An Investigation of the Difference in Performance in Geometry Between Students Taught Using the Cooperative Instructional Method and Those Taught Using the Conventional Instructional Method

Cooperative instructional method is heuristic and mainly learner-centred involving student team learning while Conventional instructional method is expository and teacher-centred. The objective of the study was to investigate the difference in Geometry performance between students taught using the Cooperative instructional method and those taught using the Conventional instructional method. A quasi-experimental design was used. The target population was students and teachers from secondary schools in Meru County, Kenya. Purposive sampling was used to arrive at a sample of six (6) secondary schools, two (2) for boys only, two (2) for girls only, and two (2) co-educational schools. The sampled schools were grouped into two, a control group and an experimental group. The data collection instruments were pre- and post- Geometry Achievement Tests (GAT). To ensure validity of the instruments senior examiners and Mathematics educators in the County reviewed the pre- and post-tests. Quantitative data was analysed using Version 27 of the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) thereby generating graphs, analysis Tables and frequency charts for inferential and descriptive statistical analysis. The results showed that there is a difference in Geometry performance between students taught using the Cooperative instructional method and those taught using the Conventional instructional method. The hypothesis was examined with a significance level set at α = .05. The mean score for the control group was 26.27 and a standard deviation of 10.926 which differed significantly from those in the experimental group, which had a mean score of 74.02 and a standard deviation of 12.495. The results indicated a significant statistical difference (t (195) = -28.493, p