Effect of two Computer Instructional Modes on Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Geography, in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Abstract

There is a growing concern about secondary school students’ poor performance in geography, a subject that is prerequisite for many professional pursuits. To enhance their performance in the subject, several strategies have been adopted. This study is an intervention, which investigated relative effects of computer instructional modes (computer graphics and animations computer) on secondary school students’ achievement in geography. The moderator variable was mental ability. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The pre-test, post-test control group quasi-experimental design, involving 3x2 factorial matrix was adopted for the study. One hundred and four senior secondary two geography students from three secondary schools in Lagos state constituted the sample for the study, which lasted for eight weeks. Two procedural instruments (computer graphics and animation instructional packages) and two measuring instruments, namely Geography Achievement Test r = 0.79, and Mental Ability Test r=0.88 were used.  The data collected were analysed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The magnitude of the students’ post-test achievement scores was determined using Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA), while Scheffe post-hoc analysis was used to explain the direction and source of significant effects. Findings showed that there were significant main effects of instructional mode on the students’ achievement in geography (F (2, 91) = 14.414, p< 0.05). There was no significant interaction effect of treatment and mental ability on students’ achievement in geography. Consequently, it was recommended that the computer instructional modes be used alongside with conventional method in the teaching of geography.

Keywords: computer graphics, computer animation, instructional mode, achievement in geography, mental ability and geography