The effect of multimodal instructional approaches on the performance of students in chemical bonding

Abstract

Continuous use of traditional instruction has resulted in unsatisfactory performance, misconceptions and poor attitudes towards chemical bonding for many students. This study was designed to determine the effects of multimodal instructional and traditional instructional approaches on selected colleges of education first year students' understanding of chemical bonding concept. Effect of the instruction between gender differences on understanding of chemical bonding was determined. The study took place in Offinso and Berekum Colleges of Education. Students were randomly selected into the groups. The sample of the study comprised of 120 first year students from the two colleges of education. Questionnaire interview schedule, pre and post-tests were used as the main instruments to collect data for the study. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20.0, for windows was used to analyze the data. It was found out that 51.7% of student-teachers who participated in the study had no understanding of the concept of chemical bonding and with a lot of misconceptions and also exhibited negative attitudes towards learning the topic. The results indicated that there was statistically significant difference in performance between experimental and control groups. The experimental group performed better in post-test than control group. The result from data analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference between male and female students. It was recommended that Offinso and Berekum colleges of education chemistry tutors especially those teaching EBS 132 should employ multimodal instructional approaches in teaching chemical bonding.