EFFECT OF TELEGRAM AND WHATSAPP-ENHANCED INSTRUCTIONS IN COLLABORATIVE LEARNING SETTINGS ON LEARNING OUTCOMES IN MICRO-TEACHING AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN GOMBE STATE

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of Telegram and WhatsApp-enhanced instruction in collaborative learning settings on learning outcomes in micro-teaching among undergraduates in Gombe State. The study was guided by seven research questions and seven null hypotheses. The study adopted a pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design. A total of 1012 year three faculty of education students in Gombe State comprised the population used in the study. A sample of 282 students that were enrolled on Telegram (117: male= 61; female= 56) and WhatsApp (165: male= 86; female= 79) from Federal University Kashere and Gombe State University respectively were purposively selected for the study. The two sampled groups were assigned into experimental group I (Telegram) and experimental group II (WhatsApp) in collaborative learning settings by balloting sampling. The instruments for the study comprised of Micro-teaching Achievement Test (MTAT) and Collaborative Learning Questionnaire (CLQ) which were validated by four experts. The instruments were subjected to pilot tests where split-half method of reliability was used to obtain a value of 0.91 using PPMC for MTAT, while a value of 0.84 was obtained for CLQ using Cronbach alpha. Descriptive statistics involving Mean and Standard Deviation was used to answer the research questions while inferential statistics involving t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that there was a significant difference in the mean achievement scores of the two groups in favour of WhatsApp platform (t = 3.264, p<0.05); there was a significant difference in the mean retention scores of the two groups in favour of WhatsApp platform (t= 4.292, p<0.05); there was no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students taught using telegram platform (t= 2.571, p>0.05); there was no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students taught using WhatsApp platform (t= 3.671, p>0.05); there was no significant difference in the mean retention scores of male and female students taught using Telegram platform (t=5.274, p>0.05); there was a significant difference in the mean retention scores of male and female students taught using WhatsApp platform in favour of the female students (t= 4.071,p<0.05); there was a significant difference in the extent of collaboration of the students in the two groups in favour of the WhatsApp platform (t= 5.217, p<0.05). It was therefore recommended that lecturers should deploy the use of Telegram and WhatsApp to cover for large classroom sizes, lack of micro-teaching laboratory and other tight schedules. Lecturers should also adopt the use of Telegram and WhatsApp in collaborative learning settings during classroom instruction because they are engaging, interactive, interesting, and very flexible.