The Effects of a constructivist method of instruction on students conceptual change, achievement, attitude and perception in the general chemistry laboratories

ABSTRACT THE EFFECTS OF A CONSTRUCTIVIST METHOD OF INSTRUCTION ON STUDENTS' CONCEPTUAL CHANGE, ACHIEVEMENT, ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION IN THE GENERAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORIES (M. Sc. Thesis) HaUlTÜMAY GAZİ UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES June 2001 The purpose of this study was to test the effect of a constructivist method of instruction compared to a conventional verification method on achievement, conceptual change, attitude toward science, chemistry and laboratory and perceptions of the science and ways of learning of science of university students in the general chemistry laboratory. The ultimate goal of this study was to determine which instructional method could be utilezed to maximize achievement, facilitate conceptual change, promote a positive attitude, and encourage constructivist thinking among students. In this study the sample consisted of 40 freshman university students who were taking the General Chemistry Laboratory-I course at the Gazi University Gazi Education Faculty Department of Chemistry Education. The study was conducted during the 2000-2001 spring semester.In this study, Pre-Post Test Control Group Design was used. The subjects of this study was divided into two groups (experimental and control) randomly. The control group were taught under a conventional verification method, while the experimental group were taught under a constructivist method. Eight laboratory activities were used in both groups. These activities were: 1) Vapor Pressure; 2) Solubility of Salts; 3) Chemical Properties, Hidrates; 4) Chemical Changes and Energy; 5) Acids and Bases; 6) Chemical Kinetics; 7) Chemical Equilibrium; and 8) Oxidation-Reduction Reactions. The six measurement instruments employed in this study are: 1) Chemistry Knowledge Test; 2) Logical Thinking Test; 3) Laboratory Test; 4) Concept Test; 5) Attitude toward Science, Chemistry and Laboratory and Perception Test; and 6) Laboratory Survey. t-test, ANCOVA and chi-square analysis were used for testing the hypotheses of the study. The results showed that students who were taught under a constructivist method scored significantly higher than the students who were taught under conventional verification method with respect to achievement and conceptual change. The results also indicated that attitude toward science, chemistry and laboratory and perceptions of the science and ways of learning of science of students in both groups weren't significantly different. In addition, it was seen that logical thinking ability of students didn't contribute significantly to achievement and conceptual change of students and that prior chemistry knowledge of students contributed significantly to achievement of students while didn't contribute significantly to conceptual change of students. From the findings of this study, one can conclude that constructivist laboratory instruction will be more effective in enhancing achievement and facilitating conceptual change among students in the general chemistry laboratory.