Introduction
The relevance of science to national goals, aspirations and economy dictates to a large extent, the huge commitment and support which nations make and give to science and technology advancement. This may be the reason why Achor (2006) and Ada (2008) opined that as a result of the speed at which the world is changing technologically, the need and usefulness of teaching and learning of science therefore cannot be over looked. The classification of any nation into developed, developing and underdeveloped could be measured accurately by the number of chemists, physicists, engineers, pharmacists, doctors, agriculture and science educators the nation could produce (Agogo, 2009, Maduawesi, Aboho & Okwuedei, 2010). In Nigeria, the three major sciences, Biology, Chemistry and Physics are taught at the senior secondary school level. These major science subjects equip the young secondary school graduates with skills, attitudes, knowledge as pre-requisites abilities to function effectively in their future carriers at the tertiary level. According to the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2013) Chemistry Education should be emphasized at the secondary school in terms of its teaching and learning. This is because; chemistry as an academic discipline plays a very significant role in unifying other science subjects. Chemistry as an aspect of science studies the composition, properties and uses of matter (Ababio, 2007). Okeke and Ezekannagba (2000) also defined chemistry as a branch of science that deals with composition and changes of matter. Chemistry could therefore be seen as the science 2 and composition of matter and the changes in which matter undergoes. It probes into the changes that matter undergoes under different conditions. Chemistry is everywhere; Chemistry is life; because it investigates the world around us and has contributed greatly towards providing us with basic needs of life such as food, clothing materials, housing materials, drugs, transportation, fertilizers, insecticides, and so on (Oloyede, 2010; Opara & Waswa, 2013; Ababio, 2007). Despite the key role of Chemistry as the central science that forms the basic foundation to many disciplines and in improving the quality of life, the performance of Nigeria secondary school students in the subject has for many years remained a matter of a serious concern (Jegede, 2010; Oloyede, 2010). In addition, a study revealed that there is consistent decline in the performance of students in public examinations conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) in sciences across the country over the years (Samba & Eriba, 2012). WAEC also confirmed this decline in performance in Chemistry by WAEC Chief Examiner‟s Reports (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2017). This poor performance of students in Chemistry is due to some multifaceted factors. According to Usman (2010) and Abdullahi (2015), the factors that negatively affect Chemistry performance include students‟ lack of interest, poor study habit and teacher-related factors, like teachers‟ poor preparation, inadequately qualified Chemistry teachers and application of poor teaching methods. This situation has spurred research in Science Education and Educational Psychology to investigate the ways in which science students would learn science through meaningful interaction in a rich classroom environment. 3 Several teaching strategies have been advocated for use in science and mathematics classrooms, ranging from teacher-centered approach to more students-centered ones (Zakari & Iksan, 2007). One of such methods according to Oloruko-oba, (2001) is Cooperative Learning Strategy. Maden, (2011) defined cooperative learning strategy as a form of instructional method, which requires students to work collaboratively in small groups by helping each other to learn a given task. Alternatively, cooperative learning is further defined as a type of student-centered teaching where a group of students work together to achieve a common goal (Gumel, 2015). Cooperative learning is a process in which students create, analyze and apply concepts. Here, students learn lifelong concepts that will be useful both inside and outside the school. They work as a team, combining their knowledge and social skills. Students are often placed in both homogeneous and heterogeneous groups and asked to accomplish a common goal. Each team member is assigned part of the content to be learnt and is not only responsible for their learning, but the other group members‟ learning as well. Students work until each group member successfully understands all concepts and then the assignment is completed (Timayi, Bolaji & Kajuru,2015) The idea of cooperative learning according to Oloruko-oba (2001) is based on the premise that an individual can only achieve his/her goals, if the other members of the group with whom he/she work together with, can equally attain their goals. Johnson and Johnson (2009) also reported that cooperative learning results in a greater effort for improving the academic performance of students, more positive interpersonal relationships and greater psychological health than competitive or individual learning effort. The use of cooperative learning strategy as a paradigm shift from the traditional or 4 chalk and talk to collaborative interaction, student-centered mode of learning and teaching. In other words cooperative learning strategy represents a change from individual learning to social learning (Zakariah & Iksan, 2007). In regard to the foregoing, several model of cooperative learning strategies had been advocated, one of which is Jig-saw Cooperative Learning Model.
Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
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