We see collaboration all around us: kids pushing each other on swings, a soccer team playing a game, friends building a block tower together. But how do you teach collaboration? By creating experiences that cultivate collaborative learning.
Collaborative learning is a key tool for building self-confidence, communication skills, and an understanding of our interconnectedness in the world.
And it’s a key part of collaboration, one of the 6Cs at the heart of the Begin Approach to helping kids thrive, both at home and at school. Kids who learn to collaborate set bigger goals for themselves—and know how to achieve them.
What are the components of collaborative learning, what skills does it grow, and what are some ways you can incorporate it at home? We’re here to show you!
Key Takeaways
- Collaborative learning occurs when people work in pairs or groups to solve problems, make decisions, and work toward a common goal.
- Collaborative learning is made up of two main components: skills and experiences.
- The benefits of collaborative learning include positive interdependence, accountability, interpersonal skills, group processing, confidence building, and self-regulation.
Table of Contents
- What Is Collaborative Learning?
- Components of Collaborative Learning
- Benefits of Collaborative Learning
- 6 Examples of Collaborative Activities
What Is Collaborative Learning?
Collaborative learning occurs when people work in pairs or groups to solve problems, make decisions, and accomplish a common goal. At school, this might look like a group of students working together at a table. At home, it could look like you and your child playing a game.
Components of Collaborative Learning
For young kids, collaborative learning has two parts. One focuses on the skills a child needs to successfully work with other people. The other involves giving them an opportunity to routinely experience collaboration to make it safe and familiar.
Teaching Collaboration Skills
Give your child opportunities to practice collaboration skills, including asking questions, listening to answers, and being open to other people’s ideas.
For example, when they’re navigating a playground or playing with a friend, you can prompt and guide them to be collaborative by saying something like, “Why don’t the two of you come up with a plan to share the swing?”
Creating Experiences
Once your child has the basics of collaboration down, practicing those newfound skills will help them become routine. The more varied their collaborations—with old friends, new friends, caring adults, and family—the better.
Benefits of Collaborative Learning
In school and life, collaboration is one of the skills we need to be successful. Let’s take a deeper look at its benefits.
Creates Positive Interdependence
Each person’s success in achieving a group goal is dependent on the success of the other members of the group. Whether this looks like your child finishing a puzzle with a friend or cleaning up trash in the park with neighbors, positive interdependence recognizes that everyone in a group is connected and valuable.
Fosters Accountability
By extension, if everyone is connected, everyone is responsible for doing their part within the group. Kids learn that no single person can be responsible for accomplishing the group’s goal alone.
Builds Interpersonal Skills
In collaborative learning, kids strengthen listening and communication skills as well as a wider range of important social (sometimes called “soft”) skills such as empathy, leadership, patience, and dependability.
Teaches Group Processing
Reflecting on a project or outcome once it’s over is an important part of the collaborative learning process. Kids are able to take a step back and evaluate how everyone worked together and how they can improve on how they collaborate next time.
Builds Confidence
Collaborative learning gives kids confidence because their ideas are heard, they get to contribute meaningfully to the group, and they can see a positive outcome that they contributed to.
Promotes Emotional Regulation
Collaborative learning creates changing dynamics between people in a group. They need to take turns, divide up tasks, and sometimes let go of ideas. All of these skills depend on emotional regulation.
6 Examples of Collaborative Activities
The more your child practices collaborative learning, the better they’ll be at it. These are some fun activities to strengthen their ability to work as a positive member of a team.
1) Story Writing
What You’ll Need
- Paper
- Pencils (or other writing utensils, like crayons or markers)
What to Do
- Decide what you want to write about (the sillier the better, like a dragon that breathes water instead of fire).
- Ask your child to begin the story by writing one sentence.
- If you’ve got a group of kids, pass the paper to the next child and ask them to write the next sentence.
- Continue like this until you have a whole story.
- Read it aloud.
Note: If your child can’t write yet, they can draw pictures or you can tell the story out loud.
2) Task-Sharing
What You’ll Need
- Your choice!
What to Do
- Set up your materials together.
- Discuss what you are going to do (i.e., build a tower, make muffins).
- Divide up the tasks.
- Engage in your activity, pointing out the process of taking turns, waiting, negotiating tasks, etc.
3) Role-Playing Games
What You’ll Need
- Costumes
- Props (stuffed animals, bags, balls, books, etc.)
What to Do
Choose an event, like a play, musical, or dance recital.
Kids plan the event together, with everyone collaborating to figure out tickets, costumes, rehearsals, etc.
4) Building Block Copycat
What You’ll Need
- 3 kids
- Wooden blocks, magnetic tiles, or any other building materials
What to Do
This is like the old-fashioned game of telephone, only with blocks!
- Divide the blocks into two equal parts. (Try to get the same shapes, sizes, and colors into both piles.)
- Decide who will be Builder #1, Builder #2, and the Observer.
- Builder #2 goes where they can’t see Builder #1.
- Builder #1 makes something with the blocks.
- The observer pays close attention and relays the details of the build to Builder #2.
- Based on the observer’s details, Builder #2 tries to do the same thing.
- Compare!
Collaboration Is a Team Effort
We’re here to support you as you help your child develop the skills they need to grow and flourish in school and in life.
From the Learn with Sesame Street app that helps them build social-emotional skills to Little Passports hands-on activities that allow them to share the experience of building and creating with others, we have a range of playful learning experiences to bring collaborative learning to life.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is a ”collaborative mindset”?
A collaborative mindset is grounded in understanding the value of working as a team. This means recognizing the importance of sharing ideas, open communication, respect for everyone involved, and working together toward one goal.
What’s the difference between collaborative learning and cooperative learning?
While collaborative learning and cooperative learning overlap in many ways, they’re not the same thing. Cooperative learning is one kind of collaborative learning.
Cooperative learning is structured. Even though kids tackle activities together, they are organized and facilitated by adults. Collaborative learning, on the other hand, is wider in scope. It is most often child-directed and adults are hands-off.
What is one example of collaboration as a skill at home?
A simple example of practicing collaborative learning at home is doing chores. As a family, you might sit down and write down all of the tasks that need to be done around the house and then work together to figure out who will do what.
Extra points for collaborative learning if family members team up to complete a chore together!
