THE EFFECT OF FIELD TRIP ON TEACHING AND LEARNING OF SOME SELECTED CONCEPTS IN MATHEMATICS, A CASE STUDY OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MANGU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

THE EFFECT OF FIELD TRIP ON TEACHING AND LEARNING OF SOME SELECTED CONCEPTS IN MATHEMATICS,  A CASE STUDY OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MANGU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA.

¹Mbwas, C. D., ¹Ajoro, M. D. and ²Mbwas, Luka

¹College of Agriculture Garkawa, Plateau State, Nigeria.

² Federal College of Education Pankshin, Plateau State, Nigeria.

ABSTRACT

The impact of field trip on the teaching and learning of mathematics concepts was investigated among some mathematics teaching Senior Secondary Schools in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State. The sample size was 120 mathematics Students drawn from ten Secondary Schools in the Study area.

Two hypotheses were raised and tested at the 0.05 Level of significance. A pretest posttest randomized control group design was employed. The instrument used to gather data was mathematics Achievement Test (MAT). The reliability coefficient of MAT was 0.86 using the test-retest method. The data collected was analyzed using the t-test statistics. The results showed that students who were exposed to field trip in the process of learning mathematics concepts performed better academically than their counterparts taught using the conventional method. Regardless of method of teaching mathematics, Students in Private Schools were found more academically stable than those in Public Schools. It is recommended that mathematics teachers should adopt and carry out field trips to enhance the teaching of various concepts in mathematics for better Student performance, in the same vane mathematics teachers in public schools should lay more emphasis on this instructional strategy to supplement classroom instruction. 

INTRODUCTION

The role of mathematics as a basic requirement for Scientific and technological advancement of any nation cannot be overemphasized. Science, as defined by Abdullahi (1982) is an activity culminating into testable, falsifiable and verifiable body of knowledge. It is an activity involving the investigation of any natural phenomenon through scientific process and attitude. Field trip is an educational journey, usually designed to supplement and expand concepts already learned in the class. It is a learning experience, which involves Students to develop the skill of observation, hypotheses, prediction, recording and interpretation, this agrees with a Russian proverb,” it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times “Price & Hein (2003). On a field trip the entire class visits a point of interest such as radio stations, telecommunication industries, hydroelectric power stations, carpentry workshop, a well, javelin throw, long jump and high jump among others.
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