This study examined the effects of active learning versus traditional lecturing on the academic performance of particle technology students in order to identify the more effective teaching strategy. Two active learning models were used, namely, cooperative and collaborative learning. The population of the study consisted of 38 third-year students enrolled in the Bachelor of Engineering in chemical engineering programme at a university in Kingston, Jamaica. The post test only control group experimental design was employed for the study while the instruments used to collect data were mid-semester tests and a final examination. The data collected were subjected to an independent t-test analysis (α = 0.05), using the SPSS statistical software application. The findings indicated that the group of students taught with traditional lecturing performed significantly better (mean P =0.01) than the group taught using active learning strategies. When categorized by gender, participants taught with traditional lecturing also performed better than their counterparts taught with active learning. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that students be better sensitized about new teaching strategies being implemented, that particle technology teachers recognize the value of traditional lecturing, that appropriate measures be implemented to achieve comparable attendance among study groups, and that future studies should focus on understanding the characteristics of female students which results in them exhibiting enhanced learning compared to their male counterparts.