Why Should You Care About

Collaborative Learning?
Reason #1: When given the choice,
it’s collaborative learning, by far.
So, why should you care about
collaborative learning?

You’ve already got an LMS. You deliver training Additional reasons? Collaborative learning maps to
through the classroom for its one-on-one impact, brain science (like the higher levels of Five Moments
with some e-learning or VILT in the mix for of Need and Bloom’s Taxonomy), to human nature
topics that require broader, faster reach. But the (social relationships), and to how work gets done
outcomes and business impact just aren’t there. (in teams). And it’s not the same experience as
Your organization is disappointed. Your learners are just bolting a discussion forum to your LMS or
disappointed. You’re disappointed. e-learning module. The benefits of
switching to a collaborative online
Or maybe you’re quite happy with
learning modality are big, fast, and
your in-person programs but the When given business-based.
budget is limiting your scale and
impact.
the choice, it’s So let’s dig in. Because as you
collaborative know, between digital disruption,
Reason #1: your learners do! Sure,
there are reports out there that learning, by far. the increased pace of business
change, and increased employee
say self-directed or classroom
turnover rates, learning challenges
training is the most preferred
tasked with organizational
by learners, but those reports
solutions are coming at you with some very high
don’t even offer collaborative online learning as an
stakes indeed (by which we mean outcomes upon
option. When given the choice, it’s collaborative
which the business is depending for its future
learning, by far.
and success).

Why Should You Care About Collaborative Learning?

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Collaborative Learning is Rated
Best for High-Stakes Learning
(and Isn’t All Learning High-Stakes
for Businesses These Days?)
In 2019, a survey of more than 1000 learners and 400
Chief Learning Officers (CLOs) revealed that “learning
with/from others” (i.e. collaborative learning) was
respondents’ most preferred method of learning.

For learners, this was regardless of the type of learning

82%
last delivered by their organizations. Collaborative
learning was also selected by CLOs as the type of
learning that provides the most value (82%), despite
the fact that most still deliver their training via the of CLOs select collaborative
classroom (87%). as the type of learning that
provides the most value
Another data point, from GP Strategies 2019 Voice of
the Learner report: “More than 70% of respondents
DESPITE THIS
want to learn with someone else...Technology can be an
enabler of learning and the human connection.”

“While a variety of interactive options

can help facilitate learning, it is the 87%
interaction and guidance from other
human beings that makes for a
memorable learning experience.”
of CLOs still deliver their
training via the classroom
At Its Core, Collaborative Learning Is...

Collaborative learning is an experience:

• that leverages the best of classroom learning and e-learning delivery, without their
respective downsides

• where learners are providing crowd-sourced content as part of the course

• within which learners are motivated by, challenged by, and encouraged by, peers as well as mentors
or subject matter experts

• where learners solve business-related problems together and create usable outputs

• that you can’t successfully go through without interacting with other people

• where human-to-human connection (via engaging technology) is the backbone of the experience

• that mirrors everyday workflow and work habits (like teamwork and asking questions of peers)

Why Should You Care About Collaborative Learning?

5
Aligned to Learner Moments of
Need and Bloom’s Taxonomy
There are five moments of need in each successful learning experience, according to
taxonomy creators Bob Mosher and Conrad Gottfredson.
The Five Moments of Need are:

New
learning how to do something for the first time

More
expanding the breadth and depth of what they have learned

Apply
acting upon what has been learned, including planning or adapting to a
unique situation

Solve
using new knowledge when problems arise or when things don’t work as intended

Change
a change in skills or habits that are deeply ingrained in their practices
Each of these sequential moments of need must Levels four, five, and six (analyzing, evaluating, and
be met in order for learners to internalize the new creating) emphasize the ability to draw connections
materials so that they become a part of daily habits. among various ideas, justify one’s stance or decision,
and the production of new or original work that uses
Collaborative learning meets all Five Moments of
the information.
Need, with a particular focus on the need to apply,
solve, and change, while other traditional corporate Collaboration elevates learning quickly and easily
learning methodologies stop at new and more. to the higher levels of learning outlined in Bloom’s
Taxonomy by introducing group problem-solving,
Because the steps of applying and solving are done
peer evaluation and the creation by groups of
socially in collaborative learning, participants aren’t
original works as a regular part of the collaborative
just turning in work that shows how they could apply
experience.
skills or solve a problem. They are instead actively
learning and receiving feedback on their work The thinking skills which rank higher on Bloom’s
from peers, which deepens their understanding of taxonomy, such as applying, analyzing, and
the materials and greatly improves the chances of creating, are difficult to achieve in solitary settings.
change, where these new skills become internalized Collaborative learning emphasizes group-driven
and part of learners’ new reality. learning in which knowledge application is enhanced
by the added perspectives of fellow learners.
Collaborative learning goes beyond meeting the
When applying knowledge as part of a team, such
Five Moments of Need. It also elevates learning in
as when groups must solve problematic scenarios
accordance to Bloom’s Taxonomy of Higher Learning.
together, learners must debate ideas, address
First created in 1956 under the leadership of assumptions, present alternatives, and defend
educational psychologist Dr. Benjamin Bloom, their perspectives to fellow learners. This demands
Bloom’s Taxonomy promotes higher forms of thinking a deeper understanding of concepts than simply
in education over rote learning and remembering remembering and understanding what they are.
facts. It starts similarly to the Five Moments of Need: When these collaborations occur, new concepts are
level one is remembering (recalling facts), level two being internalized and can be applied more readily
is understanding (explaining concepts) – level two is, and more regularly by learners.
again, is where most e-Learning stops – while level
three is applying (using information in situations),
which some, but not all event-based learning
manages to achieve.

Why Should You Care About Collaborative Learning?

7
Benefits of Collaborative Learning:
The Business’s POV

Too often still, the goal of corporate learning is just within the organization and increasing soft skills and
to show completion marks in the LMS. Collaborative communication skills. Yet survey respondents felt that
learning can achieve the same cognitive results as their organizations were frequently unable to tackle
other forms of learning while simultaneously improving these critical initiatives.
learners’ soft skills, increasing their investment in the
One survey respondent summed it up well by saying,
organization’s success, and elevating learning to a
“If the organization helps me grow, I’ll help grow the
deeper, internalized level that yields real business
organization.” Unprepared, undereducated employees
results in the long run. Sounds more like the outcomes
can’t hit the ground running when change happens –
your high-stakes challenges are seeking to achieve,
which is exactly what’s needed for swift organizational
doesn’t it!
change to be successful. And, the more that
The 2019 State of High-Stakes Learning survey employees have connected with each other and feel
revealed that two of the highest-stakes business invested in by the company, the more likely they are to
training initiatives facing organizations in the next two be motivated to really help the organization succeed.
years are building leadership and management skills

“If the organization

helps me grow,
I’ll help grow
the organization.”
Global Connections Without A
Plane Ticket

Imagine deeper-level learning available to employees all over the world, but without increased costs that
would be associated with each of them attending in-person learning events. Glean similar organizational
benefits as would result from an international workshop or conference without the costs of gathering
everyone in one place. An online collaborative learning environment can achieve similar results while also
extending learning over a longer period of time for deeper internalized learning and reinforcement.

This is, of course, the same age-old appeal of e-Learning: more learners, fewer dollars spent. Yet
unlike individualized LMS-deployed modules, online collaborative learning environments flourish
from connecting a wide range of international and globally diverse participants with the depth of a
classroom experience, coupled with the convenience of online learning, without the downsides of either
traditional modality.

Why Should You Care About Collaborative Learning?

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But What About Content Aggregator
Platforms and LMSs? They Have
Collaborative Features Don’t They?
But content aggregation platforms perpetuate the rigor around context, which, thanks to technology,
problems of content-focused learning. These useful can be achieved at a grander scale than ever before.
but limited solutions exclude collaborative, contextual
And though an LMS might have a discussion forum
elements through which skill transformation takes
bolted on, or an e-learning module might be
root. Unlike content-focused methodologies in
“gamified” in some way, that’s not real collaborative
which learners listen passively, absorb content, and
learning. Collaborative online learning is both a
then take a validating quiz, collaborative learning
technology, and an approach, a modality. The
helps learners move beyond memory games and
program designers must bear collaboration in mind
into accountability. They help employees move from
and weave it into the very fabric of the course itself.
theory and regurgitation to real understanding and
Having a discussion forum with a vague hope that
on-the-job application.
people will use it because it’s there just doesn’t cut
Accountability breeds transformation. It’s the same it in the modern highly-distracted and time-starved
reason many people join book clubs: knowing worklives of learners. It has to be ruthlessly relevant,
that others are paying attention and expecting required for both completion and understanding, and
engagement greatly raises the chances of both engaging.
completing the material and thinking about it in a
Giving learners a Facebook- or Twitter-esque way
deeper, more thoughtful way. Engaging with others’
to voice their opinions can be useful, but it’s not
around perspectives which may be wildly different
collaborative. It creates a series of monologues piled
than one’s own accelerates the shift from “something
up on each other rather than a dialogue between
read” to “something learned,” and creates a richer,
peers. Learners’ opinions won’t be changed or
more transformative experience than content
improved simply by posting what they are, and posting
absorption alone can provide. Just like a book club,
individual opinions is not the same as working together
the peer-to-peer contextual learning experience is as
to understand concepts, which broadens learners’
important as the content itself.
perspectives and teaches important soft skills.
Content has had a lot of rigor in the learning industry.
Now, collaborative methodologies ask for the same
Unprecedented Learning at Scale
E-learning is self-paced and content-driven. Like will be practiced in sharing new knowledge with
reading a book, e-learning is about getting what is team members while actively applying it to real-life
needed from the content (and maybe skipping a scenarios.
few sections) before retiring it to a shelf. In contrast,
Because of this, collaborative learning experiences are
the handiest metaphor of collaborative learning is
ideal for spreading knowledge beyond the simplistic
like being in a book club which promotes discussion,
skill-building courses seen in e-Learning. Consider
connection of high-level ideas, and accountability.
collaborative learning environments an opportunity to
Collaborative learning is cohort-driven, and context-
cascade higher-level skills and higher-level information
rich. And that means an easy leap to both real
throughout your organization, insights that might
understanding (not just regurgitation for a quiz) and
historically be exclusive to managers or the C-suite
application back on the job (something the survey
alone. It’s a great way to increase overall employee
learners said they’re not doing much of. Nearly half
alignment to business goals and expectations at all
(47.24%) of learners say they are applying the learning
levels of the organization.
from their last professional development opportunity
at work “A few times but not frequently.” Nearly 10%
said they’re not applying the learning on the job at all,
while at the other end of the scale, a mere 10.55% say
they use the learning daily. Only 33.01% of respondents
are using their learning “a few times a month.”)

It’s well-known that any online-accessible learning is

going to be more available to more people than an 47.24%
in-person learning event. But with individual online
learning, such as what is provided by libraries (think
[Link]), the learning stops when the course
stops – and it stops with that individual learner.
Collaborative learning has a very long tail; its social
impact on learners means that learning continues of learners say they are applying
even after the administered learning journey is the learning from their last
concluded. Collaborative learning’s emphasis on soft professional development
skills and internalization of concepts means learners
Cost-Effective Expansion of
Institutional Knowledge
Collaborative learning also prevents knowledge from
walking out the door when someone quits, moves
branches, or changes positions within the company.

Online collaborative learning environments

provide a new and exciting way to capture and
track institutional knowledge. Archived digital
conversations can be an invaluable resource
for new employees or ones seeking advice on
niche problems. In real time, these conversations
may reveal gaps in institutional knowledge or
market opportunities to course moderators and
administrators. (For example, if many members
of a sales team are struggling to talk about a new
product or if their potential clients are all asking for
a feature that does not currently exist in
the product.)

Why Should You Care About Collaborative Learning?

12
Goal-based Collaborative
Learning Experiences
Rather than limiting its scope to building individual’s • need to ask pointed questions that uncover
rote knowledge, collaborative goal-based learning customers’ needs
centers around accomplishing a specific business goal
• need to better propose why the product suits the
together. Increasing knowledge may be a small part
customers’ needs
of achieving a specified goal, but it’s rarely the whole
picture. The goal is not “learn more” or “pass this quiz” • need to know how to emphasize the benefits that
(looking at you, e-Learning!), but is instead a higher- matter most to the customer during the sales
level business challenge in which learning with and process.
from each other plays an essential role in success or Although the salespeople will, of course, need to know
achievement of the goal, an actionable outcome. details of the product line in order to achieve this goal
Goal-based learning asks, “what gets us to the goal?” too, collaborative learning can answer that additional
If the goal is to increase the sales of a product line, need for increased soft skills, interpersonal skills,
course designers might identify that the sales people: and the ability to connect products to a prospect’s
particular challenges.

Goal-based learning asks,

“what gets us to the goal?”
Collaborative learning is an ideal method for goal-based learning initiatives. Imagine trying to learn
interpersonal skills by yourself, with no interactions with others. It just wouldn’t be as effective as learners
working together on difficult selling scenarios, giving each other personalized feedback, and sharing
perspectives of how to approach new clients and their specific foibles and needs.

Some other examples of collaborative learning with immediate application on-the-job:

• A discussion forum used by mid-management personnel for getting advice from global peers in which
monthly scenario-based exercises are explored together, solved by groups, and reviewed by other
groups — bonus: more junior team members will learn through the process who they can go to later for
specific niche knowledge when opportunities or challenges arise

• A course on soft skills which members of a department complete together that includes milestone
assignments in which participants report how newly-learned skills were implemented in real life, and the
outcomes

• A sales enablement course with each week’s assignment relating to building out aspects of a sales plan
for a specific real-life opportunity, so that the end of the course, the learner not only has sharper sales
skills, but has created an immediately actionable opportunity plan.

Achieving business goals requires much more than increased cognitive knowledge. By working together,
learners’ interpersonal skills will improve and the chances of accomplishing complicated business goals
greatly increases.

Why Should You Care About Collaborative Learning?

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Cohort-based Learning
Cohort-based learning is a fantastic way to simulate
what is considered the main benefit of in-person or
event-based learning, in which camaraderie forms
as a result of a group going through a learning
experience together.

In cohort-based collaborative learning, learners are

placed in groups (cohorts) that complete a specific,
mapped learning experience together over time.
This makes it easier to get to know fellow learners on
a personal level, and to build relationships that will
endure beyond the limits of the learning experience.
This creates a more engaging learning experience
overall and increases learners’ sense of accountability
to their peers. Plus, it mirrors the reality of working
life for most employees, who are part of larger teams
whether they work in close proximity to each other
in shared office spaces or cubicle groups, or remotely
across a country or the globe.

In many cases, cohorts stay in contact and continue

their conversations after the learning experience has
concluded, ultimately acting like alumni groups. They
continue to support each other, provide personalized
advice, and keep the peer-to-peer collaborative
learning experience going even after their prescribed
learning journey has concluded.
Collaborative Learning Necessitated
by Organizational Change
Organizational change is only successful when individual organization, and can establish a new way of doing –
change occurs. When large-scale organizational change something an one-time training event or e-learning
happens, learning is no longer about developing a new module can’t easily accomplish.
skill, but is about educating on a new perspective and a
People learn better and faster when they learn with and
new way of doing business.
from each other. Change is hard enough to go through
There’s an extensive amount of research on learning’s without doing it alone! By providing collaborative
role in organizational change management (you environments and exercises where people must invest
can even get a master’s degree in Learning and in new concepts together and evaluate each other’s
Organizational Change). As such, this complex topic perspectives for accuracy, a culture of accountability will
can’t be covered in-depth here, so we’ll just say this: develop that will accelerate learners’ adoption of the
collaborative learning in the face of change can build organization’s new reality.
a vital camaraderie between colleagues, can establish
and enforce new norms and expectations within the

Why Should You Care About Collaborative Learning?

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Benefits of Collaborative Learning:
The Learner’s POV
Consumer Technology Sets the Standard their discussion board posts in order for the posting
functionality to work, but learners expect it to be
Consumer technology evolves rapidly. It can be hard to
there and might consider it a detractor from their
keep up! It can be equally hard to tell which features
learning experience if it is not. The same goes with the
are momentary trends versus which will change
ability to create group chat threads, upload video, or
society’s standards of technology forever. Not too long
respond in-line with others’ comments: it’s a buzzkill
ago, many theorized that text messaging would be a
for the learners if the technology doesn’t meet their
passing fad. Now, texting and messaging are primary
expectations and when they can’t easily engage with
modes of communication for many people (and many
the learning or fellow learners due to absent features
millennials won’t answer phone calls at all). Yet a similar
and functionalities.
feature, the early 2000s “Push-to-Talk” feature which
turned flip phones into Walkie-Talkies that didn’t useUnfortunately, under the pressures of meeting these
up limited phone minutes (remember those? no?), has technological expectations, some L&D professionals
largely died out. purchase platforms or SaaS solutions that offer
Facebook-like functionalities or a Twitter-imitating UI
Which features or capabilities catch on in consumer
despite that they don’t enhance the actual learning
technology ultimately determine expectations for how
part of the learning experience. While these features
other technologies should act or function, including
are important, without a broader collaborative
learning technologies. L&D professionals must balance
approach behind their use, they can undermine the
learners’ expectations around technology with what
opportunity for deeper learning by overriding learners’
is necessary in order to meet learning objectives.
opportunities and motivation to collaborate.
Learners may not need a profile picture next to

It can be equally hard to tell which features are

momentary trends versus which will change society’s
standards of technology forever.
Enables access to expertise and feedback
Technology-based collaborative learning exposes Their avenues and abilities to interact with their peers
learners to more of their peers’ points-of-view than is in a comfortable way is broadened by technology. This
possible during event-based learning, where a learner’s ultimately enrichens the collaborative exercises and
exposure is limited to which attendees are in their learning experience overall, allowing a broader variety of
immediate vicinity. Depending on how the collaborative learners to actively participate at any given time.
learning elements of the course are designed, learners
Another benefit of technology-based collaborative
will interact with a wider number of their cohorts
learning is how much easier it is to catalogue and keep
members than would be accomplished through the
the results of collaborative learning exercises than it is
limits of table-based, geography-based or proximity-
to do so during event-based learning. With the addition
based interactions (here’s hoping you didn’t sit at the
of a search feature, learners can browse records of
wrong table…).
discussions, exercises, and group-created solutions as
Furthermore, online environments can help bring to light part of their learning process – even if completed by a
the opinions of quieter learners or English as a Second different cohort or at a different time.
Language learners who may be uncomfortable speaking
off-the-cuff during event-based or in-person learning.

Why Should You Care About Collaborative Learning?

18
Context vs. Content
It’s difficult for learners to apply knowledge on the job when content is lacking varied contexts. Like trying
to parallel park for the first time after reading about it in a book (but never having tried it in real life), book
smarts do not necessarily translate to successful skills application!

Your learning program may have the very best content in the world, crafted by expert content designers.
But when what’s taught isn’t being actively practiced within an applicable, real-world context, it can only be
learned at a rudimentary level.

Bloom’s taxonomy places cognitive knowledge (remembering and understanding) at the lowest levels of
higher-order thinking skills. Despite its low ranking, this is the typical “success” organizations claim from
e-Learning tactics, thanks primarily to that deceptive “completed” mark that appears in the LMS after a
learner passes a quiz. Are learners who focus on remembering and understanding new concepts in order
to pass a quiz really internalizing new knowledge? The data says no. A 2019 survey of learners revealed that
employees are not applying newly learned knowledge at work: nearly half of respondents said they use new
knowledge from their last organization-sponsored learning less than a few times a month, and nearly 10%
admitted they hadn’t applying the learning on the job at all.

One reason for this lack in knowledge application may be that translating cognitive knowledge into actionable,
real-world skills can be difficult. However, it is much easier to do precisely that when the context through which
the knowledge was learned mirrors the learners’ day-to-day reality, including working with others, connecting
concepts to unexpected scenarios, and creating organic content that utilizes new knowledge – which is exactly
what collaborative learning experiences help learners do!
Conclusion
Collaborative online learning is both a technology, and a point of view about learning experiences. It is
effective for high-stakes learning that requires hitting the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy and immediate
on-the-job application. And it’s totally doable to add to an existing learning ecosystem.

For more about collaborative learning, please visit [Link] or give us a shout at
intrepid@[Link] — we’d love to talk anything collaborative learning in the context of your specific
goals and opportunities!

Why Should You Care About Collaborative Learning?

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[Link]