EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING METHOD ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION OF STUDENTS IN BASIC TECHNOLOGY IN OYO STATE
SOURCE:
Faculty: Education
Department: Vocational Education
CONTRIBUTORS:
Lasisi B. Toyin
Eze T. I.
ABSTRACT:
This study was necessitated by persistent declining in the academic achievement in Basic Technology in public examinations by junior secondary school students. The study determined the effects of cooperative learning method (CLM)on academic achievement and retention in Basic Technology in Oyo State. Five research questions guided the study and five null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The population of the study was 19,892 JSS II Basic Technology students in Oyo State. The purposive sampling technique was used to compose a sample of 114 students for the study. Pre-test Post-test non-equivalent group quasi-experimental research design was used for the study and the instrument for data collection was Basic Technology Achievement Test (BTAT) which was validated by three experts. A reliability correlation coefficient of 0.82 was obtained for the test items using test re-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation.Mean was used to analyze data relating to the research questions while analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypothesesat 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that students taught Basic Technology using CLM performed better with higher post-test scores than those taught using conventional teaching method (CTM). Findings also indicated that retention mean score of students taught Basic Technology using CLM was higher than those taught using CTM, both high and low achieving students were favoured by the use of CLM but low achieving students were slightly favoured more. The interaction effect of teaching methods and gender was not significant on students’ academic achievement and retention in Basic Technology. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that CLM has the potential to improve students’ academic achievement and retention in Basic Technology. Hence, it was recommended among others that Basic Technology teachers should use CLM in teaching to enhance students’ academic achievement and retention in the subject. School administrators shouldprovide opportunities for in-service training for Basic Technology teachers in order to equip them with competencies needed in the use of CLM for teaching the subject.