CHALLENGES AND ADVANTAGES OF COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

Collaborative learning is an educational approach to teaching and learning that involves groups of students working together to solve a problem, complete a task or create a product. According to Gerlach “Collaborative learning is based on the idea that learning is a naturally social act in which the participants talk among themselves (Gerlach, 1994). It is through the talk that learning occurs”. It is an instructional method that emphasizes students working together in small groups to complete a task or reach a common goal. Teacher role is very important in collaborative learning. To have effective collaborative learning group teachers must know their students well. However ones the group work begins, the teacher’s role immediately shift into that of a mentor, facilitator or sometimes merely that of a spectator. Many instructional activities ask learners to collaborate with the goal of enhancing the understandings group members acquire beyond what they might learn working separately. Specifically studies have found that collaboration in the classroom yields memories benefits for students of varying grade levels still, creating a collaborative environment in the classroom can be easier said than done especially when we take into consideration all the different types of technology that teachers must use with their students on a daily basis. The greatest challenge in this sense tends to be ensuring the compatibly and enter operability. Traditional classroom have been turning into collaborative classrooms since educational system have been responding to the changes in their environment yet there have been tough resistance from these who fear they cannot fit a new education paradigm based more on collaboration authority. Nevertheless new challenges create new opportunities that are beneficial for all stake holders of education.