What Is Collective Learning?

Humans are innately social creatures who live in collectives. Therefore, the fact we also learn collectively should be unsurprising.

But if you’re unsure about the term “collective learning” and what it really means, you’re in the right place. And yes, despite common misconception, this type of learning is different from the better-known collaborative learning.

So, let’s jump into this definitive guide on collective learning, how it works, its benefits, and implementation challenges.

The Definition of Collective Learning

As the name implies, collective learning is a process wherein a group of people acquire knowledge, skills, and behaviors through interactions with the rest of the group and the environment.

The result? A collective understanding and intelligence that boosts the group’s abilities to innovate, find new solutions, advance, and transfer the knowledge to others. It’s essential for human survival and plays an important role in corporate learning and development.

How Does Collective Learning Work?

The best way to understanding collective learning is to see it in action. So, let’s use a study group as our example — it’s one of the most common examples of this type of learning, after all.

During a brainstorm at work, individuals sit together and share their knowledge, talk about relevant (often complex) concepts, and prepare for a business initiative. It’s through collaboration that each member of the group deepens their understanding of the material and has an opportunity to hear other perspectives. Thus, everybody performs better.

The Evolution of Collective Learning

As we briefly alluded to, collective learning is as early as humanity itself — it’s the reason we have survived thus far. Without the ability to share and pass on information, you would not be sitting (or standing) here and reading this.

It’s arguably the biggest capability that distinguishes us from chimps, gorillas, apes, and other animals that use tools and communicate!

But it’s safe to say that collective learning has come a long way from its early days. After all, we aren’t all foraging for berries and attempting not to pick the poisonous ones anymore. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less vital in the modern world.

This form of learning remains essential, and thanks to the world’s technological advancements, we use it (subconsciously) every single day, particularly in corporate learning and development.

Benefits of Collective Learning

The benefits of this centuries-old learning type are plentiful, ranging from improved knowledge sharing to higher employee satisfaction to better decision-making to increased innovation to enhanced problem-solving.

But we’ll look at the top three to give you an idea of how it can benefit your business.

1. Enhanced Innovation

Collective learning fosters a learning culture within your business. And when employees share their knowledge, insights, and experiences with their teams, the entire group can learn, improve, and build their collective knowledge base. Said new knowledge is then used to improve current practices, procedures, products, or processes, successfully enhancing innovation.

2. Group Problem-Solving

In a similar vein to the above, collective learning affords businesses efficient and effective group problem-solving. In collective learning environments, everybody is on the same page and has a shared knowledge pool to dip into, accelerating the rate and accuracy at which issues are resolved.

3. Knowledge Preservation and Transmission

This benefit directly relates to collective learning’s roots — survival. 

As previously discussed, collective learning is how humans acquired, shared, preserved, and passed on information about survival, such as how to hunt, the fact that fire is hot, how to spot poisonous berries, and so much more. Well, it can do the same thing for your company! This type of learning creates shared knowledge that can be further shared with all new recruits, helping transmit and share it for long-term problem-solving and improved innovation.

Collective Learning in Education

Before collective learning was considered in education, teachers would stand at the front and lecture for hours on end, subject after subject. However, since this learning type has been studied, many schools are turning toward a collective approach, aligning their teaching resources, assessments, and methods.

While this looks different in every school, some common factors include shared curriculum documents, consolidated study notes, collaborative success criteria, quizzes, and tests. 

Collective Learning in the Workplace

Collective learning in the workplace looks a little different. It focuses on:

• a shared vision and purpose;
• an environment where team members feel safe to share opinions, take risks, and express ideas;
• embracing diverse perspectives to ensure teams can tackle challenges from all angles;
• leaders who encourage experimentation and have a growth mindset;
• clear and transparent communication to facilitate knowledge and feedback sharing; and
• agile practices to encourage constant feedback loops and iterative development.

Challenges of Collective Learning

To glean all the benefits that collective learning has to offer, your organization will need to address the implementation challenges:

1. Lack of Knowledge Hub

Without somewhere to store training materials, collective learning will struggle to have its full effect. Thanks to the evolution of technology, a learning management system (LMS) is just what you need to overcome this challenge. Your teams can use it to create, deliver, and track educational activities across the entire company.

2. No Recognition

We are simply creatures who respond well to recognition, praise, and rewards. Companies who don’t reward educational wins won’t reap the long-term benefits. Whether it’s a reward program or bonuses, ensuring your employees have an extra incentive will boost your chances of collective learning success.

3. Lack of Learning Culture

If employees don’t feel safe to share their ideas, they aren’t going to. The fear of judgment, making mistakes, or failure can put people off the sharing side of collective learning. So, you need to foster a learning culture that empowers individuals to always learn and share their knowledge.

Collective Learning 101

The ancestral nature of collective learning makes it transformational for your business, provided you can overcome the challenges. Luckily, we can solve at least one with a state-of-the-art LMS! Harnessing the power of collective learning is right at your fingertips. What are you waiting for?

If you’re looking to improve your staff retention & training costs, schedule a call with us to discuss how our bespoke Totara Learn LMS could benefit your organisation.