Effects Of Project-based Cooperative Learning On The Development Of Undergraduates' Academic Competence

Academic competence,as a multi-dimensional construct composed of skills,attitudes,and behaviors of a learner,has been viewed as one of the most important competencies for college students in the 21 st century.Increasingly studies decided students' performance and success upon his or her academic achievement.Correspondingly,in line with the social and personal's development requirement,the new student-centered pedagogical approach of project-based cooperative learning(PBCL)is brought to the forefront by researchers and teachers,for its already proven effects in facilitating students' key competence.As a kind of inquiry-based learning,PBCL is increasingly practiced in classes by students working together in a small group to finish an authentic real-world project.PBCL's effects on improving skills in critical thinking,problem-solving,motivation and learning autonomy have been well documented by previous research,while the effects of PBCL on academic competence have been inadequately evidenced.Based on the background and the related theories and empirical research in this field,this study purposed to examine the effects of project-based cooperative learning pedagogy on students' academic competence,exploring such effects through answering the two questions: 1)Whether PBCL could effectively improve undergraduates' academic competence? If the answer is yes,2)To what extent the five elements of cooperative learning affect undergraduates' academic competence in the PBCL environment?280 subjects were non-English major undergraduates who were from college English course by PBCL teaching group.Academic Competence Evaluation Scales-College was administrated before and after PBCL teaching intervention.The same population was asked to answer the other PBCL questionnaire at the end of the academic semester.All data were coded and analyzed in using the tool of SPSS 24.0 and Amos 24.0.Paired samples t-test and path analysis were the primary statistical methods in answering the present research questions.The result revealed that the PBCL instruction could effectively improve students' academic competence,both in academic skills and academic enablers categories.Specifically,such improvement is reflected significantly in the three skills of reading and writing,mathematics and science,and critical thinking in the academic skills category,and the two enablers of engagement and interpersonal skills in the academic enablers category.On the other hand,with the developed conceptual model,cooperative learning in PBCL instruction showed a great positive association with academic competence.The five elements of cooperative learning in PBCL instruction plays a significant role(direct effect value is 0.89)in affecting students' academic competence.However,not every element in cooperative learning is related significantly with academic competence in its two categories,with the three elements of face-to-face promotive interaction,social skills and group processing not having such relationships.The findings guide the researchers and instructors to study and use the project-based cooperative learning approach more appropriately.