Effects of Mathematics Laboratory Instruction on Students Geometry Achievement and Attitude among Senior Secondary School FCT Municipal Council.

Abstract

This study examined the effects of mathematics laboratory instruction on geometry achievement and attitude of secondary school students in FCT Municipal Council, Nigeria. A sample of n=232 students were drawn from 7,565 randomly selected from the secondary schools in FCT Municipal Council. The subjects were divided into two groups, the experimental group (120) and the control group (112). The study adopted the pretest, posttest experimental and control group design. A pretest was administered before the treatment to establish group equivalence in ability. The subjects in the experimental group were then exposed to the treatment using mathematics laboratory instruction, while the control group was exposed to the conventional lecture method for a period of five weeks. Two instruments were adopted and validated by experts for data collection. They are (i) GeometryAchievement Test (GAT), and (ii) Attitude Towards Geometry Inventory (ATGI). The reliability coefficients were established at 0.786 and 0.768 respectively. Two null hypotheses were tested. The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis. The t-test for independent sample statistic was used to test for the hypotheses on achievement. Mann-Whitney u-test was used to test the attitude of the subjects to the Mathematics laboratory instruction. The major findings from the study were that; students exposed to Mathematics laboratory instruction achieved the learnt concept and developed more positive attitude to geometry than their counterpart exposed to conventional method of teaching The Mathematics laboratory instruction was suitable for both male and female students in teaching and learning of geometry. On the basis of these findings, recommendations were made as follows: mathematics teachers should be encouraged to use mathematics laboratory instruction; school principals should provide all the materials needed for effective implementation. Students' attitude towards mathematics should be positively changed by involving them to participate actively in the learning process.