ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effects of Know-Want-Learn (KWL) metacognitive learning strategy on secondary school students’ academic achievement and retention in chemistry in Calabar Education Zone, Cross River State, Nigeria. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design involving pretest, post-test, non-equivalent control groups. Sample of the study comprised 292 SSII chemistry students drawn from the population of 6,643 students in Calabar Educational Zone of Cross River State using purposive sampling technique. Electrochemistry Achievement Test (EAT) was used as instrument to obtain data for this study with reliability coefficient value of 0.72 using Kuder- Richardson’s formula (KR)-20. Ten (10) research questions were posed and addressed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation. Also, 10 hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 levels of significance using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) as statistical tool. The results of the test analysis showed that: (i) there was a significant difference between the mean achievement scores of the students taught electrochemistry using KWL metacognitive instructional strategy and those taught using conventional lecture method, (ii) there was a significant difference between the mean retention scores of the students taught electrochemistry using KWL metacognitive instructional strategy and those taught using conventional lecture method, (iii) there was no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of male and female students taught electrochemistry using KWL metacognitive instructional strategy, (iv) there was no significant difference between the mean retention scores of male and female students taught electrochemistry using KWL metacognitive instructional strategy, (v) there was a significant difference between the mean achievement scores of urban and rural school students taught electrochemistry using KWL metacognitive instructional strategy, (vi) there was a significant difference between the mean retention scores of urban and rural school students taught electrochemistry using KWL metacognitive instructional strategy, (vii) there was a significant interaction effect of school location and teaching strategies on students’ mean achievement scores in electrochemistry, (viii) there was no significant interaction effect of school location and teaching strategies on students’ mean retention scores in electrochemistry.(ix) there was no significant interaction effect of gender and teaching strategies on students’ mean achievement scores in electrochemistry.(x) there was no significant interaction effect of gender and teaching strategies on students’ mean retention scores in electrochemistry. Based on these findings, conclusion was drawn and some recommendations were made to include among others that government and stakeholders in education should regularly organize workshops, seminars and conferences to update knowledge and enlighten science teachers towards embracing some newly innovative teaching strategies. This would enhance students’ learning outcomes in any school’s teaching subject.