The effects of problem solving instructional strategy, three modes of instruction and gender on learning outcomes in chemistry

Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org
ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol.5, No.23, 2014
The Effects of Problem-Solving Instructional Strategy, Three
Modes of Instruction and Gender on Learning Outcomes in
Chemistry
Jegede, S.A (Ph.D)
Department of Curriculum Studies, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti
(canonsamakjeg@yahoo.com)
Fatoke, A.O-Department
of Curriculum Studies, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti.
(adewalefatoke@gmail.com)
Abstract
This study was designed to investigate the effects of problem-solving instructional strategy, three accompanying
modes of instruction (i.e. Remediation, Feedback and Practice) and gender on learning outcomes in chemistry.
A pre-test post-test control group quasi experimental design was adopted for the study. Data were collected from
a sample of 210 SS2 Chemistry Students made up of 109 males and 101 females selected from six schools in
three (3) Local Government Areas of Ekiti State, Nigeria based on multi-stage random sampling techniques. The
Seven Step Chemistry Problem-Solving Model as suggested by Frazer (1981) and Selvarantnam (1983) was
adopted for the study. The experiment was carried out on four (4) groups of Students. The Students in
experimental groups 1 and 2 were exposed to Problem-Solving approach coupled with remediation and feedback
respectively, experimental group 3 was exposed to Problem-Solving coupled with practice. The fourth group not
treated formed the control group. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyse the data with the pre-test
scores as covariates. The findings revealed that students in experimental group 1 (i.e. Problem-Solving
coupled with remediation) had the highest performance in Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) followed by
those exposed in experimental group 2 and 3 respectively (i.e. Problem-Solving coupled with feedback and
practice respectively).However, the control group had the least performance in Chemistry Achievement Test
(CAT). The implications were discussed and recommendations given.
Keywords: Effects of Problem-Solving, Modes of Instruction, Learning Outcomes.
179
INTRODUCTION
Within the last two decades, observation has shown that in spite of the various innovations introduced
into science teaching in general and chemistry in particular, the performance of students still remains low. This is
buttressed by the poor performance of students in the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations
(WASSCE) (Adejumobi and Ivowi, 1992; Ezeudu, 1995).
Friedman (2000) also supported the idea that achievement in science is low and he attributed the reason
for this among other things to the way Chemistry is taught by teachers with neither a major nor minor
qualification in the subject. Several other reasons have been advanced for the under-achievement in Chemistry
and other science subjects. Some of the reasons include; Poor Capital Investment in terms of provision of science
resources (Agusiobo, 1998), Teachers’ persistent use of traditional teaching methods which are ineffective in
science pedagogy (Nworgu, 1997), Perceived difficult nature of topics in Chemistry by students (Onwu, 1993
and Ogbonnia, 1999), Poor computational skills, inability to apply learned concept, principles, formulae, units
and lack of procedural guide or problem-solving skills (Bellow, 2005).
Slightly related to students’ perception of the nature of this subject is the issue of gender and
achievement. Habor-Peters (1994) in his study on gender interaction on achievement discovered that there was a
marked difference between the performance of male and female students. Oke (1995) and Joseph (1996)
affirmed that boys performed better than girls in science. However, Tang (1989) found that gender difference is
in favour of female students. Similarly, Toh’s (1993) comparison in three practical problem-solving task
indicated that girls distinctly preferred contents familiarity and out-performed boys in several process/skills
when familiar with contents. This result therefore contradicted the general belief that boys performed better than
girls in science related disciplines. On the other hand, Lagowski (1994) determined the effect of gender on
problem-solving abilities in introductory Chemistry. The result showed no gender differences in some cognitive
terms.
The study conducted by Bello (1985) on a sample of 130 Senior Secondary Class Four Chemistry
Students to investigate the relative effectiveness of three problem-solving approaches on students’ learning
outcomes in secondary school chemistry revealed that problem-solving strategy with practice coupled with

Vol.5, No.23, 2014
verbal feedback and teacher directed remedial instruction was the most effective of three strategies in promoting
better cognitive achievement in chemistry.
In recent time, the problem-solving approach has been advocated as one of the methods of teaching
Chemistry. In the present study, an important model of instruction that can achieve the purpose of helping
students’ to learn and study chemistry effectively is the Seven-Step Chemistry Problem-Solving Model. It is
designed to help students solve problems by proceeding in a logical step sequence from a problem state to a
solution state. Thus, the student learn to define problem, collects information related to the solution of the
problem and finally check and evaluate the solution obtained (Frazer, 1982 and Selvarantnam, 1983). Hence, the
effect of problem-solving and three modes of instruction on students’ learning outcomes in Chemistry using the
Seven-Step Chemistry Problem-Solving Model were examined in this research.
Statement of the Problem
The study seeks to determine the effects of problem-solving instructional strategy, three modes of
instruction and gender on learning outcomes in Chemistry.
Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.
Ho1: There is no significant difference in the performance of students’ taught chemistry using problem-solving
and those taught using the conventional lecture method of teaching chemistry.
Ho2: There is no significant interaction effect between gender and students’ performance in Chemistry.
Methodology
Design: A pretest posttest control group quasi experimental design using 4x2x2 factorial design was used
180
O1 X1 O2 (E1)
O3 X2 O4 (E2)
O5 X3 O6 (E3)
O7 X4 O8 (C)
where O1, O3, O5, O7 are pretest for the experimental and control groups respectively. O2, O4, O6, O8 are posttest
for experimental and control groups respectively.
X1 = SSCPSM with remediation
X2 = SSCPSM with feedback
X3 = SSCPSM with practice
X4 = Conventional Lecture Method
SSCPSM = Seven Step Chemistry Problem-Solving Model.
Variables in the study
(a) Independent variable
(i) Problem-Solving Instructional Strategy
(ii) Gender (Male and Female)
(b) Dependent variable
(i) Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) Post-test
Population
All the Senior Secondary Class Two (SS2) Chemistry Students in Ekiti State, Nigeria constituted the
target population for the study.
Schools and subjects
Senior Secondary Class Two (SS2) Chemistry Students from Six Schools were selected as sample for
the study based on multistage random sampling technique. The six schools were selected based on the facts that
the subjects had been taught the basic and prerequisite Chemistry concepts necessary for understanding of mole
concepts, gas laws and solubility which were discussed in this work. All the 210 Chemistry Students which
comprised 109 males and 101 females drawn from the six schools were participants in the study. Intact classes
were used for the study.
Research Instruments
One instrument and One Instructional package were used for the study. They are:
The Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT)
This is made up of fifty (50) four options multiple choice items based on the topics treated in the study
(i.e. gas laws, mole concept and solubility) used for the study. The CAT was designed to measure students’
achievement (learning outcomes) in Chemistry. Experts in the field of Science Education validated the CAT in
terms of ensuring items clarity and removal of ambiguous words that could confuse the students. The reliability
co-efficient obtained for CAT using the test re-test method was 0.75.
Instructional Package
Nine Teaching manuals were used for treatment in the study. Four of the teaching manuals were taught
for 40 minutes each while the rest were taught for 80 minutes (i.e. Double Period) lesson period. The

Vol.5, No.23, 2014
Experimental Groups were taught using the Seven Step Chemistry Problem-Solving Model (SSCPSM) with
varying modes of instruction earlier specified while the Control Group was taught using the Conventional
Lecture Method.
Procedure for data collection
The procedure for data collection was in three main phases and it lasted for seven weeks. The phases were:
Pre-test for the first one week
Treatment for the next five weeks
Post-test for the last one week of the seven weeks
Prior to the collection of data, the participating teachers and students were trained. The training programme
lasted for two weeks. The training of the teachers and students focused on the use of (SSCPSM) and the different
treatment conditions. The teachers and the students in the control group were not given any special training.
Pre-test
The achievement test on chemistry was administered as pre-test.
Treatment
Experimental Group
Treatment in this group involved the following steps.
- Teachers presented the topic in form of discussion with the demonstration of the how to solve given problems
using the SSCPSM for Students based on Groups.
- Students in Experimental Group 1 were made to solve given problems using the SSCPSM while the Teacher
remediates the work of each student in the group.
- Students in Experimental Group 2 were also given problems to be solved using the SSCPSM while the Teacher
provides the feedback of the work to each student in the group.
- Students in Experimental Group 3 were asked to practice solving given problems using the SSCPSM.
- Teachers recognized the performance of the Students in each of the Group.
- Teachers gave assignment
Control Group
The treatment for each lesson involved the following steps:
- The teacher presented the topic in form of lecture.
- Students listened to the teacher and wrote down the chalkboard summary.
- Students asked the teacher questions on areas of the topic that is not clear to them.
- The teacher also asked the students questions and the students responded accordingly.
- Students were given problems to be solved while the Teacher marked to assess their performance.
Post-test
After seven weeks of treatment, the CAT- whose items had been re-arranged was administered as the
181
post-test.
Data Analysis
Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyse the data. Scheffe’s Pairwise comparison was
also used to establish the variation due to treatment and to locate the source of significance.
Table 1:- Summary of ANCOVA of pre-test and post-test scores of the Problem-Solving groups and
Control group.
Source SS Df MS Fcal Ftab
Covariate (pre- test) 7102.29 1 7102.29 3010.59 3.84
Main effects:
Treatment 854.55 3 284.85 120.75 2.60
Explained 8282.88 4 2070.72 877.76 2.37
Residual 8766.49 209
Total 202354.00 210
P 0.05
Table 1 shows that the Fcal value (120.75) was greater than Ftab value (2.60) at 0.05 level of significance.
Therefore the null hypothesis was rejected. This shows that there was a significant difference in the academic
performance of those students exposed to problem-solving instructional strategy and those in the control group.
Hence, one can infer from above that the problem-solving approach has aided the groups to achieve better
performance compared to their counterparts taught with the conventional lecture method.
In order to determine the pairwise difference among the groups, Scheffe’s (Post-Hoc) Analysis was
used; the result is presented in Table 9 below.

Vol.5, No.23, 2014
Table 2:- Post-Hoc Analysis Showing the Effect of Problem-Solving on Students’ Performance in
Chemistry.
Groups E1 E 2 E 3 C N Mean
Problem-solving coupled with Remediation (E1) * * 70 33.56
Problem-solving coupled with Feedback (E2) 70 30.26
Problem-solving coupled with Practice (E3) 35 28.41
Control (C) 35 27.97
*The mean difference is significant at 0.05 level.
Table 2 shows that there was a significant difference between the performance scores of students in
Experimental Group 1 and Experimental Group 2. Similarly, the mean difference between Experimental Group 1
and control group is statistically significant at 0.05 level.
Table 3 below shows which of the experimental group results in the best performance among male and female
students on exposure to problem-solving instructional strategy
Table 3:- Post-Test Mean Scores and Standard Deviation of the Three Experimental Groups According
To Gender Grouping.
182
Groups
Gender
N
Post-test
Mean
Standard
Deviation
Co-efficient of
Variation
1.Problem-solving with Remediation M
F
37
33
33.43
33.70
7.98
7.68
23.87
22.79
2.Problem-solving with Feedback M
F
36
34
30.63
29.81
5.44
4.34
17.76
14.59
3.Problem-solving with Practice M
F
19
16
28.06
28.79
5.93
4.53
21.13
15.73
Table 3 shows the post-test mean scores and standard deviations of students in the experimental groups
according to gender grouping. Table 3 shows that the post-test mean scores of the male group in experimental
group 1 (33.43) was more than the male groups in experimental groups 2 (30.63) and 3 (28.06) respectively.
Also, the post-test mean scores of the female groups in group 1(33.70) was more than those of groups 2 (29.81)
and 3 (28.79) respectively. The standard deviation of the post-test mean scores of male and female students in
group 1 were 7.98 and 7.68, while the male and female students in experimental groups 2 and 3 had standard
deviations of 5.44,4.34 and 5.93,4.53 respectively. The Co-efficient of variation (CV) values for male and
female in the groups were (23.87 and 22.79) for Group 1, (17.76 and 14.59) for Group 2, and (21.13 and 15.73)
for Group 3 respectively at 0.05 level of significance. This shows that both boys and girls improved substantially
in their academic performance through the use of problem-solving instructional strategy. However, both boys
and girls in group 1 (i.e. the students that were taught using problem-solving with remediation) had the highest
mean scores (33.43 for boys and 33.70 for girls) followed by those in groups two and three respectively. It is
therefore observed that problem-solving coupled with varying modes of instructions brought about improved
performance for both boys and girls in the groups (with the girls having an upper hand than boys in groups 1 and
3). This apparently showed that the treatment was highly effective to have improved students’ performance in
chemistry at 0.05 level of significance.
Table 4:- Summary of ANCOVA on Pre-test and Post-test of students in the Chemistry Achievement Test
(CAT) based on gender.
Source SS Df MS Fcal Ftab
Covariate (pre- test) 7071.46 1 7071.46 2979.65 3.84
Main effects:
Sex 3.02 1 3.02 1.27 3.84
Group 848.25 3 282.75 119.14 2.60
2-Way Interactions
Sex* Group 3.64 3 1.22 0.51 2.60
Explained 16298.93 8 2037.37 43.81 1.94
Residual 8766.50 209
Total 202354.00 210
P 0.05
Table 4 shows that Fcal (0.51) was less than Ftab. (2.60) at 0.05 level of significance. The null hypothesis was
therefore accepted. This implies that gender does not affect students’ performance in Chemistry.

Vol.5, No.23, 2014
183
Discussion of Findings
Findings from the results the hypotheses tested showed convincingly that the problem-solving approach
proved to be a more effective and reliable method of teaching than the conventional lecture method. This finding
provided empirical support to earlier findings: Bello (1985), Bodner (2000) and Domin et- al (2001) which
remarked that there is significant improvement in students’ achievement when problem-solving is accompanied
with corrective measures such as verbal feedback and teacher-directed remedial instruction. Other empirical
studies which gave positive effects of problem- solving models on achievement in other science subjects
includes Martin and Oyebanji (2000), Decorte and Scriners (2002), Payne (2004).
The study further showed that gender is not a perfect predictor as far as Chemistry achievement is
concerned, whether students are taught using problem- solving approach or the conventional method. This result
agrees with the findings of Shaw and Doan (1990), Lagowski (1994), and Cohen (1994) who pointed out that
students did not exhibit gender differences in achievement. However, this result did not agree with those of
Inyang and Hannah (2000), and Omoniyi (2003) whose works revealed a significant difference in the
performance of male and female students in favour of male; and vice versa in the study of Omoniyi (2003).
Conclusion and Recommendation
The major conclusion that could be drawn from the study based on the performance of students is that
the conventional lecture method of teaching Chemistry proved less effective than the problem-solving method.
The issue of gender was found to have no effect on the performance of students towards Chemistry learning. In
addition, the incorporation of problem-solving and accompanying modes of instruction (i.e. Remediation,
Feedback and Practice) into Chemistry learning improves the performance of Students’ with Problem-Solving
coupled with Feedback and Teacher-directed Remedial Instruction found to the most effective method over
others.
If problem-solving instructional strategy could improve students’ learning outcomes in Chemistry, it
would be necessary to overhaul the mode of instruction of teaching Chemistry at the Senior Secondary so as to
accommodate functional student-centred and activity-oriented instructional strategy that will make Chemistry
students good problem-solvers, thereby causing improvement in the performance of students in School
Certificate Chemistry Examinations thereby replacing the Conventional Lecture Method (i.e Chalk and Talk
Method) of teaching Chemistry in Schools. Also, Secondary School teachers who are already in service should
be given adequate training through workshops, symposia, conferences and seminars to enhance and acquire
better strategies of teaching Chemistry. Schools’ Curriculum should be overhauled to accommodate problem-solving
and activity-oriented instructional strategies.
References
Adejumobi, S.A. and Ivowi, U.M.O. (1992):- Comprehensive Education for Nigeria. West African Journal of
Education 10(2): 257-266.
Agusiobo, B.C. (1998):- Laboratory and Resource Utilization and Management by Integrated Science Teachers.
African Journal of Education 1(1): 29-36.
Bellow, C. (2005):- The Effects of an Explicit Problem-Solving Approach on Mathematical Chemistry
Achievement. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 23: 11-20.
Bodner. G.M. (2000):- The Role of Representations in Problem-Solving in Chemistry. University Chemistry
Education, 4: 24-30.
Cohen, E. (1994):- Restructuring classroom conditions for productive small group. Review of Educational
Research. 64(1): 1-35.
Decorte, R. and Scriners, J. (2002):- Supporting and promoting argumentation discourse in Science Education.
Studies in Science Education 38: 39-72.
Domin, D.S., Camacho, M. and Good, R. (2001):- “Towards a Unified Theory of Problem-Solving: A View
from Chemistry”. In Toward a Unified Theory of Problem-Solving: Views from the Content Domain, M.U.
Smith, ed. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ezeudu, F.O. (1995):- Effects of Concepts Maps on Students’ Achievement, Interest and Retention in Selected
Units of Organic Chemistry. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Frazer, M.J. (1982):- Solving chemical problems: Nyholm Lecture. Sarile Row and London W.I.
Friedman, S.J. (2000):- How Much of a Problem. A Reply to Ingersoll’s. The Problem of Under-Qualified
Teachers in American Secondary Schools. Educational Researcher 29(5): 18-20.
Habor-Peters, V.F. (1994):- Teacher Gender by Student Gender Interaction in Senior Secondary School Three
Students’ Mathematics Achievement. The Nigerian Teacher Today 3(12).
Inyang, N.E.U. and Ekpeyong, H. (2000):- Influence of Ability and Gender grouping on Senior Secondary
School Chemistry Students’ Achievement on the Concept of Redox reactions. Journal of Science Teachers’
Association. 35(12), 36-42.

Vol.5, No.23, 2014
Lagowski, J.I. (1994):- Chemistry Problem-Solving Abilities, Gender Reasoning Level and Computer Simulated
Experiments. Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association for Research in Science
Teaching. Anaheim, C.A. 26-29.
Martins, O.O. and Oyebanji, P.K. (2000):- The Effects of Inquiry and Lecture Methods on the Cognitive
Achievement of Integrated Science Students. Journal of Science Teachers’ Association. 35(12), 31-35.
Nworgu, B.G. (1997):- Methods and Media in Science Instruction. Lead Presentation at Annual Conference of
Association for Promoting Quality Education in Nigeria (APQEN). Enugu State Chapter. March 10-14.
Ogbonnia, E.C. (1999):- Difficult Topics in SSCE Chemistry as Perceived by Secondary Schools. Journal of
CITADEL 8(2): 31-38.
Oke, O.A. (1995):- Factors Affecting Secondary School Girls participation in Science. An Unpublished M.Ed.
Thesis, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
Omoniyi, A.O. (2003):- The effects of constructivism-based teaching strategy on Gender-related differences in
students misconceptions in Chemistry. Proceedings of Gasat conferences in Mauritius.
Onwu, A.N. (1993):- Identification of Major Areas of Students’ Difficulties in Senior School Certificate
Chemistry Syllabus. Unpublished M.Ed. Thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Payne, A. (2004):- Improving Teaching and Learning through Chemistry Education Research: A Look to the
Future. Journal of Chemical Education. 76(4), 548-554.
Selvarantnam, M. (1983):- Students’ mistakes in problem-solving. Education in Chemistry. 7: 125-130.
Shaw, E.L. and Doan, R.I. (1990):- An Investigation of the difference in attitude and achievement between male
and female second and fifth grade students. Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Meeting of
Research in Science Teaching.
Toh, K.A. (1993):- Gender and Practical Tasks. Science EducationResearch. 35: 225-265.
184

The IISTE is a pioneer in the Open-Access hosting service and academic event
management. The aim of the firm is Accelerating Global Knowledge Sharing.
More information about the firm can be found on the homepage:
http://www.iiste.org
CALL FOR JOURNAL PAPERS
There are more than 30 peer-reviewed academic journals hosted under the hosting
platform.
Prospective authors of journals can find the submission instruction on the
following page: http://www.iiste.org/journals/ All the journals articles are available
online to the readers all over the world without financial, legal, or technical barriers
other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself. Paper version
of the journals is also available upon request of readers and authors.
MORE RESOURCES
Book publication information: http://www.iiste.org/book/
IISTE Knowledge Sharing Partners
EBSCO, Index Copernicus, Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, JournalTOCS, PKP Open
Archives Harvester, Bielefeld Academic Search Engine, Elektronische
Zeitschriftenbibliothek EZB, Open J-Gate, OCLC WorldCat, Universe Digtial
Library , NewJour, Google Scholar

The effects of problem solving instructional strategy, three modes of instruction and gender on learning outcomes in chemistry

More Related Content

What's hot (19)

Similar to The effects of problem solving instructional strategy, three modes of instruction and gender on learning outcomes in chemistry (20)

More from Alexander Decker (20)

The effects of problem solving instructional strategy, three modes of instruction and gender on learning outcomes in chemistry