Effects of Concretised Geometrical Models during Instructions on Secondary School Students' Mathematics Achievement by Gender in Kibwezi Sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

Secondary school students in Kenya have continued to perform poorly in mathematics in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (K.C.S.E) national examinations. This raises a lot of concern for all stakeholders in education due to the importance they attach to mathematics. Some of the factors that are attributed to the students' dismal performance in the subject include: inadequate teaching and learning resources, poor teaching methods, the abstract nature of mathematics, and gender stereotypes. This study sought to investigate effects of using Geometrical Models in the mathematics topic Loci a subset of Geometry, during instruction, on students' achievement in Mixed-Sex Secondary Schools of Kibwezi Sub-County, Kenya. There is inadequate research conducted in Kenya on the effects of using models in mathematics classrooms on students' achievement in mathematics. The researchers made Geometrical Models to find out their effects on the teaching of and learning of Loci in form four mixed-sex secondary schools in Kenya. Purposive random sample of four schools was obtained from 51Mixed-Sex Sub-County Secondary Schools in the Sub-County. Solomon Four, Non-Equivalent Control Group Design was used. Two experimental groups were exposed to the use of Geometrical Models as the treatment while the two control groups were taught using the conventional teaching methods. The sample size was 178 students, 75 girls and 103 boys. A Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT), constructed by the researcher was used. The instrument was pilot tested and its reliability estimated at 0.73. The instrument was validated by experts Egerton University and secondary school mathematics teachers. The MAT was administered to the two groups, one experimental and one control before intervention and then to all the four groups after intervention. Inferential statistics (t-test, ANOVA and ANCOVA) were used to analyze the data. The level of significance for acceptance or rejection of the hypotheses was set at 0.05 α level. The findings of this study are likely to benefit secondary school students and mathematics teachers, tutors in teacher training colleges and mathematics educators at universities for they will understand the effects of using models in mathematics in general and device ways of intervention in order to improve mathematics performance.