REFLECTIVE ENTRY ONE
How can I promote collaborative learning in my classroom using digital technology
How can I promote collaborative learning in my classroom using digital technology
such as coding?
As we move well into the 21st century collaboration is widely embraced across all areas of our education system - from what happens within classrooms between students, to what happens among staff, to what happens between schools and other agencies. Having the ability to work effectively with others is a key element of employability and a desirable outcome of a successful education system.
How can teachers promote collaborative learning in their classrooms through the effective use of digital technology?
Learning to code is becoming more popular than ever, and it's never been easier for teachers to get started. What’s more, coding can teach students skills that apply across the curriculum, beyond computer science.
Learning to code can be one way to teach the skills of collaboration, engage your students in meaningful and rich contexts. It can help students think more deeply and creatively about a subject and through collaboration, develop more empathy for others’ perspectives.
- Collaboration - a 21st century skill - What is it all about?
Collaboration - the ability to work effectively with others. Having the ability to work in teams and who can use a ‘collective intelligence are often sought by employers - a vital 21st Century Skill.
Students are encouraged to know what we can achieve by ourselves - we can achieve a lot more with others?
Collaboration is different to cooperation. Collaboration requires working with specific intent, to a common purpose or goal and a common way of achieving that.
Collaboration is built on a foundation of mutual trust and respect. “ Through working closely together and working towards a well-understood and aligned vision, members of a team can maximise their efforts. (https://core-ed.org/research-and-innovation/ten-trends/2017/collaboration/)
- Does collaboration just happen or do the skills need to be taught?
The role of education is to prepare students for the society that exists today or will exist tomorrow.
Partnerships and collaboration don't just happen, “ They are supported by processes that focus on positive ways of working together and effective, regular communication. They require participants to get to know one another and to work together closely. They take time, and they develop over time. Making time is therefore an important issue for teachers and whānau.” (New Zealand Curriculum).
Students need to be able to acquire new information as problems arise - make connections with new information and existing knowledge and apply it to the problem solving at hand.
Education should be collaborative. Society today has people collaborating across the globe using digital tools.
If students are not able to work with the people they see each day in their school environment and classroom - how can they be expected to work with people from different cultures, different values from their own?
Through well thought out fun, creative and engaging learning tasks teachers can teach the skills required to collaborate effectively.
Students must be encouraged to work together to discover information, piece it together and make meaning. Students need to learn how to recognise the different strengths and talents each person brings to a group or project, and learn how to be fluid within the group - changing roles depending on people's strengths (https://www.teachthought.com/learning/4-essential-rules-of-21st-century-learning/)
Sarah D. Sparks highlights in her research review “Children must be taught to collaborate” identifies three main aspects of collaboration that need to be taught: “communicating with others, resolving conflicts and managing tasks. Without a rich task that requires several perspectives students will divide up different aspects of the tasks, therefor not achieving true collaboration - rather than just cooperation. If you don't explicitly teach students show to collaborate they are not going to do it.
In a classroom you may have students from a range of backgrounds and their knowledge can different from subject to subject, however students who are more naturally outspoken if kept in the same collaborative groups across subject areas find different roles and new expertise are brought to the groups, so regardless of the higher status of some students different strengths and experiences can be shared more equitably. With a focus on prioritising the quality of interactions all students benefit. Teachers can set the stage for improved student discussions be using group tasks for concepts or projects that are too cognitively large for just one student. (Sarah D. Sparks, 2017).
- Why teach collaboration ? What are the benefits of collaboration?
Learning collaboratively helps students. In a world of knowledge world where knowledge can be accessed faster than ever before collaboration is key - it enriches ideas, helps your own learning go deeper , how to work with others in a constructive and productive ways, no one person is an expert, so therefore collaboration is vital. By teaching in ways that “enable learners to learn from one another, to collaborate , to self regulate and to develop agency over their learning” Education Council (2017).
Collaboration links directly to our New Zealand Curriculum under the key competency of Participating and Contributing. These are the capabilities people have, and need to develop, to live and learn today and in the future. Having the “ capacity to capacity to contribute appropriately as a group member, to make connections with others, and to create opportunities for others in the group.” (New Zealand Curriculum Ministry Education).
Educators must plan activities that give students the opportunity to work and collaborate together to learn and grow from each other. “Collaborative learning has been shown to not only develop higher-level thinking skills in students, boost their confidence and self-esteem as well.” (NZ Curriculum Ministry of Education)
By teaching in ways that “enable learners to learn from one another, to collaborate , to self regulate and to develop agency over their learning” Education Council. (2017).
- How can I promote collaboration in my classroom through the use of digital technology?
By teaching in ways that “enable learners to learn from one another, to collaborate , to self regulate and to develop agency over their learning” Education Council. (2017).
Society is a mix of many different beliefs and cultures - Globalisation has opened up the world and allowed people to connect in new and exciting ways -
.
No tool can be used on its own - collaboration is a human activity. Collaboration is a BLEND between independence and help of others. By utilising skills, knowledge, people AND tools to achieve the common goal. Papert, S. & Harel, I. (1991).
By integrating digital tools into learning in every context in the classroom and beyond through measuring things, analysing things, communicating things between students opens up whole new worlds of learning. In order to contribute to society, students will need to be able to acquire new information as problems arise - they will need to connect the new information with the knowledge they already have and apply it to solving the problem. By using a range of digital tools the students are captivated, engaged in real life problem solving tasks, developing critical thinking, communication and collaboration skills.
Digital technology supports learning by offering new ways for students to represent their thinking, clarify ideas, make connections and reflect on their thinking across the curriculum. They provide students with a greater capacity to save and build on previous work, work collaboratively or individually in creative and innovative ways. (TKI - Ministry of Education - enabling e learning)
International education consultant, Lane Clark talks about teaching children how to learn using thinking tools in this video on EDtalks. "It's not just teaching them how to learn, it's actually about the tools associated with the learning job so that they can do great thinking and great learning. Some of those tools are new technologies and some are old technologies. What's important is that the kids can select the best tool and justify that thinking."
What is coding and how can this digital tool promote
collaboration in my classroom?
- What is coding?
Coding helps students develop systematic reasoning, problem solving and communication skills.
In its simplest form coding or computer programming, is giving a computer step by step commands to tell it what to do. This can include making websites, games and apps. Coding languages include HTML and Javascript (TKI).
Whilst enhancing the students digital skills it is cross curricular and through rich learning contexts coding can enhance the students learning experience. Coding helps children with communication, creativity, math, writing and self confidence.
It is important for students to understand and learn that there is no one way to do something. Through learning to code and giving direction the ability to be flexible, open to change, bounce ideas off others, developing a growth mindset is enhanced. Even if their way didn't work, other options exist and can be tired. Students can improve upon what they have already done without worrying about failing. Coding is a basic literacy in the digital age, and it is important for students to understand and be able to work with and understand the technology around them.
- So why teach coding? What are the benefits?
Coding is a way to teach the skills of effective collaboration. It encourages effective problem-solving skills. Coding encourages students to learn various skills that can help them solve various problems. It develops their systematic reasoning, problem solving and communication skills. At the same time, it also encourages the students to think outside the box as well. 21st century learning skills all rolled into an exciting and engaging digital tool!
Five reasons to teach code (Ministry of Education NZ)
- Coding is a tool to improve educational equity.
- Coding offers inclusion.
- Coding can improve neuroplasticity.
- Coding improves Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) proficiencies.
- Coding is an important and necessary future-focused literacy. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/coding-classroom-long-overdue-inclusion-merle-huerta
In the edutopia site Keith Heggat discusses the benefits of learning to programme, citing recent studies that support the idea of teaching basic coding can increase problem solving skills Golpin (2014) writes: being able to follow programming logic trains the mind to think in more analytical ways. Heggat also discusses the benefits beyond logical things such as learning to check your work for details, apply logic and how to persist at a task, and also learning how to ask a good question.
Heggat also highlights the way in which coding/programming can be a way to learn how to collaborate because of the shared nature of programming - mostly which is accomplished in teams. The timeless yet highly relevant skills and learning behaviours identified for our 21st century learners such as problem solving skills, critical thinking, communication and collaboration will endure far longer than the ever changing programming language (Brian Heese, 2014).
REFERENCES:
Ministry Of Education (2017). The New Zealand Curriculum. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/05/17/children-must-be-taught-to-collaborate-studies.html )By Sarah D. Sparks, 2017
Education Council. (2017).
Papert, S. & Harel, I. (1991). Constructionism. Ablex Publishing
Tony Wagner Dr Tony Wagner 7 Survival Skills- youtube
2012 Ted Talk Lets teach kids to code Mitch Resnick
2013 EdTalks The Real Learning Process Lane Clarke
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