Collaborative learning can provide opportunities to lead to successful learning practices. As a technology for learning (technology for instruction), Collaborative learning involves the active participation of students and minimizes differences between individuals.
In the application of this collaborative learning model, teachers must know the five main stages of collaborative learning. These five stages must be really known by educators so that the collaborative model development process can run optimally.
Exploration
The stage which is grouping is followed by giving assignments in the form of problems which students will find ways to solve the problem. Each student is required to contribute opinions in this problem solving process.
Engagement
The first stage is engagement, here the teacher must assess the ability of each group. This ability includes things such as interests, talents, and the level of intelligence possessed by each member of the group.
Transformation.
Here each student will exchange ideas in group discussions. So that this process will make students with minimal achievements able to absorb knowledge from students with high achievements. This transformation process is a beauty in a collaborative model.
Presentation
After a series of discussions, then the results of the discussion will be collected, now the results will be presented by each group to be observed, digested, and compared by other groups.
Reflection
After finishing the presentation, there was a question-and-answer process between groups. The group that makes the presentation will receive questions, responses or objections from other groups. With questions posed by other groups, group members must work in unison to respond well.
Collaborative models can also make students' social bonds better, they will be positive interdependence, that is students must believe that they are a learning process together and they care about other students' learning. In addition, this model can foster direct interaction between students
That is, the best learning outcomes can be obtained with verbal communication between students supported by positive interdependence. Students must face each other and help each other in achieving learning goals.
From a brief explanation of the important stages we must do in the application of the collaborative model, then we can understand that this model is a good strategy to improve student achievement.
In addition, the grouping in which students cross-achievement, can make students whose achievement is low or their level of knowledge is minimal, can learn from friends who have above average knowledge.
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