The effect of the experimentation method on students’ learning achievement in geometry: evidence from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

The problem of students’ poor performance in Basic Mathematics cannot be solved without teachers’ use of experimentation methods in teaching and learning Geometry. This present study evidenced that, the teaching and learning of Geometry is effective through experimentation methods. The study aimed to conduct teaching and learning experiments to compare the results of experimentation and non-experimentation methods in Tanzania. Using a quantitative approach grounded in positivist assumptions, quasi-experiments were conducted with experimental and control classes in four Ordinary Level secondary schools. Following a hypothesis, data collected through pretest and post-test were analysed using the paired and independent samples t-tests with the help of Cohen’s d. The findings from a sample of 211 students revealed that the non-experimentation methods are not effective in learning Geometry. Besides helping to reach the schools, the probability sampling procedures enabled the arrangement of classes. The study recommends the use of experimentation methods in teaching and learning Geometry. As regards the limitations of the current study, further studies are also recommended.