2 learning alone and together

1. Learning Alone and
Together

2. Goals
l Understand, from a student perspective, the affective
and cognitive differences between a classroom
employing individual learning and one employing
collaborative learning
l Understand how collaborative and individual learning
activities can impact the quality of student work and
students’ confidence in their ability to do good work
l Establish some of the basic elements of collaborative
learning, which can then be incorporated into lesson
planning

3. Task One: Squares
l You must work alone
l You may not consult
with other
participants
l You may not look at
other participants’
work

5. Task Two: Rectangles
l You must work together (in teams of 3)
l Each of you must assume a team role (defined by
team) and contribute to the task
l Once you have finished, each of you must share with
the other 2 members of your team one positive
quality of team work based on this experience

7. Reflection
l (Cognitive) Participant Success Rate
l (Affect) Individual vs. Collaborative
Work
l Performance
l Extending This Activity to Classroom

8. Collaborative Learning
l Positive Interdependence
Team members need one another to
complete their task.
l Individual Accountability
Each team member is responsible for a
certain part of the task or fulfills a certain
role.

9. Collaborative Learning
l Social Skills
Team members must learn to handle
conflict, argue constructively, disagree
without being disagreeable, etc.
l Face-to-Face Interaction
Team members work together, in a
common physical or virtual space, to
complete their task.

10. Collaborative Learning
l Group Processing
Team members help one another
understand how learning occurred and how
each team member contributed to
completion of the overall product.
Reflecting on learning (metacognition) is
critical to real learning.

11. In your classroom:
When is there room for individual,
competitive or collaborative work?
When planning a group activity, ask
yourself: Do the learners really
need each other to do this? If not,
how can I make it so they do?

12. Where Can I Find More
Information?
These toolkits in the Sourcebook will help you:
l Work Readiness Skills: More info on what
collaboration is
l Participatory Learning: The best practices
and steps will help you think about grouping
strategies
Handout! Collaboration Checklist: This tool will
help you as you plan and review your collaborative
activities