Collaborative learning is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches in eucation that involve joint intellectual effort by students or students and teachers. Collaborative learning refers to methodologies and environments in which learners engage in a common task in which each individual depends on and is accountable to each other. Groups of students work together in searching for understanding, meaning or solutions or in creating an artifact of their learning such as a product. The approach is closely related to cooperative learning. Collaborative learning activities can include collaborative writing, group projects, and other activities. Collaborative learning has taken on many forms: