Comparison of learning cycle and traditional teaching approaches on students' understanding of selected concepts in electricity

Abstract

This study was purported to compare the learning cycle approach which is based on the constructivist theory to the traditional approach on senior secondary school students’ understanding of selected concepts in direct current electricity. Two intact science classes from two of the six senior secondary schools offering physics as elective in the New Juaben Municipality were randomly sampled using the computer generated random numbers to participate in the study. In all 101 students participated in the study. The experimental group consisted of 59 students and the control group had 42 students. The main instruments used for data collection were Current Electricity Concept Achievement Test (CECAT) which comprised 30 items and students’ learning cycle activity sheets. The t-test for independent and dependent samples, regression, percentages and thematic content analysis were used to analyze data. The results of the study showed that the experimental group which was instructed using the learning cycle approach performed better on the posttest compared to the control group who were instructed using the traditional approach. The results also revealed that the learning cycle approach was more effective in teaching most of the interrelated concepts and a number of different aspects of the selected concepts in direct current electricity than the traditional approach. It also revealed that the learning cycle activities were effective in identifying students’ preconceptions about concepts in direct current electricity. As a result of these findings, it was suggested that in teaching concepts in direct current electricity, the learning cycle approach should be adopted.