Comparative Effect of Guided Discovery and Discussion Teaching Methods on Basic Science and Technology Students' Achievement and Retention in Keffi Education Zone, Nigeria

This study was designed to compare the effect of guided discovery and discussion teaching methods on basic science and technology students’ achievement and retention in Keffi education zone, Nigeria. The study employed a Quasi-experimental research design where pre and post tests were used on settings outside the laboratory. The sample used for the study was 98 Junior Secondary II students. The study used two intact classes where one of the schools served as experimental group, while the other one was used as control group.  Thirty (30) multiple choice test items were developed and validated by three experts in the Department of Science, Technology and Mathematics Education, Nasarawa State University, Keffi. The two intact classes were taught 6 topics, 3 in basic science and 3 in basic technology for a period of six weeks. Guided Discovery was used for teaching the experimental group while Discussion method was used for the control group. Data collected after the treatment was analyzed using means and standard deviations for the research questions while ANCOVA was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. From the data collected, it was found that students who were exposed to guided discovery performed slightly better and retained more knowledge of the subject than those who were taught using discussion teaching method. However, the results of the hypotheses tests revealed that the differences in the mean achievement and retention scores of the two groups were not significant. Hence, the study recommends that the two methods could be used interchangeably for teaching basic science and technology in secondary schools in keffi Education Zone, Nigeria