Prof. Agbo Felicia Onyemowo
Science Education, University of Jos, Plateau State, Jos, Nigeria
This study seeks to examine the effects of cooperative learning strategy on senior secondary III students’ achievement in the nervous system in Jos North, Plateau State, Nigeria. A quasi-experimental design, specifically, the non-randomized control group, the pre-test-post-test design was used for the study. A simple random sampling technique was used in selecting two intact classes with 50 students each out of the population of 272 students from two senior secondary schools in Jos North. A 30-items Nervous System Achievement Test for students (NSATS) was used in collecting the data. A table of the specification provides content validity for the NSATS, with the validity index of 0.83 through a logical appraisal of experts in test and measurement and biology. The instrument also obtained a reliability index of 0.84 when it was administered to thirty students and was analyzed using the Pearson product correlation coefficient. The experimental group was exposed to the treatment program for five weeks while the control group received no treatment in the same number of weeks. Four research questions were answered by the use of mean and standard deviation while t-test statistics were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings from the study revealed a statistically significant difference between the mean achievement gain scores of students taught using cooperative learning strategy and those taught using conventional lecture methods in biology. There was no significant difference in the post-academic achievement mean scores of male and female biology students. It was concluded that Jigsaw cooperative learning strategy enhanced students’ academic achievement in biology since it involved students learning together from each others’ experience in a small group. Hence the researchers recommended among others that Ministries of Education should ensure to help teachers create a conducive environment for the use of Jig-saw cooperative learning strategy in secondary schools.
Keywords: Cooperative Learning, students’ Achievement, Biology, Nervous system, Effects