Abstract

EFFECT OF CONSTRUCTIVIST-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY ONSENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS? ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA.

Ahumaraeze, O. U & Ekwueme,C.O. (Prof)

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Abstract The study focused on investigated effect of constructivist-based instructional strategy on senior secondary school students? academic performance in Mathematics in Port-Harcourt Metropolis. A quasi-experimental research design of the pretest, post-test non-randomized and non-equivalent control group was used for the study. The study was guided by three (3) research questions and three (3) null hypotheses. A purposive stratified and random sampling technique was used to select three (3) co-educational public secondary schools. A sample of 240 (130 control, 110 experimental) students selected from 3 co-educational schools was used for the study. Two groups were used, one experimental group, and the other one is control group. The experimental group was taught Mathematics with constructivist-based instructional strategy (CBIS), while the other group was taught using conventional method (Problem solving strategy).The instrument for data collection was Mathematics Academic Performance Test on Probability (MAPTP), validated with a reliability coefficient of 0.74 which was obtained through test re-test method. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant.The results showed that the experimental (CBIS) group had higher Mathematics Performance score than those in the control (PSS) group and had a significant difference in their mean scores. It also showed a significant difference in the mean scores of male and female students taught probability using constructivist-based instructional strategy and CBIS favored the male than the femalein performance. The result also showed a significant interaction effect between Gender and instructional strategy in Mathematics academic performance. Recommendations among others are that, teachers should shift from conventional method of teaching and also use constructivist-based instructional strategy to enhance teaching and learning in schools. Key words: Constructivist-based instructional strategy (CBIS), Problem solving strategy (PSS), Probability, Performance.

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