The primary aim of this study was to examine the effect of asynchronous online discussion on the achievement and retention of undergraduate Mathematics Education students in a Topology course. The research employed a quasi-experimental design, specifically a non-equivalent pretest-posttest control group design, in which intact classes were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The study population comprised all 300-level undergraduate Mathematics Education students at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Bichi, Kano State, affiliated with Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. To guide the investigation, four research questions and four corresponding hypotheses were formulated. Data were collected using a Topology Achievement Test (TAT) and a Topology Retention Test (TRT), both developed by the researcher and consisting of 40 multiple-choice items. The instruments were validated by specialists in Mathematics Education and Measurement and Evaluation, using a table of specifications. Reliability coefficients, computed with the Kuder-Richardson formula (KR-20), were 0.78 for the TAT and 0.69 for the TRT. The study was conducted over a 9-week period, during which the experimental group received instruction via asynchronous online discussion, while the control group was taught using the traditional lecture method. Collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics were used to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) at a 0.05 significance level was employed to test the hypotheses. The findings have significant implications for mathematics educators in Nigeria, especially in the context of curriculum restructuring with a focus on concept attainment. Among the recommendations, the study suggests that asynchronous online discussion should be incorporated as a teaching method across all levels of the Nigerian educational system.
Keywords: Achievement, Instructional strategy, Retention, asynchronous learning, topology
