Effect of Metacognitive Learning Cycle on Secondary School Students’ Attitudes towards Chemistry in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja

Abstract

This study examined the effect of metacognitive learning cycle on secondary school chemistry students’ attitudes towards chemistry in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. It was guided by two research objectives, two research questions, and two null hypotheses. A quasi-experimental research design, incorporating a pretest and posttest, was used, with one experimental group and one control group. The study involved 10,755 SS2 chemistry students, from which a sample of 98 students (52 in the experimental group and 46 in the control group) was selected using purposive and random sampling techniques. The experimental group (25 males, 27 females) was taught using the metacognitive learning cycle, while the control group (20 males, 26 females) received instruction through the conventional teaching method. The intervention lasted eight weeks. Data collection was conducted using the Chemistry Attitude Scale (CAS), which had a reliability index of 0.92 (determined via Cronbach Alpha). Mean, standard deviation, and ANCOVA statistics were used for data analysis. Results indicated that the metacognitive learning cycle was more effective in improving students’ attitudes toward chemistry than conventional teaching method. Additionally, there was no significant difference in attitude scores between male and female students exposed to the metacognitive learning cycle approach. Based on these findings, the study recommended adopting metacognitive learning cycle in chemistry instruction.