Effect of Polya George’s Problem Solving Model on Students’ Achievement and Retention in Algebra

Quasi-experimental design was adopted in this study. Pretest-posttest, non equivalent control group was used. Eight intact classes, four of which were randomly assigned to experimental and the other four to control groups are used for the study. Sample of the study consisted of 220 SSII students from Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. Four research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. Algebra Achievement Test (ALAT) was used for data collection. ALAT was constructed by the researcher and validated by three research experts. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while the hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Experimental groups were taught using Polya George’s Problem Solving Model (POGPROSMO) while control groups were taught the same topics using expository method. Major findings of the study revealed that students taught Algebra with POGPROSMO achieved higher and retained more than those taught with expository method. There was no significant difference between the mean achievement and retention scores of male and female students in the study. It was recommended that Mathematics teachers should adopt POGPROSMO in teaching Algebra. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n6p41