EXAMINING THE EFFECT OF DIRECTED ACTIVITY RELATED TO TEXTS (DARTs) AND GENDER ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS IN CHEMISTRY

Abstract

Purpose – The present study examined the effect of Directed Activity Related to Texts (DARTs) and gender on students’ achievement in Chemistry. The present study focused on the qualitative analysis component of Chemistry which has been perceived as being most difficult among students. Methodology – The study involved 120 form four science stream students from two local fully residential schools. In a quasi-experiment, participants studied the qualitative analysis of salt topic using one of these three instructional methods: Experiment, DARTs, and Combination of Experiment and DARTs; and later their knowledge about salt was tested. Findings – Results of a two-way independent ANOVA performed on the experiment data revealed a significant main effect of Instructional method—the mean scores for the combined method group was the highest, followed by the DARTs group and then the Experiment group. Further analysis using an independent t-test showed that the difference in mean scores between the DARTs and Experiment groups was significant. It is argued that participants’ learning in the Combined method group might have been enhanced by the DARTs instructional method. The effect of gender and the interaction effect between the variables were not significant. Significance – The present findings provides experimental evidence regarding the role of the DARTs instructional method in enhancing qualitative analysis learning in Chemistry. The present findings also provide insights to educators on DARTs as an alternative methods of teaching and learning qualitative analysis topics in Chemistry. Keywords: directed activity related to texts, qualitative analysis, chemistry, students’ achievement, salt topic, gender.

Learners’ issues in the preparation and qualitative analysis of salts topics in chemistry: Teachers’ perspectives

“…Additionally, the struggle students face in understanding the abstract nature of salts topic, as reported by the informants, should be confronted with appropriate teaching approaches that can provide students with ideas and understanding of the 'unseen' phenomena in chemistry. Past studies asserted that the formation of salts, which involves chemical reactions and changes through various chemical representations, could be too abstract for many students (Sana & Adhikary, 2017;Shamsulbahri & Zulkiply, 2021;Taber, 2013). Besides, students' difficulties in the three levels of representations of the chemical concepts hinder them from an indepth understanding of the preparation and qualitative analysis of salts.…”

“…Also, the role of 'hands-on' in learning, as emphasized by the informants, should not be side-lined as it provides experiential learning to students rather than solely focusing on concepts memorization (Miranda & Smaka, 2021;Timilsena et al, 2022). Many informants also agreed that conducting experiments could assist students in learning the topics better by overcoming the complexity and abstract nature of the salts topic and validating the theories they have learned in class (Napes & Sharif, 2022;Shamsulbahri & Zulkiply, 2021). It also helps students to achieve the learning outcomes of these topics that emphasize their ability to prepare salts and conduct qualitative analysis to identify the anions and cations in salts.…”

“…Nevertheless, what could be the plausible reasons for the root of struggles among students in learning these topics? In general, many researchers emphasized that these topics involve much information and integrate many foundational skills and knowledge in chemistry, such as writing chemical formulae and equations, moles concept, ionic bonding, and acid-base reactions (Napes & Sharif, 2022;Shamsulbahri & Zulkiply, 2021;Tan et al, 2004). Despite these facts, Reif and Larkin (1991) asserted that most students viewed concepts and knowledge related to the topic of salts as a collection of facts and formulae that should be memorized rather than understood to ease them in solving the related problems.…”

“…In this view, Timilsena et al (2022) contended that chemistry learning that is not connected to students' daily life contributed significantly to students' lack of understanding and motivation to learn the subject. Comparably, in preparation and qualitative analysis of salts, students do not encounter these topics in everyday life, have no virtual conceptions about the process, and only experience it in the laboratory (Izzati & Rochmah, 2020;Shamsulbahri & Zulkiply, 2021;Tan et al, 2004). Secken (2010), on a similar finding, contended that students have limited ideas about salts and associate the compounds with salts that they commonly use at home.…”

“…Secken (2010), on a similar finding, contended that students have limited ideas about salts and associate the compounds with salts that they commonly use at home. Another related issue is when students conduct the experimental procedures and record their observations without understanding the reason for using particular reagents in chemical tests and explaining the reactions that had occurred (Shamsulbahri & Zulkiply, 2021). Students' unfamiliarity with the phenomenon creates more reason for teachers to deliver their lessons in a manner that enables students to relate to what they learn and grasp the knowledge fluidly.…”