Comparison of the Effects of Guided Discovery, Problem Solving and Conventional Teaching Methods on Retention of Secondary School Chemistry Students in Minna Metropolis, Niger State

Abstract

Background: Chemistry holds a very important position in the secondary school curriculum as it is one of the science subjects upon which several science and technology courses such as medicine, agriculture and engineering just to mention a few at higher level of education are based. It is no gainsaying that without proper understanding of Chemistry, the goals and aspirations of our national development might not be fully achieved. Despite the role of this invaluable subject, the secondary school students in Nigeria and elsewhere are consistently having poor achievement in Chemistry and this ugly situation is very worrisome. Thus, the researchers resort to seeking instructional strategies that are student-centered, and that enhance students’ achievement and ultimately retention. Objectives: Thus, this study investigates the effects of guided discovery and problem solving instructional strategies, in comparison to conventional teaching method, on retention of secondary school Chemistry students in Minna Metropolis, Niger State, Nigeria. Material and Methods: A 3x 1 factorial design was adopted for the study. The population consisted of senior secondary school two (SSSII) students with sample size of 238 students selected from six secondary schools in Minna Metropolis. The research instrument employed was a 24-item Chemistry Retention Test (CRT). The CRT was pilot-tested on intact class of Chemistry students and reliability of 0.88 was obtained using Kuder Richardson (K-R21). Students were pretested before the treatment began, and the reshuffled or disguised version of the Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) was administered after the treatment in the post-posttest. The data obtained from both pretest and post-posttest were analyzed statistically using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Analysis of covariance, ANCOVA) using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Results: The results showed that students in the experimental groups (guided discovery and problem solving) generally have higher mean retention scores in Chemistry than their counterparts taught Chemistry with conventional teaching method (control group), and this indicates that guided discovery and problem solving strategies have enhanced retention in Chemistry more than traditional method of teaching. ANCOVA test also revealed that there was a significant difference among the students taught Chemistry using the three instructional strategies and Scheffe post hoc test indicated that students in the guided discovery group achieved best. The hierarchical order of achievement of Chemistry student’s vis-à-vis the instructional strategies considered in this work is established as: Guided Discovery ˃ Problem Solving ˃ Conventional Teaching Method. Conclusions: This study indicated that instructional strategies that teachers employ in teaching Chemistry have significant effects on students’ retention, and that the guided discovery is ranked the best among the strategies considered in this study. It is concluded that guided discovery and problem solving strategies are more effective in enhancing students’ retention in Chemistry than the convention teaching method. Thus, it is recommended that secondary school teachers should expose Chemistry students to guided discovery and problem solving instructional strategies that promote and encourage social interaction, active learning and ultimately enhance retention. The stakeholders in education sectors should also encourage and enforce the use of guided discovery and problem solving instructional strategies in teaching and learning of Chemistry in particular and sciences in general in our secondary schools.