EFFICACY OF SMART CLASSROOMS ON PERFORMANCE AND RETENTION OF NIGERIA CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENTS IN NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the efficacy of Smart Classrooms on performance and retention of Nigeria Certificate in education computer science students in colleges of education within the North-Central Nigeria. Specially, the study was conceived to find out the impact of Smart Classrooms, gender difference in retention and students’ attitude towards computer science education. Four (4) research questions were raised to guide the study. The sample for the study were drawn from five (5) colleges of education within the North Central Nigeria and a quasi-experimental design was adopted. The study employed a sample size of 240 NCE II (130 females and 110 males) from five intact classes. Computer Science Performance Test (CSPT) and Computer Science Attitude Questionnaire (CSAQ) were instruments used to collect data for the study. An instructional package developed by the researchers was also used for 6 weeks content delivery for both the experimental and control group. The CSPT was administered twice in an interval of 2 weeks to determine performance and retention, while CSAQ was used to investigate students’ attitude towards computer science. The performance scores and opinion responses of the subjects were transcripted/coded for data analysis. The mean, t-test and analysis of variance were statistical tool used to analyzed data collected. The result of the study revealed that the experimental group had better performance over the control group in the post test, while the smart package revealed gender friendliness as the male and female NCE students performed comparably. Also, the experimental group has positive attitude towards learning computer than the students taught using conventional lecture method. Based on the fundings of the study, it was recommended that Smart Classroom should be used for content delivery at all levels of education in Nigeria and that teachers should be property train on its usage.