The Effect of Homogenous and Heterogeneous Gender Pair Cooperative Learning Strategies on Students’ Achievement in Chemistry

Abstract

This study determined the effect of homogenous and heterogeneous gender pairing cooperative learning strategies on students’ achievement in Chemistry at the secondary school level. Mental ability was the moderating variable and three hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a pretest-posttest, control group, quasi-experimental research design. A total of 300 students were randomly selected from 6 schools (2 mixed schools, 2 boys’ only schools, and 2 girls’ only school). The instruments used in the study were: Students’ Chemistry Achievement Test (SCAT), Students’ Mental Ability Test (SMAT), lesson notes on the periodic table and teachers’ instructional guides for the three treatment and control groups. The results revealed significant main effect of treatment on students’ achievement in Chemistry. The two-way interaction effect of treatment and mental ability on students’ achievement was also significant. It is concluded that when students learn Chemistry concepts like periodicity and the rate of chemical reactions through gender pairing teaching strategy, their mental abilities determine the effect of the teaching strategy on their performance.