Effect of think-pair share (tps) and student teams-achievement divisions (stad) instructional strategies on senior secondary school students’ achievement and interest in economics

Project Abstract

<p> The study investigated the effects of Think-Pair<br>Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) on senior secondary<br>school students’ achievement and interest in Economics. It adopted the<br>non-equivalent pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. The sample for the<br>study consisted of two hundred and twenty-four (224) senior secondary school<br>two (SSS II) Economics students in Nsukka Metropolis. Six research<br>questions and six hypotheses guided the study respectively. Instruments for<br>data collection consisted of Economics Achievement Test (EAT) and Economics<br>Interest Scale (EIS), which were validated and trial tested to ascertain their<br>respective psychometric properties or indices. The reliability coefficients for<br>Economics Achievement Test (EAT) and Economics Interest Scale (EIS) were 0.960<br>and 0.873 respectively. Mean scores were used in answering the six research<br>questions while the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), t-test and Mann-Whitney testwere<br>used in testing the six hypotheses for the study. The findings revealed that Think-Pair<br>Share (TPS) significantly improved students’ achievement in Economics.<br>Similarly, Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) significantly enhanced<br>students’ achievement in Economics. Female students achieved better than their<br>male counterparts. Think-Pair Share (TPS) cooperative learning instructional<br>strategy significantly enhanced students’ interest in Economics. Student<br>Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) cooperative learning instructional strategy<br>significantly enhanced students’ interest in Economics. Think-Pair Share (TPS)<br>cooperative learning instructional strategy significantly improved female<br>students’ interest in Economics than their male counterparts. It was concluded<br>that both Think-Pair Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD)<br>are effective for teaching and learning of Economics. It was recommended<br>amongst others that faculties of education, institutes of education, colleges<br>of education and teachers’ training institutes should not merely emphasise<br>innovative instructional strategies in their methodology courses, but should<br>ensure their practical application in teaching and learning process. This will<br>help Economics teachers to be knowledgeable in the utilization of Think-Pair<br>Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) in the teaching of<br>the subject. <br></p>

Project Overview

<p> </p><p><strong>INTRODUCTION</strong></p><p><strong>Background<br>of the study</strong></p><p>The knowledge of Economics as a<br>subject is generally considered very vital in fostering societal development.<br>It is therefore germane for technological, social, economic, political,<br>institutional and physical development of every society. Economic Education Web<br>(EcEdWeb) (2014) asserted that students should be taught Economics so as to<br>develop the skills and knowledge with which they would take important decisions<br>today and in future, especially in their roles as future leaders of the<br>society. Foundation for Teaching Economics (2014) also affirmed that the future<br>of students and the society depends on the ability of students to make<br>informed, prudent and rational decisions. The knowledge of Economics could<br>assist them to make rational decisions (New Zealand Commerce &amp; Economics<br>Teachers Association (NZCETA), 2014).</p><p>The teaching and learning of<br>Economics also develops in students the knowledge of finance. This financial<br>education is developed through the inculcation of financial skills. Council for<br>Economic Education (2014) opined that financial literacy is needed for students<br>to have a bright and successful future, which could make a massive difference<br>in curbing generational monetary mismanagement. Bell (2014) revealed that<br>students’ financial skills have a significant positive impact on their<br>employability. These financial skills are also germane for students’<br>entrepreneurial career, wealth generation and poverty eradication. The teaching<br>and learning of Economics is therefore vital in making citizens self-reliant<br>and productive.</p><p>Nigerian government recognises the<br>importance of Economics to societal development, by ensuring its integration<br>into the school curricula. Nigerian Educational Research and Development<br>Council (NERDC) (2008) stated that the philosophy of Economics curriculum aimed<br>at preparing students for entrepreneurial career and getting them acquainted<br>with evolving economic-developmental issues capable of repositioning Nigeria<br>strategy be among the twenty most developed economies in the world by the year<br>2020. Its curriculum therefore focuses on using education to empower the<br>citizenry through value-orientation and re-orientation, consumer education and<br>skills’ acquisition. This is in consonance with the National Policy on<br>Education, which emphasised that the senior secondary education shall amongst<br>others provide entrepreneurial and career skills for self-reliance and societal<br>development (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2009).</p><p>However, as important as teaching<br>and learning of Economics is, teachers, government, parents, and other<br>stakeholders have been uncomfortable over the recent poor achievement and low<br>interest of students in the subject at the senior secondary school level. This<br>is evident in the West African Examinations Council Chief Examiner’s report on<br>the Senior School Certificate Examination (2005) which revealed that the<br>percentage of candidates that failed Economics increased from 21.29 % in 2004<br>to 28.41 % in 2005. This fell slightly to 24.37 % in 2006. The Chief Examiner’s<br>report (2009) also showed that between 2006 and 2009, candidates overall<br>performance fell. The Chief Examiner’s Report (2013) further revealed that<br>there was no significant improvement in candidates’ performance from 2009 to<br>2013. These reports collectively and individually attributed poor achievement<br>in Economics to several factors rising from poor teacher preparation,<br>inadequate infrastructural facilities, inadequate funding, and problem of<br>policy implementation to ineffective teaching methods.</p><p>The West African Examinations<br>Council (2014) has noted that challenge of dearth of infrastructure and<br>manpower in senior secondary schools as well as over population of students are<br>responsible for poor students’ achievement. Problem of students’ over<br>population is a precursor for the urgent need of instructional approaches that<br>would facilitate learning in spite of classroom congestion. The Chief<br>Examiner’s Report (2013) further identified that many candidates lacked<br>manipulative skill, explanatory skill, discussion skill, communication skill,<br>and writing skill. They could not articulate their ideas intelligently on<br>paper, and could not manage their time well; they spent most of their time<br>writing down irrelevant preambles that earned them no marks. Amongst other<br>recommendations were that the teachers should develop skills for critical<br>thinking in the students, rote learning should be discouraged; the discussion<br>and practice of topical economic issues in the classrooms should be<br>strengthened, so that students would be able to link connections between<br>theoretical economic principles and real-world events. These recommendations<br>can be effectively implemented through the employment of appropriate and relevant<br>innovative teaching strategies.</p><p>Indeed, the main purpose of any<br>instructional process is to bring about desirable learning outcomes for<br>students, especially in form of improved academic achievement and interest.<br>Achievement describes the level of success in relation to a task that is<br>carried out. Uwalaka (2013) conceptualized achievement as something very good<br>but difficult, which is carried out successfully. Academic achievement is an<br>output of an instructional process. It measures the extent to which students<br>have attained the stated objectives (Igbo, Okafor, &amp;Eze, 2014). In the<br>words of Jebur, Jasin and Jaboori (2011) achievement is the accomplishment of<br>performance in a particular subject matter. They further noted that it is the<br>learning that takes place under a specific course of instruction. It is thus<br>the mastery of skills and knowledge which learners gain in the course of an<br>instructional process usually measured by an achievement test. The results of<br>achievement test provide information on the extent to which students have<br>attained stated instructional objectives. </p><p>Interest refers to the<br>psychological state of engaging with particular classes of objects, events, or<br>ideas over time (Hidi&amp;Renninger,<br>2006). McGrew (2008) defined interest as the focused interaction between<br>an individual and a class of objects, ideas or activities that results in a<br>lasting affective disposition towards the objects, ideas or activities.<br>Interest is the earnest desire to know something (Eze, 2008). Durik and Harackiewicz (2007) identified<br>two types of interest, namely: situational interest and personal interest.<br>Situational interest is said to be spontaneous, transitory, and environmentally<br>triggered, while personal interest is less spontaneous, of lasting personal<br>value and activated internally. Most often, situational interest precedes,<br>facilitates and reinforces the development of personal interest. Thus, while<br>situational interest catches students’ attention, personal interest sustains<br>and reinforces it.</p><p>Instructional strategy adopted by a<br>teacher during an instructional process is a crucial factor in determining<br>effective and productive teaching and learning. This position is reinforced by<br>CENGAGE Learning (2014) that students’ responses, in a survey on what sparks<br>students’ engagement and interest in the teaching and learning process,<br>revealed that for teaching and learning process to be interesting, exciting and<br>fun, the teaching method adopted by the teacher is a crucial factor. The<br>Economics Network (2009) identified teaching method as one of the factors why<br>Economics is difficult for students. National Economics Teaching Association<br>(NETA) (2014) emphasized that students’ engagement in the teaching and learning<br>process is the foundation of learning. The assertion of Gamson (2010) reflects<br>that the instructional method employed by the teacher plays a crucial role in<br>the acquisition and understanding of skills and meaningful learning.</p><p>Goodman (2010) opined that there<br>are numerous strategies available for teachers to employ in order to<br>efficaciously teach and promote life-long learning. The Nigerian Educational<br>Research and Development Council (NERDC) (2008) pointed out that Economics is a<br>living subject and has to be taught and learned in a practical, enthusiastic<br>and realistic way. Since Economics is both theory and concept-based (that is,<br>abstract in nature), there is a need for teaching strategies that can permeate<br>its abstract and difficult nature. It is also strongly emphasised by the NERDC<br>(2008) that Economics teachers should employ interactive and learner-oriented<br>instructional strategies such as cooperative learning strategies to teach<br>learners. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2008) strongly recommends that<br>cooperative learning should be used to teach Economics at the senior secondary<br>schools. This trend has direct relevance<br>to constructivism.</p><p>Dheeraj and Kumari (2013) asserted<br>that constructivism has brought a revolution in the field of education and this<br>is affirmed by various research studies all over the world. Constructivist<br>theory emphasises an active and learner-centred learning process where learners<br>construct their own ideas which are connected to their prior knowledge. This is<br>based on the belief that learning occurs and is made effective when learners<br>are actively involved in the teaching and learning activities, rather than<br>passively receiving instruction (Gray, 2011). This helps learners to transform<br>information, transfer knowledge, formulate hypotheses and look at alternative<br>decisions, through their cognitive structure (that is, schema). It is an<br>arrangement whereby both the teacher and learners are engaged in an active<br>dialog and in which the teacher gives students questions rather than answers.<br>Scholars have emphasized that an engaged student is a successful one (National<br>Economics Teaching Association (NETA), 2014). The researcher therefore<br>considered a study of instructional strategies that hinge on constructivist<br>theory not only pertinent, but also relevant to senior secondary school<br>students’ achievement and interest in Economics.</p><p>Goodman (2010) noted that<br>cooperative learning instructional strategies coincided with constructivist<br>theory. Cooperative learning is a team learning activity that is systematically<br>organised for learning to be socially structured in order to facilitate<br>exchange of information, ideas and knowledge among learners and in which<br>learners are individually held accountable for their learning and are motivated<br>to enhance the learning of their partners (Kirby, 2008). Having students work<br>in teams/ pairs helps students to master the subject matter, it gingers<br>students’ writing skills and it motivates students’ appreciation of real-life<br>situations (Johnston &amp;Karageorgis, 2009). Research on classroom cooperative<br>learning techniques in which learners work in teams and receive rewards based<br>on their group performance has gained wide popularity in the past few years<br>(Slavin, 2014).</p><p>Hernandez (2002) positioned that<br>cooperative learning is a comprehensive pedagogy designed to facilitate active<br>learning and higher level thinking. Cooperative learning instructional<br>techniques include the following, amongst several others: Jigsaw; Co-operative<br>Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC); Learning Together (LT); Think Pair<br>Share (TPS); Timed Pair Share and Student-Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD).<br>Jigsaw is a cooperative learning instructional strategy that builds students’<br>expertise in the subject matter. It makes every student to be both an expert and<br>a receiver of knowledge. The teacher assigns students to a group which is not<br>more than five to six students. The group is given a problem to solve or a task<br>to perform as a group. Consequently, the entire group becomes experts in that<br>area. The students thereafter reform in new groups (home group) with people<br>from different areas of expertise to share their information and to hear from<br>others (Australian Catholic University Learning and Teaching Centre, 2012).</p><p>Co-operative Integrated Reading and<br>Composition (CIRC) is a cooperative learning instructional strategy that<br>divides students into groups composed of two pairs from two different groups.<br>The groups are heterogeneous, made up of a high ability pair and a low ability<br>pair, while the pairs are homogeneous in ability. The teacher provides<br>different reading materials to the pairs according to their ability so that all<br>the students have an equal opportunity to accomplish the instructional<br>objectives, irrespective of their ability. Though the pairs are given different<br>tasks to work on, the higher ability pair also helps the lower ability pair to<br>learn. Scores are awarded to each member who has successfully completed the<br>three major language activities, which are basal-related activities; direct<br>instruction in reading comprehension and integrated language arts/writing. Each<br>member’s scores are added to the group’s scores each week. The teacher gives<br>rewards to the groups who attain the required scores (Li &amp; Lam, 2013).</p><p>Learning Together (LT) is also a<br>co-operative learning instructional strategy originated by David Johnson and<br>Roger Johnson. The model was designed to have a characteristic feature of five<br>(5) elements of co-operative learning, namely: positive interdependence,<br>individual and group accountability, face-to-face interaction, interpersonal<br>and small group skills and group processing. In the classroom application of<br>Learning Together (LT), the teacher divides the class into four-or five-member<br>heterogeneous groups. The groups are given problems to solve and submitted the<br>tasks as a team. There is no individual submission but group submission and<br>rewards are given based on the scores of each group. Learning Together (LT)<br>cooperative learning instructional strategy encourages team-building activities<br>in teaching and learning process (Li &amp; Lam, 2013).</p><p>Ariyani (2011) wrote that Think<br>Pair Share is a cooperative technique that quickly becomes an entire class<br>technique and a pedagogy designed to provide learners with “food for thought”<br>on a given topic and concept; enabling them to bring out their individual ideas<br>and share the ideas with one another. Ariyani also noted that as a cooperative<br>learning strategy, Think Pair Share encourages Indonesian students’ peer<br>acceptance, peer support, academic achievement, retention, interest and<br>transfer of knowledge. Think Pair Share is a cooperative learning strategy that<br>incorporates three stages namely: time for thinking, time for sharing with a<br>partner and time for each pair to share back to a larger group. Goodman further<br>noted that it provides bedrock for scaffolding where necessary, while<br>incorporating positive interdependence, individual accountability and face to<br>face interaction amongst learners. Think Pair Share cooperative learning<br>technique is capable of promoting learning with or without the presence of the<br>teacher as asserted by Jannah (2013).</p><p>Ariyani (2011) researched on the<br>application of Think Pair Share in teaching writing a recount text. The<br>research was carried out in Indonesia. Findings showed that the application of<br>Think Pair Share is an effective way to make students active in the class and<br>develop in them four language skills, namely speaking skill, writing skill,<br>listening skill, and reading skill, to achieve a goal of functional literacy.<br>This is in consonance with the position of Gamson (2010) that for a learning<br>strategy to make an instructional process to be productive, learners must not<br>just listen and copy note, they must read, write, discuss, listen and respond<br>to questions. They must involve in higher-order thinking tasks, they must<br>analyse, synthesis, and evaluate ideas and concepts.</p><p>Ariyami (2011) Timed Pair Share<br>cooperative learning strategy was developed from Think Pair Share. It is more<br>flexible in its usage and has a wider application than Think Pair Share; it is<br>an improvement on Think Pair Share. For example, in a class where a teacher<br>employs Think Pair Share learning technique, one student in a pair can<br>monopolise the discussion while Timed Pair Share allows for more equal participation<br>of partners in a pair. However, there has not been wide application of these<br>interactive and student-oriented instructional strategies in Economics<br>classroom, to the best of this researcher’s knowledge.</p><p>Students should be part of the<br>teaching and this happens in several ways. For instance, when a student asks a<br>question, another student answers the question. The teacher and the students<br>can jointly take decisions (McKeachie&amp;Svinicki, 2014). Goodman (2010)<br>investigated how the use of active learning strategies of Think Pair Share and<br>Student Summaries during reading, could affect students’ performance. Findings<br>showed among other things that Think Pair Share improved students’ reading<br>skill. The study was carried out in Menomonie, USA. Carss (2007) in New Zealand<br>did a research work on the effects of Think Pair Share strategies, used during<br>guided reading lessons on reading achievement. Result showed that it has<br>positive effects on students’ social skill and reading achievement,<br>particularly for students reading above their chronological age. Active class<br>discourages passivity and encourages students’ motivation, keeps them engaged<br>in the learning process, increases their energy, enthusiasm and involvement<br>(McKeachie&amp;Svinicki, 2014).</p><p>Ofodu and Lawal (2011) investigated<br>the comparative effects of Think Pair Share and Reciprocal teaching methods of<br>cooperative learning instructional strategies on students’ reading performance<br>in schools. The research was done in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Their findings<br>showed that Reciprocal teaching method is slightly more efficacious than Think<br>Pair Share while the two methods are superior to the conventional method and<br>therefore should be used in schools. Jebur et al. (2011) carried out a study on<br>the effect of using the Think Pair Share as a new technique on college<br>students’ achievement in the course of General English in Al – Mustansiriyah<br>University in Baghdad, Iraq. Their study revealed that the experimental group,<br>which has practiced Think Pair Share, was better in achievement than the<br>control group, which has not practiced it. Research works have also shown that<br>teachers have to give three to five minutes to their students to think through<br>the information they are receiving from the teacher (CENGAGE Learning, 2014).</p><p>Adesoji and Ibraheem (2009)<br>investigated the effects of Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) strategy<br>and mathematics ability on senior secondary school chemistry students’ learning<br>outcome in chemical kinetics. A pretest, posttest control group quasi experimental<br>design was employed for the study. The study was carried out in Epe division of<br>Lagos State, Nigeria. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the<br>data with pre-test scores as covariates in order to adjust for initial<br>differences in the sample. Multiple classification analysis (MCA) was also used<br>to examine the magnitude of the differences among the groups. The findings<br>revealed that there were significant main effects of treatment on students<br>achievement and attitude (F=190.58; p&lt;0.05) and (F=379.275, p&lt;0.05)<br>respectively. Tran (2013) also investigated the effect of cooperative learning<br>on the academic achievement in mathematics and attitudes of seventy four 9th<br>grade mathematics students towards mathematics in a high school in Vietnam. Using<br>a pretest and posttest non-equivalent comparison group design and t-test for<br>independent samples. The results of the study showed that experimental group<br>had significantly higher scores than the control group. Amato (2005) in<br>agreement with Ladd et al. (2014) found team learning to be a productive and<br>functional approach.</p><p>Despite the merits of Think-Pair<br>Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD), they have not<br>gained popularity in the field of social science education, particularly in<br>Economics education. Hence the researcher decided to investigate the effects of<br>both types of cooperative learning instructional strategies on senior secondary<br>school students’ achievement and interest in Economics. It would seem that such<br>research is timely, considering that the Federal Government of Nigeria has<br>identified cooperative learning strategies as effective instructional<br>strategies that foster joint construction of learning and develop metacognition<br>(Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), 2008). There seems also to be little<br>work for now on cooperative learning instructional strategies using Think-Pair<br>Share (TPS) and Student Teams- Achievement Divisions (STAD) teaching strategies<br>in Economics education to the best of this researcher’s knowledge. This study<br>aims at filling this gap, especially since it has been empirically stated that<br>cooperative learning strategies like Think-Pair Share (TPS) and Student<br>Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) could be employed in a variety of contexts<br>and in several fields of study (Teacher Vision, 2011). The investigation of the<br>effects of Think-Pair Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions<br>(STAD) on senior secondary school students’ achievement and interest in<br>Economics is thus timely and demanding, more so that there was no significant<br>improvement in students’ achievement in Economics.</p><p>Achievement and interest of<br>students in relation to gender has been of concern to parents, educators,<br>scholars, researchers, and government. Gender is a social concept that is set<br>to differentiate between the two sexes, male and female; with respect to their<br>roles (Eze, 2008). Kolawole (2007) noted that some research works found that<br>there are still significant differences in the achievements of learners with<br>regard to gender. Kolawole investigated the comparative effects of competitive<br>and cooperative learning strategies on Nigerian students’ academic achievement<br>in Mathematics and found out that males achieved better than females in both<br>cooperative and competitive learning strategies. In contrast to Kolawole, Yusuf<br>and Afolabi (2010) found out that gender had no effect on achievement of<br>students in computer-assisted cooperative learning. Gambari, Shittu and Taiwo<br>(2013) also investigated how Cooperative Computer Instruction (CCI) could<br>enhance students’ achievement in Algebra concepts. The study also examined the<br>influence of gender on the achievement of students exposed to Student<br>Teams-Achievement Divisions and Individualised Computer Instruction (ICI). The<br>findings of the study revealed that the achievement of students exposed to<br>Cooperative Computer Instruction (CCI) was better than those taught using<br>Individualised Computer Instruction (ICI) and conventional classroom<br>instruction. However, there was no significant difference between male and<br>female students taught using CCI and ICI. These contradictory results have<br>necessitated the inclusion of gender as moderating variable in this work. This<br>is for the purpose of knowledge advancement on gender studies, and to show empirically<br>the gender biased-nature of cooperative learning.</p><p><strong>Statement<br>of the problem</strong></p><p>It was reported that there was no<br>significant improvement in students’ achievement in Economics from 2009 to<br>2013, while it was also emphasized that Economics should be taught in practical<br>and lively ways. Indeed, Economics being a living subject, needs to be taught<br>in a way that is lively and meaningful, in order to arouse and sustain the<br>interest of the students, thereby improving achievement rate. The major worry<br>being on the report that there was no significant improvement in students’<br>achievement in Economics. A need, therefore, arises for exploring and<br>investigating some innovative teaching strategies for meaningful teaching and<br>learning of Economics. Think-Pair Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement<br>Divisions (STAD) could reduce the abstract nature of Economics and enable<br>students develop knowledge and skills, such as listening skill, questioning<br>skill, communication skill, retentive skill and manipulative skill. The problem<br>of this study therefore is to determine the extent to which Think-Pair Share<br>(TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) will improve senior<br>secondary school students’ achievement and interest in Economics.</p><p><strong>Purpose<br>of the study</strong></p><p>The purpose of the study was to<br>investigate the effects of Think-Pair Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement<br>Divisions (STAD) on senior secondary school students’ achievement and interest<br>in Economics. Specifically, the study sought to determine the:</p><ol><li>Effect of Think-Pair Share (TPS) on students’ achievement in Economics.</li><li>Effect of Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) on students’ achievement in Economics.</li><li>Achievement level of male and female students in Economics when taught using Think-Pair Share (TPS).</li><li>Effect of Think-Pair Share (TPS) on students’ interest in Economics.</li><li>Effect of Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) on students’ interest in Economics.</li><li>Interest level of male and female students in Economics when taught using Think-Pair Share (TPS).</li></ol><p><strong>Significance<br>of the study</strong></p><p>The findings of this study will be<br>of practical and theoretical benefits to the following stakeholders: Economics<br>students, Economics teachers, textbook authors, examiners, government,<br>curriculum planners and the society at large.</p><p>Practically, the findings will be<br>significant to the students because they will be taught in an active class,<br>harnessing the merits of Think-Pair Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement<br>Divisions (STAD). It would develop in the students listening skill, writing<br>skill, communication skill, time management skill, manipulative skill amongst<br>other skills needed for self-development and self-reliance. It will also make<br>the teaching of Economics to be practical to real life, less abstract, remove<br>fear/ phobia, remove frustration, and thereby solve the problem of poor<br>students’ achievement in Economics. The students will get this benefit in form<br>of significant improvement in their academic achievement.</p><p>The results of this study will be<br>of great benefit to Economics teachers due to the fact that this study will<br>employ activity-based and student-centered instructional strategies. They<br>provide additional methods of teaching Economics, which are capable of holding<br>students attention, ginger their interest and make them participate fully in<br>the lesson. Teachers will get these benefits through the application of<br>Think-Pair Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) in the<br>teaching and learning of Economics. The benefit will also be through an<br>improved teaching performance.</p><p>The findings will also help<br>Economics teachers who do not know the efficacy of these types of cooperative<br>learning to be informed and trained through publications, seminars, symposia,<br>workshops and conferences that would be organised by government through its<br>ministry of education thereby providing the teachers with alternative methods<br>of teaching Economics, for easy understanding and improved achievement by the<br>students.</p><p>The findings will help textbook<br>authors to produce more relevant Economics textbooks on innovative<br>instructional strategies in Economics. This will bring about innovative and<br>interactive teaching and learning of Economics, in line with modern trend in<br>the education sector. This will also tend towards expanding the frontier of<br>knowledge in Economics Education. The textbook authors will get this benefit<br>when government enforces strict adherence to effective curriculum<br>implementation, precisely the utilization of recommended innovative teaching<br>methods.</p><p>The findings of this study will<br>also be of great significance to examiners when upon the application of<br>Think-Pair Share and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions in the classrooms by<br>Economics teachers, there is a very significant improvement in students’<br>academic achievement and interest. The examiners will get this benefit when<br>students’ academic deficiencies are being taken care of through the application<br>of recommended teaching methods.</p><p>The findings will help the<br>government in the formulation of education policies, bringing to the knowledge<br>of government the contemporary and innovative issues in teaching and learning<br>of Economics. This will also furnish the government on the need to re-design<br>Senior Secondary School Economics curriculum in order to actualize the goal of<br>inculcating leadership and entrepreneurial skills in the students. The findings<br>of the study will also help the curriculum planners in bringing innovation into<br>the curriculum planning.</p><p>The findings of the study would<br>also benefit the society at large because it will come to have a crop of<br>students with sound economic knowledge which is a vital tool for a productive<br>living, national development and self-reliance. The society will also benefit<br>when students’ achievement and interest in Senior Secondary School Economics<br>have increased significantly and graduates that are being produced are<br>self-reliant, and able to take rational decisions in solving individual<br>problems and societal problems. This will go a long way in bringing about<br>lasting societal transformation and development. An improved teaching<br>performance by the teachers will also have a multiplier effect on the society.</p><p>Theoretically, the study is<br>anchored on Jean Piaget cognitive learning theory, Lee Semyonovich Vygotsky<br>social learning theory and Jerome Bruner cognitive learning theory. The trio of<br>Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner theorized that children are active participants in<br>the learning process, thus advocating student-centered instructional<br>strategies, such as cooperative learning. The significance of the three<br>theories is reflected in the benefits of the interactive learning, active class<br>and social study groups that are advocated for in the theories. The three<br>theories are in tandem with various studies that strengthened the efficacy of<br>Think-Pair Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) to<br>improve students’ achievement.</p><p><strong>Scope<br>of the study</strong></p><p>This study is on the effect of<br>Think-Pair Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) on senior<br>secondary school students’ achievement and interest in Economics in<br>NsukkaEducation Zone, Enugu State. The study covered some concepts selected<br>from senior secondary school two (SSS 2) Economics curriculum such as concept<br>of money market, concept of capital market, concept of securities and concept<br>of stock exchange (Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council<br>(NERDC), 2008).</p><p><strong>Research<br>questions</strong></p><p>The following research questions<br>guided the study:</p><ol><li>What are the mean achievement scores of students taught Economics using Think-Pair Share (TPS)?</li><li>What are the mean achievement scores of students taught Economics using Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD)?</li><li>What are the mean achievement scores of male and female students taught Economics using Think-Pair Share (TPS)?</li><li>What are the mean interest scores of students taught Economics using Think-Pair Share (TPS)?</li><li>What are the mean interest scores of students taught Economics using Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD)?</li><li>What are the mean interest scores of male and female students taught Economics using Think-Pair Share (TPS)?</li></ol><p><strong>Hypotheses</strong></p><p>The following null hypotheses (Ho)<br>were tested at p ≤ 0.05 level of significance:</p><p>Ho1: There is no<br>significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students taught<br>Economics using Think-Pair Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions<br>(STAD).</p><p>Ho2: There is no<br>significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female<br>students taught Economics using Think-Pair Share (TPS)</p><p>Ho3: The interaction<br>effects of gender and Think-Pair Share (TPS) instructional strategy on<br>students’ achievement in Economics as measured by their mean achievement scores<br>is not significant.</p><p>Ho4: The interaction<br>effects of gender and Think-Pair Share (TPS) instructional strategy on<br>students’ interest in Economics as measured by their mean interest scores is<br>not significant.</p><p>Ho5: There is no<br>significant difference in the mean interest scores of male and female students<br>taught Economics using Think-Pair Share (TPS).</p><p>Ho6: There is no significant difference in the mean interest scores of students taught Economics using Think-Pair Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD).</p> <br><p></p>