In the process of collaborating, students gain experience in negotiating the purpose of their work, the meaning of the terms they use, and so on. These experiences mirror the activities of professionals working together. Another frequently noted advantage for peer collaboration is the fact that it calls on students to justify their conclusions and to act as external critics for each other. In so doing, they become more reflective about their own thinking. Over time, students come to internalize the role of critic so that they can act as critic for their own work.
Collaborative projects facilitate adjusting tasks to accommodate individual differences.
Students of different ability levels can work together, taking roles commensurate with their skills. Within such groups, the experience of explaining something to a fellow student who does not understand it can in itself be educationally valuable. Teachers are responsible for setting up the inquiry units and creating the organizational structure within which groups do their work, but once work begins, teachers no longer have the total control of the direction of instruction that they exercise in conventional classrooms. An increasing number of the children in America's schools come from homes with incomes below the poverty line. Many have been raised in homes where English is not the dominant language or is not spoken at all.