collaborative discovery learning and efl learners’ writing performance: a mixed-methods study

This mixed-methods study explored the effect of collaborative discovery learning on efl learners’ writing performance. to this end, 60 intermediate efl learners from two classes at a language institute were non-randomly selected. a writing pretest was administered to the participants. then, each class was assigned to a group, experimental or control. in the experimental group, the writing skill was instructed based on collaborative discovery learning, while in the control group, writing was instructed based on a traditional approach. after eight weeks, the participants in both groups took a writing posttest. the results of independent samples t-tests showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups’ mean scores on the writing posttest, indicating the outperformance of the experimental group over the control group. moreover, the results of the semi-structured interview revealed that collaborative discovery learning could enhance both performance and perception of the efl learners in the experimental group. the findings advocate for rethinking traditional classroom practices by prioritizing learner collaboration and inquiry-driven tasks to better address real-world communication challenges.