PROBLEM-SOLVING DIFFICULTIES EXPERIENCED BY NIGERIAN STUDENTS OF SCHOOLS OF BASIC STUDIES IN MECHANISTIC ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

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dc.contributor.authorSHAIBU, AMOS A.M.
dc.date.accessioned2014-02-11T10:09:35Z
dc.date.available2014-02-11T10:09:35Z
dc.date.issued1987-10
dc.descriptionA thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Chemical Education Sector, School of Chemical Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich ENGLAND October, 1987en_US
dc.description.abstractThis study concerns an investigation into the difficulties that the students of Schools of Basic Studies in Nigeria experience when they solve problems in mechanisms of organic reactions. It is basically an analysis of their conceptual and strategic or procedural difficulties in the area specified. The Schools offer pre-degree (A-level standard) courses, preparatory to university entry. The sample comprised 190 students drawn from 5 out of the 13 colleges in the country. Their average age was 18.5 years. They were well motivated. The study had two major components: (a) Diagnosis, which focused on probing the nature and causes of the difficulties. It comprised three parts: (i) The preliminary part, which is dealt with in chapters 1 and 2. It involved a preliminary survey to establish and define the research problem, and the review of relevant literature that paved the way for the development and design of research instruments, (ii) Part 1A, covered in chapters 3-6, describing the paper-and-pencil method used to investigate the difficulties, (iii) Part IB, covered in chapters 7-9, in which protocol analysis (referred to as TAPS) is used for probing the thought-processes that underlie the students' problem solving behaviour observed in part 1A. (b) Remediation: This is dealt with in chapters 10-11, describing a remedial programme aimed at reducing the students' difficulties identified in part I of the study. Chapter 12 is an overall conclusion of the study. The results from the study showed that: (a) The students possessed the requisite chemical knowledge required for solving the problems posed. (b) They were, however, unsuccessful in solving the problems. Some of the reasons are: (i) They lack functional understanding of the chemical concepts which they have acquired, (ii) They lack the requisite strategies for solving the problems. (c) There is a positive, but low correlation (r = 0.45) between the students' reservoir of chemical knowledge and their ability to utilise the knowledge in solving problems requiring them as pre-requisites. (d) The students' reservoir of chemical knowledge is not a reliable guide for predicting their ability to solve problems requiring such knowledge as pre-requisites. (e) The focus of the students' ideas about organic reactions revolve around the concepts of charge and the electrostatic attractions between oppositely-charged species. (f) The students have a number of chemical misconceptions which contributed to their failure in solving the problems. These include: (i) the electronic nature of covalent bonding. (ii) the processes of bond-breaking and bond-making and the accompanying structural changes as reactants are converted to products. (iii) formal and partial charge symbolisms. (iv) curved arrow formalisms. (v) common technical terms frequently used (by teachers and in texts) to convey chemical ideas. (g) The male students performed significantly better than the female students, even though, there seemed to be no significant difference in their possession of chemical knowledge (h) The students problem solving approach did not show any clear and/or consistent pattern that could be used to classify their strategies into any formal categories. They were characterised by a random, trial-and-error search for solutions. (i) The "structured text" remedial programme represents an effective method of improving the problem solving capability of the students. The limitations of the study are outlined, its implications for curriculum design and instruction in Nigeria highlighted, and suggestions for direction of further research are made.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1117
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subjectPROBLEM,en_US
dc.subjectSOLVING,en_US
dc.subjectDIFFICULTIES,en_US
dc.subjectEXPERIENCED,en_US
dc.subjectNIGERIAN,en_US
dc.subjectSTUDENTS,en_US
dc.subjectSCHOOLS,en_US
dc.subjectBASIC,en_US
dc.subjectSTUDIES,en_US
dc.subjectMECHANISTIC,en_US
dc.subjectORGANIC,en_US
dc.subjectCHEMISTRY,en_US
dc.titlePROBLEM-SOLVING DIFFICULTIES EXPERIENCED BY NIGERIAN STUDENTS OF SCHOOLS OF BASIC STUDIES IN MECHANISTIC ORGANIC CHEMISTRYen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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