Investigating students' conceptions on phases of water using web-based computer animations

• Main Author: Bonus, Maria Theresa B.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2010
• Subjects: Water; Science—Study and teaching; Chemistry
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/6638; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_masteral/article/12902/viewcontent/CDTG004887_P.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study investigated the pre- and post-intervention conception of third year high school students on the particulate nature of matter in the context of phases of water. It determined the students’ conception and level of conceptual understanding on the following: (a) arrangement and motion of molecules, (b) composition, mass and size of molecules, and (c) phase and phase changes before and after instruction. It also determined the change of students’ conceptual understanding after instruction. Worksheets and Conceptual Understanding Test (10-item two tiered test) were used to determine the pre-and post-conceptions of the students respectively. Research results showed that computer animation which was used as a tool in the constructivist approach of teaching phases of water is effective in enhancing students’ conceptual understanding. Gain score analysis result showed that there was a significant difference between the scores obtained by the students before and after instruction. In the conceptual change results, on the average, 23.39% of the students had unchanged conception; 72.39% had changed for the better; and 5.22% had regression. Furthermore, the overall mean value (4.04) obtained from the Learning Environment Survey indicated that students as a whole perceived that their class was constructivist in nature throughout the intervention period.