Boosting Achievement Using Individulised And Demonstration Strategies In Biology: How Do Male And Female Students Behave In Nigeria? (Published)
This study determined the effectiveness of demonstration, individualized and conventional methods and Gender on the achievement of Secondary School Two students in biology. The study employed a multi stage sampling techniques; in the first stage, three schools were randomly selected out of the twenty Secondary Schools in Abeokuta South Local Government of the state. At the second stage, sample sizes of sixty students were randomly selected from the list of students and their gender. In the same manner, thirty students were male while the female constitute the same number. The study which lasted six weeks made use of two valid and reliable instruments: Biology Achievement Test (BAT) and Operational guide for instruction (OGI) Stimulus instrument. Students were exposed to different methods (Demonstration and Individualized) while those in the control were not exposed to any treatment but were rather taught in the Convectional way. Data analysis involved the use of Analysis of Covariance, Descriptive Statistics and t-test.The result indicated that the demonstration method is a more potent method of improving achievement in biology. (F (1.167) = 42.838; P < 0.05), (F (1.167) = 486.287; P < 0.05), F (2.167) = 90.389; P < 0.05). Moreover, there was a significant difference in the academic achievement of male and female students when exposed to the two experimental methods and control, hence female students performed better than their male counterparts. Arising from these findings, demonstration method and individualized method where recommended for teachers use in biology classrooms.
Keywords: Achievement, Biology, Demonstration Strategies, Male and Female Student, Nigeria
EFFECTS OF GROUP SIZE ON STUDENTS MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT IN SMALL GROUP SETTINGS (Published)
This experimental study investigated the effects of group size on students’ mathematics achievement in small group settings. Two third year classes studying General Art were selected from two schools in the Central Region of Ghana for the study. The rational for the selection of these classes is that traditionally these have been classes whose students do not show interest in the study of mathematically based subjects and that they might not be very much different in mathematics performance. The two classes constituted the control and experimental groups respectively and consisted of 50 students in the control group and 47 in the experimental group. The experimental group was subdivided into 12 groups made up of groups of 3 members, groups of 4 members and groups of 5 members using stratified and simple random sampling. The students’ pre- and post-test scores served as the data for the study. The results showed that after approximately 12 weeks, students’ who were instructed using small group cooperative learning achieved a significantly higher scores on the achievement posttest then those taught by the conventional method of instruction. However, the study also revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in the mean scores of the three subgroups of the experimental group. The study therefore support that, group size is less important in what the group actually does
Keywords: Achievement, Cooperative learning, Group size
The Effect of Conceptual Maps Strategy in Teaching Foundations Curriculum on the Achievement of Students of Afif Education College in Saudi Arabia (Published)
The aim of this study is to examine the effect of conceptual map strategy in teaching foundations curriculum on the achievement of the Afif Education College in Saudi Arabia. The sample of the study consisted of (56) One-Grade male students selected by purposeful sampling. The sample of the study was divided into two groups such that experimental group consisted of (28) students who studied using the traditional method. To achieve the purpose of the study, the researcher designed the teaching material in accordance to conceptual maps, and achievement test to measure the acquisition of students in the unit “knowledge base”. The results of the study showed statistically significant differences in the achievement and the total of achievement in favor of the experimental group that studied using the conceptual maps. The study recommended the inclusion of conceptual maps as an instructional strategy in education and that the university teachers should use conceptual maps in their daily lesson plans.
Keywords: Achievement, Conceptual Map Strategy, Foundations curriculum