INFLUENCE OF ACADEMIC PROCESSING SPEED ON PRE-SERVICE PHYSICS TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN ILORIN, NIGERIA

Abstract

Academic processing speed is an essential cognitive factor that determines to a greater extent
the performance of every student success in their academic tasks ranging from classroom
lesson, self or group learning, extra-curricular activities and writing of continuous assessment
test or examination which were always carried under a specified period of time. The purpose
of this study is to determine the influence of academic processing speed on performance of preservice physics teachers. This study adopted descriptive survey type of research of ex-post facto
as this method was found appropriate because it help the researchers to collect and collate
numeric data and to make use of correlations among existing variables. Students’gender
(female and male) occurs at two level. The population for this study comprised all college of
education penultimate year students in Kwara State. Penultimate year students that offers
physics as a minor course constituted the target population while one hundred and seven (107)
students responded to the Google-form -prepared test and inventory via WhatsApp. 24
academic-processing-speed item adapted from Randy Kulman’s academic processing speed
inventory (2017) and 5 researchers designed short answered questions was used in the study.
Findings from the study show a significant value from the table was 0.12 (p>0.05) which was
found to be higher than the alpha level of significant (0.05). The formulated research
hypothesis that stated that academic processing speed has no significant influence on students’
performance in physics was retained/not rejected. Recommendations from the study revealed
that academic processing speed helps in categorizing students into the different levels. Also the
educators at all level need to work on the students’ academic processing speed in other to
determine the level at which each student can carried out academic activities in timed
situations.