Benefits of Effective Collaboration for Students
It is critical for students to collaborate with one another in regards to learning, whether they are face-to-face or virtual. Students can learn so much from each other and provide their peers with effective feedback. Collaboration among students also promotes effective communication skills and promotes the life skills of working with a partner or with a team.
These skills are things that prepare them for their future workplace and are 21st-century skills. It is imperative that we provide opportunities for students to take part in these activities beginning in elementary school so that it is what they are used to and it becomes natural for them to communicate with others, as well as offer and receive feedback. As teachers, we should model how to effectively give feedback and use that feedback to grow.
Challenges of Facilitating Effective Collaboration Virtually
There are challenges to facilitating feedback when students are learning virtually and currently when they are face-to-face due to social distancing and time constraints. If you are attempting to get students to collaborate through Zoom, breakout rooms cannot be monitored, which is a concern, especially for younger students. You want to be able to ensure that students are being kind to one another as well as staying on task.
Another challenge is that if a teacher is in charge of multiple grade levels within a virtual program and they have not had the opportunity to really get to know students, it can be difficult to pair students up with a partner or a group.
Strategies to Promote Effective Collaboration Skills
There are several ways that educators can provide and facilitate collaboration between students virtually. One way is through the use of shared online documents. Our district uses Google Classroom, and students can collaborate through Google Docs and Google Slides. The teacher can push out an assignment and also be a collaborator so that they can see what students are doing as well as provide written feedback or a voice recording to students. Click here to see an example in fourth grade math.
Another way to get students to collaborate is by creating an online book club. Teachers can create a Google Site to house questions and activities for the books of choice and within these can be tasks for students to collaborate through the books they are reading.
A third way to promote effective collaboration is for students to provide feedback virtually. Students can read each other’s writing and then use a Google Form to provide feedback. This allows for students to practice their collaboration skills in another way besides completing work together. Using this type of form gives the teacher an opportunity to view what the students are saying to each other and then they could conference via Zoom to discuss several things—the type and effectiveness of the student’s feedback to their peer as well as how the student can use the feedback to improve their writing.
Online Collaboration Tools for Students
The beauty of living in the age of technology is that there is a multitude of online tools and apps that allow students and teachers to collaborate. Here is a list of amazing tools that allow and promote online collaboration among students.
- Flipgrid—this is a great platform for students to record a video answering a question, creating a book review, or whatever creative assignment the teacher wants to give. Student videos must be approved by the teacher before they can be posted, which is an excellent safety feature. Students and teacher can then respond to videos that have been posted. Their website also does a great job of helping a teacher get started as well as offers a 30-minute professional development session.
- Jamboard—this is an interactive online whiteboard. Students can bring in items from Google Drive. Their website also gives teachers great information on how to get started and how to make the most of the tool.
- Pear Deck—this is a tool that allows students to create presentations together, but also allows the teacher to create a presentation and embed formative assessment and interactive questions for students.
- Seesaw—this is a great tool for teachers and students. Students can take pictures of their work to turn in to the teacher as well as allows students to collaborate. Teachers can also use this platform to communicate with parents and parents can see their child’s work.
- Padlet—this is an interactive place where students can post their thoughts and answers on a virtual “wall” where others can comment and interact. The posts can include links, photos, videos, pictures, and files.
Each of these tools has its own unique capabilities, but they all allow for students to interact with each other as well as the teacher. The thing to remember before using these tools with students is to have conversations about using them responsibly and practicing good digital citizenship. While we want students to collaborate in order to learn more and build their soft skills, it is important that we also teach them about doing so responsibly. When teachers provide a positive way for students to participate in these opportunities, learning and growing have endless potential!
