Implementing online collaborative learning practices in the process of mastering a foreign language (English, Spanish)

Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

Foreign Languages and Cross-Cultural Communication Department

Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman

Implementing online collaborative learning practices in the process of mastering a foreign language (English, Spanish)

Aleksandrova NataliiaMykolaivna,

Candidate of Science (Pedagogy), Associate Professor

Aleinikova MarynaHennadiivna, senior lecturer

Grytsiak Lesia Danylivna,

Candidate of Science (Pedagogy), Associate Professor

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to present a general review of research literature from the field of interactive collaborative learning to highlight productive interaction between learners and educators as facilitators of the foreign language acquisition process. This writing is mainly aimed at pointing out key learning mechanisms, summarizing core features of collaborative practices, which are supposed to promote and enhance interaction among learners and present group awareness tools and collaboration scripts as two complementary approaches to support groups during collaborative interaction. The methodological basis of the study was a critical review of gathered information concerning collaborative learning by using qualitative research methods.

Specifically, this writing details how collaborative practices can be enhanced to provide foreign language learners with opportunities for interaction that fosters their acquiring new domain-specific knowledge, collaboration skills as well as develop critical thinking and personal responsibility. By introducing practices experienced at Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman we provide an overview on the topic of collaborative learning and how meaningful interaction between learners can be fostered. To allow educators to design and incorporate collaborative learning activities into their own online teaching experience, the authors provide a theoretical basis for understanding the mechanisms behind effective collaborative learning as well as examples and practical considerations.

Keywords: higher education, collaborative learning, active learning, learning a foreign language, online learning, knowledge acquisition.

Александрова Наталія Миколаївна кандидат педагогічних наук, доцент кафедри іноземних мов та міжкультурної комунікації, Київський національний економічний університет імені Вадима Гетьмана, м. Київ

Алейнікова Марина Геннадіївна старший викладач кафедри іноземних мов та міжкультурної комунікації, Київський національний економічний університет імені Вадима Гетьмана, м. Київ

Грицяк Леся Данилівна кандидат педагогічних наук, доцент кафедри іноземних мов та міжкультурної комунікації, Київський національний економічний університет імені Вадима Гетьмана, м. Київ

Застосування технології онлайн навчання у співпраці в процесі вивчення іноземної мови (на основі вивчення англійської та іспанської мов)

Анотація

У статті автори детально аналізують зміст і сутність технології онлайн навчання у співпраці як одного із прикладів інтерактивної взаємодії студентів та викладача у процесі оволодіння іноземною мовою. На основі аналізу сучасної літератури та останніх публікацій іноземних авторів виокремлено основні характеристики навчання у співпраці. Обґрунтовано доцільність застосування практик навчання у співпраці як механізму підвищення мотивації навчання та вивчення іноземної мови. Узагальнено особливості залучення практик навчання у співпраці, які мають сприяти та покращити не лише практичні вміння взаємодіяти в невеликих групах з метою досягнення конкретних цілей, а й вдосконалити мовленнєву та фахову компетент- ність студентів. Методологічною основою дослідження став критичний аналіз зібраної інформації про технологію онлайн навчання у співпраці за допомогою якісних методів дослідження.

У статті автори пропонують рекомендації щодо покращення застосування практики навчання у співпраці, ілюструють можливості для взаємодії між учасниками навчального процесу, що уможливить підвищення рівня мовленнєвої компетентності студентів, отримання нових предметних знань, навичок співпраці, а також сприятиме розвитку критичного мислення та особистої відповідальності. На основі аналізу проектів Київського національного економічного університету імені Вадима Гетьмана, автори демонструють досвід навчання у співпраці і яким чином ця взаємодія може сприяти розвитку особистісних якостей студентів. Автори надають теоретичну основу для розуміння механізмів ефективного навчання у співпраці, а також приклади та практичні рекомендації застосування технології онлайн навчання у співпраці.

Ключові слова: вища освіта, навчання у співпраці, активне навчання, вивчення іноземної мови, онлайн-навчання, набуття знань.

Introduction

Living in the digital era and experiencing drastic structural social, cultural and economic changes we can't ignore the fact that all these challenges are undeniably affecting higher education. Consequently, these crucial changes are forcing scholars, educators, lecturers and instructors to reconsider their goals and methods of teaching and implementing new solutions. It goes without saying and recent studies have proved, that active learning practices have a great untapped potential to enhance students' motivation and attitudes towards knowledge acquisition.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for most universities all over the world the necessity to move to online teaching and learning practices has become a great challenge, especially if taking into account the fact that educators had limited knowledge or experience in designing and running online programmes and platforms such as Moodle, Humanna, Prometheus etc. Involving learners in online practices and maintaining a certain level of their motivation have truly become an imminent challenge that universities and academics are still trying to address.

Nowadays in Ukraine online learning is becoming much more prevalent and highly required in education because of aggressive military attack of Russia in Ukraine. Lectures are trying to implement innovative practices and technologies not only in order to enhance students' learning performance, but also in order to make the whole process of acquiring competences more interesting, knowledge-based and appealing to learners. One of the suggested and well justified experiences has turned out to be collaborative learning practices.

We can state that overall collaborative learning and engagement with influence of social and cultural factors improve students' learning activities. At the same time, we have to note that their usage should be stimulated and promoted in teaching and learning at institutions of higher education as it undeniably influences students' academic development and future professional expertise. Moreover, lecturers have to provide and maintain the smooth transition from well-established collaborative learning activities delivered in a face-to-face environment to online collaborative learning practices supported by Microsoft Teams, zoom facilities and Google meet ones, which also requires a certain level of the lecturer's professional and technological expertise.

Thus, the purpose of this writing is to advocate the importance of implementing collaborative learning activities into online distance education courses. This study uses empirical evidence to illustrate how educators can integrate collaborative learning practices and designated collaboration support into their instructional design.

Literature and recent publication review. A search of collaborative learning literature conducted using keywords and data-based has been determined to produce as many as 1070 related studies within 2020-2024 years. Different aspects of collaborative learning have always been in the scope of academic literature for a long time, specifying the importance of providing comprehensive educational drive for students involving and engaging in learning. So, it has been studied in the context of students' developing reading proficiency; its impact on students' development of higher order thinking skills (Chapman, Ramondt, and Smiley); as a means of supporting English as a Second Language (ESL) learners' development of higher order thinking skills in a traditional ESL grammar class [1]; as task- specific collaborative experiences to optimize their interactions for subsequent learning tasks and developing skills [2].

If we take a thorough look at the history of analyzing and studying all aspects of collaborative learning as one of the key techniques of enhancing students' learning performance, we will be persuaded that this technique is primarily implemented in medical education [3]. From this perspective this means of learning is mainly aimed at investigating how students' flexible thinking within the learning process might shape their perceptions of the advantages derived from this instructional activity [3].

The rapid development of the Internet and consequent online services have led to the development of a particular form of constructivist teaching, originally called computer-mediated communication (CMC), or networked learning [4, p. 119]. The other scholar [5, p.85] has developed these ideas into what is now referred to as online collaborative learning theory (OCL) [5, p.90]. She views OCL as «a model of learning in which students are encouraged and supported to work together to create knowledge: to invent, to explore ways to innovate, and, by so doing, to seek the conceptual knowledge needed to solve problems rather than recite what they think is the right answer» [5, p.91].

At the same time, as A.W. (Tony) Bates puts it, although the OCL theory truly encourages students to be active and engaged, it isn't sufficient for learning or knowledge construction [4, p.120]. In his opinion, the lecturer as a facilitator of the learning process plays a key role not as a fellow-learner, but as the link to the knowledge community, or «state of the art in that discipline». «Learning is defined as conceptual change and is key to building knowledge», points out the author [4, p.121].

In the academic literature the notion «collaborative learning» has numerous definitions, but nearly all of them imply «learning while interacting» [6]; «group work, avoiding solo projects to achieve goals of common interest» [7]; «learning taking place in learners' interaction and negotiation» [8]; a means of «learners' negotiating and co-constructing meaning of new knowledge together» [9].

All of them come to the conclusion that implementing collaborative learning (CL) allows students not only to gain academic skills but also to develop group work abilities as well as affective benefits as they support each other in achieving the common and mutually beneficial goal [6].

Discussion

The role and impact of collaborative learning have also been studied as one of the fundamental methods of providing teacher professional development [10]. The author states that collaborative learning is a complex process that applies various approaches, including authoritative, democratic, and instructional leadership styles, for maintaining a collaborative culture in their schools [10]. In his view collaborative learning takes place mainly in professional communities, mentoring pairs, and collective collaborative events, which are still implemented according to the traditional approaches.

Foreign educators (Qureshi, Muhammad Asif; Khaskheli, Asadullah; Qureshi, Jawaid Ahmed; Raza, Syed Ali; Yousufi, Sara Qamar) emphasize the influence of social factors on collaborative learning and engagement and how it affects students' learning performance and outcomes. The authors have implemented structural equation modeling (SEM), proving that such social factors as interaction with peers and lecturers, social presence, and usage of social media positively impact active collaborative learning and student involvement [11, p. 2374].

Researchers (Knopps A.G., Wissman K.T.) are profoundly convinced that engaging students in collaborative (as compared to individual) retrieval practice impacts mind-wandering during learning [12, p.244]. They share the opinion that by utilizing retrieval practices, that imply pulling information out of students' heads, rather than cramming information into students' heads, lecturers have managed to significantly decrease the frequency of mind- wandering during learning. Thus, students' overall performance has boosted.

Profound study of collaborative learning is not essentially confined to enhancing foreign languages' acquisition, we can easily encounter similar research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes, depending on the type of course. South American educator from the university in Mexico (Lуpez-Reyes L. J.) has implemented methodological innovations in STEM such as problem-based learning, project-oriented learning (POL), collaborative learning (CL), gamification, competency-based learning and flipped classroom in order to have a positive effect on the teaching and learning processes [13, p. 58]. The outcomes have proved to cause an interdependence among the members of a team, who have different skills and interests but share the responsibility of obtaining a product.

The scholars from Utrecht University from the Netherlands (Scager K, Boonstra J, Peeters T, Vulperhorst J, Wiegant F.) view collaborative learning as a widely used instructional method, but in many cases, lecturers underestimate its importance [14]. Having carried out their experiment and theoretical research the authors have concluded that there exist certain factors evoking effective collaboration, such as student autonomy and self-regulatory behavior, combined with a challenging, open, and complex group task that require the students to create something new and original [14, p. 145]. These factors, in the researchers' opinion, are able to foster a student's sense of responsibility and shared ownership of both the collaborative process and the end product of the group assignment. Moreover, it has been proved, that collaborative learning profoundly contributes to students' valuing their sense of achievement, their learning processes, and the products they are working on more than their grades [14, p. 145]. It is concluded that collaborative learning in higher education should be designed using challenging and relevant tasks that build shared ownership with students.

Some educators confuse and even replace collaborative learning with cooperative one. But, in any case, there are certain differences. As it is stated, when involving students in cooperative learning, they are supposed to work in small groups arranged by the instructor who maintains the role of authority and decision making or facilitator as students make progress with their work and peers. Whereas collaborative learning engages students in activities in which they work on their own, finding and building their own learning as the teacher monitors and provides feedback on their tasks [6]. The scholars conclude that cooperative learning reinforces group work, led by the strong figure of the lecturer and collaborative learning enhances teamwork from students' own organization and decision making. In this case students are wholly responsible for each other's learning achievements and outcomes [6].

Educators (Tan Chekfoung; Casanova Diogo; Huet Isabel; Alhammad Muna) are convinced that by comparing the outcomes of students' learning in the previous face-to-face and the online activities and the suitability of Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google meet facilities as a learning environment for collaborative learning for a postgraduate project management module has become a truly valuable experience [15].

Thus, in this writing we aim to analyze the content of collaborative learning in the process of mastering foreign languages (English, Spanish) and share the experience of implementing collaborative learning practices at KNEU.

Nowadays, owing to an overwhelming introduction of online learning and the urge to find the most fruitful means of enhancing students' performance in online education, scholars' academic interests have turned to collaborative learning techniques. Analyzing the context of collaborative learning educators hold the opinion that this technique essentially implies different types of student's engagement, notably behavioral engagement (entailing the active participation and involvement in successfully meeting academic and extracurricular requirements); emotional engagement (students' affections and willingness to commit with the educational setting); and, finally, cognitive engagement (possessing a certain level of participation and effort to thrive in learning and more challenging tasks) [6].

One of the currently highly debated issues is concerned with sustainability in education. Thus, collaborative learning can shed some light on engaging students in environmental citizenship to promote education for sustainability (EfS) as an explicit goal of academic courses [16, p. 705]. The authors (Gan, D.; Alkaher, I.; Segal, T) are sure and have proved in their research paper that collaborative learning can encourage students' efficacy to implement environmental citizenship in their communities. We totally agree with the scholar that adopting collaborative learning in the context of environmental citizenship can also increase students' self-efficacy and collective efficacy [16, p. 706].

In the modern academic literature there exist several ways to practice creative thinking skills, namely: through asking questions and inviting students to participate in learning actively; through the exploration of topics and materials with primary/accurate data; and through thinking about new ways to inform new findings [17]. There are four criteria of creative thinking according to Munandar among others: fluency, flexibility, authenticity in thinking, and elaboration or detail in developing ideas [17, p. 1609]. All these activities are profoundly used and experienced by our students in the process of learning foreign languages via collaborative learning practices at Kyiv National Eonomic University named after Vadym Hetman

According to the research carried out by Johnson and Johnson in 2009 there was identified five essential elements in collaborative learning such as: positive interdependence that is felt; sufficient interaction; individual accountability and personal responsibility; and, finally, evaluate the group [17, p. 1611].

Collaborative learning viewed as a set of teaching and learning practices is supposed to promote and foster student collaboration in small groups (two to five students) in order to optimize their own and each other's learning experience, cultivating and improving their responsibility, creativity and disclose untapped potential [18].

In this writing we would like to share our experience of engaging our students in collaborative learning practices at KNEU, the Faculty of International Economics and Management.

Kyiv National Economic University has been implementing various collaborative learning initiatives to enhance the proficiency of students, particularly in acquiring professional and foreign language skills. One of the latest implementations of online collaborative learning practices is the «Ideafest Student Business Idea Competition». This international platform has been designed to foster innovative business projects in partnership with the Creative Spark project of the British Council and esteemed institutions from Great Britain. Ideafest serves as a pivotal conduit for students to unleash their potential in creating new projects, mastering teamwork skills, and acquiring language skills. This platform facilitates collaboration among learners, providing a dynamic space where participants can exchange ideas, drawing from diverse creative disciplines. Engaging in collaborative projects enables students to augment their professional and linguistic competencies and cultivate essential group work proficiencies as well as interpersonal skills.

Such endeavors create an environment of mutual support and shared objectives, thereby fostering affective benefits among participants.

Participation in Ideafest competition necessitates the conceptualization and development of novel products and services, compelling students to engage in rigorous brainstorming processes and cultivate robust collaborative relationships. The Ideafest platform exemplifies the transformative potential of collaborative learning initiatives in shaping the students' competence by implementing collaborative learning programs.

Furthermore, the projects presented by students in the «Ideafest Student Business Idea Competition» notably emphasize environmental and social issues, underscoring the role of collaborative learning in promoting education for sustainability. Noteworthy among the winning projects of Ideafest2022 are initiatives that epitomize the fusion of social and ecological concerns. For instance, the «RePower» project centers on the recycling of used disposable cigarettes to establish a competitive edge in the electronic carrier market, thus addressing both environmental sustainability and consumer demand for eco- friendly alternatives. Similarly, the «CBCB» project envisions the establishment of a multifunctional co-working space designed to operate autonomously under any conditions, exemplifying a sustainable approach to workspace design and utilization. Lastly, the «ImMed» project underscores the importance of addressing health and safety concerns, particularly in conflict zones, through the provision of essential first aid and protective equipment.

Based on the students` reviews, the participation in Ideafest helps them to gain a multifaceted learning experience characterized by rapid skill acquisition, the development of interdisciplinary competence, and a deepened understanding of sustainability principles. Moreover, engagement in international competitions provides students with invaluable opportunities to hone their teamwork skills while challenging themselves against formidable adversaries.

Moreover, as at our department of foreign languages and cross-cultural communication our learners are supposed to master at least two foreign languages. So, we clearly understand that mastering a fluent level of a foreign language takes years some of our students have managed to demonstrate their excellent language skills of speaking the Spanish language at that level that enables them to take part in online collaborative practices with native speakers.

At our department our students have initiated to set up the student research group «Foreign language in the context of multilingualism», supervised by our educators; within the framework of this research group several interesting Spanish-language events have been carried out.

On March 14, 2023, an online meeting was held with lecturers and students of the Complutense University in Madrid (Universidad Complutense Madrid), which was attended by participants of the «Hispanic World» section. The moderator of the section spoke about the peculiarities of the organization of the educational process and extracurricular work at the Vadym Hetman Kyiv National University of Economics in wartime conditions. This event also engaged students and lecturers from Vasyl Stefanyk Prykarpattia National University. The participants of the event discussed the education systems in Spain and Ukraine, shared their experience of conducting classes, practices and overcoming challenges in wartime conditions. As a result of this event the participants prepared an article laying down the key findings and published it in Spain.

On May 4, 2023, the participants of the «Hispanic World» section joined an online panel discussion on the UNESCO report «Rethinking our future together. A New Social Contract for Education», organized by the ECOLE Research Group in collaboration with the SM Foundation, which, in partnership with UNESCO, collaborates in the dissemination of the Global Report of the Commission on Future Education, in its Spanish and Portuguese versions. This online discussion was organized by the Pedagogical Faculty of the Complutense University of Madrid (Universidad Complutense Madrid). The participants tried to find answers to the questions "What should we continue to do?", "What should we stop doing?", "What should we rethink in cooperation?".

Such online meetings using the latest technologies are a great opportunity for students to «pump up» their communication skills and the ability to communicate effectively with representatives of different cultures. (El Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras y Comunicaciуn Intercultural cuenta con un grupo de investigaciуn estudiantil "Lengua Extranjera en el Contexto del Multilingьismo", que ha celebrado varios eventos interesantes en lengua espaсola.

El 14 de marzo de 2023 se celebrу un encuentro en lнnea con los profesores y los estudiantes de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, al que asistieron la profesora titular del Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras y Comunicaciуn Intercultural Maryna Aleinikova, los participantes de la secciуn “El Mundo hispanohablante”, entre ellos la estudiante de mбster y miembro activo del club Margarita Aleksandrova. La moderadora de la secciуn hablу sobre las peculiaridades de la organizaciуn del proceso educativo y las actividades extraescolares en la Universidad Nacional de Economнa Vadym Hetman de Kyiv durante la guerra. A la reuniуn asistieron tambiйn los profesores y alumnos de la Universidad Nacional Precarpбtica

Vasyl Stefanyk. Los participantes debatieron sobre los sistemas educativos de Espaсa y Ucrania, compartieron su experiencia en la imparticiуn de clases, prбcticas y la superaciуn de retos en tiempos de guerra.

El 4 de mayo de 2023, los participantes de la secciуn “El Mundo hispanohablante” se unieron a una mesa redonda en lнnea sobre el informe de la UNESCO "Reimaginar juntos nuestro futuro. Un nuevo contrato social para la educaciуn", organizado por el Grupo de Investigaciуn ECOLE en colaboraciуn con la Fundaciуn SM, que, en asociaciуn con la UNESCO, trabaja en la difusiуn del informe global de la Comisiуn sobre el Futuro de la Educaciуn, en sus versiones espaсola y portuguesa. Este debate en lнnea fue organizado por la Facultad de Educaciуn de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Los participantes trataron de encontrar respuestas a las preguntas "їQuй debemos seguir haciendo?", "їQuй debemos dejar de hacer?", "їQuй debemos replantearnos en materia de cooperaciуn?".

Este tipo de reuniones en lнnea que utilizan las ъltimas tecnologнas son una gran oportunidad para que los estudiantes mejoren sus habilidades comunicativas y su capacidad de comunicarse eficazmente con representantes de diferentes culturas.)

We are deeply convinced that by introducing collaborative learning practices and engaging our students in project creating experiences (e.g. Idea fest, StartUp school KNEU) we enhance our students' creative thinking skills or divergent thinking skills. Being asked quite sophisticated questions at the final stage of introducing students' project (Pitching_v2(FAQ); Final stage Pitch Day) to the International penal represented by foreign businessmen and potential investors ("Shark Tank" demo-day), our students were able to produce answers varied and different from those that had existed before. We are sure, that engaging our students in off classroom activities (participating in pitching idea, project quests) we can enhance talent and talent development as needed in the 21st century.

At the same time in the process of organizing collaborative learning practices we encountered several problems during collaboration, notably students' lack of collaborative skills. That is why we arranged some preliminary introductory practices.

As we pursue the idea of developing and enhancing our students' academic development all field discussions are well organized and structured, our lectures involved in the collaborative learning provide the necessary support to enable the development of ideas and the construction of new knowledge for the students. In this view we as facilitators of the students' online collaborative learning provide appropriate technology (e.g. zoom facilities, google meet, software); clear guidelines on student online behaviour, such as written codes of conduct for participating in discussions, and ensuring that they are enforced; student orientation and preparation, including technology orientation and explaining the purpose of discussion; clear goals for the discussions that are understood by the students; such as: choice of appropriate topics, that complement and expand issues in the field materials; setting an appropriate `tone' or requirements for discussion (for example, respectful disagreement, evidence-based arguments); defining clearly learner roles and expectations; monitoring participants' conduct, and responding accordingly, by providing the appropriate scaffolding or support, such as comments that help students develop their thinking around the topics, referring them back to study materials if necessary, or explaining issues when students seem to be confused or misinformed [4, p.122].

In implementing online collaborative learning practices and engaging students in these activities we employ core design principles of OCL, designed by L. Harasim, mainly: idea generating (so called brainstorming) -- at this stage our students are involved in the divergent thinking within a group; idea organizing --the participants compare, analyze and categorize the different ideas previously generated, again through discussion and argument; intellectual convergence -- here we pursue the aim to reach a level of intellectual synthesis, understanding and consensus (including agreeing to disagree), usually through the joint construction of some artefact or piece of work, such as an essay or assignment [4, p. 124].

We share Tony Bates' opinion that the role of the lecturer or instructor in this process is seen as critical, not only in facilitating the learning process and providing appropriate resources and learner activities that encourage this kind of learning, but also, as a «representative of a knowledge community or subject domain, in ensuring that the core concepts, practices, standards and principles of the subject domain are fully integrated into the learning cycle» [4, p. 124].

In order to eliminate low-quality coordination among group members when students participated in problem-solving tasks, we instructed our participants to pay attention to others' opinions, avoid interrupting them, and rejected alternative suggestions without justification. We also illustrated some common inappropriate behaviours inhibiting group functioning and individual learning. In addition, owing to engaging retrieval practices (extracting students' earlier acquired knowledge of the issues discussed) in collaborative learning we managed to improve the quality of students' explanations in group interaction justifying them to share knowledge. There was arranged an activity in which students as help-seekers were able to formulate effective requests for help and students as help-givers and help-seekers managed to collaborate effectively.

The other obstacle encountered in collaborative learning was communication problems, caused by a lack of collaborative skills and inhibiting our learners in their project pitching programmes from engaging in group work and contributing to group outcomes. We completely share the researchers' idea that the lack of collaborative skills may be one of the antecedents of the collaborative problems students often experience during CL [18]. That is why the lecturer's role as a facilitator is difficult to overestimate. Consequently, in order to enhance students' collaborative skills, the lecturer is sure to master such management skills as structuring collaborative activities, monitoring students' on-task behavior, managing group-work time, providing relevant materials, assigning individual roles, and establishing teamwork beliefs, values and behaviours [18].

Some lecturers at the department of foreign language and cross-cultural communication, the faculty of international economics and management, KNEU, have already experienced professional development practices and preparation of collaborative activities of pre-service teachers, revealed insufficient attention of teachers to organizing collaborative work such as determining group norms and facilitating activities.

At our department we have also designed criteria and rules for assessment focusing mainly on transparency and concreteness. It enables lecturers involved in engaging students in collaborative learning to clearly measure students' collaborative performance and maintain their satisfaction about the transparency and evenness of the assessment.

Recently we have carried out a questionnaire among our 1-2-year students and more than 60% of the participants indicate that collaborative learning approach enhances interest, creativity, and motivation to prepare, and resulting in a challenging learning environment that facilitates the sharing of diverse perspectives and the development of a community of learners. At the same time our research has identified certain sources of students' resistance to collaborative learning practices, notably learners' unfamiliarity with essential science or field practices, having to struggle with uncertainty in the absence of authoritative information, and the extra effort required to actively construct knowledge as compared to learning through traditional, teacher-centered instruction.

Involving our students in collaborative learning experience we foster their skills at conducting guided academic investigations, developing reasoned arguments, or communicating their ideas, other means of assessment such as papers, demonstrations, other demonstrations of problem solving, model building, debates, or oral presentations, to name a few, must be enlisted to serve as benchmarks of progress and/or in the assignment of grades. We encourage our students to work with others and seek help, when they encounter problems in their project work, they are instructed to discuss them with colleagues knowing that considering multiple points of view often leads to solutions. Students experiencing challenges will definitely face a normal transition from the relatively structured life of a student toward academic independence. All this collaboration is supposed to replace competition.

Conclusion

online learning foreign language

So, having analyzed the existing approaches to defining the notion «collaborative learning» we can summarize that it should be viewed as a kind of social activity, an educational approach entailing work in small groups aimed at solving problems, completing tasks and creating a product or a project. This approach implies developing students' cognitive intelligence, significantly contributing to students' academic development, personal responsibility for the actions undertaken and future self-fulfillment. We believe that using Microsoft Teams, zoom facilities or Google meet ones can contribute to the growing knowledge of technology-enhanced learning in Higher Education. Thus, we may conclude that collaborative learning practice implies emotional attachment to the activities students are involved, because this technology is supposed to enrich students' academic life through conveying, listening and respecting different ideas and beliefs.

References

1. Zhou W. (2020-2021). How Collaborative Learning Supports ESL Learners' Development of Higher Order Thinking Skills. CATESOL Journal, v32 n1 p. 45-58.

2. Zambrano R J, Kirschner F, Sweller J, Kirschner PA. (2023). Effect of task-based group experience on collaborative learning: Exploring the transaction activities. Br J Educ Psychol. Dec; 93(4): p. 879-902. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12603

3. Naamati-Schneider L, Alt D. (2023). Enhancing collaborative learning in health management education: an investigation of Padlet-mediated interventions and the influence of flexible thinking. BMC Med Educ. Nov 8;23(1):846. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909- 023-04796-y

4. Bates A. W. (Tony). (2019). Teaching in a Digital Age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning - 2nd Edition. University of British Columbia, BCcampus, 509 p.

5. Harasim, L. (2012). Learning Theory and Online Technologies. New York/ London: Routledge, 247p.

6. Vega-Abarzъa, J., Pastene-Fuentes, J., Pastene-Fuentes, C., Ortega-Jimйnez, C., & Castillo Rodrнguez, T. (2022). Collaborative learning and classroom engagement: A pedagogical experience in an EFL Chilean context. English Language Teaching Educational Journal, 5(1), P. 60-74.

7. Barkley E. F., Cross K. P., Major C. H. Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. (2014). Wiley, 321p.

8. Gerlach, J. M. (1994). "Is this collaboration?" In Bosworth, K. and Hamilton, S. J. (Eds.), Collaborative Learning: Underlying Processes and Effective Techniques, New Directions for Teaching and Learning No. 59.

9. Dillenbourg P., Schneider B., Jermann P., Zufferey G. (2010). Benefits of a tangible interface for collaborative learning and interaction. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies 4 (3), pp. 222-232.

10. Krasniqi, R. (2021). Principal's Role in Supporting Teacher Collaborative Learning. Research in Educational Administration & Leadership, 6(4), 903-941. DOI: 10.30828/ real/2021.4.5

11. Asif Q. M., Asadullah K., Ahmed Q. J., Ali R. S., Qamar Y. S. (2023). Factors Affecting Students' Learning Performance through Collaborative Learning and Engagement. Interactive Learning Environments, v31 n4, pp. 2371-2391.

12. Knopps A.G., Wissman K.T. (2023). Collaborative Retrieval Practice Reduces Mind-Wandering During Learning. Exp Psychol. Jul; 70(4): p.p.241-248. https://doi.org/ 10.1027/1618-3169/a000589.

13. Lуpez-Reyes L. J., (2022). Collaborative learning of differential equations by numerical simulation. World Journal on Educational Technology. 14(1), p. 56-63. https://doi.org/10.18844/wjet.v14i1.6637

14. Scager K, Boonstra J, Peeters T, Vulperhorst J, Wiegant F. (2016). Collaborative Learning in Higher Education: Evoking Positive Interdependence. CBE Life Sci Educ. Winter;15(4):ar69. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-07-0219.

15. Chekfoung T., Casanova D., Huet I., Alhammad M. (2022). Online Collaborative Learning Using Microsoft Teams in Higher Education amid COVID-19.

International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, v14 n1 Article 76.

16. Gan, D.; Alkaher, I.; Segal, T. (2023). Incorporating Collaborative Learning in Teacher Education to Foster Self-Efficacy to Implement Environmental Citizenship: An Action Research. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, v24 n3 p. 700-718

17. Ramdani, D., Susilo, H., Suhadi, & Sueb. (2022). The effectiveness of collaborative learning on critical thinking, creative thinking, and metacognitive skill ability: Meta-analysis on biological learning. European Journal of Educational Research, 11(3), p. 1607-1628. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.11.3.1607

18. Ha Le, Jeroen Janssen & Theo Wubbels. (2018). Collaborative learning practices: teacher and student perceived obstacles to effective student collaboration. Cambridge Journal of Education, 48:1, pp. 103-122. DOI: 10.1080/0305764X.2016.1259389

Література

1. Zhou W. (2020-2021). How Collaborative Learning Supports ESL Learners' Development of Higher Order Thinking Skills. CATESOL Journal, v32 n1 p. 45-58.

2. Zambrano R J, Kirschner F, Sweller J, Kirschner PA. (2023). Effect of task-based group experience on collaborative learning: Exploring the transaction activities. Br J Educ Psychol. Dec; 93(4): p. 879-902. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12603

3. Naamati-Schneider L, Alt D. (2023). Enhancing collaborative learning in health management education: an investigation of Padlet-mediated interventions and the influence of flexible thinking. BMC Med Educ. Nov 8;23(1):846. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909- 023-04796-y

4. Bates A. W. (Tony). (2019). Teaching in a Digital Age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning - 2nd Edition. University of British Columbia, BCcampus, 509 p.

5. Harasim, L. (2012). Learning Theory and Online Technologies. New York/London: Routledge, 247p.

6. Vega-Abarzъa, J., Pastene-Fuentes, J., Pastene-Fuentes, C., Ortega-Jimйnez, C., & Castillo Rodrнguez, T. (2022). Collaborative learning and classroom engagement: A pedagogical experience in an EFL Chilean context. English Language Teaching Educational Journal, 5(1), P. 60-74.

7. Barkley E. F., Cross K. P., Major C. H. Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. (2014). Wiley, 321p.

8. Gerlach, J. M. (1994). "Is this collaboration?" In Bosworth, K. and Hamilton, S. J. (Eds.), Collaborative Learning: Underlying Processes and Effective Techniques, New Directions for Teaching and Learning No. 59.

9. Dillenbourg P., Schneider B., Jermann P., Zufferey G. (2010). Benefits of a tangible interface for collaborative learning and interaction. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies 4 (3), pp. 222-232.

10. Krasniqi, R. (2021). Principal's Role in Supporting Teacher Collaborative Learning. Research in Educational Administration & Leadership, 6(4), 903-941. DOI: 10.30828/real/2021.4.5

11. Asif Q. M., Asadullah K., Ahmed Q. J., Ali R. S., Qamar Y. S. (2023). Factors Affecting Students' Learning Performance through Collaborative Learning and Engagement. Interactive Learning Environments, v31 n4, pp. 2371-2391.

12. Knopps A.G., Wissman K.T. (2023). Collaborative Retrieval Practice Reduces Mind-Wandering During Learning. Exp Psychol. Jul; 70(4): p.p.241-248. https://doi.org/ 10.1027/1618-3169/a000589.

13. Lуpez-Reyes L. J., (2022). Collaborative learning of differential equations by numerical simulation. World Journal on Educational Technology. 14(1), p. 56-63. https://doi.org/10.18844/wjet.v14i1.6637

14. Scager K, Boonstra J, Peeters T, Vulperhorst J, Wiegant F. (2016). Collaborative Learning in Higher Education: Evoking Positive Interdependence. CBE Life Sci Educ. Winter;15(4):ar69. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-07-0219.

15. Chekfoung T., Casanova D., Huet I., Alhammad M. (2022). Online Collaborative Learning Using Microsoft Teams in Higher Education amid COVID-19. International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, v14 n1 Article 76.

16. Gan, D.; Alkaher, I.; Segal, T. (2023). Incorporating Collaborative Learning in Teacher Education to Foster Self-Efficacy to Implement Environmental Citizenship: An Action Research. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, v24 n3 p. 700-718

17. Ramdani, D., Susilo, H., Suhadi, & Sueb. (2022). The effectiveness of collaborative learning on critical thinking, creative thinking, and metacognitive skill ability: Meta- analysis on biological learning. European Journal of Educational Research, 11(3), p. 1607- 1628. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.11.3.1607

18. Ha Le, Jeroen Janssen & Theo Wubbels. (2018). Collaborative learning practices: teacher and student perceived obstacles to effective student collaboration. Cambridge Journal of Education, 48:1, pp. 103-122. DOI: 10.1080/0305764X.2016.1259389

Размещено на Allbest.ru