Understanding the Social and Cognitive Nature of Collaboration: Implications for Practice

Understanding how cognition develops as a result of collaboration is a continuing educational endeavour along with identifying effective strategies and understandings related to collaborative learning. With this endeavour in mind, this paper reports on findings from a research project that examined the mechanisms and processes utilised by teachers to enhance collaboration in a problem-based learning approach to school-based STEM education. The research involved purposive sampling of 35 teachers from 15 schools in two states within Australia. The study followed a longitudinal qualitative research design (2021–2024) and drew information from teacher round-table discussions that were then thematically analysed to reveal five key themes about collaboration as part of classroom learning: (1) collaboration requires active learning, (2) collaboration involves effective communication, (3) collaboration is purposeful and driven by shared goals, (4) collaboration is fluid and dynamic, and (5) collaboration values diversity. The findings of this research primarily contribute to the field through theoretical insights that propose a new framework for understanding the cognitive nature of effective collaboration, which when translated into an actionable assessment matrix can assist teachers as they work to implement effective learning through collaboration in the classroom.