EFFECTS OF EXPERIENTIAL TEACHING METHODS ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ LEARNING OUTCOMES IN ECONOMICS IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The fluctuating performance of students and their declining attitude towards Senior Secondary School (SSS) economics, have led to a growing concern resulting in the introduction of several learner-centre teaching methods by previous researchers. Despite this, performance in the subject has not been consistently impressive, neither the attitude better. This necessitated the introduction of experiential teaching methods, a heads-on and hands-on innovative Pedagogy. This study was therefore designed to investigate the effects of experiential teaching methods (experience debriefing and experience dictation), along with the contribution of learning styles and quantitative skills, on SSS students’ economics achievement, attitude and economic reasoning. The study was anchored to the Kolb Experiential Learning Theory and employed a 3x4x2 non randomised pre-test- post-test, control group quasi experimental design. Random sampling was used to select one senatorial district and six schools from the selected District and intact (SSII) class from each selected school, were randomly assigned to the three treatment groups: experience debriefing, experience dictation and control, with two schools to one treatment group. Instruments used for data collection were Economics Achievement Test (r=0.87), Test of Quantitative Skill (r=0.82), Test of Economic Reasoning (CVR=0.80) Students Attitude to Economics Scale (r=0.78) and Students Learning Style Inventory(r=0.77). Data were analysed using Analyses of co-variance, α0.05. There was a significant main effect of treatment on achievement, (F 2,300) = 186.70, η2=.55),economic reasoning (F(2,303) = 9.63, η2=.06) and attitude to economics (F(2,304) = 15.79, η2=.09). Students taught with experience debriefing had the highest mean score ( =31.31), followed by experience dictation ( = 29.07) and control ( = 17.51).In economic reasoning, experience debriefing group also had the highest mean score ( = 3.0), followed by experience dictation ( = 2.63) and control ( =1.87).In attitude to economics, experience debriefing group had the highest mean score ( =44.27) followed by experience dictation ( = 42.23) and then control ( = 39.07). This implies that experience debriefing was most effective in improving students’ achievement, economic reasoning and attitude to economics. There was a significant main effect of learning style on the attitude of students towards economics (F(3,304) =3.15, η2=.03).Implying that, how students learn has effect on their attitude towards economics. There was no significant main effect of learning style and quantitative skill on achievement. This means that the way the students learn and their quantitative skill have no effect on achievement. However, treatment and learning style (F(6,303) =2.30, η2=0.04), treatment and quantitative skill (F(6,303,= 2.30, η2=0.04), had significant interaction effect on economic reasoning. Also treatment, learning style and quantitative skill had significant interaction effect on achievement (F(6,300) =2.50, η2=0.48). Implying that, the ability of the treatment to improve achievement was dependent on the students’ learning styles and quantitative skills. While all the other interaction effects, were not significant. Experiential debriefing method enhanced both achievement and attitude to economics and economic reasoning, compared to the other teaching methods. It should therefore be adopted by teachers for the teaching of SSS economics.