Volume 20, No. 1, 2023
Computer Simulation: An Approach In Enhancing Secondary School Students’ Retention In Algebra
Felix O. Egara and Mogege D. Mosimege
Abstract
This study investigated how computer simulation affected learners’ retention of algebra. Two research questions and two hypotheses served as the director for the investigation. A quasiexperimental design was adopted in this study. The study’s population consists of 2,520 JSS 2 students from Delta State’s Isoko North Education Zone. A sample of fifty-four learners from two schools participated in the study. Each school had two streams of JSS 2 classes, with the experimental and control groups assigned randomly. The classes were taught by their regular math teachers, who also doubled as research assistants. The experimental and control groups received a pretest, post-test, and post-posttest (retention). The Algebra Achievement Test (AAT), which has a reliability score of 0.98, was used to gather the data for this study. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28 software was used to analyze the collected data. The study questions were reported using the mean and standard deviation, whereas the hypotheses were tested using analysis of covariance. The significance level was set at.05. According to the data, students taught algebra using computer simulation had considerably higher average retention scores than those taught with the traditional method. The data revealed no statistically significant difference in the mean retention scores of male and female students taught algebra via computer simulation. The report made a few recommendations, one of which is that the government should train and retrain mathematics teachers to use computer simulation methods to assist students in retaining mathematics concepts.
Pages: 181-194
Keywords: Computer simulation; gender; mathematics; retention; secondary school students.