ABSTRACT
This study investigated the Effect of Cooperative Learning Strategy (CLS) on Geography Students' Academic Performance in Senior Secondary Schools in Sokoto State, Nigeria. To conduct the study, six objectives were stated and transformed into research questions and hypotheses to be responded to and tested respectively. Quasi experimental design involving experimental/control group, pre-test/post-test was used for the study. The population consists of 25,220 senior secondary geography students out of which 15,870 and 9,350 are males and females respectively. The sample size of the study was made up of 234 SS II geography (155 male and 79 female participants) drawn from four randomly selected intact classes from the four schools. The schools are: urban: Government Day Secondary school, Tudun wada, Sokoto and Government Day Secondary school, Arkilla; rural: Government Secondary School, Dundaye and Government Day Secondary School, Wamakko. GDSS Tudun Wada and GDSS Wamakko were the experimental groups, while GSS Dundaye and GDSS Arkilla were the control groups. The instrument used for data collection was Senior Secondary Geography Academic Performance Test (SSGAPT) with reliability coefficient of 0.78. Mean and standard deviation were used to respond to all the research questions raised and t-test statistics was used to test all the six null hypotheses stated at p≤ 0.05 level of significance. Findings from this analysis revealed that: there is significant difference between the academic performance of students taught Geography using Cooperative Learning Strategy and those taught using traditional lecture method in senior secondary schools in sokoto state, meaning that students in the experimental group performed significantly better than their counter part in the control group; there is no significant difference between the academic performances of male and female students taught Geography using Cooperative Learning Strategy in senior secondary schools in sokoto state; there is significant difference in the academic performance of urban and rural students when exposed to Cooperative Learning Strategy in favour of urban students; there is significant difference in students' performance in practical geography after exposure to Cooperative Learning Strategy; there is significant difference in students' academic performance in physical geography after exposure to Cooperative Learning Strategy and there is significant difference in students' academic performance in human geography after exposure to Cooperative Learning Strategy. Based on these findings, it was recommended that CLS should be used as alternative strategy to improve the teaching and learning of senior secondary geography.