GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effect of concept mapping teaching strategy on academic achievement of upper basic students in basic science. It also examined the interaction effect of the teaching strategy and gender. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study was 202 JS3 students of basic science in all the 15 coeducational secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area in Uyo Local Education Committee (LEC) Akwa Ibom State, while the sample size was a total of ninety (90) students which is the number of students in two contact JS3 classes in two of the fifteen coeducational secondary schools. The two intact classes were used separately as the experimental and control groups. The study used a quasi-experimental design of pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group. Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT) on the concept of atomic structure which is a 20 item multiple choice questions adopted from Junior WASSCE past questions papers was used for data collection. The instrument was trial tested and the reliability coefficient was determined to be 0 b.74using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The research questions were answered using mean scores, while the hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The result of the study show that the students taught using concept mapping strategy performed better than those taught using the conventional teaching method. The study also recorded higher achievement score for the male students taught using concept mapping strategy compared to the female counterparts. It was recommended among other things that the curriculum planners should incorporate concept mapping in the curriculum of pre-service teachers. Again, adequate training for basic science teachers on the use of concept mapping teaching strategy could be organized at the government levels and science teachers’ association of Nigeria national workshops and conferences.

KEYWORDS: Concept, mapping, students, achievement, basic science