Effects of Experiential Cooperative Concept Mapping Instructional Approach on Secondary School Students’ Motivation in Physics in Nyeri County, Kenya

Abstract

The study of Physics in Secondary Schools is necessary in building up knowledge, basic skills, attitudes and competencies necessary for human resource needs in socio-economic development. Students in Universities and Tertiary colleges should therefore be motivated to enrol in Physics and pursue courses that require Physics. Although learner centred instructional approaches have been encouraged in teaching secondary school Physics, there has been low student enrolment in Physics at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). This study aimed at finding out the effects of Experiential Cooperative Concept Mapping (ECCM) on students’ motivation to learn Physics. Solomon Four Non-equivalent Control Group Design under the quasi- experimental research was used. A stratified random sample of 12 Secondary Schools was drawn from Nyeri County. Four boys’ alone schools, four girls’ alone schools and four co- educational schools were randomly assigned to four groups with a total of 513 Form Two students. Students in all the groups were taught the same Physics content of Magnetic Effect of Electric Current. The experimental groups were taught using ECCM approach while the control groups were taught through Regular Teaching Methods (RTM). Two groups were pre-tested prior to the implementation of treatment. After five weeks, all four groups were post-tested using the Student Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ). The instrument was validated and pilot tested before use. The reliability coefficient for SMQ was 0.81. The instrument was scored and data analyzed using t-test, one-way ANOVA and ANCOVA at a significance level of alpha equal to 0.05. The results of the study showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the motivation means of students who were taught through ECCM and those taught through RTM. The researchers recommend the use of ECCM in addressing motivation of students towards learning physics and the current low enrolment in the subject in Kenya. Key words: Experiential Cooperative Concept Mapping (ECCM), Regular Teaching Methods (RTM), Secondary School students, Physics, Motivation, Nyeri County.