Effects of Differentiated Instruction on Chemistry Students’ Achievement and Retention in Secondary Schools, Abuja, Nigeria
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of differentiated instruction on academic achievement and retention of secondary school students in chemistry in FCT Nigeria. Four research questions were raised and answered and four null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The research design adopted for this study was the quasi experimental, experimental design. The population of the study was 6,309 SS II Chemistry students in senior secondary school two (SS II) in Kuje Area council of the FCT. The study sample consist of 75 SSII chemistry students drawn from two public schools using simple random sampling technique by balloting. The study used Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) and Chemistry Retention Test (CRT) as instruments for data collection. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Kuder Richardson formula 20 (KR-20) and the reliability coefficient of 0.85 was obtained. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions and the null hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Results showed among others that there was difference in the academic achievement scores of students taught chemistry using differentiated instruction compared to their counterparts in the control group and gender friendly. Based on the findings, it was concluded that differentiated instruction strategy significantly improves students' achievement in chemistry compared to traditional teaching methods. By catering to individual learning styles and it is gender friendly. The study recommends that teachers should incorporate differentiated instruction techniques into their teaching practices to accommodate diverse learning needs and enhance students' engagement and understanding of chemistry.
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