EFFECT OF JIGSAW INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN BASIC SCIENCE IN TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study explored the effect of jigsaw instructional strategy on students’ interest in basic science in Taraba State, Nigeria. Three research questions and null hypotheses guided the study. A quasi-experimental research design was adopted. The population comprised all the 6288 students in upper basic II in Jalingo Education Zone in 2024/2025 session. The sample size was 209 students from two sampled intact classes. Purposive and simple random samplings were used as sampling techniques. 91 students were in the experimental group and taught with jigsaw instructional strategy while 118 students were in the control group and learned through conventional instructional strategy. Basic Science Interest Scale (BSIS) was used for data collection. BSIS was validated by three experts: two from science education and one from measurement and evaluation unit all from Taraba State University, Jalingo. Reliability index of BSIS was found to be 0.79 using Cronbach alpha formula. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer all the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test all the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that students taught using jigsaw instructional strategy showed significantly higher interest than their counterparts in the conventional instructional strategy (p<0.05). There was no significant effect of gender on interest (p>0.05). Similarly, there was no significant interaction effect of strategies and gender on interest (p>0.05). It was concluded that when learning through jigsaw instructional strategy enhances interest. It was recommended teachers of basic science should utilise this strategy as it improves students’ interest in basic science.