Comparison of individual and group learning in different laboratory settings among third year Medical Technology students

Abstract

Background and Objectives: To learn technical skills in Medical Technology schools, laboratory experiments are made individually or in groups. The nature of student participation and effect of group work in laboratory skills and attitudes of students have not been well studied. The study compared individual work, working in groups of three, and working in groups of six in terms of skills and attitudes toward learning, motivation to learn, responsibility, helpfulness, and teamwork.

Methodology: Experimental study was used that employed a counter-balance design among thirty-six thirdyear medical technology students who were instructed to learn laboratory skills in three settings and were rotated in six experiments. Performance examination and questionnaires were formulated by the researcher and used for gathering data. One-way ANOVA was used to determine the significant differences among practical exam scores of the three laboratory settings while Kruskal-Wallis H and Mann-Whitney U test were used to determine differences in rating scores of the attitude questionnaire.

Results and Conclusions: There were no significant differences in students' skills F(2, 213)=1.97,
(p=.142) and in their attitude toward learning, helpfulness and teamwork among the laboratory settings.
Students have higher motivation when working in groups (H(2)=14.413, p=.001) and assumed more
responsibility when working alone than when working groups. When students worked individually or in
groups of three, they perceived ending up doing most of the work.