How do you foster collaboration and communication among learners in problem-based learning groups?

1 What is collaborative learning?

Collaborative learning is a form of social learning that involves learners working together to achieve a common goal or outcome, such as solving a problem, creating a product, or completing a task. Collaborative learning can take place in various settings, such as face-to-face, online, or blended, and with different levels of structure, such as formal or informal, scripted or unscripted, or cooperative or competitive. Collaborative learning can enhance learners' motivation, engagement, accountability, and diversity awareness, as well as improve their cognitive and metacognitive skills, such as reasoning, argumentation, reflection, and self-regulation.

2 How does PBL promote collaborative learning?

PBL is inherently a collaborative learning approach, as it requires learners to work in groups to define, analyze, and solve complex and ill-structured problems. PBL encourages learners to share their prior knowledge, perspectives, and experiences, and to co-construct new knowledge and solutions through dialogue and negotiation. PBL also provides opportunities for learners to distribute roles and responsibilities, monitor and regulate their group processes, and give and receive feedback. PBL thus fosters a sense of interdependence, mutual support, and collective responsibility among learners, which are crucial for effective collaboration.

3 What is communicative learning?

Communicative learning is a form of linguistic and cultural learning that involves learners using language to communicate meaningfully and appropriately in various contexts and situations. Communicative learning can develop learners' communicative competence, which includes not only their linguistic skills, such as vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, but also their pragmatic skills, such as discourse, register, and politeness, and their sociocultural skills, such as norms, values, and beliefs. Communicative learning can also enhance learners' intercultural awareness and sensitivity, as well as their critical literacy and media literacy.

4 How does PBL promote communicative learning?

PBL is also inherently a communicative learning approach, as it involves learners using language to interact with each other, with the instructor, and with various sources of information and evidence. PBL exposes learners to authentic and meaningful texts, tasks, and contexts that require them to use language for various purposes and functions, such as describing, explaining, persuading, questioning, evaluating, and synthesizing. PBL also challenges learners to adapt their language use to different audiences, formats, and modes, such as oral, written, visual, or multimodal. PBL thus fosters a sense of purpose, relevance, and audience awareness among learners, which are essential for effective communication.

5 What strategies can you use to enhance collaboration and communication in PBL?

As an instructor, you can employ a variety of strategies to maximize collaboration and communication in PBL before, during, and after the problem-solving process. For instance, you can design or select problems that are relevant, engaging, challenging, and open-ended, that require multiple perspectives and solutions. Additionally, you can form heterogeneous, balanced, and manageable groups and provide learners with some choice and autonomy. You should also establish clear expectations, guidelines, and criteria for group work and communication. During the problem-solving process, you can facilitate or monitor the group work and communication while providing learners with timely and constructive feedback. Furthermore, you can encourage learners to use various tools or resources to communicate and collaborate such as online platforms or podcasts. After the problem-solving process is complete, you can assess or evaluate the group work and communication while providing recognition or reward to learners for their efforts. Finally, you should debrief or review the problem-solving process outcomes and solicit learners' feedback on the PBL experience.