Development and Validation of Word Problems in Chemistry Gas Concepts

Abstract

Real world problems promote criticalthinking and problem-solving skills (Duch etal. 2001). As such, science teachers shouldnot only be concerned with teaching scienceprinciples, but more importantly, with realworldapplications of these science concepts.Teachers face the challenge to designsample problems that involve real life situationswith sufficient complexity to engage thestudents in problem-based learning. Problemsolving in Chemistry require students tomodify and adapt theoretical models to solveword problems, which include invention ofthe solution, rather than direct use ofprescribed sequence of steps.This paper presents the results of astudy on word problems that utilized theInput-Process-Output model of instrumentdevelopment. The word problems developedinvolve concepts on gases for the third yearhigh school students. The study used focusgroup discussion (FGD) to obtain in-depthinformation on concepts and perceptions ofhigh school science and mathematics teachersabout word problems. Based on thesediscussions, thirty five (35) word problemswere constructed integrating various cartooncharacters depicting real life situations. Theresults of the study show that word problemscontaining illustrations of and story linesabout cartoon characters appeal to students.They also generate enthusiasm and enjoymentamong the students while on-task.Qualitative evaluation involving high schooland college Chemistry teachers showed thatthe developed word problems were valid interms of content and structure. Reliability(Cronbach alpha) was found to be 0.870.Readability was established by conducting try-outs among students. Evaluation resultsindicate that the developed word problemswere perceived by the readers as appropriatefor the reading level of the students.