Comparative Effects of Cooperative and Problem-Based Teaching Methods on Students’ Psychomotor Skills in Motor Vehicle Mechanics Works in Technical Colleges in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study compared the effects of cooperative and problem-based teaching methods on students’ psychomotor skills performance in Motor Vehicle Mechanics Works in technical colleges in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design involving two non-randomized intact classes was adopted. The population comprised Senior Technical Two students offering Motor Vehicle Mechanics Works in the nine state-owned technical colleges, while 68 students from two selected colleges participated in the study. Fifty students were taught with the cooperative teaching method and 18 students with the problem-based teaching method for five weeks. Data were collected using the 50-item Motor Vehicle Mechanics Works Psychomotor Rating Scale, which yielded a test–retest reliability coefficient of 0.88. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while analysis of covariance was used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. Both methods improved performance across engine oil servicing, cooling-system flushing, distributor and spark-plug cable testing, injector servicing, and automobile-battery testing. Cooperative teaching produced higher mean gains in all five skill areas. Significant differences were found for cooling-system flushing and automobile-battery testing, whereas differences in engine oil servicing, ignition-cable testing, and injector servicing were not statistically significant. The study concludes that cooperative teaching is generally more effective for practical Motor Vehicle Mechanics Works instruction and recommends its structured integration with problem-based and demonstration methods.