Comparative Effectiveness of Mastery and Peer-to-Peer Learning Strategies in Improving Junior Secondary Students’ Learning Outcomes in Basic Science

The study determined the effectiveness of each of Mastery Learning and Peer-to-peer Learning Strategies on students’ performance in Basic Science. It also examined the effectiveness of the learning strategies in enhancing retention Basic Science concepts; and established their effectiveness in improving students’ attitude to Basic Science. These were with a view to determining a better way of improving the learning outcomes of students in Basic Science. The study adopted the non-equivalent, pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental research design. The study sample consisted of 50 Junior Secondary School two (JSSII) students in intact Basic Science classes selected from Owo Local Government Area in Ondo State, Nigeria. The instruments used for data collection were “Basic Science Achievement Test” (BSAT) and “Students Attitude in Basic Science Questionnaire” (SABSQ). The reliability coefficients of 0.79 and 0.63 were obtained for BSAT and SABSQ respectively. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test analysis. The results showed that students in the experimental group peer-to-peer Learning Strategy (PLS) gained higher scores than those in the experimental group Mastery Learning Strategy (MLS), with the PLS being the most effective. Also, the result showed that PLS and MLS enhance students’ retention of Basic Science concepts with the retention mean score of students taught using PLS being the greatest. Finally, it was revealed that PLS and MLS showed effectiveness in improving the students’ attitude to Basic Science with PLS as the most effective. The study concluded that the PLS produce significantly better performance and retention of Basic Science by students than MLS; this is an indication that PLS is an effective mode of instruction for Basic Science students. The study recommends that teacher education programmes should emphasize PLS and MLS when in Basic Science class; also teacher should be provided with adequate training to enable them use PLS and MLS in Basic Science classroom so that learners would be guided to learn meaningfully and would be assisted to develop positive attitude towards Basic Science.