Abstract

The study examined the effect of problem solving strategy on Secondary school students’ achievement in Circle Geometry in Emuhaya district of Vihiga county, Kenya. Two research objectives were used in the study to make the investigation. These were: (i) To determine if there is any significant difference in students’ achievement when taught using a problem solving strategy and conventional methods, and (ii) To determine students’ attitudes towards mathematics when taught using a problem solving strategy and when taught using conventional methods. This study was based on the Constructivist learning theory which originates from works of cognitive scientists like Jean Piaget and John Dewey. Constructivist teaching is based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction as opposed to passively receiving information. According to this theory, learners are the makers of knowledge and meaning. The study was a true experimental research design based on Solomon Four-Fold design. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of using problem solving method on secondary school students’ achievement in mathematics. Since the poor performance in mathematics is as a result of the decimal performance in the key topics, this study used circle geometry to establish any effect of the method. Two mathematics teachers with equal qualifications, teaching experience and considerably equal teaching potential were selected and trained to teach the two groups. Same lesson plans and worksheets were developed and used along with the direct teaching strategies for both groups. The control group was kept under a control condition by providing traditional competitive situation in class while the experimental group was provided with the Problem solving method as a treatment. The academic achievements of the control and experimental groups were examined through a post-test. In the experimental groups, one group was pretested, treated then post-tested while the other one was only treated then post-tested. In the control groups, one group was pretested then post-tested while the other one was only post-tested. Several implications of the findings are highlighted in the study as reported in this paper. The findings showed that problem solving had a significant effect on students’ achievement. It was found out that students taught through problem solving had a better achievement than those taught through the conventional methods. The study also found out that the attitudes of students were positive when taught using problem solving than when taught using conventional approaches. The researcher recommends that teachers should inculcate problem solving skills in their students to help them be better problem solvers in mathematics. Keywords: Problem solving, Achievement, Problem solving strategy, Conventional methods, traditional methods, Attitude. Circle geometry.