Comparison of Learning Achievements of the Third-Year Social Studies Students between Learning through WebQuest Instruction and Lecture-Based Instruction in the Course SS 2202304 History of Americas

Abstract

This research aimed at 1) developing the WebQuest instruction for the course SS 2202304 History of Americas with the 80/80 efficiency criterion and evaluating its effectiveness index, 2) comparing learning achievements of students learning through the WebQuest instruction and those with lecture-based instruction, and 3) studying students’ satisfaction towards the developed WebQuest instruction. The sample of the study consisted of 60 third-year social studies students, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Thepsatri Rajabhat University in Lopburi Province in the first semester of the academic year 2016, selected by a cluster random sampling method. Research instruments included the WebQuest instruction, lecture-based lesson plans, a learning achievement test and a satisfaction evaluation form. Statistics for data analysis were the percentage, mean, standard deviation and t-test. Results revealed that 1)the WebQuest instruction for the course SS 2202304 History of Americas was efficient at 84.61/81.63, and effectiveness index of the WebQuest was 0.6221, indicating that the students made 62.21 percent learning progress; 2)the learning achievement of students learning through WebQuest-based instruction was higher than the achievement of those learning through lecture-based instruction at the .05 level of significance; and 3)in general, students satisfied with the WebQuest instruction at the highest level