Constructivist practices through guided discovery approach: The effect on students’ cognitive achievement in Nigerian senior secondary school physics

Abstract

The study investigated constructivist practices through guided discovery approach and the effect on students’ cognitive achievement in Nigerian senior secondary school Physics. The study adopted pretest-posttest control group design. A criterion sampling technique was used to select six schools out of nine schools that met the criteria. A total of 278 students took part in the study; this was made up of 141 male students and 137 female students in their respective intact classes. Physic Achievement Test (PAT) with the internal consistency of 0.77 using Kuder Richardson formula 21 was the instrument used in collecting data. The data were analysed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and t-test. The results showed that guided discovery approaches was the most effective in facilitating students’ achievement in physics after being taught using a pictorial organizer. This was followed by demonstration while expository was found to be the least effective. Also, there exists no significant difference in the achievement of male and female physics students taught with guided discovery, demonstration and expository teaching approaches and corresponding exposure to a pictorial organizer. It is recommended that physics teachers should endeavour to use constructivist practices through guided discovery approach in order to engage students in problem solving activities, independent learning, critical thinking and understanding, and creative learning, rather than in rote learning and memorization.

Constructivism as pedagogical framework and poetry learning outcomes among Nigerian students: An experimental study

“…The results indicated that it would not (see Table 2). This finding agrees with Akinbobola and Afolabi (2009), who found that there is no significant difference between the achievement of male and female students in physics who are taught with a guided-discovery teaching approach. The finding corresponds with Ogundola et al (2010) who also found no significant difference between male and female students exposed to the constructivist method.…”

“…There are no indications in literature that males do better than females or vice versa in the context of constructivism. Although, some research suggests gender differentiation (Duyilemi & Bolajoko, 2014), others suggest that there is significant difference between the achievement of male and female exposed to a constructivist method (Akinbobola & Afolabi, 2009;Ogundola et al, 2010). This scenario extends to non-academic situations, for instance, in business and entrepreneurship (Wilson & Tagg, 2010).…”

Keterampilan Berpikir Kreatif Mahasiswa dalam Pembelajaran IPA Menggunakan Model Inkuiri Terbuka

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Guided discovery learning, personality traits, and speaking confidence of Iranian Intermediate EFL Students

“…Guided discovery can also be a very contributing method in helping the English learners to possess real chances of using the target language interactively. Such a finding is supported by the results of Akinbobola and Afolabi (2010). According to these researchers, the strategy of guided discovery learning enhances the academic achievement of the students compared to the traditional lecture process.…”