EFFECTS OF POLYA’S PROBLEM SOLVING INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY ON PHYSICS STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION IN DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study looked at how Polya's problem-solving instructional strategy affects the academic achievement and retention of Physics students in Delta State secondary schools. This study was guided by four research questions and four hypotheses. The pretest, posttest, delayed posttest, quasi-experimental design was employed. The study sampled 228 SS II Physics students from six mix secondary schools in Delta State. The six schools were drawn through simple random sampling by balloting. Three independent experts validated the Physics Achievement Test (PAT) before it was utilized for data collection. A reliability coefficient of 0.86 was established using Kuder-Richardson's Formula – 21 (KR-21). Mean, standard deviation, independent sample t-test and Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyze the acquired data. The findings of the study among others are that: there is noteworthy diversities in the average achievement scores between students instructed with the Polya’s problem-solving instructional strategy and lecture method in favor of the Polya’s problem-solving instructional strategy group and there is no noteworthy diversity in the average achievement score of male and female students instructed Physics using Polya's problem-solving teaching strategy. Based on the findings, it was concluded that Polya's problem-solving instructional strategy is superior to the lecture method in improving students' academic achievement and retention. Additionally, the Polya's problem- solving instructional strategy does not favor any gender over another when it comes to improving students’ academic achievement and retention in Physics.