Evaluating collaborative learning and community

The goal of this study was to validate measures and assess the effects of collaborative group-learning methods in real classrooms on 3 specific dependent variables: feelings of campus connectedness, academic classroom community, and effective group processing (2 factors). Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to evaluate a 4-factor model. Using hierarchical linear modeling techniques, results indicated that campus connectedness and collaborative learning (compared with no collaborative learning) predicted positive academic classroom community. For classes using more formal cooperative group work, campus connectedness and group processing-evaluation predicted positive academic classroom community. Suggestions for further applications of the measures are discussed.