Learning in communities – networked collaborative learning

I have used problem based learning (PBL) in a Campus based learning environment for several years, both as a student and as a teacher. And from a personal view I would say that a well-functioning tutorial group is a perfect example of good collaborative learning. If different students choose different literature in order to answer the same question, we should in theory achieve a good collaborative environment. Different literature may have different answers to the same question. This could in turn contribute to the development of knowledge that is something more than just putting different pieces together.

So what are the challenges for a PBL tutorial group? How can we support the group so that it manage to work collaboratively? I would say that many of the challenges that we meet in a Campus based environment could be directly translated into an online environment. I read an interesting article by Capdeferro and Romero about frustration in online collaborative learning. The authors argue that frustration is common among online learners and that this has a negative impact on their studies. And I must say that this is not really different from Campus based studies. I have met a lot of students that are frustrated about the PBL group work. Until now I have thought that this is the way it has to be. It takes a while to get used to PBL so it is not strange that you sometimes get a bit frustrated. So, I have looked upon frustration as an element that is part of PBL and nothing that you can do anything about.

However, by reading the article by Capdeferro and Romero I have realized that we really do not want our students to be frustrated. It is bad for their studies and would of course interfere with the ability of a group to be well-functioning and work collaboratively. So, how do we make our students less frustrated? Capdeferro and Romero have identified several factors that make online learners frustrated. The most important factor seem to be connected to the contributions from different students to the work of the group. Students get of course frustrated if some group members do not contribute at all or just contribute to a small extent. Once again, going back to a Campus based environment I experience the same type of frustration with my students.

So, what are the conclusions from this? Well, according to Capdeferro and Romero, frustration could be decreased by teaching the students about group work and in this way making them more competent in their abilities to work together with others. Also, the teachers need to clarify what they expect from each student in the group work.

Of course, group work is complex and what I have focused on here are just a few points that would have impact on group performance. But I think that if the students know what we expect from them and if they have the skills to work in a group we will definitely increase the chances for good collaborative learning.