Teaching Methods, Students’ Performance and Interest in Physics in Secondary Schools in Abak, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of teaching methods on students’ performance and interest in Physics in secondary schools in Abak, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Two research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design. The population for the study comprised all 3691 senior secondary one Physics students of the 2025/2026 academic session in the 11 public secondary schools in the area. The sample size was 272 SS1 Physics students (146 students in experimental group one and 126 in experimental group two). Using a simple random sampling technique, one intact class was sampled from two schools. The Physics Performance Test on Projectiles (PPTP) was used for data collection with a reliability index of 0.87. Three validators from the Department of Science Education, Akwa Ibom State University, validated the instrument. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANCOVA to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that there was a significant difference between the mean performance scores of Physics students when taught Projectiles using a field trip compared with those taught using a demonstration method; students’ interest was higher with the field trip than the demonstration method in Physics. It was concluded that students’ academic performance could be improved with a field trip rather than demonstration methods. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the field trip method should be used in teaching projectiles and other concepts in Physics.