EFFECT OF COMPUTER SIMULATION LEARNING STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ INTEREST AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN NUCLEAR CHMEMISTRY IN CALABAR EDUCATION ZONE OF CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of computer simulation learning strategy on students’ interest and academic achievement in Nuclear Chemistry in Calabar Education Zone, Cross River State, Nigeria. One research question and one corresponding null hypothesis guided the study. The study adopted a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test non-equivalent control group design with a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial matrix. The population comprised 3,196 SS III Chemistry students from 113 public co-educational secondary schools, while a sample of 139 students from 4 schools participated in the study. Three instruments were used for data collection: Nuclear Chemistry Achievement Test (NCAT), Nuclear Chemistry Students’ Interest Inventory (NCSII) and Nuclear Chemistry Students’ Achievement Motivation Questionnaire (NCSAMQ). Mean and descriptive statistics were used to answer the research questions and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test null hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings indicated that computer simulation learning strategy significantly improved students’ interest and academic achievement in Nuclear Chemistry compared with conventional teaching strategy. The study concluded that computer simulation learning strategy provides a more effective strategy to teaching Nuclear Chemistry. It was recommended that Chemistry teachers integrate computer simulations into the teaching of abstract and difficult Chemistry concepts and that educational authorities provide the necessary ICT facilities and teacher training to support its effective implementation.