Abstract:
The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
on students’ achievement in mole concept. The study was quasi-experimental research
and nonrandomized control group pre-test – post-test design. The target population
consisted of students in the four public Colleges of Education in the Northern Region of
Ghana. The accessible population was level hundred students in Tamale College of
Education. Purposive sampling was used to obtain a sample of eighty-eight participants
from two intact classes for the study. One class was the experimental group and the other
the control group because both groups were within the same institution. In the
experimental group, the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach was used while the
Traditional Lecture-Based (TLB) method was used in the control group. The participants
(students) were taught the same topic, which is the mole concept by the researcher for a
period of four weeks. The instruments used in the study were Mole Concept Achievement
Test (MCAT), Likert scale-based questionnaire and interview. The instruments were
piloted in another college with similar characteristics and their reliability coefficients
were found to be suitable for the study. Data were analysed using t-test, bar charts and
percentages. Hypotheses were accepted or rejected at significant level of 0.05. The results
of the study reveal that the PBL resulted in significantly higher students’ achievement in
mole concept compared to the TLB. The students’ perception and attitude toward the
mole concept was positive with PBL compared to TLB. The results of this study would
be beneficial to integrated science and chemistry teachers, curriculum planners and
developers as well as policy makers in improving the teaching and learning process and
achievement in mole concept.
Description:
A THESIS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION, FACULTY OF
SCIENCE EDUCATION, SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE
STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA, IN PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY IN SCIENCE
EDUCATION
2016