Abstract:

In the digital era, the learning processes are opportunities for teachers and students to work and learn together, even in virtual environments. However, there is a need for constant professional updating, considering the transformations and the innovative tools that technology brings to pedagogical practices. Usually, teachers acquire their competencies at the beginning of their careers, and, if they do not take care, they become obsolete through their professional life.

The roles of teachers and students are changing in the XXI century. Teachers are no longer the only source of knowledge, which is acquired and reproduced unquestionably by students. Teachers are the facilitators of the learning process, helping students to develop competencies and abilities as: "learn to know," "learn to do," "learn to live together," and "learn to be." These competencies are fundamental learning skills pointed out by Delors in the UNESCO Report of the International Commission for Education in the XXI century.

The model centered on the interaction between teachers and students is not new. For this model to be applied, teachers must create engaging mechanisms of involvement with the students and continuously evaluate the methodologies, pedagogical practices, and learning objectives. The coherence between objectives and practices establishes the risks and challenges vis-à-vis new educational situations.

Notwithstanding its importance, making students responsible for their learning and engaging in the educational process is not easy. Moreover, building an environment of collaboration and empathy requires time, energy, knowledge of different methodologies, and teaching practices. Desire and commitment to try things differently in the classroom or e-learning situations are also essential.

This paper's objective is to present the importance of collaboration in the educational process as a whole. Collaboration is a keyword in educational processes. An approach in which the outcomes are less relevant than the dialogic process and the interactions established among the individuals. Furthermore, collaboration demands involvement and encourages both teachers and students to play a leading role in learning experiences that go far beyond obtaining specific knowledge of the subject, the course, or the program.

Educational processes always demand specific skills and competences, both to teachers and leaners. Collaboration in educational processes is not different. This work presents the skills and competencies that define and challenge teaching and learning collaborative practices to highlight the importance of collaboration through the educational process. Moreover, the work presents learning together in an educational setting, proposing actions to teachers and students. These actions are related to "learning to know," "learn to do," "learn to be," and "learn to live together," the four pillars of education. These actions are a paradox: the learning to innovate requires learning to work in chaos with other people, and at the same time, learning to organize it so that there is also order or pattern. The work concludes that adopting teaching models in which teachers and students work together, and develop mutual reliability attitudes, does not mean forgetting classroom management. It demands recognizing that knowledge can come from any source, be filtered, modified in real-time, and shared with the world.

Keywords:

collaborative learning, learn together, educational competencies