Abstract:

A process of renewal and innovation in tertiary teaching and learning is being advanced through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). SoTL is seeing major changes not only in the formation process of university degrees, but also in the approach to teaching and learning methodologies to develop basic skills in students, (Sanchez-Teruel, 2011). From this perspective the introduction of participatory methodologies such as collaborative teaching and learning in the classroom has resulted in the fostering of meaningful learning, development of skills for self-learning and the opening of new possibilities for the development of teaching, (Armengol, Castro, Jariot, Massot & Sala, 2010). It is against this backdrop that this study attempted to test the effectiveness of the collaborative or team designing approach on student performance in Technology Education at a University of Technology (UoT) in the Free State in South Africa. The study was a quasi-experimental case study. Individual student performance on a project task was measured against group performance among third year Bachelor of Education degree students. The results were analysed using SPSS. These results showed that each student was competent in a particular aspect of the task thereby contributing to a higher group score than what they scored on individual tasks.

Keywords:

Collaborate, Design, Practical, Technology Education.