THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LABORATORY SETTING IN ACHIEVING CHEMISTRY LEARNING OUTCOMES (original) (raw)

Evaluation of the impact of a day long general chemistry laboratory on 4th year high school students

2017

Despite the recent new ministerial dispositions on the high school’s teaching of Chemistry introducing the cross correlation of chemistry concepts and their distribution on the five years long course, the chemistry teaching still remains disjointed from both practise and contacts with real life in specific high schools (Scientific Licei), even though these latter are strictly devoted to the study of all the branches of Natural Sciences, and hence also of Chemical Sciences. As an example, while most of these schools possess a Physics lab, the Chemistry lab is generally absent. This discrimination can be attributed to many factors: 1) the Chemistry laboratory requires specific and very expensive safety structures, 2) the Chemistry laboratory can produce waste substances needing special disposal, 3) in this context the teachers do not possess specific skills, as they are generally graduated in different scientific disciplines. All these facts limit the Chemistry lab implementation and,...

Development and Evaluation of Context-Based Laboratory Activities in Chemistry Using Low-cost Kits for Junior Public High School

KIMIKA, 2017

The main purpose of this study is to develop and validate context-based laboratory activities and low-cost kits for chemistry to improve the practical and laboratory skills of Grade-10 students in a junior public high school. These activities and kits during the fourth quarter (December 2016-March 2017). The effectiveness of these teaching materials were assessed and quantified by 24 science teachers, one junior high school principal, and 30 student respondents using descriptive and quasi-experimental methods. A group of 30 students who were taught using traditional lecture-based methods served as the control. Standardized multiple-choice pre-and post-tests consisting of 65 items each were used to measure the mean gain performances of both groups of students. The pre-test was conducted to identify the topics least mastered by the students. For these groups, the topics deemed least mastered were stoichiometry and the ideal gas law. A post-test was also administered to both groups to gauge their understanding of these topics via mean gain scores. Data collected indicate that both the teacher and student respondents graded the context-based activities and low-cost kits as effective and highly acceptable (4.79 on a scale of 5 weighted mean). Mean gain scores increased significantly in the experimental group compared to the control group, with Hake's mean gain scores of 0.63 and 0.25 respectively. The mean scores and levels of mastery of students in the experimental group who used these materials were also significantly higher than those in the control group.

Advancing Chemistry by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory (ACELL): a model for providing professional and personal development and facilitating improved student laboratory learning outcomes

Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 2007

The Advancing Chemistry by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory (ACELL) project aims to improve the quality of learning in undergraduate laboratories through two interlocking mechanisms. The first is to build a database of experiments that are both chemically and educationally sound by testing them in a third-party laboratory, usually through an ACELL workshop involving both academic staff and students, to ensure that they work. The second mechanism provides personal and professional development for staff and students through a workshop process, and reinforced through ongoing engagement with the ACELL community via the project website and experiment assessment and evaluation. The ACELL workshops include discussion of educational issues, both in abstract (through discussing laboratory learning in general) and concrete (through debriefing of each experiment tested) terms. This paper discusses the design of the ACELL project, and illustrates some of the successes of the staff and student personal and professional development aims. [Chem.

An assessment of the chemistry laboratory learning environments and teacher student interactions at the higher secondary level

International Journal of Research Studies in Education

Chemistry laboratories provide students with a chance to test their ideas and learn difficult concepts by performing experiments. The study assesses students' perceptions of their learning environments and their teacher-student interactions in a chemistry laboratory setting at the higher secondary level in selected private schools using the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI) and Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI). The sample consists of 250 students studying in classes 11th and 12th. The learning environments in the chemistry laboratory at the higher secondary level show that the mean scores of the preferred form of the SLEI are higher than the actual form. This means that the students' preferred learning environments that are more open ended in terms of decision making on the part of the students, seek better material support to perform the laboratory experiments in terms of equipment, chemicals and more cohesiveness with one another in terms of providing support for each other etc. The results on the QTI show that the students see their teachers as good leaders most of the time and have also rated their teachers in terms of exhibiting helpful and friendly nature, understanding and giving students freedom and responsibility in the chemistry laboratory. No significant gender differences have been reported in the chemistry laboratory learning environments however, significant gender differences were found to exist in students' perceptions of their teacher interpersonal behavior in chemistry laboratory settings.

Students’ Perceptions for the Chemistry Laboratory Environment Improvement

JRPK: Jurnal Riset Pendidikan Kimia

Chemistry students' perceptions of the chemistry laboratory learning environment were investigated in Jakarta State University. An already existing instrument Chemistry Laboratory Environment Inventory (CLEI) questionnaire was translated into Bahasa Indonesia and administered to 410 university students in three different years of chemistry study. Data analyses supported the validity and reliability of the instrument when used in this context and there were no statistically significant differences in mean scores for gender and programme of study. However, the mean differences in students' perceptions of their laboratory environment were statistically significant by year level. These differences were further validated by the interview data. Qualitative data were obtained from laboratory observations and interviews with the students. Furthermore, both quantitative and qualitative data confirmed that students wished for an improved laboratory learning environment in terms of more opportunities to explore their own interests and to work with better laboratory equipment. The chemistry department staff could use the information from this study to guide them in making changes for improving the learning process in the laboratory.

Laboratory practical experience: an innovative and distinctive approach to student learning

UniServe, 2009

Students who are well prepared for laboratory classes are more likely to successfully acquire laboratory skills and gain the maximum possible benefit from the laboratory learning environment. To facilitate effective student preparation and improve their learning outcomes, we have designed and developed an online resource centre. These resources are used by students in conjunction with traditional resources including the laboratory manual prior to attendance in laboratories. Resources comprise a series of web based activities including visual and audio presentations, pre-laboratory questions and quizzes related to the laboratory activities that the students will complete. To determine how effective these resources were in facilitating laboratory preparation, students were surveyed both before and after the introduction of the resources. Surveys were designed to establish student perceptions regarding their preparatory practices. In addition, the effect on some measurable learning outcomes was established. This paper reports on how the implementation of this blended learning approach has improved the nature of student preparation practices. Presenting information in a flexible learning format, prior to participation, enhanced student familiarisation with theoretical and experimental procedures. Thus facilitated preparation reduced the potential risk of cognitive dissonance by improving student organisational abilities which in turn lead to better experimental learning outcomes and value-added student perception of the laboratory experience as a whole.

The Development, Implementation and Evaluation of Alternative Approaches to Teaching and Learning in the Chemistry Laboratory

PhD Thesis awarded by Dublin City University, 2005

The focus of the thesis is on the evaluation of the effect of the implementation of a three-hour per week problem-based learning (PBL) module for 1st year undergraduate students. The research questions are outlined below: • What approaches to learning are undergraduate students adopting at the initial stage of tertiary education? • Are student approaches to learning related to age/gender/ time in university/achievement in examinations? • Can a PBL module in chemistry be developed that can provide an effective teaching and learning environment, which develops students’ understanding in chemistry and engages the students with the context and processes of chemistry? • Will the introduction of such a PBL module in chemistry have an effect on students’ approaches to learning? The main evaluation tool for determining student approaches to learning was the learning style inventory – Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students. Other evaluation tools employed were student surveys, interviews and assessment data. Key findings were that students on entry to tertiary level report a preference for deep and strategic approaches to learning over a surface approach. However, with time in university, the profile shifts with students indicating increasing use of a surface approach. Mature students tended to prefer a deep approach in comparison to their younger counterparts and female students were more strategic than males in their approach. An introductory year-long chemistry PBL laboratory module was developed, implemented and evaluated. Interestingly, students who took part in the PBL module showed a lower preference for a surface approach having successfully completed the PBL module compared to those who followed the traditional approach despite showing similar trends at the start of the study. The effect on a deep approach to learning, after taking the PBL module, one sixth of the 1st year course, was not evident however. Conversely, the PBL students did significantly better in a non-formal exam designed to assess students learning in the first year chemistry laboratory. The students also successfully engaged with the chemistry content, context and processes and reported the benefit of the pre-lab, group work and practical aspects of the PBL approach.