ABSTRACT
The study examined the effects of cooperative and laboratory method on performance and retention of students in chemistry in secondary school in Jigawa state, Nigeria. The study was carried out with six objectives, which are to; find out the effect of cooperative learning strategy on performance of students in chemistry when compared to conventional lecture method; ascertain the effect of cooperative learning strategy on students‘ retention ability in chemistry; investigate the effect of laboratory method on students‘ performance in chemistry when compared to conventional lecture method and determine the effect of laboratory method on students‘ retention ability in chemistry among others. Six research questions and six hypotheses were formulated in line with the above mentioned objectives. The study employed quasi – experimental design with a total population of one thousand three hundred and thirty-two (1332) and a sample size of three hundred and four (304) which was arrived at using purposive sampling technique. The Data for the study was collected through pre-test, post-test and retention test using teacher made test titled Acid Base Performance Test (ABPT) as instrument. The data collected were analyzed statistically using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20. At descriptive level, the research questions were answered by using mean and standard deviation. At inferential level, hypotheses 1-4 were tested using t-test, also hypotheses 5 and 6 were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The findings of the study revealed that students taught the concept of acid and base using cooperative learning strategy performed significantly better than those taught the same concept using conventional method of teaching in secondary schools in Jigawa State that is, Significant difference exists between the performance of students taught chemistry concept using laboratory method and those using lecture method in secondary schools in Jigawa State among other findings. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that students taught chemistry using cooperative learning strategy performed significantly better
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than those taught using conventional method in secondary schools in Jigawa State and teaching students using cooperative learning strategy significantly enhanced students‘ retention ability in chemistry compared to those taught using lecture method in secondary schools in Jigawa State among others. It was recommended among others that teachers, school managers and school support officers should promote the use of cooperative learning strategy as a commonly use strategy in classrooms as it will promote and encourage students to work together thereby enhancing students‘ retention ability; and chemistry teachers should use laboratory method as a commonly used method in teaching in order to enhancing students‘ performance in chemistry. The researcher also developed a cooperative learning model tagged ―Field-Jigsaw Cooperative Model (FJCM)‖ with the view to guiding teachers and researchers alike on how to use the model in teaching and learning.
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EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE AND LABORATORY METHOD ON PERFORMANCE AND RETENTION OF STUDENTS IN CHEMISTRY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN JIGAWA STATE, NIGERIA
