24 Effect Of Virtual Mathematics Laboratory On Senior Secondary School Students’ Interest In Circle Geometry In North-Central Geopolitical Zone, Nigeria

This study was empirically designed to determine the effect of virtual mathematics laboratory on senior secondary school students’ interest in circle geometry in North-Central geopolitical Zone, Nigeria. The interest of students taught circle geometry using Virtual Mathematics Laboratory (VML) and Traditional Mathematics Laboratory (TML) were compared. The study also determined the influence of gender on students’ interest in circle geometry. The interact effect of type of mathematics laboratory and gender on students’ interest in circle geometry were determined as well. Three research questions and nine hypotheses guided the study. A quasi-experimental research design was used. Specifically, non-equivalent pre-test, post-test control groups design, involving two intact classes. The population for this study consisted of a total of 5657 students in SS2 from Co-educational Federal Government Colleges in the North-Central. The sample for this study consisted of 96 students (55 males and 41 females). A purposively sampling technique was first employed to select ten (10) Co-educational Federal Government Colleges in the North-Central. A simple random sampling technique was then employed to draw two Co-educational Colleges and one intact class from each college and assigned to Experimental (VML) and Control (TML) groups. The instrument for data collection was Geometry Interest Inventory (GII) developed and validated by the researchers. The internal consistency of GII was determined and established to be 0.92 using Cronbach’s  Alpha (α). The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) at 0.05 significant level. The results obtained from this study indicated that type of mathematics laboratory had significant effect on students’ interest in circle geometry. Students taught circle geometry using VML had significant higher interest in circle geometry than those taught with TML. However, gender did not significantly influence students’ interest in circle geometry. It was also revealed from this study that, type of mathematics laboratory and gender had no significant interaction effect on students’ interest in circle geometry. It was recommended among others that mathematics teachers and students should endeavour to use VML to teach and learn circle geometry in senior secondary schools respectively. Suggestions for further studies were highlighted among which a study on the remaining circle theorems and other aspect of mathematics were made.

INTRODUCTION

Mathematics plays a key and fundamental role in the development and growth of any nation. This is true because the knowledge of mathematics is needed for scientific discoveries and technological breakthrough which are the true indicators of developed economy in any nation (Anigbo, 2016). Research evidences have shown that mathematics is an essential tool for scientific and technological breakthrough that has led many nations to achieved sustainable economy (Kurumeh, 2012; Gambari, Shittu, Daramola, & Jimoh, 2016). Science and technology are two distinct concepts that work together and mathematics is an instrument for any achievement in them.  This explains the reason while mathematics is regarded as language and queen of science and technology. Mathematics is regarded as the queen of science and technology right from the ancient time. The ancient educators who were the first to link mathematics to science are Frieddrich Gauss and Benjamin Peirce. Friedrich Gauss defined mathematics as the queen of science while Benjamin Peirce described it as science for the drawing of necessary conclusions about nature (Savita, 2014). This shows the relevance of the knowledge of mathematics to science and technology as well as its application for successful economic development that has been the expectation of under developed nations.

It means that any under developed nation like Nigeria has to improve its science and technology as well as its economy through the effective teaching and learning of mathematics. It was in an attempt to achieve this sustainable economy that Nigeria as a nation repose implicit confidence in the power of science and technology to deliver her from poverty, ignorance and diseases, which are the three indices of under developed economy in any nation (Gimba & Agwagah, 2012). Consequently, it was in the same attempt that the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) (2013) prescribed mathematics as a core and compulsory subject for all students in both primary and secondary schools. This is also the reason why, every student seeking admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria is expected to be competent in mathematics and must also pass it at credit level. Mathematics has always been a core subject in the junior and senior secondary school curriculum right from the Colonial and post Colonial curriculum development in Nigeria due to its importance. The importance and contribution of mathematics to achieve economic development of nations through science and technology cannot be over emphasized.

Despite the position of mathematics in the national policy on education in Nigeria, WAEC Chief Examiners’ report for the period of 2010 – 2016 examinations have shown a consistent poor academic achievement in secondary school general mathematics examination in Nigeria. An extraction of WAEC chief examiner’s report according to Eze (2014), also shows WAEC statistics based on geopolitical zones in Nigeria for 2014/2015 examination with poor achievement of candidates in mathematics in the North-Central geopolitical zone excluding FCT. It was also observed by other researchers such as Olagunju and Jimoh (2013) that students’ poor achievement in general mathematics has been poor over the years particularly in geometry and especially in the North-Central geopolitical. This poor achievement of students in mathematics especially in geometry has been alarming and disturbing and if the situation is not controlled, it may reduce, hinder or prevent some students’ access to admission opportunities in tertiary institutions. The effect of this situation will affect not only mathematics education but it will also affect other disciplines.

The poor achievement of students in mathematics in Nigeria has been linked and attributed to many factors. Some of these factors include; teachers’ predominant use of traditional method of instruction which is basically chalks and talks method with textbooks. Other factors that could have led to poor students’ achievement include mathematics phobia, students’ lack of interest in mathematics, low and poor retention, gender related issues, lack of mathematics teachers, teachers impatience and un-preparedness, students’ negative attitude towards mathematics, abstractness nature of mathematics, use of inappropriate teaching methods, poor students’ background in mathematics, lack of mathematics laboratories in Nigerian secondary schools among others.

Lack of mathematics laboratory in Nigerian secondary schools has been identified and reported by many researchers as a major factor militating against effective teaching and learning of mathematics which in turn causes students’ poor achievement in mathematics particularly in geometry. There are two types of mathematics laboratories; traditional mathematics laboratory and virtual mathematics laboratory. It means that, there is lack of traditional mathematics and virtual mathematics laboratories in secondary schools in Nigeria. Traditional mathematics laboratory is refers to a real building or physical environment equipped with physical instruments for teaching and learning mathematics. It is a place or a room in a school where research and experiments in mathematics are conducted. Mathematics laboratory is a special place where mathematics learning activities such as demonstrations, constructions or practical mathematics instructions are held (Kurumeh, 2012).  Based on the given definitions in this research work, traditional mathematics laboratory can therefore, be defined as a special building or a room where mathematics teachers and students can explore some materials for teaching and learning activities. This could be verification of theorems and principles as well as other facts in mathematics.

Virtual laboratory on the other hand come from two distinct words; virtual and laboratory. The word virtual simply refers to something that is not in fact a reality but imitated or simulated nearly or almost to a reality. The word laboratory refers to a room, place, environment or building equipped with instruments for research and experiments. The two words gave rise to the concept of virtual laboratory which is referred to as an interactive environment with simulated tools meant for creating and conducting experiments. A virtual laboratory according Onyesolu and Eze (2011) is a computer-based learning environment where learners are able to simulate experiments that could be done in a traditional laboratory through the use of computer. Virtual laboratory is a digital or computer environment with real laboratory tools simulated for the conduct of experiments. It  provides students with tools and materials saved on computers, Compact Discs (CD) and web site in order to perform experiments (Babateen, 2011; Nunn, 2009). Virtual laboratory uses the power of computerized models and simulations to replace traditional laboratory activities. It is an interactive simulation of a traditional laboratory (Ma & Nickerson, 2006). Therefore, for this study, virtual mathematics laboratory can be defined as a computer-based learning environment where learners are able to simulate experiments that could be done in a traditional mathematics laboratory. In other words virtual mathematics laboratory is a simulated version of the traditional laboratory instruments which is meant to replace traditional laboratory activities in mathematics.

The vital roles played by virtual laboratory in practical class activities for laboratory based courses cannot be under estimated. The prevalent condition of virtual laboratories in education is due to the global new technological devices such as computers, ipads or tablets as well as other androids phones that always gain the interest of students when using them. The use of these technologies in education has paved way for the design and development of virtual reality tools and facilities which have the potentials to enhance practical activities in the school and beyond. These technological devices also provide opportunities to control or eliminate rote learning from classrooms for effective or meaningful learning to take place. Virtual laboratory also has the potentials to help teachers improve on their teaching and help students to improve on their learning process because it is a computer-based learning device that are found to increased students’ interest in learning and thereby help them to construct experiments and understand difficult concepts more easily. This is why Mahmoud  and Zoltan (2009) stated that virtual laboratories are computer based learning devices that are found to be interesting to students when using them. Mahmoud and Zoltan further observed that virtual laboratory is an alternative or supplementary tool to traditional laboratories in education. This was also observed by Wolf (2010), that virtual mathematics laboratories may be good substitute or alternative to traditional laboratory. Wolf therefore suggested mvirtual laboratories as a way to alleviate the laboratory capacity problem, cost of instruments, and also to provide remote access to teachers and students. Wolf suggested that students should be allowed to practice critical skills in a virtual environment when traditional laboratory equipment is unavailable. Aluer, Pester, Ursutiu and Samoila (2004) encouraged the application of virtual laboratories in the classrooms based on its advantages. These advantages include; remote access, low cost, reliability, security, flexibility, and convenience to the student.

There are two main types of virtual laboratories; the on-line and off-line virtual laboratory. The off-line according to Martin, Ľuboš, and Miroslav (2011) does not require the use of internet connection for its application; it is on disk or CDs, it can be installed on a personal computer for its application in the school and outside the school. The online virtual laboratories are publicly accessible by users from home or any other place with internet connection. This research work used an offline virtual mathematics laboratory. Thus Clough (2002) outline some advantages of mathematics laboratory in teaching and learning to include; it provides opportunity for students to study, test, verify or discover mathematical principles, properties, facts and theorems; it helps the students to build interest and confidence in learning mathematics; it provides scope or opportunity for greater involvement of both the mind and the hands which facilitate interest of students in learning.

The use of Virtual mathematics laboratory for teaching and learning mathematics may bring about a tangible increase in students’ interest in mathematics especially in geometry because virtual mathematics laboratory has advantages over traditional mathematics laboratory on the basis of cost and accessibility. This means that the cost of building and equipping the traditional mathematics laboratory is higher than the cost of developing virtual mathematics laboratory. The accessibility of virtual mathematics laboratory is more than traditional mathematics laboratory because virtual laboratories are available to students on CDs and on internet for use at home and in schools with the emergence of the new technological devices such as palm tops, laptops, tablets, iphones, android phones among other devices at the students’ disposal. The issue of cost and accessibility of virtual mathematics laboratories provide opportunities that are not possible with the use of traditional mathematics laboratory. Another issue with traditional mathematics laboratory is that, facilities in many traditional mathematics laboratories may only be opened to learners during the school working hours but virtual mathematics laboratory are opened to learners at anytime and anywhere. This affords learners opportunities to perform experiments and do revision anywhere and at anytime so far the user has access to computer or other devices installed with virtual mathematics laboratory.

The use of VML in teaching and learning circle geometry is anchored on the information processing theory of learning propounded by Miller (1956). The capacity of short term memory and Chunk was the two major components of this theory. Miller observed that, short-term memory could only hold limited information (7 chunks of information) at time. Chunk is any meaningful unit while Test-Operate-Test-Exit (TOTE) proposed by Miller, Galanter and Pribram (1960) was the second theoretical idea to information processing theory. TOTE refers to a learning situation where a learning activity is tested to confirm if the learning objective has been achieved and if not TOTE will be performed to ensure that the goal is achieved. This theory is relevant to this study because; the practical activities in the virtual mathematics laboratory were designed to enable students to experience Test-Operate-Test-Exit through rehearsal to achieve the learning goal. The virtual mathematics laboratory was also designed and developed with information in chunk.  It is believed that this practice may with doubt improve students’ interest in geometry which will definitely improve students’ achievement in mathematics especially in geometry.

Geometry is one of the branches of mathematics that is viewed differently by different authors all having a common idea. The concept of geometry, according to Adu (2004), is an aspect of mathematics which deals with the study of different shapes and their properties. Geometry, according to Tabak (2014), deals with fundamental concepts such as points, circles, lines, planes, surfaces, angles, and curves. Geometry, according to Kolawole and Oluwatayo (2004), is a mathematical model of shape, size patterns and motion in two and three dimensions. The concept of geometry according to all these authors has been linked to the study of shape, size and properties. Therefore, the concept of geometry can simply be defined as a mathematical study of shapes, sizes and properties of points, circles, lines, planes, surfaces, angles and curves. The study of geometry in Nigerian secondary schools is divided into two broad types: solid and plane geometry. While the study of solid geometry according to Brown, Evans, Hunt, McIntosh, Pernder and Ramage (2010) is restricted to three dimensional shapes only. Three-dimensional shapes are objects that have width, depth and height. These include objects such as cubes and spheres among others. Plane geometry according Page (2011) deals with the study of two dimensional shapes. Two dimensional shapes are objects with length and breathe. This means that the study of plane geometry is restricted only to the study of flat shapes which include rectangles, squares, lines, triangles and circles. A circle is a shape with a point moving at a constant distance from its center. The parts of a circle include a radius, diameter, a chord and a circumference. A circle divides the plane into three parts: The points inside the circle, the points outside the circle and the points on the circumference. The combinations of the meaning of the two concepts namely circle and geometry paved way for the definition of circle geometry in mathematics.

Circle geometry is the study of two dimensional shapes or flat shapes which must involve a circle in conjunction with other flat shapes. The formation of other plane shapes to the circle could be inside, outside or on the circumference of the circle. It has been noted by McCrone, King, Orihuela, and Robinson (2010) that circle geometry is a central aspect of geometry and is crucial to mathematics education because it is a thinking tool that helps in the development of logical reasoning and thinking which strengthens the interpretation and evaluation of mathematical arguments. This clearly shows that some branches of mathematics use the knowledge of geometry for in depth understanding and application in secondary schools. Geometry also has applications to many fields of study, such as geography, architecture, engineering, chemistry and physics among others as well as other branches of mathematics. This explains the importance of the knowledge of geometry to other fields of study and other branches of mathematics. Geometry as contained in the Junior and Senior Secondary Mathematics Curriculum is taught both in junior and senior secondary schools in Nigeria. This clearly shows that geometry is an important and fundamental theme in secondary schools general mathematics curriculum (Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), 2014). This also indicates the emphasis for the knowledge of geometry for every learner.

Despite the position of geometry in the Nigerian general mathematics curriculum for secondary schools and its importance to other branches of mathematics as well as other field of study. It has been observed that geometry is one of the difficult branches of mathematics for teachers to teach and student to learn. This indicates that the teaching of geometry in Nigerian Secondary school in recent time has been a serious issue. Olagunju and Jimoh (2013) also observed that the teaching of geometry and students’ achievement in it remains a problem in Nigerian secondary schools. Therefore, it is very necessary and important to explore the problems militating against the effective teaching and learning of geometry in Nigerian secondary schools. it is also important to search for innovative ways for teaching geometry in Nigerian secondary schools. It is on this basis that the researchers conducted this research in geometry in the North- Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is believe that the use of virtual mathematics laboratory in teaching mathematics may increase students’ interest in geometry which in turn may increase their achievement. This is because when one has interest in what he is doing, he or she must do well in it.

The concept of interest has been defined by different authors in different words which have the same meaning. The concept interest simply refers to the force or the attraction that makes an individual or a group of individuals to give attention to a stimulus affecting the individual or the individuals (Obodo, 2002). Interest is a construct that is used to refer to an influence to make a person to pay attention or give more attention to a particular task. Interest according to Musa (2006), refers to a zeal or willingness to be involved in an activity which gives one some pleasure. Chukwu (2002) defines the concept of interest as an emotional oriented behaviour that gives students an urge and the vigour to participate in a learning task or situation with a clear focus. Interest can therefore, be defined as an attraction or force, an urge or virgour, the emotions or zeal which make or influence learners to be engaged in learning situations with keen attention to the task they are engaged in.

Students’ interest in learning activity has been noted to have impact or effect in their achievement in a subject. It is observed that when students have interest in learning a subject, they equally will achieve well in that subject. Torty (2010) noted a connection between achievement and interest in a particular study. The researcher discovered a positive correlation between students’ achievement and their interest in a learning task. It was discovered that, the level of achievement measured with an achievement test (reflected by the scores obtained) was also an indication of the level of interest the student had in studying the subject. This means that closely related to students’ achievement is in a subject is students’ interest. It is believed that when students’ interest in learning geometry is enhanced, this will definitely enhance their achievement. However, there can be differential achievement of students according gender.

Gender is a construct that is used to differentiate male from female (boys from girls). Mberekpe, (2013) also refers to gender as a biological difference between male and female from creation. Gender according to Okeke (2001) refers to a social or cultural construct, behaviours, characteristics, and role which society assigns to males and females. Gender differences have been discovered to be a source of disparity in students’ academic achievement in mathematics. Skaalvik and Skaalvik (2004) observed that gender difference is responsible for divergence in academic achievement of students in mathematics.

There are controversial reports on studies about gender in mathematics. Some studies revealed higher academic achievement for male students while others discovered higher achievement for female students in mathematics. Nevertheless, others reported no significant gender influence on students’ achievement in mathematics. Olagunju and Jimoh (2013) and Kurumeh (2013) in separate studies discovered that male students achieve higher than female student in the same achievement test in mathematics. Other researchers such as Gimba (2006) and Kurumeh (2004) discovered a contrary report that female students’ achievement in geometry and mensuration when taught with 3-dimensional instructional materials were higher than male students. In another similar research, Then Iwendi (2012) in a similar research reported no significant gender influence on students’ academic achievement in secondary schools general mathematics in Nigeria. This clearly revealed that, studies on gender disparity in achievement in mathematics are inconclusive. Hence the controversial report on gender achievement in mathematics necessitated this study to investigate the effect of virtual mathematics laboratory on secondary schools students’ interest in circle geometry.

It is observed in this study that researchers have made a lot of efforts to  find out the causes of students’ poor academic achievement in mathematics especially in geometry but  much has not been done on the use of virtual mathematics laboratory particularly in Nigerian senior secondary schools. Studies on the effect of virtual laboratory on students’ interest in mathematics are very scanty and scarce to the researchers’ best knowledge. Also, research findings about gender influence on students’ interest in mathematics have being inconclusive. Therefore, there is need to conduct a study to determine the effect of virtual mathematics laboratory on students’ interest in circle geometry in secondary schools in Nigeria.

Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide this study

1. What is the effect of virtual and traditional mathematics laboratories on the mean interest scores of students in circle geometry?
2. What is the effect of gender on the mean interest scores of students in circle geometry?
3. What is the interaction effect of type of laboratory and gender on students’ interest in circle geometry?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study

Ho1: There is no significant difference in the mean interest scores of students taught circle geometry using virtual and traditional mathematics laboratory.

Ho2: There is no significant difference in the mean interest scores of male and female student in circle geometry.

Ho3: There is no significant interaction effect of type of laboratory and gender on students’ mean interest in mathematics.

Methodology

A quasi-experimental research design was used for this study. Specifically, it was a non-equivalent, pre-test, post test control group design. A quasi-experimental research design is the most appropriate research design to use when intact classes are involved in a study (Kurumeh, Onah & Mohammed, 2012; Egbe; 2016). Intact classes were used in this study and this is why the designed was quasi-experimental. The students that were involved in this study were from intact classes and it was unnecessary to randomize the research subject. The study had two levels of independent variables (Traditional and Virtual mathematics laboratories), two levels of academic achievement (high and low) and two levels of gender (male and female). The pre-test and post test were administered both to experimental and control groups. Treatments used in the study were virtual mathematics laboratory for experimental group and traditional mathematics laboratory for control group. Virtual and traditional mathematics laboratory were independent variables while the achievement test was dependent variable. The moderating variable in the study was Gender.

Sample and Sampling Techniques

All senior secondary school students from the twenty four (24) Federal Government Colleges (FGC) in the North-Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria constituted the population for this study. Then the target population for the study consisted of 5657 senior secondary school two (SS2) students from all Co-educational FGC in the North-Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The sample size for this study consisted of ninety six (96) students (55 males and 41 females). A purposive sampling technique was used to select ten (10) co-educational FGC from the North-Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Then a simple random sampling technique was used to pick two colleges and two intact classes using balloting (hand dip without replacement). The two selected colleges were assigned to experimental and control groups. The experiment group was taught circle geometry using VML and control group taught using TML.

Validation of the Instrument

Two instruments were used for this study namely; Virtual Mathematics Laboratory (VML) and Geometry Interest Inventory (GII). VML was used as a treatment and GII was used for data collection.

The Geometry Interest Inventory was subjected to construct validity using six experts or specialists. One of the experts was a specialist in measurement and evaluation; two were specialist in Educational Technology; while three of the experts were specialist in Mathematics, one of them was in Mathematics Education, all were from the Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, one was a specialist in Mathematical Modeling and Simulation from Akparan Orshi College of Agriculture, Yandev, Benue State, another was a mathematics teacher in the secondary school.

Virtual Mathematics Laboratory was also validated by the same experts. These experts were requested to validate the VML to determine the teaching and learning functions of it, vetting the content and manipulation of the virtual tools to determine the effectiveness and appropriateness of the program language, typographical errors, legibility of the virtual laboratory, navigations, the interface, animations and the general functionality of the package for effective teaching and learning of circle geometry in secondary schools.

Reliability of the Instrument

To determine the reliability of the instrument, GII was subjected to a trial test at Federal Government College, Enugu in the South-East Geopolitical zone of Nigeria using forty (40) SS3 students. These students were used for the trial test because circle geometry was recently treated in with them and they were also currently preparing for WAEC examination in SS 3 and were expected to have a better opportunity to perform well in the test. These students are also outside the study area and although they possess similar characteristics considered in this study. In order to arrive at the internal consistency of GII, the data collected from the trial testing was subjected to Cronbach’s Alpha (α) and a reliability coefficient of 0.92 was obtained. This shows that the GII instrument was reliable for data collection in the study. Cronbach’s Alpha was used to determined the internal consistency of the GII because the items on GII were dichotomously scored instrument and Ndiyo (2010) observed that when an instrument is made up of more than two answer possibilities or opportunities, the use of Cronbach’ Alpha is the most appropriate statistics to use for the determination of the internal consistency of the instrument

Method of Data Collection

The researchers started this study by visiting the schools that were considered for this study to seek the concern and cooperation of the principals in order to mount their research programs in those schools. In order to achieve this, the aims and objectives of the study were unveiled or introduced to those principals. This actually helps the researchers to gain the cooperation of those principals throughout their period of study in those schools. The principals therefore, introduced the researchers to SS2 mathematics teachers in those schools. The mathematics teachers in those schools became the research assistants in the study. This was because the researchers were not directly involved in the administration of the treatments in the study. So the mathematics teachers were then trained by the researchers on how to perform the experiment using VML and TML for experimental and control groups respectively. The entire study lasted for a period of four (weeks) weeks. One week for the training of research assistants, three weeks for treatment and administration of the interest inventory.

The study started after the training of research assistants. The administration of GII as a pre-test to both the experimental and control groups was the first step in the fieldwork. The GII was collected and given to the researchers for analysis. The treatment for both groups started after the pre-test, where experimental group were taught using VML and control group taught using TML. The research assistants administered GII as post-test to both the experimental group and control group after the treatment and at the end of the post-test, the GII were handed over to the researchers for data analysis.

Method of Data Analysis

The research questions in the study were answered using Mean and standard deviation. These statistical tools were considered to be appropriate for answering research questions because Nworgu (as cited in Neboh, 2009) stated that, mean is the most reliable measure of central tendency and standard deviation is the right statistics to estimate variability while the hypotheses were tested in the study using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) statistical tool at 0.05 level of significance.

RESULTS

The results from this study were presented according to the research questions and hypotheses that were formulated to guide the study.

Research question one

What is the effect of virtual mathematics and traditional mathematics laboratories on the mean interest scores of students in circle geometry?

Table 1: Pre and Post test Mean Scores and Standard Deviation of the Experimental and Control Groups

Group     N           Pre-test         SD         Post-test          SD Adjusted

Experimental (VML)      46         74.63             10.58   75.33 8.02          75.40

Control (TML)                   50         75.44           10.00     72.02 7.30       71.96

Table 1 shows the pre-test mean interest of score of 74.63 with standard deviation of 10.58 for the experimental group. It also shows a post test interest score of 75.33 with standard deviation of 8.02 for experimental group. Whereas it shows a pre-test mean interest score of 75.44 with standard deviation of    10.00 and post test mean interest score of 72.02 with a standard deviation of 7.30 for the control group. Table 1 also shows an adjusted mean score of 75.40 for the experimental group against an adjusted mean score of 71.96 for the control group. The difference in the adjusted mean scores shows that the experimental group differed from the control group in the adjusted mean by a difference score of 3.44. This indicated that, the experimental group students showed higher interest in circle geometry more than the control group. The standard deviation of the experimental group in the post test interest which was 8.02 and control group which was 7.30 shows that students’ individual score in the control group were more clustered around the group mean score than in the experimental group.

Research Question Two

What is the influence of gender on the mean interest scores of students in circle geometry?

Table 2: Pre and Post Test Mean Interest Rating Scores and Standard Deviation of Male and Female Students

Group N Pre-test SD Post-test SD   Adjusted

Male 55          75.29       9.75   73.71 7.23         73.57

Female 41          74.73 10.96                 73.46 8.58             73.65

Table 2 shows the mean interest rating scores of male students in the pre-test as 75.29 with standard deviation 9.75 while interest rating scores of female students in the pre-interest test was 74.73 with a standard deviation of 10.96. Whereas the post test interest scores of male students was 73.46 with standard deviation of 7.23 while that of the female students was 73.46 with standard deviation of 8.58. The table also shows adjusted mean scores of   73.57 for male students and 73.65 for the female counterparts. There is a slightest difference in the adjusted mean scores of female and male student in the interest rating scores if going by mere observation by 0.08 against male. This shows that the female student had higher interest in circle geometry than male counterparts as it appear by the superior adjusted mean scores of the female students. The standard deviation of male and female students of 7.23 and 8.58 respectively shows that individual scores of male students were more clustered to the group mean than the female students that were more extreme around the group mean.

Research Question Three

What is the interaction effect of type of mathematics laboratory and gender on students’ interest in circle geometry?

Table 3: Interaction Effect of Type of Mathematics Laboratory and Gender on Students’ Mean Post Interest Rating Scores

Group Experimental Control

N       X     SD N     X SD

Preinterest

Male28 74.29  10.2827   76.339.26

Female 18 75.17   11.30 23   74.39 10.93

Postinterest

Male28 75.10 (75.17)   8.3627   72.26 (72.14)5.62

Female 18 75.67 (75.57)   7.68 23   71.74(71.88) 9.02

Total

Observed mean 75.33   8.02   72.02 7.30

Adjusted mean 75.40   71.96

Note: Adjusted mean are in parentheses

Table 3 shows a higher interest rating posttest mean score of 75.67 for female students who were taught with VML while their male counterparts had posttest mean score of 75.10. Male students who were taught with TML had posttest mean score of 72.26 while their female counterparts had posttest mean score of 71.74. The table also shows standard deviation of 7.68 and 8.36 for female and male respectively who were taught with VML as well as 9.02 and 5.62 for female and male respectively that were taught using TML. The result of type of mathematics laboratory and gender on students’ interest rating scores in circle geometry shows not an ordinal interaction effect. Since both male and female students in the experimental group shows high post interest rating scores against their control group counterparts. The higher interest mean rating score recorded in the experimental group for both male and female could be as result of treatment effect (the effect of VML) or  interaction effect of type of mathematics laboratory and gender.

The students’ standard deviation in the experimental group (VML group) on table 3 shows that female student’ individual mean interest rating scores were clustered around the group mean than the control group (TML group).

Hypotheses

Ho1: There is no significant difference in the mean interest scores of students taught circle geometry using virtual and traditional mathematics laboratory.

Table 4: Summary of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of Students’ Post Interest Rating Scores in Circle Geometry by Type of Mathematics Laboratory and Gender

Source         Type III Sum of df Mean   F       Sig       Decision

Squares             Square `         at P< .05

Corrected mode         l519.424a4129.8562.251      .070NS

Intercept           6564.514 1 6564.514 113.795     .000 S

Pre-interest scores250.7641250.7644.347       .040       S

Group 283.187 1 283.187 4.909       .029 S

Gender       .253 1       .253   .004       .947 NS

Group * Gender     2.299 1     2.299   .040       .842 NS

Error 5249.535           91   57.687

Total         525856.000                  96

Corrected Total 5768.958           95

R Squared = .090 (Adjusted R Squared = .050)

S = Significant at 0.05 level

NS = Not significant at 0.05 level

Results presented on Table4 shows that F (1, 96) = 4.909, P < 0.05. This means that students taught using VML (experimental group) had greater interest in circle geometry more than the other group taught with TML (control group). This implies that the use of VML in teaching circle geometry improved students’ interest in learning in the experimental group than the use of TML in control group. Therefore, the null hypothesis that states that there is no significance difference in the mean interest rating scores of students taught circle geometry using virtual and traditional mathematics laboratory is not accepted. The result shows a significant difference in the mean interest scores of the students taught using virtual and traditional mathematics laboratories in circle geometry.

Ho2: There is no significant difference in the mean interest scores of male and female student in circle geometry.

Results shown on Table 4 shows that F (1, 91) = 0.004, P > 0.05, this means not significant. This implies that significant difference did not existed in the mean interest scores of male and female students in circle geometry. Both male and female students had almost the same interest in circle geometry. Therefore, the null hypothesis which proposes that there no significant difference in the mean interest scores of male and female student in circle geometry is retained.

Ho3: There is no significant interaction effect of type of laboratory and gender on students’ mean interest in mathematics.

Table 4 shows that F (1, 91) = 0.040, P > 0.05.  This data signifies that there is no significant interaction effects of type of laboratory and gender on students’ mean interest scores in circle geometry.  The null hypothesis that is stated in this regard is not rejected because the result shows no significant interaction effect of type of laboratory and gender on students’ mean interest in mathematics.

DISCUSSION

Effect of Mathematics Laboratory on Students’ Interest in Circle Geometry

It was discovered in this study that Virtual Mathematics Laboratory has significant effect on students’ interest in circle geometry. This was empirically shown from the higher post test mean interest of the experimental group that was taught circle geometry using VML. The post test mean interest of the experimental group was greater than their counterparts in the control group that was taught circle geometry using TML. The higher interest mean score recorded from the experimental group could be as result of the active participation of the students in the teaching and learning process which the learners used some of their sense organs during the learning. This higher interest could also be attributed to the fact that students do enjoy operating technological devices such as computers among others as it gives them motivation and increases their interest in doing any task. This is while the students taught circle geometry using VML showed higher post test mean interest.

This finding is the same with some earlier studies such as Umaru and Ubom (2013)  who discovered that students taught geometry using games and simulations had higher mean interest more than their counterparts who were taught using Conventional Teaching Method (CTM) of instruction. The virtual mathematics laboratory is a simulated version of traditional mathematics laboratory which yielded the result in the current study. The study agreed with the conclusion established by Torty (2010) who discovered that the use of a suitable teaching method of instruction increased students’ interest in a study. The finding of the current study also agreed with some researchers who asserted that the use of appropriate teaching methods is the major factor that can effectively increase students’ interest in mathematics (Agwaga, 2006; Olusunde &  Olaleye, 2010) Virtual Mathematics laboratory could be considered to be the appropriate teaching method for circle geometry.

Influence of Gender on Students’ Interest in Circle Geometry

The finding in this study based on the adjusted mean interest scores shows that male students had more interest in circle geometry than their female counterparts with a slightest difference going by a mere comparison of the adjusted mean of the two groups (male and female). The tested hypothesis to determine the difference in the mean interest scores of male and female students in the study further shows that the difference in the mean interest rating scores of male and female students in circle geometry was not significant. This means that gender did not influence secondary school students’ interest in circle geometry in the study. Both male and female students taught circle geometry using virtual and traditional mathematics laboratory had interest in circle geometry. This finding is in perfect agreement with the findings of Achor, Imoko and Ajai (2010), in a similar study in geometry using games and simulations that reported no significant difference in the achievement and interest of mean scores of male and female students. The finding also agreed with some studiers that reported no significant difference in the male and female students’ interest who were taught using different approaches (Omeje, 2008; Torty, 2010).

Interaction Effect of Type of Laboratory and Gender on Students’ Interest in Circle Geometry

It was discovered in this study that there was no significant interaction effect of type of mathematics laboratory and gender on students’ interest in circle geometry.  This means that the higher interest mean scores recorded by the group taught circle geometry using VML is attributed to the effect of VML which was the treatment to the group only and not as result of the interaction effect of type of laboratory and gender. The finding therefore, supports that of Achor, Imoko and Ajai (2010) that discovered no significant interaction effect of group and gender on students’ interest in geometry. The finding on the other hand strongly opposed the finding of Kurumeh (2004) that reported a significant interaction effect of group and gender on students’ interest in geometry and mensuration in mathematics.

Conclusions

Based on the findings of this research work, the following conclusions were made from the study; type of mathematics laboratory has significant effect on secondary school students’ interest in circle geometry. Students taught circle geometry using VML had significantly higher interest in circle geometry than those taught using TML. This means that the use of VML proved to be more effective in improving students’ interest in circle geometry than the use of TML. Gender had no significant influence on students’ interest in circle geometry. It was discovered that both male and female students in the study maintained almost the same level of interest in circle geometry. Interaction effect of type of laboratory and gender on students’ interest was not statistically significant in this study.

Recommendations

The following recommendations were made from this study based on the implications of the study:

1. Government at both federal and state levels should endeavour to produce VML for secondary schools and ensure that mathematics teachers use it in teaching circle geometry in secondary schools to enhance students’ interest in circle geometry. .
2. Seminars, conferences and workshops should be organized to train mathematics teachers by the appropriate educational authorities such as Ministry of Education or Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) as well as Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) on the use of VML in teaching circle geometry to enhance students’ interest.
3.  Curriculum developers in Nigeria such as NERDC should incorporate the use of VML as innovative and effective method of teaching circle geometry in secondary schools.
4. Awareness on the effectiveness of VML in enhance students’ interest in circle geometry will be made by the researchers through presentation of the results obtained from this study in conferences and workshops.

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Correspondence can be directed to:

Dr. Ityavzua, T. Moses

Department of Arts Education, (Educational Technology Unit) University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Email: ityavzuatermoses@gmail.com