EFFECTS OF INQUIRY AND LABORATORY METHODS OF TEACHING ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL CHEMISTRY STUDENTS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA
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EFFECTS OF INQUIRY
AND LABORATORY METHODS OF TEACHING ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY
SCHOOL CHEMISTRY STUDENTS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
This study
investigated the effects of inquiry and laboratory methods of teaching on the
academic performance of chemistry students in senior secondary schools in
Anambra state, Nigeria. The objective of the study was to determine and compare
the academic performance of students taught using inquiry and laboratory
methods of teaching as compared to conventional method. Four research questions
and four hypotheses guided this study.
Three
schools were randomly selected with two as experimental groups and one control
group. One hundred and fifteen (115) SSII students made up of three intact
classes from co-educational schools in two educational zones of Anambra state.
A quasi experimental pretest-posttest research design was used for the study.
The two experimental groups were taught some chemistry topics using inquiry and
laboratory methods while the control group was taught the same chemistry topics
using conventional method for nine weeks.
Chemistry
Achievement Test was used as instrument for data collection. The research
questions were analyzed using the descriptive statistics of mean, standard
deviation, standard errors while the research hypotheses were tested using
inferential statistics that involved independent t-test and ANCOVA at a
significant level of 0.05. The findings of the study showed that students
taught using inquiry and laboratory methods performed significantly better than
those taught using the conventional method.
Based on the
findings, it was recommended that chemistry teachers should be encouraged to
use inquiry and laboratory methods in teaching chemistry. Either or both
experimental methods can be used in teaching both male and female students as
they enhance students’ performance irrespective of gender of the students.
Government should provide adequate infrastructural and instructional materials
for the effective teaching of chemistry.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Education is
the only wealth which cannot be robbed. It builds both internal and outer
personality and character, strengthens people‟s mind and augments their pool of
knowledge. The process of education aims at the all-round development of
individuals, dispelling ignorance and enhancing the moral values in a society,
thus working towards a collective well-being. Science education on the other
hand helps students adjust to technological devices that affect their daily
lives.
Science has
been defined as the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of
the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on
evidence (British Science Council (BSC) 2009). Science can be said to be a
human endeavour geared towards the development and comfort of the modern world.
The foundation of this development is the primary and secondary school where
the young scientists are groomed. Science in this way can be seen as the hub
unto which development and progress of any nation depends. In general, science
contributes towards improving the quality of life. It can therefore be asserted
that science makes numerous contributions to healthy living. Therefore, it is
important that effective ways are sought to provide for the effective teaching
and learning of science in schools both for individual and national scientific
development.
The
knowledge that scientists have gathered about the world around us is organized
under several subjects of which Chemistry is one. Chemistry is a branch of
science that
systemizes
the study of the composition of energy and transformation of matter. Chemistry
as a branch of science is highly important in the modern society because of its
requirement as a prerequisite to the study of many other science oriented
courses. Furthermore, Chemistry is also one of the science major disciplines
with well-developed technology that can be applied to exploit natural resources
such as petroleum, natural gas etc. Chemistry plays a crucial role in industry
in particular and national development in general. For example, the development
of petrochemical, agriculture, medical, textile and many industries rely on and
make use of the principles of Chemistry.
Some of the
challenges faced in the society presently like global warming, terrorism, genetic
modification, global market competition, energy and population crises, ethical
issues among other critical issues require Chemistry knowledge, if they are to
be dealt with rationally (Safeer and Keenan, 2005; UNESCO, 2010). Thus as
modern economy is dependent on science and technology, a better understanding
of Chemistry and better technical problem-solving skills will enable people to
meet their challenges and demands of the work place.
Furthermore,
a modern knowledge-based economy will flourish only if it has a workforce with
a high level of technical understanding and skills.It thus appears that for a
nation to develop in science and technology, the teaching and learning of
Chemistry need to be improved upon from what it is at present. It therefore becomes
pertinent that achievement of students in Chemistry and in science generally
should be of utmost consideration to any nation.
However, the
case is different in Nigeria because students‟ performances have not been
encouraging. Majority of students consider the concepts involved in Chemistry
as too abstract to understand and the content taught too difficult to learn. It
is not a surprising thing that majority of Chemistry students in Nigerian
senior secondary schools have inadequate knowledge and understanding of
Chemistry concepts and principles. Methodologies used in teaching Chemistry
have been identified as one of the factors contributing to the poor performance
of students in Chemistry among other factors. Thus, a teaching method that a
teacher adopts may motivate students to learn or otherwise and therefore could
make or mar students‟ achievement in Chemistry.
For the goal
of education to be achieved, it is the responsibility of a subject teacher to
help students attain maximum level in their learning tasks.Several competencies
are expected of the teacher in order to achieve the desired goal especially in
his/her area of specialization. Some of the competencies include ability to use
appropriate instructional strategies in teaching, mastery of one‟s area of
specialization, good leadership skills etc. In Nigeria, science teachers and in
particular Chemistry teachers in secondary schools need to change their
teaching methods to make them more effective and relevant to a much larger
proportion of the students than in the past. This is because of rapid
scientific and technological innovations over the past decades.
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STUDENTS IN CHEMISTRY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN JIGAWA STATE, NIGERIA
The
relevance of Chemistry as a requirement for technological advancement of a
nation cannot be underrated. The classification of any nation into developed,
developing and underdeveloped could be measured accurately by the number of chemists,
physics, engineers, pharmacists, doctors, agriculture and science educators the
nation could produce. Available evidence from West African Examination Council
(WAEC) indicates that students‟ performance in Chemistry, especially at the
senior secondary school level worsen as years go by and many students seem to
have negative attitude towards the subject (Betikin, 2002).There are various
methods of teaching science. The modern science teaching methods should be
organized to reflect the processes of science because to learn science is to do
science, and doing science by students entails more of providing opportunities
for them to interact with the environment using the techniques and tools of
science than memorizing scientific knowledge.
PROJECT
TOPIC ON EFFECTS OF INQUIRY AND LABORATORY METHODS OF TEACHING ON THE ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL CHEMISTRY STUDENTS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA
1.2 Statement of the Problem
This study
intends to determine the effects oflaboratory and inquiry methods of teaching
compared withthe lecture method on students‟ academic performance in Chemistry
in secondary schools.Poor performance of students in Chemistry is increasing
like in other science subjects. This has been attributed to many reasons and one
of the outstanding ones is that poor method of teaching militates against its
effective learning by the students.
Chemistry as
a subject aims at equipping learners with diverse skills, competencies and
creativity needed to provide opportunities for wealth creation. These aims will
remain a mirage if chemistry teachers do not incorporate the right
methodologies needed for an engaged chemistry interactive classroom that will
enhance performance of students in chemistry. Improvement on the method of teaching
Chemistry was looked into in this study.
The
conventional instruction used all along had been found to be inadequate for
effective teaching. This methoddoes not allow active students‟ participation in
science lessons; rather, students memorize and regurgitate facts and concepts
without the basic understanding of these concepts. Often too, students do not
have the understanding of the scientific basis for the relevance of those
concepts. According to Wolfe (2006), there are not enough instances when a teacher
had tried to teach in an interesting way, say through activities and games.In
view of the foregoing, it has become necessary to seek methodologies that will
ensure and enhance better performance of students in chemistry.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The study
examined the effect of inquiry and laboratory methods on the performance of
Chemistry students in senior secondary schools in Anambra State. Specifically,
the objectives of the study were to:
Compare the
performance of students taught with inquiry method and those taught with
lecture method.
Compare the
performance of students taught with laboratory method and those taught with
lecture method.
Ascertain
whether there is variation in the performance of students in experimental
groups.
Compare the
performance of students with respect to gender in the experimental groups.
1.4 Research Questions
The study
answered the following questions:
Is there any
difference between the performance of students taught Chemistry using inquiry
method and those taught with lecture methods of teaching?
Is there any
difference in the performance of students taught Chemistry using laboratory
method and those taught with lecture methods of teaching?
Does the
performance of students in the two experimental groups vary?
Is there any
difference between the performance of male and female students in the
experimental groups?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The
following hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance in the course of
the study:
Ho1: There
is no significant difference in the performance of students taught Chemistry
using inquiry method and those taught with lecture methods of teaching.
Ho2: There
is no significant difference in the performance of students taught Chemistry
using laboratory method and those taught with lecture method of teaching.
Ho3: There is no significant difference in the
performance of students in the two experimental groups.
Ho4: There
is no significant difference between the performance of male and female
students in the experimental groups?
1.6 Significance of the Study
Academic
achievement of Nigerian students in school subjects including Chemistry at the
secondary school levels has remained poor over the years.This could be as a
result of poor mastery of the subject matter which occurs as a result of poor
method of teaching. In the schools where active learning methods prevail, the
students demonstrate significantly higher academic achievement to their
counterparts. There is no doubt that the search for the effective teaching
method in order to enhance academic performance of Chemistry students, improve
competence in laboratory skills and activities is necessary. Inquiry and
laboratory methods are quite effective in teaching of science and chemistry in
particular. Consequently, the following benefits could be derived from the
outcome of the study;
It is hoped
that the study will encourage students to be actively involved in the
construction of knowledge and to take charge of their own learning. Active
participation of students develops self confidence and positive attitude to
science thereby enhancing performance. Therefore, the outcome of the study
could enhance students‟ performance in Chemistry. Chemistry teachers in
secondary schools could also benefit from this study if they utilize the result
from the study. This will guide them on how best to explore and sustain the
interest of their students, thereby helping students conceptualize scientific
concepts through activity oriented approach.
Curriculum
developers like the Science Teachers Association (STAN), Nigerian Education
Research and Development Council (NERDC) that determine what to include in the
syllabus can recommend these methods of teaching and organize seminars for
teachers in order that teachers can fully adopt the methods in order to promote
the teaching and learning of Chemistry in schools. Also curriculum planners may
not overload the curriculum content of chemistry at the secondary school level.
The nation
at large could also benefit from the findings of this study as more capable
manpower would be empowered through this holistic approach in teaching. This is
because students will be able to apply theory in solving their everyday problem
and also create job opportunities thereby creating wealth for the nation.
1.7 Basic Assumptions
The study
made the following assumptions.
Teachers‟
involvement in seminars and conferences exposes them to the right usage of
variety of teaching methods and materials that could promote more effective
learning in Chemistry Education.
Curriculum
of Chemistry at the secondary school level is overcrowded thus Chemistry
teachers resort to faster way of finishing the curriculum content
Peer
interaction encourages learning.
Students
generally perceive science subjects as being difficult and Chemistry in
particular but when they are made active participants in the class they tend to
learn the subject better.
1.8 Scope of the Study
A study like
this can cover the whole country but then due to limited time factor and
financial constraint, the researcher made use of SS II Chemistry students in
three secondary schools from two out of six different Educational Zones in
Anambra State, Nigeria. The study was carried out with SSII students because
they had studied Chemistry for one year and as such, they had the basic concept
of Chemistry. The SSIII students were not part be of the study in view of the
fact that they were preparing for an external examination (SSCE).
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