The study investigated the difference in academic performance of Islamic studies students taught using activity-based teaching strategy and those taught using traditional method of teaching in senior secondary schools in Katsina Metropolis. One objective and one corresponding research question as well as one hypothesis were formulated to guide the researcher.A quasi experimental pre-test, post-test design was used for the study. The study sampled 118 out of a total population of 12,169 of Islamic studies students from tworandomly selected Senior Secondary schools (SS II). The study subjects in the experimental group were taught a variety of concepts that were designed to enhance cognitive and intellectual abilities; the group was also exposed to concepts designed to promote psychomotor skills acquisition. This group was taught through the use of activity-based teaching strategy. The control group was taught the same content using the traditional method for a period of six weeks. Two instruments were developed for data collection; “Islamic Studies Performance Test” (ISPT) which was designed to measure cognitive and intellectual aspect of learning and the “Observation Rating Scale” (ORS) which was designed to measure and evaluate psychomotor skills acquisition. T-test for independent samples was used to test the hypothesis raised in the study using SPSS package at 0.05 of significance level. The finding of the study revealed that the use of activity-based teaching strategy is more effective in enhancing students’ mastery of Islamic studies topics at senior secondary schools than the use of teacher-centred traditional methodology. Based on this finding, it was recommended that the teacher should employ the use of activity-based teaching strategy in enhancing mastery of Islamic studies topics amongst students in our senior secondary schools.
