In this study, the effects of grouping by communication apprehension level in cooperative learning strategy applied to general science class and the difference between high and low communication apprehension levels were investigated. Three classes (N=...
In this study, the effects of grouping by communication apprehension level in cooperative learning strategy applied to general science class and the difference between high and low communication apprehension levels were investigated. Three classes (N=112) were randomly assigned to two cooperative and one traditional learning groups. Students in two cooperative learning classes were grouped into homogeneous and heterogeneous groups with respect to their communication apprehension levels based on the test score of students` communication apprehension. After the instructions concerning the matter for 11 class hours, achievement, self-esteem, motivation to learn science, and student`s perception to lack about communication ability and expectation about receiving help in cooperative learning processes were examined. Two-way ANOVA results revealed that there were no main and interactive effects in the scores of the achievement test. However, significant main effect of the treatment was found in the scores of the relevance and the satisfaction among four motivation sub-categories. In post-hoc comparison, the scores of the heterogeneous group were found to be significantly higher than those of the control group. For expectation about receiving help in cooperative Teaming processes, the scores of the heterogeneous group were significantly higher than those of the homogeneous group. Students in high communication apprehension level had significantly lower self-esteem and more perception to lack about communication ability than students in low level.