Difference Between Cooperative and Collaborative Learning

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Difference Between Cooperative and Collaborative
Learning In the 21st century, teamwork was deemed
as essential part of the learning curve in the
classroom. This did not come as a surprise to
many people. Bringing students to work together
for the good of learning can be traced back even
to Socrates, i.e. Socrates' circle. Socrates was
an avid believer that lecturing was not a method
of teaching students that was effective to all of
them. Especially now because generally the work
atmosphere calls for teamwork. It is the norm in
the modern industry so the children need to learn
this skill even from a tender age. The issue with
integration of children into the teamwork spirit
is the fact that it may result in more work for
the teacher initially. But once a form of order
has been established then the rest is just a
breeze. The only thing remaining for the teacher
is to establish the mode of learning, either
cooperative learning or collaborative learning.
This is the part that brings the teachers a bit
more confusion. (https/ /w ww .eztalk s.c om/
) Cooperative learning generally means that the
teacher makes each member of the group in charge
of the academic performance of the others. Each
of the members of the group uses their knowledge
and skills to help the other members of the group
understand the content. This means that each
individual I not only responsible for their own
learning but also for that of their fellow group
members. This makes all of them feel like
teachers creating an air of achievement. Collabor
ativ e learn ing on the other hand means that the
students come together to work on a project as a
team. Each student is responsible for their own
individual work separately. The students are also
in charge of the work of the team as a
whole. Difference Between Cooperative and
Collaborative Learning a) Collaborative
Learning In this mode of learning, each student
makes progress individually in-line with the
progress made by others. If this method is
properly directed by the teacher, then the
students themselves can learn to manage the
method with no further instructions. There are
many benefits of c ollaborative learning. For
example, it helps the students to recognize the
aspect of difference, both in themselves and in
others through working separately but in tandem.
They learn to respect his difference and use it
to their advantage. The following is the basic
layout of the collaborative learning process The
learning is group-structured. This means that the
students organize and divide the work
between themselves. They also organize their
workforce by themselves. The students outsource
for material that will aid them in completing the
task. The activities conducted by the group are
generally not monitored by the teacher. However
the teacher can offer assistance if the same is
requested of them by the members. The students do
their own assessment of both their individual and
group performances. The success of the group
generally depends on the success of the
individuals in the group.
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b) Cooperative Learning This method of learning
relies heavily on interdependence of the students
among each other. It can be likened to the cast
of a crew. All the roles of the cast are clearly
mapped out but can be negotiated. The most
important part of cooperative learning is
accountability. The structure of cooperative
learning, in contrast to collaborative learning,
is the following All the activities are
structured by the teacher and each student has
been given a specific role in the
activities. The students are not left to their
own devices in seeking the information relevant
to the content. The teacher supplies the
information or at least directs the students on
where the information can be acquired. The
teacher is heavily involved in the group work.
The teacher listens, observes and can even
intervene in the discussions if he/she feels this
is necessary. The students submit the complete
group work at the end of the lesson or the
discussion. The teacher then reviews or assesses
the same work and may award marks to the
respective students involved. Success of the
group is highly dependent on the efforts and the
accountability of all the individual members
involved in the assignment.
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Benefits of Both Cooperative and Collaborative
Learning The following are the major merits of
social learning The students come to recognize,
respect and embrace the differences in culture
among their classmates. They are more valuable
means of building the performance and progression
of the students. It improve the social skills of
the students The students get a sense of
confidence. This is because every student
realizes their opinion is relevant and counts for
something. Modernization of the learning
process In modern times social learning can be
easily done through the use of internet. It can
be achieved through the use of video conferencing
solutions such as ezTalks Meetings. These help
you to communicate with your students easily. It
can also aid the students themselves to work on a
project together but while at separate locations.
That is the modern learning world. Conclusion The
modern work environment requires the workers to
have social skills as it is a place where they
have to work together. Imbibing the skills of
teamwork in students is crucial from a young age.
It is these skills that are propagated by
collaborative and cooperative learning. From
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