Blended Learning: A Key to Unlocking Students’ Interest and Retention in Basic Science

Abstract

The research aimed to ascertain the effect of blended learning strategy on students’ interest and retention in basic science. The investigation was executed within the Aguata educational zone located in Anambra State. The sample population encompassed 2,950 upper basic VIII students in the 50 public secondary institutions within the specified zone. The study's sample size was 97 students (39 males & 58 females). The researchers used sample random sampling to select two local government areas for the educational zone used for this study, along with purposive sampling to select two co-educational schools with one intact class randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT) and the Basic Science Interest Scale (BSIS) served as the instruments for data collection with established reliability indices of 0.81 and 0.84 obtained using Kuder-Richardson 20 (K-R20) and Cronbach's alpha, respectively.