EFFECT OF GROUP ALGEBRAIC BLOCKS STRATEGY ON UPPER BASIC STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN ALGEBRA IN MUNICIPAL AREA COUNCIL ABUJA, NIGERIA

Abstract

Abstract   

The study investigated the effect of group Algebraic blocks strategy on upper basic students’ interest in algebra. The population comprised all public schools in Abuja Municipal Area Council made up of 38,712 upper basic students. Simple random sampling was used to select 160 students from two different schools. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study which comprised one experimental group and a control group. Algebra Interest Questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by two mathematics educators and one expert in measurement and evaluation for both face and content validation. Cronbach Alpha formula was used to estimate the reliability of the instrument and the index was found to be 0.71. Mean and Standard deviation were used to answer research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses formulated at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that students taught algebra using group algebraic blocks strategy showed interest more than those taught using conventional method. It also revealed that both female and male students did not show equal interest in group algebraic blocks strategy. It was recommended among others that teachers should adopt group algebraic blocks strategy in teaching algebra aspect of mathematics in upper basic schools.