1. Introduction
Learning in collaboration is an educational approach to teaching and learning that involves groups of learners
working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product. In the collaborative learning (CL)
environment, the learners are challenged both socially and emotionally as they listen to different perspectives, and
are required to articulate and defend their ideas. In so doing, the learners begin to create their own unique conceptual
frameworks and not rely solely on an expert's or a text's framework. In a CL setting, learners have the opportunity to
converse with peers, present and defend ideas, exchange diverse beliefs, question other conceptual frameworks, and
are actively engaged (Srinivas, H., 2011).
Brown and Lara (2011) cite Johnsons (2009) that say; there are three ways when individuals take action in
relation to the actions of the others. One's actions may promote the success of others, obstruct the success of others,
or not have any effect at all on the success or failure of others. In other words, individuals may be:
x Working together cooperatively to accomplish shared learning goals;
x Working against each other (competitively) to achieve a goal that only one or a few can attain;
x Working by oneself (individualistically) to accomplish goals unrelated to the goals of others.