AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF FUTURES WHEEL AND CONCEPT MAPPING TEACHING METHODS ON STUDENTS’ INTEREST AND ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY IN BENUE STATE

Abstract

This study investigated ‘an assessment of the effect of futures wheel and concept mapping teaching methods on students’ interest and achievement in biology in Benue State’. Two research questions were raised and two hypotheses were formulated for the study. The design adopted for this study was a quasi-experimental non-equivalent pre-test and post-test group design. The population of the study comprised 1,522 SS2 students offering Biology made up of 242 students during the 2023/2024 academic session. The researcher constructed a Biology Achievement Test (BAT) for data collection. Mean score and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that there was a difference in the mean interest ratings and achievement scores of rural and urban senior secondary students taught Biology with Futures wheel and Concept mapping teaching methods with urban students having a higher mean score compared to their rural counterparts. The study recommends that teachers should consider implementing futures wheel and concept mapping teaching methods in biology classes particularly in the rural areas where there was a lower significant impact so that the rural students too can key into the merits of the teaching methods.