The Effects of Guided Discovery and Demonstration Methods on the Performance of Students in Physics in Ado Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria
Abstract
Methods are the tools of the teacher for reaching the set goals and objectives. The effective teacher has multiplicity of methods at his disposal and must be prepared to select the ones which will be most effective for leading the learner to desired behaviour. Despite the importance of physics in understanding the natural world and addressing global challenges, students in Ado Local Government Area of Ekiti State continue to perform poorly in the subject, with many showing a lack of understanding of key concepts. Therefore, this study is set out to investigate if appropriate teaching method used in teaching physics could yield a better performance. Such teaching methods are demonstration and guided-discovery methods. The study employed a quasi-experimental design. A total of sixty senior secondary students offering physics were randomly divided into three groups: demonstration, guided-discovery and control (teacher expository method). The result reveals that both guided discovery and demonstration teaching methods are more effective than the teacher expository method. The findings also show that demonstration method appears to be more effective in improving students’ performance in physics than guided-discovery method. However, there are mixed opinions about which of these methods is more effective. The students who participated in the study showed a net positive attitude towards physics. The study identified some challenges faced by physics teacher in implementing guided discovery and demonstration methods to include large class size, students’ lack of interest, lack of resources and insufficient training, etc. Thus, the findings presented could be attributed to several factors such as teachers’ skills and experience as well as students’ learning conditions. Hence, to ensure improved performance of students in physics, the government, school administrators, parents as well as students themselves have vital roles to play.
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