IMPACT OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING STRATEGY ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN COMPUTER STUDIES IN NNEWI EDUCATION ZONE, ANAMBRA STATE

The study examined the impact of the Experiential Learning Strategy (ELS) on Secondary school students’ academic achievement in Computer Studies within the Nnewi Education Zone, Anambra State, Nigeria. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design was employed, guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses. A two-stage sampling technique was used to select 18 community secondary schools from 48 public schools, from which two co-educational schools were randomly chosen. Intact classes from these schools participated. Students were taught Microsoft Word using either ELS or the traditional lecture method (LM). The Computer Studies Achievement Test (CSAT), with a Cronbach Alpha reliability indNex of 0.87, was used for data collection before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and ANCOVA. Results showed a significant difference in achievement scores, favoring students taught with Experiential learning strategy (ELS). Based on the findings, the study recommended that Experiential learning strategy should be incorporated in the curriculum as a teaching strategy in teaching Computer Studies in the classroom since it encourages self-development.