Collaborative learning flips the script on traditional, transmission-based approaches to post-secondary education, turning classrooms into dynamic spaces for interactive problem solving, more engaging discussions, and the co-creation of knowledge.
At its core, this involves grouping students together to explore course learning materials or solve problems. This can be as simple as having students work in pairs or as complex as large group projects.
The main idea is that each student can bring their own unique set of skills and perspectives to their group, creating a more enriching learning environment for everyone involved. Students can gain a deeper understanding of their subject this way and develop soft skills like communication, teamwork, and critical thinking.
These group activities are increasingly being facilitated by digital tools such as Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office 365, Google Docs, or other cloud-based collaboration tools. These allow students to work together both synchronously and asynchronously, write together, and share feedback. For instructors, this also presents an opportunity, as many tools can enable them to monitor the progress of a project in real time while providing timely feedback to students. Additionally, students can receive peer feedback more easily, which can improve the quality of their writing and enhance their learning experience.
Improving Student Learning with Collaboration
Creating a classroom community and relationship building: Collaborative learning can help to promote a sense of community in classrooms. With recent shifts to hybrid and online learning environments this has become increasingly important. Group activities provide an opportunity for students to build friendships while becoming familiar with each other’s strengths and work styles.
Student engagement and active learning
Students must interact with their peers, share ideas, and engage in group discussions, and this can often make the learning process for engaging for students. That is, collaborative learning often requires students to collectively solve problems and apply their knowledge. Additionally, the process of explaining concepts to peers can reinforce one’s own understanding of the subject matter.
Personal responsibility for learning and teamwork
These activities can empower students to take greater responsibility for their learning and negotiate roles within groups, while developing soft skills, like time management, communication and critical thinking that are also transferable to other academic and real-world settings.
Diverse perspectives and skill sets
Collaborative learning can support intellectual diversity, while enriching student’s understanding of the course material. Students bring a wide array of skills and knowledge from their individual disciplines, introducing their group members to viewpoints and approaches that they may not have considered before.
Flexible learning
Online collaborative learning tools allow students to complete group activities either synchronously or asynchronously, at times that are convenient for them.
Division of responsibility and reduced workloads
Being able to divide tasks based on individual skills and interests can increase student engagement and motivation while also reducing their overall workload (Dongho and Lim, 2018). This also helps students to develop important projects and team management skills.
Feedback
Online collaborative activities can allow instructors to provide more frequent and timely feedback to students at multiple stages of the learning process through online tools. Feedback can also be communal, making this process more scalable for instructors. Self- and peer-feedback during this process can also benefit students, allowing them to compare their work and negotiate edits more easily.
Improved insight into student learning
Online collaborative learning activities can allow instructors to trace student engagement, enabling more timely and specific feedback. This can also be a valuable resource for peer learning and study materials.
Digital literacy skills
Collaborative activities often make use of a wide array of digital tools to help facilitate the learning process. Students not only gain proficiency in these tools but can learn to critically evaluate and navigate their use during their projects.
Strategies for success
Promote student buy-in
Be honest and clear with students about why you have incorporated collaborative learning and its associated technologies into your course. Discuss some of the benefits of this approach and common challenges that they might encounter. By engaging students in these discussions and linking the use of different tools to the overarching learning objectives for your course, you are more likely to obtain their buy-in.
Aid in group formation
There are several ways to assign groups, such as random assignment, student-assigned groups, or instructor-assigned groups. Any of these methods should involve balancing diversity and compatibility within groups to promote effective collaboration. A mixture of these can also be used. For example, students benefit more from random or instructor-assigned groups at the beginning of term as this can help them to form better relationships with their classmates. Later in the term, students may prefer to create their own groups, once they have more knowledge of the working styles and personalities of their classmates. Regardless of which method you choose, smaller student groups are usually preferrable to larger ones. If a group is too large, it will become more difficult for students to schedule meetings and organize their tasks.
Assign roles and responsibilities
The assignment of specific roles within groups, such as note-taker, facilitator, timekeeper, or presenter is particularly helpful when students are beginning to organize. Specifically, provide clear instructions about what each role is responsible for. This is especially helpful when students have lower domain knowledge or lower collaboration skills.
Provide clear instructions, scripts and rubrics
Instructors should provide clear instructions, scripts, and training materials to assist students in their collaboration and the completion of learning activities. Providing a clear rubric, with the learning activity’s overall goals included, and ensuring that these instructions are rolled out consistently by both course instructors and TAs, will ensure students understand what is expected of them. Meanwhile, scripts provide groups with a framework to help with their collaboration. This can be particularly important for students who have less experience collaborating with their peers.
Promote peer feedback
Implementing peer feedback early in the collaborative process will help groups address any issues and help mitigate student concerns about grading fairness. This does not need to be a formal process and can involve regular check-ins with one another via an online forum, or during class time. Another effective strategy is to utilize peer feedback tools such as peerScholar or iPeer to allow students to evaluate the contributions of their group members and reflect on their own participation.
Align technologies with your learning objectives
A common trap is adapting one’s course to fit the specifications of a tool or technology. Before choosing what technologies to help facilitate collaborative learning, ensure that they align with the learning objectives of your course. Additionally, while a “one-size-fits-all” approach may assist with troubleshooting and the ability to monitor student interactions, instructors will often find considerable pushback from students who will want to use technologies that they have experience with and are comfortable using.
Provide time and opportunity for students to meet
Student’s often have widely different timetables, so providing time in class to meet can help to overcome these types of scheduling conflicts. Consider providing more time for students to complete collaborative assignments as well. If students are rushed, this often does not promote the type of generative discussions, editing, and feedback that are needed to produce high quality collaborative work.
Start small and seek student input
The design of an engaging collaborative activity takes time. Begin with a small, low stakes activity; then, build this up as you receive student feedback and develop the necessary support materials to ensure more substantial group activities run smoothly. A truly engaging activity may take several iterations to get right.
Tools to Support Collaborative Learning
There are a variety of tools available to support collaborative learning.
Learning management systems (LMS)
LMS platforms, such as Moodle, Canvas, or Blackboard, offer tools that support collaborative learning. For example, discussion forums, wikis, and blogs can be used to facilitate group discussions and collaborative writing.
Scheduling tools
While general tools like Microsoft Outlook Calendar and Google calendar can help students to find times to meet, more dedicated apps like Doodle and When2meet are also useful when students need to schedule themselves. For online courses, tools like World Time Buddy can help to coordinate across different time zones.
Online communication tools
Tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Discord and Skype can be used for virtual meetings, group discussions, and collaborative projects. These tools allow students to communicate in real-time, regardless of their physical location.
Collaborative writing tools
Online writing and editing tools, such as Microsoft Office 365 and Google Docs, allow students to work both synchronously and asynchronously. They enable students to edit each other’s work and provide feedback to one another.
Social media
Twitter (X), Instagram, or WhatsApp can be used for real-time communication. For example, instructors can create a class hashtag or group, where students can share resources, ask questions, or collaborate on projects.
Task management platforms
There are several online platforms, such as Wrike, Trello, Asana, Basecamp that can be used to manage group projects and tasks. These tools allow students to assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress, which can help keep group projects on track.
Gamification tools
Gamification tools, such as Kahoot, Quizlet, or Socrative, can be used to create interactive quizzes and games that encourage students to work together to solve problems and answer questions in a fun and engaging way.
Brainstorming tools
Tools like Microsoft Whiteboard or Google Jamboard can be used for brainstorming or group activities. These tools enable students to collaborate on ideas, diagrams, and sketches in real-time, which can enhance their creativity and problem-solving skills.
Peer review and feedback tools
Online tools like PeerScholar or iPeer can be used for collaborative writing assignments. They allow students to provide feedback and suggestions quickly, which can improve the overall quality of assignments.
Social bookmarking tools
Social bookmarking tools like Diigo or Pocket help students to share and organize online resources. Together, groups can share relevant articles, videos, and other content with peers, which can promote collaborative learning through knowledge sharing and discovery.
Virtual reality (VR) tools
VR tools like Engage or AltspaceVR can be used to create immersive learning experiences that promote collaboration and interactivity. Students can interact in virtual environments, which can be used for group activities like field trips or simulations.
Summary of the Literature
The articles below are representative of the broader literature on collaborative learning, and provide several case studies highlighting how this can be approached in university classrooms:
Bovermann, K. and Bastiaens, T. (2019). How Gamification Can Foster Motivation and Collaboration in Blended Learning: A Mixed Methods Case Study. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 30(3), 275–300. https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/184766/
Bovermann and Bastiaens investigated how gamification supported blended learning among 107 undergraduate students enrolled in an educational technology course, using a mixed methods approach. The game-based learning platform Kahoot was used to offer point-based quizzes on course concepts; afterwards, students participated in group work and additional points were earned based on peer reviews. A class leaderboard was used to track individual scores. The authors found that students participating in gamified class activities showed a significant increase in intrinsic motivation, task completion, and positive peer evaluations compared to students in a non-gamified learning environment. Students reported that the game and leaderboards were motivating, enjoyable, and fostered better engagement in classroom activities. Group collaboration was also positively impacted: students explained that the game increased group cohesion and encouraged communication. While Bovermann and Bastiaens argue that gamification can help structure individual and collaborative learning, they also indicate that instructor support is key to guiding such activities. Further, not all students enjoy the competitive nature of these learning environments and instructors may see a reduction in their overall motivation to participate.
Dobson, E. and Littleton, K. (2016). Digital technologies and the mediation of undergraduate students’ collaborative music compositional practices. Learning, Media and Technology, 41(2), 330–350. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2015.1047850
Dobson and Littleton conducted a long-term ethnographic case study of an undergraduate group comprised of two creative music technology students and two theater students. Together, this group was tasked with co-creating an original piece of work that would then be presented to the public. The authors focused on analyzing the emergence of creative work, as well as the interrelationships between composition practices and the settings they unfolded in. They found that the broad array of digital music tools suggested during collaborative planning can promote self-awareness about assumptions one makes when choosing technologies and techniques for music composition. Further, collaborative discourse during composition signals further research is needed on how “long-term collaborative music making fosters collaborative learning, distributed creativity, and ... personal creativity.” Dobson and Littleton also explain that digitally resourced music composition is a complex interactional accomplishment: co-creation takes time, spans multiple social contexts/spaces, and dialogue can be facilitated by computer technology or educational software. Importantly, collaborative music composition can promote self-reflection and generate learning opportunities through knowledge sharing.
Dongho, K., and Lim, C. (2018). Promoting socially shared metacognitive regulation in collaborative project-based learning: a framework for the design of structured guidance. Teaching in Higher Education, 23(2), 194–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2017.1379484
Dongho and Lim propose a framework for guiding socially shared metacognitive regulation to promote communication between students engaged in collaborative project-based learning. Specifically, their framework operates on five principals: (1) provide sufficient opportunities to monitor team progress; (2) have students identify potential issues; (3) encourage students to discuss possible solutions; (4) promote the efficient use of team resources through task prioritization; and (5) have students assign each team member to a specific task. The authors provided a collaboration script to 32 undergraduates enrolled in an introductory psychology course working on group projects. They found that students using the collaboration script to promote metacognitive regulation showed significantly higher levels of engagement and planning. Additionally, students using the script were more likely to transition from managerial interactions to intellectual interactions and knowledge co-construction. Instructors may be able to use the guidelines provided by Dongho and Lim to enhance student collaborations processes in their own classrooms.
Hadwin, A., Bakhtiar, A., & Miller, M. (2018). Challenges in online collaboration: effects of scripting shared task perceptions. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 13, 301–329. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11412-018-9279-9
Hadwin et al. compared how different types of planning support aided students in overcoming challenges experienced during collaborative group work. Specifically, 180 undergraduate students enrolled in a learning strategies course were given a planning script before collaborating. Some groups were then provided visualizations summarizing planning information gathered from members before group work began. The authors found that groups who did not receive support in the form of visualizations reported planning as a more severe problem than those who did. Further these exacerbated challenges associated with progress checks, group work, and task completion during later stages of collaboration. Students also reported that planning strategies were more effective than teamwork strategies when they had not received visualizations to inform groups of individual planning perceptions and beliefs. Importantly, providing groups with visualizations that summarize planning perceptions of members appears to change the pattern of challenges that groups experience, and results in the adoption of more effective planning strategies during collaboration.
Harney, O., Hogan, M., & Quinn, S. (2017). Investigating the effects of peer to peer prompts on collaborative argumentation, consensus and perceived efficacy in collaborative learning. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 12, 307–336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11412-017-9263-9
Harney et al. compared facilitator-driven and peer-driven prompts on the perceived efficacy of interactive management in 101 first-year psychology students who were collaborating in small groups. Interactive management is a computer facilitated thought and action mapping method to aid in in group creativity, problem solving, design, and regulation. The authors found that those students in the peer-driven condition reported higher levels of perceived efficacy of the interactive management approach. Also, they showed higher levels of consensus, team orientation, and lower levels of discomfort in group learning. Harney et al. argue that consensus among team members may lead to higher levels of endorsement and engagement by group members as they respond to shared problems. Instructors may want to take a step back, passing the role of prompting to students if they have been provided structured guidance on how to effectively use prompts to facilitate group work.
Jeong, H., & Hmelo-Silver, C. (2016). Seven Affordances of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: How to Support Collaborative Learning? How Can Technologies Help? Educational Psychologist, 51(2), 247–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2016.1158654
Jeong and Hmelo-Silver discuss how technology can support collaborative learning and offer a variety of design strategies for instructors alongside examples of useful technologies. Specifically, the authors argue that computer-supported collaborative learning can provide learners opportunities to engage in joint tasks, communicate, share resources, be more productive during group work, co-construct knowledge, monitor and regulate group processes, and grow learning communities. However, while technology can provide many benefits when implemented thoughtfully, it is not a panacea. Technology must be supported by pedagogical strategies and social/cultural supports. Afterall, the goal should be to promote learning, not simply aid in the completion of a task. Jeong and Hmelo-Silver also warn that while their framework identifies a set of pedagogical and technological strategies, there is not a “one-to-one mapping between affordances and technologies.” Instructors must determine how such technologies will fit into their own pedagogical frameworks while being flexible enough to adapt to new technological innovations as they emerge.
Karantzas, G., Avery, M. R., MacFarlane, S., Mussap, A., Tooley, G., Hazelwood, Z., & Fitness. (2013). Enhancing critical analysis and problem-solving skills in undergraduate psychology: An evaluation of a collaborative learning and problem-based learning approach. Australian Journal of Psychology, 65(1), 38–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12009
Karantzas et al. investigated the use of a “choose your own adventure” (CYOA) tutorial program that assisted 273 undergraduate psychology students as they worked through case studies in small, collaborative working groups. The CYOA tutorial program combined both collaborative learning and problem-based learning approaches. At the end of each tutorial session, groups were asked to make a 5-minute class presentation about their case conceptualization and suggested course of action. The authors found that the program fostered critical analysis and problem-solving skills. Specifically, they suggest that instructors structure their classrooms to support students as they evaluate and test their own assumptions, use logic to unpack premises, and apply their knowledge to solve problems. The novelty of case studies provided to students in this study was also important to improving critical thinking and problem solving – instructors should keep this in mind when choosing course materials.
Lee, H., & Lim, C. (2012). Peer evaluation in blended team project-based learning: What do students find important? Educational Technology & Society, 15(4), 214–224. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/peer-evaluation-blended-team-project-based/docview/1287025373/se-2
Lee and Lim investigated what issues were important to students as they evaluated their peers in a team project-based learning environment. They thematically analyzed the messages of 32 undergraduate students enrolled in an Instructional Methods and Educational Technology course at Seoul National University, and collaboration primarily took on asynchronous discussion boards. Peer evaluation was then conducted following two major team projects assigned during the semester. The authors found that students reported that their peers’ managerial, procedural, and social contributions were more important than their cognitive contributions. Specifically, social messages were important to building group cohesion and allowing the collaborative process to run more smoothly. Further, procedural and managerial messages were key to leading the team's progress and keeping the project on track. Students assessed intellectual messages, such as one’s own ideas, opinions, or thoughts, as being connected to the quality of group work; meanwhile, informational messages, such as resources or references, were associated with the overall quantity of work produced. Proactive, as opposed to reactive, messaging was also preferred. This study provides valuable guidance for students engaging in collaborative learning that instructors may wish to share in their support materials.
McPhee, S. and Jerowsky, M. (2022). What is ‘blended learning’ and how can it benefit post-secondary students? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/what-is-blended-learning-and-how-can-it-benefit-post-secondary-students-187971
McPhee and Jerowsky explored how different learning technologies could support blended learning in a large fist-year Introduction to Geography course at the University of British Columbia. Collaborative learning was supported by Microsoft Teams, which provided a platform through which students could co-create and share documents, or video-conference with one another. Tapestry helped students to engage in self-directed learning, while Echoes promoted experiential learning through field trips. Finally, Voice Flow was used to support students through the creation of interactive chat bots. Overall, the authors indicated that student satisfaction with these technologies were high. While Microsoft Teams was rated the lowest of the four, students indicated that its primary benefit was collaboration and social interaction outside of class time. Students were excited to use new technologies to support their learning, but some felt increased stress and anxiety if they were not familiar with the platforms. McPhee and Jerowsky suggest that instructors choose digital tools that are easy to use and navigate, while allowing students to work at their own pace. Specifically, instructors should choose digital tools carefully, only using those that support course learning objectives. Further, the use of such tools in the classroom is an important part of improving the digital literacy of university students who will be expected to adapt to rapidly changing technologies in future labor markets or classrooms.
Onrubia, J., Rochera, M., Engel, A. (2015). Promoting individual and group regulated learning in collaborative settings: an experience in higher education. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 13(1), 1696–2095. https://doi.org/10.14204/ejrep.35.14058
Onrubia et al. conducted a study of 127 students enrolled in a computer-supported Educational Psychology course in which they were required to use a student log to reflect on their group work throughout the term. Student questionnaires, teacher self-reports, and grades were used to evaluate the student log's efficacy. Overall, students were satisfied with the log, noting that having to systematically and continuously turn in both individual and group evidence of collaboration helped them to manage their learning process. However, a primary complaint was the amount of additional time and effort this took to complete. Students also reported an improvement in their collaborative work throughout the term. Meanwhile, instructors felt that the student log increased awareness of work processes and encouraged the acquisition of planning, monitoring, and assessment skills. However, instructors also commented on the time commitment such learning interventions required, and that this can result in mechanistic approaches to completing them. Similarly, monitoring, and tutoring students in the completion of the student log required a considerable time commitment from the instructor.
Petrunich-Rutherford, M., & Daniel, F. (2019). Collaborative Quizzes: Impact on Student Performance and Attendance. Teaching of Psychology, 46(2), 115–120. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1177/0098628319834172
Petrunich-Rutherford and Daniel compared students who were enrolled in collaborative and non-collaborative upper-level psychology courses as they investigated whether collaborative quizzes impacted performance, overall grades, exam grades, pass/fail rates, and attendance. The authors report that students enrolled in collaborative classes showed a significant increase in quiz performance across the semester compared to those enrolled in noncollaborative classes. Importantly, quiz performance did not decline for those taking collaborative quizzes either. However, collaborative quizzes led to a slight increase in overall course grades, and did not affect final exam performance or attendance. This study shows that collaborative quizzes may be a straightforward way to promote interactions in the classroom, and students also tend to enjoy this teaching technique. It may also encourage a deeper understanding of course materials, though these may not be directly reflected in final evaluations.
Poort, I., Jansen, E., & Hofman, A. (2023). Promoting University Students’ Engagement in Intercultural Group Work: The Importance of Expectancy, Value, and Cost. Research in Higher Education, 64, 331–348. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1007/s11162-022-09705-8
Poort et al. used an expectancy-value theory framework to explore how components like self-efficacy, perceived benefit, and perceived cost relate to each other and contribute to intercultural group work. In doing so, the authors conducted a questionnaire with 846 undergraduate students from six universities in the Netherlands and Canada. They found that students’ expectations about their effective participation, perceived benefits, and perceived costs are motivational factors that affect engagement in intercultural group work. Students with low confidence in their capabilities tended to feel like they were out of control and this may lead to withdrawal from the group, avoidance of difficult tasks, and less commitment to the assignment. Additionally, negative emotions attributed to intercultural group work can also lower cognitive and behavioral engagement due to increased stress. Finally, the intercultural benefits of such group work are that it promotes intercultural competence and allows students to better understand their own cultural biases. This study suggests that to promote deep learning through intercultural group work, instructors should focus on having clearly designed assignments, ensuring instruction is given from the start, and providing support during reflection processes. While this can take additional time, it is important to lay strong foundations for intercultural group work at the beginning of post-secondary education so that this can effectively scaffold into upper-level courses.
