Investigation and Chemical Analysis of Iron Ore Deposit Sites and Its Application in Teaching the Concept of Mixtures in Basic Science

Abstract

The purpose of the study was on the investigation and chemical analysis of iron ore deposit sites and its application in teaching the concept of mixtures in Basic Science. A total of 120 JSS III Basic Science students were involved in the study. This number was made up of 73 males and 47 females drawn from four secondary schools in Calabar Educational Zones in Cross River State, Nigeria. Three research hypotheses and three research questions were formulated to guide the study. The instruments used in gathering data for the study were Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT) and Basic Science Retention Test (BSRT). A non-randomized pretest posttest control group design was adopted for the study. Kuder-Richardson formula 21 was used to establish the reliability of Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT). The reliability coefficient of BSAT was 0.76. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Scheffe post hoc analysis was used to obtain direction of significance. From the findings, it was observed that the chemical component of iron ore was effective in teaching the concept of mixture in basic science. It was also observed that the iron ore has significant main effect on students’ performance and retention in the concept of mixture in basic science. There was also significant difference in the performance of male and female students when taught the concept of mixtures using iron ores. Conclusion from the findings led to the recommendations that basic science teachers should explore the use of local resources materials within their immediate environment to teach various concepts in sciences and indeed basic science.

Keywords: Iron Ore, Mixtures, Retention, Gender, Chemical Analysis.

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-23-05

Publication date: August 31^st 2019