Effects of Cooperative Learning and Motivation on Student Performance and Satisfaction during Woodball Instruction

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cooperative learning and motivation on student performance and satisfaction. Participants used either a cooperative or individual learning strategy while receiving instructional information, skill practice, and feedback during a woodball lesson. After receiving specific directions for implementing individual versus cooperative strategies, 60 university students, classified as high and low need for affiliation as a motivation factor were randomly assigned to treatments. Students completed an instructional woodball lesson, and the effects of cooperative learning and motivational factors were examined across the posttest. Satisfaction was also assessed. Results revealed that students in the low need for affiliation treatment outperformed those in the high need for affiliation treatment when the significant main effects on motivational factors were considered. Howeve, the results did not reveal a significant main effect for instructional method. This finding does not appear to support the large body of literature from motor skill instruction and traditional learning environments that cooperative learning is superior to individual conditions. This could be due to the nature of the sport when students participated in the various skill learning conditions. Furthermore, the results revealed a significant interaction between instructional method and motivational factors. The results indicated that the performance of participants with a high need for affiliation who worked alone was significantly lower than that of all other groups on the posttest. In addition, the data suggest that participants who worked cooperatively reported greater overall satisfaction with the instruction than those who worked individually. The implications for cooperative learning on motivational strategies for physical education, and future research directions are also discussed.