INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES COLLABORATIVE LEARNING, CO-OPERATIVE

LEARNING AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

NEETHU D

COMMERCE

REG.NO.19014303009

MOUNT TABOR TRAINING COLLEGE

PATHANAPURAM

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INTRODUCTION

Complexity of the business world warrants imparting a wide variety of

learning experience to the students, the traditional approaches of instruction for

commerce education are inadequate for providing the learner centred and

appropriate learning experience. In this situation the innovative modern

approaches of instructional strategies play a prominent role in providing

effective learning experience to the learners regarding, commerce, trade and

industry. Innovative approaches are followed mainly for the transaction of the

curricular material in a controlled learning environment. The innovative

approaches have the ability to apply the principle of activity centeredness of

learner orientation, linkage, effectiveness etc. in their implementation stage.

This will help the learners to take his maximum effort in learning process.

Through that, the learners is responsible for exploring new knowledge and

constructing it.

A commerce teacher can adopt the innovative approaches and strategies

foe effectively transacting the curriculum at higher secondary level. Problem

based learning, meaningful verbal learning, collaborative and co - operative

learning, experimental learning etc. are the major types of innovative

approaches and strategies. All these approaches are motivating the learner to

learn and teacher can acts as a guide to promote reflective learning. Reflective

learning will not only help in through understanding but also will help students

to keep on learning at one’s own pace. It will foster creativity and also result in

metacognition. Thus, the innovative approaches are essential for transacting a

learner centred curriculum.

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INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES

Learning should take place through the interaction between the active

learning environment and the learner. The innovative strategies are the most

powerful tools to ensure effective learning. These activities consider the

learners capabilities and creativity, which is why learning takes place in an

effective way.

The most powerful strategies are:-

1. Collaborative learning

2. Co – operative learning

3. Experimental learning

1. COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

Collaboration is a philosophy of interaction where individuals are

responsible for their action, including learning and respect the abilities

and contribution of their peers. Collaborative learning is an educational

approach to teaching and learning that it involves groups students

working together to solve aproblem, complete a task, or create a product.

According to the Gerlach“collaborative learning is based on the

idea that naturally social act in which the participants talk among

themselves. It is through the talk that learning occurs.”

Collaborative learning is a method of teaching and learning in

which student team together to explore a significant question or create a

meaningful project. A group of students discussing a lecture or students

from different schools working together over the interaction a shared

assignment are the example of collaborative learning.

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There are many approaches to collaborative learning. A set of

assumptions about the learning process under lies them all:

1. Learning is an active process whereby students assimilate the

information and relate this new knowledge to a framework of prior

knowledge.

2. Learning requires a challenge that opens the door for the learner to

actively engage his/her peers, and to process and synthesize

information rather than simply memorize and regurgitate it.

3. Learners benefit when exposed to diverse viewpoints from people

with varied backgrounds.

4. Learning flourishes in a social environment.

In collaborative classroom, the lecturing/listening/note taking

process may not disappear entirely, but it lives along sider other process

that are based on student discussion and active work with course material.

That is the aim of collaborative learning is the shift of learning from a

teacher centred to the student centred.

Benefits of collaborative learning

a. Develops higher level thinking

b. Increases students retention

c. Promote students faculty interaction and familiarity

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d. Build self-esteem in students

e. Develops oral communication skills

f. Develop social interaction skills

g. Promote positive race relations

h. Encourage diversity understandings

i. Enhance self-management skills

j. Encourage alternate student assessment techniques

2. CO – OPERATIVE LEARNING

Co – operative learning is a learning strategy in which the pupils are

structured into groups of peers who work together towards a common

goal. It is an educational approach aims to organise classroom activities

into academic and social learning experience.

It is defined as “Teaching method wherestudents of mixed levels of

ability are arranged into groups are rewarded according to the group’s

success, rather than the success of the individual member. Co – operative

learning structures have been in and out of favour in American education

since the early 1990s, when they were introduces by the American

education reformer John Dewey. Co-operative learning is sometimes

thought of simply as group work, but groups of students working together

might not be working collaboratively.”

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Elements of Co – Operative Learning

Cooperative learning researchers David and Roger Johnson have

identified five elements that define cooperative learning:

1. Face to Face learning

2. Positive Interdependence

3. Individual Accountability

4. Group processing

5. Collaborative Skills

Cooperative Learning Method

Before collaborative groups are formed, it’s important to each skills of

collaboration. During the lessons, a teacher should circulate around the

classroom to make sure all students participating in their individual

groups. Shy and introverted students might not find the cooperative

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process helpful and should not be forced to be in the group. Some

techniques for cooperative learning are as follows

1. Reciprocal learning: This method is used after a teacher has

presented a lecture or lesson, in a students work in groups of two or

three, where they ask and responsible for and what the group is

responsible for.

2. Group Processing: Students are given a means for analysing their

groups for how well the group has learned, and whether or not

collaborative skills are being used.

3. Collaborative skills: Students learn not only the subject matter, but

interpersonal and how to work in teams. Students are taught skills of

communication, leadership and conflict management during the early

stages of cooperative learning sessions

Advantages of cooperative learning

1. Students develop higher proficiency in critical reasoning strategies

and abilities.

2. Students experience higher levels of intrinsic motivation to learn.

3. Facilitate behaviour based on stronger group interaction

4. Students internalise many of the positive attitudes necessary for

working effectively with others.

5. Develops positive towards attitude towards teachers, principals and

other school personnel as well as towards peers.

Disadvantages of cooperative learning

1. If cooperative learning is not properly planned and designed. It can

allow for “free rider” effect, in which some group’s members do all or

most of the works while others go along for ride.

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2. Possibility of diffusion of responsibility.

Teacher’s role in cooperative learning

Teacher has prominent role in co-operative learning. These

include:-

1. Specifying the objectives for learning task.

2. Assigning adequate learning activities to the students.

3. Observing, analysing and giving proper directions to the students.

4. Clarifying the doubts raised by the students

5. Evaluating student’s performance

Distinction between Collaborative And Cooperative Learning

Collaborative Learning Cooperative Learning

1. Collaborative learning

reflects the philosophy of

working together with less or

no control of a supervisor or

teacher.

2. Collaboration refers to the

whole process of learning

where students teach each

other, students teach the

teacher by asking doubts and

the teacher teaches the

students too.

3. In collaborative learning

more responsibility is shared

among the learners and the

teacher has only less control

over the learning if the

students.

4. Collaborative learning has a

wider scope compared to

cooperative learning.

1. Cooperative learning is the

technique or strategy with a

well - structured form for the

purpose of a particular

objective.

2. Cooperation is a technique

helpful to finish a certain

product oriented task by

working together in a faster

and more effective way.

3. In cooperative learning,

teacher maintains the control

of the group or class even

though the students will be

working together to

accomplish a goal.

4. Cooperative learning has

only a narrow scope related

to a specific task.

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5. In collaborative learning,

time allowed to complete the

work is decided by the

learners themselves.

6. Here the learner have the

freedom to decide the details

of evaluation programme.

5. A fixed time schedule is

given by the teacher.

6. Details of the evaluation

programme are decided by

the teacher.

3. EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Experiential learning is the process of learning through experience and

is more specifically defined as “learning through reflection of doing”.

Experiential learning is distinct from rote or didactic learning, in

which the learner plays a comparatively passive role.

It is defined as a method of educating through first – handed

experience. Skills, knowledge, and experience are acquired outside of

the traditional academic classroom setting, and may include

internships, studies abroad, field trips, filed research, and service –

learning projects.

The concept of experimental learning was explored by John Dewey

and Jean Piaget, among others. It was made popular by education

theorist David A Kolb, who, along with John Fry, developed the

experiential learning theory, which is based on the idea that learning is

a process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of

experience. It is based on four main elements which operates in a

continuous cycle during the learning experience:

1. Concrete experience

2. Reflective experience

3. Abstract experience

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4. Active experience

Experimental learning cycle

Kolb’s experimental learning cycle

Characteristics of experimental learning

1. Learning is a continuous process grounded process in experiences

2. Learning involves transaction between the person and the environment

3. Learning is a process of creative knowledge

4. Learning is a process involves creative knowledge

5. Experiential learning focus on-

a. How one thinks about the world

b. How one acts in the world

Advantages of Experiential Learning

1. Practical field experience is more productive than any amount of reading

or classroom sessions

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2. Learning by doing is the core essence of experiential learning and this

makes learning more meaningful and purposive.

3. Develop self confidence

4. Results in the development of competence, capability and in capacity

building.

5. Teacher can ensure the active participation of the students.

Teacher’s role in experiential learning

1. Setting a positive climate of learning.

2. Clarifying the purpose of the learner

3. Organising and making available resources of the learner(s).

4. Balancing intellectual and emotional components of learning.

5. Sharing feelings and thoughts with learner but not dominating.

Experiential learning can be effectively used on commerce education at

higher secondary level. It will provide a wide variety of learning experience

to the learner. In higher secondary classes, the teacher can use experiential

learning to supplement the regular classroom feeding.

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CONCLUSION

“The biggest enemy of teaching is the talking teacher”. Because learning

became fruitful only when it provide an opportunity to think creatively.

Innovative strategies provide such an opportunities and make learning as a

meaningful one.

The true strength in our classroom lies on the collaboration of learners,

not the knowledge of one expert. Here arise the significance of innovative

strategies. This strategies stimulates the creative thinking and develops a

wide range of thinking strategies and perceptual skills which are not called

forth by books or lecture. It eliminates the gap between where the learner is

now and where he wants to be in regard to a particular set of competencies.

And also motivating the learner for attaining the peaks of learning. Thus it is

clear that, the innovative strategies are the powerful tool that determine the

quality and effectiveness of learning.

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REFERENCE

Dr Sivarajan K &Lal E K, 2008, Commerce Education, Calicut

university, Kozhikode

Retrieved from, http://www.wcer.wisc.edu dated on 23-10-2015

Retrieved from, http://www.thirteen.org dated on 23-10-2015

Retrieved from, http://en.wikipedia.org dated on 23-10-2015

Retrieved from, http://www.learnnc.org dated on 23-10-2015

Retrieved from, http://www.gdrc.org dated on 23-10-2015