A Comparative Analysis of TPS-Cooperative Learning Model Over Conventional Teaching Method for Students’ Achievement in Environmental Science: An Indian Case Study

Abstract

The present study ascertains the effectiveness of the Think-Pair-Share (TPS) Cooperative Learning Model over the lecture-based conventional teaching of Environmental-Science (EVS) on a sample of 78 students at the secondary level. Pre-test-Post-test Intact group design was adopted for this purpose. TPS Cooperative learning Instructions were followed for 4 weeks with the experimental group and data collected through TPS based Lesson-plan and EVS-Achievement test. The Validity of the test was established through experts’ opinions and its reliability was tested by Split-half-method and Spearman’s Brown Prophecy formula obtaining reliability coefficients of 0.886 and 0.940, respectively. Pre-test and Post-test were administered on both groups to determine the difference in achievement levels before and after the intervention. Independent sample t-test, Dependent sample t-test and ANCOVA were performed at 0.05 significant level for testing the tenability of hypothesis. Results from the independent sample t-test revealed the significant difference in Posttest scores of both groups. A dependent sample t-test was run to differentiate the effect of the intervention on scores of the experimental group. The t-value obtained is significant for P=0.000 (p<0.05), showing a significant difference in Pre-test and Post-test scores before and after the treatment. ANCOVA on the Post-test mean scores of the samples reported a significant effect on the achievement levels with TPS-Cooperative learning mode. The findings reflected that learners who taught EVS using the TPS instructional-strategy gave outstanding performance when compared to the control group. The TPS strategy is thus recommended at different levels in various disciplines for better academic gain towards action-oriented participatory learning.