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EFFECT OF TEACHING WITH KITCHEN RESOURCES ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND RETENTION IN

THERMOCHEMISTRY IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

C. O. Nja, (Ph.D) & Neji, H. A.

1,2Department of Curriculum and Teaching

University of Calabar P.M.B. 1115

Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria njacecilia@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

This study examined kitchen resources, academic performance and retention of SS2 Chemistry students in Thermochemistry. Thermochemical activities in the kitchen such as, fermentation of samples of five different juices, heating capacities of five samples of wood, induced thermal decomposition of five samples of shellfish shells powder and dissolution of five samples of glucose were used for the study. The sample comprised 240 students drawn from four secondary schools in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. Pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design was used for this study. Chemistry Achievement Test (Cat), was used for data collection. The results showed reliability coefficients of 0.89 Analysis of Covariance,( ANOVA )was used for data analysis. Findings revealed that the use of kitchen resources during the teaching of Thermochemistry enhanced the performance and retention level of students. Based on these findings it was recommended that teachers should be encouraged to adopt kitchen resources for teaching Chemistry. Key words: Kitchen resources, academic performance, retention, thermochemistry and students.

Introduction Generally, science education at all levels of education in Nigeria is in a deplorable state. Students’ performance in senior school certificate examinations in Chemistry in Cross River State, Nigeria, have not been encouraging. The percentage of candidates who passed at credit level and above have been consistently low (below 25%) from 2005 to 2010(West African Examination Council, 2010). A lot of assertions and empirical findings have been made to explain this poor performance. For one, there is dearth of resources for teaching science at all levels (Nbina and Obomanu, 2011; Nkanu, 2009; Ihuarulam, 2008; Opera, 2008; Oriade, 2008; Ifeakor, 2006; Udo, 2006; Okafor, 2000; Ivowi, 1999; Uche & Umoren; 1998). This is so, however, because teachers have either neglected or are not aware of kitchen resources that can be effectively used in teaching chemistry. The modern kitchen is stocked with quality materials, and is probably the safest chemical laboratory in the world (Hayward 1992). Many activities and materials abound in the kitchen. The early days of a learner’s development are centred around the home, and the kitchen. The kitchen is a unit of the home and special consideration of the home as a resource in teaching science can be seen in the light of the modern kitchen being regarded as a workshop of various practices, which expose the learner to experiences in the various aspects of Chemistry (Eshiet, 1996). Eshiet (1996) stated that a lot of activities abound in the kitchen and what a teacher needs do is careful analysis, identification and deployment of these experiences and practices as backup knowledge in the teaching and learning of science in the classroom. Though these authors assert that the kitchen can be used to teach Chemistry, empirical research is lacking on the effect of kitchen resources on student’s academic performance and retention. The purpose of the research reported here was therefore to ascertain the extent to which the use of kitchen resources in teaching affect Chemistry students’ academic performance and retention in Thermochemistry. Specifically, the research question was: How does teaching with and without kitchen resources affect SS 2 Chemistry students’ academic performance in and retention of thermochemistry concepts?

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Chemistry is all around us and affects every moment of our lives. Children love to experiment and are fascinated by chemical bang or changing colour. Harnessing this desire to experiment, in a safe and controlled way, has often meant that science lessons cannot be dull and also that they are teacher-led affairs. The lack of suitable resources and simple to use teaching materials has meant that children often do not get to experience the excitement of making new discoveries. The kitchen Chemistry aims to change all that by bringing into the classroom all the resources and information that are needed to run experiments (Helmestine, 2010). Kitchen Chemistry was set up by Johnson (2005) to create innovative science resources that make the teaching of science easier for teachers and more fun for the pupils. Kitchen resources promote collaborative learning, team building, and enterprise in education. It can challenge even the most able students while offering support for the weaker pupils. Chemistry teachers must think on their feet. While Chemistry is an exact science, the teaching of Chemistry often requires creativity and improvisation. To make Chemistry concepts comprehensible to students the teachers must employ creative teaching methods and be prepared to respond to queries or explain concepts in a typical manner. Teachers who are adept at improvisation will likely be more successful in imparting Chemistry information to the novice Chemists in their classes (Schreiner 2012). The significance of this study is that the findings will give us insights on the effectiveness of kitchen resources in facilitating students’ academic achievement and retention in Chemistry, particularly thermochemistry concepts.

Constructivism is a learning theory and epistemology that has influenced much of science education lately. It states that students construct their knowledge of the world through their past experiences. Students do not learn much just by sitting in class listening to the teacher, memorizing repackaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves. Rogers (1969) argues that “much significant learning is acquired by doing” and that learning is facilitated when the student is a responsible participant. Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory states that learning takes place in a social context and that in interaction with others (Palinscar, 2005). Students are encouraged to say and do when working with kitchen resources. Teachers who are concerned with students’ emotional, social and academic needs have been found to encourage more students’ involvement in lessons.

Active learning offers a paradigm for students learning that differs from the traditional lecture method-based model (Johnson, Roger and Karl, 2006). Differences in provision of learning and amount of learning is obvious from Edgar-Dale’s (1969) cone of experience/learning. The cone of learning shows that learners only remember 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what they hear and see, 70% of what they say and 90% of what they say and do. The research was conducted within the theoretical context of social constructivist theory and Edgar-Dale’s cone of learning experience. Methodology

The research design was pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design with the retention test given two weeks after the posttest. The study was carried out in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. The sample consisted of 240 Senior Secondary School II Chemistry students from four schools in four Local Government Areas in Calabar Education Zone, selected using the stratified random and purposive sampling methods. There were 120 students each in the experimental and control groups. The experimental groups were taught using kitchen resources while the control groups were taught using conventional teaching method without kitchen resources. A 60-item five-response option objective test (Chemistry achievement test, CAT) developed by the researcher was used as the pretest, post test and retention test after validation. The CAT items which were drawn to cover all the sub-topics of thermochemistry on a well planned test blue-print were rearranged with its options in pretest, posttest and retention test to have different numbering so as to give a vague impression that the tests were different. The reliability of CAT was estimated to be 0.81.Treatment lasted for a period of six weeks. The first author taught the experimental groups while the normal teachers taught the control groups. The data collected with CAT were analyzed using ANCOVA with pretest as covariate.

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Result and Discussion

The result of the analysis showed that students taught Thermochemistry using kitchen resources had a significantly (F = 1047.381, p< .01) higher mean academic performance (x = 47.67) in comparison to those taught without kitchen resources (x = 16.833). In the multiple classification analysis, an eta value of .815 was obtained while the R

2 value was .825, indicating that about 82.5% 0f

the variance in students’ academic achievement can be explained by the treatment. Similarly, the results showed a significantly (F= 1468.581, p< .01) higher mean retention score for the experimental group (taught using kitchen resources) that is 47.42 as against the control groups with a mean retention score of 12.07. Also, the eta value indicated in the MCA was .816 while the calculated R

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value was .865 which means that about 86.5 % of the variance in the students’ retention scores can be accounted for by the treatment.

Generally, the results indicate that the treatment was effective in differentiating students taught thermochemistry with kitchen resources and those taught thermochemistry without kitchen resources in terms of their academic achievement and retention. This study showed the importance and significant role played by instructional materials (Kitchen resources) on students’ achievement and retention in Chemistry. They have positive effect on students’ achievement and retention in Chemistry. Conclusion

The study showed the importance and significant role played by instructional materials (Kitchen resources) on students’ achievement, especially in Chemistry. They have positive influence in Chemistry achievement and retention. It was therefore observed that using kitchen resources assisted teachers economically and the government in general. It allowed students to interact better in their lesson.

It made students to use their intellectual ability during the learning and teaching process. It encouraged creativity, bringing learning homewards and often improved and enhanced students’ achievement. This is perhaps because a subject like Chemistry requires real objects and activities/experiment that can convert topics that seem imaginary and abstract to real and concrete form to facilitate students’ understanding.

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