School of Education

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    Effects of Teaching Using A Dance Analogy on Physics Students’ Motivation, Self-Concept And Conceptualization of Heat Concepts In Secondary Schools In Nyandarua County, Kenya
    (Laikipia University, 2014-10) Kaboro, Githae Peter
    An important component of science learning is mastery of scientific concepts. The topic of heat forms an important part of the science curriculum at all levels in the Kenyan education system. Explanation of heat concepts requires understanding of kinetic theory of matter. The theory deals with the behaviour of sub-microscopic particles of matter. This abstractness of the theory presents difficulties in its teaching and learning in secondary schools. As a result, students have developed misconceptions on physical heat concepts and an unfavourable attitude towards learning of the concepts. Teaching using analogies has been found useful in concept learning in science. However the factor of students’ socio-cultural knowledge as the basis for selecting and designing the analogies has not received adequate attention. There is also paucity of literature on the effect of analogy teaching on students’ self-concept of scientific concepts. This study set out to investigate the effect of teaching kinetic theory of matter using a ‘dance’ analogy on students’ motivation, self-concept and conceptualization of physical phenomena associated with heat. Data were collected from Form 1 students in 4 coeducational public secondary schools in Nyandarua County. A Heat Concepts Test (HCT) and a Students’ Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ) were used to collect the data. Purposive sampling technique was used to identify the Form 1 classes to participate in the study which were randomly assigned to the four design groups of the Solomon Four Non-equivalent Control Group design adopted by the study. The instruments were pilot-tested to assess their reliability and construct validity in 2 co-educational public schools in Nyandarua County. Reliability of the HCT was estimated using the alternate forms technique while that of the SMQ was estimated using the split-half technique. The reliability coefficients were computed using Pearson’s product-moment correlation. The reliability coefficients obtained were above the 0.7 level required for social science research. Data were analysed using student’s t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Hypotheses were tested at α = 0.05 level of significance. Results obtained indicated that teaching kinetic theory of matter using the dance analogy produced significantly better conceptualization, motivation and self-concept and reduced more students’ misconceptions of physical phenomena associated with heat compared to teaching using conventional instructional techniques. Based on the findings, the study recommends that teachers should often use analogies to teach abstract scientific concepts and in so doing consider students’ socio-cultural knowledge as the basis for selecting and designing the analogies. The study recommends further research to establish ways in which analogy teaching could be integrated within other pedagogical models of teaching science.
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    A Comparative Study of Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy And Conventional Teaching Method on Students’ Mathematics Self-Concept And Achievement In Secondary Schools In Laikipia County, Kenya
    (Laikipia University, 2017-11) Mbacho, Watetu Naomi.
    The knowledge of mathematics as a tool for use in everyday life is important for every individual and society. However, Secondary school students in Kenya have continued to perform poorly in mathematics in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) national examinations. This raises concern among all stakeholders in education due to the importance they attach to mathematics. The factors that are attributed to the students’ poor performance in the subject include; gender stereotyping, lack of role models, the ineffective instructional methods used by teachers and the low mathematics self-concept. There is inadequate documented information in research conducted in Kenya on the effect of the use of Jigsaw cooperative learning strategy on students’ self-concept and achievement in mathematics. This study sought to address the problem of ineffective instruction by teachers and low mathematics self-concept by finding out if the use of Jigsaw cooperative learning strategy during instruction of surds and further logarithms in mathematics to Form Three students has an effect on their mathematics self-concept and examination performance. Surds and further logarithms are topics performed poorly in the KCSE examination. The study was guided by the General Systems Theory and the Constructivist Theory. The study used a quasi-experimental research design. Solomon four non-equivalent control group design was used in the study. Two experimental groups received the Jigsaw cooperative learning strategy as treatment, while two control groups were taught using the conventional learning/teaching methods. A simple random sample of four co-educational secondary schools was selected from Laikipia County. The sample size was 4 schools out of the 67 schools with a population of about 20,800 students in Laikipia County. A Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) and a Mathematics Self-Concept scale (MSC) for students were used to collect the required data. A total of 188 Form three secondary school students comprising 84 girls and 104 boys sat for the MAT and 183 Form three secondary school students comprising 85 girls and 98 boys filled the MSC questionnaires. Piloting of the instruments was done in a school which was not used for study in Laikipia County. The reliability coefficient of the MAT was computed to be 0.95 using KR-21 formula while that of the MSC was computed to be 0.96 using Cronbach alpha. MAT was validated by the researcher and also by education experts from the Department of Curriculum and Education Management, Laikipia University. Data were analyzed usingT-test, ANOVA and Scheffe post hoc to test the hypotheses at alpha (α) level of .05. The study revealed that students who were taught mathematics using Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy had a higher mathematics self-concept than those taught using conventional teaching methods ( F (3,179) = 12.620, p = .000). Moreover, gender did not affect students’ mathematics self-concept when students were taught using Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy (t (81) = -1.345, p =.155). In addition, students who were taught mathematics using Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy performed better than those taught using conventional teaching methods (F (3,184) = 31.367, p = .000) and gender did not affect students’ achievement in mathematics when students were taught using Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy (t(92) = -.835, p=.423). The findings are expected to be useful to teachers in secondary schools because they will be able to identify learning strategies which will improve learners’ mathematics self-concept and their achievement in the subject. Curriculum developers and education officers are likely to benefit from this study in deciding on the appropriate learning strategies for learners to improve the quality of mathematics instruction in the country and beyond. The research recommends use of Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy in mathematics instruction in secondary schools in Kenya to improve and also reduce gender disparities in the mathematics achievement.