ABSTRACT
Collaborative learning has become an increasingly important part of contemporary learning environments. Dillenbourg (1999) noted that it is surprisingly difficult to get researchers to agree on a definition of collaborative learning. He concluded that collaborative learning “describe[s] a situation in which particular forms of interaction among people are expected to occur, which would trigger learning mechanisms, but there is no guarantee that the expected interactions will actually occur” (p. 5). Roschelle and Teasley (1995) made the distinction that collaboration involves a coordinated attempt to construct and maintain a shared understanding of goals, whereas cooperation refers to a division of labor. Others disagree: Webb and Palincsar (1996) assert, “In collaboration, the thinking is distributed among members of the group. Although cooperative learning can occur without collaboration, collaborative learning is generally assumed to subsume cooperative learning” (p. 848). Thus, distinction between these two terms is blurry, and any attempt to resolve the question is likely to be idiosyncratic. In this chapter, we focus on small groups of learners working together towards a common goal, whether it is one that they have set themselves or one that has been externally set (e.g., by a teacher); the tasks are intended to promote learning through the interactions.
