Effects of Optimisation Techniques on Junior Secondary School Students' Academic Achievement in Mathematics in Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State

AbstractThe study assessed “the effects of optimization techniques on the academic achievement of junior secondary school students in mathematics in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.” The study used “quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group design.” The population comprised Junior Secondary School Two (JSS2) mathematics students in the area, with a sample of 112 students selected from two coeducational schools through purposive sampling. The experimental group was taught selected mathematics topics involving optimization problems using interactive optimization techniques such as problem-solving heuristics, real-life contextualised tasks, and graphical modelling, while the control group was taught using the conventional lecture method. The Mathematics Optimization Achievement Test on Optimization (MAOT), developed and validated by the researcher, was used for data collection. It had a reliabilty coefficient of 0.82 using the Kuder-Richardson 20 (KR-20) formula. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while independent sample t-tests were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed “a statistically significant difference in achievement in favour of the students exposed to optimization techniques.” Furthermore, “no significant gender difference was found among students taught using these techniques.” The study recommended that mathematics teachers should integrate optimization techniques into their instructional strategies to enhance students’ achievement and promote deeper conceptual understanding.