A comparison of business communication students' writing achievement when constructivist or behaviorist methods of instruction are used

This quasi-experimental study compared business communication students' writing achievement when teaching methods supporting behaviorism or teaching methods supporting constructivism were used. Pre- and posttests measuring students' writing achievement were administered during two semesters to University of North Dakota business communication students. The written test responses were holistically scored by three raters. This study also compared the writing apprehension levels of the same business communication students. Pre- and posttest Writing Apprehension Tests were administered to measure students' levels of writing apprehension. History, background, and prior experience data was also collected.; Pretest writing achievement score was found to be the only significant covariate relative to posttest writing achievement score. No significant interaction effect was found between teacher and method of instruction. No significant difference was found between groups of students' writing achievement posttest scores when controlled for the writing achievement pretest score as a covariate. A significant difference was found within both groups when comparing writing achievement pretest scores with writing achievement posttest scores. Writing achievement posttest scores were found to be significantly higher than writing achievement pretest scores for both groups.; Pretest writing apprehension score was found to be the only significant covariate relative to posttest writing apprehension score. No significant interaction effect was found between teacher and method of instruction. No significant difference was found between groups of students' writing apprehension posttest scores when controlled for the writing apprehension pretest score as a covariate. However, a significant difference was found with both groups combined when comparing writing apprehension pretest scores with writing apprehension posttest scores. Writing apprehension posttest scores were found to be significantly lower (representing decreased apprehension levels) than writing apprehension pretest scores for the two groups combined as well as for the experimental (constructivist) group, but not for the control (behaviorist) group.; It was concluded that instruction in business communication appears to impact writing achievement, but the methods of instruction do not. Neither the teacher nor the history and background variables were found to be related to students' writing achievement or writing apprehension.