Impact of regular explanatory classroom test on students’ learning and conceptual understanding of electrolysis

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of regular explanatory classroom tests on form two science one students’ understanding in the concepts of electrolysis. The sample for this study consisted 35 science students from Winneba Senior High School. The sample was selected from form two class in the school. Purposive sampling was used to select students for the study. Pre and post intervention test items as well as students’ monitoring book were used as the main instruments to collect data for the study. The reliability of the, pre-test and post-test items were determined using Cronbach-Alpha ranged from 0.76 to 0.80. A regular explanatory classroom tests instruction was applied formatively in teaching the students. The data obtained were analysed using t-test. It was also found that 98% of the students who took part in the study had wrong notions about electrolysis. The findings showed that there was a statistically significant difference in performance between pre-intervention achievement of students and post-intervention achievement of students. The students performed better in the post-test compared to pre-intervention test. The implication is that chemistry teachers in Winneba Senior High school should employ regular explanatory classroom tests approach in teaching concepts of electrolysis to enhance students understanding.