What are the statistics for collaborative learning?

Work as hard to be a teammate.png

Of all the striking things about school I have heard in the last several years, the most impactful one is this statement from Jaime Casap, Google's Chief Education Evangelist:

"We've set up education as a single player sport, but the reality is that it's a team sport."

I thought about Jaime's wisdom when I stumbled on the tweet above two days ago.

But teamwork doesn't come naturally, especially in the context of college admissions, which only recognizes individual learning.

Yes, we need to develop each individual learner's skills--but to what end?

The answer should be obvious: to help her team, because there is little work remaining that won't require her to work in teams once she graduates.

If GPAs and SAT / ACT / AP scores are "scoring" statistics, what statistics might measure a learner's contributions to her team? What are the collaborative learning equivalents of assists, defensive and offensive rebounds, steals, and more?

***

Thank you for reading! Want to receive original Basecamp blog posts every Tuesday and Thursday and "Top Reads" every Saturday? Subscribe here.

Christian Talbot