Module 3: Collaboration...Is there a need for it?

The belief that humans have a basic need for acceptance by themselves and others has been widely accepted since Maslow first presented it in 1943. Additional research has been added to his findings in recent years and continues to point towards the basic instinct of interaction. Look around and notice the number of people continuously connected to their smartphones checking emails, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, etc. There is a constant flow of information (good and bad) in our society.

Constructivists believe there is strength in collaboration. Driscoll notes, “Hearing a variety of other perspectives helps learners to judge the quality of their own solutions and to learn perhaps more effective strategies for problem solving” (2005, p. 397). Technology is an effective source for collaboration needs because it is “transparent and easy to use” and it provides “unrestricted communication” (Palloff & Pratt, 2005, p. 17). We are fortunate to live in an environment where there is a plethora of technological devices to assist with facilitating effective collaboration. These include wikis, blogs, discussion boards, document sharing sites, emails, video conferencing, chatting, etc. I’m sure you can think of several more modes of collaboration.

For more information Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, go to:
http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/regsys/maslow.html

or watch this video with great visual representations of these needs:



Blogs of Interest
Bevarly, D. (2009). Maslow 2.0 – a new hierarchy of needs for collaboration. Retrieved April 14, 2010 from http://www.aheadofideas.com/?p=156
Deubel, D. (2010). A classroom’s hierarchy of needs. Retrieved April 14, 2010 from http://www.classroom20.com/profiles/blogs/a-classrooms-hierarchy-of


Additional References
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370-396. Retrieved April 14, 2010 from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm
Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Pennington, D. D. (2008). Cross-disciplinary collaboration and learning. Ecology and Society, 13(2): 8. Retrieved April 14, 2010 from http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol13/iss2/art8/
Rheingold, H. (2005). Howard Rheingold: Way-new collaboration. Retrieved April 14, 2010 from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html