40186657

Effects of Enhanced Laboratory Instructional Technique on Senior Secondary Student'sAttitude toward Chemistry in Oyo Township, Oyo State, NigeriaAuthor(s): Francis Adewumi Adesoji and Sikiru Morakinyo RaimiSource: Journal of Science Education and Technology, Vol. 13, No. 3 (Sep., 2004), pp. 377-385Published by: SpringerStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40186657Accessed: 12/12/2010 14:19

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Journal of Science Education and Technology, Vol. 13, No. 3, September 2004 (© 2004)

Effects of Enhanced Laboratory Instructional Technique on Senior Secondary Students9 Attitude Toward Chemistry in Oyo Township, Oyo State, Nigeria

Francis Adewumi Adesoji1'3 and Sikiru Morakinyo Raimi2

The study examined the effect of supplementing laboratory instruction with problem solving strategy and or practical skills teaching on students' attitude toward chemistry. A total of 286 senior secondary class II students (145 males and 141 females) drawn from four local govern- ment areas in Oyo township in Oyo state, Nigeria, took part in the study. A pretest-posttest nonrandomized control group in a quasi-experimental setting using a 4 x 2 x 2 factorial rep- resentation formed the design of the study. Data analysis was done by the use of analysis of covariance but Scheffe post hoc analysis was carried out in the case of significant main effect of the treatment and also in the occasion of significant interaction effect. Graphical illustra- tions were however used to further explain the interaction effects. The results revealed that the use of enhanced laboratory instructional strategy significantly improved the attitudes of students toward chemistry. The results underscore the need for secondary school chemistry teachers to adopt the use of enhanced laboratory instructional strategy in order to promote good attitude on the part of the students toward learning of chemistry.

KEY WORDS: instructional technique; chemistry; Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION

In Nigeria, evidence abounds from past stud- ies that secondary school students often show neg- ative attitude to chemistry. This negative attitude is often associated with poor performance in the subject (Adesokan, 2000; Odunusi, 1984; Ojo, 1990; Onwu and Monenu, 1986). Such negative attitude has also been found to reduce students' interest and consequently enrolment and poor performance in the Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations. These problems are not limited to Nigeria. Other researchers outside the country have also reported poor performance as well as negative attitude among secondary school students in such subjects as physics

department of Teacher Education, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

department of Integrated Science, Oyo State College of Educa- tion, Oyo, Nigeria.

3To whom correspondence should be addressed.

and chemistry (Albanese and Mitchel, 1993; Crawley and Black, 1990; Kempa, 1991; Ogunleye, 1999). The question then is, why do students put up negative at- titude toward chemistry? Prominent among the fac- tors that have been identified to be responsible for underachievement and poor attitude toward the sub- ject are poor methods of instruction (Osuafor, 1999); improper exposure to laboratory activities (Akpan, 1986; Brotherton and Breece, 1996; Hofstein and Lunetta, 1982; Layton, 1990); poor science back- ground at the junior secondary school (Bellow, 1985); and lack of problem solving abilities (Adeoye, 1992; Agina-oba, 1993; Ahiakwo, 1989). These problems have made science educators to focus on how to im- prove the teaching and learning of chemistry with a view to arousing students' interest in the subject and also develop positive attitude in them. Some of the recommended approaches in the area of solv- ing these problem include, the use of guided discov- ery approaches (Adesoji, 1995; Onwioduokit, 1989; Onwu and Moneme, 1989; Oriji, 2000; West, 1992);

377

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378 Adesoji and Raimi

and the use of practical oriented teaching (Okegible, 1996; Onosoga, 1996; Raimi, 1999). Many of these studies focused mainly on the improvement of learn- ing outcomes at the cognitive level, whereas, there is the need to also measure students' achievement at both the psychomotor and affective levels of ed- ucational outcomes. Most of the studies cited exam- ined the effect of one method of teaching or the other on students' attainment at either the cognitive or af- fective level of learning outcome. None of the past studies investigated the effects of enhanced labora- tory method (particularly by supplementing it with problem solving strategy and practical skills teaching on students' attitude toward chemistry). In this study, it is our intention to fill this gap. Therefore, the inves- tigators intend to determine the effects of the use of enhanced laboratory instructional strategy in the de- velopment of positive attitude toward chemistry as a school subject by secondary school students.

Statement of Problem

The study examined the effects of the use of enhanced laboratory method, in terms of supple- menting it with problem solving technique, and/or practical skills teaching on students' attitude toward chemistry as a subject. It also investigated the moder- ating effects of gender and student's numerical ability on the dependent measure.

Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level.

(i) There is no significant main effect of (a) treatment; (b) gender; and (c) numer- ical ability on students' attitude toward chemistry.

(ii) There is no significant interaction effects of (a) treatment and gender; (b) treatment and numerical ability; (c) gender and numeri- cal ability; and (d) treatment, gender and numerical ability on attitude of students' toward chemistry.

Scope of the Study

This study was carried out in eight coeducational secondary schools drawn from four local government areas in Oyo township of Oyo State, Nigeria. Age

of the students ranged from 12 to 16 and only Se- nior Secondary Class II students of the participating schools were used for the study.

The Geopolitical Description of Oyo Town

Oyo town is the second largest town in Oyo State, Nigeria, after Ibadan, the capital city of the state and third largest city south of Sahara. It is lo- cated approximately along latitude 7°51/ North and longitude 3°57' of the East of the Greenwich Merid- ian. The town is located on Al Ibadan to Kaduna trunk road. It is centrally located between urban cen- ters of Ibadan (55 km south) and Iwo (35 km South East). Awe, Akinmorin, Jobele, and Ilora are gradu- ally forming a contribution with the town.

Oyo occupied an area of about 20-25 minutes radius (35-40 km). It covers a land area of about 2036 km2. The area includes not only the township but the land area upon which the township inhabi- tants are having statutory claim. Oyo area is delim- ited into five local government areas: Oyo East, Oyo West, Atiba, Afijio, and Oriire.

Altogether, there are about 203 rural settle- ments to the southeastern-extension, 162 settlements to the southwestern direction, 134 settlements to- wards the northeastern area, and 98 settlements in the western direction.

METHODOLOGY

Design of the Study

A quasi-experimental design using a 4 x 2 x 2 factorial representation was employed. These in- clude the instructional mode at four levels (i.e., three modes of laboratory instruction and a conventional laboratory instructional method (the control), gen- der at two levels (i.e., male and female), and numeri- cal ability at two levels (high and low).

Variables in the Study

The variables are as follows: Independent variables

(a) laboratory method supplemented with problem-solving technique and practical skills teaching (LMPSPST).

Effects of Laboratory Instructional Technique on Students' Attitude 379

(b) Laboratory method supplemented with problem solving technique (LMPS).

(c) Laboratory method supplemented with practical skills teaching (LMPST).

(d) Conventional laboratory method (LM).

Moderator variables

(a) Gender at two levels (male and female). (b) Numerical ability at two levels (low and

high).

Dependent variables Attitude scores

Instruments

Chemistry Practical Skills Rating Scale (SPSRS) and Chemistry Attitude Inventory (CAI) were the instruments used for collecting relevant data. The re- searchers also made use of two instructional guides. These are

(a) Instructional guide on practical skills (OGICPS).

(b) The Selvaratnam-Frazer (1982) problem solving strategy both of which were used as supplements to the conventional laboratory method.

The two instructional guides above were appli- cable to the three treatment group as appropriate. They were used as supplements to laboratory meth- ods of instruction. The instructional guide on chem- istry practical skills consisted of procedural steps that are sequentially and logically arranged as demanded by the practical exercises of the senior secondary school chemistry curriculum.

These are Introduction, Teachers activities, Pupils' activities, Exposition, Remediation, and Sum- mary. All these steps were strictly followed in the teaching of the skills under investigation. The intro- ductory aspect involved stating the kind and the sig- nificance of a particular practical skill in volumetric analysis. It also indicated the type of apparatus to be used in bringing about the teaching and mastery of each practical skill.

At the expository stage, the teachers encour- aged learners's active involvement in individual prac- tical activities in volumetric analysis. These included identification of apparatus, manipulation of volumet- ric analysis apparatus, measuring of acids and bases,

and recording. The teacher was also involved in help- ful activities such as explaining, demonstrating, clar- ifying concepts, prompting, thinking, and discussion, where and when necessary asked questions and stu- dents responded.

At the remediation stage, there were activities aimed at identifying learners' areas of difficulty for possible remedial instructions with corrective feed- back. At the summary stage, the teacher provided a summary of all the activities that the learners have been involved in, orally, as well as on the chalkboard.

The CAI was used to determine the attitude of the respondents to chemistry. It consisted of 30 state- ments relating to students' attitude to the teaching and learning of chemistry and it followed a 4-point interval scale.

The SPSRS was designed to take on-the-spot as- sessment of students' level of competence exhibited in five practical skills investigated in this study (ma- nipulation, observation, measuring, recording, and identification of apparatus). It is an instrument in which these skills are arranged on a 6-point interval scale (ranging from 0.5). The instrument was used to rate the students on each of the investigated skills as the laboratory sessions progressed.

The Selvaratnam-Frazer (1982) problem solving model was used as a guide and supplement to en- hance the conventional laboratory instructional strat- egy. It has been found useful in the teaching of con- cepts in chemistry (Bellow, 1985; Raimi, 2002). It was used to teach two of the experimental groups (i.e. LMPSPST and LMPS).

Validity and Reliability of the Instruments

The SPSRS had been used and duely validated in earlier studies (Adegoke, 2000; Raimi, 1999, 2002) and it was found to be very useful in assessing students' practical skills in science. For each of the cited authors, the reliability coefficients were determined as 0.79, 0.87, and 0.71, respectively. The criterion-related validity of CAI was however found to be 0.81 while its reliability coefficient using cronbach's alpha was 0.89.

PROCEDURE

Research Personnels

The SS II chemistry teachers in the selected schools taught the topics investigated. All of them

380 Adesoji and Raimi

were exposed to a week-long workshop on the use of science practical skills rating scale (SP- SRS) and the rudiments of the laboratory activi- ties to be carried out. In addition, teachers in the LMPSPST and LMPS groups were taught how to use the Selvaratnam-Frazer five-stage model for solving chemistry problems. The whole training lasted for 1 week at the end of which two trained observers for each of the training sessions confirmed the teachers mastery of the use of the instructional guides (i.e. the instructional guides on problem solving and practi- cal skills). The observed ratings also produced evi- dence of high consistency in the use of the instruc- tional guides by the teachers (interrater reliability ranged from 0.81 to 0.96). The observers, in addition also served as research assistants on the field.

Furthermore, teachers in the LMPSPST and LMPS groups were trained on how to integrate the use of problem solving instructional strategy with laboratory teaching especially when handling top- ics relating to volumetric analysis through the use of PSIG. On the other hand, teachers in the LM- SPS group were only trained on how to integrate the teaching of chemistry practical skills into the teach- ing of the topic under investigation and in the use of OGISPS. The teachers in the control group were only briefed on the use of conventional method for solving chemistry problem (algorithmic approach) especially those involving inorganic volumetric analysis. They were not exposed to the use of OGISPS and PSIG. On the whole, the treatment lasted for 9 weeks, one week for training of teachers and observers, 1 week for pretest administration, 5 weeks of instruction, and 1 week of posttest administration.

Experimental Groups

There are three experimental groups in the study and each with its own peculiarity. The peculiar nature of the first experimental group (LMPSPST) is that students were exposed to specific practical skills in chemistry apart from the laboratory teach- ing. Each of the skills were demonstrated by the teachers using specific apparatus involving titrimetric analysis. In addition to the teaching of specific skills, students in this group were exposed to problem solv- ing technique using Selvaratnam and Frazer's (1982) model for solving chemistry problems. The students were also made to demonstrate all the specific skills as the laboratory sessions progressed. Teachers in the group served as guide to the learners while they em-

phasized the mastery of the specific skills. The skills were observing, manipulating apparatus, record- ing, measuring, and identifying volumetric analysis apparatus.

The second (LMPS) and the third experi- mental groups (LMPST) differ a bit from the first in that the students were only exposed to the use of Selvaratnam-Frazer's problem solving model for solving chemistry problem as supple- ment to laboratory instruction in the case of the LMPST group. There was no instructional session on practical skills. The LMPS group was exposed to only the practical skills in addition to laboratory instruction.

Prior to each of the laboratory sessions, students in both the LMPSPST and LMPST received instruc- tions regarding the laboratory activities to be carried out in terms of aim, materials, and procedural steps while teachers ensured the teaching of specific skills to be acquired by the students.

The Control Group

Students in the control (LM) group only re- ceived instructions on topics related to volumetric analysis. Specific practical skills were not taught and Selvaratnam-Frazer model was not used in the teach- ing of problem solving. They were taught using the conventional method of solving problems in volu- metric analysis.

Data Analysis

The posttest attitudinal scores were subjected to analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) using pretest scores as covariates. Scheffe's post hoc test was carried out in the occasion of significant main ef- fects while graphical illustrations were used to fur- ther explain the interaction effects wherever such occur.

RESULTS

Table I shows the results of analysis of covari- ance of posttest attitude to chemistry scores. The table shows significant main effects of treatment, F(3, 285) = 6.263; P < 0.05, and numerical ability, F(l, 285) = 8.737; P < 0.05. It also shows significant two-way interaction effects of treatment and gender,

Effects of Laboratory Instructional Technique on Students9 Attitude 381

Table I. Summary of 4 x 2 x 2 ANCOVA on the Posttest Attitude Scores of Subjects According to Treatment, Gender, and Ability

Sources of variation Sum of squares DF Mean square F Sig. of F

Covariates 0.558 1 0.558 2.690 0.102 Pretest 0.558 1 0.558 2.690 0.102 Main effects 3.901 3 1.300 6.263 0.000

Treatment 3.901 3 1.300 6.263 0.000* Gender 0.273 1 0.273 1.246 0.265

Ability 13.547 1 13.547 78.737 0.000* 2- Way interactions 1.807 3 0.602 2.953 0.033

Treatment x Gender 1.807 3 0.602 2.953 0.033* Treatment x Ability 3.130 3 1.043 6.726 0.000* Gender and Ability 1.115 1 1.115 6.590 0.000*

3- Way interactions 1.498 3 0.499 3.372 0.019* Treatment x Gender x Ability 1.498 3 0.499 3.372 0.019*

Explained 22.967 16 1.455 22.544 0.000 Residual 39.831 269 0.148 Total 62.798 285 0.220

'Significant at P < 0.05.

F(3, 285) = 2.953; P < 0.05; treatment and numeri- cal ability, F(31, 285) = 6.0726; P < 0.05; gender and numerical ability, F(l, 285) = 6.590; P < 0.05, as well as the three-way interaction effects of treatment, gender and numerical ability, F(3, 285) = 3.372; P < 0.05.

Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) (Table II) reveals that students exposed to en- hanced laboratory instructional strategy have more positive attitude toward chemistry than their coun- terparts who were taught using the conventional laboratory method only. This is evident from the

Table II. Multiple Classification Analysis of the Posttest Perfor- mance of Subjects in Attitude Scale According to Treatment,

Gender, and Ability

Adjusted for Variable 4- Unadjusted independent

category N deviation r) deviation p

Treatment LTPSPST 110 -3.6 -3.65 LTPS 62 2.40 2.60 LTPST 32 3.80 3.60 LT 82 -4.10 0.26 -4.50 0.26

Gender Male 145 0.90 0.9 Female 141 -1.2 0.08 -0.9 0.07

Ability High 98 -7.2 -7.2 Low 188 6.0 0.47 6.0 0.47

Multiple R2 0.071

Multiple R 0.266

Note. Grand mean = 83.8.

mean attitude scores of the three experimental groups LMPSPST (x = 87.41), which were all higher than the mean attitudes score of 79.31. On gender, males had higher attitude mean score (x = 84.71) than the females (x = 82.91). In the same vein, high ability students had a higher attitude mean score than the low ability students.

Table III reveals that the attitude mean score of the control group (LT) differs significantly from those of group 1 (LMPSPST) and group III (LMPST).

The two-way and three-way interaction were further explained through graphical illustrations. Figs. 1 and 2 shows ordinal interaction to the ef- fect that students who were exposed to enhanced laboratory instructional techniques displayed bet- ter attitude toward chemistry than their counter- parts in the control group irrespective of gender and numerical ability. The figures further revealed that the differential effect of treatment on students attitude toward chemistry was more on low abil- ity students and also more on females than male students.

Table in. Summary of Scheffe Post Hoc Test on Postattitude Mean Scores According to Treatment Groups

Groups Means Group 4 Group 2 Group 1 Group 3

3 86.81 1 86.82 * *

2 87.02 4 86.56

382 Adesoji and Raimi

Performance A

100-

80 _

•Expl

• " ~

- • Control

40 -

20 _

Low High

Fig. 1. Graphical illustration of interaction effect of treatment and ability on students' attitude toward chemistry.

Performance > ̂

100- ^v.

• ^^

80 _ ^V.

60 -

40 -

20 _

i j I i >

A B C D KEY

A - High ability male

B - High ability female

C - Low ability male

D - low ability female

Fig. 2. Graphical illustration of interaction effect of Gender and ability on students' attitude toward chemistry.

Effects of Laboratory Instructional Technique on Students9 Attitude 383

DISCUSSION

Figure 1, which shows positive effect of treatment on students' attitude toward chemistry is sensitive to students' numerical ability. It also re- vealed that the sensitivity was more on low abil- ity students. However, the results indicated that both low and high ability students seemed to im- prove significantly in terms of their attitude to- ward chemistry when exposed to the treatment. This result when viewed against the significant main effect of treatment suggest that the use of enhanced laboratory teaching method is dis- cernible in promoting positive attitude of students to chemistry.

The result, also when viewed against the signifi- cant main effect of ability, also suggested that the use of enhanced laboratory instructional strategy seemed to narrow the gap between students' of high and low ability level. The results on significant interaction ef- fect of treatment and numerical ability indicated that the positive attitude of students to Chemistry was not as a result of treatment alone. Numerical ability also contributed to them. This supported the findings of Raimi and Oduwaye (1997) who said that method of teaching could promote the development of positive attitude toward chemistry.

The reported interaction effect of gender and numerical ability in Fig. 2 is ordinal in nature such that in all, males performed better than females. Hence, males seem to be more positively disposed to chemistry in all the groups (both experimental and control). This shows that chemistry teachers should give less consideration to gender and ability when students are to be tested at the affective level of edu- cation; hence, they should use enhanced laboratory method which will ensure the development of the right type of attitude to chemistry.

The significant interaction effect of treatment and students' gender and chemistry attitude suggests that effect of enhanced laboratory method while teaching seems to be gender sensitive at the effec- tive level of learning outcome. The reported inter- action is ordinal in nature such that students in the experimental groups expressed better attitude than those in the Control group irrespective of gender. It also shows that there is a differential effect of treat- ment on attitude toward chemistry across the gen- der group. This reported interaction of treatment and gender had been reported in some past studies, such include those of Iroegbu and Okpala (1998). Also Adeoye (2000) found a significant interaction effect

of treatment and gender at cognitive level of think- ing in physics.

The three-way significant interaction effect of treatment, students' gender and ability on perfor- mance at effective level of learning outcome suggests that the effect of treatment in developing the right at- titude on the part of students cannot be overempha- sized. The reported interaction is ordinal such that all experimental groups expressed better attitude to- ward chemistry than their counterparts in the con- trol group. The ordinal nature of the reported inter- action (in all of the experimental groups) serves as empirical evidence in support of teacher's use of lab- oratory method (in terms of supplementing it with problem solving strategy and practical skills teach- ing) while teaching all the four gender-ability groups. The estimated means scores difference for the group (between experimental and control group) especially between experimental group 2 and control group is 0.4. This estimate of impact of treatment on chem- istry attitude also suggest, in part, that the use of enhanced laboratory method in the teaching learn- ing process could be used to promote students' pos- itive attitude toward the subject. A critical analysis of the results also shows that treatment was found to be the most potent contributor to the explanation followed by students' ability while gender was the least.

In the light of the entire results and accom- panied discussion, the authors share the view that educational policy makers and administrators should ensure the use of enhanced laboratory method of teaching in order to promote the development of the right attitude toward chemistry particularly among secondary schools students. This should be done without placing undue emphasis on numerical ability and gender. This is likely to enhance the performance of students in the subject.

IMPLICATION FOR SCIENCE TEACHING IN RURAL SETTING

Much has been written about the limitation of didactic teaching methods in teaching science. This is because these methods would not allow students to feel science as the methods are very much in agree- ment with the objectivist's theory. It is the contention of the constructivists that students should be taught "how to learn." They should be allowed to construct their knowledge. This is exactly what the enhanced laboratory instructional technique does. Science is

384 Adesoji and Raimi

alien to African culture and a good number of stu- dents in developing economy see science as magic. This might be because of the methods used in teach- ing the subjects. If science is made real through the use of appropriate equipment and when students are allowed to manipulate such equipment by mak- ing use of the needed skills, they are likely to per- form better and consequently develop more positive attitude to science. This is what happened in this study.

Therefore, it is the contention of the authors that, if the methods adopted in teaching science in this study is used in a similar rural setting like Oyo Township, similar results are likely to be ob- tained. Science should be made fun to students in developing countries by laying emphasis on practi- cal demonstrations. The mystery surrounding scien- tific facts and principles would be removed from their minds and they would be made to develop interest in science. Once they develop interest in the sub- jects, they are likely to improve on their academic performance.

Eilks (2002) asserted that one of the reasons why student's interest in science is diminishing is the poor teaching strategies being employed by the teachers and classroom activities that are being used. Literature has repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that teaching in secondary school science classes is very often highly teacher centered and is char- acterized by a lack of variety in teaching method (Balogun, 1972). Apart from the lesson content, the teaching methods and classroom activities have a large influence on student's attitude toward school subject.

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