Effect of Cooperative Learning Technique on Students’ Performance in Carpentry and Joinery Works in Technical Colleges in Edo State

The study examined the effect of cooperative learning technique on students’ performance in carpentry and joinery works in technical colleges in Edo State. One research question and one hypothesis were raised to guide the study. The hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted quasi-experimental research design, precisely the pretest and posttest non-equivalent control group design. The population of the study comprised all the 38 Vocational II students’ offering Carpentry and Joinery work in three out of the six technical colleges in Edo State. Three intact classes were used which was made up of the 38 students; purposive sampling technique was used to select the students offering carpentry and joinery works in the technical colleges in Edo State. The instrument for data collection was titled; Carpentry and Joinery Works Achievement Test (CJWAT), which was subjected to content validity by three experts of which two of them are from the department of Vocational and Technical Education, Faculty of Education, Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, and one from the department of Measurement and Evaluation, University of Benin (UNIBEN) both of Edo State. The experts were requested to assess the items in terms of appropriateness in addressing the problem of the study and research question under investigation. Their suggestions and recommendations were in-cooperated in the final draft of the instrument. The instrument was subjected to test-pretest reliability test technique. The reliability coefficient was calculated using Cronbach-Alpha coefficient which yielded reliability value of 0.72. The data collected were analyzed using Mean and Standard Deviation and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the research question and ANCOVA was used to test the hypothesis. The result shows that difference existed between the pretest and posttest mean score of students’ taught Carpentry and Joinery Works using cooperative learning technique and Conventional Teaching Method. The researcher suggested that one of the best teaching strategies for teaching and learning carpentry and joinery works is to implement cooperative learning, based on the findings.