Effects of Metacognitive, Flipped-Classroom and Lecture Instructional Methods on Physics Students’ Critical Thinking in Delta State
Keywords:
Critical thinking, Metacognitive instructional strategy, Flipped classroom, Sex differences, Physics educationAbstract
This study compared the effects of metacognitive, flipped-classroom, and lecture instructional methods on physics students' critical thinking in Delta State. The study was guided by ten research questions and ten null hypotheses. A quasi-experimental design comprising pre-test, post-test, and planned variation using a 3 x 2 factorial design was adopted for the study. The population comprised 29,817 SS (II) students studying physics in all public secondary schools in Delta State for the 2023/2024 session. A sample of 282 SS2 students was drawn from six co-educational secondary schools in Delta State using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using the Students' Critical Thinking Inventory in Physics (SCTIIP), with a reliability index of 0.84. Data were analysed using mean and standard deviation statistics, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). All hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 alpha level. The findings of the study are as follows: (i) There was a significant difference in the critical thinking mean scores of physics students taught with metacognitive, flipped-classroom, and lecture instructional strategies. (ii) There is no significant difference in the mean critical thinking scores between male and female students taught physics using the metacognitive instructional strategy. (iii) There was a significant difference in the critical thinking mean scores between male and female students taught physics using the flipped classroom instructional strategy.(iv) There is no significant difference in the critical thinking mean scores between male and female students taught physics using the lecture instructional strategy. (v) There is no significant interaction effect of instructional strategies and sex on students' critical thinking in physics.Based on the findings, it is concluded that instructional strategy significantly affects students' critical thinking. It is recommended that physics teachers be trained in the development and implementation of both flipped-classroom and metacognitive strategies.
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