Group Learning
"Most great learning happens in groups. Collaboration is the stuff of growth."
~ Ken Robinson
Group learning ability is important for L2L because knowledge is dynamically constructed. A decisive way of developing one's all-round thinking skills is to identify and absorb different perspectives through the dialectical communication process in group learning. One's comfort zone and blind spot can never be addressed if one is engaged only in individual exploration for knowledge. Expansion of the scope of one's knowledge depends on the confrontation of new challenges and seeking new solutions, which can be usefully found in group discussion. Only group learning can provide such a catalyst for the expansion of one's horizon and knowledge.
Group learning can upgrade one's communication ability through interaction with different group members. It can hone one's intra- and interpersonal communication skills. It also helps nurture sympathy and empathy, which are requisite for success in academic study and career.
Different people may have different thinking styles. Group learning can achieve the cross fertilization of different thinking styles. Integration and utilization of different thinking styles are crucial for one to become a mature thinker and good team player.
Extended tasks and questions
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1. Imagine there are a pair of identical twins. Both are given the challenge by their C.E.O. to design an
innovative product within two weeks. One of them only collects data for the product design alone
at home by looking up books and Internet resources. The other twin, apart from studying at home,
goes out and checks related products in the market. She also holds meetings with experienced
professionals from different fields and asks for their opinions and advice on the prototypes she
develops. When the twins present their proposals to the company, whose proposal do you think will be
more likely selected by the C.E.O.? Why? (This example is adapted from The Innovator's DNA by Jeff
Dyer et al (2011).)
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2. Suppose the government is selecting 5 experts from different professions to be the astronauts to land
on Mars. Their mission is to collectively contribute their new knowledge and ideas of Mars to the
country when they come back to Earth. If you are to select 5 such experts, what professions will you
choose? Do you agree that the synergy of more diversified professions will produce more creative and
interesting contribution?
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3. Recall the experience of conducting group projects in the past. What are the pros and cons of
teamwork? Are there more pros or more cons if you compare the experience of a group project with
that of an individual term paper? By this comparison, what is your conclusion about the usefulness of
group learning and teamwork?