Effects of Realistic Mathematics Education and Mathematical Modelling Approaches on Geometric Achievement and Attitude Among Senior Secondary School Students in North Central, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) and Mathematical Modelling (MM) approaches on geometric achievement and attitudes among senior secondary school students in North Central, Nigeria. A pre-test and post-test control group factorial design were employed. Three research questions were answered, and Three hypotheses were tested in this study. The population of the study was made up of eight hundred and nineteen thousand nine hundred and eight (146,412) students in the Senior Secondary schools in North Central. Cluster sampling, purposive sampling and random sampling were used to select 361 students from twelve co-educational secondary schools in the North Central States of Nigeria that participated in the study. The schools were assigned to experimental groups; I, (RME), experimental group II (MM) and Control Group (Lecture Method). A Geometry Achievement Test (GAT) containing 20 – questions covering topics in Plane and Circle Geometry was used to collect data for both pre-tests and post-test while Mathematics Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ) was used for collecting data on attitude of students towards Geometry, experts validated the instruments. A Pearson product moment correlation and Cronbach alpha formula were used to determine the reliability coefficient of GAT and MAQ which yielded 0.80 and 0.87 respectively, establishing the robustness of these instruments. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), inferential statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Scheff post hoc test was used. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Results indicate significant differences in mean achievement scores among students taught Geometry using RME, MM approaches, and conventional lectures. In addition, both RME and MM approaches contribute to improved attitudes towards Geometry. The study emphasizes the importance of personalized teaching approaches like RME and MM in enhancing achievement and attitudes towards Geometry. These findings have notable implications for the evolution of curricula and the enhancement of instructional strategies in mathematics education. The study provides valuable insights for educators seeking to improve geometry learning experiences and outcomes by employing effective instructional approaches.