Collaboration with students in the design, delivery, and evaluation of instruction and decision-making involves students working in cooperative learning groups, as tutors and partners in partner learning (e.g., reciprocal teaching), and as co-teachers with their teachers.
"When we see ‘sharing’ as that both supports and pushes us to be better, the big winner will always be our students."
Why should educators consider collaborating with students? There are multiple rationales. Collaborating with students :
a. facilitates the 21st century goals of education of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity; b. exemplifies democratic schooling;
c. increases student self determination;
d. has the potential to increase academic and social competence of students and facilitate school reform; and
e. represents an untapped resource in times of limited fiscal and human resources.
Sharing knowledge is not always enough until teacher does not collaborate in constructing new knowledge. Otherwise, knowledge flows only one way from teacher to student and teacher become the ‘information giver’. However, collaborative teachers also value and build upon the knowledge, personal experiences, language, strategies, and culture that students bring to the learning situation. Teachers collaborating with the learners in their activities can discover the insights by the students to assess them and guide them in the right direction. Successful mediation helps students connect new information to their experiences and to learning in other areas, helps students figure out what to do when they are stumped, and helps them learn how to learn. Above all, the teacher as mediator adjusts the level of information and support to maximize the ability to take responsibility for learning. Teacher’s collaboration ensures equity and their reflections on their own learning experiences can let the students do better.