IMPACT OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING METHOD ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OGIDI EDUCATION ZONE OF ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the impact of cooperative learning method among public secondary school students in Ogidi Education Zone of Anambra State, Nigeria. One research question and one null hypothesis guided the study. Quasi-experimental research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised all the 1,565 SSII Agricultural Science students in all the 40 public secondary schools in Ogidi Education Zone of Anambra State. Purposive sampling technique was used to choose the sample for the study. With respect to the foregoing, out of the three Local Government Areas in Ogidi Education Zone, two were purposively chosen for the study and one school each from each Local Government Area was sampled. 55 students were chosen from each of the two Local Government Areas, making a total sample size of 110 respondents. The instrument used for data collection was Agricultural Science Achievement Test (ASAT). For the pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental design, two groups of respondents were chosen- the experimental group (Group A) and the control group (Group B) were chosen without random assignment. Group A was exposed to the treatment of cooperative learning while the conventional method was administered to Group B. The research question was analyzed using mean and standard deviation, while the null hypothesis was tested using the inferential statistical tool, the ANCOVA at .05 level of significance.  The findings of the study revealed among others that the group taught with cooperative learning method learned faster and adjusted to Agricultural Science compared to their counterparts who were taught with conventional method. Based on the findings, the study concluded that cooperative learning approach enhances academic performance of students in Agricultural Science more than the regular conventional teaching method. The study therefore recommended among other things that teachers in general should be encouraged to use cooperative learning approach as a way of improving their students’ achievement in the subject.