EFFECTS OF CONCEPT MAPPING AND DEMONSTRATION STRATEGIES ON ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION OF MOLE CONCEPTS AMONG SECONDARY CHEMISTRY STUDENTS IN ZAMFARA STATE

Abstract

This study examined the effects of concept mapping and demonstration strategies on academic achievement and retention of mole concepts among secondary school chemistry students in Zamfara Central Zone, Zamfara State, Nigeria. A pretest, posttest and postposttest experimental and control group research design was employed.The population of the study was all science secondary students in Zamfara State. A total of ninety (90) SS.II chemistry students were randomly selected from five secondary schools in the study area. The instruments used for data collection were the Mole Concept Achievement Test (MCAT), Post Mole Concept Achievement Test (PMCAT), Post-Post Mole Concept achievement Test (PPMCAT), Lesson Plans for Control Group and Lesson Plans for the Experimental Group. The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis. The findings revealed that academic achievement of subjects exposed to the concept mapping strategy were significantly higher than their counterparts exposed to demonstration method (t-cal is 10.70 while tcrit is 1.96, df= 88 at 0.05). With reference to retention level, students exposed to concept mapping showed higher levels of retention of the learnt materials (t-cal was 5.72, t-crit value obtained was 1.95, df=88 at 0.05). Also, there was no significant difference between male and female students’ achievement in the experimental group (t-cal is 1.25 while t-crit is 1.96, df=43 at 0.05 level of significance.) The use of concept mapping for teaching male and female students showed to be gender friendly. In view of the conclusion, recommendations were proffered.