Collaborative learning is a method that involves working as a group or peer-to-peer discussions to solve a problem or to understand thought. A lot of organizations use collaborative learning to help their employees learn and retain information about important skills and concepts.
With Collaborative learning, you can encourage collaboration and group participation. The participants can ask questions with each other, share ideas, and give feedback. The idea behind this type of learning is to make learning a little less formal.
Using a learning management system (LMS) like 360Learning, you can allow L&D teams to drive growth through collaborative learning. Anyone can manage courses with ease that enable collaborative learning and can encourage the learners to be more engaged and interested in their curriculum. Thus, choosing an LMS that is reliable in adapting to new trends is a must.
Collaborative learning can prove to be beneficial for employees in multiple ways, read on to know more:
1) Development of Skills and Knowledge
With the help of Collaborative learning, you can encourage learners to achieve common goals and develop a broad variety of knowledge and skills. Learning with fellow employees helps the learners understand a given concept from different angles. With this kind of learning, learners are enabled to use interpersonal skills, like active listening.
2) Encouragement of Social Learning
Members of collaborative learning groups work as a team. The members in the group are of diverse personalities. When the members of the group work together, they share ideas; practice and develop social skills, like – active listening, respect, empathy, and understanding. Personal and professional relationships are developed with strong social skills.
3) Promotion of Diversity
The members in the collaborative learning group are from different backgrounds and cultures. Every individual has a different way to learn as well as has a different opinion on a given topic. Collaborative learning brings together people of diverse beliefs, ages, and education levels. Diverse people will present new ideas and perspectives. This process will encourage and promote acceptance and open-mindedness at the workplace.
4) Develops communication skills
Communicating effectively is mandatory in collaborative learning to complete a given task. The members of the group communicate verbally to provide feedback, share ideas, and explain concepts clearly and concisely. Writing skills are also developed in collaborative learning, as the members are given assignments that involve tasks such as group writing or closely editing the assignment.
5) Builds trust and develops confidence
The members of the group depend on each other to be successful; it has to be a joint effort to succeed in a given task. As a result, the members learn to trust each other. Development of trust can be transferred into future workplace tasks, which will result in increased productivity and confidence. People who are shy, introverted, or are anxious, can benefit the maximum out of collaborative learning. Other supporting members of the group will help them build confidence by encouraging them to share their opinion and add to discussions. This process will help the shy members in gaining confidence as they will come to know their worth in the group.
6) Improves engagement
Collaborative learning can only be successful when all the members participate actively. The members are encouraged to get engaged and take part in the project and discussions. This way, members who are quiet or are inactive, can be encouraged to involve in a project. Members who are engaged in their work carry a positive attitude and are more productive.
7) Improves critical thinking skills
The members are encouraged to have high-level thinking with collaborative learning. The members analyze and discuss the information before making a decision or solving a problem. By interpreting and assessing the ideas of other team members, the learners can develop and improve their critical-thinking skills. With excellent critical-thinking skills, the learners can resolve conflicts, create ideas, and complete the projects smoothly and efficiently.
8) Building relationships
With collaborative learning, members can make new friends and strengthen existing relationships. With this learning, individuals who have never met or have never worked with each other are brought together and they work in normal circumstances. While working on a project together, the members get to know each other better, which leads to positive professional and personal relationships.
The employers can provide rapport-building opportunities to the members through team-building exercises, reflection exercises, and icebreaking sessions. Allowing the members to divide their responsibilities can play an important role in collaborative learning. You can assign roles to the members and change the roles periodically; this activity will train the whole group in multiple tasks leading to better outcomes.
This content is brought to you by the FingerLakes1.com Team. Support our mission by visiting www.patreon.com/fl1 or learn how you send us your local content here.