Effect of Collaborative Learning on Academic Achievement of Primary School Students in Islamabad

Collaborative Learning (CL) is a longstanding teaching approach that is recognized to enhance academic success due to the promotion of learning activities among peers and through collaborative work. Despite its accepted international importance, very limited empirical studies on its impact at the primary school level are available in Islamabad. The aim of the study was to investigate how the collaborative learning strategies, namely: explicit group projects, peer tutoring, and collaborative problem-solving strategies, could improve the academic performance and knowledge retention of Grade V students in Federal Government Primary Schools. A true experimental design was used in which 62 students were randomly selected into control and experimental groups (31 students apiece). The experimental group was given instructions on the Science Explorations, collaborative method over an 8-week period, whereas the control group was instructed in a traditional way with lectures. An achievement test that was created by a researcher comprised 50 multiple-choice questions (MCQs), which served as a pre-test, post-test, and retention test. Independent sample t-tests were statistically analyzed with the effect sizes, and it was found that the students in the collaborative learning group significantly performed better than the students in the control group on the post-test scores and knowledge retention. Such results indicated that collaborative learning not only enhances short-term academic success but also aids in the long-term scientific knowledge. The research suggests that collaborative learning strategies should be incorporated in the classroom teaching at the primary level to ensure that students develop better insight and perpetual educational performance.