Impact of Collaborative Learning on Student Teachers’ Comprehension and Attitudes Towards Environmental Education Concepts in Chemistry

The study explored the impact of of collaborative learning on student teachers’ comprehension and attitudes towards environmental education concepts in Chemistry. The study involved 64 student teachers studying environmental chemistry at Mufulira College of Education in Zambia. The action research adopted a pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design. The students were randomly assigned to the two intervention groups. In both groups students had opportunities to learn pollution, waste management and climate change. In the experimental group they used team based learning while in the comparison group students used think-pair-share learning. Overall, learners’ attitudes towards chemistry were improved from pre-test to post-test in both the experimental group. Results from the achievement test revealed a statistically significant difference (t (df, 62) = 2.030, p = .024 at α = .05) between the mean scores of the experimental group (Mean = 69.75; SD = 13.853) and the comparison group (Mean = 60.67; SD = 14.501) after the experimental Phase. Overall, both forms of collaborative learning incorporating environmental education concepts and issues in Chemistry had a positive impact on learners’ comprehension and attitudes towards chemistry.

EFFECT OF TEACHERS LIKABILITY ON STUDENTS ATTITUDE TOWARDS CHEMISTRY

Chemistry is among the essential science subjects taught at the secondary school level in Nigerias education landscape. There has been a persistent concern about the poor performance in chemistry in Nigeria. The present study investigated teachers likability as a scarcely explored variable that could explain the variation in students attitudes towards chemistry. A cross-sectional survey was employed for the analysis, and the population of the study comprised senior secondary school students in the Kogi State of Nigeria. Participants included males and females senior secondary school students enrolled in the science classes. One hundred and fifty-three students participated in the study. The respondents completed a self-report measure of the Teachers Likability Scale and the Attitude Toward Chemistry Lessons Scale (ATCLS). The finding showed that most of the participants indicated a negative attitude toward the subject (M = 2.89, SD = 3.32), compared to others (M = 1.18, SD = 3.39) that exhibited an unfavorable attitude towards the chemistry. A linear regression analysis was conducted to test the study hypothesis, and the result showed that teachers likability statistically significantly predicted attitude towards chemistry F (1,151), 124.716, P< .05. Therefore, the study concluded that a teachers likability is an essential determinant of students attitudes towards chemistry. Thus, it is recommended that teachers should improve in their personal and professional attributes.

PENGARUH PRAKTIKUM KIMIA HIJAU PADA SIKAP SISWA TERHADAP KIMIA

THE EFFECT OF GREEN CHEMISTRY LAB EXPERIMENTS ON STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS CHEMISTRYAbstractThis study aimed to investigate the effect of green chemistry lab experiments and the traditional chemistry lab experiments on students’ attitudes towards chemistry. This type of study was a quasi-experiment with a non-equivalent pretest-posttest control group design. The population of this study was all the Class XI of Natural Sciences in SMA Negeri 4 Singaraja, totaling five classes. Samples were selected by a purposive sampling technique. Sciences of 2 and 5 was the control group taught by traditional chemistry lab experiments, while Class XI of Natural Sciences of 3 and 4 was the experimental group taught by green chemistry lab experiments. Students’ attitudes towards chemistry were measured by a questionnaire given to students before and after the chemistry lab experiments. The results of this study indicated that students’ attitudes toward chemistry were better in the green chemistry lab experiments with a mean score of 4.34 than in the traditional chemistry lab experiments with a mean score of 4.15. AbstrakPenelitian ini bertujuan menyelidiki pengaruh praktikum kimia hijau dan praktikum kimia tradisional pada sikap siswa terhadap kimia. Jenis penelitian adalah eksperimen kuasi dengan rancangan non-equivalent pretest-posttest control group. Populasi penelitian ini adalah seluruh siswa Kelas XI IPA di SMA Negeri 4 Singaraja yang berjumlah lima kelas. Sampel dipilih dengan teknik purpossive sampling. Kelas XI IPA 2 dan 5 sebagai kelompok kontrol yang diajar dengan praktikum kimia tradisional, sedangkan Kelas XI IPA 3 dan 4 sebagai kelompok eksperimen yang diajar dengan praktikum kimia hijau. Sikap siswa terhadap kimia diukur dengan inventori yang diberikan kepada siswa sebelum dan setelah kegiatan praktikum kimia. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan sikap siswa terhadap kimia lebih baik pada praktikum kimia hijau dengan skor rata-rata 4,34 dibandingkan dengan praktikum kimia tradisional skor rata-rata 4,15.

South African university students’ attitudes towards chemistry learning in a virtually simulated learning environment

This mixed method study investigated changes in 3rd year Bachelor of Education students’ attitudes towards chemistry after learning interventions with virtual chemistry simulations. After participant students identified certain concepts from their 3rd year chemistry module as being abstract and not easily comprehensible, these concepts were facilitated during a 5 week learning intervention using PhET simulations as an alternative to traditional laboratory experimentation. In the first quantitative phase of the study, a 30-item pre-attitude test was administered to assess students’ attitudes towards chemistry, followed by PhET chemistry simulation learning interventions. Thereafter, students wrote a post-attitude test. Findings of this phase revealed a significantly higher mean post-attitude test score, with students showing a positive attitude towards chemistry learning, post-intervention. The quantitative phase was followed by a qualitative phase which examined students’ experiences on the use of simulations through semi-structured interviews. Findings from the qualitative phase revealed that students experienced autonomy and enjoyment during engagement with the simulations. They also perceived that their experiences in the virtually simulated environment improved their visualisation of chemistry concepts, thereby improving conceptual understanding. However, the students acknowledged that simulations cannot replicate the realism and authenticity associated with practical work in an actual laboratory. The implications of these findings are that virtual simulations provide a complementary learning tool capable of improving students’ attitudes towards chemistry, and perceived by students to support their visualisation of abstract chemistry concepts. The findings of this study are particularly significant for chemistry learning at schools and universities in economically challenged countries such as South Africa where there is a shortage of well-equipped laboratories.