A NETWORK ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ PROBLEM SOLVING DIFFICULTIES ON THE CONCEPT OF MOTION IN SECONDARY SCHOOL PHYSICS

This study focused on determining the extent to which students failed to solve problems on the concept of motion through the mis-use or non-use of the different stages of a model as well as the variation of the difficulties across sex and mathematical background of students. Two achievement tests were used. Sixty-eight SS2 students from four comparable schools in Ankpa and Idah Local Government Areas of Kogi State made up the final sample. Analysis of students’ papers and pencil written protocols showed that students were not systematic in following the various stages of the model being used by their teacher in the class; students had greatest difficulty in selecting information from memory; boys had consistently greater cumulative errors than girls though was inconsistent when all the stages were considered separately and students without additional mathematical background had greater errors for all stages separately and cumulatively. The educational implications of the findings were discussed also.DR EMMANUEL EDOJA ACHO

STUDENTS’ COGNITIVE STYLE, COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND COGNITIVE DEMANDS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PHYSICS CURRICULUM AS FACTORS AFFECTING ACHIEVEMENT IN PHYSICS

The purpose of the study was to determine whether there is any relationship between measures of student’s cognitive style, cognitive development, cognitive demands of secondary school (SS) physics curriculum and student achievement in physics. Four research questions were generated and four hypotheses formulated to guide the study. The design of the study was correlational. The population of the study was 2290 SS2 physics students in Kogi State of Nigeria for 2000/2001 academic session. Purposive and non equivalent stratified random sampling techniques were used to obtain a sample of 524 students from six education zones in the sate. Four instruments were used for data collection. They include Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) for measure of cognitive style, science reasoning task (SRTs) for measure of cognitive development, Curriculum Analysis Taxonomy (CAT) for determination of cognitive demands of the curriculum and Physics Achievement Test (PAT) for the determination of students’ achievement in physics. GEFT and SRTs were adopted and adapted respectively in the study for data collection. Curriculum Analysis Taxonomy (CAT) and Physics Achievement Test (PAT) constructed by the researcher were face and content validated using 14 physics educators two of whom were evaluators. CAT has inter-rater reliability coefficient of .89 and mean inter-rater scale of 3.4. PAT has inter-rater reliability coefficient of .91, mean inter- rater scale of 3.4 and internal consistency reliability coefficient of .83. Multiple regression and correlation statistical techniques were used for data analysis to answer the research questions and to test the hypotheses. Major findings from the study among others include:DR EMMANUEL EDOJA ACHO

UTILIZING INTERACTIVE STUDENTS’ NOTEBOOK WITH FEEDBACK STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE SECONDARY STUDENTS’ SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS ACQUISITION, PERFORMANCE IN AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS PHYSICS

The study investigated how utilizing interactive students’ notebook with feedback strategies could enhances science process skills acquisition, performance in and attitude towards physics in Plateau state, Nigeria. Three research questions and three null hypotheses formulated guided the study. The study adopted quasi-experimental research design. The population consists of 3,182Senior Secondary (SS) II Physics students. A sample of 113 SS II Physics students in four intact classes was used for the study. Physics Students’ Academic Performance Test (PSAPT) with reliability coefficient of 0.97, Test of Physics Related Attitude (TOPRA) with reliability coefficient of 0.84 and Test of Science Process Skills Acquisition (TOSPSA) with reliability coefficient of 0.98 were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. It was found that there was significant difference in the mean attitude scores towards physics [F(1,112) = 4.675; p = 0.033< 0.05],mean skill acquisition scores [F(1, 112) = 54.083; p = 0.000< 0.05] and mean performance scores [F(1,112) = 18.107; p = 0.000< 0.05] of students taught using the interactive students’ notebook with feedback and those taught using the conventional strategy. It was recommended among others that Physics teachers should employ interactive students’ notebook with feedback strategy in their classroom interaction when teaching physics. It promotes process skills acquisition in Physics and performance in Physics. In service training, seminars, work-shops and symposia should be organized by the state and federal ministry of education to train physics teachers on how to use interactive students’ notebook with feedback in teaching the subject. Article visualizations

Effect of organic chemistry pedagogies with PEOE,VH, and discussion strategies on students’ achievement in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The study investigated the effect of organic chemistry pedagogies with Predict Explain Observe Explain (PEOE), Vee Heuristic (VH), and discuss strategies on students’ achievement. The study also investigated the interaction effect of treatments and gender on students’ achievement in organic chemistry in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The instrument used for data collection was an organic chemistry achievement test (OCAT). Kuder-Richardson (KR-21) formula was used to test the internal consistency of OCAT, which yielded a reliability value of 0.94. A sample of 308 students comprising 174 boys and 134 girls drawn from 9 schools within 9 Local Government Areas (LGA) out of 16 LGA in the Ekiti State, Nigeria, selected using multi-stage sampling techniques. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The research questions were answered using Mean and Standard Deviation scores, while the null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The study revealed that PEOE and VH strategies significantly improved students’ achievement [F2, 307=255.284, P0.050] of students in Organic Chemistry. It was recommended among others that since PEOE and VH strategies were found to be effective strategies for improving students’ achievement in Organic Chemistry; Chemistry teacher’s trainee should be trained on the use of PEOE and VH strategies and serving teachers should use it. The curriculum developers should use PEOE and VH strategies to develop and refine the Chemistry curriculum in general and Organic Chemistry in particular

Comparative Effects of Collaborative Concept mapping and Concept Mapping Instructional Strategies on Students' Achievement and Retention in Redox Reactions

Abstract The study investigated comparative effects of collaborative concept mapping and concept mapping instructional strategies on students’ achievement and retention in redox reactions. A sample of 142 students from 4 purposively selected secondary schools out of a population of 4,421 Senior Secondary II students from Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria was used for the study. The study adopted quasi experimental research design. The instrument used for data collection was Redox Reactions Achievement Test (RRAT) with the reliability value of 0.83 using Kuder-Richardson (KR-21). Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The research questions were answered using Mean and Standard Deviation scores while the hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The study revealed that students taught redox reactions using Collaborative Concept Mapping Instructional Strategy (CCMIS) had significantly higher mean achievement scores than those taught using Concept Mapping Instructional Strategy (CMIS) [F(1, 141)= 437.438, P<0.05] and students taught redox reactions using CCMIS had significantly higher mean retention scores than those taught using CMIS[F(1, 141)= 204.142, P<0.05]. It was recommended among others that chemistry teacher trainees should be trained on the use of CCMIS and serving teachers should be encouraged to use CCMIS

Comparative Effects of Collaborative Concept Mapping and Concept Mapping Instructional Strategies on Students' Achievement and Retention in Redox Reactions

Abstract The study investigated comparative effects of collaborative concept mapping and concept mapping instructional strategies on students’ achievement and retention in redox reactions. A sample of 142 students from 4 purposively selected secondary schools out of a population of 4,421 Senior Secondary II students from Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria was used for the study. The study adopted quasi experimental research design. The instrument used for data collection was Redox Reactions Achievement Test (RRAT) with the reliability value of 0.83 using Kuder-Richardson (KR-21). Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The research questions were answered using Mean and Standard Deviation scores while the hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The study revealed that students taught redox reactions using Collaborative Concept Mapping Instructional Strategy (CCMIS) had significantly higher mean achievement scores than those taught using Concept Mapping Instructional Strategy (CMIS) [F(1, 141)= 437.438, P<0.05] and students taught redox reactions using CCMIS had significantly higher mean retention scores than those taught using CMIS[F(1, 141)= 204.142, P<0.05]. It was recommended among others that chemistry teacher trainees should be trained on the use of CCMIS and serving teachers should be encouraged to use CCMIS

Use of Ethnochemistry Teaching Approach and Achievement and Retention of Senior Secondary Students in Standard Mixture Separation Techniques

Abstract The study investigated the effect of ethnochemistry teaching approach on achievement and retention of senior secondary students in standard mixture separation techniques. A sample of 198 students from six purposively selected secondary schools out of a population of 3,706 Senior Secondary I students from Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria was used for the study. The study adopted nonequivalent quasi-experimental research design. The instrument used for data collection was Separation Techniques Achievement Test (STAT) with the reliability value of 0.84 using Kuder-Richardson (KR-21). Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The research questions were answered using Mean and Standard Deviation scores while the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The study revealed that students taught mixture separation techniques using ethnochemistry approach had significantly higher mean achievement scores than those taught using discussion method [F(1,197)=405.07, P<0.05]and students taught standard mixture separation techniques using ethnochemistry approach had significantly higher mean retention scores than those taught using discussion method [F(1,197)=293.00, P<0.05]. It was recommended that chemistry teachers’ trainee should be trained on the use of ethnochemistry approach and serving teachers should be encouraged to use ethnochemistry