EFFECT OF VIRTUAL CLASSROOM LEARNING STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN ELECTRICAL MACHINES AND POWER IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION (TECHNICAL) IN NORTH-EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of Virtual Classroom Learning Strategy on students’ academic achievement in Electrical Machines and Power in Colleges of Education (Technical) in North-East Nigeria. The study adopted a quasi-experimental, pre-test–post-test non-equivalent control group design. The population and sample comprised 74 NCE III students offering Electrical Machines and Power in Federal College of Education (Technical), Potiskum, Yobe State, and Federal College of Education (Technical), Gombe, Gombe State. The experimental group consisted of 39 students taught using the Virtual Classroom Learning Strategy, while 35 students in the control group were taught using the Lecture Method. Data were collected using a researcher-developed 50-item Achievement Test for Electrical Machines (ATEM), which had a reliability coefficient of 0.813. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, independent-samples t-test, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed no significant difference between the pre-test mean achievement scores of the experimental and control groups, indicating comparable entry-level achievement. Following treatment, students taught using the Virtual Classroom Learning Strategy obtained a higher post-test mean score of 76.18 compared with 65.60 for students taught using the Lecture Method, with a mean difference of 10.58. ANCOVA further showed a significant effect of teaching method on students’ achievement, F(1, 71) = 24.009, p < .05. Gender also had a significant effect on achievement, F(3, 69) = 10.452, p < .05; however, the interaction between teaching method and gender was not significant, F(1, 69) = 0.125, p = .725. The study concluded that Virtual Classroom Learning Strategy was more effective than the Lecture Method in improving students’ academic achievement in Electrical Machines and Power and was effective for both male and female students. It was therefore recommended that Colleges of Education (Technical) integrate appropriately designed virtual classroom learning into the teaching of Electrical Machines and Power.