Collaborative learning in education

This paper presents preliminary results on the research, developed courses in post-graduate studies in Brazil, between 1999 and 2010, related to collaborative learning and its application in distance education. Throughout the article are presented: an overview of the academic production in Brazil addressing this issue, different concepts for collaborative learning, some differences between cooperative and collaborative learning. In the survey identified themselves unanimously of the researchers on the understanding that collaborative learning is based on the number of educational theories interactionists. However, on the concept of collaborative learning and its differentiation from cooperative learning there is still no consensus.