EFFECT OF CHESS BOARD GAME APPROACH ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN MATHEMATICS IN ENUGU EDUCATION ZONE

Abstract

The Study investigated effect of Chess Board Game (CBG) approach on Junior Secondary School One (JSS 1) students’ interest in mathematic. Th e area of study was Enugu Education Zone of Enugu State. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the Study. The research design for this study was quasi experimental. The sample for the Study was 270 JSS 1 students drawn from two co – educational Secondary Schools in Enugu Education Zone of Enugu State. A total of 6 intact classes were used for the study. The researchers used one instrument for data collection which is Mathematics Interest Scale (MIS). MIS was validated by three experts – two in mathematics education and one in measurement and evaluation. The reliability index of MIS in Baggaley’s manuals of interest inventories was .84 and an alpha (α) of .78 as its internal consistency index. The experimental group was taught selected mathematic s topics using Chess Board Game approach, while the control group was taught the same topics using expository method. The data were analyzed using adjusted Mean and Standard Deviation (S.D.), while hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOV A) at .05 level of significance. CBG approach was found to have improved students’ interest in mathematics. CBG approach has also shown differential effect on interest of male and female students in mathematics in favour of the male students. Two recommend actions were made, of which one was that mathematics teachers should utilize CBG approach in mathematics classes in order to motivate and sustain students’ interest in mathematics.