Effects of role-play instructional method on mathematics achievement of underachieving high ability pupils in Calabar Municipality of Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study adopted pretest -post test control quasi experimental design to examine the effect of role-play instructional method on   Mathematics   achievement   of underachieving   high  ability  pupils’   in  Municipality  of  Cross River State, Nigeria. Two research questions  was  posed  which was  translated   into two null hypotheses. Purposive   sampling   was  used  to select  four  co-educational   schools  of   which  a  sample of  sixty  two(62)   high  ability   pupils (30 pupils for  experimental  group  (14  males  and  15  females) and 32 pupils for control group (17 males and  15 females) were selected using school Mathematics Record and Teacher Nomination Checklist for the study. One instruments titled “Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) which used as Pre-Test (PREMAT), and Post-Test  (POSTMAT) was developed by the researcher and validated by experts and was used for data collection. The reliability of the Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT), established using Kuder-Richardson formula 20 (KR–20) after subjecting the instruments to a trial test of 20 primary five pupils who are not part of the sample for the study but have relevant qualities as those in the study gives .87.  The research questions were  answer  using descriptive  statistics(mean)  and  the  hypotheses were tested using  One Way Analysis of Covariance  for hypothesis two. The two analyses were tested  at

.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that there is a significant difference between the mean Mathematics  achievement  scores  of underachieving  high  ability pupils who were taught   using the role-play   teaching method and those taught without using  role  play  teaching method, also  Male and female  underachieving  high ability pupils  do not significantly differ in their mean mathematics academic  score  when taught  using  s role-  play teaching method.. It was therefore recommended amongst other that role-play instructional method should be adopted in teaching underachieving high ability pupils in order to enhance  their  academic achievement  in  Mathematics.