Background to the study
Nigeria today is undergoing major transformations which are multidimensional, affecting the technological, economic, social, cultural and political development of human communities. Education in the generic and global context is a strategic instrument for technological and economic transformation. The focus of education system all over the world is the development of the human capital required to meet present and future challenges of globalization and knowledge economy (Dike, 2014). The enviable position of science education system of most countries of the world, including Nigeria is perhaps justifiable. The reason is that science can exert a dominant influence of life of individual as well as on the developmental effort of a nation (Adu & Adeyanju, 2013). The Universal recognition of the above submission is responsible for the prime position that has accorded Science and in particular Basic Science which serves as a pivot upon which other sciences rotate. The importance of Basic Science cannot be over stressed. All students must learn and pass it at the Junior Secondary School level before they can advance to the senior level.
Despite the importance of chemistry to mankind and the efforts of researchers to improve on its teaching and learning, the performance of students in the subject is still not encouraging. The rate and degree of failure could not be specifically determined but may be as a result of factors like teacher’s qualification, school environment, teaching strategies among others. Connelly, (2010) said that in order to get students know each other better and share their learning experiences, they can be put together in several other classes and it is helpful for students both in social and academic way. It is on this basis that some strategies are considered, especially those that have to do with collaborative learning. Reciprocal instruction method, one of the group working methods is thought to be effective in the crowded classrooms, will be concern of this study.
According to Palincsar, David, and Brown (1989), reciprocal teaching is an instructional procedure designed to enhance students’ comprehension of concept. The procedure is best characterized as a dialogue between teacher and students. The term ‘reciprocal’ describes the nature of interactions since one person acts in response to another. The dialogue is structured by the use of four strategies: questioning, summarizing, clarifying, and predicting. The teacher and students take turns assuming the role of the leader. The reciprocal teaching approach is one of the instructional methods which cover the necessary strategies: predicting, generating questions, clarifying, and summarizing. It helps students improve their understanding of scientific concept and thus enhancing performance. The aim of reciprocal teaching is to use discussion to improve students’ comprehension, develop selfregulatory and monitoring skills, and achieve overall improvement in motivation (Mohammed and Abbas, 2012).
Reciprocal teaching is an instructional approach that can be best characterized by three main features: (a) the scaffolding and explicit instruction which a teacher uses and which include guided practice and modeling of comprehension-fostering strategies, (b) the four main strategies of predicting, generating questions, clarifying, and summarizing, and (c) social interaction which provides opportunities for learners to improve their cognitive, metacognitive and affective strategies and offers them chances to share ideas, increase confidence, and learn from their more capable friends. These three features help improve the students’ ability to resolve difficulties, reach a higher level of thinking, build metacognition, and increase motivation (Mohammed and Abbas, 2012).
Meanwhile, concerns about academic achievement with respect to males and females have generated a considerable interest in the field of educational testing over the years. Differences in academic achievement of the two genders are likely to contribute disparities in the allocation of cognitive roles in the world of work. Numerous studies on sex differences in cognitive performance can be found. Colom and Lynn (2004) asserted that males have larger average brain sizes than females and therefore, would be expected to have higher average IQs. Mackintosh (1998) on the other hand, claims that there is no sex difference in general intelligence. In view of these, we should therefore continue to seek strategies which would improve students’ mastery of the subject as well as their performance in the subject. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the Reciprocal and Semantic instructional strategies on secondary school students’ achievement in Chemistry.
Statement of the Problem
The reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies are two teaching methods that can be used to improve students’ achievement in Chemistry in secondary school. The reciprocal teaching method involves a group of students taking turns to teach each other a concept, while the semantic method involves relating new information to previously learned information. The problem of this study is to determine the effectiveness of reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies on secondary school students’ achievement in Chemistry.
Research Objectives:
The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies on the academic achievement of secondary school students in Chemistry. The specific objectives are:
- To determine the effectiveness of reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies on the academic performance of secondary school students in Chemistry.
- To examine the differences in the academic achievement of students taught using reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies.
- To identify the challenges and benefits of using reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies in teaching Chemistry.
- To explore the perceptions of students and teachers towards reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies in Chemistry.
Research Questions:
- What is the effectiveness of reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies on the academic performance of secondary school students in Chemistry?
- Are there significant differences in the academic achievement of students taught using reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies?
- What are the challenges and benefits of using reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies in teaching Chemistry?
- What are the perceptions of students and teachers towards reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies in Chemistry?
Scope of the study
To address these research questions, a quantitative research design may be used, and a pre-test/post-test control group design may be adopted. Participants may be randomly assigned to one of two groups: the experimental group (reciprocal instructional strategy) and the control group (semantic instructional strategy). A pre-test may be administered to both groups to measure their baseline knowledge of Chemistry.
The experimental group may be taught using the reciprocal instructional strategy, while the control group may be taught using the semantic instructional strategy. After the intervention, a post-test may be administered to both groups to measure their achievement in Chemistry. The data collected may be analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
In addition to the quantitative data, qualitative data may be collected through interviews and focus group discussions with students and teachers to gain insights into their perceptions of the two instructional strategies. The qualitative data may be analyzed thematically to identify common themes and patterns in the participants’ responses.
The findings of this study may provide insights into the effectiveness of reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies in improving students’ achievement in Chemistry and may inform the development of instructional strategies for teaching Chemistry in secondary schools.
Significance of the study
The findings of this study will contribute to the existing literature on instructional strategies in Chemistry education. The study will provide insight into the effectiveness of reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies in enhancing the academic achievement of secondary school students in Chemistry. The study will also help to identify the challenges and benefits of using these instructional strategies, which will inform the development of effective teaching methods for Chemistry educators. Additionally, the study will provide recommendations to policy makers and educational institutions on the implementation of reciprocal and semantic instructional strategies in Chemistry education. Ultimately, the study will contribute to the improvement of the quality of Chemistry education in secondary schools, which will have a positive impact on the future of Chemistry education and the workforce.
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