Effects of Games Teaching Strategy on Primary School Pupils’ Academic Achievement in Basic Science in Adamawa State, Nigeria

The study determined the effect of game teaching strategies on primary school pupils’ academic performance in basic science and technology in Adamawa state, Nigeria. Three objectives achieved which are; effects of quiz game strategy on primary school pupils’ performance in basic science and technology in Adamawa state. Effects of simulation game strategy on primary school pupils’ performance in basic science and technology in Adamawa state. Effects of puzzle game strategy on primary school pupils’ performance in basic science and technology in Adamawa state. The design of the study was a quasi-experimental pretest and a posttest consisting of 413 primary five pupils randomly selected within the state. Instrument used for data collection was Basic science and technology and technology teacher-made performance test. The instruments were content validated by three experts. The instrument was also tested for reliability, using Cronbach alpha. A reliability coefficient of 0.75 was obtained. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics for the research questions and ANCOVA for the hypotheses. The result revealed that, there are significant differences among the game methods, quiz game is the best followed by puzzle games, simulation and lecture are the least effective in improving pupils’ academic achievement in primary school basic science. There is a significant difference in the performance of pupils taught basic science and technology with quiz games and those taught with lecture methods in favour of groups taught with quiz games. A significant difference in the performance of pupils taught basic science and technology with puzzle games and those taught with lecture methods in favour of groups taught with puzzle game. There is significant difference in the performance of pupils taught basic science and technology with simulation games and those taught with lecture methods in favour of groups taught with simulation games. It was concluded that, games strategies significantly improve pupils’ academic performance in primary schools in Adamawa state. The study recommended that; the Adamawa state government should recommend game strategies in primary school teaching. Curriculum planners should incorporate game strategies in teaching primary school science into the curriculum. Adamawa state government should organize a training workshop for primary school teachers on how to inculcate game strategies into their teaching.