Collaboration and peer tutoring in chemistry laboratory education

The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of collaborative learning with hints and peer tutoring with hints, and individual learning with hints in chemistry laboratory education in a secondary school. A total of 96 eleventh graders participated in this study. The study has a randomized pre‐test and post‐test design with a delayed post‐test. During the four‐week intervention, students were required to carry out eight lab tasks in total. The students filled in a 17‐item self‐assessment of learning gain questionnaire on the last day. Analyses of students’ learning achievements showed that students in both the collaborative learning and peer tutoring situations outperformed those learning individually with hints. The delayed post‐test, which was administered three months later, revealed that students who had been in the peer tutoring situation outscored those in the collaborative learning situation. Student self‐assessment questionnaires on learning gain provided further details in this regard.