TITLE:
The Influence of Activity-Based Teaching Method Used in Teaching Social Studies on Students Retention and Academic Performance: A Quasi-Experimental Study of Selected Junior High School Students in Sekyere South District of Ashanti Region, Ghana
AUTHORS:
Thomas Sarpong, Francis Atta Sarpong, Angelina Osei Asor
KEYWORDS:
Activity-Based Teaching, Students’ Retention, Academic Performance Social Studies
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.8 No.12,
December
22,
2020
ABSTRACT: The focus of teaching methods in Ghana now has been teaching that allows
the interest and needs of students to be the center of teaching and learning.
One of the popular teaching methods which makes this basic aim of education
possible to reach in this modern era is the use of activity-based teaching
method. The paper is thrust on investigating the impact of activity-based
teaching method used in teaching social studies on students’ retention and academic
performance within the Sekyere South District of Ashanti Region. The study
adopted the quasi-experimental research design, using both questionnaire and
40-multiple choice tests items in its investigation. The study found that activity-based
teaching method was beneficial to students learning social studies in junior high
school in many ways. They include: students develop high-order thinking skills, retain
social studies’ concepts more easily, become active in class, interests are sustained, maximize
potential in performing well in class. The study further found that
activity-based teaching strategies such as collaborative learning,
problem-solving learning and co-operative learning positively significantly
affect students’ retention in social studies. The study again found that there
is a significant difference between the academic performance of experimental
and control groups.