Collaborative Learning Primers – Digital Promise

Collaborative Learning Primers

Our primers provide concise, research-based summaries of key principles, instructional strategies, and evidence from literature to support educators in implementing collaborative learning practices.

Developed through a unique collaboration between practitioners and researchers, our resources aim to bridge research and classroom application by offering accessible introductions to core topics.

Each primer offers:

  • Evidence-based principles grounded in the latest research literature
  • Practical instructional ideas and classroom strategies
  • Concise overviews of key topics in collaborative learning
  • Curated bibliographies for further reading and exploration

Our resources benefit many educational partners including:

  • Educators looking to refresh your teaching toolkit with research-based methods
  • Administrators hoping to foster a culture of evidence-based professional development
  • Researchers interested in connecting your work to practical classroom applications

Explore the Collaborative Learning Primers

If you’re ready to bring research into your classroom(s), explore the collaborative learning resources below:

Interested in all our resources? Download our practitioner toolkit and all research primers:

What Practitioners Say

I like how the Assessment primer presented multiple strategies and assessment concepts, along with rubrics. These elements are crucial for understanding and implementing collaborative learning effectively. The inclusion of research-based evidence further supports the validity of these strategies, making them more reliable for practitioners.

Dan Jones, ESE Computer Science/CTE Teacher

I think the Classroom Discourse primer clearly explained collaborative learning concepts and strategies, backed by a lot of research evidence, with a clear bibliography at the end. If I were considering accessibility for practitioners, I particularly appreciated the breakdown of specific steps that could be used. As a teacher, I’m always more interested in practical applications—what I can do with the information and how to use it specifically in my classroom. I really appreciated seeing that in the primer, and the external links were brilliant.

Julie York, High school CS/Media Teacher & Department Chair

The Teacher’s Roles in Supporting Collaborative Learning primer did an excellent job of clearly explaining collaborative learning concepts and strategies. It differentiated collaborative learning from cooperative learning, outlined the three key phases (before, during, and after), and provided specific, actionable strategies for each phase. The inclusion of research citations effectively supported the claims and provided a foundation for the recommendations.

Delmar Wilson, High school CS/Math teacher and Mentor Coach

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