Running head: SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 1

To What Extent does the Use of a Collaborative Language Learning Approach Enhance

Students’ Sense of Community and Learning of English?

Jhoan Stivens Arango Naranjo

Universidad de Antioquia

Thesis, Research and Practicum Advisor

Iván Flórez

Medellín

November 2017
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 2

Abstract

This paper is an action research report that took place in a public school in Itagüí. Participants

were a group of teenage girls from sixth grade. The study aimed to promote a Sense of

Community and thus English learning by means of Collaborative Language Learning and

Teaching. Data was collected through surveys, interviews, journals and students’ artifacts, and it

was analyzed through themes that emerged from similar codes. Findings showed it was a useful

approach and it creates a better classroom environment for learning; however, there are still

issues to be addressed.

Key words: Sense of community, collaborative language learning and teaching, English

learning
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 3

Degree Requirement

This action research project is submitted as a requirement of the Bachelor of Education in

Teaching Foreign Languages (English-French) at the Escuela de Idiomas, Universidad de

Antioquia, in Medellín, Colombia.

SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 4

Aknowledgements

The parts of a machine work with a maximum of cooperativeness for a common result,
but they do not form a community. If, however, they were all cognizant of the common
end and all interested in it so that they regulated their specific activity in view of it, then
they would form a community.
- John Dewey, Democracy and Education
I would like to express my deepest feelings of gratitude to all people participants in this

research project. To my research and practicum advisor who believed in the possibility of

creating better learning environments at public schools, to my cooperating teacher for his

constant support and his comprehension at any point of the implementation. Last but not least, I

would like to thank all those annoying and joyful girls. If they had not believed they could be

better people, and connecting with partners to collaborate with partners was a way for improving

their learning process, this would not have been possible.

SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 5

Table of Contents

Preface 6

Context 7

Statement of the Problem 9

Theoretical Framework 11

Research Question 14

General Objective

Specific Objectives

Action Plan 15

Development of Actions 15

Findings and Interpretations 17

Conclusions and Suggestions 21

Reflection 21

References 24

Appendix 26
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 6

Preface

I started this process of becoming a language teacher more than six years ago. Learning

languages was not only a matter of personal achievement, but the possibility to share with people

in a different way. As I was learning about strategies, methods and theories regarding language

learning and teaching, I wondered what else a language teacher should do in the classroom. That

is the moment when I became interested in how feeling as a community can affect students

learning process and their lives.

I have experienced both as a student and teacher that education is mainly thought for

individualism. It was common for me to see the tenet “sauve qui peut” as the one rule in which

classrooms were a battlefields where each person does what he/she can for their personal welfare

rather than a commonwealth. I really thought something should be done. As Dewey and

Vygotsky thought and wrote on their books, education is a matter of social development and

collaboration. I expected students to work together for overcoming challenges and learning from

one another.
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 7

Context

Institución Educativa San José, a large, public elementary-secondary school, is part of the

industrial municipality of Itagüí. It is an only girl school located in the south part of Medellín.

This school has approximately 1800 students, from kindergarten through eleventh grade. The

students attend classes in the academic, vocational, and religious strands of the curriculum in two

half day schedules, morning and afternoon. In general terms, students from 8th to 11th grade

study in the morning, and students from 4th grade to 7th grade in the afternoon. Younger

students study in a different building. The school also counts on a partnership with SENA as they

offer three technical intermediate in human talent, accountability and administrative secretariat.

Groups at school are arranged by grades and they include an extra number to differentiate

them; e.g., 6th 1, 6th 2, and so on. Each group has a specific classroom, and students attend all

their lessons in the same classroom except for technology and physical education lessons. Each

week there is a lesson taken for group work where students and their home room teacher make

decisions on sitting arrangements, disciplinary process, and events at school. There is also a

general assembly each Monday at the first hour of class.

School facilities are made up 18 classrooms with their respective number. Each classroom

counts on two bookshelves where they place the handbooks provided by the government. Some

of the classrooms have a video-beam placed on the roof. There are also two laboratories for

chemistry and physics, two systems classrooms with tablets and two school cafeterias. There is a

restaurant where students or teachers can buy lunch or breakfast. Besides, there is a soccer field,

a library and an auditorium where students can play, read or present a class project. Additionally,

there are two coordination offices and a teachers’ room. In terms of materials, there are some

guidebooks and students handbooks given by the Ministry of Education and its current plan
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 8

Colombia Bilíingüe. There is also a virtual platform adopted by the secretary of education of

Itagüí called Duolingo, where students should work on at home weekly.

The current English curriculum is aligned with Guia 22 and Colombia Bilíngüe. As there

are different demands from the national and local governments, the school tries to include all of

those reforms in the syllabus. Similarly, school believes in “learning a second language as an

instrument of interaction with the globalized world”(Institución Educativa San José, n.d.).

School aims to have students graduated with a B1 level according to the CEFR, and they try to

make English as one of the subjects with more time intensity; therefore, there are five classes of

English per week. Lessons tend to last from 50 minutes to one hour depending on the section of

the schedule assigned. When it comes at the first three classes of the day, they last an hour, but

the last three lessons last 50 minutes maximum. Generally, there is only a class per day.

This research project is conducted with a group of 6th grade. There are 33 girls, and their

ages range from 10 to 13, there are some students who are older than the rest. Some of them are

enthusiastic about English and they tend to participate in class, but there are other students who

dislike the language. It was also seen that mostly students are beginners, and few of them could

understand slightly more than their peers. It was also noticed that students tended not pay

attention to instructions or partners’ participation. They showed uncaring attitudes towards

English and their classmates. It was noticed as well that students dislike to work with partners

that were not their friends.

The teacher is an experienced person on teaching Spanish. This year he took the

challenge of teaching English to sixth graders. He does enjoy these lessons, but he laments not

having a high competence in English to teach his students. He believes that English is a global

trend that demands attention because it has become a requirement for getting jobs or making
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 9

superior studies.

Statement of the Problem

I noticed some patterns that were repetitive in class interactions since I started observing.

Mainly, there were three aspects that showed there was not a feeling of community among

students in the classroom: students’ uncaring attitudes towards their classmates, their rejection to

work with some peers, and their lack of strategies to support each other.

The first issue was observed particularly when it came to class participation or

explanations from the teacher. It was recurrent that, as a person was trying to say something, the

rest of the students were talking among them. They generally did not show empathy nor

willingness to understand what the partner was saying. As this was recurrent, students would

often miss learning opportunities. Similarly, at the beginning of lessons, students tended to go

out of the classroom, take photos or eat until the teacher asked them to start. This was

particularly seen on journals 12, 19, and 23.

The second issue is related to students’ rejection to work with peers. During observations,

and lessons I taught, I noticed some activities tended to be really harsh. This was particularly

seen when students were asked to work in groups, and they did not have the opportunity to

choose their partners. Students then tended to yell at each other, to say bad words about partners,

and to promote stereotypes. As a result, classroom management turned into a big challenge, and

miscommunication between teacher and students, and also among students took place regularly.

For instance, in a class in which we were talking about the issues of power relations in the

classroom, some students shared what they felt when participating in class or interacting, and I

wrote:

Some of them were really concerned about it, and many others felt they could not
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 10

talk in class, and they were part of peer pressure. In the same way, there were

others who said that the classroom does not have good communication, and there

are some students who want to be superior. As a result, it seems that they need to

obey partners or be in silent because of the judging that takes places in the

classroom. (Journal entry 17, March 6th, 2017)

The third issue is related to the lack of strategies used to support at each other. When it

came to hand in any assignment or activity, I noticed students tended to ask partners for the

answers without making a big deal to understand the activity. Their partners, as they did not

know any other means to help their classmates get a passing score, just gave them the answers. I

asked some students about the issue, and their main answer was “Ahhh, es que no

entiendo.”(teacher student journal, August 3rd, 2017). Additionally, on August the 3 rd, 2017, we

had a group talk about it. It was surprising when all of them accepted that, at a point of their

course, they have given a classmate the answers of an activity, a quiz or something else.

It seemed to me that students were not conscious of their acts and the impacts they might

have in class development, their learning process, and their partners. The lack of communication

among students, as well as the fact that they denied to work with people who were not their

friends was limiting learning opportunities as they mainly relied on teachers’ explanations and

their common partners’ knowledge. Therefore, I decided that it was important to implement an

approach to teaching and learning that would promote collaborative work and reflection among

students in the classroom. For this purpose, I believe that using collaborative work during the

English class could lead students to get better relations and feel connected as a community; as a

result, they could take more advantage of their partners’ knowledge and the learning process

might improve. To conclude, Armitage (as cited in Armitage, 2013) claims that “learning
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 11

requires respect, dignity and equity of treatment of students towards fellow students, tutor

towards students and students towards tutor” (p. 13).

In order to support a valid and reliable proposal, it is necessary to mention the theories I

based this project. In the next section, I will address the concepts of Sense of Community,

Collaborative Language Learning, and Strategies about Collaborative Work.

Theoretical Framework

Sense of Community
A community is not the simple addition of individualities. It has been defined as “a

feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the

group, and a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through their commitment to be

together” (McMillan & Chavis, as cited in Rovai, 2002a, p. 198). This definition works for any

single community in the world including a group of students in a classroom; more specifically,

Rovai (2002b) defines a classroom community as “ a social community of learners that share

knowledge, values and goals” (p. 322). In this sense, students need to collaborate with one

another not only for interaction, but also for committing together to achieving a common goal,

respecting their partners, supporting themselves, and valuing their interactions. Armitage (2013)

claims in his seventh principle of critical learning that “learning requires we develop and build

relationships through shared understandings by creating a learning community founded on

mutual trust and dialogue” (p. 13). As mentioned above, it is important that students feel they

have a common goal and that they matter to their partners. Furman, adopting a similar definition,

suggests that a “community does not exist until members experience a sense of belonging, trust

and safety” (as Cited in Dawson, 2016, p. 155). Although it might seem difficult to measure this

feeling, Rovai (2002a) proposes a questionnaire that is based on the literature and academic
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 12

concepts described above that can validly and accurately assess that sense of community. Some

of the items includes statements as ‘I feel that students in this course care about each other’ that

students need to grade from a scale of agreement.

Collaborative Language Learning and Teaching

As explained above, having this feeling of belonging implies that students need to

collaborate. Collaboration could be simply defined as “the mutual engagement of participants in

a coordinated effort to solve the problem together” (Roschelle & Teasley, as cited in Carrió &

Perry, 2010, p. 71). As such, it is a process that demands interdependency and interaction among

students. Collaborative Approaches can be divided into the ones that focus on teachers

collaboration, and the ones in which students collaborate to solve tasks; in either case, roles of

students and teachers are different (Carrió & Perry, 2010, p.71). Furthermore, collaborative

learning aims to promote maturity, experience and social communication while discouraging

repetition, individuality and passivity (Carrió & Perry, 2010, p. 70). These approaches have

generally a variable degree of structure in activities and they tend to rely more on the

engagement of students with more capable peers (Oxford, 1997, p. 444). That means that

strategies for studying or accomplishing tasks will depend not only on teacher’s instruction, but

also on students’ decision to provide support.

Strategies about Collaborative Work

There are three main strategies that can be implemented during the process of

collaborative work: getting to know partners, structured learning team group roles, and team

expectations. The first strategy refers to students’ way to treat each other. Some of the activities

address the necessity of students to interact, so they need to talk, ask and provide help to their

classmates, using their own names and last names. There are other activities that focus on
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 13

students’ interests, likes and dislikes, which facilitates the improvement of relationships

(Korinek, Walther-Thomas, McLaughlin, & Williams, 1999, p.6). The second strategy has to do

with the arrangement of small groups. Having roles in groups and discussing the responsibilities

might help all members to contribute and be active participants (Kennedy & Nilson, 2008, p.

37). The roles students may take in their groups are Leaders, Right-hands, Recorder and Reporter

as described in Srinivas (n.d.). The aim of this strategy is to foster students feeling of belonging

and connectedness to their peers, as they have a specific role to accomplish. The third strategy is

team expectations. It is very common for students to feel that they will have to do the hard work,

whereas their peers will limit themselves to watching them (Srinivas, n.d.). A way to prevent this

situation is to set small groups to write and discuss expected behaviors and commitments for

each member of the group. This strategy allows students to develop a feeling of self-regulation,

and efficiency (Korinek, et al., p. 6). Along with these strategies, “students have the capacity of

creating their own strategies and setting goals for their learning” (Carrió & Perry, 2010, p.70). It

is expected, then, that as students get used to work under this learning and teaching

methodology, they start using their own ways to convey messages and provide support.

Research Question

To what extent does the use of a collaborative language learning approach enhance students’

sense of community and learning of English?

General Objective

To enhance a Sense of Community through Collaborative Language Learning and Teaching, and

thus, improving English learning

SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 14

Specific Objectives

● To encourage propitious classroom interactions that facilitate students’ English learning.

● To promote collaborative strategies for students to be able to support each other in a

better way.

● To explore to what extent collaborative strategies help enhance a sense of community in

the English classroom

Action Plan

To accomplish the abovementioned objectives, I proposed to start introducing some

collaborative techniques as working in small groups. As this approach does not have a pre-

established set of actions, lesson planning would be based on activities that promote interaction,

students participation, and support. As collaboration is one of the main objectives to be address

in the classroom, some strategies will be implemented to help students support each other in a

better way. These strategies are as mentioned in the above getting to know partners, structured

learning team group roles, and team expectations. All these strategies and activities would be the

means to promote a Sense of Community.

Data will be collected through class observations, interviews, and students’ artifacts that

would be held during the process of the research cycle. In the same way, Rovai’s survey scale

would be adapted and implemented both at the beginning and at the end of the research in order

to assess to what extent students’ perception of a sense of community has changed throughout

class interactions (see Appendix for cuestionario sobre trabajo colaborativo). At the end of the

process, data would be analyzed and contrasted in order to draw final conclusions for reporting

them in the final report. Those tools will allow me to triangulate information and contrast

students’ responses about the whole process.

SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 15

Development of Actions

I designed a total of 22 lessons with the help of my advisor and my colleagues. They

were implemented for a period of five weeks. All those lessons were aligned with the school

curriculum including school exigences as grading Duolingo progress of students and using the

handbooks provided by the national government.The first lessons were focused on making

students work with different partners and setting classroom rules and applying the survey for the

first time. Then, during the first two weeks, activities were mostly carried out in teams, yet there

was negotiation. Students could choose their team partners for some activities although they had

to accept the teams I arranged for some others. Activities related to topics provided by the

curriculum, but they also included students’ likes and dislikes, hobbies.

In the last three weeks, I introduced the discussion about being leaders and what

characteristics a good leader should have. Then we made a ritual in the classroom, explaining

that small groups would have a different arranging, and they would last for a full week. Leaders

chosen had to stand up in front of the class, and they had to choose a right hand, a person they

trusted on to work collaboratively and make the group be successful. When both leaders and

right hands were together, they could call the rest of the members. None students could be out of

this system. They had to be part of one of the leaders’ teams and they were assigned a role in the

team. Inside each team, leaders were asked to talk with their teams and negotiate the people in

charge of taking materials home and bringing them back the following session, the people that

have to record some conversations and send them to the teacher. We talked as a whole group

about the experience, and possible candidates for being new leaders, and we repeated the

ceremony. When the groups were formed, they first had to sit down, set the roles and write down
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 16

some expectations about members of the teams. I received their sheets, and before they team was

done, they had to talk about whether they accomplished their goals or not, and what were the

reasons. There were some interviews carried out with students after classes, and the same survey

was applied once again in order to compare results.

Findings and Interpretations

There were three main findings observed from different sources: (1) classmates

relationships were less conflictive, (2) having roles in small teams made students be more active

and experience a feeling of belonging, and (3) strategies for supporting partners used in class

changed.

Students Relationships Were Less Conflictive

Most of the students showed an improvement in the relationships they had in the

classrooms. Fewer fights took place in the classroom and students reluctance to talk to partners

changed. During an interview carried out with my CT, he mentioned that

A nivel de la parte por debajo, si la podemos llamar así, eran muy desunidas, cada

cual por su lado, no les importaba lo que pasara, y de ahí cueste lo que cueste. Es

tanto el cambio que ha venido evolucionando de eso que era tan ridículo y, a veces

tan horroroso, que hasta usted vio que estaban peleando por nada. Tenía que estar

uno ahí como águila a ver qué se podía hacer. (Interview with CT, September 28th,

2017)

This statement was also connected to the fact that in the survey, the items one, two, six,

and nine that are related to the way student perceive their classmates and their relationships all of

them improved in positive answers and decreased negative ones. The general score also
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 17

increased by 2.5 points in average, and there were 17 students that significantly improved their

score perception about classmates. This little improvement shows that there were things that

changed in a short period of time although there still exist some internal conflicts. However, the

subgroups were not now closed, and they could interact with more partners. “Por ejemplo, antes

había como el grupito de las necias, el grupito de las juiciosas, ahora las necias con las juiciosas

se están haciendo en grupitos.” (Interview with student 4, October 3rd, 2017)

Additionally, students felt they could now work with classmates and change their

perceptions about them, They said that “Por ejemplo, a nosotras nos tocó en la primera actividad

con grupos [y roles], nos tocó con Z, y a nosotras no nos caía bien, pues no nos cae bien, pero ya

no nos cae tan mal, y nos ayudó a ser más comprensivas con ella” (Interview with student 4,

October 3rd, 2017). They also noticed that now students can interact and rely in more people in

the classroom and they do not limit to their personal friends. “Para mí, donde nos hubiéramos

hecho MG, pues todas con las que yo me mantengo, no hubiéramos trabajado eso se sabe. No

hubiéramos trabajado, porque pues se distraían mucho, hablábamos mucho, en cambio con MM,

pues sé trabajar bien.” (Interview with student 1, September 6th, 2017).

Having Roles in Small Teams Made Students be More Active and Experience a Feeling of

Belonging

Students enjoyed the way groups were arranged and they mentioned that it facilitated

their work and order. “Antes, pues el grupo era todo desordenado y no trabajaba ni nada, y ya

con los roles si trabajaron más.” (Interview with student 2, October 3rd, 2017). Students could

also recognize, they worked better not having their common friends. It might be easier for them

to demand more attention to other classmates to be on task. This was also also present in the

teacher student journal. We were working on YES/NO Questions related to things they like or
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 18

they tended to do. Many questions about vocabulary were posed to me, but I demanded them to

ask first those questions to their peers. Only if the team could not answer, they could ask me I

wrote:

Some of them were asking the questions very fast. And some of them were asking

me many vocabulary questions. Surprisingly, there was a girl who call me and asked

me :”teacher, ¿cierto que papitas fritas se dice ‘french fries’?” She wanted to make a

point and show a partner she could trust on her knowledge. From that point, fewer

questions arrived at me. This was the very first time I could notice those two

students collaborating for learning because they tended not to pay much attention, and it

might have had an impact on their partners as well. (student teacher journal: August

29th, 2017)

In terms of a feeling of belonging, students reported that they could feel better in groups

with roles. During the process of recording and interview among the members of each group, I

was walking by checking students progress or doubts. I saw that students were writing the

pronunciation of words in little papers, whispering partners to help them or repeating the

recording so they could have a good podcast. I wrote on the teacher student journal:

I did not see some of those actions before. Probably they have happened, but I could

not have been there. It was nice as well that even people who do not tend to talk in

class were very immerse in the activity and they gave examples and provided

vocabulary for their groups. I think this strategy gave them a place inside each

team, and they could recognize that if one of them fail, the whole team is affected,

so they should join efforts to overcome all difficulties. (student teacher journal:

September 4th, 2017)

SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 19

The same feeling was perceived by some students. They said “me pareció muy bacana la

actividad en grupo, y uno ser líder también bacano, que uno se la lleve bien con las personas”.

(Interview with student 1, September 6th, 2017), “uno trataba de hacer mejor las cosas, como

para no… pues como para que el grupo quede bien, para no decepcionar el grupo” (Interview

with student 3, October 3rd, 2017). In this way, students could experience they partake a group

that cares about them as well as it needs them.

Strategies for Supporting Partners Used in Class Changed.

There were significant changes in the way students provided support to their classmates.

As there was more interaction, students tended to try to solve challenges together before

demanding the teacher’s help. For instance, in the 14 item in the survey, 11 had said their

partners did not help them learn, however, in the second time the survey was applied, only four

students said they agreed with that statement. This change explains to some extent that there was

more interdependence among student and that they help each other to learn. Similarly, According

to my CT’s point of view, he could notice that:

Sí, las estrategias súper, porque de todas maneras se ha ido rompiendo como que todo

me lo tiene que decir el profesor. Usted también puede hacer, vaya y busque en el

diccionario, vaya y busque la compañerita que de pronto sabe un poquito más del

grupo, o de otro grupo, mire que a veces se iban rotando, hay veces, hey andá vos

dónde fulanita que ella allá nos puede colaborar, porque como no se podían cambiar

de grupo para no tener que ir donde el profesor que él dijo que ahorita. (Interview

with CT, September 28th)

Students also notice some ways they provided support. As they had a common goal to

accomplish. They stated that: “X era como la que más sabía con Y, entonces cuando uno no
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 20

sabía cualquier cosa le decían cómo pronunciar o cómo se escribía la palabra y todo eso pues fue

como una ayuda.” (Interview with student 1, September 6th, 2017), “si alguien no sabía

pronunciar algo, uno le decía que así no es, que lo hiciera bien.”

Conclusions and Suggestions

This was an initial attempt on using collaborative language learning and teaching as a

means to promote a sense of community. The process gave significant benefits not only for

learning English, but also for common issues that make part of classroom interactions. It might

be that the more connected students feel, the better the conditions are for learning. There were

other benefits that were not expected in this research, as taking this group of students who held

the worst academic results in the first and second term, and they obtained the best academic

results in the third term. For future studies it could be interesting to explore the possible benefits

of promoting a sense of community with boy and girl classrooms. It is necessary then that

teachers make explicit their expectations on behaviors and positive attitudes expected.

Additionally, they need to be open to dialogue and negotiation with students.

Reflections

Having this experience as a teacher-researcher helped me grow personally and

professionally. I learned new things and I became more systematic in my classes. I can say I feel

proud for all the good things achieved with those beautiful human beings, my students, yet I

cannot say everything was perfect. I could see the good and bad things about public education. I

refer especially to low guarantees for the teachers as professionals, lack of resources for

developing lessons and students attitudes towards partners, teachers and other adults.
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 21

I can look back as well and see the development of this project, and I can relate as well to

some issues that need to be discussed and changed. I do not regret for working at that institution,

nor do I feel I wasted my time. Nevertheless, I can say that the cost for making this idea happen

was significantly high and I had to pay it all on my own. I agree that teachers have a tremendous

responsibility with society, and that this practicum is thought as a social service; however, I do

not accept by any means this process makes people lose their jobs, and get poorer, as it happened

to me. This may also happen to any practicum student who must work for free at public schools

without even receiving a ticket for a bus. Therefore, each student tries to do the best in his/her

particular singularity.

Moreover, as schools do not count on many materials and resources, practicum students

need to take advantage of everything they find handy, or they should run with the prices of

materials. I am glad that now education is free and available for everybody, but high quality

education is significantly more expensive, therefore, we need to invest time and money for

making the project work. Along with these issues, we need to face the mistreatment students tend

among students and teachers. It was shocking at the beginning watching arguments, fights and

the way some students answered teachers and adults. I am glad that through this experience this

issue changed with the students I worked with, yet the other students kept doing the same thing.

I think even better things could be done if we give some guarantees to new generations of

practicum students, and break the idea of individuals doing a research on his/her own, rather we

should commit to working together and making more significant and lasting changes.
SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 22

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and Language Integrated Learning. Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses, 23, 69-81.

Dawson, S. (2006). A study of the relationship between student communication

interaction and sense of community. Internet and Higher Education, 6, 153-162.

Dewey, J. (1916) Chapter One: Education as a Necessity of Life: Democracy and Education.

Institución Educativa San José de Itagüí. (n.d.) CREENCIAS. Retrieved from

http://www.sanjoseitagui.edu.co/index2.php?id=9411&idmenutipo=636&tag=

Kennedy, F. A., & Nilson, L. B. (2008) Successful Strategies for Teams

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SENSE OF COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 24

Appendix

Cuestionario sobre el Trabajo Colaborativo

NOMBRE: ______________________________________________________________ FECHA ______/_______/_______

Objetivo: Lo que buscamos con este cuestionario es conocer tus pensamientos respecto de cómo
trabajas con tus compañeras.

INSTRUCCIONES: Lee cuidadosamente cada afirmación y marca con una ‘X’ sobre el paréntesis que

se acerque más a indicar cómo te sientes en el curso (5= estoy muy de acuerdo 4= estoy de

acuerdo, 3= no me importa, 2 = estoy en desacuerdo 1 =Estoy completamente en

desacuerdo). Puedes usar lápiz o lapicero; aquí no hay respuestas correctas o incorrectas. Por favor

sé honesta y responde todos los ítems.

1- Siento que mis compañeras de este curso se preocupan los unas por los otras. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

2- Me siento apoyada para hacer preguntas en público. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

3- Me siento conectada con las demás en este curso de una manera especial. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

4- Me parece difícil obtener ayuda cuando tengo una pregunta. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

5- No siento que mis compañeras y yo seamos una comunidad. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

6- Siento que recibo retroalimentación constantemente. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

7- Siento este grado como una familia. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

8- Me siento incómoda mostrando mis dificultades con el inglés. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

9- Me siento aislada en el grado. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

10- Me siento apenada para hablar abiertamente. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

11- Confío en las demás del grado. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

12- Siento que mi aprendizaje en este período ha sido poco. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

13- Siento que puedo contar con las demás de este curso. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

14- Siento que mis compañeras no me ayudan a aprender. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

15- Siento que las personas de este grado cuentan conmigo. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

16- Siento que tengo oportunidades de sobra para aprender inglés en clase. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

17- Siento cierta desconfianza frente a los demás del grado. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

18- Siento que lo que yo necesito aprender no está siendo hecho. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

19- Me siento segura de que mis compañeras me apoyarán. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

20- Siento que este curso no promueve las ganas de aprender. (5) (4) (3) (2) (1)
Tomado de Alfred Rovai (2002) y adaptado por Stivens Arango (2017)

Tomado de http://www.alfredrovai.com/classroom-community-scale/