Collaborative Learning

First of all, I really enjoyed this article. Bruffee makes a lot of interesting points on the nature of thinking and conversation. There will always be the age-old question of “do I think the same way as everyone else?” floating around in society, to which there will never be a definite answer. Yet, this essay reflects the notion that maybe we all do have the same basic thought process based on conversation. The main point I had trouble understand is that if we did not know English, what would our thoughts be like? If we couldn’t converse with ourselves in our head, how would we process thoughts and perceive the world around us?

The next thing that caught my attention from the article was the approach Bruffee took to the main subject, collaborative learning. I do believe that his argument was true, students do learn better in a collaborative learning environment. I think this is because when working alone, some people may be unsure of themselves. Once they open up and are willing to share ideas with the group, they can be reaffirmed that their original idea was correct. Similarly, peers can branch off from the ideas of others to come to a higher conclusion. The ping ponging of ideas building off one another creates new ideas that you may not have come to had you been just thinking, not engaged in progressive dialogue. This situation reminds me of running. If you are running on your own, you may go at a bit slower pace since you have no motivation to run fast. Yet, if you are racing someone, or even merely running with a friend, you may feel obligated to maintain a faster pace to keep up with them or to prove your skill. In conclusion, speaking your ideas out loud with a group, or even just one other person, will help you in the long run.

Finally, I was struck by Bruffee’s example of “the blind leading the blind.” True, the inexperienced may be leading the even less experienced through collaborative learning, but that is an approach which I think works very well. The best people to teach on any subject are people that have lived or experienced it themselves. So, the best people to teach you are those around you. Since they’ve all been in the same situation, they know what you need to understand and the best way to learn it. This is why student tutoring is so effective. Students feel they can relate to their tutor, as appose to a teacher or professional. Since they feel on the same level, they may be more willing to learn, instead of being in a situation they feel forced into. The key is making the learner feel comfortable. By being in a negative state of mind, they will not be open to learn. Therefore, peer tutoring, mentoring, and evaluation is a no-surprise success.