Influence of Conceptual Instructional Method on Students’ Performance in, and Attitude Towards Chemistry Practical among Secondary School Students in Zaria Educational Zone, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the Influence of Conceptual Instructional Method on
students’ performance in, and attitude towards Chemistry Practical in Zaria
Educational Zone of Kaduna State. The target population for the study was
1401 S.S. II Science Students. The subjects in the coeducational schools
were pretested and schools that did not differ significantly were chosen for
the study. A sample of 100 Students was randomly drawn from two coeducational senior secondary schools, within Zaria Educational Zone. The
subjects were divided in to two groups: The experimental group and the
control group of 50 students each. The pre-test–post-test quasi-experimental control group design was adapted. The subjects in the experimental group
were exposed to Conceptual Instructional Method, while those in the Control
group were exposed to the lecture instructional strategy for a period of six
weeks. The instruments developed and validated for data collection are:
Chemistry Practical Performance Test (CPPT) with reliability coefficient of
0.73 and Chemistry Practical Attitude Inventory (CPAI) with reliability
coefficient of 0.79. Two research questions were stated and two null
hypotheses were tested. The data collected were subjected to statistical
analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The t-test statistics was used to test
the hypotheses on performance, Mann-Whitney U-test was used to test
the subjects’ change in attitude towards Chemistry Practical. The major
findings from the study include the following: The practical performance
and attitude of the subjects exposed to Conceptual Instructional Method
were significantly higher than their counterparts exposed to lecture method
of instruction.