ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INTEGRATED TEACHING METHOD ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ INTEREST AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS IN ABA EDUCATION ZONE, ABIA STATE

Abstract

This study determined the effect of Artificial Intelligence integrated teaching method (AIITM) on secondary school students’ interest and academic achievement in Mathematics in the Aba Education Zone, Abia State. Five research questions and four hypotheses, tested at the 0.05 level, guided the study. An explanatory sequential mixed-method design was adopted, combining a quasi-experimental pretest– posttest non-equivalent control group design with a phenomenological approach. The population of the study was 10,074 Senior Secondary School Two(SSS2) students. A sample of 200 SSS2 students from six schools in the 2024/2025 academic year was selected through multistage sampling. Data were gathered using the Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT, reliability = 0.81), Mathematics Interest Scale (MIS, reliability = 0.71), and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Quantitative data were analyzed with mean, standard deviation, and ANCOVA, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed using NVivo. Findings revealed significant improvement in both interest and achievement among students taught with AIITM. The study recommends integrating AI into Mathematics teaching and the strengthening digital infrastructure.