EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES ON STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN POLLUTION IN BASIC SCIENCE IN PORT HARCOURT

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of instructional strategies on students’ performance in pollution in Basic Science in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The pre-test, post-test control group quasi-experimental design was employed. The target population consisted of all 820 Junior Secondary Schools (JSS 1) one students from sixteen (16) state owned co-educational secondary schools in Port Harcourt Local Government Area. A simple random sampling technique was adopted and used to select 220 students from four co-educational junior secondary schools. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The instrument used for data collection was Basic Science Performance Test (BSPT). To determine the reliability of the instrument, it was trial tested using Kuder -Richardson 20 (K.R-20) and a reliability co-efficient of 0.81was obtained. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test was used to test all the hypotheses at 0.05 significant level. The results of the study showed that students taught using demonstration strategy performed better than those taught with Traditional method as it enhanced students’ performance in Basic Science better than Demonstration Strategy and Traditional method. Conclusion from these findings led to the recommendations that Basic Science teachers should be encouraged to adopt the use of Concept Mapping and Demonstration Strategies in Basic Science to promote students’ performance.