Often times, practitioners are confused between collaborative and cooperative learning. Some even opt to use them interchangeably as long the intended meaning could be derived by the audience. However, a slight difference between these two is voiced out by scholars such as Bennet, Dunne and Galton. According to Webb and Palincsar (1996), collaborative learning is different from cooperative learning as it embeds features such interaction, collaboration as well as utilisation of the group’s competence. In contrary, cooperative learning may promote lack of interactions as participants can only sit in a group without even uttering a single word (Galton & Williamson, 1992).

COllaborative learning and its importance

Due to its interactive features, collaborative learning among learners is highly encouraged not only for them to achieve academic excellence, but also to develop critical thinking and soft skills demanded to meet the requirements set for better future employment prospects. By working alongside each other, students are exposed to abundance of opportunities to interact with other members of the group through sharing of ideas, clearing doubts as well as constructing new knowledge (Chiriac, 2014). Apart from that, Chiriac (2014) also claims that collaborative learning could serve as an incentive, both academically and interpersonally, for students to strive to do better in their next encounters. From a view of language learning, this type of collaborative may facilitate language learning (Alfares,2017) as according to Krashen (1982), subconscious learning is the key driver to acquire language therefore encouraging language to be learnt naturally.

REALITY IN THE CLASSROOM

As we have established the difference of cooperative and collaborative learning, now take some time to reflect on our own classroom scenarios. Was everyone contributing to a discussion? Was there a loner who only uttered ‘Yes’ or ‘No’? Or maybe just physical gestures of shaking or nodding heads? How about the active ones? Were they dominating the whole discussion and seemed to leave little rooms for others to contribute? I can definitely say that I have witnessed all of these during my tenure as an English teacher. Though with meticulous planning, requiring hours and hours of brainstorming, teachers cannot be certain that what they hope for will be translated in the classroom settings. There will be scenarios where students are reluctant to participate in a conversation or even throwing ideas. In these circumstances, collaborative learning is perceived not to be achievable. To add, the large numbers of students might hinder collaborative learning to be experienced by every single pupil. Class management is seen as another predicament that needs to be carefully considered by teachers before executing collaborative activities. With all these considered, some teachers might feel that forgoing the idea of collaborative learning to be the best alternative, leaving students in dire need of meaningful interactions with each other.

Practical recommendations for collaborative learning

With all the advantages that collaborative learning promises, it is a shame if such approach is not utilised in our teaching and learning. Therefore, to lessen the burden felt by fellow educators, I do have some practical ideas that may just be the push for us to practise collaborative learning in our respective classes.

• Assign role for each student

Assigning role for each student provides equal opportunities for all members in the group to contribute. This simple gesture also develops sense of responsibilities among learners to be incharge of the roles they are assigned to.

• Choose a leader

A leader in a group is crucial to maintain the delivery of the task assigned. This leader will also have the responsibilities to supervise others who have been given a different role. However, there’s a tendency for the leader to be the same student for all the activities. This must not be practised. There ought to be opportunities for others to carry the same responsibilities as well so that fairness can be established. Teachers might also be accused of practising favouritism hence some learners might feel left out.

• Golden Rule

Before starting a group work activity, Golden Rule is proposed to be established between teachers and learners. This is to set a clear guideline of what should and should not be done. Simple rule such as ‘Only 1 person talks at 1 time’ will do wonders for us teachers to control the classroom. What would be better is to visualise these rules on the board so that it can serve as a reminder and teachers do not have to repeat the rules every time groupwork activities are to be carried out.

Conclusion

Though the three suggestions may seem trivial to some and their effectiveness could be questioned, I would encourage for them to be tested out first. A reminder that our classroom settings are different, our students are different, we are different but there’s no harm in trying. I’ve tested it and collaborative approach has been my favourite ever since.

Written by Ms. Siti Nur Adilah