Effect of Problem-Based Learning Strategy on Senior Secondary School One Students’ Achievement and Retention in Mathematics in Apa Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria (Published)
The focus of this study was to examine the effect of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) on Senior Secondary School One students’ achievement and retention in Mathematics in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria, using a pre-test, post-test, non-equivalent control group quasi-experimental design. Two research questions guided the study, and two hypotheses were formulated and tested at a 0.05 level of significance. A sample of 150 students was selected using a multi-stage sampling technique, with intact classes from Senior Secondary School One participating. The experimental group was taught using the PBL approach, while the control group received instruction through the Traditional Method (TM). Data were collected using a Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) with a reliability index of 0.78 and a Mathematics Retention Test (MRT), which was similar in content but different in structure from the MAT. Mean and standard deviation were employed to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that PBL had a significant effect on students’ achievement and retention in Mathematics. The study concluded that the use of PBL would greatly benefit education stakeholders by improving the quality of Mathematics teaching and learning, as well as enhancing students’ ability to apply knowledge to real-world problem solving. It was therefore recommended that Mathematics teachers integrate PBL strategies into classroom instruction to foster improved achievement and retention, and that training workshops be organized to equip teachers with the necessary skills for effective PBL implementation.
Keywords: Achievement, Learning Strategy, Problem-Based Learning, Retention
The Effect of Algebra Tiles Manipulative on Preservice Teacher’s Mathematics Knowledge in Teaching Basic Algebra (Published)
The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of algebra tiles manipulative on pre-service teachers’ achievement and also to investigate how the use of algebra tiles influence the pre-service teachers’ achievements in basic algebra. The research design was quasi- experimental precisely pretest-post-test design. The population of the study was all level 200 PSTs of Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo Zone colleges of education with a sample of 119 pre-service teachers selected through purposive, convenient and simple random. The instruments used were test and interview for the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. From the t-test analysis, there was statistically significant difference which favored the experimental group in the pre and post-test. Also, large effect size was noticed from the experimental group pre and post –test analysis. The pre-service teachers had positive views about algebra tiles manipulatives as a teaching material.
Keywords: Achievement, Algebra tiles, Experimental Group, Manipulatives, control group
Assessment of Emotional Intelligence and Its Relationship with Students’ Achievement in Mathematics (Published)
In Nigeria, the continuous fall in students’ achievement in mathematics has been a major source of concern to policy makers and stakeholders in the nation’s education sector. A lot of measures taken over the years to reduce this trend have not produced the desired results. Some measures taken targeted solely on teachers’, and infrastructural improvement, without taking into consideration the measures to improve the learners’ characteristics for effective learning. Hence, the focus of this study was on the assessment of emotional intelligence and its relationship with students’ achievement in mathematics in Enugu Education zone, Enugu, Nigeria. The research questions and hypotheses used as guide to the study were three and two respectively.. The study adopted a correlation design. The population of the study comprised 4825 Senior Secondary School two (SS2) students in 25 government secondary schools in Enugu Education zone. The study had a sample of 483 SS2 mathematics students from six senior secondary schools in the study area. Multistage sampling consisting of simple random and stratified sampling techniques were used for selection of the schools and the subjects for the study. Youth version of emotional quotient inventory (EQ-i2.0) and a mathematics achievement test (MAT) were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regressions to answer the research questions, and test null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between the components of emotional intelligence and students’ achievement in mathematics and the components, singly and jointly, contributed significantly to the variation in students’ achievement in mathematics.
Keywords: Achievement, Education, Emotional Intelligence, Mathematics, Students