EFFECT OF MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTIONAL  SOFTWARE (MIS) ON STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN  GEOMETRY

Celestine Njoku; Standhope I. Emeka

Celestine Njoku Department of Science Education, University of Calabar Cross River State, Nigeria
Standhope I. Emeka Department of Science Education, University of Calabar Cross River State, Nigeria

Keywords: Mathematics Instructional Software, students Anxiety, gender

Abstract

This study determined the effect of Mathematics Instructional Software (MIS) on students’ anxiety in geometry. Two research questions and three hypotheses were formulated, and the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Quasi-experimental (pretest posttest non-equivalent control group) design was adopted. The researchers sampled 240 Senior Secondary School year two (SSS2) students in public secondary. Geometry Anxiety Scale (GAS) was used to collect data. The Mathematical Instructional Software used in the experimental group was MIS. Mean, standard deviation and Two-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyze the data. Analysis of data showed that Mathematical Instructional Software has significant effect on students’ geometry anxiety F(1, 235) =940.833, P = 0.0005; gender has no significant influence on students’ geometry anxiety F(1, 235) = 1.879, P = 0.172 and the interaction effect of intervention and gender on students’ geometry anxiety score was not significant F(1, 235) = 1.161, P = 0.282. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Mathematics teachers should use Mathematics instruction software for Mathematics teaching and learning in secondary schools in order to reduce secondary school students’ geometry anxiety.