Pedagogia ELearning

PPEL
Topic 1:
Difference between collaborative and cooperative learning.

After some research I’ve found out information about collaborative and cooperative learning. So I'm going to present my reflection about the topics and the bibliography.

Difference between collaborative and cooperative learning:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_learning: “Collaborative learning is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together. More specifically, collaborative learning is based on the model that knowledge can be created within a population where members actively interact by sharing experiences and take on asymmetry roles”.

Paulsen, M.F. 2003, Part One: Online Education, Teaching and Learning, Cooperative Freedom: An Online Education Theory (p. 39 – 50): “Houle (1984) states that education is a cooperative rather than an operative art: it implies voluntary interaction among individuals during learning. Even solitary students guiding their own programs without the help of an instructor seek help and encouragement from others.”

This means that the traditional role of teachers, for example, is no longer the same. Although he is still the authority, the information is not belonging to one single person that teaches the others, but each of the participants must have an active role in the process, a contribution to a collective apprenticeship.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_learning: “Cooperative learning is an approach to organizing classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences. Students must work in groups to complete the two sets of tasks collectively. Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds”.

Collaborative Versus Cooperative Learning- A Comparison Of The Two Concepts Which Will Help Us Understand The Underlying Nature Of Interactive Learning, Ted Panitz: “Collaborative learning (CL) is a personal philosophy, not just a classroom technique. In all situations where people come together in groups, it suggests a way of dealing with people which respects and highlights individual group members' abilities and contributions. There is a sharing of authority and acceptance of responsibility among group members for the groups actions. The underlying premise of collaborative learning is based upon consensus building through cooperation by group members, in contrast to competition in which individuals best other group members. CL practitioners apply this philosophy in the classroom, at committee meetings, with community groups, within their families and generally as a way of living with and dealing with other people. Cooperative learning is defined by a set of processes which help people interact together in order to accomplish a specific goal or develop an end product which is usually content specific. It is more directive than a collaborative system of governance and closely controlled by the teacher. While there are many mechanisms for group analysis and introspection the fundamental approach is teacher centered whereas collaborative learning is more student centered.”

This means that there must be a strong connection among the members of the group, based in several categories with a well defined goal, and where the Social Skills must be trained to reach the goals. The group is responsible for the outcomes, not every single person.

What I can understand from the two definitions is that Cooperative and collaborative learning may be used interchangeably, because in both cases we can have the same goal: favor small-group active student participation over passive, lecture-based teaching and each require a specific task to be completed, but the teacher’s role is slightly different: while in cooperative learning the teacher is the center of authority in the class, with group tasks usually more closed-ended and often having specific answers, in collaborative learning the instructor abdicates his authority and empowers the small groups who are often given more open-ended, complex tasks.

Bibliography:
http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/archive/Cl1/CL/question/TQ13.htm
Paulsen, Morten, The Hexagon Of Cooperative Freedom: A Distance Education Theory Attuned to Computer Conferencing, DEOSNEWS Vol. 3 No. 2. ISSN 1062-9416. Copyright 1993 DEOS
Paulsen, Morten, Part One: Online Education, Teaching and Learning, Cooperative Freedom: An Online Education Theory (p. 39 – 50), 2003
Paulsen, Morten, Cooperative Freedom as a guiding star for Online Education, slideshare.net
Paulsen, Morten Theory of Cooperative Freedom, toonlet.com
Wikipedia – collaborative learning and cooperative learning.


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Annoted Bibliographie
Topic 2:
Types of work in learning

Searching the web I could find many definitions about different types of work in learning, some scientific, other philosophical, pedagogical, and some psychological definitions. Must confess that most of them are quite interesting definitions, as for example in “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning#Simple_non-associative_learning” which mentions that “Learning is a change in behavior based on previous experience”. But based on the study we are doing, and also based in Morten Flate Paulsen’s work: “http://www.slideshare.net/MortenFP/cooperative-freedom-as-a-guiding-star-for-online-education”, I will concentrate myself in the slide number nine that mentions three types of learning:

* Individual learning: which provides much individual flexibility but little learning community;
* Collaborative learning: which provides much individual flexibility and access to a learning community;
* Cooperative learning: which requires participation in a learning community, but limits individual flexibility.

Analyzing the pros and cons of each one what can we say?
In my opinion the three different types of learning can be important in different steps of learning, but no doubt that in all schools there must be a big change. We have to consider the third type, cooperative learning, as the most important change we have to make in the traditional schools. We cannot stop the general feeling that "Unity is Strength" or Unity is Power or Unity is Knowledge. We are realizing that together we can make better and more and that feeling is bigger than the feeling of flexibility.
http://toonlet.com/archive?m=s&i=10870 , (Theory of Cooperative Freedom, Morten Paulsen): this cartoon analyzes the collaborative and cooperative learning and the difference between them. What I understand is that cooperative learning can provide individual freedom and participation in a global group of work. In my point of view the biggest challenge in a short term will be a general “negotiation” to increase the flexibility in the cooperative learning, but, no doubt, this is the best way at this moment to make possible a successful learning.