One of the misconceptions about eLearning is that it doesn’t provide the same face-to-face interaction as traditional classroom training. Skeptics argue that it’s not as effective because learners are isolated; however, a well-designed eLearning course includes cooperative or collaborative exercises.
You may have heard the terms cooperative and collaborative learning used interchangeably—but they’re really 2 different processes! While they appear to be extremely similar, they do have slight distinctions that make them different, which means your training strategy will be different, depending on what you’re trying to achieve.
Let’s take a look at the difference between cooperative and collaborative learning:
- Learners cooperate when they work together to the same end.
- Learners collaborate when they work jointly on an activity to create something.
What are the benefits of each?
Cooperative learning is focused on team building.
In cooperative learning activities, employees complete individual tasks that contribute to the success of the group as a whole—or a team. Employees learn teamwork along with how to be responsible for their own, independent knowledge of training materials. For example, an e-Learning game is one way to foster cooperative, team-building activity. To learn more about gamification, check out our gamification blogs.
Collaborative learning is focused on collective problem-solving.
For collaborative learning, employees are encouraged to communicate with each other as they collectively analyze and discuss ways to solve a problem. Collaborative learning requires employees to exercise a high level of cognitive thinking skills. For more information on the brain and how you can design training courses that encourage advanced cognition, read this post: 5 Strategies for Designing Brain-Friendly eLearning Courses.
Try using cooperative or collaborative learning in your next e-Learning course! If you design your online training program correctly, it should be just as effective as traditional, face-to-face classroom training.
