IMPACTS OF LABORATORY METHOD ON STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENT AND ATTITUDE IN THE TEACHING OF PROBABILITY IN NASARAWA STATE

Omotosho, Gabriel Akinlolu

Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia

Email: Jogbodoakinlolu@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The concept of laboratory approach as a method of teaching probability is said to be a social situation where the teachers and or the pupils perform moves, countermoves, and other maneuvers, which are by certain rules prescribed or agreed upon. Laboratory learning enables students to handle, feel, participate, discover, reasons, deduce and infer fact and ideas in the learning processes. Mathematic Achievement Test (MAT) consisting 20 items, 4-options objectives questions in the area of knowledge, comprehension and application levels in probability was used as instrument. These reliability co-efficient showed that the instruments were reliable. In order to answer the research questions and test hypotheses posed, the researcher adopted the descriptive statistics, inferential statistics of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and t-test. Based on the data collected and analyzed, it was observed that Laboratory method was found to have significant effect on students’ achievement and attitude in probability. Also Students’ attitude in probability was not significantly dependent on gender by the use of laboratory method. It was recommended that schools should emphasize the need to improve and sustain attitude through the use of laboratory method.