ABSTRACT
In this chapter Susan Hart describes some of the results and conclusions of a study of collaborative learning environments in primary classrooms. The project began with the aim of investigating the use of collaborative activities by teachers under normal classroom conditions, but reached the conclusion that collaboration in the classrooms observed involved much more than ‘group work’. The research turned to describing the collaborative learning environment which teachers sought to foster. To develop such an environment, teachers aimed to create a self-supporting framework, in which pupils could work independently of the teacher, using the resource of other pupils and contributing actively to their own learning. Teachers taught pupils how to make use of this environment by structuring collaborative work, supporting pupils in working together and demonstrating the purposes and processes of collaboration.
