Factors Affecting College Students' Effectiveness for Cooperative Learning through Structural Equation Modelling

Abstract

The substantial changes in the education system have pushed the teachers to go back to the earlier practice of cooperative learning so as to enable students to realize their achievement through group activities. Cooperative learning is a multi-layered activity as it involves various factors such as proper instructions, feedback, team structure, leadership, etc. The study aims to provide a model of various factors that affect the different outcomes of cooperative learning using structural equational modelling (SEM). The exploratory factor analysis is utilized to develop the model by grouping the factors under two latent variables. The latent variables observed are factors related to individual or intrinsic factors and factors related to external environment or extrinsic factors. The outcomes of the effectiveness of cooperative learning are linked with these two factors. The results indicate that individual factors have an indirect effect and external factors have a direct effect on the outcomes of cooperative learning. This study provides an overall idea about how the various factors influence the outcomes of cooperative learning by using a multivariate approach and allows perceiving the impact of factors simultaneously. Further, some recommendations are also made on how to improve the outcomes and effectiveness of the cooperative learning method. This study will help the teachers, academicians, and administrators to develop strategies according to the model prescribed by this study to maximize the outcomes of cooperative learning.