THINKING AND RETHINKING: THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTS OF 7ES LEARNING MODEL AND METACOGNITIVE STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN WRITING IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the comparative effects of 7Es learning model and metacognitive strategy on senior secondary 2 (SS2) students’ performance in essay writing in Oju Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses. The study was anchored on Piaget’s (1934) cognitive learning theory and Vygotsky’s (1978) social learning theory. The quasi experimental design of pre-test, post-test non-randomised group design was adopted. The population consisted of 3,598 SS 2 students (1,038 males and 2,560 females) in the 2023/2024 academic session. A sample of 57 SS 2 students was drawn using multi-stage sampling technique. The instrument named, Writing Performance Test (WPT), was developed by the researchers and was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts (two in language education and one in test and measurement) and trial tested on 30 students from a different school that is part of the population but not the sample for the study. The trial test was analysed using Kuder-Richardson (KR-21) formula which yielded a reliability co-efficient of 0.79. Two intact classes were used for the experiments. Group one was exposed to 7Es learning model and Group two was exposed to metacognitive strategy. The pre-test and post-test scores from the groups were analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The first finding revealed no significant difference in the mean performance scores of SS 2 students taught writing using 7Es learning model and those taught using metacognitive strategy (P = 0.363>0.05). The second finding also revealed no significant interaction effect of the strategies (7Es and metacognition) and gender on SS 2 students’ mean performance scores in writing (P = 0.473>0.05). Based on the findings, it was concluded that interactive strategies such as 7Es learning model and metacognitive strategy are effective for enhancing students’ performance in writing. It was recommended that English Language teachers should adopt the use of 7Es learning model and metacognitive strategy to teach writing in order to foster students’independence in writing.