Relative effect of lecture method and problem solving techniques on Chemistry students’ academic performance in Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos state

 

Relative effect of lecture method and problem solving techniques on Chemistry students’ academic performance in Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos state

CHAPTER ONE

 INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

          Chemistry is a branch of science which enables learners to understand what happens around them; it affords its recipients the opportunity to explore their immediate environment. Chemistry education has a crucial role to play in helping to find answers to various human and socio-economic problems as well as making the society more scientifically literate. Chemistry is the study of the composition, properties, uses and structure of matter. It is the science of matter and the changes it undergoes, and attempts explaining chemical phenomenon of everyday life (Kolomuc & Tekin, 2019). The objective of chemistry education in schools extends to the fundamental concepts of chemistry that students need to learn and understand and the chemical processes behind phenomena in life (Kolomuc & Tekin, 2011; Ifeyinwa & Nweze, 2020). Science and technology have become the hallmark for sustainable development in any national economy, but cannot strive ahead without chemistry.

          The developed countries forged ahead by recognizing the relevance of chemistry in their national economy. Research evidences have proved that chemistry’s contribution to quality of life and nation building are worthwhile in all aspects. It was based on this that the Federal Government through her national policy on education made chemistry a compulsory science subject at the secondary school level (NPE, 2004). There have been researchers such as Eke (2009), accepting that any nation aspiring to be scientifically and technologically developed must have adequate level of chemistry education.

          These lead chemists in 2009 to declare “what on earth is not chemistry”. Friedman (2010) also supported the idea that achievement in science is low and he attributed the reason for this among other things to the way Chemistry is taught by teachers with neither a major nor minor qualification in the subject. Several other reasons have been advanced for the under-achievement in Chemistry and other science subjects. Poor computational skills, inability to apply learned concept, principles, formulae, units and lack of procedural guide or problem-solving skills (Bellow, 2021). Furthermore, the importance of mathematics in the studying and understanding of science has been recognized worldwide. Salau (2010) points out that there exists a link between mathematics and other science subjects.Through the power of Mathematics, data collected in Chemistry can be used to predict the behaviour of matter. The ability to give both diagnostic as well as prognostic analyses of a physical phenomenon has made Chemistry the leading discipline in all the branches of science. In this work, the research into the effect of the mathematical ability of students on performance in Chemistry is considered as the research into the effect of students’ numerical ability on performance in Chemistry. 

          However, there have not been remarkable improvements in the interest of students toward chemistry, mostly in problem solving. Students’ performance in chemistry depends on many factors and stands out to show how well a student is doing. Festus (2010), contend that performance appears generally to be the fundamental goal behind every life struggle, but the positive platform has consequential effects of improving the worth of the student and can only be achieved through acquisition of positive learning attitudes.        

          In order to solve chemistry problems in an acceptable manner, the problem solver must have both conceptual scientific and procedural knowledge (Ekpete, 2012). However, many studies showed that students frequently do not use conceptual understanding in solving chemistry problems. These studies also provided evidence that students were limited in their ability to solve distant transfer problems without an in-depth understanding of relevant chemistry concepts. According to Greenwald (2018), the best way for students to learn science is to experience challenging problems and the thoughts and actions associated with solving them.

          This suggests that a properly planned and executed problem solving instruction enables learners to:

(a)Reflect on their past experiences to determine if the latter can be applied on the present problem situation.

(b)Support their problem solving actions with evidence or valid arguments rather than anything for granted.

(c)Consider other possible ways of solving a particular problem.

(d)Try varying conditions of the problem to see if the same solutions procedures will be required. It is therefore through problem solving that learners‟ thought processes can be shared and translated into action, thereby making them develop confidence in their ability to solve mathematical problems. However, if the teacher spends most of the time drilling learners in routine operations, he kills their interest, hampers their acquisition of independent thinking and denies them the opportunity of discovering their talents.

           The overwhelming importance of problem solving . . . is the opportunity it provides for teachers and pupils to enter into the spirit of enquiry, and through that spirit to establish different styles of teaching and learning. Through problem solving, learners are exposed to different strategies of solving problems. They become curious to see the nature of solutions they get to challenging problems. With time, the learners are motivated to solve variations of given problems and then more complex problems. This means that learners refine and sharpen their problem solving skills by solving more problems and this forms the basis for future problem solving endeavours. Under the problem solving method of teaching, there are specific strategies that are used during the instruction. These include Problem-based learning (PBL), cooperative learning and collaborative learning, all which embrace learner-centred approaches.

          Sasky (2014) noted that good teaching occurs when students learn. Therefore there is need for teachers to ensure that whatever method of instruction they adopt in classroom promotes learning among students’. It is envisaged that the use of problem-solving method of instruction in teaching chemistry will help students to acquire desirable scientific attitude as well as improve their attitude and achievement chemistry generally.

Lecture method is often refer to as conventional method. It is based on the talk and chalk or textbook strategy (Gbamaja, 2011). In the course of employing the strategy, the teacher dominates the teaching with very little participation on the part of the learners. Here the teacher is seen as the repository of all knowledge while the students are passive recipients of knowledge transmitted by the teachers in the process of learning. The strategy has the advantage of covering a wider area within a short time but it is not student centered and students do not gain mastery of concepts.

          Thus, the student learns to define problem, collects information related to the solution of the problem and finally check and evaluate the solution obtained (Frazer, 2012 and Selvarantnam, 2013).Therefore, this study intends to investigate the relative effect of lecture method and problem solving techniques on chemistry students’ academic performance in Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos state.

Statement of the Problem

          Nigeria as a country, has been suffering from a disgustingly high rate of students ‘failure in key subjects (Eze, 2011) among which Chemistry is one. The Principal Assistant Registrar of West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC), Uduh, cited by Eze, (2011) reveals that the results of West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASCE) of candidates who obtained credit passes in, at least, five subjects, including English, Mathematics and Chemistry over a period of five years. Unfortunately, not much consideration has been given to the teaching methods as a possible vital variable that can impact on students’ academic performance.

 Emphasis should be placed on teaching it to give the students the good foundation for understanding the learning of Chemistry. In view of the usefulness of Chemistry.in nearly all fields of human endeavour, the poor achievement and retention of students in Chemistry at both secondary and post-secondary levels have been sources of concern to education stake holders and government at different times.

The problem of this study posed as a question is, which of problem solving techniques and lecture methods of teaching when used by teachers would enhance students’ achievement and promote retention in Chemistry? Could method of teaching improve poor performance of students in Chemistry? Therefore, this study investigates the relative effect of lecture method and problem solving techniques on chemistry students’ academic performance in Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos state.

Purpose of the Study

          The broad objective of this study is to examine the relative effect of lecture method and problem solving techniques on chemistry students’ academic performance in Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos state. It intends to specifically;

1.     Find out the  difference in performance between students taught Chemistry using problem solving techniques and those taught using conventional methods

2.     Ascertain the difference in Chemistry performance between private and public students taught Chemistry using problem solving techniques.

3.     Examine  the  difference in Chemistry performance between male and female students taught Chemistry using problem solving techniques

Research Questions

            The following questions were generated to guide the study:

1.     Is there any difference in the performance of students taught Chemistry using problem solving techniques and those taught using conventional methods?

2.     Is there any difference in the performance of private and public students taught Chemistry using problem solving techniques?

3.     Is there any difference in the performance of male and female students taught Chemistry using problem solving techniques.

Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses were formulated from the research questions;

1.     There is no significant difference in Chemistry performance between students taught Chemistry using problem solving techniques and those taught using conventional methods.

2.     There is no significant difference in Chemistry performance between private and public students taught Chemistry using problem solving techniques.

3.     There is no significant difference in Chemistry performance between male and female students taught Chemistry using problem solving techniques.

Significance of the Study

The findings of the study will be of immense benefit to the nation, students, science teachers, future researchers and curriculum developers to the relevance of Problem-based Solving techniques to effective teaching and learning of Chemistry. To the nation, the findings of the study will improve students’ performance in Chemistry and increase the number of students who will go into the study of important science courses like engineering, pharmacy, medicine, etc. This course of study has Chemistry as a pre-requisite and promotes national and economic development as well as increasing the number of scientifically skilled and literate citizens.

 To the students, the findings of the study will help the students to achieve high in Chemistry through the use of problem solving techniques and promote their performance which will make them have interest in science courses in higher schools of learning and also appreciate environmental sustainability. To the teachers; the findings of the study when applied well will make teaching and learning process more effective and move effective because students’ performance will be enhanced thus enabling the realization of the stated instructional objectives which is the goal of any academic enterprise.

 To future researchers; the results of this study will serve as a base line data for future researchers into other methods of teaching. It will also serve as a reference material for future studies finally to the curriculum developers, the findings of this study will be used for suggesting/integrating instructional materials and implementing the use of problem-based solving techniques of teaching and learning.

Scope of the Study

            This study is limited to senior secondary schools in Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos State. It covers senior secondary school class one (SS I) students. The study two variables; the dependent variable is the students’ performance in Chemistry while the independent variable is the problem-based techniques as a teaching method.

Definitions of Terms

          The following terms were operational defined in this study;

Problem Solving Techniques (PST): PST is a constructivist educational approach where curriculum and instruction are organized around carefully crafted ill-structured problems. In this approach, teachers act as cognitive coaches to develop students’ critical thinking, problem solving, and collaborative skills (Ram, 2009). Usually, students are required to identify problems through discussions after which they formulate hypotheses and use several sources of information to develop procedures for investigating their hypotheses.

The Learning Environment: The learning environment has four components: the learner, other students, the teacher, and the physical environment. Research has shown that the learning environment plays a crucial role in determining the students’ learning outcomes and attitudes towards science. In this study, the learning environment is defined as a condition under which instruction occurs.

Teaching: This is the process of transferring ideas through methods by the teacher to the students’ in order to ensure learning.

Learning: This is the process of acquiring new ideas which involve change in behavior after acquiring new concept.

Students: someone who is studying at a university, school etc

Classroom: a room that you have lessons in at a school or college

Teacher: someone whose job is to teach, especially in a school

School: a place where children are taught

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