EFFECTS OF HYPERMEDIA INSTRUCTIONAL PACKAGE ON ACQUISITION OF PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS OF CHEMISTRY STUDENTS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Poor performance in Chemistry final examination has been variously attributed to lack of instructional materials to teach. Researches have also outlined the merits of using hypermedia to solve instructional problems in different teaching subjects. The current study developed a Hypermedia Instructional Package for teaching Chemistry in secondary schools, and examined its effects on students’ problem solving skills in Chemistry. Sample for the study consisted of sixty (60) students, drawn from two secondary schools using purposive sampling technique. Two intact classes that met the selection criterion were used. There were two groups in this study, one experimental group and one control group. Each school represented a group. Data collected were analyzed using statistics of t-test and ANOVA. The pre and post test results showed that the hypermedia package did not produce significant difference in problem solving skill of students in the two groups (t= -1.19, -2.51, P>0.05). The results however showed that there was a significant difference in the problem solving skill of male and female (F=1.74, 3.48, P<0.05). The results further showed that there was a significant difference in terms of the time of task completion (t= -20.10, P<0.05). The study concluded that Hypermedia Instructional Package does not have a significant effect on students’ problem solving. However, the variables of sex and completion time have effect on problem solving skills of students in a hypermedia instructional environment.

Keywords: Hypermedia, Problem solving, performance, Time, Procedural knowledge