Effects of cooperative mastery learning approach on secondary school students’ motivation and achievement in chemistry in Bomet County, Kenya

Abstract

The teaching approach that teachers adopt is a crucial factor that may affect students’ motivation and achievement in Chemistry. Innovative and research based teaching methods that enhance effective and efficient teaching of chemistry should be used. Such methods promote cognitive, psychomotor and affective characteristics of the learners. Recent developments in science education show that there is need to expose learners to basic concepts in a given topic. This prepares them psychologically for related but more challenging topics or units ahead and ensures that every learner masters the concepts taught before proceeding to the next unit of study. In line with these developments, this study investigated the effects of Cooperative Mastery Learning Approach (CMLA) on secondary school students’ motivation and achievement in chemistry in Kenya’s Bomet East and Bomet Central Sub-Counties. Chemistry performance at KCSE level has been low and has continued to decline over the years in these sub-counties. Solomon Four Non-equivalent control group design was used, in which samples of four co-educational district secondary schools were drawn from the schools in the County. A total of 205 Form Two students were involved. Students in all the four groups were taught the same chemistry content of the topic: Effect of Electric Current on Substances. In the experimental groups, CMLA teaching strategy was used while Conventional Teaching Methods were used in the control groups. Two groups were pre- ested prior to the implementation of CMLA treatment. At the end of the treatment, all the fou groups were post-tested using Students’ Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ) and Chemistry chievement Test (CAT). The instruments were validated with the help of experts in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Management of Egerton University. The SMQ and the CAT were pilot-tested to establish the reliability coefficients which were found to be 0.82 and 0.78 respectively hence acceptable for the study since each of the values was greater than 0.70. Data collected were analysed using mean, t-test, one-way ANOVA and ANCOVA. The SPSS computer package was used in data analysis. All statistical tests were subjected to a test of significance at 0.05 _-level. The findings indicate that the motivation level was significantly higher for students taught using CMLA compared to those taught using conventional teaching methods. Students taught using CMLA achieved significantly higher scores in CAT than those taught using conventional teaching methods. However, there was no significant gender difference in motivation and achievement when boys and girls were taught using CMLA. This implies that the CMLA is suitable for teaching both male and female students. In addition, education authorities in Kenya should encourage chemistry teachers to use the teaching approach. Moreover, teacher education institutions should make it part of their teacher training curriculum content.