Concept Mapping as a Teaching and Learning Technique with Senior Secondary School Science Students in Ghana

Abstract

Concept mapping as a strategy for teaching and learning was explored to ascertain its effectiveness on students’ understanding in chemistry as studies done so far in Ghana have concentrated on only biology. The sample consists of 60 chemistry students with an average age of 16 years from a girls’ school in the Greater Accra Region. A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design with random assignment of classes to experimental and control groups were employed to examine possible treatment effects due to exposure to the concept mapping strategy. Achievements were higher for the experimental group on questions, which demanded understanding, explanation and application of concepts but not on questions that demanded recall of facts using a Chemistry Achievement Test. Both groups failed to answer calculation questions satisfactorily. This implies that it is inappropriate for teachers to use the concept mapping technique only in teaching science. Teachers must have a repertoire of teaching skills.