Simple Explicit Animation (SEA) Approach in Teaching Organic Chemistry

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the effectiveness of the Simple Explicit Animation (SEA) content for teaching organic reaction mechanism concepts. It is expected this content would improve students understanding of organic reaction mechanism concepts when it is used as a supplementary teaching material in an organic chemistry class. This study examined how the SEA content was used as a supplementary material in a first year Organic Chemistry course and its effect on the performance of students. Using pre and post-test control group design, the study involved a comparison between an experimental group of students (n=18) who followed instruction that integrated SEA in a blended mode and a control group of students (n=21) who followed instruction based essentially on conventional talk-and-chalk mode. The one-way ANCOVA technique was used to evaluate the impact of the intervention, while controlling the pre-test scores. After adjusting for pre-test scores, there was a significant difference between the two groups on the post-test scores, F(1,36) = 21.543, p < 0.05, eta squared = 0.37. Students who had followed instructions carried out in the blended mode displayed significant improvement in their post-test as compared to students who were taught using the conventional mode. The research results suggested the potential of using SEA content as an instructional material to teach organic reaction mechanism concepts.