What is the difference between cooperative and collaborative learning

The only difference is that the former involves pre-set tasks and roles while the latter requires initiative on your part. If you want to drive cooperation in the workplace, you can opt for cooperative learning strategies wherein your manager assigns a project to your team.

Each member has a predefined role, set of tasks and goals. They have to master their part of the work and share this information with the group for collective understanding. Think of a jigsaw puzzle, each part has to fit in perfectly for you to complete it. The principle is the same where each person combines their share of the work to make a perfect whole.

Cooperation then leads to collaboration. This is where you learn to work with others, understand their work styles and perspectives, you can begin to brainstorm and assign tasks without supervision. Here is the main difference between cooperative and collaborative learning: In cooperative learning, group members are given a section of a problem to solve, for instance.

They each have to work on their section and provide solutions to solve the larger problem. For this they need to study, do their research and then share their data with others, helping them understand what they did and how. In collaborative learning, group members have to work on individual tasks, develop their ideas into concrete solutions and combine their work with others in the group.

A student is more likely to remember something discovered through active participation and peer work than through the passive acceptance of information presented by the teacher. Despite the benefits, effective cooperative and collaborative learning does not necessarily come easy and may require a change of mindset for everyone involved. The world is already collaborating, and by using both cooperative and collaborative methods, teachers can help to create well-rounded citizens with the skills needed to succeed — not only in further education and work — but also their personal lives.

After all, what we learn in childhood, we take into adult life. To provide students with opportunities to engage collaboratively, get in touch for a free, no-obligation ActivPanel demo and see what a front-of-class display can do for your classroom. Discover purpose-built tech designed by teachers for maximum learning value. Our latest report is here. Edtech trends, surprising stats and candid insights from thousands of educators.

How many educators struggled to engage their students remotely? Share this article:. This means that the students organize and divide the work between themselves. They also organize their workforce by themselves. The activities conducted by the group are generally not monitored by the teacher. However the teacher can offer assistance if the same is requested of them by the members. This method of learning relies heavily on interdependence of the students among each other.

It can be likened to the cast of a crew. All the roles of the cast are clearly mapped out but can be negotiated. The most important part of cooperative learning is accountability. The structure of cooperative learning, in contrast to collaborative learning, is the following:. All the activities are structured by the teacher and each student has been given a specific role in the activities. The students are not left to their own devices in seeking the information relevant to the content.

The teacher supplies the information or at least directs the students on where the information can be acquired. The teacher is heavily involved in the group work. The students submit the complete group work at the end of the lesson or the discussion. The teacher then reviews or assesses the same work and may award marks to the respective students involved.

Success of the group is highly dependent on the efforts and the accountability of all the individual members involved in the assignment. The students come to recognize, respect and embrace the differences in culture among their classmates.