Cooperative Learning Strategy: A Paradigm to Academic Performance of Senior Secondary Schools Mathematics

This study investigated the effects of a cooperative learning strategy on the mathematics performance of Senior Secondary School Year Two (SSS 2) students in simultaneous equations in Lagos State, Nigeria. Using a quasi-experimental pretest and posttest non-equivalent control group design, a sample of 118 students (66 males and 52 females) drawn from two public secondary schools in Badagry Local Government Area was purposefully assigned at the school level to either a cooperative learning treatment group (n = 48) or a conventional instruction control group (n = 70). The Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT), comprising 20 multiple-choice and five essay items on simultaneous equations, was administered as both pretest and posttest. Instrument validity was established through face and content validation, whilst reliability was confirmed using the Kuder–Richardson Formula 21 (KR-21), yielding a coefficient of 0.74. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), with pretest scores as the covariate, revealed a statistically significant difference in posttest performance between the cooperative learning and conventional groups [F(1, 107) = 31.76, p < .05, partial η² = .23]. No statistically significant main effect of gender [F(1, 107) = 1.46, p = .23, partial η² = .01] nor a significant interaction effect between teaching strategy and gender [F(1, 107) = 0.03, p = .88, partial η² = .00] was observed. The findings indicate that cooperative learning substantially improves mathematics achievement relative to conventional instruction, irrespective of student gender. It is recommended that secondary school mathematics teachers adopt cooperative learning strategies particularly the Student Teams–Achievement Divisions (STAD) model as a core pedagogical approach.

Performance, Route, Mathematics, Cooperative learning, Algebra.

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