How do YOU like to learn?
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By talking through a problem?
Listening to someone else talk?
In a group or alone?
By reading on your own and asking questions
in class?
• By practicing skills on the water?
Average retention rate
(after 24 hours)
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Lecture – 5%
Reading – 10%
Audiovisual – 20%
Demonstration – 30%
verbal
processing
verbal and
visual processing
• Discussion Group – 50%
• Practice by Doing – 75%
Doing
• Teach Others/ Immediate use of learning - 90%
Collaborative Learning
Instructor Development
Committee
Presentation
SEMINAR OBJECTIVES
To present an instructional strategy for
teaching classes and seminars.
Provide information and experience to
allow participants to use the strategy
for part of their teaching.
What is collaborative learning?
• Collaborative learning can be defined as
learners working together to refine their
collective understanding of a concept or skill.
• Planned instructional strategies designed to
allow participants to use the content.
• Decision making or problem based learning.
How does it work?
• The learner has previously read the content or
had experiences for basic understanding.
• People are involved in the learning directly,
not passively listening or looking.
• The instructor is more of an observer or
supporter of the learning.
• There is more pulling information from
memory by the student which makes the
learning stronger.
Why collaborative learning?
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Increased involvement for the learner.
Stronger reinforcement for the learner.
More social connections to education classes.
Increased variety for teaching.
The method more closely matches how
people learn in the work world.
• We are usually teaching adults who want to
be involved in the learning.
Experiencing learning
• Being involved in the learning provides
stronger memory and more paths to recall and
use the information.
• Each time a learner brings the content to their
working memory they reinforce the
understanding.
• We do not learn from experience, but from
the reflection on the experience.
Social experience from learning
• Members that interact with each will often
form a stronger friendship.
• Members that support each other’s learning
will also be more likely to take additional
classes together.
• People are naturally social. Facebook, Twitter,
and other social media are popular because
they fit people’s connections.
Consider people new to boating
• People that start boating without past
experiences have weak memory connections
to the content.
• The boating information does not have a path
to long term memory when it is simply
delivered in a presentation.
• Creating additional time to use the
information creates more memory paths.
Variety = teaching/learning energy
• Students “tune out” when only receiving
material one way.
• Using the same method reduces the
excitement for the teacher.
• Having to organize the content a different way
helps strengthen the teacher’s understanding
of the content.
What will collaborative learning do for
the instructor
• Provide a way to observe student learning &
understanding.
• Provide more options for teaching the
concepts & content.
• Allow the instructor to increase enthusiasm
for teaching the content.
– Avoid burnout
– Move out of their comfort zone
What will collaborative learning do for
the student?
• Allow the student to process the material
several times to reinforce learning.
• Allow the learner to process in the manner
that they use at work.
• Create stronger ownership of the learning
experience and content.
• Helps make the learning meaningful for the
student.
Why use collaborative learning
• Most people can read the text to get an
introduction to the information.
• New boaters may not gain enough experience
from reading to ask questions.
• The collaborative learning process allows a
“meaning making” of the material by the
learner.
• Provides the instructor with information about
learner understanding and lesson variety.
Collaborative Learning Activity
• When you entered you were given a card with
information about boating decisions.
• You will be asked to be in a group.
• This activity assumes that you have some
boating experience.
• We are going to ask you to explain your
thinking for the decision you support.
Collaborative learning is like/ not like
Because:
Boating decisions
• Play with boats long enough and something
will happen. (Quote from 2 delivery captains)
• We are going to look at some boating
scenarios and ask you to consider the
probability that the event will occur.
• Of course your level of experience will
determine your confidence to deal with the
problem.
Boating Decision Making 1
• ABC Book – Appendix E topic
• Likelihood of an Event
– Probable = an event will occur several times.
– Occasional = an event will probably occur
sometime.
– Remote = an event is unlikely to occur, but is
possible.
– Improbable = an event is highly unlikely to occur
Boating Decision Making 2
• How serious is the problem?
– Will it cause you to postpone the trip or activity?
– Will it cause you to change the activity or trip
significantly?
– Will you carefully check equipment and make
contingency plans and continue with the activity
or trip?
– Will a quick check with the crew & of the
equipment be ok before proceeding?
Activity Directions
• You will be asked to decide how probable you
think it is that the presented problem will
occur while boating.
• Your group will also attempt to decide how
serious the situation or problem is for the
boating decision making scenario.
• Share the decision with the whole group and
explain why the decision was reached.
Decision Making Scenarios
• Your boat is sinking
• The boat radio is providing intermittent
service
• The fog rolls in while you are underway
• Malfunctioning GPS
• Boat engine problems
Debrief the activity
• What did you learn from other boaters?
• What did you learn about your own boating
experience level?
• How will this change your approach to
preparation for boating?
• What boating understandings are more clear
after the exercise?
Activities Reflection
• Would such activities help boaters create a
stronger understanding?
• What reasons would an instructor have to
take the time to use collaborative learning?
• What are the benefits for the student from
collaborative learning?
• What are the potential benefits for the
squadron if more classes are collaborative?
Meaningful Learning
• Long term memory of information in the brain
– Does it make sense to the learner based on
experiences?
– Is it relevant to the learner?
• It may make sense to know something but it
may not be meaningful to the person.
True or False Question
• Learners who can perform a new learning task
well are likely to retain it?
• False.
• We cannot presume that because a learner
performs a new learning task well, it will be
permanently stored. Sense and/or meaning
must be present to some degree for storage to
occur.
Planning a lesson
Suggestions for
Collaborative work
Important Content
• First make sure that class members were
previously exposed to the content through
experience, reading, video, or an earlier
presentation.
• Focus on important content or areas where
there were learning challenges discovered in
past lessons.
• What does the content tell you about the
strategy you will use?
Consider group members
• How well do they know each other?
• Have they worked together on other projects,
activities, or problems?
• What is their background/experience level when
working with people?
• What is the total group size?
• Will you have help implementing the activity?
Choosing a group strategy
• What are you planning to accomplish with the
activity?
– Activating interest and focus to work together
– Goal setting and planning
– Dialogue and discussion
– Summarizing learning
– Text and information processing
Group organization
• Divide the group into smaller groups of 2, 3, or
4 members for active participation.
• Mixing members by experience and
knowledge increases interactions.
• Structure the group through time, roles,
interaction patterns, materials and or space
Use a lesson at least twice
• Remember that the first time a lesson is used
it is never perfect. What will you add, delete,
or expand?
• Plan to evaluate the lesson. Ask questions or
have an strategy to measure effectiveness.
• Consider having an observer or videotape the
lesson to get feedback on the lesson.
Impact on person’s learning style
• Active and Reflective Learners have time to be
involved with the materials.
• Sensors and Intuitive Learners are given the
opportunity to interact with the material from
each style and share viewpoints and
understandings.
• Visual and verbal learners have time to
visualize or express understandings.
Final Questions
• Learners who do the most talking, thinking,
reflecting or moving learn the most.
True or False
• Do you believe that when the learner feels
good about what, how and with whom they
learn, they will be more likely to take classes
and seminars?
Thank you for attending the
seminar today. Please take a
handout that describes some
aspects of collaborative learning
and provides a couple of
activities that may be used with
courses.