Effect of Mind Maps On Student Interest and Achievement in Measures of Central Tendency in Mathematics

ABSTRACT The purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of Mind Maps on students’ interest and achievement in measures of central tendency. To ascertain the effect of teaching method and gender on the learners’ interest and achievement, four research questions and six null hypotheses guided the study. The design used for the study was the quasi-experimental design, specifically, the non equivalent pre-test, post-test control group design. Three hundred and fifty Junior Secondary one students were selected from four purposively sampled schools in Nsukka education zone. Two intact classes were randomly drawn from each of the four schools. Two instruments namely, the Measures of Central Tendency Achievement Test (MCTAT) and the Measures of Central Tendency Interest Scale (MCTIS) were developed and used for the study. Mean, standard deviation and analysis of covariance ANCOVA were used to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses. The study revealed that the use of Mind Maps teaching strategy enhanced the achievements and interest of male and female students. The study also indicated that though female students were more interested, the male students performed higher in measures of central tendency achievement test. However, the results also indicated that the Mind Maps teaching strategy could be used effectively in teaching both male and female students. It was recommended that mathematics teachers should adopt Mind Map in teaching measures of central tendency and other topics in mathematics.