The effect of ICT-based criterion-referenced instruction on student achievement in certain reasoning skills

النوع : Mémoire

Science education research proved that the conventional lecture-oriented instruction fails to produce higher order biology learning (Kumar & Zayapragassarazan, 2012). Consequently, requests for reform in science teaching methods favoring student-centered learning pedagogy increased (Michael, 2006). This action research was performed in March, 2014, in a school (school X) in the Aley region on grade ten students (N-13). Its purpose is to study the effect of ICT-based criterion-referenced instruction on students’ achievement in certain science reasoning skills: table analysis, graph analysis and hypothesis formulation. It also aims to determine if this method increases boys and girls achievement equally in these reasoning skills. This action research comprised a pre-test, a two-hour treatment, and a post-test. Findings proved the significant effect of ICT-based criterion-referenced instruction on increasing students’ achievement in several science reasoning skills: graph analysis and hypothesis formulation on students of grade ten in school X. Results showed that ICT-based criterion-referenced instruction increased the achievement of girls but did not increase the boys’ achievement in the applied intervention.