International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS) | Volume VI, Issue VIII, August 2021|ISSN 2454-6194

Effect of Collaborative Teaching on Secondary School Students’ Achievement in and Attitude Towards Mathematics

Sabainah Oyebola Akinoso¹, Festus Oladimeji Olafare², Zainab Bolaji Oye-Akinoso^3
1,²Faculty of Education, Department of Science and Technology Education, University of Lagos, Nigeria
²Department of Geoscience, Faculty of Art and Science Georgia State University, Atlanta

Abstract
The effect of collaborative strategy on secondary school student’s academic achievement and attitude towards mathematics in Lagos state was investigated in this study. It was an experimental study, and the design was pre-test, control group quasi-experimental. All secondary schools in educational district II picked randomly from six educational districts in Lagos state constitute the population for the study. The selection of two local government areas was done with simple random, one school was selected from each local government using random sampling, and one intact class of junior secondary school II selected from the two schools represents the study sample. The sample size was 60 junior secondary school II students. The instruments used for collecting data are Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) and Students Mathematics Attitude Questionnaire (SMAQ). The instruments were validated, trial-tested. The reliability coefficients of the two instruments were 0.88 and 0.89 respectively. Analysis of Covariance was used to analyse the collected data and to measure the two stated null hypotheses. From the results of the study, the effect of the treatment is not significant on student achievement in mathematics but, a significant difference exists in students’ attitude to mathematics with the use of collaborative strategy. Mathematics teachers should ensure proper enhancement of collaborative strategy with thorough monitoring of the students in different groups while teaching mathematics.

Keywords: Collaborative strategy; performance; academic achievement; attitude; mathematics.

Introduction

Mathematics is a core subject linked generally to the development of any nation. It is a science of order. Everything about mathematics is well arranged and logical. It entails bringing together some piece to form a whole in terms of material or idea. Human endeavors have been influenced by mathematics through creativity, community practices, and cultural background. Mathematics is essential in public decisions and the nation’s economy. The basic knowledge of mathematics starts from school while the application of the knowledge is required throughout the human lifetime. Mathematics is relevant to a wide variety of academic subjects due to its universal nature. If a student is very good at mathematics, such knowledge will assist the students in other fields of study. Mathematics sharpens the brain, this might be the reason why Akinoso, (2017) quipped that if a student is good in mathematics, every other subject will be easy to handle. Thomson (2018) also averred that a student who does not perform well in mathematics will end up struggling in other fields of study and such students’ career options will be limited. In sciences, chemical formulae cannot be ruled out, understanding of such formula requires mathematical knowledge. The measurement, weighing, drafting, data analysis with appropriate statistical tools in both sciences and other subjects required adequate knowledge in mathematics.