How to Do Collaborative Learning for Psychology

Learning in a group can be easier than working alone.

In psychology, there are various methods and theories used to help people overcome problems, traumas, fears or mental illnesses. One method that can be used is collaborative learning. With this method, clients are put in a group to learn together instead of working on an individual basis. In the classroom, collaborative learning strategies are used to help students learn and retain information about topics. In this strategy, students work together on different parts of a project and then share information among the group. In this way, information is easier to retain and students are better able to understand.

Instructions

1. Assign a topic. Depending on the group and the topics being taught, the assignments will vary. If the group is a collection of psychology students, the assignment might be research of a specific mental illness. For groups of clients, such as a group to change behaviors in ADHD children, the topic would be related to the behaviors.

2. Assign individual parts to the participants. A topic should have a few parts, such as historical research, new practices, practical applications and recent discoveries. For a group of clients with ADHD children, the individuals might research recent medications, behavior analysis strategies or application of behavioral psychology. Each individual in the group will cover only one part.

3. Set goals. In collaborative learning, specific goals should be met. A group of clients might set a goal of overcoming a fear or calming down an overactive child. Having a specific goal to work toward helps to keep the group motivated.

4. Share discovered information. By sharing information, the group is learning a more complete picture of the topic. This can take the form of a discussion.

5. Start a debate. Through verbalizing opinions about the topic, students or clients are able to learn about different points of view and alternative answers to a problem that might not have been considered previously.

6. Guide the debate to specific lessons. Whether the group is made up of students or clients, there should be a specific lesson being taught and the debate is the time to guide the lesson. During the discussion, ask pointed questions about the topic. For a group of parents of ADHD children, a question asked might be "should parents medicate ADHD children?" This guides the debate to the area of medication or behavioral psychology.

References

• The Global Development Research Center: Collaborative Learning
• Educause Review: The Psychology of Learning Environments