Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to experimentally determine the effect of innovative method of teaching on the academic performance of senior secondary school physics students in Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River State, putting into consideration variables such as peer tutoring, problem-based learning, discovery learning and cooperative methods. Four research questions were articulated and four hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study employed a quasi-experimental research design. The population for the study was 6,203 senior secondary two (SSII) students in 19 secondary schools in Akamkpa Local Government Area for the 2016/2017 session. Out of 19 secondary schools, purposive random sampling technique was employed to select six schools. In each of the school selected, an intact class of the students were used. One hundred and twenty (120) students in the six intact classes constitute the sample for the study. The instrument for data collection was a 50-item ‘Physics Achievement Test’ (PAT). The instrument was face and content validated. Using Kuder Richardson formula 21, a reliability index of 0.80 was obtained. Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. Hypotheses were tested using t-test analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study revealed that students taught with the peer tutoring, problem-based learning, discovery learning and cooperative methods achieve significantly higher than those taught using the conventional method. The educational implications of these findings were discussed and various recommendations were made such as: efforts should be made by teachers to integrate thoroughly both the peer tutoring, problem-based learning, discovery learning and cooperative approaches in the teaching of physics in secondary schools; and textbooks writers should incorporate appropriately the use of these innovative teaching strategies to guide teachers and students in their usage.