Collaborative learning is an online training approach that involves students and instructors coming together to interact through chats and forums. It’s based on the principle of learning that learners can improve on their learning experiences through interactions with others.
In this post, we’ll be exploring the different ways collaborative learning can help you improve the overall learning experience.
# Collaborative learning helps to build teamwork skills
Collaborative learning involves learners working in groups to achieve a common goal. From problem-solving projects to clarification to unclear subject matter, learners need to work together to provide solutions that matter.
That enables them to build teamwork skills, including leadership ability, communication skills, and conflict resolution. Also, collaborative learning enables employees to improve their project management skills as they get to manage their time wisely.
One of the effective ways to facilitate teamwork skills among learners is through group content creation. Here, you can divide your learners into groups and tell them to work on developing a course module.
Everybody in the group must participate and overcome the challenges faced in the project together.
# Facilitates peer-based feedback
Another way collaborative learning can help to improve the overall learning experience is through feedback. How? Online learners get to post and add assignments on discussion forums and in turn, get feedback from their colleagues.
This feedback helps them to acquire more knowledge, improve their skills, and bridge learning gaps. However, for orderliness, instructors can come in to monitor the group message board and provide guidelines on how learners can give feedback.
With collaborative learning, learners can receive honest feedback from peers to help them progress in their skills acquisition programs.
# Learners can overcome their limiting belief
Most learners have a limiting belief that they are not even aware of, and that contributes to and hinder their learning process. These beliefs are personal beliefs, which include cultural and religious influences, past experiences, and opinions.
They also battle with assumptions in their mind which limit the way they relate with their peers. However, with collaborative learning, learners are forced to test and evaluate their cognitions and assumptions.
By so doing, interacting with their peers allow them to learn more about other people’s opinions. One way you can make learners overcome their limiting beliefs is by hosting a virtual session that enables them to think about their beliefs.
That can help them challenge themselves and learn more during the discussion.
# Provision of the mutually beneficial learning experience
With collaborative learning comes mutual learning benefits among online learners. Here, experiences and skills shared are not limited to a particular learner.
Everybody benefits from it. With proper guidelines from an instructor, learners can share their skills and experience to provide clarification to unclear subject matters.
That not only helps the learners to get clarification but also helps them to boost their retention ability.
# Improvement in learners’ engagement
Collaborative learning can help learners improve the way they participate and get engaged in a discussion. That’s a great contributor to their overall learning experience.
Most people like social learning and interaction as they get to express their opinions and experience freely. By integrating collaborative learning into your online training, learners can express themselves and improve their engagement with other people.
For a smaller group setting or closed forums, learners get to explore and gain new ideas freely from peers.
# Achievement of a new perspective on the subject matter
With collaborative learning, learners easily get exposed to a new perspective of a specific subject matter. They see a different way of acquiring knowledge and interacting with other learners.
As individuals come online and give their opinions about the subject matter, they start to see and reason from different experiences and cultural beliefs.
That enables them to respect one another’s point of view and cultural differences. Collaborative learning helps learners in many ways, including boosting their retention ability and facilitating peer group feedback.
It also helps them to build solid teamwork and overcome limiting and personal beliefs.
Having seen the different ways collaborative learning can help to improve your learners’ overall learning experience, over to you to start integrating it in your training.
