Performance of college students in an introduction to special education course with collaborative versus traditional method of instruction.

The use of collaborative small group method of instruction has received considerable attention at the elementary school level. However, little empirical data exists regarding the use of structured collaborative small groups at the college level. This study was designed to compare student performance in a structured collaborative small group method of instruction versus traditional whole class method of instruction. Specifically examined were data on student achievement, student behavior, and student perception collected immediately and one week after experiences within each method of instruction. There were 19 dependent variables in all. Twelve upper level undergraduate and four graduate students participated in the study. The experimental design incorporated Method of Instruction (Collaborative versus Traditional) as an independent variable. The second independent variable was Achievement Level (Low-Achieving students versus High-Achieving students) based on measures administered prior to the beginning of the study. This represents a 2 x 2 experimental design which was counterbalanced to allow fair comparisons. For each dependent variable, a two-way ANOVA was computed. Results indicate there was little difference in the academic performance of participants. Participants performed similarly in both methods of instruction. Significant differences were observed with regard to student behavior in the collaborative versus traditional method of instruction. A clear preference for either method of instruction was not indicated. Significant differences in the observed behaviors of students identified as Low-Achiever versus High-Achievers were found. Higher Achievers elicited more appropriate on-task behaviors than did the Low-Achievers. Descriptive data on the performance of the highest and lowest scorers within the collaborative, as well as the traditional method of instruction are also provided