Description
Book SynopsisThe 21st century has brought about changes in every aspect of life through ubiquitous technology and Internet-based social media. The distances between cultures and continents have narrowed, the world has become flat, and multicultural work-teams composed of members from different countries have become a daily reality in global businesses. However, in many ways these global changes in work practices have only just begun to have an impact on education.
To better prepare students for the information age, researchers and policy makers largely agree about the skills needed for shared knowledge construction. Indeed, the education systems in several different countries have begun to integrate these skills into teaching and learning and are placing a strong emphasis on their implementation (Melamed et al, 2010; Resta et al, 2011). In 2015 the OECD PISA exam for the first time, included assessment of collaborative problem-solving in its country-by-country comparison.
Collaborative learning is not a trivial challenge nor is it intuitive for all teachers and learners. One must acquire and practice the essential skills in order to successfully work in a team. Consequently it is essential to train teachers in collaborative teamwork, as they must serve as role models for students. In addition, new tools and practices become available at a rate that outpaces the abilities of many higher education institutions to adopt and implement. This book surveys the current state of the field and provides theoretical guidance and practical examples to help meet the gaps in research, development and practice.
Table of Contents
- Foreword.
- Introduction to Collaborative Learning in a Global World, Miri Shonfeld and David Gibson.
- My Personal and Professional Involvement with Cooperative Learning, Yael Sharan.
- Developing a Model for Online Collaborative Learning, Elaine Hoter.
- Technology-Enabled, Challenge-Based Learning in a Global Context, David Gibson, Leah Irving, and Katy Scott.
- Learning About the “Other”: Encounters Between Arab and Jewish Students in Israel, Rivi Carmel.
- Blended Contact for Community Cohesion in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Roger Austin.
- Online Collaboration Between Israeli and Slovak Students, Tsafi Timor.
- Competitive Game Effect on Collaborative Learning in a Virtual World, Miri Shonfeld and Paul Resta.
- TEC: An Online Collaborative Learning Model in a Multicultural Environment, Miki Kritz, Efrat Bachar, and Miri Shonfeld.
- Cooperative Online Research Meetings of Cerebral Palsy and Graduate Students to Promote Web Accessibility, Betty Shrieber and Rachel Peled.
- Collaborative Conceptual Change in the Computer-Science Classroom, Dalit Levy.
- What Influences Teacher Educators’ Use of Collaborative Learning? Miri Shonfeld and Yehudith Weinberger.
- Connecting University Students from Israel and Germany, Claudia Finkbeiner, Miriam Muchow, Einat Rozner, and Miri Shonfeld.
- Promoting Online Collaboration Competence Among Pre-Service Teachers of English as a Foreign Language, Tina Waldman and Efrat Harel.
- The Forum of Excellent Students: A Model for Cooperative Learning in a Multicultural Environment, Liat Eyal, Rama Klavir, and Naomi Magid.
- Assessing Personal Learning in Online, Collaborative Problem Solving, David Gibson, Leah Irving, and Tami Seifert.
- The Impact of an Online Collaborative Learning Program on Attitudes Toward Technology in Two Education Colleges, Noga Magen-Nagar.
- Postscript, David Gibson and Miri Shonfeld.
- Biographies.
