UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA FACULTY OF SCIENCE ROSEMARY KUMI-MANU INDEX NO -9150130002

1. UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA FACULTY OF SCIENCE ROSEMARY KUMI-MANU INDEX NO -9150130002 SUPERVISORS PROF. JOHN. K. EMINAH DR. ERNEST I. D. NGMAN-WARA

2. RESEARCH TOPIC USING CONCEPT CARTOONS TO IMPROVE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL PUPILS’ PERFORMANCE AND MOTIVATION IN SCIENCE

3. Presentation outline • Introduction • Review of Related Literature • Methodology • Results • Conclusions • Recommendations

4. In June 2015,BBC news reported that Ghana ranked last among 76 countries in the then global school rankings on Mathematics and science. This assessment was TIMSS. Performance of JHS pupils in science has been a subject of concern among stakeholders (Eminah, 2007) Background to the study The Chief Examiner for BECE Science stated that candidate’s performance on the whole was poor. Wrong spelling of scientific terms, lack of practical experience, lack of understanding of scientific concepts(WAEC, 2014, 2015). JHS teachers have been accused of the chalk and talk method of teaching science with little or no practical work (Parku, 2012)

5. The JHS science syllabus recommends teaching strategies that will ensure full participation of pupils but methods used by teachers makes this far from practicable. It is important to teach in ways that will present science well to pupils One instructional instrument which is new in the Ghanaian educational system and hence untested is the use of concept cartoons subsumed by the 5E instructional model The 5E instructional model is a sequence of stages teachers go through to help students develop a full understanding of a concept (Bybee 2006) Concept cartoons are a new approach to teaching, learning and assessment in science created by Keogh and Naylor in 1999. They feature cartoons showing different characters arguing about everyday situation

6. Statement of the problem • Science teachers have made efforts to engage pupils through demonstrations, group work, questions and answer among other methods but these have not been used effectively making science learning abstract. Concept cartoons when used in teaching science is very effective because: • It creates an environment for discussion • It compels pupils to be actively involved in lesson • It limits undue teacher interference in pupils‘ activity • It provides stimulus for thinking

7. Purpose of the study The purpose of the study was to use concept cartoons to improve JHS pupils’ performance and motivation in integrated science.

8. Objectives of the study • Determine the ideas pupils bring to the study of the selected science concepts. • Determine the effects of concept cartoons on JHS pupils’ performance on selected integrated science concepts. • Determine the effects of concept cartoons on JHS pupils’ abilities to undertake investigations. • Determine the specific scientific investigative skills the 5E instructional model developed in the pupils. • Determine the effect of concept cartoons on the JHS pupils’ motivation to study integrated science

9. Research questions • What ideas do the pupils bring to the study of the selected science concepts? • What is the effect of concept cartoons on the JHS pupils’ performance on the selected science concepts? • What is the effect of concept cartoons on JHS pupils’ ability to undertake investigations? • What specific investigative skills did the 5E instructional model develop in the JHS pupils? • What is the effect of concept cartoons on the pupils’ motivation to study integrated science?

10. Significance of the study • The findings of the effectiveness of concept cartoons may be used by other schools in the district to enhance the effective teaching and learning of science. • Circuit supervisors may use the findings for in-service training programmes for science teachers in the district. • The findings may be useful to science teachers who would gain insight into innovative ways of teaching science to enhance effective teaching and learning of science.

11. Review of literature • Theoretical framework • Concept cartoons and science instruction • Concept cartoons and cognitive achievement • Concept cartoons and scientific investigations • Concept cartoons and learner motivation • Concept cartoons and preconceptions and misconceptions • 5E instructional model

12. Conceptual framework

13. Methodology Research design: Case study is a suitable design with action research being the research approach Population: Target: JHS pupils in Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Accessible: JHS pupils in the Okai-koi Central District of the Region.

14. Instrumentation Observation Interview Questionnaire Pre and post intervention test

15. Data collection procedure Pre-intervention activities • Diagnosing or assessing the classroom situation • Developing an action plan Intervention activities • Implementing the action plan Post intervention activities • Interview with science teacher and pupils

16. Concept cartoons

17. Concept cartoons

18. Worksheet for pupils • Now look at the cartoon together. Discuss the statements of Joris, Shannon, Tom and Judith. Who do you think is right? Why do you think so? We think that………..is right because…………… • Set-up and design: use words and a drawing to describe how you will conduct your experiment. Formulate it in a way that other children can replicate your experiment. We will find out by……. What do you expect to happen? My experiment worked if I observe that……………. • Material: What do I need to conduct the experiment? Make a list of all the material you need. • Results: Describe what happened when you conducted the experiment: what did you see? What did you measure? I saw that………………………… • Conclusion: Read again what you wrote at step 3. What did you find out doing this experiment? Did you expect this outcome? Yes/no, because………………….. • Discussion: Did things go wrong during the experiment? What things? What would you like to find out more about? I wonder if…

19. Data analysis • Qualitative data analysis Qualitative data from observation checklist and interviews were checked for similarities or differences and organized into categories and themes.  • Quantitative data analysis Questionnaire responses were analyzed using SPSS version 20 into frequency counts and converted into percentage frequencies and presented in tables. Descriptive function was used to organize pupils’ pre and post test scores into mean scores and standard deviation. The t-test inferential statistic was used to establish any statistically significant difference between the respondents’ mean scores of the pre- and post- test data.

20. Results (Research question 1)What ideas did the pupils bring to the study of the selected science concepts?

21. Results: (Research Question 2) What is the effect of concept cartoons on the JHS pupils’ performance on the selected science concepts? There was significant difference between the pretests and posttests scores. This implies that the use of concept cartoon had a positive effect on the cognitive achievement of pupils. Pupils performed better in the posttest after the intervention.

22. Results (research question 3) What is the effect of concept cartoons on JHS pupils’ ability to undertake investigations? Pupils were able to design their own investigations with the help of concept cartoons. The concept cartoons gave pupils who had no experience in designing scientific investigations ideas on what to look out for or do during the exploration stage.

23. Results (Research question 4) What specific investigative skills did the 5E instructional model develop in the pupils?

24. Results (Research question 5) What is the effect of concept cartoons on the pupils’ motivation to study integrated science? • Responses from the questionnaire showed that before the intervention pupils were less motivated but after the intervention the responses show highly motivated pupils. • Results from the observation showed that activities sustained pupil’s interest and keenness throughout the task. • Groups completed their work on time • Pupils were willing to perform more task

25. Discussion Ideas pupils brought to the study of the selected science concepts • Concept cartoons reminds pupils of their existing knowledge and enables them to express their views. The views which did not support learning of the concept were corrected through activities they performed and through discussions. • During class or group discussions, pupils had opportunities to listen to their peers’ and teacher’s explanations and built on their initial conceptual framework. • They had the opportunity to investigate and reinterpret the ideas in the cartoons (Kabapınar, 2005). This enabled pupils to correct their misconceptions and constructed the correct science concepts actively in an interactive environment through concept-cartoon based teaching

26. Discussion The Effects of Concept Cartoons on JHS Pupils’ Performance on the Selected Integrated Science Topics • Concept cartoons affected learners’ academic achievement in positive ways, pupils tried their possible best to construct their own knowledge and to make meaning of their everyday experiences. • Pupils performed better in the posttest after the intervention than the pre-test with a significance difference of 000 • The results prove that concept cartoons enhances the cognitive achievement of pupils. Concept cartoons contribute to reading and thinking skill, improves motivation, acquisition of scientific knowledge, and enhances scientific thinking and problem-solving skills (Ekici, Ekici, & Aydın, 2007; Şengül & Üner, 2010; Stephenson & Warwick, 2002).

27. Discussion The Effect of Concept Cartoons on JHS Pupils’ Ability to Undertake Investigations? • The concept cartoons together with the worksheets provided a practical means by which pupils were supported to design investigation. The cartoons stirred much interest in pupils and they appeared to focus their attention on the various concepts depicted in the cartoons. • Since the concept cartoons characters hold different views/claims about an everyday phenomenon, pupils argued about these claims using their own experiences as “evidence” and then designed experiments to support or falsify statements in the cartoons. This way the cartoons naturally led pupils to investigation (Naylor & Keogh, 2012).

28. Discussion The specific investigative skills the 5E instructional model developed in the JHS pupils The first step required students to observe critically and define appropriately their observation, think about, discuss, and modify the ways they identified and solved the problem. Pupils at each stage of the learning process developed a scientific skill which improved in subsequent lessons that followed. Skills pupils developed include predicting, observation, communication, recording, critical thinking, etc. Benchmarks for Science Literacyemphasized the importance of skills development in preparing students to "make their way in the real world. To promote such skills, science educators have recommended regular experimental work and hands-on activities (Dewey, 1916) which can be achieved with concept cartoons.

29. Discussion The effect of concept cartoons on the pupils’ motivation to study integrated science The level of pupils’ motivation increased after the intervention.It was evident that the students were more motivated to learn the topic after engaging them from the very beginning. Intrinsically they were motivated; they took pleasure in learning science, found science learning interesting and discovered how science learning was relevant to their existence. The performance of pupils in the posttest could be attributed to their level of motivation after the intervention. Students who actively engage with what they are studying tend to understand more, learn more, remember more, enjoy it more and are more able to appreciate the relevance of what they have learned, than students who passively receive what we teach them (Barlia, 1999).

30. Conclusion • The use of concept cartoons in this study increased cognitive achievement therefore it can be used as one of the effective ways to teach and learn science. • Concept cartoons was able to unearth pupils’ misconceptions during the study. It can therefore be used to access pupils’ misconceptions and their subsequent correction. • Concept cartoons in this study supported pupils to design experiment so science teachers can use concept cartoons to help pupils to spontaneously and creatively think of experiments, design and execute them. • The pupils became highly motivated and were able to apply scientific ideas in everyday life after interacting with the cartoon concept which depicted everyday situation so concept cartoons can be used to increase motivation.

31. Recommendations • This study has proved that concept cartoons can help JHS science teachers to overcome the challenge of effective science teaching. So, JHS teachers should be encouraged to teach using concept cartoons. • Concept cartoons in this study improved pupils’ ability to design scientific investigations therefore, should be used to by other science teachers to support pupils in the design of their own scientific investigations • The concept cartoons approach has been found to motivate and increase pupils’ participation and achievement in science so JHS science teachers should be encouraged to use concept cartoons to increase the pupils’ motivation to learn science.

32. References • Balim, A.G., Inel, D. & Evrekli, E. (2008). The use of concept cartoons in constructive science and technology education: “The examples about the subject of pressure” Paper presented at XIII.IOSTE Symposium, the use of science and technology education for peace and sustainable development. September 21-26, 2008, Kuşadası/ Turkey  • Birisçi, S. & Metin, M. (2010). Developing an instructional material using a concept cartoon adapted to the 5E model: A sample of teaching erosion. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching. 11, (1): 1. • Butler, M. B. (nd). Motivating young students to be successful in science: keeping it real, and rigorous. • Bybee, R. W. (1997) Achieving scientific literacy: From purposes to practices. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann • Ekici, F., Ekici, E. & Aydin, F. (2007) Utility of concept cartoons in diagnosing and overcoming misconceptions related to photosynthesis. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education. 2 (4):111-124. http://www.ijese.com/V2_N4_Ekicietal.pdf • Keogh, B., Naylor, S., & Wilson, C. (1998). Concept cartoons: A new perspective on Physics Education.33(4): 219-224.

33. The end • Thank you