Comparative Effectiveness of Inductive and Deductive Teaching of Indices in Secondary Schools in Bamenda Municipality-Cameroon

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to compare the mean achievement scores of students taught indices using the inductive and the deductive methods and to ascertain which of these two methods could minimise gender inequality in the learning of indices. The study adopted the quasi-experimental research design where two Form Three intact classes were sampled using both the purposive and the simple random sampling techniques. A pre-test and a post-test were administered to the two intact classes to determine their cognitive levels before and after the experiment respectively. Two equivalent forms of a Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) in indices were used to achieve this purpose. The findings of the study revealed that students taught indices using the inductive method performed significantly better than those taught using the deductive teaching method. The findings also showed that female students performed better than their male counterparts when taught indices using the inductive teaching method, while the male students performed better than their female counterparts when taught indices using the deductive teaching method. It was recommended that mathematics teachers in Bamenda municipality should adopt the inductive method in teaching indices. Seminars could be organised to build their capacities in relation to the use of this teaching method. Lastly, if education stakeholders in Bamenda municipality are interested in maintaining gender equality in the learning of mathematics and specifically in the learning of indices, then the inductive teaching method is strongly recommended.