The Effects of Challenge-Based And Activity-Based Learning Approaches on Technical College Students’ Achievement, Interest and Retention in Woodwork Technology

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to determine the effects of challenge-based and activity-based learning approaches on technical college students’ achievement, interest and retention in woodwork technology. A pre-test, post-test, non-equivalent control group, quasi-experimental research design was adopted. The study constituted a total number of 122 subjects, 63 for the Challenge based learning, while 59 were for the activity-based learning. Eight research questions and twelve null hypotheses, tested at 0.05 level of significance, guided the study. The instruments used for data collection were Woodwork Cognitive Achievement Test (WCAT), Woodwork Psychomotor Achievement Test (WPAT) and Woodwork Interest Inventory (WII) items. Other instruments used were the challenge-based and activity-based learning lesson plans. The items of the WCAT were based on table of specifications built in order to ensure the content validity of the test. The instruments were also subjected to face validation by five experts in woodwork technology from Department of Industrial and Technology Education, Federal University of Technology Minna and woodwork technology teachers at Government Technical Colleges in Niger State. The WCAT was trial-tested to determine its psychometric indices and reliability coefficient. The trial test for determining the coefficient of stability of the WCAT was carried out using test re-test reliability method. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient of WCAT was found to be .78. In addition, KuderRicahrdson 21 (K-R 21) was used to test the internal consistency of the WCAT. The reliability coefficient obtained was .76.The scorer reliability technique was used to establish the reliability coefficient of the PAT. Inter-rater reliability coefficient obtained was .82. Cronbach Alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of the WII items, the reliability coefficient was found to be .89. Mean was used to answer the research questions; while ANCOVA was employed to test the hypotheses. The study revealed that students taught woodwork using the challenge-based learning instructional approach had a higher mean score than students taught using the activity-based learning teaching method in cognitive achievement test, psychomotor achievement test and test for retention of learning. Mean score of males taught woodwork using challenge-base learning instructional approach was higher than the mean score of females taught using the same challenge-based learning instructional approach in the cognitive achievement test, and psychomotor achievement test, but the mean score of females was higher than that of the males in the test for retention of learning. The differences in the mean scores of male and female in the cognitive achievement test, psychomotor achievement test and test for retention were found to be insignificant. Consequently, the research recommended that (1). The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) should consider a review of Woodwork work curriculum for Technical Colleges with a view to incorporating the challenge-based learning instructional approach into the teaching of woodwork (2). The Ministry of education and administrators of Technical Colleges should always organize seminars, conferences and workshops to sensitize technical teachers on the use of the challenge-based learning instructional approach in the Technical Colleges.