ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF COMPUTER-BASED SIMULATIONS ON CHEMISTRY SELF-PERCEPTION AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN KENYA
Abstract
Chemistry education is essential in developing a scientific attitude in learners, but the poor performance of secondary school students in the subject has become a concern in Kenya. Factors such as the learners' chemistry self-concept can contribute to this issue. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of computer-based simulations (CBS) as a teaching approach to improve the chemistry self-concept of high school students in Nakuru Sub-county, Kenya. A quasi-experimental research design was used, involving the Solomon Four Non-Equivalent Control Group Design, with a sample size of 175 students. The Chemistry SelfConcept Questionnaire (CSCQ) and a CBS module developed by the researcher were used to collect data. The results showed that students taught through CBS had a significantly higher level of chemistry selfconcept than those taught through Regular Teaching Methods (RTM). Furthermore, there was no statistically significant gender difference in self-concept towards Chemistry of students taught through CBS. The findings suggest that using CBS as a teaching approach could be a promising strategy to address the issue of poor performance in Chemistry. With the current impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of computer-based learning has become increasingly important, making the results of this study relevant in this context.
Keywords:
Chemistry, Science, Computer-based Learning, Gender, Chemistry self-conceptDownloads
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10571629%20Issue
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Copyright (c) 2024 Auma L. Mary , Nyaga P. Samuel
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