Co-learning as a new model of learning in a digital environment: Learning effectiveness and collaboration

Abstract

During the last decade, co-learning techniques have been widely used for the formation of an effective open society. Co-learning allows increasing the skills of social adaptation and joint work of representatives of inhomogeneous groups. The purpose of this study was to determine educational effectiveness, as well as danger, the effectiveness of the digital environment in developing social skills and achieving learning quality in a new generation. The study was conducted in the form of a survey among 60 students from Gulin Tourism University and Moscow State Pedagogical University; they were divided into two groups, the methods of cooperative and collaborative co-education with immersion in a digital environment were used. A control group consisted of at least 30 students. The real effectiveness of training was tested both by the solution of task and by independent testing that was obtained in the process of solving. A separate survey was conducted to establish a subjective assessment by students of the social skills and interaction. The survey was conducted according to the methods that have been developed over the past 6 years by different groups of researchers. Consequently, it was found out that co-learning technologies do not influence the quality of training and the assimilation, and students immersed in a digital environment showed even better results. The number of students with most correct answers for the test was 46.67% and 23.33% in study groups, and only 10% - in control group. Generally, the results of a subjective assessment of social skills coincides with similar data obtained by other researchers and shows an improvement of collaboration in inhomogeneous groups, slighter leadership in common problems solving, and very low conflict indicators. Generally, the results of a subjective assessment of social skills coincides with similar data obtained by other researchers and shows an improvement of collaboration in inhomogeneous groups, slighter leadership in common problems solving, and very low conflict indicators. © 2020 Kassel University Press GmbH.