EFFECTS OF MNEMONIC AND PRIOR KNOWLEDGE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TO MATHEMATICS

The study examined the effects of Mnemonics and Prior Knowledge Instructional Strategies on Students’ Attitude to Mathematics. Moderating effects of Numerical Ability and Gender were also investigated. The study adopted the pretest-posttest control group, quasi experimental design with 3x2x3 factorial matrix. Two hundred and eighty-eight students from six public schools selected from three local government areas in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, participated in the study. Two instruments were developed and used: Students’ Mathematics Attitudinal Scale (r=0.8) and Numerical Ability Test (r=0.77). Also used were three operational guides on Mnemonic Instructional Strategy, Prior Knowledge Instructional Strategy and Traditional Teaching Method. Four Null hypotheses were tested at 0.5 significant levels. Data collected was analyzed using Analysis of Covariance, Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) and Scheffe Post hoc test. Treatment has significant effect on students’ attitude to mathematics (F(3,284), 3.933), p<0.05). Students in the control group had higher attitude mean score of 71.39 than those in MIS 69.01 and PKIS 68.46. Numerical ability has no significant effect on students’ attitude to mathematics (F (3,284) = 0.15, p<0.05), but gender has significant effect on students’ attitude to mathematics. Though the control group had the highest mean score, it has been revealed that MIS and PKIS improved students’ attitude to mathematics significantly. Therefore, teachers should create mnemonics that link old and new information in the students’ memory, assess their knowledge at the start of instruction through examples that bridge students’ prior knowledge with the new to ensure improved performance and make teaching and learning of mathematics students-centered.