The Effect of Mathway on Undergraduate Mathematics Students' Performance and Perception in Calculus in Bayelsa State

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of Mathway on Mathematics students' performance and perception in Calculus in Bayelsa State. The study adopted quasi-experimental and descriptive survey research designs with non-equivalent groups. Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study was 208 students, with a sample size of 118 students including 77 males and 41 through purposive sampling technique. The reliability coefficient of the Students' Performance Test on Calculus was established at 0.79 using Pearson's Product Moment Correlation, while Cronbach alpha was used to obtain 0.85 for the Students' Perception Questionnaire in Calculus. Data obtained from the instruments were analysed using mean and standard deviation. The result revealed that the mean gain of Mathway group (M=35.37) is higher than that of the lecture method (M=23.32). The effect size of 12.05 indicates that the students taught with Mathway application were favoured more than those taught with the lecture method. Furthermore, ANCOVA results shows that there was a significant difference between the posttest mean performance scores of students' in Mathway group and the lecture method. The result also revealed that there was no significant difference between male and female students’ mean performance in calculus when using Mathway. And student’s perceptions toward the learning of calculus using Mathway was generally positive. Among others, it was recommended that Lecturers employ Mathway application for teaching and learning to enhance the performance and perception of undergraduate Mathematics students.