Effect of Maple Software on STEM Students’ Problem-Solving skills in Mathematics Concepts among Science and Technical Schools in Kano State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64348/zije.2026603Keywords:
Maple software, STEM, Problem-Solving Skills, Mathematics.Abstract
The study investigates the effects of Maple software to enhance STEM students’ problem-solving skills in mathematics in Kano science and technical schools. The study was guided by three research questions and two null hypotheses. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprises all SS II students in Kano State science and technical schools. Two intact classes were selected for the study from two different schools, randomly selected, that is, science and technical schools, respectively; thus, 235 students were the sample size of the study, making 115 experimental and 120 control groups. The Mathematics Problem-Solving Skills Test (MPSST) was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by experts and reliability coefficient of 0.87 was obtained using Cronbach's alpha. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, and independent t-tests were used for testing the null hypotheses. The findings revealed that there are differences in the level of problem-solving skills among science and technical students before treatment, while Maple software improve STEM students’ problem-solving skills, and the difference exists between science and technical students’ problem-solving skills after treatment, is not statistically significant. The study concludes that Maple software enhances STEM students’ problem-solving skills in mathematics. The study suggests that computer programs like Maple should be used in teaching mathematics.
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