Collaboration

Collaborative learning involves groups of learners working together to create a joint product, cooperatively solve a problem, or co-construct their understanding of a topic. The literature distinguishes between cooperative and collaborative learning, with cooperative learning involving a task that can be decomposed into individual independent subtasks and collaborative learning involving a task that must be completed as one shared group task (Cohen, 1994; Watkins et al., 2007). However, more often the two terms are used interchangeably and align with the latter definition. In truly collaborative contexts, learners believe that they can only achieve goals if others in the group also reach their goals (Johnson & Johnson, 1999). As a result, learners must support one another’s learning by explaining, examining, and reconciling their multiple perspectives through conversation, as well as by giving help to and seeking help from peers (Watkins et al., 2007). Collaborative learning is an alternative to competitive learning, where students believe that they can obtain their goals only if others fail, and individualistic learning, where students believe that the achievement of their goals is unrelated to others’ achievement (Johnson et al., 1991).