COGNITIVE APPRENTICESHIP INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY AND STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN PHYSICS

This paper compared the effect of the Cognitive Apprenticeship Instructional Strategy (CAIS) and Teacher Expository Strategy on the interest of secondary school students in Physics in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. This study also compared the effect of CAIS on the interest of male and female students in Physics. The studyadopted the pre-test, post-test, control group quasi-experimental, and survey research designs. The sample consisted of 90 Senior Secondary School One (SSS I) students selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure. The Physics Students’ Interest Questionnaire (PSIQ) was used for data collection. The Cronbach’s Alpha (α) statistics were adopted to determine the reliability of PSIQ which yielded 0.81. The results showed that CAIS is an effective teaching strategy for improving secondary school students’ interest (Post-test: x̄ = 40.8140, Pre-test: x̄ = 16.6977) in Physics. The findings have also shown that the CAIS is gender-neutral in improving students’ interest (Male: x̄ = 40.27, Female: x̄ = 41.11) in Physics. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that the CAIS is effective in enhancing male and female secondary school Physics students’ interest and can lead to an increase in Physics students’ enrolment at the higher institutions in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State. It was therefore recommended that teachers should receive training, workshops, and seminars on the use of CAIS to ensure effective implementation and to maximize its benefits.