Times are changing. Young people are carrying mobile phones and being born with an iPad under their arm, developing a level of self-learning and independence never seen before. Well then, with teaching and especially in schools, exactly the same thing is happening: there is also this constant interconnection to learn.

Collaborative learning is an upward trend in which primary students learn to manage their tasks in a cooperative manner, thus reducing the burden and authority that fell exclusively on the figure of the teacher.

What is collaborative learning?

Today, the world of work and professionalism increasingly demands team work and dynamics , working groups and structures that are more horizontal than hierarchical. Thus, for years schools have been emphasizing the values of collaborative learning to ensure, among many other purposes, that future generations are prepared for the new labor market.

Collaborative learning is based on a teaching model that has been applied in the classroom for almost a decade, and basically consists of the cognitive development of students between the ages of 7 and 15, making this learning a gradual development of interaction between people.

In addition, collaborative learning can enhance the integration of students from different cultures , religions and customs due to the increasingly multicultural character of modern societies around the world.

Benefits of this learning method

Below, you can find the 7 advantages that collaborative learning can offer.

1. Combat Anxiety

Often the personality and confidence of the students has been undermined by the imposing authority of the teachers and the archaic models of teaching , especially in primary school, where people absorb more information and begin to show concerns.

Involving children from an early age helps to boost their self-confidence and self-esteem, allowing for greater personal development that will be beneficial in the long term.

Thus, collaborative learning helps to reduce anxiety doses because it allows students to relax and work in a harmonious environment where they find enough time to think, rehearse and generate feedback among themselves, since peer support is a fundamental element of this method.

2. It allows to optimize the teaching

Due to the low teacher-student ratio that exists today (the result of overcrowded classes), collaborative learning allows schools to maximize all the resources they have to optimize the teaching process.

3. Develops independence

As we have seen previously, these learning dynamics considerably reduce the dependence that students have on the teacher , since, in the face of any problem or doubt to be solved, the classmates offer each other the type of assistance that was previously the exclusive task of the teacher.

Likewise, among the members of the cooperative group, a code of conduct can be developed, as well as a code of conduct for the subject matter, vocabulary and even communication resulting from feedback among the students themselves. This does not mean that in a specific case, the figure of the teacher does not intervene as much.

4. Enhances critical thinking

As long as students work and develop their activities in a collaborative environment, they will also learn to project their own thoughts and concerns with more freedom and boldness, promoting reflection and development of metacognitive skills.

5. Individual responsibility

As part of a team or working group, each member is considered individually responsible for contributing in the same direction to the achievement of the group’s objectives.

At the same time, the participation of each of the individuals should be with equal opportunities, in an equivalent manner and with the same degree of responsibility and protagonism as the rest of the members. This is the only way to eliminate individualistic thinking and doing.

6. Contributes to positive interdependence

This has a direct bearing on the final objective or goal that the group in question is pursuing. It is directly related to the individual tasks of each member who, aware of the collective interest , has to do everything possible to help and attend to the request of the other members when they need it.

In all groups there are better and less well prepared students. But the latter can benefit from the knowledge of the former, while the more advantaged can equally enrich and strengthen their capacities and skills.

7. Responds to a heterogeneous and multicultural society

Societies are changing, customs are evolving and becoming more complex. Collaborative learning can take advantage of this kind of diversity and turn it into a powerful educational resource.

In this way, it is possible to make positive use of the variety and wealth of experiences that the educational centre can provide, thus allowing the evolution of intellectual skills , enhancing the capacity for expression and communication, as well as increasing the capacity for verbal understanding.

Where some see difficulty in managing a class of children from different cultures provoking school ghettos in some cases, cooperation becomes a necessity to respond to the “problem”.