EFFECTS OF SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION METHOD ON PUPILS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN NUMERACY IN BARUTEN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KWARA STATE, NIGERIA.

Abstract

The study examined effects of small group discussion method on pupils' academic performance in numeracy in Baruten local government area of Kwara State, Nigeria. The study adopted pretest-posttest Quasi-experimental research design. The population for the study consisted of all pupils in Baruten Local Government of Kwara State. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select four schools, two public and two privates. The Numeracy Performance Test (NPT) was used to obtain pretest and posttest scores. The instrument was validated by the Numeracy teachers of the selected schools. Items therein were established using the test-retest method within two weeks. Therefore, the Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to establish the reliability coefficient of the instruments at 0.82. Data collected were analysed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA).
All the hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance. It was found that, there was a significant main effect of small-group discussion on pupils' academic performance in Numeracy in Baruten local government area of Kwara state (F (1; 99) = 5.746, P < 0.05),there was no significant main effect of gender on pupils' academic performance in Numeracy in Baruten local government area of Kwara state (F (1; 99) = 3.782, P < 0.05), there was no significant main effect of school type on pupils' academic performance in Numeracy in Baruten local government area of Kwara state (F (1; 99) = .491, P < 0.05), It was concluded that small group discussion could help primary school pupils learn better, especially in the numeracy. Also, it was recommended among other that, teachers should be trained on how to use small group discussion in teaching and learning of all subjects especially numeracy.