Influence of Social and Cognitive Constructivist Instructional Approaches on learning outcomes of Technical Drawing Students in Technical Colleges in Niger State, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study examined the effect of social and cognitive constructivist instructional techniques on students’ learning outcomes in Technical Drawing in technical colleges in Niger State, Nigeria. Three objectives and three corresponding research questions were formulated to guide the study. A quasi-experimental research design was adopted. The study was conducted in all 7 the NBTE-accredited technical colleges offering Technical Drawing in Niger State. The target population comprised 220 NTC II students (163 males and 57 females). Due to the manageable size of the population, no sampling technique was employed, as the entire population was used. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation, were used to answer the research questions, while inferential statistics were applied using the General Linear Model for Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). All null hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that students taught using cognitive constructivist instructional techniques achieved higher academic performance than those taught using social constructivist techniques, with a mean gain score of 15.96. Similarly, the cognitive constructivist group demonstrated higher interest in Technical Drawing, with a mean score of 83.40. In terms of retention, the cognitive constructivist group also performed better, with a mean difference score of 0.47. The study further revealed a significant difference in academic achievement between the two groups (p = 0.01 < 0.05), while no significant difference was observed in another achievement measure (p = 0.58 > 0.05). However, a significant difference was found in retention scores (p = 0.002 < 0.05). The study recommended that Technical Drawing teachers adopt cognitive constructivist instructional techniques to enhance students’ academic achievement, interest, and retention, and to promote effective skill acquisition in technical colleges.