EFFECT OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING APPROACH ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN PHYSICS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MERU, KENYA

Abstract

Physics occupies a significant position in secondary school curriculum because of its applications in everyday life. In spite of this importance, the academic performance of Kenyan students in the Physics subject has remained poor over many years. The fundamental challenge in teaching of physics is how to enhance students’ achievement in the subject. Innovative and learner-centered teaching approaches engage the learners in the learning process. Such approaches are effective for mastery of concepts and also enhance learners’ achievement in the Physics subject. Although Cooperative Learning Approach may help in enhancing students’ achievement in physics its effects has not been determined in Meru County. Hence, the study investigated the effects of Cooperative Learning Approach on secondary school students’ achievement in Physics in Meru County. Quasi experimental research design was employed and in particular Solomon’s four group design was used. A sample of 180 respondents was obtained from an accessible population of 6347. Simple random sampling was used to draw the participating four schools from the purposively selected sub county secondary schools. The assignment of selected schools to either experimental or control group was done by simple random sampling. The research instrument that was used was physics Achievement Test. The Reliability was tested by subjecting the instrument to a pilot study in a school in Tharaka Nithi County. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was 0.786. Statistical package for Social Sciences version 25.0 was used for data analysis. The raw data obtained was analyzed descriptively using Mean, Standard deviation, Percentages and inferentially using parametric tests (one-way ANOVA and t-test). The level of significance for acceptance or rejection of null hypotheses was at α = 0.05. The findings of the study showed that the students taught using cooperative learning approach had relatively higher scores in the physics achievement test than those taught using conventional teaching approaches. Thus, cooperative learning approach enhances students’ achievement in physics more than convectional teaching approach. Physics teachers should incorporate cooperative learning approach in teaching to enhance students’ achievement in physics subject examinations.