COMPARATIVE EFFECTS OF CONCEPT-MAPPING, ANALOGY AND EXPOSITORY STRATEGIES ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN CHEMISTRY IN ILESA, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the comparative effects of concept-mapping, analogy and expository strategies as well as the influence of gender and ability level on students’ performance in chemistry. Three hundred and forty-seven (347) senior secondary one (SS1) chemistry students were randomly sampled from three secondary schools located in Ilesa, Osun State. Three research instruments: Chemistry Concept Test (CCT), Chemistry Performance Test (CPT) and Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) were used to gather relevant data for the study. Hypotheses were generated and tested using mean score, t-test, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and Scheffe post hoc analysis. The findings showed that students exposed to concept-mapping performed better than those exposed to analogy who also performed much better than those taught using expository method. No significant difference was found in the academic performance of male and female students exposed to any of the three treatments. However, the ability levels of the students were found to actually influence the students’ academic performance. Hence, it was recommended that new instructional strategies such as concept mapping and analogy should be incorporated into the school system to improve Chemistry teaching and learning and performance of secondary school chemistry students.