The impact of student team achievement division (STAD) techniques on students’ learning outcomes in some selected topics in chemistry

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of STAD as a learning technique on Senior High School students‟ conceptual understanding, their abilities to solve quantitative problems based on their qualitative understanding in some topics in chemistry and their attitude towards STAD. The study involves Forms I and II elective chemistry students of Datus International Senior High School of Community Seven of the Tema District of the Greater Accra Region. Convenience sampling technique was used to select 75 students which consisted of 20 girls and 55 boys. The individual teacher research strategy was adopted for the study in which the students were taken through a series of six interactive lessons by the intervention of STAD as a teaching learning technique. To determine the finding from the study, an independent t-test was conducted and showed that there was a significant difference from the pre-test and post-test score, p-value = 0.009 (α = 0.05). This signified that the students performed better from the intervention of STAD. The study also showed that the students‟ attitude towards STAD as a teaching learning technique was positive. The findings further revealed that the students‟ attitudes towards the selected topics such as stoichiometry, nuclear chemistry, acids and bases, gases reactions and oxidation reduction (Redox) reaction in chemistry improved positively. Therefore the use of STAD supports students-centered learning and made the lessons interactive by enabling students to learn cooperatively through group working and discussion. This study also made recommendations for the chemistry teachers who want to use STAD as a teaching learning strategy and the school that want to use STAD as a cooperative learning strategy.