PROJECT AND PROBLEM BASED LEARNING STRATEGIES AND PHYSICS STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ORON LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

ABSTRACT This study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of project-based and problem- based learning strategies on physics students’ academic performance in Oron Local Government Area. Three research questions and three corresponding null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A quasi-experimental research design was adopted for the study. The population of this study comprised all the 569 SS2 Physics students in Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The sample of this study consisted of 72 SS 2 students drawn from 2 public secondary schools in the study area. Simple random sampling technique was used for this selection. A researcher developed instruments entitled Physics Performance Test (PPT) was used for data collection. The instrument was subjected to face and content validity by a Physics Lecturer and two experts in Test and Measurement in the Department of Science Education, Akwa Ibom State University. A reliability test was done on the instruments using 20 students who were not part of the sample for the study. A reliability coefficient of 0.79 was obtained for the instrument using Kuder Richardson (KR-20) reliability estimate. Mean and standard deviation were used for answering the research questions while independent t-test was used for testing the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that students taught using project-based learning strategy performed significantly better than those taught using problem-based strategy. Furthermore, the result revealed no gender difference in students’ academic performance when taught using project-based and problem-based learning strategies. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among other things, that physics teachers should combine these two instructional approaches in teaching secondary schools students since they have been proven to be viable options in enhancing students’ academic performance without gender bias.