Cooperative Learning: Value-Added To Operations Management

Abstract

Integrating cooperative learning techniques with information technology and applying it to the field of Production and Operations Management (P/OM) will help to investigate how Computer-Supported Cooperative Learning (CSCL) can enhance learning performance of students.  Research in CSCL provides evidence that collaborative communication technology can be a better mechanism to add value to education.  Most studies, however, have examined learning performance only during the middle and end of the learning process.  Thus, it is not clear how information technology can continuously facilitate and improve student performance and learning experience over time. The purpose of this research is to examine how information technology, when applied to communication medium, can facilitate the learning process in the field of production and operations management. This study compared traditional, face-to-face cooperative learning environments to computer-supported cooperative learning environments for differences in students’ learning performance and group member satisfaction.