Effects of Hierachical Concept Mapping Instructional Strategy with Scaffolding Aid on Students' Achievement in Senior Secondary School Physics in Jos, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of hierarchical concept mapping instructional strategy with scaffolding aid on students' achievement in senior secondary school Physics in Jos, Nigeria. It was based on the fluctuations and poor achievements of students in Physics examinations over the years. The research design employed was the quasi-experimental design of the non-equivalent control group pretest posttest type. Sixty-three (63) Senior School three (SS 3) students from two secondary schools were used as sample for the study and were tested on the concepts of electricity using a developed 25-item Physics Achievement Test (PAT) whose reliability coefficient was 0.85, obtained from Kuder-Richardson formula 20. Two research questions were raised and answered using mean and standard deviation while one hypothesis was formulated and tested using One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The analyses revealed that students taught using hierarchical concept mapping instructional strategy with scaffolding aid achieve significantly higher than those instructed under the expository method of instruction. Based on the findings, recommendations were made which include suggesting that teachers should be encouraged to utilize hierarchical concept mapping instructional strategy with scaffolding aid in teaching Physics.