Collaborative on-line teaching: the inevitable path to deep learning and knowledge sharing

 

It is often stressed that the pedagogic models and approaches of Collaborative Online Learning support learners' shared knowledge building within collaborating groups of learners, the individual construction of knowledge as well as the formation of an ongoing learning Community of Practice. With a starting point in a recent case study of a Danish master's programme, this paper demonstrates that emerging collaborative practice displays tendencies contrary to the generally accepted assumptions. The outcome is not only based on the models and their attributes, it is also affected by the emerging practice and interaction among participants during a course. From this perspective it is relevant to look at the possibilities and obstacles teachers meet in their efforts to become aware of slowly emerging tendencies which may lead to major misinterpretations of the subject matter or marginalize or even exclude students from participating in the learning Community of Practice. Conclusively, the case study identifies slowly emerging tendencies that may be detected and observed at earlier stages, thus pointing to areas requiring awareness in online learning environments.