A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON STUDENTS’ SCORES THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING AND NON-COLLABORATIVE LEARNING AT SAINT JOSEPH BANGNA SCHOOL, THAILAND

Abstract

In 1999, Thailand triggered some drastic changes and reforms by implementing the National Education Act (NEA). Accordingly, students were encouraged to become critical thinkers, and to acquire information technology knowledge based on the student-centred model. These reforms have socio-constructivist roots, promoting the use of collaborative learning, and the use of information technology. Almost fifteen years after the implementation of the NEA, the purpose of the current study was to examine if collaborative learning, for the computer science subject, would be beneficial for the grade seven Thai students of the English Program at Saint Joseph Bangna School or, as some research stated, it would be very hard to implement because of cultural hindrances. This study had three objectives. The first objective was to compare the difference among the pre-tests and post-tests scores of the experimental group who studied through collaborative learning. The second objective was to compare the difference among the pre-tests and post-tests scores of the control group who studied through non-collaborative learning. The last objective was to compare the difference among the post-tests scores of the experimental group who studied through collaborative learning with the control group who studied through non-collaborative learning. The pre-test and the post-test were the same, and consisted of 25 multiple choice questions based on a Microsoft Office Specialist certification test for the Microsoft Excel software. In conclusion, this study suggests that collaborative learning delivers better outcomes for Thai students for the computer science subject.