Towards Exploring Strategies for Teaching Integrated Science to Low Achievers: A Test of Efficacy of Conceptual Change Pedagogy

Abstract

The search for more effective and alternative instructional strategies has led to focusing attention on conceptual change pedagogy which places much premium on the use of students’ prior ideas during instruction. The results of some studies on the efficacy of this pedagogy seem to demonstrate its superiority over the traditional expository strategy. But while the search for enhancement of achievement in science through the use of conceptual change pedagogy goes on, there is the need to relate it to some student characteristics that could affect their learning of science. This study, therefore, sought to find out if low achievers in integrated science taught using conceptual change pedagogy will achieve significantly better than their counterparts taught through the expository strategy. A total of 100 (57 boys, 43 girls) junior secondary school (grade 8) low achievers in integrated science participated in this study. Using a non-equivalent control-group design the experimental subjects were taught some energy concepts using conceptual change pedagogy while their counterparts were taught using expository method. Analysis of data collected showed that conceptual change pedagogy is superior to expository strategy for developing affective components of learning. Implications of the study are discussed and suggestions for further studies presented.