OVERVIEW
Collaborative learning fosters both social skills and cognitive acquisition. In Vygotskian terms, what a child can do in co-operation today, he will be able to do alone tomorrow, if properly assisted. Some kind of collaborative learning should have room in every class since working with others does not only stimulate social interaction and enhance students’ social skills but promotes and facilitates learning. Yet, “for collaborative groups to be successful, they have to be planned, monitored and supported”. (Fisher, 92). It is essential then, to discuss and analyze how to best support and implement collaborative learning instances in our classrooms. In this session, we will go through the benefits of implementing instances of collaborative learning in the English class and we will refer to different possible groupings and share a wide range of strategies to assist our students and enrich and maximize their learning potential in the light of this theory.
ESTHER VÁZQUEZ
Esther Vázquez is an experienced teacher and teacher trainer who has taught English extensively at different levels and backgrounds over the last 25 years.. Since 2009 she has been delivering in-service training to Primary and Secondary teachers and to Coordinators at Escuela de Maestros (GCBA). Esther holds a Bachelor’s degree in Educational Management, a Diploma in Neurolearning and a Diploma in Neurodiversity. She has lectured extensively on varied topics of interest in the educational field in Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay. Chile and the USA and, in 2017 she was awarded a TESOL Professional Development Scholarship. In 2019 Esther founded EVenio Educational Consultancy of which she is CEO and Director.
