Page 8 - Formal learning groups-Self Paced Guide

 Positive interdependence

 Individual and group accountability
 Interpersonal and small group skills
 Face-to-face promotive interaction
 Group Processing

Collaborative learning sees the instructor as a facilitator in the learning process and provides
an array of strategies that instructors can employ. These strategies can be used with formal

and ad-hoc learning groups. The table below highlights some collaborative learning
strategies suggested by Barkely, Major & Cross (2014).

Table 1.0 Collaborative Learning Strategies

Strategies Description Number
in Group
Think-Pair- Students are given a question to think individually for a few 2
Share minutes, and then pair up with a classmate to discuss and compare
their responses in pairs before sharing with the entire class. (p.46)
Reciprocal Students work in small groups to develop knowledge about a given 4-6
Peer topic and to formulate effective ways of teaching it to others.
Teaching: (p.122)
Jigsaw
Peer Student pairs critically review and provide editorial feedback on 2
Editing each other's essay, report, argument, research paper, or another
writing assignment. (p.307)
Learning Students individually develop questions about a reading 2
Cells assignment or other learning activity and then work with a partner,
alternating asking and answering each other's questions. This
strategy helps them to actively think about content, generate
thought-provoking questions and how to assess their
understanding. (p. 195).
Send a Each group receives a problem, tries to solve it, and then passes 2-4
problem the problem and solution to a nearby group. Without looking at the
previous group's solution, the next group works to solve the
problem. After as many passes as seems useful, groups analyze,
evaluate, and synthesize the responses to the problem they
received in the final pass and report the best solution to the class.
(p. 232).

Your Activity: Reflect, Share and Explore
 Which strategy do you like best? Describe how you would incorporate it in

your lecture.
 What other collaborative learning strategies have you used that were

effective in your class?
 Share your answers with a colleague for their feedback.
 Here’s a video on how you can use the jigsaw technique in your classroom:
https://youtu.be/euhtXUgBEts
8