| Abstrakt: |
This study investigated the effects of multimedia courseware on senior school students' performance in linear equations involving word problems. The study employed a quasiexperimental design to explore whether or not students taught linear-equation-wordproblems using the multimedia courseware can perform better than their counterparts taught using the conventional teaching methods. It also investigated gender and score-level effects of on the students' performance. The non-randomized non-equivalent groups pre-test posttest control group design involved exposing a sample of 73 second year mathematics students (39 males and 34 females) from two co-educational senior schools in Gombe, Nigeria, to two treatments (multimedia courseware and conventional teaching) a pre-test and post-test. Two instruments (Multimedia Courseware on Linear Equation Word Problems in Mathematics (MCLEWPs) and Mathematics Performance Test on Linear Equations Word Problems (MPTLEWPs)) were developed, duly validated and approved for data collection. The reliability coefficient of MPTLEWPs was found to be 0.76. The data gathered were analyzed using a t-test and Analysis of covariance at a significance level of .05. Giving to the study's findings, there was a significant difference in the performance of students taught using multimedia courseware and those taught with conventional teaching, with those taught using multimedia courseware outperforming their counterparts (t(71) = 2.19, p<0.05); a significant difference was observed between the performance of male and female students with the males taught using multimedia courseware outperforming their female counterparts (t(27) = 2.99, p<0.05); significant differences were observed among the students in the three scoring levels (high, medium, and low) with the high scorers outperforming the others (F (2,25) = 21.64, p<0.05). The study established that Multimedia courseware enhanced students' performance in linear equation involving word problems, particularly among males and high-scoring students. It is recommended that students should be engaged in learning by using multimedia courseware that is relevant and meaningful to them on a regular basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
