Effects of Concrete-Representational-Abstract Sequence Strategy on Students’ Achievement in Mathematics in Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the effects of the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (C-R-A) Sequence strategy on students’ achievement in Mathematics. A 2 x 2 pre-test, post-test, control group, quasi-experimental design was adopted for this study. Eighty (80) Senior Secondary School two (SSS2) students from two schools in Kano State were involved in the study. Purposive sampling Technique was used to select two secondary schools among the schools in Nasarawa Local Government of Kano State, while the Simple Random Sampling Technique was used to select 40 students into the experimental group and 40 students into the control group, respectively. The instrument used for data collection is the Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT). The reliability of MAT was 0.82 using test-retest reliability methods. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics (Mean and Standard Deviation) and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The findings showed that there exists a significant difference in the post-test mean achievement scores of the students exposed to the CRA sequence strategy (F (1, 75) = 6.588 and p < 0.05). Also, the result revealed that there is no significant difference between the achievement scores of male and female students exposed to the strategies (C-R-A-Sequence and Conventional Method) in mathematics. No significant interaction effect of strategy and gender on the students’ achievement in Mathematics. The study concluded that the Concrete-Representational-Abstract sequence strategy was effective because every student participated in one activity or the other, which enhanced their achievement in mathematics. The study recommended that the teachers should be discouraged from using teacher-centered instructional strategies but student-centered instructional strategy such as CRA-sequence