Growing up in school I was mainly
taught to do my work on my
own, and to not discuss ideas with my neighbors. It was considered
"cheating" to share ideas. I can't count the number of times I was
hushed in school and told to "do my own work". However, I believe that
we can
learn MORE through collaboration with peers. Whether the cooperation
occurs in
the classroom or over the Internet, I believe it is a very important
aspect to
include in teaching. Through collaboration we get all different types of
views
and solutions from different people that can open our mind to different
perspectives. This also allows for discussion of the problem which will
help
engage students, and make them more likely to remember the information.
Now,
there is a fine line between cheating and relying on one person, and
collaboration. But if all team members work together on assignments I
believe
that they will have success and retain more from the assignment. I also
believe
that through collaboration students are also able to learn more about
each
other, which prepares them to accept all types of people in a diverse
society.
We live in a country that is a melting pot of cultures, and through
collaboration students learn to deal with different types of people that
will
help them in accepting others in the future. I believe that
collaboration is very
important in the classroom, and I sometimes wonder what more I would
have
learned if there had been more collaboration in my classes.
