COBBINAH, ANDREWS (Ph.D.)
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST, GHANA
Abstract.
Student?s performances in core mathematics over the years according to West African Examinations Council (WAEC) results have consistently revealed weaknesses in senior high school students. This situation has made researchers and other stakeholders in education to ask whether students effectively learn during Mathematics lessons and teachers also make use of appropriate methods for effective teaching.? Hence, this study investigated the effects of critical thinking skill training on students? achievement in Mathematics. The non-equivalent pre-test and post-test control group 2x2x2 factorial quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study. Two public senior high schools were randomly sampled to participate in the study and a total of ninety-two (92) students made up of fifty (50) in the experimental groups and forty-two (42) in the control group were selected from Central Region of Ghana. Students participated in the study as intact classes and the distribution of age and gender were given in those classes. Two Mathematics achievement tests, with acceptable validity and reliability coefficients of 0.79 and 0.83 were developed by the researcher for data collection. ANCOVA and independent t- test were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: there was significant effect of critical thinking skill training on students? achievement in Mathematics. Again, there was significant gender effect but no age effect on students? critical thinking skill training group.? Based on the findings, it was recommended that teachers should use critical thinking skill strategy in teaching Mathematics lessons to bring about the much-needed improvement in students? performance in Mathematics.?
Key Words: Critical thinking, Students achievement, gender, age and core mathematics.
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