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This study intended to measure the effect of Task-Based Learning (TBL) on lower secondary school students’ understanding of chemical reactions. The study employed a quasi-experimental pre and post-test research design with eight intact classes of 369 students purposively selected from eight schools in two districts in Rwanda. The experimental group of four schools was exposed to the TBL method, while a control group of the other four schools was exposed to the conventional teaching method (teacher-centered). A chemistry test of a Pearson product-moment reliability coefficient of .643 was developed and used in both groups. The results of repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a significant effect of treatment on students’ understanding of chemical reactions (p < .001) with a medium effect size (d = 0.357) in favor of the experimental group. Gender and school location variables were also analyzed. It was found that the interaction effect of experimental and gender was not significant (p > .05, d = 0.010). However, the effect was significant with the school location (p < .05, d = 0.026) in favor of students studying in rural schools. The results imply that TBL method improves students’ understanding of chemical reactions. Recommendations were given to educational stakeholders to train teachers in this method and teachers to use it in chemistry teaching. Keywords: chemistry education, chemical reactions, Rwandan lower secondary schools, students’ understanding, task-based learning

Improved teaching methods facilitate the ease of acquisition of knowledge and lead to better achievement. The present study investigates the instructional methods most commonly used in teaching chemistry in lower secondary schools in Rwanda. SPSS 23.0 was used to analyze data from a survey conducted on 51 lower secondary chemistry teachers. The survey has satisfactory and acceptable reliability (Cronbach alpha=0.913 for 57 items on average). The results revealed that teachers prefer active learning methods though they still use traditional teaching methods. Comparison of teachers’ responses in terms of experience showed no statistically significant difference with p= 0.064. The study also found that some teachers have misconceptions in differentiating instructional approaches, methods, and techniques or strategies. Therefore, it is recommended that educational stakeholders should plan pieces of training to teachers about different instructional methods and techniques to use in chemistry teaching for effective learning outcomes.

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