Group work in science learning - international scenarios and implications for teaching and learning in Hong Kong

Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 2, Issue 2, Article 9 (Dec., 2001)
Teresa T S WONG
Group work in science learning - international scenarios and implications for teaching and learning in Hong Kong

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Defining "Group Work" For the Seminar
Cooperative learning, collaborative learning, collective learning, learning communities, team learning, study groups, work groups... are a few of the many terms related to group work used in education. Among these terms, cooperative learning and collaborative learning are the most commonly used and well-defined strategies in classroom teaching. Although both cooperative learning and collaborative learning imply individuals working in groups, Panitz (1999) has clarified that collaborative learning is a personal philosophy, not just a classroom technique. It suggests a way of dealing with people which respects and highlights individual group members' abilities and contributions. There is a sharing of authority and acceptance of responsibility among group members for the group actions. Cooperative learning on the other hand, is a set of processes which help people interact together in order to accomplish a specific goal or develop a content specific end product. Cooperative learning is closely controlled by the teacher and therefore more directive than a collaborative system of governance.
Although cooperative and collaborative learning can be separately defined, they are in fact not mutually exclusive but co-exist in most group work learning environments. However, since most teachers involved in the on-line seminar are practicing educators in science instead of researchers themselves, a lot of them have not distinguished these terms when referring to their own teaching. In this paper, unless in some specifically given examples, all activities designed for a group setting are referred as "group work".