Effects of Challenge and Project-based Learning on Woodwork Technology Students’ Academic Achievement, Retention and Interest in Colleges of Education (Technical) In Northeast Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) and Project-Based Learning (PBL) on students’ academic achievement and retention in Wood Work Technology in Colleges of Education (Technical) in North East Nigeria. The study was motivated by the persistent poor performance and low retention of practical skills among students taught mainly through the conventional lecture method. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design was adopted. The population comprised 301 NCE II Wood Work Technology students, while 245 students were purposively selected from four Colleges of Education (Technical) in North East Nigeria. Data were collected using the Woodwork Technology Achievement Test (WTAT), which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.790 using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings showed that students taught design skills using CBL achieved higher posttest mean scores (71.94) than those taught using lecture method (52.96). Students taught project construction using PBL also recorded higher posttest mean scores (72.07) than those taught using lecture method (54.27). In addition, students taught design skills using CBL obtained higher retention mean scores (66.03) than those taught using lecture method (48.93). ANCOVA results indicated significant differences in academic achievement and retention in favour of CBL and PBL (p < 0.05). The study concluded that CBL and PBL are more effective than the lecture method in improving students’ academic achievement and retention in Wood Work Technology.