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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2002  > June  >
Research: Science and Education
Chemical Education Research
The Influence of Collaborative Learning on Student Attitudes and Performance in an Introductory Chemistry Laboratory
Ivan A. Shibley Jr.
Department of Chemistry, Penn State Berks-Lehigh Valley College, Reading, PA 19610

Dawn M. Zimmaro
University Testing Services, University Park, PA 16802

Cover
June 2002
Vol. 79 No. 6
p. 745

Abstract
This study was designed to determine the effect of collaborative learning on student attitudes and performance in an introductory chemistry laboratory. Two sections per semester for three semesters were randomly designated as either a control section or an experimental section. Students in the control section performed most labs individually, while those in the experimental section performed all labs in groups of four. Both quantitative and qualitative measures were used to evaluate the impact of collaborative learning on student achievement and attitudes. Grades did not differ between the two sections, indicating that collaborative learning did not affect short-term student achievement. Students seemed to develop a more positive attitude about the laboratory and about chemistry in the collaborative learning sections as judged from their classroom evaluations of the teacher, the course, and the collaborative learning experience. The use of collaborative learning in the laboratory as described in this paper therefore may provide a means of improving student attitudes toward chemistry.
More Information
*  Citation
Shibley, Ivan A., Jr.; Zimmaro, Dawn M. J. Chem. Educ. 2002 79 745.
*  Keywords
CER Student-Centered Learning; Chemical Education Research; Introductory / High School Chemistry; Laboratory Instruction; Teaching/Learning Theory/Practice
*  History
Created:
Last Updated:
May 17, 2002
March 16, 2005
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2002 > June > Page 745


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