Improving collaborative learning, student engagement and student performance through an experiential learning cycle: a case of Chinese exchange students of an undergraduate program

Abstract

The main purpose of this research is to improve collaborative learning, student engagement and student performance through an Experiential Learning Cycle. The target group was the 36 Chinese students who study “Business and Social Entrepreneurial” subject and are currently attending Chinese Exchange program. It is the case study of private university in Thailand. Instructional Development intervention was designed and applied using Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle and Organization Development and Change Management theories. Class activities were designed to match with students’ preferences and course syllabus. Research instruments used in this study consisted of structured questionnaire, interview checklist and reflection. The students’ performance was observed during and after class activities. Moreover, the academic achievement data through in class participation and examination were collected and analyzed. The data was analyzed using T-test, it showed that there was slight improvement in students’ cooperation, engagement and performance after implementing IDIs. The students’ cooperation increased by 0.51, the students’ engagement increased by 0.43 and the average mean of students’ performance increased by 0.45. Moreover, the P-value of each variable was less than the significance level of 0.05. This could imply that there was a significant difference between pre and post implementation on students’ cooperation, engagement and performance.