Collaborative Learning & Faculty

While many of us agree that collaborative learning is powerful, there are still many of us who find it difficult to locate and use collaborative learning exercises in our own courses. Faculty may not have experienced many examples of collaborative learning and their colleagues may not have many collaborative learning experiences to share. How can faculty who want to include collaborative learning be assisted in their quest for good course content that includes elements of collaboration or at least group work?

Here's a good example Michele Watson found which shows of how podcasting was used in a collaborative learning framework to enhance learning among young students in New Zealand.

We experienced some of the same benefits when the local public access TV station in Albuquerque sponsored a contest for the Albuquerque public schools in which students prepared speeches on the importance of free speech in a democracy and then delivered their speeches on TV. Many of the benefits mentioned in the New Zealand example were experienced by students (and their families.)