Collaborative Learning: The Importance of Teacher’s Knowledge of Group Dynamics

The paradigm change which occurred as a result of the introduction of constructivism as the prevailing theory of learning resulted in education focusing on the learner. The emphasis is not only of one learner but groups of learners working in small groups, generating their own knowledge and helping each other to learn. One of the learning strategies resulting from this development is Collaborative learning. It is the temptation to leave learners alone to seek necessary knowledge alone. A good teacher knows, however, that the success of collaboration as a learning technique rest to a large extent on his knowledge of how groups work. This work looked at the importance of the teacher’s knowledge of group dynamics contributes to making collaborative learning effective.