Jigsaw IV Cooperative Learning Strategy: Closing the Gender and School Type Gaps in Physics Achievement of Senior Secondary two Students

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of jigsaw iv cooperative learning strategy (J4CLS) on secondary school students’ achievement in Physics in Jos metropolis, Nigeria. It employed the quasi-experimental research design of the non-equivalent control group pre-test, post-test type. One hundred and forty-five (145) senior secondary two (SS II) students from four co-educational secondary schools were used as samples for the study. A 50-item multiple-choice instrument called Heat Energy Achievement Test (HEAT) was used to test students on the concepts of heat energy measurements. The internal consistency of HEAT was estimated at 0.83, using Kuder-Richardson formula 20 on the SPSS Version 25. Three research questions were raised and answered using mean, while two hypotheses were formulated and tested at α = 0.05 using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Findings revealed, amongst others, that students taught heat energy measurements using J4CLS achieve significantly higher than students taught under conventional lecture method (CLM); those who were taught heat energy measurements using J4CLS achieved high, without gender and school type bias. Based on the findings, recommendations were made which included encouraging physics teachers to employ J4CLS in teaching secondary school students, since the method has been found to enhance students’ achievement in heat energy measurements and it is gender-friendly and independent of school type in terms of improving their achievement in the subject.