Prof. J. O. Eriba 1, John Aondohemba GARBA 2, Prof. M. J. Adejoh 3, and Dr. O. K. Okwara 4
1 Department of Science and Mathematics Education, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria
2,3,4 Department of Science Education, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Nigeria
Abstract
This study was on the effect of cognitive styles and collaborative instructional strategy on achievement of senior secondary chemistry students in Benue State, Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study and two hypotheses were formulated and tested. This study adopted the quasi-experimental research design and was conducted in Benue State. The population of this study was 28903 senior secondary II students from the 292 public senior secondary schools in Benue State which offer Chemistry. A sample of 154 senior secondary II students made up of 84 male and 70 female students from 6 secondary schools in Benue State was used. Two instruments were used for the collection of data. The instruments were Group Embedded Figure Test (GEFT) and Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT).The content and face validity of the instruments were carried out by three experts. The Split- half method was used to analyze the scores for reliability coefficient which was found to be 0.71 for CAT and 0.88 for the GEFT. The instruments were administered to the respondents with the help of six research assistants. The GEFT instrument was administered first to the students in order to classify the students into their various cognitive styles. CAT was administered first as pre-test and then as post-test after teaching for eight weeks. Mean and Standard Deviation (SD) were employed to answer the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to test the hypotheses formulated at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that there is a significant difference between the mean achievement scores of students taught chemistry using collaborative instructional strategy and those taught using conventional method (F(1,151) =51.67; p =0.00 ˂ 0.05). The findings also revealed that there was a significant difference between the mean achievement scores of chemistry students with field dependent and field independent cognitive styles when collaborative instructional strategy was used (F(1,63.79)=5.45; p = 0.02 ˂ 0.05). It was concluded in this study that the use of collaborative instructional strategy enhanced students’ achievement in chemistry more than the conventional method and that the use of collaborative instructional strategy also favoured students with field-independent cognitive styles more than the field-dependent cognitive styles. It was recommendations among others that Chemistry teachers should use collaborative instructional strategy which provides students opportunity to interact with their peers and enhance their achievement, Chemistry teachers should use collaborative instructional strategy which favoured both field-dependent and field-independent cognitive styles.
Keywords: Chemistry Education, Cognitive Styles, Collaborative Instructional Strategy, Academic Achievement, Senior Secondary School
How to Cite this Article:
Eriba, J. O., Garba, J. E., Adejoh, M. J. & Okwara, O. K. (2021). Effects of Cognitive Styles and Collaborative Instructional Strategy on Academic Achievement of Senior Secondary Chemistry Students in Benue State, Nigeria. VillageMath Educational Review (VER), 2(1), 119-131. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5526267
