Abstract:

Collaborative learning is defined as an approach to teaching and learning involving groups of students working together in which the knowledge and experience to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product (Blasco-Arcas, Buil, Hernández-Ortega, & Sese, 2013; Marjan Laal,& Mozhgan Laal, 2012), is a strategy for different levels of education (Wei, & Ismail, 2010). With the development of technologies, learning environments are enriched tools that allow sharing, communication and collaboration with others.

The use of technology to aid the teaching and learning process, the Web Geometry Laboratory, WGL, is an e-learning, collaborative and adaptive Web environment for geometry, that incorporates a DGS (GeoGebra) and with a database where each user can save geometric constructions produced using the DGS. Students can work in WGL, defining his/her own working space and sharing geometric constructions between themselves. This platform, WGL, was used in context of classroom for pre-service teachers.

During the second semester of the academic year 2018/2019 a math teacher used the flipped classroom model to the pre-service students. The flipped classroom model gives the teacher an opportunity to engage students in more active learning (Bergman, & Sams, 2015).

A questionnaire was given about digital technologies and about collaborative environments (based on the Constructivist On-Line Learning Environment Survey (Taylor,& Maor, 2000)), to get an initial students profile in relation to beliefs about reflective thinking and learning from other students.

After a flipped classroom, tasks were proposed to the students about geometry to solve at WGL, to be done collaboratively.

During a collaborative session the students change between them geometric and text information. These conversations where followed by the teacher. At the end, reading the students’ chat conversation, it was possible to understand by the teacher that some issues remained to be solved, having the opportunity for the teacher to clarify them.

References:
[1] Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2015). Flipped learning for math instruction. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.
[2] Blasco-Arcas, L., Buil, I., Hernández-Ortega, B., & Sese, F. J. (2013). Using clickers in class. The role of interactivity, active collaborative learning and engagement in learning performance. Computers & Education, 62, 102-110.
[3] Laal, M. [Marjan], & Laal, M. [Mozhgan] (2012). Collaborative learning: what is it?. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 31, 491-495.
[4] Taylor, P., & Maor, D. (2000). Assessing the efficacy of online teaching with the Constructivist On-Line Learning Environment Survey. In A. Herrmann, & M.M. Kulski (Eds), Flexible Futures in Tertiary Teaching Proceedings of the 9th Annual Teaching Learning Forum, Perth: Curtin University of Technology.
[5] Wei, C.S., & Ismail, Z. (2010). Peer interactions in computer-supported collaborative learning using dynamic mathematics software. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8, 600-608.

Keywords:

Collaborative Learning, Flipped Classroom, Geometry.