Ismaila Odogba
Department of Geography
and Geology
The Impact of Collaborative Testing on Student Learning in an
Introductory Level Geography Course
INTRODUCTION
Instructors in most disciplines usually assign students to teams/groups to work on
projects and assignments. Studies show that Team-Based Exams (TBEs) enhance
student performance (Leight at el, 2012; Cortright et al, 2003), the development of
positive attitude towards testing (Haberyan and Barnett, 2010; Revere et al., 2008;
Zimbardo et al 2003), encourage comprehension, problem solving, and the longterm retention of knowledge (Revere, 2003; Mitchell and Melton, 2003; Rao et al,
2002). This study examines the impact of collaborative testing on student
performance and critical thinking.
DISCUSSION
Analysis
To determine if collaborative testing increased student performance, a Wilcoxon
matched-pairs signed-ranks test was used to compare scores when the students sat
for an exam in the traditional format with the scores obtained when the same
students took another exam questions in teams (Fig. 2). Also, a independent sample
t-test was used to compare TBEs scores for both sections (Fig 3). To determine if
collaborative testing facilitated critical thinking, the proportion of correct answers on
Higher-Level Thinking (HLT) multiple choice questions was compared (Table 3). HLT
question require the students to use judgment and critical thinking to answer them
correctly.
METHODS
Course and subjects
RESULTS
In order to examine the impact of collaborative testing on student learning, two
sections of Geography 113: World Regional Geography, were used during the Fall
semester of 2013. GEOG 113 is an undergraduate level course that introduces
students to the world’s major region. It explores the flows and linkages between
regions and the patterns of human-land relationships at the global and local level
(Tables 1 & 2).
Based on the analysis of test scores, there is statistically significant evidence that
collaborative testing does improve student performance. This confirms previous
studies which indicate that student performance on TBEs is significantly higher than
that on TE. Improvement proportions indicate that 91% and 83% of the students in
GEOG 113-1 and GEOG 113-2 respectively experienced a positive change in their
test scores when comparing performance on the TE and TBE.
Analysis indicates that TBE enhances critical thinking. However, the fact that less
than 70% of students that selected the right choice (Table 3) failed to provide a
reasonable explanation is puzzling. This might have to do with the fact that critical
thinking requires content domain knowledge, the ability to recall this knowledge, and
then deploy it in problem solving (Willingham, 2007).
Overall, based on preliminary inquiry, the majority of the students believed that
collaborative testing improved their higher-level cognitive skills and enhanced
understanding of the course material. This perception of improved cognitive skills is
collaborated to some extent by the results of the HLT question analysis.
CONCLUSION
Based on this study, collaborative testing does improve student learning in an
introductory level geography course. Evidence regarding critical thinking, in this
case, the ability to exercise reasoned judgments is not definitive as indicative of the
initial analysis.
REFERENCES
Design
The design of this study enables it to test the hypothesis that collaboration testing,
specifically, TBEs enhances student learning. To test this hypothesis (Fig. 1), each
section of the course took both a traditional exam (TE) and TBE. Evidence of
student learning involved a comparison of TE and TBEs for differences in
performance and critical thinking by analyzing exam scores and responses to
complex application questions.
Figure 2: Comparison of Traditional and Team-Based exam performances. The mean scores of the Team-Based
Exams were significantly higher than the mean scores of the Traditional Exam. For GEOG 113-1, the mean
group score (74.7 + 1.3) was significantly higher than the mean score for the individual exam (59.2 + 1.1).
Likewise for GEOG 113-2, the mean group score (74.5 + 1.1) was significantly higher than the mean score for
the individual exam (59.8 + 1.8). Values are Mean + SE; *P < 0.0001.
Cortright, R., Collins, H., Rodenbaugh, D., & DiCarlo, S. (2003). Student retention of course content
is improved by collaborative-group testing. Advances in Physiology Education, 3 (27) 102–108.
Leight, H., Saunders, C., Calkins, R., & Withers, M. (2012). Collaborative testing improves
performance but not content retention in a large enrollment introductory biology class. Life Sciences
Education, 11(4), 392-401.
Haberyan, A., & Barnett, J. (2010). Collaborative testing and achievement: are two heads really better
than one? Journal of Instructional Psychology, 37(1), 32-41.
Mitchell, N., & Melton, S. (2003). Collaborative testing: an innovative approach to test taking. Nurse
Educator, 28(2), 95-97.
Rao, S. P., Collins, H.L., & DiCarlo, S. E. (2002). Collaborative testing enhances student learning.
Advances in Physiology Education, 26(1), 37-41.
Revere, L. (2003). An Approach to improving student performance, assessment, and satisfaction.
Southwest Business Administration Journal, 3(1), 70-76.
Revere, L., Elden, M., & Bartsch, R. (2008). Designing group examinations to decrease social loafing
and increase learning. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2(1).
Willingham, D. 2007. Critical thinking, why is it so hard to teach? America Educator, Summer 2007, 8
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Figure 3: Comparison of Team-Based Exam performances. Average Team-Based Exam scores for GEOG 113-1
(74.7 + 1.3) was not significantly different from average Team-Based Exam scores for GEOG 113-2 (74.5 + 1.1).
Values are Mean + SE; P = 0.947.
Zimbardo, P.G., Bulter, L.D., & Wolfe, V. A. (2003). Cooperative college examinations: more gain, less
pain when students share information and grades. The Journal of Experimental Education, 71(2),
101-125.
Special thanks to the Office of Professional and Instructional Development (OPID), Office of the
Provost, UW-Stevens Point, and the Department of Geography and Geology, UW-Stevens Point
for their support of this study.
Figure 1: Research design. GEOG 113-1 (n = 43; 14 groups) and GEOG 113-2 (n=41; 13 groups). Exam 2
occurred five weeks after exam 1. The team-based learning activities lasted five weeks for each section prior to
the TBE.
Table 3: Performance on Higher-Level Thinking Questions. Scores were greater on the HLT questions for the
Team-Based Exam as opposed to the Traditional Exam. Exams 1 and 2 both contained 5 HLT questions. each.
Overall the TBE performances were greater on the HLT questions compared to the same questions on the TE.