IMPACT OF TWO MODES OF HANDS-ON/MIND-ON ACTIVITIES ON THE COGNITIVE SKILL OF PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Hands-on/mind-on activities have been identified as an instructional strategy that  engages children during learning. However, reports have shown a deficiency in the  cognitive skill of most pre-primary school children in Oyo State, which could be  attributed to the teaching strategies adopted by teachers. This study was, therefore,  carried out to determine the impact of structured and unstructured hands-on/mind-on  activities on the cognitive skill of pre-primary school children in Oyo State, Nigeria.  The moderating effects of gender and school location (urban and rural) were also  examined. 

The pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design was adopted, and the  participants were 85 pre-primary school children in six public primary schools in  Nigeria. The instruments used were the Modified Rating Scale for Cognitive Skill,  field notes, and instructional guides. Quantitative data was analysed using the  Analysis of covariance and Scheffe post-hoc test at 0.05 level of significance. 

The majority (52.0%) of the children were in urban schools, while 64.0% of the  children were male. There was a significant main effect of treatment on children's  2 cognitive skill (F = 76.94; partial ɲ = 0.68). Children in the Unstructured Hands- (2,72) on/Mind-on Activities group had the highest cognitive skill mean score (54.31), as  against those in Structured Hands-on/Mind-on Activities (45.91) and Control groups  (16.51). There was no significant main effect of gender and school location on the  cognitive skill of the children.  

Unstructured more than structured hands-on/mind-on activities enhanced the  cognitive skill of pre-primary school children in Oyo State, Nigeria. Pre-primary  school teachers should adopt these strategies to enhance cognitive skill of the  children.