEEL Feedback Enhanced Environment for Learning (FEEL)  Hands-on Project  Problem: unidirectional communication and limited student involvement in large classes  FEEL technology supports in-class collaboration between instructor and students student-oriented teaching, better learning experience

34. What else have we learned? How to conduct an IR  Topic selection  Literature search  Survey How to collaborate in a group  Organize work  Maximize individual contribution  Much more …

35. Questions?