https://blog.learnlets.com/2015/08/teasing-apart-cooperation-and-collaboration/ Clark Quinn's learnings about learning Wed, 26 Aug 2015 17:40:35 +0000 hourly 1 https://blog.learnlets.com/2015/08/teasing-apart-cooperation-and-collaboration/#comment-820633 Wed, 26 Aug 2015 17:40:35 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=4428#comment-820633 t need isolation to do our work, we need cooperation and collaboration.  We need ways to work together. We need to give people meaningful tasks and give them space to […]]]> […] we don’t need isolation to do our work, we need cooperation and collaboration.  We need ways to work together. We need to give people meaningful tasks and give them space to […]

]]> https://blog.learnlets.com/2015/08/teasing-apart-cooperation-and-collaboration/#comment-820501 Wed, 12 Aug 2015 14:39:33 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=4428#comment-820501 […] Quinn recently asked, as have many others, the difference between collaboration and cooperation, and why it is […]

]]> https://blog.learnlets.com/2015/08/teasing-apart-cooperation-and-collaboration/#comment-820497 Tue, 11 Aug 2015 14:45:18 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=4428#comment-820497 Anouk, I like your post, particularly your (and Pierre’s) distinctions for learning design. Yes, collaboration is a powerful learning tool, but hard to design. Thanks for the contribution!

]]> https://blog.learnlets.com/2015/08/teasing-apart-cooperation-and-collaboration/#comment-820495 Tue, 11 Aug 2015 09:25:10 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=4428#comment-820495 s explanation: “In cooperation, partners split the work, solve sub-tasks individually and then assemble the partial results into the final output. In collaboration, partners do the work ‘togetherâ€.” I also agree with Olga Kozarâ€s definition: “Cooperation can be achieved if all participants do their assigned parts separately and bring their results to the table; collaboration, in contrast, implies direct interaction among individuals to produce a product and involves negotiations, discussions, and accommodating others†perspectives.” In this excellent article https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/file/index/docid/190240/filename/Dillenbourg-Pierre-1999.pdf, Pierre Dillenbourg says: “Collaborative learning is not a method because of the low predictability of specific types of interactions. […] Itâ€s a situation in which particular forms of interaction among people are expected to occur, which would trigger learning mechanisms, but there is no guarantee that the expected interactions will actually occur. Hence the general concern is to develop ways to increase the probability that some types of interaction occur.” Collaboration is much harder in synchronous environments because it requires much more depth, so it certainly benefits from asynchronous interactions because people can step away and are given the time to think through their contributions. I wrote a blog post about designing for collaboration versus designing for cooperation - if you're interested: http://dynamind-elearning.com/2014/10/are-you-designing-for-cooperation-or-collaboration/ (which includes the links to the definitions mentioned above)]]> These are important concepts for learning designers too. Thanks Clark for sharing your thoughts on this.
I like Pierre Dillenbourg’s explanation: “In cooperation, partners split the work, solve sub-tasks individually and then assemble the partial results into the final output. In collaboration, partners do the work ‘together’.”
I also agree with Olga Kozar’s definition: “Cooperation can be achieved if all participants do their assigned parts separately and bring their results to the table; collaboration, in contrast, implies direct interaction among individuals to produce a product and involves negotiations, discussions, and accommodating others’ perspectives.”
In this excellent article https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/file/index/docid/190240/filename/Dillenbourg-Pierre-1999.pdf, Pierre Dillenbourg says: “Collaborative learning is not a method because of the low predictability of specific types of interactions. […] It’s a situation in which particular forms of interaction among people are expected to occur, which would trigger learning mechanisms, but there is no guarantee that the expected interactions will actually occur. Hence the general concern is to develop ways to increase the probability that some types of interaction occur.”
Collaboration is much harder in synchronous environments because it requires much more depth, so it certainly benefits from asynchronous interactions because people can step away and are given the time to think through their contributions.
I wrote a blog post about designing for collaboration versus designing for cooperation – if you’re interested: http://dynamind-elearning.com/2014/10/are-you-designing-for-cooperation-or-collaboration/ (which includes the links to the definitions mentioned above)

]]> https://blog.learnlets.com/2015/08/teasing-apart-cooperation-and-collaboration/#comment-820490 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 14:52:52 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=4428#comment-820490 That’s a very interesting observation, Rebecca. Indeed, I’ve similarly done that, and it’s quite the creative experience. And while ‘technically’ possible without tech, tech really does break down a different proximity barrier in space than not being in the same room, it makes it possible to break down the physical barrier of fitting around the whiteboard/paper! But hmm, cooperation can be more asynchronous, and collaboration is more synchronous? Interesting distinction…worth pondering. Thanks for the contribution!

]]> https://blog.learnlets.com/2015/08/teasing-apart-cooperation-and-collaboration/#comment-820477 Sun, 09 Aug 2015 03:21:24 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=4428#comment-820477 Interesting timing for this discussion. When we presented on collaborative writing at the SMSociety conference, we had a slide that talked about our interpretation of the difference between cooperation and collaboration. We talked about how we had all experience with cooperative writing academic papers, where each person takes their ‘turn’ to edit the document – but how, Google Docs has changed our process into what we call ‘swarm’ writing, which produces are truly collaborative experience. With swarm writing, there is no longer a who goes first or who goes next type mentality – each person can jump in at any time and make edits, and if two or more people are in at the same time that is OK too. The technology has allowed us the ability to work in this truly collaborative way. It has changed how we collaborate.

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