Learning is a process that needs a sort of enthusiasm and interest while something is to be discovered or got to a clear point. The methods of learning are various and strive to achieve the desired goal due to the efficacy and individuality of this or that means of learning. Among all types of learning one can simply distinguish two major parts, namely: individual and team learning. There is a question still unanswered: When is it appropriate to learn individually and when is it appropriate to learn as a member of a team? This paper is aimed to clarify the most important approaches towards the above-mentioned aspects’ evaluation.
By means of simple assumption, it is clear that individuals in society go through different types of communication and can appear under various circumstances. When living in this fast-growing and developing world one cannot rely on a stable and quiet life and conditioning at home and in the workplace. So, an individual has nothing to do than to gain information and knowledge on the whole according to the fact whether it is a personal need or a collective one. It is better for a man to learn individually when the task bears personal to this very man’s direction and evaluation. It is a time when personal skills and habits are realized through the vision of an individual. Man is a biological as well as social creature and every human being seeks shelter in groups of other people. That is why team learning becomes the second stage of development after individual one. Peter Barrett and David Baldry (Barrett & Baldry, 2003) in their book tried to come up to the problem philosophically:
Individuals learn all the time and yet there is no organizational learning. But if teams learn, they become a microcosm for learning throughout the organization. Skills developed can propagate to other individuals and to other teams. The team’s accomplishments can set the tone and establish a standard for learning together throughout the organization (Barrett & Baldry, 2003, p. 81).
Furthermore, the impact of cooperative education and the circumstances under which it is conducted can provide an appropriate psychological atmosphere for a group of people. The point is that when an individual needs help and lacks knowledge in some defined subject but nobody can encourage him/her in this initiative, then the decision is made individually and since a person becomes involved in this sort of learning. The most inappropriate thing about it is the high expenditure of such learning because the financial weight is put on one person.
From the other side, it is significant to admit that team learning is appropriate to adhere to when it considers reciprocal interactions between people in a group with points on the collective estimation of subjects learned. It requires lower costs and proves the realization of the obtained knowledge in practice. With regards to the educational establishments, such as universities, high schools, etc. team learning “has proven to be effective with class sizes ranging from 10 to 280 students, with courses in over 30 academic disciplines, and with students ranging from freshmen on academic probation, through doctoral level students…” (Roebuck, 1998, p. 35+).
Thus, individual and team learning creates the background for peoples’ skills and habits in new areas of knowledge with the purpose to prosper in educational and social spheres of relationships within communities. It is appropriate to learn individually when one shares an interest in a subject without somebody else. On the other hand, team learning is great in its cooperative nature.
References
- Barrett, Peter & Baldry, David. (2003) Facilities management: towards best practice Edition 2, Wiley-Blackwell
- Roebuck, D. B. (1998). Using Team Learning in Business and Organizational Communication Classes. Business Communication Quarterly, 61(3), 35+.