# Fostering Collaboration Skills in the Classroom ![Rosalea Monacella](/sites/g/files/omnuum12666/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/vpl/files/rosalea_monacella_240.jpg?itok=WMh8VA5a) **Rosalea Monacella, Design Critic in Landscape Architecture at the Graduate School of Design (GSD)**, works to create opportunities for students to build collaborative skills and facilitate peer-to-peer learning by “embed\[ding\] the techniques of joint problem-solving and ideas development” in her [design studio courses](https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/course/landscape-architecture-iii-third-semester-core-studio-fall-2022/). Monacella starts by fostering a classroom community built on mutual respect and trust, modelling and scaffolding collaborative behaviours to help students develop their unique individual capacities through collaborative work. She has found that instructors often assume that students know how to work effectively in group settings; however, oftentimes, students have never been provided with scaffolded experiences that will help them develop their group working styles. ## The benefits Monacella aims to provide students with the skillsets they will need in highly collaborative interdisciplinary environments. Students learn techniques and approaches in action, rather than simply being told what they are. Students are thus able to apply those techniques and approaches to new settings, and even develop their own methods as a result. Monacella has found that by deliberately integrating this professional development into the curriculum rather than expecting it to simply happen naturally, students gain an increased level of comfort and confidence when approaching new materials and when seeking and providing feedback, both inside and outside the classroom. > ***“We underestimate the amount of learning that happens through peer-to-peer exchange. We assume that knowledge is predominantly transferred from instructor to learner, but what I continually find is that teaching certain concepts and forms of knowledge is most effective when it is repeated and unpacked through a peer-to-peer exchange.”*** ## The challenges Effective peer-to-peer learning relies heavily on full participation from the class; thus, preparation and student buy-in is necessary. Monacella has found that she must be able to adapt to the cohort dynamics, which occasionally shift and require in-class adjustments to her teaching and learning plan. Additionally, she has found that despite the best intentions and time-consuming plans, sometimes, pedagogical experiments aren’t effective, and instructors must be able to rebound in the moment to shift gears. ## Takeaways and best practices ### Shift the Hierarchy. Monacella “consciously tries to shift the hierarchy of the room” to create a learning environment where students feel empowered to ask questions, challenge the instructor and each other respectfully, and solve problems together rather than relying on the instructor as the only source of answers or critique. ### Switch up Your Toolbox. In the design studio, Monacella aims to implement peer learning in different ways throughout the semester rather than relying on the same activities during each session. From small group problem solving activities to workshops featuring direct feedback to roundtable discussions, she tries to shift the structure week to week. ### Be Transparent About Your Approach. Monacella has found that explaining her peer learning-centred pedagogical approach to students has increased its effectiveness. Prior to each class, she sends out the plan for the session along with a quick explanation of the session’s intent and why she chose to structure it in that particular way. Thus, students know what to expect and come to class fully prepared to participate and are less wary of new activities. ### Bottom line When students leave the university, many will enter fields that require strong collaboration skills. Thus, it is imperative that instructors provide intentional opportunities for students to develop these skill sets. ## Related research [### Use of an Online Social Annotation Platform to Enhance a Flipped Organic Chemistry Course ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_openaire_primary_doi_3edf0cc0257f3e772cd7cb62f76426bd) An online social annotation platform, Perusall, was incorporated into a flipped organic chemistry course sequence. The platform provides an interactive chat enhanced with social media features that facilitates student engagement with each other as they... [### Collaborative Online Annotation: Pedagogy, Assessment and Platform Comparisons ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_561f4103b464423d81e5a3fdee908a44) Annotating a text while reading is commonplace and essentially as old as printed text itself. Collaborative online annotation platforms are enabling this process in new ways, turning reading from a solitary into a collective activity. [### Use of a Social Annotation Platform for Pre-Class Reading Assignments in a Flipped Introductory Physics Class ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_2a22610bbac2444c8d335e9804bd22cd) In this paper, we illustrate the successful implementation of pre-class reading assignments through a social learning platform that allows students to discuss the reading online with their classmates. We show how the platform can be used to understand how... [ More Research arrow\_circle\_right ](/intopracticeresearch) ## Related resource [### Ask a Librarian ](https://ask.library.harvard.edu/) For questions related to course materials that may not be immediately available through social annotation tools like Perusall, Ask a Librarian. [### Interested in hearing from a faculty member using Perusall? ](/links/interested-hearing-faculty-member-using-perusall) Interested in hearing from a faculty member using Perusall? Watch this video of Professor Eric Beerbohm from VPAL’s Debate as Pedagogy event explaining how he used the platform to launch class discussions. [### Introductory video from Perusall’s founders ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PfAc0D2erk) Interested in learning more about Perusall? Check out this introductory video from Perusall’s founders [ More Resources arrow\_circle\_right ](/intopracticeresources) See also:- [ GSD ](/gsd) - [ Into Practice Issues ](/practice-categories/practice-issues) - [ collaborative learning ](/topics/collaborative-learning)