CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1   Background to the Study
Few classrooms are homogenous in nature. The typical classroom is made up of students from diverse cultural, economic, ethnic, linguistic and social backgrounds. In addition, the classrooms comprise of students with diverse motivational and ability levels. So in the typical classroom, there are some students who benefit from the conventional instructional processes because the processes are consistent with their previous experiences. Still there are other students who do not benefit from the instructional processes because, the instructional processes tend to inhibit their learning abilities (Jones and Jones, 2001).
Furthermore, Jones and Jones (2001), pointed out that the teacher must modify the classroom environment so as to enable the learners to develop prosocial, cooperative behaviour and culture of learning. Collaborative peer learning is therefore, one classroom management strategy usually recommended for more advanced learners such as secondary school students (Schmuck and Schmuck, 2007).
Collaborative peer learning involves students working together to complete common tasks or master a common challenge (Fawcett and Garton, 2005). Rochelle and Teasley (2005) also see collaborative learning as a coordinated, synchronous activity that is the result of a continued attempt to construct and maintain a shared conception of a problem. Pieced together, it would be plausible to describe collaborative learning as the voluntary coming together of students of diverse abilities or levels of comprehension to study together for the purpose of maximizing their own and each other’s learning (Johnson, Johnson and Holubec, 2008).
Promotive interaction is the mutual help that members offer to one another. Members must always engage in verbal communication, asking questions, offering explanations, and through that, help one another to overcome their learning difficulties. Individual accountability is the acceptance of the fact each member of the group is accountable to the group for tasks assigned to them. As the group monitors the contributions of individual members, free riders must be made of their negative tendency. Passive listeners (social loafers) must also be made to be aware of their passiveness in the class activity. But this quiet reprimand must be made in such a way that the individuals involved would not be hurt too much. Therefore, social skills must be deployed in peer collaborative learning (Johnson and Johnson, 2004).
Collaborative learning among peers in the classroom is successful when no one is perceived as a social loafer or a free rider. Neither should some or one of the class members perceive themselves to be doing virtually all the work while others merely goof and listen passively. Every member must feel that everybody is an equal participant in the group’s activities. There must be perceived shared leadership. At any given time, and in any given situation, peers do different things. Therefore, ideally leadership should not be seen to be fixed in only one competent member; rather leadership must be seen to be diffused and contextual (Leon, 2004).