Blog #8 Initial Post
What are your thoughts about “learning in the collective”?
By taking online courses at the graduate level since 2004, I have been “learning in the collective” for quite a while. Because of this, I, of course, have an opinion about learning in the collective. I agree with Thomas and Brown (2011) with the idea that learning in the collective is not a new concept. I also believe, along with Thomas and Brown (2011), that if students take an active role in creating and molding learning, the information shared is more up-to-date alleviating the need for the teacher to keep current in all things. But, learning in the collective can be a tough method for a teacher to use. I have seen it used in discussion boards when all students are expected to share their learning. I have also seen it used poorly in that students who think they have all the answers criticize other’s perspectives and thoughts, thus shutting down conversation and ostracizing students. I am not sure how to best approach the collective learning of students since so often either students won’t disagree with others because of not wanting to hurt feelings or confront issues, or students will use the learning medium as a way to push their philosophies on others. It seems that Thomas and Brown’s thoughts would work in a utopian environment, but I have yet to see collective learning work very well. Sorry, I hate to “rain on parades”, but although I would love to see collective learning take place, I don’t have many examples when it did.
So, what are my solutions to making “collective learning” work? I can’t be negative without offering solutions. In 2007, Pfizer offered access to their knowledge networks so that doctors and the healthcare industry could work together to improve patient care. By working together on a similar goal, folks with expertise in various areas were able to collaborate and build knowledge that would be impossible otherwise (LittlebyLittlejohn). This method is very similar to the collaborative learning we have been using in this class. I think that when we worked together to create our rubrics, we, as students, were very helpful and encouraging to one another and used our skills in various areas to make a rubric where the sum total was greater than the individual parts. I think it worked great in this instance.
Don’t get me wrong...I love the idea of collective learning. As Garavan and Carbery (2014) have said, “Learning emerges because of interactive mechanisms where individual knowledge is shared, disseminated, diffused, and further developed through relational and belonging synergies. I don’t believe there is a better way of learning. Although “synergy” seems to be a somewhat new “catchphrase”, I do believe when we can gain a sum total greater than the parts, we are learning far more than we might otherwise.
So, although I may appear to be rambling (or maybe I really am rambling), I think collective learning is a great idea and when used correctly can be an excellent method for students to learn. The downside, from my perspective, is that it is a very difficult method to use and a challenging skill for students to develop. Because it is so difficult to implement correctly, it is often misused by both educators and students and can cause more problems among students than good.
Garavan, T., Carbery, R. (2014). SpringerReferecne. Retrieved from http://www.springerreference.com/docs/html/chapterdbid/319564.html
Little by LittleJohn. Retrieved from http://littlebylittlejohn.com/change11-position-paper/collective-learning-examples/
Thomas, D., Brown, J. (2011). A new culture of learning. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
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ReplyDeleteGary,
ReplyDeleteAs I was looking for information to support classmates I came across one of the sites you mentioned in your blog this week. Littlebylittlejohn has a great list of examples for collective learning. You mentioned Pfizer in your blog which I found interesting because my Aunt used to work for Pfizer a few years ago. Another example Littlebylittlejohn shared was how Xerox allows their employees to work collaboratively on a Wiki page to help build the company’s technology strategy. The chief technology officer, Sophie Vandebroek wanted to allow employees to share content knowledge from different areas of expertise. “By developing a strategy document across different disciplinary teams, people learn about different disciplines within the context of the given task,” (littlebylitteljohn.com).
Another great resource that I came across this week was a video done by Sal Kahn. Several other students also shared this video on their blog. I know we are all very busy, but if you have the chance check out the video. It is about 13 minutes.
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/life-earth-universe/humanity-on-earth-tutorial/v/collective-learning
Finally, I think you made a great point towards the end of your blog. Learning in the collective is certainly a good idea and important in the 21st Century, however many educators and students do this incorrectly. Learning in the collective is difficult to do and probably even more difficult for educators to teach elementary students how to do correctly. Still there is value in learning how to be an active member of a collective community. Perhaps beginning with places like Minecraft EDU would be a good place to learn as a collective? Just a thought.
Your frustrations with collective learning are understandable. It only takes one or two students to shut down a collective effort. I have been trying to figure out ways to embrace learning in the collective with my math classes. It would be wonderful to allow kids to venture out on their own in order to seek the mathematical knowledge our district requires them to know. Even if I guide them through discussions, will they leave my class prepared for the environment they will encounter in college. Since I grew up in a traditional education system, my perspective is skewed in that direction. How can I change so that my teaching style aligns with the learning style of today's students. As you mentioned, what do you do when the collective is shutdown? That's going to be a challenge for today's teachers as well as today's students. We are learning and we will continue to learn. This course is a great step to get us thinking and planning. I am thinking about things I never considered before the start of this class. Games no longer sound interesting but rather they sound promising. We just have to take the first steps, adjust as necessary, and try again. If you ask a doctor what they do for a living, they will tell you they practice medicine. If anyone asks one of us what we do, we just need to tell them we are practicing teaching.
ReplyDeleteI understand your concerns Gary, it may just take some time for students to develop the skills needed to participate in a collective. I think that if we choose to use collectives as part of our classes, it would be necessary to teach our students some etiquette.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated your comments on your frustrations with this paradigm, they mirror my own. It was fascinating to read other's comments on what skills students need to develop but I wonder if they can do that under the current educational paradigms or do some things in the way we communicate culturally need to change? Do we still need teacher's to be keepers of boundaries and insights to help collective learners transition smoothly to productive conversation once the pleasantries are past? I have so many more questions, but your blog was really helpful in focusing my thoughts on this. I know my training and technological expectations give me a blindspot-and sometimes a headache!
ReplyDeleteGary,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about your thoughts towards collective learning not really working for you. I find that it is a daunting task to try and manage. Or really that it requires a lot of innovating thinking. One thing I found extremely frustrating to think about is how this type of learning will ensure that standards are met. It is a scary thought when we as teachers are held so accountable.
On the flip side of things, I think it is possible to say that the way we do things now doesn't really work. We still have students who fail in terms of meeting standards.
After taking part in this class, I am starting to feel like we will be moving towards learning in the collective. To me learning in the collective means real-world learning and my challenge in the past and present has and is making the problems have real-world context. Maybe collective learning is the answer?
I am still in the process of reading this week's readings. I am behind. Let me know your thoughts when you have a chance, if you get a chance :). -Shauna