The importance and forms of cooperation in the online environment
| Site: | Loomen za stručna usavršavanja |
| Course: | Pedagogy in a Digital Environment |
| Book: | The importance and forms of cooperation in the online environment |
| Printed by: | Gost (anonimni korisnik) |
| Date: | Sunday, 22 February 2026, 6:21 PM |
Description
Participants will be presented with topics related to the importance and forms of cooperation in the online environment.
1. Introduction
In contemporary higher education, marked by digitalization processes and the increasing internationalization of curricula, collaboration in an online environment is becoming an indispensable element of a student-centered pedagogical approach. Online collaboration is not just a technical organizational dimension of distance learning, but a profound pedagogical issue that concerns the structure of learning, the dynamics of interaction, the development of professional competencies, and the building of a sense of belonging to the academic community.
As we have mentioned several times before, the concept of collaborative learning is rooted in socioconstructivist learning theories that assume that knowledge is not mechanically transmitted from teacher to student, but rather that it emerges as a result of active participation in shared learning, discussion, research, and exchange of perspectives. In an online environment, which can be fundamentally characterized by spatial and emotional distance, constant encouragement and implementation of collaboration is essential because it fosters a sense of inclusion and motivation.
2. Development of communication and social skills through collaborative work
Collaborative activities, particularly those involving joint problem-solving, research projects, or the creation of shared content, provide a natural context for the development of communication and social skills. In such settings, students encounter diverse perspectives and approaches, learn to listen actively, articulate their own viewpoints with well-founded arguments, engage in consensus-based decision-making, and manage complex interpersonal dynamics. Through these processes, competencies related to emotional intelligence, tolerance, assertiveness, and collaborative conflict management are also fostered. These competencies are equally essential for success in formal education and in professional contexts. In digital learning environments, however, their development is often more demanding due to the specific characteristics of technology-mediated communication. For this reason, it is particularly important for teachers to design structured frameworks for collaboration, establish clear rules and evaluation criteria, and thereby foster a culture of dialogue, respect, and shared learning.
3. Social teaching forms
Social teaching forms are organizational forms of relationships between teachers and students, but also among students during learning and teaching. This defines the division of social activities among participants, as Pranjić (2005) states, whether a student works alone, with someone from the same bench or the same seminar group, and what their relationship is with the activities of the rest of the group. Therefore, we are talking about:
- individual learning
- partner learning
- group learning
- classroom learning – frontal teaching without real collaboration.
Below we provide an overview offered by Pranjić (2005):
Individual learning refers to those forms of work in which a student performs a task without the direct guidance of a teacher or other students. These tasks are time-limited and usually involve the application of learned knowledge, practice, and making one's own contribution to solving a question or problem.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| the student is active, works independently, learns by discovering | lack or complete lack of social relationships during learning |
| free from the feeling of strict organization and takes into account the differences in the working and learning styles of individual students (individualization) | |
| can follow and check the learning progress of an individual student | |
| teaching methods can vary and teacher can be take more time |
Partner learning (pair learning) involves two students who briefly, but equally and based on mutual connections, participate in solving a task. Suitable tasks are usually exercises, progress checks, and learning based on independent discovery with adequate aids.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| active students | possibility of dominance by one student |
| students free from the pressure of organized learning | possibility of role typification |
| creating an I-you relationship that enables the achievement of social learning goals |
Group learning involves three to five people working together. Group work is based on three phases: preparation, task performance, and summarization of results. In order to achieve this, specific didactic procedures are needed. First of all, the group, in cooperation with the teacher, must decide whether to work on the same task, on part of a more complex task, or on different tasks.
The advantages and disadvantages of such work are presented below.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| cooperative, free and productive engagement of groups | the possibility of transforming the division of roles into accepting the favorite function |
| the possibility of encouraging student behavior (cooperation, tolerance, maintaining rules, communicative competence, etc.) | social goals can be turned into their own opposite (prejudice, rejection of others, their exclusion, etc.) |
| observing differences in the learning and working styles of students in a group |
4. Recommendations for group work in an online environment
The recommendations for group work in an online environment given by Nooijer, Schneider and Verstegen follow some of the specific features of such an environment, and mostly concern tools and activities that can be used to help with better and higher quality work.
Recommendation 1: Create tasks that require collaboration towards a common goal.
Design the tasks in such a way that they can only be solved by teamwork and mutual dependence of the members. A common goal encourages the necessary interaction and connection, and a sense of connection is recognized as one of the three basic psychological needs that enhance intrinsic motivation and growth. Interdependence contributes to this connection because it encourages contact and provides an opportunity for real connection. An example is a team analysis of a case study with one common report and a unique assessment, where each member has a specific role without which the goal cannot be reached.
Recommendation 2: Create collaboration scenarios that explicitly structure activities and communication.
In an online environment, clearly describe not only the expected final product, but also the steps needed to get there. A collaboration script is a set of instructions that prescribe how to form teams, how to communicate and collaborate, and in what order to solve a problem. Such task-oriented scripts act as a support because they structure the work and clarify exactly what is expected and when. An example is a script that defines in advance roles (e.g. coordinator, researcher, note-taker), meeting schedule, deadlines for draft, feedback, and final handover.
Recommendation 3: Organize discussions about team processes and make expectations explicit.
Online group work requires agreement on the division of tasks, clear expectations and timelines, and this rarely happens spontaneously in virtual teams. Include guided discussions about the team’s processes and set rules about how and when to communicate. Build this into the collaborative scenario and establish a “didactic contract” between the teacher and students and within the team itself. Due to the limited face-to-face contact and lack of nonverbal cues in online communication, it is necessary to explicitly state expectations to avoid misinterpretations, as general instructions often give rise to implicit expectations that are more difficult to verify in an online environment than in face-to-face work.
Recommendation 4: Provide a range of communication and collaboration tools.
Different situations call for different tools, and teams should be encouraged to select those that best suit their needs, within the limits of institutional support and available technology. Synchronous tools such as BigBlueButton, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams are particularly effective for aligning ideas, making key decisions, and resolving conflicts in real time. Asynchronous channels, including email, forums, blogs, wikis, and podcasts, are better suited for in-depth elaboration of topics, reflection, and the documentation of agreements. A thoughtful combination of synchronous and asynchronous communication is essential for fostering engagement and supporting deeper learning.
5. Synchronous and asynchronous collaboration methods in different environments
In digital education, collaboration can be achieved through synchronous and asynchronous forms of interaction. Synchronous collaboration involves the simultaneous participation of all group members in real time, most often using videoconferencing tools (e.g. BigBlueButton, Zoom, Microsoft Teams ) or with the help of a virtual classroom with the possibility of creating smaller groups for teamwork. The advantage of synchronous activities is reflected in the possibility of direct communication, faster decision-making and stronger social connections among students. However, such activities also require greater organizational coordination, time coordination and appropriate technical conditions.
On the other hand, asynchronous collaboration offers time flexibility and the possibility of a more reflective approach to tasks. Tools such as forums, shared documents, e-portfolios and collaboration platforms (e.g. Miro, Padlet) are used here. Such an approach allows for deeper analysis of content, systematic monitoring of individual contributions and extended duration of intellectual interaction. However, there may be a decrease in the intensity of interaction and a delay in responses, which can affect the pace of work and motivation of students. Therefore, it is most optimal to use an approach that combines synchronous and asynchronous methods.
Collaborative work, whether it takes place in a physical or virtual space, has numerous didactic and pedagogical advantages, but also disadvantages. In a physical space or classroom, problems most often relate to unequal distribution of tasks, dominance of individual group members, or inadequate coordination. In an online environment, additional difficulties include limitations in nonverbal communication, technical barriers, delayed reactions in asynchronous activities, and the possibility of a lack of active participation. The teacher must therefore pay special attention to the design of activities, the proper distribution of roles, and mechanisms for continuous monitoring of the contributions of each group member.
6. Conclusion
Collaboration in an online environment contributes most to learning when it is pedagogically well-thought-out and aligned with outcomes. Group work develops communication and social skills by encouraging active listening, negotiation and joint decision-making, but requires clear goals, division of roles and agreed rules to reduce the risks of uneven distribution of work and conflicts. Compared to live work, the online environment brings greater flexibility and accessibility, but it is dependent on digital skills, infrastructure and the quality of leadership.
Synchronous methods, such as video meetings and virtual classrooms, strengthen team cohesion and enable rapid information exchange, but increase coordination and time requirements. Asynchronous methods, such as forums and shared documents, support reflection, transparency, and the involvement of a larger number of participants. The best results are achieved by combining them thoughtfully, with regular formative feedback and evaluation criteria that recognize the contribution of each member. This simultaneously improves the quality of collaboration, outcomes, and sense of accountability in working together.
7. Bibliography
Nooijer, J., Schneider, F. i Verstegen, D. (2020). Optimizing collaborative learning in online courses. The clinical teacher. 18. 10.1111/tct.13243.
Bach, A. i Thiel, F. (2024). Collaborative online learning in higher education—quality of digital interaction and associations with individual and group-related factors. Frontiers in Education. 9. 10.3389/feduc.2024.1356271.
Pranjić, M. (2005). Didaktika: povijest, osnove, profiliranje, postupak. Golden marketing, Tehnička knjiga.
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