Secondary School Chemistry Students Research Articles

Science Process Skills Acquired by Senior Secondary School Chemistry Students in Quantitative Analysis in Enugu Education Zone, Nigeria

Science Process Skills Acquired by Senior Secondary School Chemistry Students in Quantitative Analysis in Enugu Education Zone, Nigeria

Effectiveness of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Teaching Strategy on Students’ Performance in Chemistry in Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

The Study Examined Qualitative Aspect Of “O” Level West African Secondary School Certificate Practical Chemistry Syllabus And Identified Reaction Of Metals With Water As One Of The Concepts That Chemistry Teachers Avoid To Teach Due To Either Unavailability Of Chemical Regents Or Lack Of Teachers’ Competence To Handle The Topic. The Study Therefore Examined The Effectiveness Of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Leaving (POGIL) Strategy On Students’ Performance In Chemistry In Secondary Schools In Ondo State, Nigeria. A Pretest, Posttest Control Group Design Was Adopted With POGIL Being the treatment and lecture method as the control group. A total of 60 Senior Secondary School chemistry students (SSS 3) were randomly selected from Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State Nigeria to constitute the study sample. Two intact classes comprising 33 students for POGIL group and 27 students for the lecture method group were taught separately in their respective schools. A 1 item instrument tagged Practical Chemistry Achievement Test (CAAT) with reliability co-efficient of r=0.78, p<0.05 was used to collect data. The results showed that POGIL was more effective (=12.63) than lecture method (=10.84), t=2.97, p<0.05. The study concluded that POGIL strategy is an effective method of teaching practical chemistry concepts in general and the qualitative aspect of practical chemistry in particular.

Effectiveness of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Teaching Strategy on Students’ Performance in Chemistry in Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

The Study Examined Qualitative Aspect Of “O” Level West African Secondary School Certificate Practical Chemistry Syllabus And Identified Reaction Of Metals With Water As One Of The Concepts That Chemistry Teachers Avoid To Teach Due To Either Unavailability Of Chemical Regents Or Lack Of Teachers’ Competence To Handle The Topic. The Study Therefore Examined The Effectiveness Of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Leaving (POGIL) Strategy On Students’ Performance In Chemistry In Secondary Schools In Ondo State, Nigeria. A Pretest, Posttest Control Group Design Was Adopted With POGIL Being the treatment and lecture method as the control group. A total of 60 Senior Secondary School chemistry students (SSS 3) were randomly selected from Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State Nigeria to constitute the study sample. Two intact classes comprising 33 students for POGIL group and 27 students for the lecture method group were taught separately in their respective schools. A 1 item instrument tagged Practical Chemistry Achievement Test (CAAT) with reliability co-efficient of r=0.78, p<0.05 was used to collect data. The results showed that POGIL was more effective (=12.63) than lecture method (=10.84), t=2.97, p<0.05. The study concluded that POGIL strategy is an effective method of teaching practical chemistry concepts in general and the qualitative aspect of practical chemistry in particular.

Enhancement of Chemistry Self-efficacy of Students using Computer Aided Instruction among Secondary School Learners in Kenya

Chemisrty self-efficacy is to do with desire or confidence to perform well in Chemistry and has been predominantly low among secondary school students in Kenya, and many other developing countries. The study investigated the effect of computer aided instruction (CAI) on Chemisrty self-efficacy of students as compared toconventional methods(CM). The study adopted solomon Four-Group, Non-equivalent Control Group Design which emphasises Quasi-Experimental design. A sample of 174 Form Two secondary school Chemistry students in Tharaka Nithi County in Kenya was used. Four schools were purposively samlped and randomly assigned as either Experimental Groups or Control Groups. The students of experimental groups were taught chemisrty through CAI while the control groups were taught using Conventional Methods on the topics "the structure of the Atom, the periodic table and chemical families" for six weeks. Data was colected using students self-efficacy questionnaire(SSEQ) and was administered before and after exposure of intervention (CAI). Both descriptive and inferential statistics, in particular, t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to analyse the data. The study revealed that the students taught through Computer aided instruction obtained significantly higher chemisrty self-efficacy scores than the students taught using conventional methods. Further, the study revealed that girls obtained higher self-efficacy scores than thier counterpart boys when taught using CAI. Thus, Chemistry teachers should adopt CAI in thier teaching to help in enhancing Chemisrty self-efficacy of students, and by extention enhance performance in Chemistry.

Impact of Virtual Laboratory on the Achievement of Secondary School Chemistry Students in Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Collaborative Environments

The study investigated the impact of virtual laboratory on the achievements of secondary school chemistry students in homogeneous and heterogeneous collaborative settings in Minna, Niger state, Nigeria. Three hypotheses were formulated, analyzed and tested at 0.05 alpha level. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 60 Senior Secondary Class Two (SS II) Chemistry Students. The subjects were stratified along gender and ability levels. Sixty students were randomly selected from two secondary schools in Minna, Nigeria. Thirty students (male, n = 15; female, n = 15) were selected from each school. Pretest, posttest, and experimental group design was employed. Experts validated 20-item multiple-choice Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) was used for data collection. A reliability coefficient of 0.91 was obtained from the pilot testing using Kuder Richardson (KR-20). ANCOVA and Sidak post-hoc statistics were used for testing the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results showed that: (a) students in homogeneous ability grouping taught Chemistry using virtual laboratory instruction in collaborative setting performed better than their counterpart taught Chemistry in heterogeneous grouping composition; (b) female students in homogeneous group performed better than their counterparts in heterogeneous groups; (c) the higher achiever students in homogeneous groups outperformed those in heterogeneous groups. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the use of virtual laboratory instruction in homogeneous gender and ability level grouping in collaborative setting should be encouraged in teaching practical chemistry at senior secondary schools in Nigeria.

Effectiveness of Problem Based Learning on the Cognitive Development of Students at Secondary Level

The study intended to investigate the effectiveness of problem based learning (PBL) on the cognitive development of class IX students' in the subject of chemistry. The objectives of the study were to; examine the effect of problem based learning on academic achievement of the students in chemistry, examine the effect of problem based learning on academic achievement of the students with different level of achievements, determine the effect of problem based learning on cognitive domain of secondary school chemistry students and to determine the effect of problem based learning on cognitive domain of secondary school chemistry students with different level of achievements. The sample consisted of class IX students of Working Folks Grammar Higher Secondary School No. 1, Haripur. Pre-test, post-test equivalent group design was used for this study. On the basis of pre-test results, students were divided into two groups and named randomly as experimental and controlled group having 45 students in each group. The same test was also given to experimental and controlled groups as a post-test to compare the effects of teaching chemistry through problem solving method and traditional method on students’ achievements. Before the application of PBL, 5 groups were made in which there were 9 students in each group. The study recommended that the teacher should be encouraged to employ problem based learning in teaching chemistry and it should be incorporated as an essential part in training for science teacher by introducing different courses in order to implement it.

Relationship between Peer Group Influence and Students’ Academic Achievement in Chemistry at Secondary School Level

The research was designed to examine the relationship between peer group influence and academic achievement of secondary school chemistry students in some selected secondary schools in Jalingo metropolis of Taraba State. The study employed a survey- Causal-comparative research design in line with its appropriateness to the research problem. A sample of 120 students comprising of equal number of male and female students were selected randomly from three secondary schools. A 15-item questionnaire Peer Group Influence Assessment Questionnaire and Chemistry Achievement Test containing 50-items was administered to the students. The data were analyzed using means, standard deviation in answering the research questions and t-test and Person Product Moment Correlation were used in testing the hypotheses. The result from the study showed that; there is significant difference between students that belong to peer group and those that do not belong to peer group on the academic achievement of chemistry; there was no significant difference between the academic achievement of male and female chemistry students that are involved in peer group; and there is a positive and significant relationship between peer group influence and academic achievement of students in chemistry. It was therefore recommended that; school authorities/teachers should pay attention towards encouraging peer group activities in schools especially in the area of group discussion.

EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO-MEDIATED INSTRUCTION ON TEACHING SECONDARY SCHOOL PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY IN AKURE SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined the relative effectiveness of Video Mediated Instruction (VMI) and Classroom Demonstration Technique (CDT) on the performance of students in practical Chemistry and also determined the effectiveness of these modes of instructions on the retention ability of the students. A pre-test, post-test control group design was used for the study. The population for the study comprised of Senior Secondary School Chemistry Students in Class Two (SSSII) in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State. A sample of eighty eight of the SSS II Chemistry students in two intact classes from two randomly selected secondary schools in the LGA was used for the study. The two intact classes were randomly assigned to the treatment and control groups. The treatment group was taught with Video Mediated Instruction (VMI), while the control group was taught with the Classroom Demonstration Technique (CDT). A pre-test was administered before treatment to determine the entry level of the students in the two groups. The teaching lasted for four weeks after which a post-test was administered. Two weeks later, a retention test was then administered. The data obtained were analysed using t-test statistics. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the performance of students in the two groups. Students taught with VMI performed significantly better than those taught with CDT only (t =, p<0.05) Also, there was a significant difference in the effectiveness of VMI in enhancing retention ability of students in practical Chemistry. The study concluded that VMI was effective in teaching practical chemistry (Volumetric Analysis) and that integrating CDT with VMI will allow students to learn better. Article visualizations:

Social Media and Learning Styles as Correlates of Senior Secondary Students’ Chemistry Achievement in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

&lt;p&gt;Students spend most of the time they should have spent on reading on social media, meanwhile social media should be a tool for students to enhance their learning styles and improve their achievement in chemistry. Literatures revealed that both learning styles and social media affect the academic performance of students either positively or negatively, however little or no attempt has been made to investigate the effect of both on the academic achievement of students in chemistry. This study thus investigated the effect of learning styles and social media on the achievement of senior secondary school chemistry students in Abeokuta south local government of Ogun State, Nigeria. It is ex post facto research design. The population of study is all the public secondary schools students in Abeokuta South local government area of Ogun State. Random sampling was used to select five schools while forty SSIII chemistry students each were purposely selected from the schools to give a total of 200. The students responded to three research instruments which were Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) (reliability = 0.79), and Social Media Usage Scale (SMUS) (reliability = 0.85). Five research questions were answered and data was analysed with descriptive statistics including graphical presentations. Use of Facebook (57%) was prevalent among the students. Participative learning style (mean = 15.88, mode = 17) was found to be the style commonly used by chemistry students. Both male and female students (t&lt;sub&gt; (198)&lt;/sub&gt; =1.65, p&amp;gt; 0.05) were found to be equal on the use of social media. Students usually shared more personal features than sharing ideas or knowledge. There was no significant relationship between the use of social media and students’ achievement in chemistry. Science students, especially chemistry students are enjoined to devote some of the time they spent on social media for academic development rather than on social affairs mainly.&lt;/p&gt;

Promoting Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation among Chemistry Students using Computer-Assisted Instruction

The role of computer-assisted instruction in promoting intrinsic and extrinsic motivation among Nigerian secondary school chemistry students was investigated in this study. The study employed two modes of computer-assisted instruction (computer simulation instruction and computer tutorial instructional packages) and two levels of gender (male and female) using pretest-posttest experimental group design. Ninety (45 males and 45 females) senior secondary one (SS1) students from three secondary schools in Minna, Nigeria, made up the sample. The schools were purposively sampled and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The Experimental Group I was taught two selected concepts of chemistry using computer simulation instructional package (CSIP), Experimental Group II was exposed to computer tutorial Instructional package (CTIP) while conventional teaching method (CTM) was used for the Control Group. Validated Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) and Chemistry Motivation Questionnaire (CMQ) with reliability coefficient of 0.89 and 0.94 respectively were used for data collection. Classroom observations as well as interview schedules were also conducted. Data from CAT and CTM were analyzed using One-way ANOVA and Scheffe’s post-hoc test, while the data from the classroom observations and interview schedules were thematically analyzed. The outcome of this study revealed that students taught with CSIP performed better than those in CTIP and CTM groups. The CSIP and CTIP were found also to be gender friendly. Moreover, students taught with CSIP had higher intrinsic and extrinsic motivation than their counterparts in CTIP and CTM respectively. Based on the findings, it was recommended that chemistry teachers should employ computer simulation for improving their students’ performance and motivation in the subject.

Disciplinary literacy instructions on writing scientific explanations: a case study from a chemistry classroom in an all-girls school

This paper is a case study that reports on findings from a design-based research with the purpose of helping secondary school chemistry students in an all-girls school develop the ability to construct scientific explanations – an important literacy skill in learning science. A series of lessons on the topic of chemical bonding was designed to explicitly teach the three-part structure often found in the genre of scientific explanations and provide opportunities for students to apply the structure. The lesson series was observed and the students' worksheets and test papers were collected and analysed. The analysis of the structure of the students' written scientific explanations was done through genre analysis. Most of the students were found to be able to write well-structured scientific explanations addressing the topic of chemical bonding but only a fraction of them could re-contextualise the explanation structure.

Influence of Improvisedteaching Instructional Materials on Chemistry Students’ Performance in Senior Secondary Schools in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria

This study assessed the use of improvised instructional materials on the performance of chemistry students. It also examined the differential performance among male and female chemistry students when this method is used in teaching chemistry. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided this study. A descriptive survey design was used for the study. Data were collected from 150 senior secondary school chemistry students using simple random sampling procedure from eight secondary schools in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. Improvised Chemistry Teaching Aids Questionnaire (ICTAQ) developed by the researchers and validated by experts was used for data collection. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Students taught using improvised instructional materials outperformed their counterparts taught with conventional lecture method. There was also a better performance among the male chemistry students when compared to their female counterparts. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that teaching of chemistry using improvised instructional materials should be encouraged since it facilitates the learning of this subject.

Chemistry under Your Skin? Experiments with Tattoo Inks for Secondary School Chemistry Students

This paper discusses a set of easy, hands-on experiments that inquire into and differentiate among tattoo inks of varying quality. A classroom scenario is described for integrating these experiments into secondary school chemistry classes. Initial experiences from the classroom are also presented.

UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ CHOICE AND THEIR IDEAS ON HOW TO IMPROVE CHEMISTRY EDUCATION

In Sweden, there is concern about fewer students taking chemistry courses in higher education, especially at university level. Using a survey, this study investigates the reasons upper secondary school chemistry students choose to follow the Swedish Natural Science Programme. In addition, students’ views about their chemistry education are sought and their ideas about how to improve their chemistry experience. A questionnaire with closed and open questions was completed by 495 chemistry students from different schools in Sweden. The analysis shows that most students have high interest-enjoyment value of chemistry, but both positive and negative responses about their chemistry education refer to the importance of the teacher and the structure of lessons. To improve their chemistry experience, students suggest making it relevant to everyday life and being more practical and more student centred. For positively inclined students to maintain their value of chemistry beyond schooling into choice at university level, the programme should take these suggestions into account.

School Factors as Correlates of Students’ Achievement in Chemistry

There is abundant research evidence to support the view that when Chemistry is taught in an enabling environment, a lot of enjoyable learning takes place. But in reality this is not always so, the implication is that students' achievement in this subject still continue to dwindle. This study therefore aimed at finding the extent to which school factors predict senior secondary school students' achievement in Chemistry. Ex-post facto research type with a survey design was adopted for the study. The sample used consisted of senior secondary school Chemistry students and teachers drawn from fifty seven (57) local governments and development areas of Lagos state. Instruments were developed and validated for the study. Three research questions were raised and answered in the study. Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression Statistics were used to analyze data collected. Findings from the study showed that as the conditions accrued to school factors improve, the performance of students in chemistry improves. Recommendations were made based on these findings.

Influence of School Characteristics on the Achievement of Secondary School Chemistry Students in the Cognitive Science process Skill of Evaluation in Kenya

&lt;p style="text-align:justify"&gt;Chemistry is one of the subjects that students sit for in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). The attainment of students in chemistry in KCSE has been quite low. An analysis of the past Chemistry examination papers taken in KCSE reveals that the papers test students’ competencies in various aspects of Cognitive Science Process Skill of Evaluation (CSPSE). It was hypthesised that school characteristics could be influencing students’ acquisition of various aspects of CSPSE. The school characteristics investigated were social set up (single – sex and co-educational schools) and school location (rural and urban schools). The aspects of CSPSE investigated were: reformulation of scientific statements, evaluation of experimental procedures, evaluation of inferences from scientific data, and evaluation of scientific arguments. Cross- sectional survey research design was used in this study. Cognitive Science Process Skills Test (CSPST) was constructed and administered to a stratified random sample of 386 Form Three Chemistry students drawn from Public County Secondary Schools in Rift Valley Province of Kenya. The findings of the study show that students from single-sex secondary schools performed significantly better than their counterparts from co-educational schools in all the categories of CSPSE. The school location did not have a significant influence on students’ performance on CSPSE.&lt;/p&gt;

Attitudes of Nigerian Secondary School Chemistry Students Towards Concept Mapping Strategies in Learning the Mole Concept

The study examined the effect of Concept mapping learning strategies on the learning outcomes of students in Chemistry. It compared the effectiveness of the use of different concept mapping strategies (hierarchical, flowchart and spider) used as advance organizers on students’ performance and examined the attitudes of students towards the use of the concept mapping strategies in teaching the mole concept an important concept in Chemistry in the secondary schools. The study adopted the pretest-posttest-control group quasi experimental design. The population for the study comprised of Senior Secondary School class II (SSSII) students in Ife Central Local Government Area of Osun state, Nigeria. The Chemistry students in their intact classes in three randomly selected senior public secondary schools in the local government area were used for the study. A total of one hundred and thirty two (132) ssII chemistry students formed the sample for the study. The age range of the students was between 13 and 17years. The three schools were coeducational. The schools selected were randomly assigned to the treatment groups. Two research instruments were used for the study. These are; Problem Solving Achievement Test in Chemistry (PSATC) and Questionnaire on Attitude of Students towards Concept Mapping (QACSCM). The PSATC consists of 25-item multiple choice questions with five options constructed to serve as pretest to ascertain equivalence of ability of subjects and as posttest to determine the effect of the treatment on ability to solve numerical problems in chemistry based on the mole concept. The QACSCM consists of 10-item questionnaire, designed to find out the attitude of the students towards the use of concept mapping strategy in learning chemistry. The reliability coefficient of the PSATC was 0.92 while that of QACSCM was 0.66. The two instruments were validated and reliability determined. The supplementary instructional package was the use of three types of concept maps (hierarchical, flowchart and spider) presented to the students as advance organizer. Results showed that there was no significant difference F = 1.19; p = 0.24 > 0.05) in the performances of the students exposed to either Hierarchical, Flowchart or Spider Concept Mapping strategies when used as advance organizers. This implies that using any of the concept mapping strategies as advance organizers produced a similar effect on the students’ performance in their problem solving abilities. Result also indicated that there was no significant difference in the students’ attitude to the concept mapping strategies. That is, those students that were taught with concept mapping strategies have similar attitudes to the strategies (F = 0.69; p = 0.46). It is therefore concluded that the various types of concept maps used in this study were effective and students had similar attitude to the maps. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n2p475

The Role of Gender on the Isolation of Teaching Effectiveness Factors by Nigerian Senior Secondary School Chemistry Students

Students’ evaluation of teaching is one area of educational research that is becoming increasingly emphasised in recent times in Nigeria, but limited attention is still given to the identification of teaching effectiveness factors from students’ point of view, in order to develop a valid and reliable instrument. Students’ evaluation is commonly used in developed countries to provide information that could be used by teacher to improve his/her teaching and by administrators to make personnel decisions like promotion .This study therefore analysed the isolated teaching effectiveness factors in chemistry according to the gender of the students. The study adopted survey research design of ex-post facto type. Two thousand nine hundred and eighty eight SSII chemistry students participated, using multistage and stratified random sampling techniques from the six states in the Southwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Data collected through validated and reliable “Students’ Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness Scale (0.78)” were analysed using factor analysis. The study found that there are significant similarities in the ratings of the teaching effectiveness factors in Chemistry classroom due to gender. Each gender profile reveals 11 pattern of underlying influence of which 7 are common to both gender. Educational planners, policy makers and administrators are therefore urged to work out modalities for the development and implementation of students’ evaluation of teaching effectiveness instrument for use at the secondary level of education.

Can animations effectively substitute for traditional teaching methods? Part I: preparation and testing of materials

Two animations, one focused on the macroscopic phenomena and particulate conception of the three states of matter and the effects of heat on these states, and the other on solution formation and solubility were produced using Adobe Flash MX software. The first was designed for and tested on elementary school (3rd – 5th grade) students. The second was tested on secondary school chemistry students. The materials were prepared according to established multimedia learning design guidelines. A pre- and post-test study was used to compare the learning gains of the students who received the animations with those who received textbook reading time and discussion in class. The pre- and post-test data indicate that while both groups showed learning gains regardless of the provided mode of instruction, those who received the animations obtained higher scores than the control group.

Results of an Interview Study as Basis for the Categorization of Chemistry Students into Conceptual and Algorithmic Problem Solvers

This work is a report of a micro study carried out on the' effects of higher-order cognitive skills-oriented teaching strategy on the performance of senior secondary school chemistry students in solving stoichiometric problems'. In this study, problem solving category was used as one of the independent variables. This micro study involved 145 senior secondary school chemistry students with average age of 17.6 years, solving Chemistry Paired Algorithmic and Conceptual problems during a speak-aloud session. This exercise was carried out in order to classify them into conceptual and algorithmic problem solvers as well as to expose their misconceptions during problem solving. The results obtained indicated that the proportion of algorithmic problem solvers was greater than those of the conceptual problem solvers. Also, the study revealed that most students were able to solve algorithmic problems but lack the understanding of chemistry necessary for conceptual problems. The implications of this research were discussed in terms of instructional strategies aimed at transforming algorithmic problem solvers into conceptual problem solvers.African Research Review Vol. 2 (2) 2008 pp. 128-153