The shift comes from the widespread adoption of Collaborative Learning curriculum. Classrooms in the 21st Century must support it because it will be the dominant model of education for the foreseeable future. Collaborative Learning is different than traditional methods in two fundamental ways. First, Collaborative Learning is student centered, empowering the student to be an active participant in the learning process. Second, Collaborative learning revolves around solving open-ended problems or creating some sort of a “product” which could be anything from a report, a poster or a video. These projects give the students an opportunity to develop the widest range of learning skills.
The educational benefits of collaborative learning include:
Producing higher group and individual achievement, higher-quality, reasoning strategies, more and more new ideas and solutions to problems. Developing higher-level thinking (not just recalling facts), oral communication,self-management, and leadership skills. Learning to confidently present and defend ideas, which increases the student’s self-esteem and responsibility. Fostering growth in maturity and confidence on the parts of the learners, because it promotes student-educator interaction and exposes the student to diverse perspectives.