EFFECT OF JIGSAW AND INDIVIDUALISED STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ INTEREST AND ACHIEVEMENT IN CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

The study investigated the effect of jigsaw and individualized strategy on students’ interest and achievement in Christian Religious Studies in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Four research questions were answered in the study, four null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The research design for this study was quasi-experimental research design. The population of the study was 3,606 Upper Basic II students in 60 public junior secondary schools. A sample of 306 Upper Basic II students from 10 schools was used for this study. The instruments for data collection were Christian Religious Studies Achievement Test (CRSPT) with reliability coefficient of 0.86 and Christian Religious Studies interest scale (CRSIS) with reliability coefficient of 0.87. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviations to answer the research questions and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to test the null hypotheses. Among many, the findings revealed that: there was significant difference in the mean interest of Upper Basic II students taught Christian religious studies using Jigsaw method and those taught using conventional teaching method (F(1,201) = 29.698; p = 0.000 < 0.05). There was significant difference in the mean achievement scores of Upper Basic II students taught Christian religious studies using Jigsaw method and those taught using conventional teaching method (F(1,201) = 5.891; p = 0.016 < 0.05). There is significant difference in the mean interest of Upper Basic II students taught Christian Religious Studies using individualized strategy and those taught using conventional teaching method; There is significant difference in mean academic scores of Upper Basic II students taught Christian Religious Studies using individualized strategy and those taught using conventional teaching method. It was recommended that; school authorities should create the enabling environment for in-service training for Christian religious studies teachers to learn more on jigsaw method for effective academic achievement in Christian Religious Studies; Christian religious studies teachers should adjust their teaching pattern and recognize students’ ownership of ideas using individualized strategy to boost students’ retention in the subject.