Effect of Concept Mapping Strategy On Senior Secondary School Students' Performance in Mathematics in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The study examined the effect of concept mapping strategy on senior secondary school students’ performance in Mathematics in Ekiti State. The study adopted the quasi-experimental of pre-test, post-test design. The population for the study consisted of all the Senior Secondary School two (S.S.S.II) students in all public Secondary Schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The sample consisted of 151 S.S.S. II found in intact classes of the six schools that were selected for the study. The sample was selected using multistage sampling procedure. Mathematical Performance Test (MPT) was used to collect the needed data for this study. The instrument consisted of 25 items to examine the performance of students in Mathematics. The reliability of the instrument was established through a field testing which involved 30 senior secondary school students who were not part of the study. The internal consistency of the instrument was then ascertained using Cronbach Alpha which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.805. The experimental procedure for the study was in three stages: the pre-treatment, the treatment and the post-treatment stage. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. All hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. It was revealed that concept mapping strategy was more effective and reliable than the conventional method. Students performed better when exposed to concept mapping strategy than exposing them to conventional method in Mathematics. It was recommended among others that concept mapping strategy should be adopted as a means of instruction during Mathematics class. This will enable students to critically think and also allow students pay attention during Mathematics instruction.

Keywords: Concept Mapping, Performance, Students, Mathematics,