Collaborative Learning in Action identifies and explains the great variety of teaching strategies and the 'structures' in which they operate. This text is underpinned by a view of learning that involves teachers and students engaging in meaningful collaborative dialogue.

Strategies include: questioning, discussing, brainstorming, problem solving, role playing, simulating, explaining, narrating; the use of activities such as 'thinking hats', 'thinker's keys', games, moral dilemmas and value clarification; participation in exhibitions, projects, excursions; the use of graphic organisers and technology. The text also explains the practical implications of the work of Bloom, Gardner, de Bono, Taba, Michaelis, Pohl, Ryan and Suchman.