GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effects of Herrmann’s Whole-Brain Model on retention among secondary school physics students in the Zaria Education Zone, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Two research objectives, two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the conduct of the study. The study used a pretest, posttest, and post-posttest quasi-experimental design. Two academically equivalent schools out of the 15 public co-educational senior secondary schools (N=1,422) in the zone, with a total number of 228, constituted the sample for the study.A validated and tested reliable instruments Physics Performance Test (PPT) with reliability coefficient of 0.78 developed by the researcher was used for generating data. Research questions raised were answered using means and standard deviations, while the null hypotheses were tested using a t-test statistical tool at a 0.05 level of significance with the aid of the computer software Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS version 21).  There is a significant difference between the mean retention scores of students taught physics concepts using HWBM and those taught the same concepts using the lecture method in favour of the experimental group. There is no significant difference between the mean retention scores of male and female students taught physics concepts using HWBM. The study concluded that HWBM is effective in the teaching and learning of physics in senior secondary schools and it is gender-friendly. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made, among others: Teachers should employ HWBM in the teaching of Physics in senior secondary schools to enhance students’ retention ability. Both coeducational and single-sex schools should be encouraged to use HWBM as it was found to be gender-friendly in this study.

KEYWORDS: Physics, Wave Concepts, Herrmann’s Whole-Brain Model, Retention