Combining Inquiry-Based Hands-On and Simulation Methods with Cooperative Learning on Students’ Learning Outcomes in Electric Circuits

Abstract

Concepts in electric circuits are reported in literature as being problematic for students at all levels of pre-tertiary education and the situation in Ghana is not different. Hence, innovative ways of teaching are being explored by researchers to remediate the problem. This study, therefore, was premised on the fact that combining inquiry-based real hands-on and computer simulation methods with cooperative learning has the potential of improving students’ learning outcomes. In all, 110 senior high school Form 2 students from two schools who participated were put into heterogeneous-ability and friendship cooperative learning groupings. Each group was taught electric circuits with the combination of inquiry-based real hands-on and computer simulation method. The aim was to compare the two groups in terms of their scientific reasoning and conceptual understanding. Within each group, the hypothetical-deductive and empirical-inductive students were also compared along the two learning outcomes. The results showed among others that the heterogeneous-ability group outperformed their counterparts in conceptual understanding of electric circuits but not scientific reasoning. Hypothetical-deductive and empirical-inductive students in the heterogeneous-ability group outperformed their counterparts in scientific reasoning and conceptual understanding. Implications of the findings for teaching and learning are discussed.