Effects of Hands-On Learning Strategies on Students' Achievement

Studies have shown that the conventional method adopted by most geography teachers in teaching map reading and interpretation (which is a compulsory section in practical geography examinations) has led to poor understanding of the concept among secondary school students. Students' performance in this aspect of practical geography in Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations conducted by both West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) have not being encouraging. One of the key factors identified as the reason for the poor performance of students in practical geography examinations is the teacher's instructional strategy. Therefore, the need to remediate the difficulties of abstraction encountered by secondary school students in topographical map studies in Ganye Educational Zone using hands-on learning strategies informed this research. It is against this backdrop that the study investigated the Effects of Hands-On Learning Strategies on Senior Secondary School Students' Academic Achievement in Topographical Map Studies in Ganye Educational Zone, Adamawa State, Nigeria.