ICT TOOLS IN TEACHING LEARNING OF CHEMISTRY: A STUDY OF THE IMPACT ON THE STUDENTS AT SENIOR SECONDARY LEVEL

Abstract

The present study focuses on the impact of teachers using traditional method and ICT tools on the academic achievement of the students, attitude of the students towards the subject chemistry, attitude of the students towards the use of ICT tools in teaching learning of Chemistry and the impact of the ICT tools on the written communication skills of the students. ICT tools in the present study may be understood as the application of digital equipment to all aspects of teaching and learning. Thus, the components of ICT would be video tapes, audio tapes, CDs, DVDs, television broadcast, video cassettes; computer-based learning materials, teleconferencing, video conferencing, internet, web conferencing etc. Sample for the present study comprised of students of 4 sections of class XII Science enrolled in Jamia Senior Secondary School and Syed Abid Hussain Senior Secondary School. As random assignment of subjects to control and Experimental Groups has not been applied, the present study is Quasi Experimental in nature. Of the many quasi experimental designs, Pretest- Posttest non-equivalent Groups Design was employed for the present study. The following tools were used for attaining the objectives of the study: Attitude Scales: a) Five point Likert scale for measuring Impact of ICT tools on the attitude of students towards chemistry (ATCS) b) Five point Likert scale for measuring Impact of ICT tools on the attitude of student towards the use of ICT tools in teaching learning of chemistry (ATIS). In accordance with the objectives of the study, the obtained data was analyzed using specific statistical techniques, which include computation of mean, S.D, t-test, ANCOVA (analysis of covariance). It was found from the study that traditional method must be used along with suitable ICT tool which may help in improving the teaching learning process and increasing the comprehensibility of the subject Chemistry. Thus, it was inferred that the use of ICT tools in the teaching learning of Chemistry has a positive impact on academic achievement, attitude and communication skills of the students.