Gakuba, Emmanuel
3 Publications in AERD
Author Publications
Export PDFStudents' Opinions, Views, and Perceptions of Science Laboratory Learning: A Systematic Review of the Literature
By Nicol, Christian Bob
The scientific community continues to give conflicting impressions about the contribution of laboratory activities to science learning and yet ignores the views of students who are the focus of learning. In this paper, we reviewed postsecondary school students' experiences in the science laboratories. Students were most concerned about the impact of the laboratory activities and their preferences pointed more towards greater independent, participatory and interactive learning engagements. This review has implied that students should not be left out in science laboratory learning reform efforts and their views about what obtains in the science laboratories should be routinely monitored to inform such reforms. © 2022 by the authors; licensee Modestum. All Rights Reserved.
Learners' Active Engagement in Searching and Designing Learning Materials through a Hands-on Instructional Model
By Kibga, Esther S.
When engaging learners in searching and designing, the learning materials are of paramount importance, in order to help the learners in the achievement of academic goals and objectives. However, learners being the primary consumers of chemistry content delivered by the teachers, ought to beware of the learning materials that can facilitate their learning. This can well be done if learners participate fully in searching and designing learning materials that correspond with the lesson content. The purpose of this research was to use a Hands-on Instructional Model (HIM) designed to help secondary school teachers actively to engage learners in searching, designing, and manipulating locally made learning materials, in order to facilitate the face-to-face learning of chemistry concepts. The study employed Design-Based Research (DBR) in designing, refining, and implementing HIM, as well as the learning materials designed by the learners following a pragmatic philosophical world-view. The data were collected and analysed by using qualitative research techniques; and the research instruments included Lesson-Observation Protocol, semi-structured interviews, and Focus-Group Discussions. The study involved three intact senior-science classes deliberately selected from three Dar es Salaam community-secondary schools. The results revealed that learners become actively engaged in the lesson, when the learning materials designed by themselves are used. They used materials, like empty water bottles of different sizes, syringes of different sizes, rubber bands, and pegs to prepare locally made apparatus that served as beakers, burettes, droppers, and funnels in titration hands-on activities. In this regard, we recommend teachers involve learners in searching and designing the learning materials to be used in the teaching and learning process, in order to enhance chemistry content mastery and the acquisition of soft learning skills. © 2022 Society for Research and Knowledge Management. All rights reserved.
EFFECTS OF INQUIRY-BASED CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENTATION ON STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF CHEMISTRY
By Nicol, Christian Bob
Students' attitude towards a subject is a key indicator of academic performance, therefore its enhancement is imperative for academic success. A sample of 328 grade eleven students was selected using cluster random sampling. Two different study groups; the experimental and control groups, were composed and exposed to the guided inquiry and demonstration methods of teaching chemistry experiments respectively. The Non-equivalent control group research design was employed with instruction lasting six weeks. Data on pre-test and posttest attitudes were collected using a 25-item attitude towards teaching and learning chemistry through experiment survey. Comparisons of mean attitude scores were made between the experimental and control groups, and between the pre-test and post-test for each group. The Mann-Whitney U test analyses indicated a higher mean attitude score for the control group. However, the difference in the mean scores was not statistically significant. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test analyses indicated statistically significant differences between the pre-test and post-test attitude mean scores for both independent groups. These outcomes show that both methods of teaching chemistry through experiments enhance students' attitudes to essentially the same extent. These findings imply that Liberian teachers can enhance students' attitudes through demonstrations.
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