Investigating the effectiveness of storylines embedded within a context-based approach: the case for the Periodic Table

Abstract

We investigated the effect of the context-based approach on 9th grade students’ conceptions of the Periodic Table. Within a nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design the study was conducted with 80 grade 9 students (aged 15-16) drawn from two classes (39 and 41 students) in a high school in Turkey. The experimental group was exposed to the context-based material, while the control group was taught with the traditional approach (teacher’s explanation, question and answer, writing, etc.). The results of this study indicated that the use of storylines embedded within the context-based learning resulted in the students in the experimental group performing better with respect to understanding concepts of the Periodic Table and gaining more positive attitudes towards chemistry than did those in the control group, and this improved performance was also observed in a test taken ten weeks after the treatment. Some suggestions are made on implications for practice and learning.