Evaluation of Impact of UJ-Math Graphing Tool (UJ-MaGT) on Secondary School Students’ Graphing Ability

Abstract

In recent years, there has been renewed call and effort by Nigerian government to encourage the enrollment of pupils into science, technology, engineering and mathematics; (STEM) subjects. Graph construction is a veritable and indispensable skill required by anyone that engages in a STEM subject. Yet, data from the West African senior school certificate exams (WASSCE) – physics practical – chief examiner’s annual report has revealed serious deficiency in graph construction by secondary school leavers. In an attempt to solve this problem, an app called UJ-Math Graphing Tool (UJ-MaGT) was developed with the aim of incorporating its algorithm in a scientific calculator. The technology was evaluated among 903 senior secondary school students within Jos. Pre-test and post-test were conducted and achievement scores were obtained by grading the test scripts in accordance with West African Examination Council’s (WAEC) marking scheme. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out using SPSS software. Results show that there was no statistical difference (P>0.05) amongst the groups before the intervention, the null hypothesis “There is no significant difference in achievement score and gap before intervention of UJ-Math Graphing Tool (UJ-MaGT) in graph plotting” was retained. Furthermore, the null hypothesis “There is no significant difference in achievement score and gap after intervention of UJ-Math Graphing Tool (UJ-MaGT) in graph plotting” was rejected because there exist a statistical significant difference (P<0.05) amongst the groups after the intervention. It is therefore concluded that the technological intervention has significant impact on the performance of the students in graph construction.