Student collaboration: In-class cooperative activities and positive effects

Research shows that students collaborating with each other learn more, are more motivated, and have more positive attitudes towards the subject, the teacher, each other, as well as themselves. In collaborative learning, students participate in small-group activities in which they share their knowledge and expertise, with the facilitating support of the instructor. This type of social interaction consists of student discussions, including argumentation, explaining ideas to one another, and incorporating and building on one another’s ideas.

This presentation reviews an in-class activity, in which students of an introductory media course come up with the topic of their individual essays, by collaborating in small groups. We will discuss the process, tools and results, including an assessment and learnings of the activity. The focus is on the development of soft skills around collaboration, including empathy and teamwork.