[Xmca-l] Collaboration

[Glassman, Michael]

Hello all,

I have a question for anybody who might be willing to respond. How do you define collaboration?  What spurs this question is that PISA is developing a framework for testing collaboration internationally.  At first I thought I was getting punked, but it really is happening, the framework is at the link below.   The idea of collaboration is being used more and more - especially in contexts that involve computer/web based research, but it often times seems to be a placeholder.  The word only came into vogue late nineteenth century I think -  col meaning together and labore meaning to labor.  A lot of people who discuss collaboration invoke Vygotsky (e.g. the PISA framework) or sometimes Dewey (Although I am kind of sure Dewey never actually used the word collaboration, but I  might be wrong).  Anyway the PISA document defines collaboration but in a very simplistic way I think so that it is not wrong but not helpful.  I know there was some research around language (being able to create shared meanings).  But so far to me it seems to miss the point, but I can't think what I would replace it with.  I guess you could call this a request for comments.  I find PISA creating a test for collaboration kind of dangerous.

https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/Draft%20PISA%202015%20Collaborative%20Problem%20Solving%20Framework%20.pdf

Michael