The effects of computer-assisted instruction on the academic achievement of senior high school students in plane geometry in the West Akim Municipality

Abstract

The study sought to find out the effects of Computer-Assisted Instruction on the academic achievement of Senior High School (SHS) students in Plane Geometry in the West Akim Municipality. It specifically investigated whether Computer-Assisted Instruction has any effect on gender as far as the academic achievement of students is concerned. The quasi experimental group design (or the non-equivalent group design) was employed as the research design. Students from two comparable classrooms from two distant Senior High Schools were purposefully selected as the control and experimental groups respectively for the study. The sample consisted of one hundred and seven (107) first year Agricultural Science students with 21 females and 86 males. The control group was fifty (50) while the experimental group was fifty-seven (57). A paper and pencil test, based on the Plane Geometry 1 syllabus of the Senior High School (SHS), was used as the main instrument for the study. The instrument was pilot tested at a different Senior High School and had a reliability coefficient of 0.89. The SPSS software was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. The study showed that: 1. There is a significant difference between the academic achievement of SHS students who are exposed to Computer-Assisted Instruction and those who are not, in the study of Plane Geometry. 2. There is no significant difference between academic achievement of female and male SHS students exposed to Computer-Assisted Instruction and those not exposed to it in the study of Plane Geometry.