Abstract
This study investigated the effects of Multimedia Learning Strategy (MLS/CAL) and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) on students’ listening skills, academic achievement, and retention in Mathematics in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The study adopted a non-equivalent quasi-experimental design involving three groups: two experimental groups and one control group. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 155 Senior Secondary School One (SS1) students (61 males and 94 females) from public co-educational secondary schools in Uyo. Experimental Group I was taught using Computer-Aided Learning (CAL/Multimedia), Experimental Group II was taught using Problem-Based Learning (PBL), while the Control Group was taught using the Conventional (lecture) method. Data were collected using the Statistics Achievement Test (SAT) and the Mathematics Language Skills Scale (MLSS), both of which were validated by experts and found to be reliable at a Kuder-Richardson coefficient of 0.90. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to test the three null hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that students taught using PBL achieved the highest mean gain score compared to CAL and the Conventional method, and that this difference was statistically significant. With regard to retention, PBL students similarly recorded the highest mean retention score compared to CAL and Conventional groups, with the difference also found to be statistically significant. On the influence of gender, female students recorded slightly higher mean achievement scores than their male counterparts across all three instructional strategies; however, this difference was not statistically significant, indicating that the instructional strategies benefited both male and female students equitably. The study concluded that PBL and CAL are significantly more effective than conventional teaching in enhancing students’ achievement and retention in Mathematics, with PBL emerging as the most effective strategy. It was recommended that Mathematics teachers adopt PBL as a primary instructional strategy, that secondary school teachers be encouraged to develop computer literacy for effective use of CAL packages, and that curriculum developers incorporate PBL and CAL into the Nigerian Mathematics curriculum.