Collaboration facilitates learning only under specific knowledge and experience conditions; with advanced learners it can be detrimental via the expertise reversal effect¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · theoretical r2–r3 · q1–q2
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? Collaborative learning is beneficial when task complexity exceeds individual working memory capacity and members have prior experience working together, but unnecessary for learners who already have relevant knowledge structures. → Kirschner 2018 q2 i? When participants have relevant task knowledge, individual learners marginally outperform homogeneous and heterogeneous teams. → Kirschner 2018 (2)

Evidence¶

Kirschner 2018¶

Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., Kirschner, F., & Zambrano R., J. (2018). From Cognitive Load Theory to Collaborative Cognitive Load Theory. Intern. J. Comput.-Support. Collab. Learn. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11412-018-9277-y

q1 · i? · theoretical · r2

A theoretical prediction of cognitive load theory for collaboration, stated from the interaction of the information store, borrowing and reorganising, and narrow limits of change principles. No data are offered in this article for the prediction itself; it is an argued design implication about element interactivity and group capacity.

"Collaborative learning is beneficial when the task exceeds individual working memory capacity (under time restrictions) assuming members have not stored relevant prior knowledge structures."

Kirschner 2018 (2)¶

Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., Kirschner, F., & Zambrano R., J. (2018). From Cognitive Load Theory to Collaborative Cognitive Load Theory. Intern. J. Comput.-Support. Collab. Learn. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11412-018-9277-y

q2 · i? · theoretical · r3

The article reports, citing Zhang et al. (2016), a team-composition study whose results confirmed heterogeneous teams could favour lower prior knowledge learners; however, comparing individual learners with homogeneous and heterogeneous teams, knowledgeable individuals 'marginally out- perform' teams. Reported secondhand without statistics; no effect size printed.

"In general, the results conf irmed this; however, they also found that when participants have relevant task knowledge, individual learners marginally out- perform homogeneous and heterogeneous teams."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Groups with prior collaborative experience on similar tasks outperform inexperienced groups on individual retention tests after collaborative learning of complex tasks — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• The efficiency advantage of prior collaborative experience emerges under high information density but not under low information density — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Groups outperform individuals when devising creative solutions to real-world complex problems — related
• Collaborative tasks should be complex enough that joint effort is worthwhile, engaging the collective working memory effect — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Students in homogeneous prior-knowledge groups made greater learning gains and showed more distributed collaboration than heterogeneous groups — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Instructional guidance that helps novices can become redundant or counterproductive as expertise grows. — a broader claim this one bears on
• Unrecognised prior-knowledge asymmetry and absent prior group experience negatively affect learning in complex collaborative tasks — related
• Snapshots of critical steps were marginally beneficial for individual learners but significantly detrimental for dyads — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Students in the combined condition tended to make fewer errors and request fewer hints over time than students in individual-only or collaborative-only conditions — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Design guidelines beneficial for novice learners can be ineffective or even detrimental when applied to experts (expertise reversal) — related
• Collaborating learners learn more effectively and efficiently than individual learners on cognitively challenging tasks, but group work becomes disadvantageous on cognitively unchallenging tasks — related
• Collaborative learning is beneficial or detrimental depending on individual and situational factors — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Expertise reversal effect: instructional aids effective for low-knowledge learners hinder high-knowledge learners across all three layers — related
• Collaborative learning is more efficient than individual learning for high-load tasks, but less efficient for low-load tasks — related
• Static expert-solution feedback had detrimental effects on the learning process when pre-service teachers worked in dyads — a narrower finding that bears on this claim