Do we co-operate or collaborate?

We are social beings. Throughout our lives we will be part of many different groups. Our ability to participate fully is dependent on the skills we develop to manage and navigate the co-operative and collaborative tasks we undertake every day.

As educators we are reminded that group work can be simply organisational or with careful planning and preparation, an opportunity to scaffold activities and develop the co-operative skills Slavin (2010) believes are necessary for collaboration.

As adults, the group learning space can be as informal as coffee with friends or as formal as the online learning environment of tertiary education. The success of each space is dependent on the communities that develop.

Learning in the online environment, I discover that learning can take place anywhere and anytime. The constant is the community of practice that develops when learners gather. How exciting this is - to think wherever people gather, learning can occur.

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References

Slavin, R.E. (2010). “Co-operative learning: what makes group-work work?” In H. Dumont, D. Istance & F. Benavides (Eds.), The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire Practice (pp. 161-178). OECD Publishing. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264086487-9-en