Pre-service teachers' perceptions of collaborative learning at university: A repeated cross-sectional study (original) (raw)

Perceptions towards the Usage of Collaborative Learning in Teaching and Learning Processes at

2014

It is difficult for a graduate to get employed, due to fierce competition within today's career market. Most employers are primarily looking for good soft skills over academic achievements as selection criteria for selecting new employees. This paper shares the preliminary findings on the perceptions of students and lecturers on the use of Collaborative Learning in teaching and learning processes at Malaysia Polytechnic. In this study, two sets of questionnaires were distributed to 145 lecturers and 356 diploma students from Politeknik Ibrahim Sultan, Politeknik Merlimau, Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, Politeknik Kota Kinabalu, and Politeknik Sultan Idris Shah. All collected data was analysed using SPPS 19 software. The results show that even though lecturers used the collaborative learning method in their teaching and learning processes, the evaluation was only on the output product. The students felt that it was unfair for all members to get the same marks, and that the lecturers should award marks based only on the student's contribution. Therefore, the development of soft skills will not happen if active collaboration does not occur.

Collaborative Learning and Teaching in Practice

Journal Plus Education, 2017

Emphasizing on many other collaborative learning or co-labouring (Latin-based term) and co-teaching approaches nowadays is wellknown as an essential 21st century skill that brings educational and social benefits identified on educational research studies. In order to establish a common approach, we can use the definition of Smith and MacGregor (1992) in which it’s acknowledged that “collaborative learning“ is an umbrella term for a variety of educational approaches involving joint intellectual effort by students, or students and teachers together. In most collaborative learning situations students are working in groups of two or more, collaboratively searching for understanding, solutions, or meanings, or creating a product.”(p. 11).The difficulties regarding the implementation of activities in collaborative learning are of different nature, but frequently relate to the inability of the teacher to organize cooperative groups effectively and to transfer the findings of the investigat...

A Study on the Perception of Students in a Higher Learning Institution Towards Collaborative Learning

International Journal of Education, Psychology and Counseling

In the fast-paced world when we live in today, learners face various problems in the classroom. They are often unmotivated, anxious and helpless because they lack the support and encouragement they need. The purpose of the study is to examine the diploma students’ perception of collaborative learning since most students were initially found to be reluctant about group work due to numerous factors. Collaborative Learning (CL) is a pedagogical practice that facilities socialization which leads to academic achievement and has been well documented. A survey through the questionnaire is distributed to 100 students from two faculties currently undergoing diploma studies at a local institute of higher learning. Data from the study indicated that the students had positive experiences with CL and a number of them believe that their lecturers help them to develop a sense of cooperation through CL. The work presented here has implications for future studies of addressing issues related to coll...

Instructors’ experiences of collaboratively teaching: Building something bigger

Instructors often teach in isolation with very little collegial interaction guiding their practice. In light of the research that exists identifying the value of collaboration within learning environments, the merits of such isolated practice must be questioned. Even though collaboration within educational settings has been identified as critical to the development of both instructors and students, highly collaborative approaches to team teaching have not been fully explored. The purpose of this study was to examine our own experience as team teachers in a team taught, educational psychology course. Through a phenomenological analysis of our lived experiences as instructors engaged in collaboratively teaching an undergraduate course, we gained understanding of the benefits of team teaching within a broader context. A thematic structure emerged that captured our experience of the process of co-teaching. This shared thematic structure consisted of one ground theme, named we didn't have a manual for this/finding our way through, and five themes, each providing insight into how we made sense of team teaching. The five emergent themes were (a) You can't shoot from the hip; (b) Following and leading . . . all of us together; (c) If we walk away disagreeing, is it okay?; (d) The presence of another pushed us to go deeper; and (e) You build something bigger. Implications for the use of team teaching in higher education are also explored, highlighting the value of collaborative praxis.

Student and novice teachers’ stories about collaborative learning implementation

Teachers and Teaching

Despite the research evidence on the effectiveness of collaborative learning (CL), the implementation of this teaching strategy has not yet found a profound place in teaching practice. As a consequence, several studies have investigated teachers’ motives regarding and experiences with the use of CL. Most of these studies concern however senior teachers, whereas new generations of teachers are important actors in the process of educational innovation. Hence, it is crucial to explore novice teachers’ stories about CL implementation: what motivates them to implement this teaching strategy, what hinders them and how do they handle the challenges they are confronted with? The answers to these questions may provide useful information for improving the teacher education curriculum regarding CL. In this respect, the present study intends to study pre-service and beginning teachers’ experiences with CL in classroom practice, after a formal training pertaining to CL as part of their teacher e...

Collaborative learning practices: teacher and student perceived obstacles to effective student collaboration

Cambridge Journal of Education, 2017

While the educational literature mentions several obstacles affecting the effectiveness of collaborative learning (CL), they have often been investigated through the perceptions of only one actor, either teachers or students. Therefore, some sources of obstacles that teachers and students encounter may not have been revealed. In this study, 19 teachers and 23 students in different disciplines at a pre-service teacher education faculty at a university in Vietnam were interviewed. In total, 47% of the teachers taught science subjects and 53% taught social subjects; 35% of the students majored in science subjects, 57% in social subjects, and 8% in primary education. With regard to study cohorts, 22% of the students were in the first and second year while 78% were in the third and fourth year of their fouryear bachelor's programme. These programmes produce qualified teachers for primary and secondary schools nationwide. Based on grounded theory analysis, four common obstacles to collaboration were identified: students' lack of collaborative skills, free-riding, competence status, and friendship. Furthermore, the results showed three interrelated antecedents that contribute to these obstacles. Central to the antecedents is the strong focus of the teachers on the cognitive aspects of CL, which led the participating teachers to neglect the collaborative aspects of CL. These antecedents were demonstrated in the ways teachers set CL goals, provided instruction, and assessed student collaboration. This study may be useful for educators, designers, and researchers to foster the quality of student collaboration.

Self-Regulation and Self-Assessment of the Collaborative Learning Competence in Higher Education for Preservice Teachers

EDULEARN19 Proceedings, 2019

The competence of collaborative learning and the teamwork effectiveness constitute a basic and key competence in higher education. Included in the syllabus of several degrees in the field of social sciences, the collaborative competence is especially relevant for educational students, who are trained to become teachers (in pre and primary education), since teamwork is an important part of their professional role. Several are the dimensions for the analysis of this competence, although there are three dimensions repeated in different studies, also included in some international reports on teaching competences: (1) communication and support (ask and offer help), (2) developing/monitoring of collaborative roles, (3) collaborative knowledge creation (participation and interdependence). From these three dimensions, an assessment tool (rubric) was created, considering the whole process, the planning the task, the regulation of the performance and the final evaluation. In order to obtain an index of the effectiveness of the process, a number of activities were asked to students for being analyzed in the different groups (

A Study to Analyze the Teacher's Perceptions About the Adoption of Collaborative Learning in Post-graduate Classes of IUB

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012

Collaborative learning is a key component in a variety of didactical strategies. Collaborative learning attracts attention because of its potential as a powerful strategy to foster learning. Despite the available empirical evidence as to its impact, adopti on of collaborative learning approaches remains often restricted. A key factor is linked to teacher beliefs and perceptions about collaborative teaching and learning. The present study centers on these beliefs in teachers working at the Islamia University of Bahawalpur" (IUB). The research aims centered on the following: (i) To analyze the current level of adoption of collaborative learning and instruction in IUB classrooms (ii) To map teachers perception about collaborative learning approaches (iii)To identify the problems faced by the teachers when adopting collaborative learning and instruction On the base of the findings the following recommendations can be presented: (i) Teachers needs more training and guidance to implement Collaborative Learning (ii) Students should be given congenial environments for collaborative learning (iii) A learner-friendly curriculum is required for the success of collaborative learning.

A Collaborative Teaching Approach: Views of a Cohort of Preservice Teachers in Mathematics and Technology Courses

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2009

provides a forum for the dissemination of knowledge focused on the improvement of higher education across all content areas and delivery domains. The audience of the IJTLHE includes higher education faculty, staff, administrators, researchers, and students who are interested in improving post-secondary instruction. The IJTLHE is distributed electronically to maximize its availability to diverse academic populations, both nationally and internationally. ________________________________________________________ Review Process Following a brief editorial review, each manuscript will be blind reviewed by two members of the Review Board. The review process will take approximately 4 weeks. At the end of the four-week review process authors will be notified as to the status of their manuscriptsaccept, revise and resubmit, or reject-and will receive substantive feedback from the reviewers. Manuscript authors are responsible for obtaining copyright permissions for any copyrighted materials included within manuscripts. ________________________________________________________