Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of instruction
based on constructivist approach on students‘ achievement and views of students
towards constructivist instructional approach in teaching chemical bonding. The study
was a mixed-method (quantitative and qualitative) within the Action Research
Paradigm. A diagnostic pre-intervention and post-intervention test questions and a
questionnaire were used to collect data. The questionnaire was on a 5-point Likert
Scale and was used to investigate students‘ attitude towards constructivist
instructions. The mean percentage of students on correct answer for the pre intervention Multiple Choice Questions was 38.6 percent and that of the post intervention was 88.0 and for the pre-intervention theory it was 27.13 and that of the
post-intervention theory was 83.207. The findings of this study showed that students‘
conceptual understanding and performance in chemical bonding was largely improved
after instructions based on the constructivist approach. The study also showed that
majority of students appealed more to the constructivist approach than traditional
instructions. Students agreed to have a higher interest in the participatory class since
the mean of attitudinal scale was 3.9; they also agreed that chemistry should be taught
in an interactive way with a mean of 3.8 on the attitudinal scale. It was therefore
recommended that active student‘s participation approach could be used in the
teaching of chemical bonding for effective learning and conception of chemical
bonding.
Description:
A DISSERTATION IN THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION,
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION SUBMITTED TO THE
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION,
WINNEBA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE
AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION IN SCIENCE
EDUCATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA
DECEMBER, 2015