Effect of Learning Outside the Classroom on Students’ Academic Achievement in Chemistry in Secondary Schools in Port-Harcourt Metropolis

Science education

The study was carried out to ascertain the effect of learning chemistry outside the classroom on students’ academic achievement in secondary schools in Port Harcourt. The study was guided by three objectives, three research questions and two hypotheses. Two research designs were used which include: descriptive survey design and quasi-experimental design. The sample for the study was 259 students and teachers comprising 14 teachers and 245 students purposively selected. Two instruments were used for data collection. These were a structured questionnaire titled, “Learning Outside the Classroom in Chemistry Questionnaire.” And a Chemistry Achievement Test. The instrument was validated by three experts and with a reliability coefficient of 0.79 obtained using test retest method for the chemistry achievement. A total of 259 copies of the instrument were distributed to the research participants and a total of 235 were retrieved and used for data analysis. Frequency, counts, percentages and Mean were used to answer the research questions while t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study showed that Teachers engaged students in learning outside of the classroom through mediums such as field trips and excursion. The result also showed that learning outside classroom enhanced students’ academic achievement. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Students should be exposed to other informal mediums of learning outside classroom such as parents using their work activities related to chemistry and adventure camps. It was also recommended that Seminars and Workshops should be organized to equip teachers with skill and knowledge of how to employ the method for teaching and learning of chemistry and other science subjects.

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