Collaborative Learning: A Way to Transform Learning and Instruction in Online Courses

This chapter (27) describes a study of collaborative learning in undergraduate online courses. Three classes containing a different degree of collaboration (no-collaboration, low-collaboration, and high-collaboration) were comparatively investigated by observing scores in online tests, paper assignments, and online discussion. The study found that classes with collaborative activities achieved higher scores in learning. Based on this result and the perspectives obtained from interviews with the instructor and students on collaborative learning, this chapter suggests that in online learning environments, collaborative learning tasks must be optimized; meanwhile, flexibility in online learning must be fully considered.