what is the principles underlying collaborative working?

Answer 1

Ideally, that two heads are better than one. Together, the collaborators can come up with far better strategies, share ideas, critique lessons, and even share classroom management responsibilities.

Our school district is currently on a big PLC (Professional Learning Community) kick. The crux rests in collaboration. I posted a site that has an interesting concept of collaboration.

Answer 2

There are several theories behind this principle. Firstly Vygotsky's theory of the link between the spoken word and the quality of thinking. He suggests that our capacity to think about a problem is limited by our vocabulary. By articulating what we think, we are securing the neural pathways relating to that idea. Therefore we increase our power of thought.

Secondly is the work done by Neil Mercer and the language team at the Open University on 'Interthinking'. In a nutshell, they have identified a link between collaborative working and improved problem-solving skills. They attribute this, in part, to the idea that by discussing a problem one is able to access much more creativity than if working alone (ie two heads are better than one).
Also, they identify the contribution of social and emotional factors in learning. By working collaboratively the burden of being 'right' is shared, so the fear of being 'wrong' is reduced. The ethos of working as a team enables the group members to participate in a way that best suits their personal learning style, so success is more likely.
Finally, learning as a team is fun and we remember best things which we enjoy.