EFFECT OF COLLABORATIVE LEARNING STRATEGY ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN CHEMISTRY

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of a collaborative learning strategy on the academic achievement of secondary school students in chemistry. Six research questions and six null hypotheses tested at the 0.05 level of significance guided the study. A quasi-experimental design, specifically the pretest-posttest non-equivalent group design, was adopted. The study was conducted in the Abakaliki Education Zone of Ebonyi State. The population comprised 2,305 Senior Secondary II (SSII) chemistry students across 138 secondary schools in the zone. A sample of 161 SSII chemistry students from four selected co-educational boarding schools was used. The sample consisted of 80 males and 81 females in their intact classes. A coin toss was used to assign treatment and control groups. Two instructional packages were prepared: one for the treatment group and one for the control group. The treatment group was taught chemistry using the collaborative learning strategy, while the control group was taught using an individualized learning approach. The researcher-developed Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) served as the instrument for data collection. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) at 0.05 significance level was employed to test the hypotheses. Findings revealed a significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students taught with the collaborative learning strategy compared to those taught with the conventional method. However, no significant difference was found in the mean achievement scores of male and female students taught with the collaborative learning strategy. Similarly, no significant interaction effect between gender and learning strategy on students’ mean achievement was observed. Based on these findings, it was recommended that collaborative learning strategies should be adopted in teaching chemistry, as they enhance academic achievement for both male and female students. Curriculum planners should also incorporate collaborative learning strategies as a recommended approach in secondary school chemistry instruction. The study concluded that collaborative learning is an effective instructional approach and is suitable for both male and female students.