Collaboration

In collaboration, two or more indivdiuals are working together to solve a problem. They have to coordinate their activities to yield a successful result (Dillenbourg, P., Baker, M., Blaye, A., & O'Malley, C., 1996).

Some authors distinguish between 'cooperation' as work that "is accomplished by the division of labor among participants" and 'collaboration' that involves "mutual engagement of participants in a coordinated effort to solve the problem together" (Roschelle, J., & Teasley, S., 1995). However, also in collaboration, task distribution can occur; but in contrast to cooperation, the subtasks are not independent, and coordination is needed to finally solve the problem (Dillenbourg et al, 1996).