Is the saying,"two brains are better than one" believable to humans? Do we get more work done together or alone? Does it depend on the person's personality, introvert or extrovert? It is my assumption that two brains are better than one and that humans do have the basic instinct to work together whether they are productive or not, however it's complicated because it does depend on the person's personality. With this being said, depending on the environment that you have become accustomed to, you may only be comfortable working alone and do not instinctively gravitate to others and work in a group. I believe that Rheingold said it best,"we must learn that using collective action and working with a group is the best way to create a better society"(2005). It is safe to say that no matter a humans instinct to interact and work as a group or work alone, working together does create a better society. The human instinct for people to work an interact as a group helped Haiti during the devastating earthquake. The human instinct for people to work an interact as a group has saved a lot of people's lives in emergency rooms across the world. I think that the human instinct to work as a group is natural for society when help is needed. According to Rheingold,there are certain reasons why someone would help share with others that generally involve some reward or benefit for the individual"(2005).
The constructivist perspective supports that learning occurs through interaction with others. Learners work together as peers, applying combined knowledge to the solution to solve problems. Technological innovations such as blogs, wikis, and other social networking advances help facilitate collaboration among learners and allow them to work together as peers. The evolving world of the Internet communication--blogs, podcasts, and websites offer learners news way to research, create and learn in groups. The value of social networks should not be underestimated because it is becoming a reflection of the world we live in today.
Rheingold, H. (2005). Way-New Collaboration. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html
Kimberly, you made some great connections to the material. I find that education, especially at the elementary level is slow to adopt innovations on a large scale. More than anything else it seems to be a disconnect between what educators view instruction as and what is most effective for students. No matter how hard we try to incorporate Constructivist principles in our instruction if we continue to assess students using archaic methods we will not ever fully realize how much our students have truly gained through participation in a learning community. Thank you
ReplyDeleteGReat post! I am a firm believer that two minds are better than one. Being a classroom teacher, colloboration are one of the most productive ways for students to obtain the subject matter. I have experiencd moments where I have explained things in 5 different ways. Some of my students still dont grasp it. However, when I allow then to colloborate with one another, it seems as if a light bulb goes off, instantly. When people work with others, it makes the task more interesting, thought provoking, and it allows all participants to have a say and hand on learning.
ReplyDeleteTwo brains are most definitely better than one. However, do we always believe this statement? I agree that depending on the environment that we are accustomed to, we may only be comfortable working alone while not gravitating toward others. This is such a true statement. As we grown and develop, we all go through different experiences and interactions. Some of us may have no problem collaborating with others while some may feel that this is not necessary. Through different experiences, we have learned different things about working or interacting with others. We all have our own thoughts and solutions to this particular subject and how things should be done when working together.
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