Students’ reflection on the effect of collaborative learning on the learning environment and academic achievement in online reflective platforms

Abstract

ABSTRACT The significance of collaborative learning (CL) for enhancing the quality of the learning environment and academic achievement among students needs to be investigated. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine the effect of CL on the learning environment and academic achievement of graduate students in the field of educational leadership within the online reflective platforms (ORPs). Thus, we explored students’ reflections on how they experienced the process. Conducting a quantitative study with a one-shot case study design of pre-experimental designs, 17 students completed a questionnaire, and their academic achievement was measured through the summative evaluation. For the qualitative phase, 15 students participated in semi-structured interviews. The results of the quantitative study indicated that CL had a positive effect on the learning environment and students’ academic achievements. In-depth interviews supported the findings and showed that CL could help in creating an interactive and secure learning environment, enhance students’ reflective and interactive learning process, and strengthen their motivation to learn interactively and reflectively through ORPs. The implications of this study could enhance instructors’ motivation to implement CL in online hybrid environments, facilitate the academic achievement of students, and encourage decision-makers to provide a suitable platform for its implementation.