Effect of Cooperative Learning Strategy and Conventional Method of Teaching Mathematics on Students’ Achievement in Graph Plotting

The study engaged the quasi-experimental descriptive survey approach to investigate the effect of cooperative learning strategy and conventional methods of teaching mathematics on students' achievement in graph plotting within the Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. The study engaged 70 students from two intact classes of Senior Secondary School two students of Obinomba Mixed Secondary School, Obinomba. The two intact classes were used to represent the experimental and control groups, with the experimental group being taught graph plotting using a cooperative learning strategy and the control group was taught using the conventional method of teaching mathematics. The study lasted for five weeks, and a null hypothesis was formulated to guide the study. The Mathematics Achievement Test on Graph Plotting (MATGP) was used to assess students' achievement in graph plotting for the groups after they received instructional intervention. A reliability of 0.8 was yielded for the instrument using Richard Kuderson-21. The data obtained from the instrument was analyzed using a t-test of independence at p ≤0.05 significance level. The result showed that students in the experimental group performed better than those in the control group. The study thus bridges a knowledge gap that informs the improvement of the methodology engaged in teaching senior secondary school mathematics and promotes science education in secondary schools. The study recommended integrating a cooperative learning strategy in teaching graph plotting in Delta State Secondary Schools, Nigeria.