Possibilities and challenges of collaborative learning in Higher Education

Abstract

The use of the practice of collaborative learning in higher education aims to build knowledge in a shared environment among students. In this practice, learning is a process shared by and between students and mediated by the teacher. During this process, the teacher also fosters group interaction, collaboration and development. This study aims to describe the benefits and challenges of using collaborative learning practices in higher education, based on articles published in SciELO. In this systematic review, we found 147 articles that address the practice of collaborative learning, however only 46 met the following criteria: publication between 2000 and 2016, empirical research, and higher education. The mapped researches define collaborative learning as a collective, interactive and shared work that enables the construction of knowledge collaboratively. All the articles dealing with this approach present this practice as beneficial to the student under different aspects, including: autonomy, learning to interact and responsibility for their own learning. One of the challenges we identified is to disassociate the practice of collaborative learning from the use of technologies, since their use is independent, and, consequently, training the teachers for this disassociation. We concluded that this practice enables the construction of learning and knowledge in a shared way among students. Nevertheless, it remains a great challenge the understanding of the concept by the teachers and the acceptance by the students in order to be applicable in the face-to-face learning context, in a hybrid way in higher education, not necessarily associated with the use of technology.