1. Collaborative Learning
Learning Theory and Pedagogical Use of Technology
2012-09-27
Venla Vallivaara
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

2. During this lecture we will explore…
• What is collaborative learning?
• How does collaboration improve learning?
• What is the main theoretical background of
collaborative learning research?
• What are the prerequisities for collaborative
learning?
• How can we support collaborative learning?
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

3. What is collaborative learning?
How does collaboration improve learning?
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

4. What is collaborative learning?
” a situation in which two or more people learn or
attempt to learn something together”
”A coordinated synchronous activity that is the result of a
continued attempt to construct and maintain a shared
conception of a problem”
collaborative learning vs. cooperative
learning
Dillenbourg, P. (1999). What do you mean by collaborative learning? In Dillenbourg, P. (Ed.) Collaborative learning: Cognitive and Computational
Approaches.
Roschelle, J. & Teasley S. (1996). The construction of shared knowledge in collaborative problem solving.
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

5. • When have you experienced
truly collaborative learning?
• Do you think your learning was
more efficient due to that
collaboration? Why?
• What things or circumstances
supported your collaboration in
that situation?
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

6. Why does collaboration
improve learning?
• Opportunity to externalize your thinking and
by that develop them further
• Awareness of your own thoughts, realizing the
differences between viewpoints
• Motivation to explain your thougths when they
are not clear enough for the others to
understand
• Discussing on more abstract level to find the
common ground for the joint discussion and
problem solving
• Utilizing the variety of knowledge and
Häkkinen, P. & Arvaja, M. (1999). Kollaboratiivinen the group
expertise within oppiminen teknologiaympäristöissä. Teoksessa Eteläpelto, A. & Tynjälä, P. Oppiminen ja
asiantuntijuus.
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

7. What is the main theoretical background
of collaborative learning research?
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

8. Socio-constructivist
approach on learning
• Piaget  ”The Genevan School”
• How social interactions affect individual cognitive
development?
• ”it is above all through interacting with others,
coordinating his/her approaches to reality with those
of others, that the individual masters new
approaches”
• Individual cognitive development as a result of spiral
causality
• Socio-cognitive conflicts
Doise, W. & Mugny, W. (1984). The Social Development of the Intellects.
Doise, W. (1990). The development of individual competencies through social interaction.
Dillenbourg, P., Baker, M, Balye, A. & O’Malley, S. (1996). The evolution of research on collaborative learning.
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

9. Socio-cultural
approach on learning
• Vygostsky  Socio-cultural perspective
• Causal relationship between social interaction and
individual cognitive change?
• Genetic law of cultural development:
– Inter-psychological processes (social speech)
– Intra-psychological processes (inner speech)
• Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and Society: The development of Higher Psychological Processes.
Dillenbourg, P., Baker, M, Balye, A. & O’Malley, S. (1996). The evolution of research on collaborative learning
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

10. Shared cognition
approach on learning
• Perspectives of sociology and anthropology shared
cognition and situated cognition
• Environments as a integral part of cognitive activity
– Physical context
– Social context
• Culture, social communities, language, structure of
social meanings and relationships
Dillenbourg, P., Baker, M, Balye, A. & O’Malley, S. (1996). The evolution of research on collaborative learning. In E. Spada & P. Reimans (Edls)
learning in Humans and Machine: Towards an interdisciplinary learning science (pp 189-211). Oxford: Elsevier.
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

11. • What are the challenges
you have faced in
collaborative learning
situations?
• What things or
circumstances have
complicated or hindered
the collaboration?
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

12. What are the prerequisities
for collaborative learning?
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

13. Prerequisities for
collaborative learning
• Equality and symmetry • Individual prerequisities
• Grounding • If technology is used:
• Commitment – Support for fluent
• Certain way of discussing interaction
things – Diversity, flexibility
• Misconceptions and – Usability
disagreements allowed – Reliability
• Open questions vs. factual
questions
• Partly overlapping areas of
expertise Häkkinen, P. & Arvaja, M. (1999). Kollaboratiivinen oppiminen
teknologiaympäristöissä. Teoksessa Eteläpelto, A. & Tynjälä, P.
Oppiminen ja asiantuntijuus..
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

14. How can we support collaborative learning?
How can we script collaboration?
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

15. Supporting collaborative
learning
• Because collaboration in learning situations does not
often occur spontaneously, there’s a need for
instructional support
• With scaffolding we can support learners as they
accomplish tasks that they would not be able to
accomplish on their own (Zone of Proximal
Development)
• Scaffolds can provide support
– On a content-related or conceptual level
– Related to the interactive processes between students
Kollar, I; Fisher, F & Hesse, F. W. (2006). Collaboration scripts - A Conceptual Analysis. Educational Psychology Review 18:159-185.
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

16. Supporting collaborative learning
with technology
• Computer-Supported
Collaborative Learning
(CSCL)
– Technology can support
collaborative problem
solving by making thinking
visible and by fostering the
discussion during the
learning process
– The cognitive load can be
shared with technology as
well as with other people
Häkkinen, P. & Arvaja, M. (1999). Kollaboratiivinen oppiminen teknologiaympäristöissä.
Teoksessa Eteläpelto, A. & Tynjälä, P. Oppiminen ja asiantuntijuus.
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27

17. Questions?
Comments?
Venla Vallivaara
LET – Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit
University of Oulu
2012-09-27