Effect of Discussion Method on Academic Achievement and Retention in Physical Geography among Secondary School Students in Gombe State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of the discussion method on academic achievement and retention in physical geography among secondary school students. The study adopted a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design with experimental and control groups. The study sample consisted of 127 senior secondary II geography students. Systematic random sampling techniques were used to select two schools in Gombe LGA. The instrument used for the study is the Physical Geography Achievement Test (PGAT) designed by the researcher.  The instrument contained 30 multiple-choice items for measuring students’ achievement in physical geography. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The hypotheses were tested, at a 0.05 level of significance. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test statistical tools. The results showed that Students who were taught Physical Geography Concepts using the discussion method performed significantly better than students who were taught using the conventional method, Students who were taught Physical Geography Concepts using the discussion method retained higher than students who were taught using the conventional method, There is no significant gender difference in the academic performance of male and female students taught using discussion method and There is a significant difference in the retention ability of secondary schools students taught using discussion method and those using the conventional method. Finally, it was recommended that Teachers of senior secondary schools in Gombe LGA should expose Geography students to discussion methods, to promote their academic achievement in Physical Geography concepts