The final student assignment in Chapter two called for us to read and summarize a study that describes collaborative groups in a student centered learning environment. I found an article that fits into our course perfectly. It is entitled “Collaborative Learning in Asynchronous Learning Networks: Building Learning Communities.” It was written by Roxanne Hiltz Starr, and printed in WEB98, November 1998. The article basically studied methods to use internet based learning models when combined with collaborative learning approaches.
The study starts out by acknowledging how difficult it is to make an internet based class feel as though there is a sense of community for the students. As the use of internet courses grows, this will become more and more relevant. The term collaborative learning refers to the method of having a group of students work together on a project to solve a problem or research a topic. I think that this is my favorite method of classroom teaching, provided that classroom management does not become a problem. This study suggests that you can use this method of learning on a web based course, but the class size has to be limited to fewer than 8-12 students. The results of the study showed that working in small groups greatly enhanced the students’ motivation, skill development, and solution satisfaction. Overall, the study suggests that using collaborative learning makes the on line classroom just as effective as a traditional classroom. This is hugely significant for proponents of virtual classrooms.