Unlocking the Power of Collaboration: Revolutionizing Learning for Enhanced Knowledge Acquisition and Skill Development
Collaborative learning is the educational approach of using groups to enhance learning by working together. This approach actively engages learners to process and synthesise information and concepts, rather than memorising facts and figures. Learners working on projects have to collaborate as a group to understand the concepts being presented to them. This method allows learners to defend their positions, reframe their ideas, listen to other viewpoints, and articulate their points. It also allows learners to gain a more complete understanding as a group than they could as individuals.
Vygotsky’s theory of social development– This theory puts emphasis on the importance of social interaction for the development of learning and cognition. He believed that community is an important factor in the process of creating meaning and knowledge and approached learning from a sociocultural viewpoint, arguing that individual development does not happen without being informed by social and cultural contexts.
An important aspect of Vygotsky’s social learning theory is the Zone of Proximal Development, which represents the distance between what a learner is capable of doing unsupported, and what they can do supported. In other words, it is the range where a learner is capable of learning only with support from someone with More Knowledge Other (MKO); a person possessing the knowledge or experience that the learner is seeking.
Advantages of collaborative learning
Develops self-management and leadership skills– Individuals tasked with working together to achieve a common goal learn how to organize, assign, and teach, develop skills to manage themselves and others in a productive way.
Increases employee skill and knowledge– Employees who participate in collaborative learning gain a wide range of skills and knowledge, strengthening their existing skills by teaching others and learning new skills from other employees. It reduces the need for formal training while encouraging employees to continually upskill in known concepts.
Improves relationships across teams and departments- It is difficult for individuals with limited contact across teams to foster connections and teamwork. Collaborative learning forces individuals to develop new connections and find ways to work together.
Improves knowledge acquisition and retention– Studies have shown that the use of collaborative learning may lead to increased involvement and better knowledge retention. It allows the participants to achieve higher levels of thought, and the information is retained much longer.
It promotes workplace engagement, leading to satisfied employees and increased efficiency and output. Upskilling opportunities provided by collaborative learning help with employee retention, as employees are less likely to seek out other opportunities.
Examples of collaborative learning
Evaluation of training systems– Pairing of new employees with more senior employees within the same departments to evaluate the training systems currently in place, assess flaws in the system, and develop recommendations on how to effectively update the training to better serve the organisation.
Solving problems across teams– involves bringing together various teams to solve a problem, outlining the results to be expected in broad terms, and then letting the team work on the solution. At the end, the teams will present what they have developed, justify their choices, and outline their plans to accomplish the tasks.
Explaining concepts to other departments– by creating teams in each department to create and present their work, they teach their work to the other departments. Presentations should present the work they do, the problems that they solve, and some ongoing concepts that they are working on.
Other departments can participate in a question-and-answer session, giving the benefit of their experience to help solve ongoing issues while also learning more about how the organisation works as a whole.
Conclusion
Collaborative Learning has been shown to improve knowledge retention, communication skills development, and leadership skills. It develops a satisfactory social environment for the individual, improving the retention rate of the company. It provides methods to solve current challenges by laying them out among the group members and benefiting from the knowledge and skills of group members. Enhancing the overall skill development of group members as well as the development of relationships among them.
The disadvantages of collaborative learning include that every individual needs to go at different speeds, working in groups pressurises individuals to either slow down or catch up faster. In the way of successful collaboration, obstacles are due to various personalities, competition among the members, a lack of information and experience, and a lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities.