Group Collaboration

In my classroom, we have a U table where students are given the opportunity to work together to collaborate and share ideas. It is crucial for students to be able to work together to share ideas and challenge one another in their learning.

This relates to the classroom discussion we had on the "new style" of learning or creating that 21st century classroom. Students are given the opportunity to learn from each other as opposed to having the teacher bombard them with information. I see the students benefit by interacting with one another. As opinions are shared in the classroom, I often hear students challenge one another's opinions and understandings, however they come out with a stronger understanding or gain new knowledge in a specific topic. Also, for students that are shy to speak up during class, it might be beneficial for them to share in a small group first and build a pathway to eventually share in a larger group.

Collaboration is considered to be a 21st century competency as mentioned in Drake's book, "Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment". This is a key asset students need to work on as the new style of learning is very student centred. Possessing a strength in collaboration as well as other competencies,  the students will be more prepared to be productive, active citizens in the 21st century (Drake, 2014 p. 35).

On the contrary, I have witnessed some students become more confused over a topic or be completely out of focus when working in a group. I believe there are pros and cons to having group collaboration, and I can see more positive outcomes from allowing this in the classroom. I feel that this is the new approach to learning which we have discussed to be more student-centred learning.