THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF GUIDED DISCOVERY AND EXPOSITORY STRATEGIES ON STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CHEMISTRY by DR. N. E. U. INYANG, FSTAN and MR. JOSEPH O AKPAN

ABSTRACT
The effects of guided discovery and expository methods of teaching on achievement and retention by male and female Chemistry students of different ability levels were investigated in this study. 150 (85 male and 65 females) 1996/97 Senior Secondary II Chemistry students of intact classes from two institutions in Uyo Urban of Akwa Ibom State were used in the study. Students in one school (the control group) were taught using the expository method white those in the other school(the experimental group) were taught using the guided discovery method. Instructional packages designed for the two groups were based on the same performance objectives and lasted for a duration of four weeks. Before the treatment a Chemistry Achievement Test(CAT) based on the instructional package was administered as pre-test. On the last day of treatment, sessions and two weeks after CAT was re-administered to the subjects. The data obtained were used to assess the subjects achievement and retention, The analysis of variance and t-test analysis of the data showed that:
i) Students taught using the guided discovery method performed significantly better (F1, 138 = 59.61, P <.05) and had greater retention (F1, 138 = 105.71, P<.05) than those taught with expository method. ii) The male and female students in both groups showed no significant difference in their academic achievement and retention (F1, 138 = 2.69/F1, 138 = 3.18, P<.05) iii) The high ability level students performed significantly better than the average ability students who in turn were better than the low ability students no matter the instructional strategy used. Implications of these findings were noted for further studies.