Effect of Multimedia Instruction (MI) on Students’ Performance in Data Structures and Algorithms in Public Polytechnics in Nasarawa State

The study investigated the effect of multimedia instruction on students’ academic performance in Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) in two public Polytechnics in Nasarawa State. The population of the study comprised one hundred and twenty (120) National Diploma one (NDI) students of Computer Science from Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia (now Isa Mustapha Agwai I Polytechnic, Lafia) and Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research approach using the non-randomized control group pretest-posttest design. Intact classes were maintained and an experiment of two equivalent groups was designed—one was the experimental group while the other was the control group. The group was determined using a simple random sampling technique. Sixty eight (68) students in Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia constituted the experimental group while fifty two (52) students in Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa constituted the control group. The experimental group was exposed to multimedia instruction (MI) on DSA while the control group was exposed to conventional instruction. The instrument for data collection was a DSA performance test titled ‘Data Structure PerfTest (DPT)’. The DPT contained 20 objective items from the topics treated. The reliability of the instrument was determined using the test-retest approach and a correlation coefficient of .87 was attained. Inferential statistics such as t-test was used to test the null hypothesis at 0.05 alpha level of significance. Data analysis was done using the statistical package for social science (SPSS). The finding showed that the treatment group (MI) performed significantly better than its counterpart in the control group which was exposed to conventional instruction. The study recommended expansive use of multimedia instruction in teaching and learning of Data Structures and Algorithms in tertiary institutions.