Collaborative learning is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together. Unlike individual learning, people engaged in collaborative learning capitalise on one another’s resources and skills.
Collaborative learning can occur peer-to-peer or in larger groups. Peer learning, or peer instruction, is a type of collaborative learning that involves students working in pairs or small groups to discuss concepts or find solutions to problems. Similar to the idea that two or three heads are better than one, educational researchers have found that through peer instruction, students teach each other by addressing misunderstandings and clarifying misconceptions.
The organisational benefits of collaborative learning:
1. Develops self-management and leadership skills
When individuals are tasked with working together to achieve a common goal, they are being given the opportunity to develop high-level skills.
While having to organize, assign, and teach, they are learning how to manage both themselves and others while leading in a productive fashion.
2. Increases employee skills and knowledge
When employees participate in collaborative learning, they are developing a wide range of skills and knowledge. Not only will they strengthen their existing skills by having to teach others, they in turn will learn new skills from other employees.
This reduces the need for formal training while encouraging employees to continually upskill in known concepts and engage with new concepts.
3. Improves relationships across teams and departments
When individuals have limited contact across teams, it is difficult to foster connections and teamwork. Collaborative learning across teams forces individuals to develop new connections and find ways to work together.
This can be especially beneficial for organisations that depend on remote workers, as fostering strong connections among distant workers can be difficult.
4. Improves knowledge acquisition and retention
Studies have shown that utilizing collaborative learning may lead to increased involvement and better retention of knowledge.
The process of collaborative learning allows participants to achieve higher levels of thought and the information is retained much longer than when learned in a non-collaborative setting.
5. Improves employee retention and promotes workplace engagement
Employees that are given the opportunity to learn new skills tend to be more satisfied in their work, and are less likely to seek out other opportunities.
Satisfied employees are more productive and will engage in their work, leading to increased efficiency and output.
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