THE IMPACT OF CONTEXT BASED ACTIVITIES ON THE CONCEPT OF CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM ON GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND ATTITUDE: THE CASE OF BORENA PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the impact of context-based activities in teaching Grade 11 students’ achievement and attitude on the concept of chemical equilibrium as compared to the usual teaching approach. A quasi-experimental research design was used. The study group consisted of 91 students in eleventh grade at a public school (47 for the experimental and 44 for the control group). Chemical equilibrium achievement test (CEAT) and written questionnaire (WQ) were used for quantitative data collection (as a per- and post-test). The researcher used a convenience sampling technique to select sample students from the targeted school. Also, he employed systematic observation and interviews to collect insight data from the participants of the study about the approach. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques revealed that experimental group students have a positive attitude towards CBA instructional method and have good achievement. These showed that CBA provided genuine applications of chemistry topics, formed relations between chemistry and daily life, concretized chemistry concepts, made concepts highly memorable, and learning enjoyable in the courses. In summary and results showed that CBA, compared to traditional instruction, enabled students to learn chemical equilibrium concepts more effectively