Effectiveness of Learning Cycle in Exploring Students’ Preconceptions on Selected Concepts in Direct Current Electricity

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of learning cycle teaching approach in promoting understanding and exploring students’ preconceptions on selected concepts in direct current electricity. Fifty-nine (n = 59) students from one intact form three (3) science class was conveniently selected from the six senior secondary schools offering the General Science Programme in the New Juaben Municipality to participate in the study. The main instruments used for data collection were Current Electricity Concept Achievement Test (CECAT) which comprised of 30 multiple choice items and Students’ Learning Cycle Activity Sheets. The t-test for dependent samples, thematic content analysis and percentages were used to analyze the data collected. Findings showed that the learning cycle approach promotes students’ understanding of concepts in direct current electricity and also very effective for exposing students’ preconceptions.