Thesis and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collection

https://keffi.nsuk.edu.ng/handle/20.500.14448/3926

Browse

Browsing Thesis and Dissertations by Issue Date

Filter results by year or month
Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    THE EFFECTS OF THE JIGSAW COOPERATIVE LEARNING APPROACH ON CONCEPTUAL CHANGE AND ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS IN BIOLOGY
    (Mathematics Education Department, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, 2014-03-01) Amedu, Isiah Odagboyi
    This study investigated the efficacy of the jigsaw cooperative learning approach in enhancing achievement, conceptual change, and development of positive attitude toward the jigsaw cooperative learning approach. A quasi- experimental design was used for the study. There were experimental and control groups. The sample was made of 419 SS 1 students drawn from three secondary schools in Nasarawa state. Two intact classes were used in each of the schools. Three instruments were developed by the researcher for the study, namely; Micro Organism Achievement Test (MOAT) which was drawn from JAMB and WAEC standardized questions. This instrument was pilot tested and the reliability coefficient of 0.98 was determined using the split half method. The Microorganism Diagnostic Test (MODT) was developed by the researcher and was validated by a team of experts. The Jigsaw Attitude Questionnaire (JAQ) was adapted from Koprowski and Perigo (2000). Regular teachers served as research assistants. They were trained and found competent to teach using the jigsaw cooperative learning approach. The experimental groups were exposed to jigsaw cooperative learning approach, while the control groups were taught using the traditional method which. Treatment lasted for 12 weeks. Three hypotheses were postulated for the study and tested at 0.05 level of significance using the ANOVA statistic. Results showed that the experimental groups performed significantly better than their counterparts in the control groups; had a higher level of conceptual change, and developed positive attitude towards the jigsaw cooperative learning approach. The jigsaw cooperative learning approach is therefore highly recommended for use as an effective teaching method in secondary schools. It is also recommended that curriculum developers especially at the tertiary levels where teachers are trained should incorporate the jigsaw cooperative learning as an effective strategy for meaningful learning. Workshops and conferences were recommended to help science teachers acquire the skills embedded in the jigsaw cooperative learning approach.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    EFFECT OF LABORATORY APPROACH ON JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT, INTEREST AND RETENTION IN GEOMETRY AND MENSURATION IN KEFFI EDUCATION ZONE, NASARAWA STATE
    (DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION FACULTY OF EDUCATION NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY KEFFI, 2014-08-11) Christopher, Danjuma Musa
    This study was set out to determine the effect of laboratory approach secondary school students’ achievement, interest and retention in geometry and mensuration. A sample of 74 JS II students from two randomly selected government owned schools in Keffi Education Zone, Nasarawa state served as subjects of the study. Six research questions were posed and eight hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study was a quasi-experimental of non - equivalent control group design in which pretest - posttest - retention test was used. The instruments- Geometry and Mensuration Achievement Test (GMAT) and Geometry and Mensuration Interest Scale GMISI were developed, validated and used for data collection. Data obtained were analvzed using mean, standard deviation and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The results revealed that laboratory approach enhanced achievement in Geometry and Mensuration and is independent of gender; students have high interest in Geometry and Mensuration when taught with laboratory "T he mean interest scores of males aanpdp rofaecmha alensd. thTehree irse nsuol tssi gnalisfioc asnhto dwifefedr ence laboratory approach can enhance a better retention of geometry and on junior that concepts mensuration taught to the students and there is no significant interaction effect of teaching approaches (laboratory and conventional approaches) and gender in terms of both the students achievement and interest in geometry and mensuration. The study recommended among others that teachers should be encouraged to use laboratory approach in teaching so as to improve students’ achievement, interest and retention in Mathematics. The approach should be used by teachers in order to eradicate the issue of gender differences in achievement and having interest in Mathematics. Mathematics student teachers should be trained on the use of the laboratory approach in their methodology class during per-service training. Authors and publishers of secondary school mathematics textbooks should write and publish the books from the point of laboratory approach and other practical approaches. This will make the contents of such books to be in the context of real life situation thereby upholding students’ interest and achievement in Mathematics. vi
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    THE RELATIVE EFFECT OF CO-OPERATIVE AND INDIVIDUALISED COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION IN GENETICS
    (DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MATHEMATICS FACULTY OF EDUCATION NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY KEFFI, 2014-09-08) Stephen, Safiya Tamanuwa
    This study investigated the relative effect of Co-operative and Individualized Computer Assisted Instructional Strategies on students’ achievement and retention in Genetics. Four research questions were raised and four null hypotheses were tested. The study adopted quasi experimental, per-test, post-test control group design. The sample for the study consisted of 122 Senior Secondary School III Biology Students drawn from three schools in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Nigeria. The three schools were randomly assigned to two treatment groups: Co-operative Computer Assisted Instruction (CCAI), Individualized Computer Assisted Instruction (ICAI) and Control group. Four instruments were developed and validated for data collection, namely, Genetics Achievement Test (GAT), Genetic Retention Test (GRT), Computer Assisted Instructional Package (CAIP) and Lesson plan for the control group. The GAT consisted of 50 multiple-choice items for assessing students’ achievement and retention in Genetics. The experimental groups (CCAI & ICAI) were exposed to treatment for four weeks after which the post-test was given. The retention test was administered four weeks after the post-test. The data collected were analyzed using means, standard deviations and gain scores while the null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha levels using ANCOVA. The results showed significant difference in the mean scores in favor of students in the Co-operative Computer Assisted Instruction group (p< 0.001) followed by the students in the Individualized Computer Assisted Instruction group with the Control group having the least mean scores. Similarly, the mean retention scores of students exposed to CCAI was significantly better (PO.001) than the ICAI group and the Control group. However, no significant difference was found between the mean scores of boys and girls in the experimental and control groups. On the basis of these findings, the Co-operative Computer Assisted Instruction is recommended to Biology teachers for teaching Genetics.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    EFFECTS OF ADVANCE ORGANIZERS AND) MNEMONICS ON NASARAWA STATE SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION IN BIOLOGY
    (DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE, TECNOLOGY AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION, FACULTY OF EDUCATION, NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY, KEFFI, 2014-12-19) Augustine, Usman Tsaku
    The study examined the effects of advance organizers and mnemonics on Nasarawa State secondary school students* achievement and retention in Biology. Eight research questions and eight research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study employed quasi experimental control groups* design of non-randomized pretest, posltesl and post-posttest. The focus was on the topics: glycolysis. Krebs' cycle, mitosis and meiosis. A sample of 312 students in Senior Secondary one (SSI) from six schools in four educational zones of Nasarawa Slate were randomly selected for the study. Data were collected using Biology Achievement Test (BAT) and Biology Retention Test (BRT). BAT was administered as pretest and posltesl after treatment, while BRT was administered as post-posttest two week after posltesl. Three science education experts and two experienced biology teachers provided the face and content validities of the instrument. A reliability coefficient of 0.72 was obtained using Spearman’s rho correlation. Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while hypotheses were tested using t-test and 2-Way ANOVA at the 0.05 level of significance. Bonferroni's Post-hoc statistics was used to find out where differences among urban and rural students occurred. The t-test analysis revealed that there was statistically significant difference in the mean achievement scores of advance organizers group and the control group at the 0.05 level of significance (t-cal=23.960.05). In mnemonics the significant difference in the mean achievement scores at 0.05 level of significance with the control group was (t-cal=22.730.05). Same test revealed that there was significant difference in the retention scores of the experimental control groups at the 0.05 level of significance. 2- Way ANOVA analysis revealed that there was no statistically significant difference by gender in the mean achievement and retention scores at 0.05 level of significance (f.cal=0.1010.05) and (f.cal=0.1280.05) respectively. However, rural students in the experimental groups performed better than their urban counterparts. So there was statistically significant difference in the mean achievement and retention scores of the four groups at the 0.05 level of significance (f cal=32.45>f crit=2.65; df=3,204; p<0.05) and (f.cal=37.34>f.crit=2.65; df=3,204; p<0.05) respectively. The post hoc statistics used revealed that the rural students achieved and retained the concepts more than their urban counterparts. There was mean significant difference of -9.50* between the urban advance organizer and rural advance organizer in favour of rural advance organizer. Similarly, there was significant difference of -8.65* in the mean achievement scores of urban advance organizers and rural mnemonic group in favour of rural mnemonic group. However, there was no significant difference of 0.35 between the mean achievement scores of urban advance organizers and urban mnemonics group. From the above analysis it could be deduced that experimental and rural groups performed better than their control and urban counterpart respectively. Based on these findings, recommendations were made for the adoption of the two methods as instructional strategies at all levels of the educational system. vi
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    COMPARATIVE EFFECT OF GUIDED DISCOVERY AND DISCUSSION METHOD ON BASIC SCIENCE STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION IN KEFFI EDUCATIONAL ZONE OF NASARAWA STATE
    (DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION FACULTY OF EDUCATION, NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY, KEFFI, 2016-01-13) Aku, Philip Eggon
    The study examined the Comparative Effect of Guided Discovery and Discussion Teaching Methods on Basic Science Students Achievement and Retention in Keffi Educational Zone of Nasarawa State. It determined-whether. there is any significance differences exist in the achievement scores of students taught using Guided discovery and Discussion teaching methods. The study use a Quasi-experimental research design whereby pretest and post-test were used, because,-the study--used-settings outside the laboratory. The sample used for the study was 98 Junior (JSS2) students (50 males’ and 48 females). The study used intact classes, two schools were selected. One of the schools was used as Experimental group, while the."Other-one-war used~as control group. Thirty (30) multiple choice test items were developed by the researcher and were further validated by three experts from the faculty of education Nasarawa State University. Out of the three experts, two are from Science Technology and "Mathematics Education, and the third one is from the Department of educational foundation. The average scores of the three experts stood at 0.80 as the find validity index “The two intact classes selected were taught Basic Science for a period of six weeks using-the-two-teaching methods/-Six research questions and six Hypotheses guided the study and data collected from the pretest, posttest and retention were analyzed based on the stated hypotheses using means and Standard Deviations. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance-using^-NGQVA at F( 1,77). From the results, it was found that students who were exposed to Guided Discovery performed better than those who were exposed to discussion teaching method as indicated by their means and standard deviations thus, for students who were taught Guided-Discovery have the means scores of 50.29 and the standard deviation of 8.976 higher than their counter part whose mean is 48.70 and standard deviation of 6.731 Also, students have interest in Basic Science when taught using Guided Discovery method than those taught using Discussion Method. There was no significant difference in mean retention scores of students taught using Guided Discovery and Discussion Methods. The mean achievement scores of students was enhanced using Guided Discovery method. The two teaching methods were not discriminatory. Hence, the study concludes that Guided Discovery is the best methods of teaching Basic Science if properly employed by teachers
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    INFLUENCE OF LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ MATHEMATICS PERFORMANCE IN KAFANCHAN INSPECTORATE DIVISION
    (DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MATHEMATICSEDUCATION, FACULTY OF EDUCATION NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY, KEFFI, 2016-03-23) Dabo, Bitrus Ammuel
    The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of learning environment in terms of class size, teachers‟ use of instructional materials, teachers‟ methods of teaching as well as school location (urban and rural) on senior secondary school students‟ performance in mathematics. The study used ex post facto research design. Four research questions guided the study and four hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The stratified random sampling procedure was used to draw 14 secondary schools out of 32 senior secondary schools. Also, the simple random sampling procedure was used to draw the mathematics mock results of 800 SSIII students from these sampled schools, out of 1,432 students‟. Two instruments – Mathematics learning environment questionnaire (MALEQ) and Mathematics learning environment observation schedule (MALEOS) were used for data collection. The cronbach‟s coefficient alpha reliability of the MALEQ and MALEOS were 0.63 and 0.65 respectively. Simple percentages, mean and chi-square test of independence at 5% significant level were used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that: There is a significant negative influence of class size on senior secondary school students‟ performance in mathematics (p < 0.05); There is a significant positive influence of teachers‟ use of instructional materials on senior secondary school students‟ performance in mathematics (p<0.05); There is a significant positive influence of teachers‟ methods of teaching on senior secondary school students‟ performance in mathematics (p<0.05); There is a significant influence of school location on senior secondary school students‟ performance in mathematics (p<0.05) in favour of the urban students. And based on these findings the following recommendations were made: Education policy makers should formulate policies that will restrict class size to less than 35 students, otherwise more schools and classes should be built, additional mathematics teachers employed and teachers trained on how to handle large classes; the acquisition and utilization of instructional materials in teaching mathematics concepts should be a paramount necessity by mathematics teachers, governments, school administrators and all stakeholders in education; the use of multiple methods of teaching such that are suitable for each concept and circumstance of the class is recommended for mathematics teachers; curriculum planers should in their remark on each topic indicate the most suitable methods and instructional materials to be used; there should be equity and fairness in the supervision as well as the distribution of learning facilities, instructional materials and professional mathematics teachers in urban and rural areas so as to reduce the gap between urban and rural students.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    EFFECT OF MATHEMATICAL GAMES ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN MATHEMATICS IN ABAJI COUNCIL AREA OF FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ABUJA.
    (DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS FACULTY OF EDUCATION NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY KEFFI, 2016-07-11) Akande, Martina Taiwo.
    The study investigated the effect of mathematical games (Algebraic Substitution Game) on academic achievement of senior secondary school students in mathematics (Algebraic Processes) in Abaji Council Area of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The study adopted quasi-experimental design (pretest-posttest). The sample of one hundred and twenty-three (123) senior secondary one (SS1) students made up of sixty-nine (69) males and fifty-four (54) females, drawn from two selected secondary schools out of five senior secondary schools. Tossing of a coin was used to randomly assign intact classes to experimental and control groups. A Pre-MAT was conducted before the treatment to establish the students‟ level of achievement. The students in the control and experimental groups obtained mean scores of 41.38 and 41.47 respectively. Data were generated using Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT). The instrument was subjected to expert‟s judgment for validation. A logical validity index of 0.85 was obtained by an expert. The reliability coefficient of 0.84 was obtained for MAT. The generated data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to answer the research questions and t-test inferential statistics was used to test the null hypotheses at the .05 level of significance. The findings revealed that the students taught with game method had a greater mean score of 61.12 than their counterpart taught with conventional method with a mean score of 45.38. Also, the result of hypothesis testing revealed that there was significant difference between the students taught with mathematical game method and their counterparts taught with conventional method since t-calculated value (5.28) was greater than t-critical value (1.96). Female students had higher mean score of 76.25 than the male students with mean score of 58.53. Thus, the hypothesis showed that gender had significant influence on students‟ achievement since t-calculated value (3.57) was greater than t-critical value (2.01). Based on the findings, it was recommended that teachers should use appropriate games to introduce new concepts and to engage students in the teaching and learning of mathematics in the classrooms.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    EFFECT OF METACOGNITIVE SCAFFOLDING TEACHING STRATEGY ON SECONDARY SCHOOL PHYSICS STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT, RETENTION IN AND ATTITUDE TO THERMAL ENERGY
    (DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION FACULTY OF EDUCATION NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY KEFF, 2019-06-04) Iyamu, Ceasar Osaretin
    This study investigated the effect of metacognitive scaffolding teaching strategy on secondary school physics students’ achievement, retention in and attitude to thermal energy in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria. The study investigated six research questions and six null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. Quasi experimental research design involving non randomized control pretest-posttest design was utilized. The study population consisted of 2699 Senior Secondary II (SSII) physics students from 54 public SSII physics students in FCT, Abuja. Multistage random sampling technique was used to select 75 SSII physics students from two SS as sample for the study. Two instruments consisting of Thermal Energy Achievement Test (TEAT) and Attitude to Thermal Energy Questionnaire (ATEQ) were used for data collection. The data collected from these instruments were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the null hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Findings from the analyzed data showed that physics students taught using metacognitive scaffolding teaching strategy performed better in their achievement scores than those physics students taught using conventional teaching method; Male physics students did not perform better than their female counterpart when taught using metacognitive scaffolding teaching strategy; Physics students taught using metacognitive scaffolding teaching strategy performed better in their retention scores than their counterpart in the control group; Male physics students did not perform better in their retention scores than their female counterpart when taught using metacognitive scaffolding teaching strategy; Physics students taught using metacognitive scaffolding teaching strategy had better attitude towards thermal energy than their counterpart in the control group; Male physics students did not have a better attitude towards thermal energy than their female counterpart when taught using metacognitive scaffolding teaching strategy. Based on these findings, it was recommended among others that physics teachers should be encouraged to teach using metacognitive scaffolding teaching strategy. Government and educational agencies, curriculum planners and developers should encourage the training of physics teachers on metacognitive scaffolding teaching during seminars, workshops and conferences