Teamwork through SOLE

As part of an experiment launched by Professor Sugata MitraPeer in 1999, peer pressure has shown itself to be a positive force for learning. The notion of competitive communication — in this case, children attempting to one-up each other by knowing more than their peer group — appears to also give rise to inadvertent teamwork. Since the children do not have individual computers, but rather must receive their information from the same computer terminal, they collectively build knowledge together. The Professor has termed the experiment a demonstration of a “self-organizing system with learning as an emergent behavior,” or SOLE.

The experiment began as a way to see how well children would learn without being directly taught by a teacher. A computer was installed in a wall in an Indian slum, and could be accessed through the wall, but not moved. Children quickly began picking up information off the computer, even when that information was in a language they did not speak. Because the children had to gather around one computer instead of having their own individual computers, they essentially had to search out the information together.

The Professor returned to the site and administered tests on the information displayed on the computers. He discovered that the children retained and understood a surprisingly high amount of the information. Although the children learned on their own, they did benefit from having a so-called “Granny” figure who would occasionally appear on screen and talk to them and help answer questions. The Professor discovered that if children had their own computers and did not have to interact with others, they did not perform as well on tests. He later expanded the experiment to sites in Cambodia and the U.K., with similar results.

This experiment can be viewed as a demonstration of the powerful force of collaborative learning. Sharing information, even in the guise of children attempting to outdo one another, actually enhances the education level of everyone involved. By building connections between one another, communication increases. The experiment is also a compelling testament to the powers of teamwork because in many cases, the children had to navigate the information without the benefit of a teacher. In other words, teamwork helps solves unfamiliar and challenging problems without the benefit of a qualified and knowledgeable professional.

In the abstract, teamwork is an incredibly powerful way of handling situations when no qualified individuals are there to assist. The recent rise in popularity of collaboratively developed software can be partially attributed to the power and subsequent problem-solving ability of a focused group. If children can understand the basics of biotechnology by dint of exposure to a computer screen, almost any topic can be tackled and solved in a motivated group setting.