Benefits of Collaborative Learning

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Collaborative learning is a teaching technique
where students are put together in groups to
explore meaningful topics or tests in a syllabus.
It may involve just two people discussing an
assignment or a larger group of students working
on a given project. The technique has been
largely used by both online-based education
platforms and brick- and-mortar schools to steer
performance. Collaborative learning is basically
meant to help students capitalize on one
another's unique skills and resources to improve
learning outcomes. As much as it might seem
difficult to have effective online group
collaboration, many academic institutions are
doing their best to ensure it's a success.
Through such video conferencing software as
ezTalks Cloud Meeting, students can easily meet
online and discuss important assignments
hassle-free. The software can allow students to
stream live HD videos and share important tools
of learning while at it. But what key benefits of
collaborative learning can students studying
online enjoy? Well, well discuss everything you
need to know in the article below.
What Are the Benefits of Collaborative Learning
1. Helps Students to Actively Participate In
Assignments and Projects Collaborative or
cooperative learning allows students to share
strengths and improve on weaker skills. It
stimulates critical thinking, which ensures each
member brings a new perspective to the project.
Student can further clarify ideas through
discussions and
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• debate to ensure they come up with stronger and
  clearer points. Numerous studies have shown that
  students tend to think and work better when
  engaged in group discussions than when they
  handle assignments alone. A group that's managed
  by a serious leader can ensure a project is
  discussed expansively and that conclusions are
  made in time.
• That will ensure students get hold of new ideas
  of learning, which will improve their study
  skills and by extension, their performance.
• Focuses on the Student Rather Than the Content
• Teaching is not always supposed to be a one-way
  mode of presentation. Instead, it should seek to
  engage every student using all viable means. With
  collaborative learning techniques, students can
  have the opportunity of learning more using
  different methods and resources. Teachers can
  also provide study materials to facilitate proper
  discussions. After finishing, a group can
  present the work to the teacher for marking or
  review. To ensure even better understanding, the
  instructor can organize for overall class
  discussions and/or revisions. That way, the
  students will learn more and improve their
  performance significantly.
• Develops Students' Interpersonal Skills
• A perfect collaborative group of students should
  always seek to engage every member on group
  discussions and activities. That way, students
  can get a chance of improving their social
  skills, self-esteem and on-task behavior. Having
  a good relationship with other group members
  improves the student's attitude towards learning.
  Working with peers towards a common goal makes
  academic work a fun thing to do, which inspires
  greater performance in the long run.
• Allows Students to Share Useful Resources for A
  Given Assignment or Project
• One of the benefits of collaborative learning to
  students is that it brings many skills and
  resources to the table. Doing an assignment alone
  might sometimes get you stuck on one idea. But
  when engaged in group discussions, different
  members can bring diverse ideas and approaches
  to a project. That not only inspires new
  perspective but also leads to stronger points in
  an assignment or discussion. Even those studying
  online can enjoy greater discussions using a
  number of video conferencing tools.
• ezTalks Video Conferencing offers interactive
  whiteboards that can help students in a group
  discuss assignments quite effortlessly. They can
  share important files including

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• text, images, video and audios to facilitate
  better understanding. With such a platform,
  group members can bring different resources on
  board that can be useful in strengthening the
  outcome of a project.
• Reduces Classroomand Test Anxiety
• Most students are not always comfortable
  answering questions in class or taking certain
  tests. That's because they're afraid of giving
  the wrong answer or are unprepared for
  assignments. Collaborative learning can help
  bring sharper and weaker students together to
  handle challenging topics, assignments or tests.
  In such a setting, a student can find it easy
  understanding a given concept or tackling a test
  in tandem with other group members. That
  simplifies class work and assignments as one can
  enjoy in-depth discussions and debates in a more
  comfortable environment. Both students and
  instructors will end up benefiting from improved
  learning ability and overall performance.
• Increases Student Retention
• One of the greatest benefits of cooperative and
  collaborative learning is that it encourages
  team work. In such an environment, solving a
  given academic or study problem requires group
  effort. That means each member is required to
  contribute at least a single point or idea to
  the discussion. Pooling many ideas together can
  help the group explore the problem from
  different angles, discuss viable options and
  adopt the best solutions. With such mode of
  teaching and assessment, a student can find it
  easy exploring hard topics and tackling
  assignments. In the long run, a school department
  or faculty can be able to retain a great number
  of students who have enrolled for certain
  courses.
• Helps Students Practice Leadership Skills
• Being a group leader is never that easy. One must
  be tolerant with each member's while ensuring
  the group sticks to the topic and that the work
  or project is completed on time. It also
  requires one to have strong interpersonal skills
  to ensure proper coordination and positive
  engagement of group members. Hence managing a
  group and ensuring an assignment or project is
  successfully completed helps build on leadership
  skills while studying.
• Conclusion

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As you can see, the benefits of collaborative
learning for students are massive. Those who
have already had successful study group sessions
can relate to the benefits listed above. A
school or college doesn't need to use any
expensive resources to make collaborative
learning effective. All a teacher needs to do is
to help students establish structured group
activities to help them learn or carry out
assignments. Students must also ensure they have
clear objectives on what needs to be done during
group discussions or debates. That way, solving
class problems can be easier while steering
overall class performance. Group discussions can
be done by students enrolled in online programs
and those pursuing on-campus degrees. It doesn't
really matter where you're working from. What's
important is to find a way of getting different
students together to discuss a topic, share
ideas and discover solutions to class
problems. https//www.eztalks.com/online-educatio
n/benefits-of-collaborative-learning.html