EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF INTERPERSONAL COMPETENCE AMONG STUDENTS IN CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between interpersonalcompetence and classroom cooperation activities. This study selected and evaluated sixteenuniversity students in problem-based learning (PBL) course. The students answered thesame questionnaire before and after the cooperative learning of PBL, and the changes intheir interpersonal competence were measured. The statistical analysis involved a pairedsamples t-test. The results suggest that the cooperative learning of PBL develops students’interpersonal competence in a statistically significant way. A qualitative analysis of thestudents’ responses to the questionnaire also reveals the students’ changing attitudes towardcooperative learning in the classroom environment.Keywords: cooperative learning, problem-based learning, interpersonal competence,agreeableness, extraversion