Print and television advertisements in science teaching and grade 10 learners' conceptual understanding and critical thinking skills

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research focused on the effect of print and television advertisements in science teaching on Grade 10 learners' conceptual understanding and critical thinking skills. Eighty (80) Grade 10 learners from two intact classes with forty (40) learners each were chosen as subjects of the study. One class was exposed to traditional method (control group) and the other was exposed to instructional method using print and television advertisements (experimental group). The control and experimental groups were identified through a toss-coin method. This pretest-posttest method of research utilized researcher-made tests in conceptual understanding (50-item two-tier multiple choice test) and in critical thinking skills (60-item multiple choice test). The statistical tools used were mean and standard deviations for descriptive analysis, and t-test for independent samples and Pearson's product-moment correlation for inferential analysis. Inferential statistics was set at 0.05 alpha level of significance. The findings showed that learners' conceptual understanding and critical thinking skills in the traditional method and instructional method using print and television advertisements were both low before the intervention was made. After the intervention, the level of conceptual understanding of learners exposed to instructional method using print and television advertisements improved from low to high level while that of the learners exposed to the traditional method also improved slightly from low to average level. Moreover, the learners' critical thinking skills exposed to instructional method using print and television advertisements increased from low to high level while that of those exposed to the traditional method also improved a little from low to average. No significant differences existed in conceptual understanding and critical thinking skills of the Grade 10 learners before exposure to instructional method using print and television advertisements and traditional method. However, significant differences were noted in conceptual understanding and critical thinking skills of the Grade 10 learners after exposure to instructional method using print and television advertisements and traditional method. The instructional method using print and television advertisements was better than the traditional method of science teaching in improving the Grade 10 learners' conceptual understanding and critical thinking skills in science. Moreover, the study revealed significant differences in the mean gain scores in conceptual understanding and critical thinking skills of Grade 10 learners exposed to instructional method using print and television advertisements and traditional method. Science teaching using print and television advertisements is a good alternative to the traditional method in enhancing the Grade 10 learners' conceptual understanding and critical thinking skills. Finally, significant relationship existed between the conceptual understanding and critical thinking skills of grade 10 learners exposed to instructional method using print and television advertisements and traditional method. Learners with high conceptual understanding also had high critical thinking skills. Administrators/principals of educational institutions may encourage classroom science teachers to use print and television advertisements to keep on improving learners' conceptual understanding and critical thinking skills in science. Science teachers may use teaching approaches suited to the learning styles of the 21st-century learners who are generally audio and visual learners such as instructional method using print and television advertisements to develop the learners' conceptual understanding and critical thinking skills.