EFFECT OF INTERACTIVE GAMES ON JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES IN OGBADIBO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE

The study investigates the effects of Interactive Games (IG) on junior secondary school students’ achievement in Christian Religious Studies in Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State. Two research question and hypotheses was formulated for the study. Relevant literature were reviewed. The design for the study is the quasi-experimental research design. A quasi-experimental research design is a type of evaluation which aims at determining whether a program or intervention has the intended effect on a study’s participants. The population of this study comprised all junior secondary school students in Ogbadibo Local Government Area. There are total of 23 junior secondary school students in Ogbadibo Local Government Area. Out of this population, 1,243 students are males while 3,687 students are females. The research sample comprised 280 junior secondary school students from junior secondary schools. Out of this sample, 120 were males while 180 were females. The instrument for data collection will be Christian Religious Studies Achievement Test (CAT). The research questions was answered using mean and standard deviation of the test scores while the hypotheses was analysis with ANCOVA. From the result above it was discovered that interactive Games (IG) is significantly more effective in enhancing academic achievements of students in Christian Religious Studies when compared with Conventional method and the academic achievements scores of male and female students taught Christian Religious Studies with Interactive Games (IG) do not differ significantly. Based on the findings that the Interactive Games (IG) is more effective in enhancing academic achievements in Christian Religious Studies than the Conventional method, it can be concluded that incorporating technology like interactive games into the teaching process positively impacts students' learning outcomes. The study therefore recommends that the university and educational institutions should consider integrating the Interactive Games (IG) into their teaching practices for Christian Religious Studies classes. This method can enhance engagement, visual learning, and overall understanding of the subject matter, leading to improved academic achievements for students.