Peer Tutoring Instructional Strategy and Academic Performance of Secondary School Students in Chemistry

This study investigated the effect of peer tutoring instructional strategy on the academic performance of senior secondary school students in Chemistry in Port Harcourt metropolis of Rivers State, Nigeria. Four research questions were used and 4 hypotheses, which were tested at the .05 level of significance, guided the study. The study adopted quasi quasi-experimental research design. A sample size of two hundred and forty (240) SS 2 Chemistry students participated in the study, comprising (140) males and (100) females. The purposive sampling technique was used to obtain 2 schools which 4 intact classes were selected, with 2 from each of the two schools that participated in the study. The Chemistry Performance Test (CPT) instrument was used to collect data for the study. The data collected were analysed by using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at the .05 level of significance. The study found that, collaborative and think-pair-share peer instruction were better than discussion method, P .05. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made; collaborative and Think-pair-share peer instructional strategy should be used in schools as they are good innovative pedagogical strategies irrespective of the students’ gender. The Ministry of Education should organise seminars and workshops for teachers to acquaint them with the knowledge of those innovative, centred strategies.