Skip to main content

Exploring Collaborative Learning: Theoretical and Conceptual Perspectives

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

This chapter reviews the literature concerning the key aspects of CL. It opens with a review of the relevant learning theories and the conceptual framework on which this study is based so that the foundations of CL can be understood. More importantly, this chapter differentiates some of the confusing concepts such as collaboration , cooperation and group work and discusses how they have been researched in their own realm. A discussion of CL including its definition, rationale, characteristics, and structures serves as the closing part of this chapter.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Barfield RL (2003) Students’ perceptions of and satisfaction with group grades and the group experience in the college classroom. Assess Eval Higher Edu 28(4):355–369

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boud D, Cohen R, Sampson J (1999) Peer learning and assessment. Assess Eval Higher Edu 24(4):413–426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown HD (1994) Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  • Cantwell RH, Andrews B (2002) Cognitive and psychological factors underlying secondary students’ feelings towards group work. Edu Psychol Int J Exp Edu Psychol 22(1):75–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen Hsiu-chuan (2008) Cooperative learning on second/foreign language education: theory and practice. Acad J Kang Ning 10:197–216

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen RY, Hird B (2006) Group work in the EFL classroom in China: a closer look. RELC J 37(1):91–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng HF, Dörnyei Z (2007) The use of motivational strategies in language instruction: the case of EFL teaching in Taiwan. Innov Lang Learn Teach 1(1):153–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark J, Baker T, Li MS (2007) Student success: bridging the gap for chinese students in collaborative learning. In: 2007 ISANA International conference “Student Success in International Education”, 27–30 Nov, Stamford Grand, Glenelg, Adelaide, Australia. http://www.isana.org.au/files/isana07final00011.pdf. Accessed on 18 June 2010

  • Clément R, Dörnyei Z, Noels KA (1994) Motivation, self-confidence and group cohesion in the foreign language classroom. Lang Learn 44(3):417–448

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delucchi M (2006) The efficacy of collaborative learning groups in an undergraduate statistics course. College Teach 54(2):244–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dillenbourg P (1999) What do you mean by collaborative learning? In: Dillenbourg P (ed) Collaborative-learning: cognitive and computational approaches. Elsevier, Oxford, pp 1–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Dillenbourg P, Baker M, Blaye A, O’Malley C (1996) The evolution of research on collaborative learning. In: Spada E, Reiman P (eds) Learning in humans and machine: towards an interdisciplinary learning science. Elsevier, Oxford, pp 189–211

    Google Scholar 

  • DiNitto R (2000) Can collaboration be unsuccessful? a sociocultural analysis of classroom setting and Japanese L2 performance in group tasks. J Assoc Teach Jpn 34(2):179–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donato R, McCormick D (1994) A sociocultural perspective on language learning strategies: the role of mediation. Mod Lang J 78(4):453–464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dörnyei Z (1994) Motivation and motivating in the foreign language classroom. Mod Lang J 78(3):273–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dörnyei Z (1997) Psychological processes in cooperative language learning: group dynamics and motivation. Mod Lang J 81(4):482–493

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dörnyei Z (2001). Teaching and researching motivation. In: Christopher N, David R (eds) Applied linguistics in action series. Pearson Education Limited, Harlow

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis R (2003) Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Flowerdew L (1998) A cultural perspective on group work. ELT J 52(4):323–328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner RC (1985) Social psychology and second language learning: the role of attitudes and motivation. Edward Arnold, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghaith GM, Yaghi HM (1998) Effect of cooperative learning on the acquisition of second language rules and mechanics. System 26(2):223–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gokhale AA (1995) Collaborative learning enhances critical thinking. J Technol Edu 7(1):22–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta ML (2004) Enhancing student performance through cooperative learning in physical sciences. Assess Eval High Edu 29(1):63–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harmer J (1991) The Practice of English language teaching (New Eds.). Longman Group UK Limited, UK. How do cooperative and collaborative learning differ from the traditional approach? http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/coopcollab/index_sub1.html. Accessed on 6th August 2011

  • Huong LPH (2003) What does a more knowledgeable peer mean? A socio-cultural analysis of group interaction in a Vietnamese classroom. Paper Presented at the NZARE/AARE Joint Conference in Auckland, 29th Nov–3rd Dec 2003. http://www.aare.edu.au/03pap/le03008.pdf. Accessed on 3 March 2010

  • Huong LPH (2006) Learning vocabulary in group work in Vietnam. RELC J Reg Lang Center J 37(1):105–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Hussain RMR (2004) A collaborative learning experience of evaluating a web-based learning tool. Malays Online J Instr Technol (MOJIT) 1(2):67–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacob E, Rottenberg L, Patrick S, Wheeler E (1996) Cooperative learning: context and opportunities for acquiring academic English. TESOL Q 30(2):253–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs GM, Power MA, Loh WI (2002) The teacher’s sourcebook for cooperative learning: practical techniques, basic principles and frequently asked questions. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiang YM (2009) Applying group work to improve college students’ oral English. Int Edu Stud 2(3):136–139

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DW, Johnson RT (1979) Conflict in the classroom: controversy and learning. Rev Edu Res 49(1):51–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DW, Johnson RT (1989) Cooperation and completion: theory and research. Interaction Book Company, Edina

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DW, Johnson RT (1999a) Learning together and alone: cooperative, competitive, and individualistic learning, 5th edn. Allyn & Bacon, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DW, Johnson RT (1999b) Making cooperative learning work. Theory Pract 38(2):67–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DW, Johnson RT, Holubec EJ (1994) The new circles of learning: cooperation in classroom and school. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston CG, James RH, Lye JN, McDonald IM (2000) An evaluation of collaborative problem solving for learning economics. J Econ Edu 31(1):13–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones A, Issroff K (2005) Learning technologies: affective and social issues in computer-supported collaborative learning. Comput Educ 44(4):395–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kagan S (1989) Cooperative learning resources for teachers. University of California, San Juan Capistrano

    Google Scholar 

  • Kagan S (1994) Cooperative learning. Resources for Teachers Inc, San Clemente

    Google Scholar 

  • Kagan S, Kagan M (1994) The structural approach: six keys to cooperative learning. In: Sharan S (ed) Handbook of cooperative learning methods. Greenwood Press, Westport

    Google Scholar 

  • Krashen SD (1981) Second language acquisition and second language learning. Pergamon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Krashen SD (1985) the input hypothesis: issues and implications. Longman, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Krashen SD, Terrell TD (1983) The natural approach: language acquisition in the classroom. The Alemany Press, Hayward

    Google Scholar 

  • Lantolf JP, Appel G (eds) (1994) Vygotskian approaches to second language research. Ablex Publication Co., Westport

    Google Scholar 

  • Lantolf JP, Pavlenko A (1995) Sociocultural theory and second language acquisition. Annu Rev Appl Linguist 15:108–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lantolf JP, Thorne SL (2006) Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language development. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Long MH (1981) Input, interaction, and second language acquisition. In: Winitz H (ed) Native language and foreign language acquisition. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, p. 379

    Google Scholar 

  • Long MH (1983) Linguistics and conversational adjustments to non-native speaker. Stud Second Lang Acquis 5(2):177–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long MH (1985) Input and second language acquisition theory. In: Gass SM, Madden CG (eds) Input in second language acquisition. Newbury House, Rowley, pp 377–393

    Google Scholar 

  • Long MH (1996) The role of linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In: Ritchie WC, Bhatia TK (eds) Handbook of second language acquisition. Academic, New York, pp 413–468

    Google Scholar 

  • Long MH, Porter PA (1985) Group work, interlanguage talk, and second language acquisition. TESOL Q 19(2):207–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maesin A, Mansor M, Shafie LA, Nayan S (2009) A study of collaborative learning among Malaysian undergraduates. Asian Soc Sci 5(7):70–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews RS, Cooper JL, Davidson N, Hawkes P (1995) Building bridges between cooperative and collaborative learning. Change 27(4):37–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGroarty M (1989) The benefits of cooperative learning arrangements in second language instruction. NABE J Nat Assoc Bilingual Edu 13(2):127–143

    Google Scholar 

  • Melles G (2004) Understanding the role of language/culture in group work through qualitative interviewing. Qual R 9(2):216–240

    Google Scholar 

  • Miyake N (1986) Constructive interaction and the iterative process of understanding. Cogn Sci 10(2):151–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nunan D (1992) Research methods in language learning. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohta AS (1995) Applying sociocultural theory to an analysis of learner discourse: learner-learner collaborative interaction in the zone of proximal development. Issues Appl Linguist 6(2):93–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohta AS (2000) Rethinking interaction in SLA: developmentally appropriate assistance in the zone of proximal development and the acquisition of L2 grammar. In: Lantolf JP (ed) Sociocultural theory and second language learning. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 51–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Olsen RE, Kagan S (1992) About Cooperative Learning. In: Kessler C (ed) Cooperative language learning: a teacher’s resource book. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, pp 1–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Oxford R (1997) Cooperative learning, collaborative learning, and interaction: three communication strands in the language classroom. Mod Lang J 81(4):443–456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pica T (1994) Research on negotiation: what does it reveal about second language learning conditions, processes and outcomes? Lang Learn 44(3):493–527

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pica T, Doughty C (1985) The role of group work in classroom and second language acquisition. Stud Second Lang Acquisit 7:233–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roschelle J, Teasley S (1995) The construction of shared knowledge in collaborative problem solving. In: O’Malley CE (ed) Computer supported collaborative learning. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 69–197

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Scarcella R, Oxford R (1992) The Tapestry of language learning: the individual in the communicative classroom. Heinle & Heinle Publishers, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharan S (1980) Cooperative learning in small groups: recent methods and effects on achievement, attitudes and ethnic relations. Rev of Edu Res 50(2):241–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slavin RE (1990) Cooperative learning: theory, research and practice. Allyn & Bacon, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Slavin RE (1995) Cooperative learning: theory, research and practice, 2nd edn. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  • Slavin RE (1996) Research on cooperative learning and achievement: what we know, what we need to know. Contemp Educ Psychol 21:43–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Storch N (2002) Patterns of interaction in ESL pair work. Lang Learn 52(1):119–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Storch N (2007) Investigating the merits of pair work on a text editing task in ESL classes. Lang Teach Res 11(2):143–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swain M (1985) Communicative competence: some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In: Gass SM, Madden CG (eds) Input in second language acquisition. Newbury House, Rowley, pp 235–253

    Google Scholar 

  • Swain M (1995) Three functions of output in second language learning. In: Cook G, Seidlhofer B (eds) Principle and practice in applied linguistics. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Swain M (1997) Collaborative dialogue: its contribution to second language learning. Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses 34:115–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Swain M (2000) the output hypothesis and beyond: mediating acquisition through collaborative dialogue. In: Lantolf JP (ed) Sociocultural theory and second language learning. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 97–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Swain M, Lapkin S (1998) Interaction and second language learning: two adolescent french immersion students working together. Mod Lang J 82(3):320–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky LS (1978) Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky LS (1986) Thought and language. The MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Warschauer M (1997) Computer-mediated collaborative learning: theory and practice. Mod Lang J 81(4):470–481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wertsch JV (1993) Voices of the mind: a sociocultural approach to mediated action. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Wertsch JV, Rogoff B (1984) Editors’ notes. In: Rogoff B, Wertsch JV (eds) Children’s learning in the “Zone of Proximal Development”. Jossey-Bass Inc Publishers, San Francisco, pp 1–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Woolfolk A (2004) Educational psychology. Pearson Education Inc, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Xi HM, Li R, Zhang H (2007) A study on group work in college english collaborative teaching. Sino-US Eng Teach 4(2):1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y (2010) Cooperative language learning and foreign language learning and teaching. J Lang Teach Res 1(1):81–83

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lin Lin .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Lin, L. (2015). Exploring Collaborative Learning: Theoretical and Conceptual Perspectives. In: Investigating Chinese HE EFL Classrooms. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44503-7_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44503-7_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-44502-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-44503-7

  • eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics