Facilitating Academic Gains with Artifacts of Learning: Effect Concept Mapping on Performance in Cellular Respiration

Abstract

Biological concepts like cellular respiration are abstract concepts that students struggle to understand in Ghana and worldwide. Biological concepts like cellular respiration are abstract concepts that students struggle to understand in Ghana and worldwide. Research suggests that positive gains in student understanding can be achieved through interactive and visual learning tools like concept maps. With that in mind, this study explored the effect concept map formation on students’ academic performance at the Ghanaian senior high school level in the concept of cellular respiration. A sample size of 100 students were used for the study. Pre-test, post-test non-equivalent control group design was adopted for the study. Two intact classes were used in this study, one designated as control, receiving standard lecture-based instruction, and the other utilizing concept maps. After the intervention, post-test scores of the students revealed a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups. Specifically, the group that used concept maps performed significantly better than the control group, with a large difference in their scores. Furthermore, after the intervention, the concept maps allowed for specific analyses and tracking of the students’ understanding, proving its value as a formative assessment tool. The results suggest that concept mapping can be a useful tool in improving students’ performance and track learners understanding, gaps and misconceptions in biology topics like cellular respiration.