A broad orientation to learning in which individuals understand their experiences by constructing their own meaning rather than relying on authority or searching for an objective truth that exists separately and independently from the experience; learners are active rather than passive—learning occurs through discussion, collaboration, experiential activities, and engagement with ideas and events.
Published in Chapter:
Creating Collaboration in Global Online Learning: Case Studies
Patricia Cranton (University of New Brunswick, Canada) and Patricia Thompson (Penn State University, USA)
Copyright: © 2014
|Pages: 12
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6046-5.ch007
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors address the question of how educators can creative collaborative learning in online courses, especially in those courses that occur in a global context. They use constructivism as a theoretical framework, and they review the literature related to collaborative learning, learner-centered teaching, groups in online learning, cultural competence in online teaching, and research on online learning. The authors present two case studies, one in which collaborative learning occurred, and one in which the collaborative component was less developed, even though the content of the courses were the same and the same educator facilitated the courses. The authors conclude the chapter by suggesting areas of further research on collaboration in online learning.