RELATIVE EFFECT OF GROUP ACTIVITY AND GROUP DISCUSSION TEACHING STRATEGIES ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN BASIC SCIENCE: IMPLICATION FOR MATHEMATICS EDUCATORS

Abstract

This study examined the effects of Group Activity and Group Discussion teaching strategies on the academic achievement of Junior Secondary School students in Basic Science, with particular attention to gender differences and the implications of the findings for Mathematics educators. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design, specifically the pretest-posttest non-equivalent group design. The participants comprised 80 Junior Secondary School students, consisting of 36 male and 44 female students, who were taught Basic Science using Group Activity and Group Discussion strategies. Data were collected using a Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT). The reliability coefficient of 0.92 was obtained for the instrument suing KR-20 formula. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at the .05 level of significance. The findings showed that students taught using the Group Activity strategy recorded a slightly higher mean achievement score than those taught using the Group Discussion strategy; however, the difference was not statistically significant. Gender had a statistically significant effect on students’ achievement, with female students recording higher achievement scores than their male counterparts. The interaction effect between teaching strategy and gender was not statistically significant, indicating that the effectiveness of the two strategies did not depend significantly on students’ gender. The study concluded that both Group Activity and Group Discussion are useful learner-centred strategies for improving students’ achievement in Basic Science. It was recommended that Mathematics educators should incorporate collaborative activities and structured group discussions into mathematics instruction to promote active participation, mathematical communication, problem-solving and equitable learning opportunities for male and female students.