Comparative Effects of Virtual and Jigsaw Learning Strategies on Secondary School Students' Chemistry Motivation

The study compared the effects of virtual and jigsaw learning strategies on secondary school students' chemistry motivation in Taraba State. A quasi-experimental research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised 6683 secondary school two (SS 2) students and a sample size of 183 was obtained through purposive sampling where two intact classes were sampled. A total of 86 students were in the virtual learning group while 97 students were in the jigsaw learning group. Chemistry Motivation Questionnaire (CMQ) was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by two experts of Science Education and one expert in Measurement and Evaluation; all from Taraba State University, Jalingo. A pilot test was conducted and Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of CMQ was found to be 0.93. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study found a significant difference in the chemistry motivation of students in favour of virtual learning strategy (p<0.05). There was no significant gender difference and no significant strategies-gender interaction effects on chemistry motivation of the students (p>0.05). It was concluded that virtual learning strategy improves students’ motivation in chemistry more than jigsaw learning strategy. It was recommended among others that chemistry teachers should utilise virtual learning strategies (such as PhET and Labster) in providing virtual chemistry lessons for students as a means of improving their chemistry motivation at the secondary school level.

Virtual learning, jigsaw learning, motivation

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