Enhancing Class IX Students Participants in Group Work in Chemistry

Abstract

This action research has investigated ways to enhance students’ participation in group work in chemistry. It is observed that Bhutanese students participate minimally in group activities especially in science. Most   Bhutanese students shy away from participating or interacting in the classroom. To enhance participation and interaction, the curriculum experts developed the curriculum considering the need of every students in Bhutan in science. Research in Bhutan found out that heterogeneous grouping is an effective way to maximize students’ success and collaborative learning is effective for meaningful learning and in solving problems. Some researchers found that in Bhutan science subjects are seen as difficult for both students and teachers. Through our experience of being science student, we saw that many students do not like to study Chemistry because they believe it is a difficult subject. Aim of this study is to identify effectiveness strategies that teacher can use to enhance students’ participation in group work in Chemistry. This study was carried out with class IX students of Taktse Central School. We collected our data through observation and questionnaire. A tally was used to record their participation in the group such as the frequency volunteering to do presentation and taking initiatives in the group work. The data collection also involved survey questionnaire which consist of open ended questions.  Baseline data was collected and analyzed after which intervention strategies, such as allocation of group members and cooperative-learning methods was applied. After two months of the intervention process, post-intervention data was collected, analyzed and compared with the baseline data. The findings from this two sources reveal that students are more open for discussion and participation after the intervention process, and their initiative, contribution and understanding of contents increased. We were impressed by some student, who were usually quiet, shy and unsociable themselves to the teacher, became so close with us toward the end of our academic session.