Collaboration

Collaboration involves learners working together on tasks to produce a shared output, for example a group presentation or a written summary. Collaboration includes elements of discussion and practice but it goes one step further in that students must negotiate and realign their ideas to produce one single, best output.

Can collaboration work well online? The answer is yes – many tutors have reported similar if not better collaboration taking place in online break out rooms/Teams channels. Tips for online collaboration

– Facilitators are important 

– Keep the groups small 

 It is possible to collaborate asynchronously, for example by working on shared documents in Microsoft Office 365, but for collaboration to be most effective, it needs to occur in real time.

Team-based learning is an excellent example of collaborative learning, as learners must work towards a single best answer in the tRATs (Team Readiness Assurance Tests) and the tAPPs (Team Application Exercises). Click here to see how teachers on the Medical Biosciences programme enabled collaboration .