Collaborative Learning
Last Updated: April 2012
- Resources for Faculty and Students
Selected resources, including guidelines, toolkits, strategies, tips, and frequently asked questions.
- Collaborative Learning at Ryerson
Faculty of Community Services projects funded by Strategic Investment, including creation of web-based communication technology, conflict management, EduBlogging, and a group contract comparison study.
Table of Contents
An Overview of Collaborative Learning
- Survey of Literature on the Use of Learning and Project Teams in the Classroom [pdf]
By Susan FitzRandolph and Genevieve Farrell. Ryerson University. 2005.
- Effective Strategies for Cooperative Learning [pdf]
By Richard M. Felder and Rebecca Brent. North Carolina State University.
See our Delicious page for additional publications by Richard Felder and Rebecca Brent.
- Building Blocks for Teams
Teaching and Learning with Technology. Pennsylvania State University.
"Research has shown that team work is valuable for students both on the job market and in learning course material, yet many faculty and students find team projects frustrating and unrewarding. This web site will show you how to effectively incorporate teamwork into your courses, avoid common pitfalls and turn it into a valuable learning experience for your students."
- Commonly Asked Questions about Teaching Collaborative Activities [pdf]
Excerpt from "The Penn State Teacher II: Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn" by Diane M. Enerson, R. Neill Johnson, Susannah Milner, and Kathryn M. Plank. Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. Pennsylvania State University.
Questions include "How do I decide what activities to make collaborative?" and "How do I grade collaborative work?"
- Tough Questions About Collaborative Learning
National Institute for Science Education - College Level One. University of Wisconsin, Madison.
"This section addresses questions that are commonly raised when incorporating collaborative learning." Topics include "I tried it before and it didn't work," "I teach in a large lecture hall," and "I learned with lectures, why can't my students?"
- Changing a Course from Lecture Format to Cooperative Learning
Dean A. McManus. School of Oceanography. University of Washington. CIDR - UW Faculty on Teaching. 2002. From an article which originally appeared in the Winter 1996 issue of "Paideia: Undergraduate Education at the University of Washington." 4(1), 12-16.
- Collaborative Learning Activities [pdf]
University Teaching Services. University of Manitoba.
Activities includes dialectical notebooks, double entry journals, jigsaw, pairs and squares, bookends, and 2x4 debates.
- Cooperative / Collaborative Learning for Active Student Involvement
University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center. Teaching Concerns. 1992.
- Resources on Cooperative Learning, Group Work, and Team Work
Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. University of Michigan.
For instructors looking for an in depth bibliography of publications on collaborative learning, the CRLT has created this list, covering everything from multicultural issues to meta-analysis.
Assessment and Evaluation
In addition to online resources, we have included a selection of journal articles on the topic of assessment. They are accessible through our Delicious page
Peer Evaluation
Conflict Resolution
- Conflict Resolution
Academic Leadership Support. Office of Quality Improvement & Office of Human Resource Development. University of Wisconsin, Madison.
A comprehensive site that lists eight steps for conflict resolution, as well as solutions for common problems and suggested simulations and exercises.
- Teaching Students to Be Peacemakers
Developed by the Cooperative Learning Center. University of Minnesota.
Discusses the value of conflict, how to create a conflict positive school, and use conflict resolution as a discipline program.
- GroupWorks: Working With Group Conflict
By Ronald Beard. Edited by Kyle McCaskill. Bulletin #6106. University of Maine.
"Learning about conflict - common sources of conflict, common styles people use in conflict situations and how to channel conflict into creative solutions - are important group skills. Helping all group members understand basic conflict skills moves the group to a higher level of effectiveness, in which work gets done and relationships remain intact, even when there are disagreements and disputes."
- Leadership and Dealing with Conflict
From the Education Leadership Toolkit. National School Boards Association.
Facilitating Discussion
- Discussion as a Teaching Technique [pdf]
New Faculty Handbook, Ryerson University.
- Ten Strategies for Effective Discussion Leading
By James R. Dawes. Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Harvard University.
"There is nothing so dispiriting for teacher or for student as a discussion section in which questions fall flat, conversation drifts aimlessly, and a small number of predictable voices predominate. These ten strategies are about how to get students to talk; more importantly, they are about how to get them to talk with intelligence and enthusiasm."
- Teaching Tips - Lifecycle of a Discussion Group [pdf]
Educational Development Centre. Carleton University.
"Regardless of the topic or subject matter, think of all discussion groups as having a lifecyle with five distinct stages - setting the stage, making the transition, discussion, bringing closure, and follow-up."
- Small Group Discussion
By David Jaques. Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development. Oxford Brookes University.
- Award Winning Teachers on Teaching. Stanford University. [all videos available via iTunesU]
- "How to Have a Good Class Discussion," Professor Susan McConnell, Biological Sciences, 1996.
- "How to Have a Good Class Discussion," Professor Mary Louise Roberts, History, 1999.
- "Discussion Leading and Small-Group Methods," Professor John Rickford, Linguistics, 1996.
Online Discussion
Group Work
- A Group Work Guide for Staff and Students
Learning & Teaching. University of Sydney.
The University of Sydney also has group work pages aimed specifically at teachers and students.
- Developing and Assessing Students' Group Work Skills [pdf]
Learning and Teaching Unit. University of New South Wales.
This booklet contains "questions and strategies for reflecting on what group skills mean in your discipline, strategies and tools for preparing students for group work, suggestions about how to deal with common issues in groups, information to assist you in the implementation of group work, assessment tools to support you in assessing group work tasks and projects, and ideas about how to support students in reflecting on their development of group skills"
- Designing Effective Group Activities: Lessons for Classroom Teaching and Faculty Development [pdf]
By Larry K. Michaelsen, L. Dee Fink, and Arletta Knight. University of Oklahoma.
"The primary objective of this article is to provide readers with guidance for designing effective group assignments and activities for classes and workshops. In doing so, we examine the forces that foster social loafing (uneven participation) in learning groups and identify four key variables that must be managed in order to create a group environment that is conducive for broad-based member participation and learning. We then discuss the impact of various types of activities and assignments on learning and group cohesiveness. Finally, we present a checklist that has been designed to evaluate the effectiveness of group assignments in a wide variety of instructional settings and subject areas."
- Collaborative Learning: Group Work and Study Teams
From Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis; Jossey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco, 1993.
- Group Work: Getting Started
Adapted from Graham Gibbs, "Learning in Teams: A Student Manual." The Learning Commons. University of Guelph.
A good checklist for students that need help get off to a good start with group work.
- Advice for Students - Working Together: Personal Skills for Productive Teams [pdf]
University of Michigan.
- Team-Based Learning
Centre for Instructional Support, University of British Columbia.
- Study Group Guide for Professors and Teaching Assistants
Study Group Guide for Students
By Katie Caldwell. Department of Mathematics and Statistics. York University.
- Working in Groups: A Note to Faculty and a Quick Guide for Students
By Ellen Sarkisian. Derek Bok Center, Harvard University.
- Strategies to Help Prepare Students for Group Work
Making Group Contracts
Group Roles: Maximizing Group Performance
Group Decision Making
Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo.
- Creating Team Projects that Work in Large Classes: Redesigning a Large Science Course [video]
By Dr. Leslie Reid. Teaching & Learning Centre. University of Calgary. 2008.
"Join Dr. Leslie Reid for her presentation "Creating Team Projects that Work in Large Classes: Redesigning a Large Science 'Service' Course." She talks about her experience in redesigning a large class (300 students with 13 weeks of lectures) into a format based on group projects (250 students with 6 weeks of lectures and 6 weeks of group work)."
- Group Interaction: Improving Academic Teaching [pdf]
ICE Factor 4. The Office of Instructional Development. Saint Mary's University.
The OID suggests explaining the purpose of the discussion, moving around the room in a way that will promote discussion, redirecting your students' questions, creating an appropriate physical setting, and giving student groups a formal structure.
- Guidelines for Student Groupwork/Teamwork
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development. Oxford Brookes University.
- Problem Solving in Groups
Center for Instructional Development and Research Bulletin. Vol. 6(1). University of Washington. 2002.
"Working in groups can help students tackle challenging problems by stimulating creative thinking and higher-level reasoning strategies. It can also help promote long-term retention of course content (Johnson & Johnson, 2002). Student response to collaborative learning depends largely on how group work is used. Clear goals, organized groups, and explicit links to other components of the class all help contribute to effective learning in groups."
- Coping With Hitchhikers and Couch Potatoes on Teams
By Barbara Oakley, Tomorrow’s Professor Mailing List, Message 441.
Further Comments on Coping With Hitchhikers and Couch Potatoes on Teams
By Sean D. Hurley, Tomorrow’s Professor Mailing List, Message 451.
Center for Teaching and Learning. Stanford University.
- Facilitating Small Groups: Elements of a Teaching Plan [pdf]
Small Group Exercises Sample Formats
Center for Teaching and Learning. Stanford University.
- Strategies for Helping Students Develop Team Skills [pdf]
By Susan Ledlow. Arizona State University. 1999.
How to teach students cooperative skills by assigning roles and using cooperative learning structures, monitoring, reinforcement, and reflection or group processing.
Five Issues to be Considered in Teambuilding [pdf]
By Darwyn Linder and Susan Ledlow. Arizona State University.
The five critical issues in teambuilding are cohesiveness, roles and norms, communication, goal specification, and interdependence.
Sample Group Surveys, Reports, Contracts, and Progress Reports
Teaching With Technology
Related LTO pages:
Teaching With Technology
Social Media and Web 2.0
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