African Journal of Chemical Education

15^th anniversary of AJCE

2025-02-21T21:22:58+00:00

No abstract.

Effects of instructional materials on academic achievement of secondary school students in chemistry in Enugu State

2025-02-21T21:26:18+00:00

This study investigated the effects of instructional materials on academic achievement of secondary school students in chemistry in Enugu State. It covered the topic: matter. Two research questions and two null hypotheses formulated guided the study. Quasi-experimental design and purposive sampling technique were used to select 40 schools from about 50 schools in the sampling zone population. A sample of 20 senior secondary class 2B (SS2B) chemistry students of 10 males and 10 females randomly selected were employed for the study. Researchers developed Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) instrument on the topic to collect data for pretest-posttest approach. The instrument was validated by experts before it was used. The students were taught with and without instructional materials and assessed accordingly. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at the level of 0.05. The findings showed that students taught with instructional materials (experimental group) achieved higher than those taught without instructional materials (control group). It was also found that the male students performed better than their female counterparts in both treatments. The findings recommend that teachers in the field should adopt the use of instructional materials in teaching chemistry, and also work more closely with the female gender for the improvement of the students' academic achievement in chemistry.

Opioids with analgesic potential: A chemometric experiment aimed at Chemistry Education

2025-02-21T21:30:14+00:00

Opioids with different degrees of inhibitory activity were investigated by means of a chemometric experiment designed for the various levels of Chemistry Education. The crystallographic structure of mitragynine taken from the literature was completely optimized with different theories (methods)/basis sets and, through the chemometric techniques of exploratory data analysis - Principal Component Analysis and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis - the most appropriate theory/basis set for the development of the experiment was defined (B3LYP/6-31G**). The optimized mitragynine, in the most stable conformation, led to the construction of 3D structures of the other opioids, which were also subjected to complete optimizations and calculations of molecular properties in the lowest energy conformations. The referred properties (molecular descriptors) through Exploratory Data Analysis - Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) - allowed the separation of ten (10) opioids (training set) into two classes: the most active opioid class (MAO), compounds 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, and 10, and the least active opioid class (LAO), compounds 3, 4, 7, and 8. The application of the classification methods: K-nearest neighbor method (KNN method) and Stepwise Discriminant Analysis (SDA) to the training set ratified its separation into the MAO class and LAO class. The insights obtained in the chemometric treatment and chemical intuition led to the proposition of nine (9) new opioids (validation set), whose scrutiny of the constructed models - PCA model, HCA model, KNN model and SDA model - indicated six (6) new opioids derived from mitragynine with analgesic potential for synthesis and biological tests.

The Impact of Virtual Laboratory Integration on Electrochemistry Education at Enessie secondary school, Hulet Eju Enessie district, East Gojjam, Ethiopia

2025-02-21T21:41:04+00:00

This study, the Impact of Virtual Laboratory Integration on Electrochemistry was carried out in Enessie secondary school, East Gojjam, Ethiopia. The subjects 97 grade 10 students were taught the basics of electrochemistry. They were randomly assigned to a control group (47) and an experimental group (50). The experimental group received computer-animated teaching whereas the control group was taught using traditional lecture method on the same topics. The questionnaire analysis indicates that students in the Control group believed that the traditional lecture method with emphasis on explaining simple facts as the most important aspect to enhance their understanding of electrochemistry concept. Students in the experimental group clearly preferred instruction supported by virtual laboratories. The achievement test instrument was administered as a pre-test and post-test. The overall post-test analyses of the results showed that t(95) = -5.128, and the sig. value is 0.00001. Sig. value is < 0.05, it can be concluded that there is statistically significant difference between the post-test scores of the experimental group and the control group. The result revealed that computer simulation was more effective in enhancing students’ achievement in electrochemistry than normal teaching method; minimizing learner’s misconceptions, enhances the conceptual understanding of students, makes teaching and learning environment more visual than conceptual so that student can better relate, provide students active thinkers instead of passive observers.

Chemistry-teacher education in Tanzania

2025-02-21T21:46:08+00:00

In science history formulae and first chemical equations have been developed during the 19^th century. In 1865 Kekulé proposed even the difficult benzene structure, afterwards other molecular structures came up with Van’t Hoff in 1874. Sometimes one can see today in different countries Chemistry education on this level of the 19^th century: only formulae and equations are taught and memorized by students. Arrhenius in 1884 developed first ideas to describe ions in acidic, basic and salt solutions, Laue and Bragg in 1912 and 1914 could finally solve the problem according to structures of salt crystals: Ions in ionic lattices and ionic bonding through electric forces have been described. After more than 100 years we should come up with differentiation between atoms, ions and molecules, and discuss besides atoms and molecules also the ions as smallest particles in our well-known substances at school. In Tanzania I could offer teacher training courses by Probono Schoolpartnerships for One World (Frankfurt, Germany, www.probono-oneworld.de) for 25 Chemistry teachers during eight years by one month in every year. So, I got the opportunity to do empirical research with the help of those teachers. Some results of empirical research in Tanzania and also in Indonesia show that Chemistry education doesn’t work well: There is nearly no knowledge about ions in solid salts, or about particles which can transfer protons or electrons by acid-base and redox reactions. Therefore, after instruction of important properties of matter in first lessons at schools, the article proposes how to introduce atoms, ions and molecules simultaneous during the first year of Chemistry lessons. These are the requisites to teach and to learn Chemistry on basis of smallest particles of matter and to interpret acid-base and redox reactions by transfer of protons and electrons. This way is well accepted by teachers and students, and Chemistry understanding will highly improve.

Analysis of grades 7 and 8 chemistry students’ textbooks contents vis-à-vis expectations for students’ involvement

2025-02-21T21:50:03+00:00

The objective of this study was to analysis grades 7 and 8 chemistry students’ textbooks contents vis-á-vis expectations for students’ involvement. Mixed approach embedded design was used. An expectation for students’ involvement analysis was employed as instruments for document analysis. Moreover, to triangulate and support the quantitative data, semi-structured face-to-face interview was used and analyzed via thematic analysis. The students’ involvement analysis showed that: the average index value of Grade 7 and Grade 8 were 0.338 and 0.4325, respectively. This value indicated that the content of both textbooks are not encouraging students to be active. Furthermore, qualitative data analysis showed that the textbooks are not in such a way to make students active and self-reliance. Therefore, every aspect of the textbooks should be organized in a manner that equips students with higher order thinking level, and active engagement of learners in the learning process.

Biosorption of mercury, lead and cadmium from landfill leachate using Bacillus subtilis

2025-02-21T21:55:52+00:00

This study investigates the efficacy of Bacillus subtilis for biosorption of mercury, lead, and cadmium in landfill leachate. Bacillus subtilis was introduced into landfill leachate in varying amounts and placed in controlled and natural environments for three weeks. Results showed that Bacillus subtilis was able to degrade Cd by 9.00 to 18.10%, Pb by 2.80 to 25.00%, and Hg by 88.20 to 90.30% when placed in an incubator. When kept at room temperature, biosorption efficiency for Cd ranged from 36.30 to 54.10%, Pb ranged from 2.80 to 25.00%, and Hg ranged from 90.30 to 91.0%. Bacillus subtilis demonstrated higher efficacy in degrading mercury compared to lead and cadmium at room temperature. Overall, the study suggests that Bacillus subtilis has potential for bioremediation of metal contamination in the environment.

The impact of simulation-supported context-based learning approach on the six dimensions of students' motivation in chemistry

2025-02-21T22:01:58+00:00

The efficacy of the simulation-integrated context-based approach (SICBA) on each of the six motivational dimensions of grade 10 students was compared to the efficacy of the context-based approach (CBA), simulation-integrated conventional teaching approach (SICTA), and conventional teaching approach (CTA) using the 7E learning model. The study employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design. A six-dimensional chemistry motivation scale was utilized to collect data from 229 students. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The results showed that the motivation of SICBA-treated group was significantly different from CBA-treated group regarding intrinsic motivation. Although the SICBA group had higher mean scores, there were no significant differences from the CBA group in external motivation, self-determination, self-efficacy, personal relevance, and career motivation. Likewise, SICBA significantly enhances all six dimensions of student motivation compared to SICTA and CTA. The study suggests that similar to SICBA, CBA can also effectively improve students' motivation to learn chemistry. Chemistry teachers can then employ CBA (with or without simulation) via the 7E model to increase student motivation.

Perspectives on the future of modern materials – A brief review

2025-02-21T22:06:47+00:00

New synthetic materials and those derived from modifying existing ones designed to possess new or improved structural or functional properties are emerging because of the recent research activities in the field. This paper provides an overview of materials science to inspire researchers in the chemical field to develop perspectives on advances in development and applications, the discovery of materials that could transform future manufacturing and innovative processing and fabrication technologies of novel materials. Multiple perspectives on characterization, materials science, materials engineering, materials technology, nature-inspired materials, materials design research, and materials waste management are presented in this paper.

Progressivism in chemistry education: Emphasizing student-centered learning and real-world relevance

2025-02-21T22:08:57+00:00

This review explores the application of progressivism in chemistry education, emphasizing how a student-centered approach can enhance learning outcomes and better align the subject with real-world contexts. Drawing on the foundational principles of progressive education, such as active learning, inquiry-based methods, and problem-solving, this review critically examines how these strategies can be integrated into chemistry teaching. It discusses the role of hands-on experiments, collaborative learning, and student autonomy in fostering a deeper understanding of chemistry concepts. Furthermore, the review highlights the importance of making chemistry relevant to students by linking the subject to real-world issues, such as environmental sustainability, health, and technological innovation. Through interdisciplinary connections, students can see the broader applications of chemistry, while developing critical skills necessary for solving complex problems. The review also delves into the theoretical underpinnings of constructivism and its impact on building long-term retention and conceptual understanding in chemistry education. However, challenges such as time constraints, resource limitations, and the need for effective teacher training are also discussed. Despite these barriers, the review argues that the ongoing adaptation of progressive pedagogies is essential for preparing students to meet the demands of modern scientific and technological careers. Overall, the review underscores the transformative potential of progressivism in fostering critical thinking, creativity, and a genuine appreciation for the relevance of chemistry in everyday life.