Student Collaboration in a Modern Classroom

Collaborative learning teams attain higher-level thinking and preserve information for longer time. It is widely accepted that we retain approximately 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear, 70% of what we discuss, 80% of what we experience and 95% of what we teach others. But why is this so?
Learning is a social experience and students who develop good social skills become successful in life because they have the ability to deal with people.  We study and develop new ideas through books, technology and personal experiences. Collaboration is a processed that requires soft skills, those skills can be learned by direct instruction or by implicit learning. Collaboration allows for more challenging project – based assignments, various levels of differentiation, it helps students develop confidence and self-esteem as well as strengthen their social skills. The amount of social interaction between people has increased with the explosion of social networks like Facebook and Twitter. However, it’s still important that we teach communication and group work at a face to face classroom level, so students learn of the importance of personal interaction.  

    7 Principles for collaborative learning in high school classroom:

1. Establish group goals and individual accountability.  This keeps the group on task and establishes clear purpose. 
2. Keep groups midsized A moderate size group of 4-5 is ideal.
3. Establish flexible group norms.  Collaborative learning is influenced by the quality of interactions.  Interactivity and negotiation are important in group learning students. Students are set to create their own norms. 
4. Build trust and promote open communication.  Building trust is essential.  Students who provide and receive explanations gain most from collaborative learning.  Open communication is key.
5. Decompose larger tasks and create group roles.   The students might have turns to choose their own role and alternate roles by sections of the assignment or classes.
6. Create clear grading rubrics.  A good way to ensure the group learns together would be to engage in a pre and post-test.  In fact, many researchers use this method to see if groups are learning.  An assessment gives the team a goal to work towards and ensures learning is a priority
7. Use real-world problems. Project-based learning and using open-ended questions can be very engaging. Real world problems can be used to facilitate project-based learning and often have the right scope for collaborative learning.

 
Tech Tools that Support Classroom Collaboration.
I used Wakelet to make a small collection of tools that I use for collaboration in my classroom. You can use Wakelet in a flipped classroom. Pair it with Flipgrid or Screencastify to design a lesson that does more than deliver a lecture or set of instructions. Use it for research. Kids can save links to content and record themselves discussing the information and how it relates to their topic. Or use it to tell a story. Collect content from all over the web to tell a story about a current or historical event.
 
​​Collaborative learning is a fun and energizing break for students from the more traditional teacher-lecture model of education. Student collaboration in the classroom is an excellent educational enhancement. Collaborative lessons will make a memorable impact on your students, and they are well worth the time and effort to plan and implement.

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