Effect of Guided Discovery and Demonstration Teaching Methods on Students’ Achievement and Attitude Towards Basic Science

Abstract

This study examined the effects of guided discovery and demonstration teaching methods on students’ achievement and attitude towards Basic Science in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. The study adopted a quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test non equivalent group design. The population comprised 3,145 JSS II Basic Science students in 32 public secondary schools, while 85 students (37 males and 48 females) from two co educational schools participated in the study. The schools and intact classes were selected through multi-stage sampling involving purposive and simple random sampling. One group was taught through guided discovery, and the other through demonstration, over two weeks, using researcher-developed lesson plans covering Work, Energy and Power, Types of Energy, and Thermal Energy. Data were collected with a 30-item Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT) and a Basic Science Attitude Scale (BSAS). Reliability coefficients of 0.77 and 0.71 were obtained for the BSAT and BSAS, respectively. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while ANCOVA was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 significance level. Students taught through demonstration recorded a higher mean achievement gain (8.09) than those taught through guided discovery (6.95), although the adjusted difference between the two methods was not statistically significant, F(1,80)=0.998,p=.321, partial η²=.012. Gender did not significantly influence achievement, F(1,80)=2.621, p=.109, and the interaction between teaching method and gender on achievement was not significant, F(1,80)=0.606, p=.438. Both methods also improved students’ attitude: the guided discovery group recorded a mean gain of 5.56, while the demonstration group recorded 6.37. The difference between methods was not significant, F(1,80)=2.087, p=.152, partial η²=.025. Gender did not significantly influence attitude, F(1,80)=0.254, p=.616, but the interaction between teaching method and gender was significant, F(1,80)=6.292, p=.014, partial η²=.073. The study concludes that both methods are useful for Basic Science teaching, with demonstration showing a modest descriptive advantage. Basic Science teachers are therefore encouraged to use both approaches, with attention to meaningful student participation and gender-responsive implementation.