EFFECT OF GUIDED-DISCOVERY AND PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES ON ATTITUDE AND PERFORMANCE TOWARDS GEOMETRY AMONG JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA. A RESEARCH PROJECT TOPIC ON SCIENCE EDUCATION
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the effect of Problem Solving and Guided Discovery instructional strategies on JSS Students performance and attitude in Kaduna state. A qausi-experiment with pretest-posttest control group design adopted the 3×2 factorial analysis was employed for variable matching. The sample consisted of 381 Government JSS II students made of 195 males and 186 female students drawn from a population of six thousand four hundred and thirty one students of GJSS using stratified random sampling by balloting in thirty (30) junior secondary schools in Kaduna state. The research instruments used were: Geometry Performance Test (GPT) and Students Geometry Attitude Questionnaires (SGAQ). These instruments were validated and reliability coefficient estimated as r=0.98 and r=0.86 respectively. The five hypotheses were tested and analyzed using t-test ANOVA, ANCOVA and Kruskal Wallis Statistics. Post Hoc Scheffe and Least Significant Difference (LSD) were used to detect the source, magnitude and direction of such significant variations. All hypotheses were tested at P< 0.05 level of significance. The findings showed that: (1) there is significant difference among three groups of students when exposed to Problem Solving, Guided Discovery and Lecture Method (ii) there is significant difference in performance between male and female student when exposed to problem solving, guided discovery and those expose to lecture method. (iii) significant difference exist among the three groups in mean attitude score toward geometry when exposed to problem solving, guided discovery instructional strategies and those taught using lecture method . (iv) There is significant mean difference between male and female attitude towards geometry when exposed to problems solving, guided discovery and those in lecture method. Based on this finding, it is recommended that problems solving instructional strategy should be adopted in teaching the JSS student because this strategy produced higher mean score in performance among the students. This implies that mathematics teachers should be trained through seminars and workshops on how to effectively design and use the problem solving and guided discovery strategies in teaching geometric concepts. Conclusively, the problem solving and guided discovery strategies are viable alternatives to the lecture method particularly in teaching abstract geometric concepts among the JSS students.
CHAPTER ONE
THE PROBLEM
1.1 Introduction
Education is a systematic training and instruction designed to transmit knowledge and develop skills in individuals. This involves a continuing development of relevant knowledge, skills and habit whose broad understanding and application enable individual to contribute meaningfully towards the growth of their society (Mbah, 2012). It is believed that the quality of a nation‟s education is proportional to the level of its prosperity.
