THE INSTRUMENTAL VALUE OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING: A CASE-STUDY BASED RESEARCH

As a follow-up of the identification of social knowledge as one of the main leverages in knowledge creation process, the paradigm of collaborative learning gained importance both in modern universities and in innovative firms. There are several challenges in implementing the collaborative learning paradigm: the instruction design, the analysis of learners’ interaction, the optimal group building or the ethics of the group members. The collaborative learning paradigm relies on the fact that the learning peers will adopt each other’s good decisions while avoiding unnecessary repetition of mistakes. The current paper exemplifies the paradigm of collaborative learning through a pilot case study developed with the students of the Faculty of Engineering in Foreign Languages, from the Polytechnics University of Bucharest: the participants had different nationalities and different specializations (Computers and Information Technology, Electronics and Mechanical Engineering). The study revealed the instrumentals for an optimal collaborative learning experience: social responsibility proved to be one of them. The study will be further use to design an ontology-based information system to support collaborative learning in multidisciplinary groups.