EFFECTS OF PROJECT-BASED AND GUIDED DISCOVERY METHODS ON STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN CHEMISTRY IN MKPAT ENIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

ABSTRACT The study was carried out to examine the effects of project-based and guided discovery teaching methods on students’ academic performance in Chemistry in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The design for the study was quasi-experimental design. The population of this study comprised all the 1740 Senior Secondary one (SS1) Chemistry students in the sixteen (16) public secondary schools in the study area during the 2023/24 session. The sample of the study consisted of 84 senior secondary one (SS 1) Chemistry students which were drawn from two intact classes in two secondary schools in the study area. Simple random sampling technique was used for the selection. A researcher-developed instrument tagged “Chemistry Performance Test on Chemical Combination (CPTCC)” was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by a chemistry lecturer and an expert in measurement and evaluation in the department of Science Education, Akwa Ibom State University. A reliability coefficient of 0.81 was obtained for the instrument using Kuder Richardson formula -20. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while independent t-test was used to test the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. The findings of the study showed that there is no significant difference in the mean performance scores of Chemistry students taught the concept of chemical combination using project-based and guided discovery teaching methods. The findings also showed that there is no significant difference in the mean performance scores of male and female Chemistry students taught the concept of chemical combination using project-based and guided discovery teaching methods. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that project-based and guided discovery teaching methods enhance students’ academic performance in the concept of chemical combination in Chemistry. It was recommended among others that; seminars and workshops should be organized by government to rain teachers on the use of project-based and guided discovery teaching methods for teaching Chemistry concepts.