Effect of 7E’s’s Constructivist Approach on Students’ Achievement in Electromagnetic Induction Topic in Senior Secondary School in Nigeria

Abstract

In recent years, the use of electromagnetism has gained more importance in modern technology due to its wide range of application in all-electric field and equipment. Research findings have consistently indicated that electromagnetism is one of the perceived difficult units in senior secondary school physics curriculum.  This study investigated the effect of 7E’s’s constructivist approach on students’ achievement in electromagnetic induction topic in senior secondary schools in Rivers State, Nigeria. The study employed a quasi-experimental design. Specifically, it was a pre-test post-test non-equivalent control group design. Two schools were purposively selected from nine secondary schools in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. Two intact classes were randomly selected from each school, making a total of four intact classes of 58 Senior Secondary Three (SS3) physics students. One research question and one hypothesis were posed and formulated respectively to guide the study. The instrument used in gathering the data for the study was; Electromagnetic Induction Achievement Test (EIAT). The face and content validities of the instrument were carried out by three experts in physics education. Equivalent form and test-retest methods of reliability were employed. A reliability coefficient of equivalence of 0.88 and a coefficient of stability of 0.85 was obtained using Pearson Product Moment Method of Correlation. Item analysis was done to determine the psychometric features of each test item. The research question was answered using a descriptive statistics of mean and the corresponding null hypothesis was tested using inferential statistics of t-test at p ≤ 0.05 level of significance respectively. Results from the study showed that the mean score of the experimental group was higher than the mean score of the control group. The study also revealed that there was statistically significant difference between the mean scores of those exposed to 7E’s’s constructivist approach and those exposed to the traditional method. Therefore, it was recommended that teachers should use 7E’s’s constructivist instructional model in teaching science subjects. Also, students should be engaged in an active process of learning such as minds-on, hands-on and discoveries, so that they discover and create knowledge themselves as well become independent problem solvers.