How do you get students to learn together?

An excellent method for enhancing social skills among learners is to actively create opportunities for collaborative group learning tasks as part of taught sessions. This ensures that every participant's voice is heard and valued and provides opportunities for everyone to contribute, including those who may feel unable to engage in larger group conversations.

Based on my experience, cooperative learning has consistently proven effective. When a student's friend teaches using a practical approach, it often leads to a quicker grasp of the topic compared to the staff.

Firstly it has to be done in a classroom setting where every member of the groups signed attendance sheet. Secondly the discussed and similar answers have to be sent from individual email address. Thirdly the marks given will be equal to all members to ensure participation and fairness

Learning together is essential for both students and professionals. To encourage collaboration, start with icebreakers that promote bonding and establish a comfortable environment. For instance, in a professional setting, you can use team-building exercises to enhance cooperation. Collaborative learning is more than a concept; it's a powerful tool for better understanding complex topics. Consider sharing examples of successful collaborative learning experiences. For students, discuss group projects that led to higher retention of knowledge, and for professionals, provide anecdotes of teams achieving innovative solutions through collaboration.

One thing I have found helpful is the use of examples that students can relate to. Once they feel connected to something they start sharing and learning together.

Student engagement and active participation are encouraged through collaborative learning, ensuring active connection with the course material. This improves their comprehension and memory of the subject matter. By exposing students to various points of view and presenting them with a variety of material to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate, collaborative learning develops critical thinking. CL develops crucial interpersonal and teamwork abilities, which are highly valued in the workplace. It gives students skills for potential careers by simulating collaboration in workplaces. CL provides a varied and inclusive educational environment. And, it building a dynamic and engaging learning environment.

Collaborative learning offers a multifaceted approach to education that addresses both academic and interpersonal development. Rooted in theories like social interdependence and cognitive constructivism, this approach bolsters academic achievement by fostering a sense of communal responsibility and enhancing cognitive processes. Students not only work together to achieve shared objectives but also engage in higher-order thinking, helping to construct and solidify new knowledge. Furthermore, the metacognitive benefits, including improved self-regulation and reflective thought, are invaluable. From an affective standpoint, collaborative learning contributes to emotional well-being, bolstering self-esteem and empathy.

Highlight the benefits. For students, it's about improved critical thinking and communication skills. In a professional context, it can lead to increased productivity and creativity. Share statistics or case studies that illustrate these advantages.

Collaborative learning offers several benefits, such as enhancing critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills, fostering a deeper understanding of subjects through peer teaching, promoting teamwork and interpersonal skills, and preparing students for real-world collaborative work environments. It can also improve engagement and motivation by creating an interactive and dynamic learning experience.

A variety of aspects need to be taken into account, and the design of a collaborative learning activity must be thoroughly thought out. The activity is in line with curriculum objectives when specific learning objectives are set. To promote active participation, group size should be regulated by activity difficulty. The proper task should test students' capacity for critical thought while fostering teamwork. Everyone in the group will know their obligations if roles and instructions are assigned in a clear and concise manner. Establishing clear deadlines helps keep the activity on track.

Provide actionable steps. For instance, suggest using online collaboration tools for virtual learning, or recommend brainstorming techniques for professionals. Share success stories where well-designed collaborative activities resulted in significant achievements.

How to begin the conversion between students and teachers in collaboration learning? In collaboration learning, we usually send slides or learning materials ( which should be short and not to take long time for reading)) to students to be read and studied one week before course. This is to be followed by testing their understanding of these materials, in small short MCQ test to uncover any gaps, or parts in the objectives that need explanation. Usually should not affect their final exam results. From results of this test and from the learning materials, you can begin the conversion in group learning. Through this conversation you need to cover all your objectives and at the same time fill the gaps you discover by MCQ test

Set clear expectations for teamwork and collaboration. Let students know what you expect in terms of communication, participation, and respect for one another. Group Formation : Carefully consider how you form groups. Balance skill levels, personalities, and strengths to ensure that each group is well-rounded. Ice Breakers: Use icebreaker activities at the beginning of a project to help students get to know each other. This can create a more comfortable and open atmosphere for collaboration. Roles and Responsibilities: Assign specific roles within each group. This helps distribute tasks and ensures everyone has a defined purpose. Have a rubric with each child’s job/ responsibilities to ensure equal opportunities are met.

1. Understand different collaborative learning techniques. Know clearly the role of the teacher and that of the student. 2. Match the content to one of the techniques. This stage is very important. The teacher must know the previous knowledge of students, ability, and eagerness of the students to participate. 3. Clearly write down the teacher role and expectations (learning outcomes) from the selected activity and content 4. Prepare students for the entire activity. 5. Select the correct time in the year / semester for implementing the activity. 6. Last but not the least, assure students of your full support as a facilitator.

Offer practical facilitation tips. Discuss the importance of a facilitator in guiding discussions and maintaining a positive atmosphere. Share strategies for resolving conflicts or keeping learners engaged. Real-life scenarios or interviews with experienced facilitators can add depth to your content.

Effective guidance and support of students is required to facilitate collaborative learning activities. Establishing a clear goal and context for the activity will help you ensure that the students grasp the learning objectives and the value of collaboration. The cornerstones of your participation expectations and ground rules should be respect and active participation. By taking on a facilitative rather than a directive role during the exercise, teachers can encourage students to take responsibility for their learning. Thanks for reading!

Collaborative exercises such as group projects, in-class discussions, and engaging case studies enable students to support each other under the purview of the class. Interactions outside of the classrooms- including group discussions on learning platforms such as Blackboard, Brightspace, and Canvas - can bring students together and learn collectively.

To facilitate collaborative learning activities, start with clear objectives and group diversity. Provide instructions, set ground rules, and monitor progress. Encourage open discussions, use technology as needed, assess individual and group contributions, and promote reflection. Vary activity types and be a facilitator, not a director. Celebrate successes and continuously improve the process to enhance student engagement and teamwork.

Of the 68 dimensions of student experience we track in our national survey, collaboration with peers is the absolute bottom, with only 42% of students satisfied. To make group work work, faculty should not only follow the advice above about designing engaging assignments (i.e., connect them to something students care about) but also provide specific guidance on how to work together including: clarifying goals, assigning roles, setting checkpoints and milestones, defining norms and expectations, and the tools and tech groups will use.

Start with a simple way for students to start using tools they'll use; for example, if they'll be using an online whiteboard like Mural or Miro, have them do an easy activity like find/paste an image on a topic and add a caption. Do this during class so you can troubleshoot in real-time and set them up to have momentum going into group work later.

To adapt collaborative learning to online settings, choose suitable digital tools, provide clear instructions, and offer training for students. Establish group dynamics, hold regular virtual meetings, set clear expectations, and use diverse communication methods. Incorporate feedback and assessments, ensure accessibility, and continuously refine the process based on student input.

I did a design thinking workshop online and used zoom whiteboards for students to collaborate on a challenge. Students contributed and all outcomes were achieved.

Collaboration is a great tool, but belonging is the ultimate key. When students know that they belong in a safe, open to communicate freely, collaborative space, then the real learning begins. The honesty, knowledge, and wisdom truly happens with student learning when students know that they belong there to learn.

I wanted to share tools that I have used the can offer diverse pathways for student engagement and collaborative learning. Synchronous Tools: 1. Zoom 2. Skype 3. Microsoft Teams 4. Slack 5. Adobe Connect 6. Webex Asynchronous Tools: 1. Moodle 2. WordPress 3. Trello 4. Asana 5. Quora 6. Learning Management System: Blackboard, Canvas, etc Both Synchronous and Asynchronous: 1. Google Docs 2. Google Slides 3. Padlet 4. Flipgrid 5. Miro 6. MURAL 7. Git/GitHub 8. Jitsi 9. VoiceThread 10. Edmodo 11. Jamboard 12. notion 13. Loom Annotation and Commenting Tools: 1. Hypothesis 2. Perusall 3. Genius 4. Diigo 5. Annoto 6. Microsoft's OneNote 7. Adobe Acrobat's Comment Feature 8. MarginNote 9. Twiddla Other 1. Poll everywhere 2. LucidCharts

Collaboration is the key value of successful group work. But at the heart of authentic collaboration are moral values of respect, trust, sensitivity, honesty, integrity, helpfulness, care etc. So, I believe that instructors have to work with their students to nurture a learning environment that is infused with these values, in order to achieve authentic collaboration and the benefits of group work. Easier to do with some classes than others :)

One of the best ways of group learning is to educate collaboration it self, and example that I always give for that is when I told my medical student young oncologists to solve a case of lung can old lady, I gave them history and all data and then ask them to put the initial plan of therapy, my student were 3, and one of them is new in the team of oncology, just 2 weeks, this is his first time to see lung cancer patient. After 10 minutes, I came to the room, I found the two student explaining for the new student how to diagnos, lung cancer, molecular subtypes...., wow, this is the first lesson in my the lecture, they give lecture to the new student so he can participate in solving the problem. This is the real collaboration. ??