THE EFFECT OF STORYLINES EMBEDDED WITHIN CONTEXT-BASED LEARNING APPROACH ON GRADE 6 STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF ‘PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGE’ CONCEPTS

Abstract

Alternative conceptions of ‘physical and chemical change’ concepts to minimize their effects on further learning should be handled at lower secondary school in that these concepts are formally introduced at grade 6. This study aimed to investigate the effect of storylines embedded within context-based learning approach on grade 6 students’ understanding of ‘physical and chemical change’ concepts. To probe the students’ conceptions, Chemical and Physical Change Concept Questionnaire (CPCCQ) was employed as pre- and post-test. The results indicated that most of the students tended to pay more attention to ‘reversibility’ criterion in distinguishing ‘chemical change’ concept from ‘physical change’ one. Finally, it can be deduced that the storylines embedded within the context-based learning approach not only resulted in a better meaningful learning but also increased student achievement level. To give an opportunity for the students to grasp the relevance of chemistry/science to their lives, the meaning of each daily life concept should be bridged with that in a chemistry context. Key words: alternative conception, context-based learning approach, chemical change, physical change, science education, storylines.