EFFECT OF PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN MOLE CONCEPT: A CASE STUDY AT TAMALE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) on students’ achievement in mole concept. The study was quasi-experimental research and nonrandomized control group pre-test – post-test design. The target population consisted of students in the four public Colleges of Education in the Northern Region of Ghana. The accessible population was level hundred students in Tamale College of Education. Purposive sampling was used to obtain a sample of eighty-eight participants from two intact classes for the study. One class was the experimental group and the other the control group because both groups were within the same institution. In the experimental group, the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach was used while the Traditional Lecture-Based (TLB) method was used in the control group. The participants (students) were taught the same topic, which is the mole concept by the researcher for a period of four weeks. The instruments used in the study were Mole Concept Achievement Test (MCAT), Likert scale-based questionnaire and interview. The instruments were piloted in another college with similar characteristics and their reliability coefficients were found to be suitable for the study. Data were analysed using t-test, bar charts and percentages. Hypotheses were accepted or rejected at significant level of 0.05. The results of the study reveal that the PBL resulted in significantly higher students’ achievement in mole concept compared to the TLB. The students’ perception and attitude toward the mole concept was positive with PBL compared to TLB. The results of this study would be beneficial to integrated science and chemistry teachers, curriculum planners and developers as well as policy makers in improving the teaching and learning process and achievement in mole concept.