Developing junior secondary learners’ understanding of the atomic theory using information and communications technology simulations

Abstract

The role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in teaching has received so much attention in science education research. In South Africa, the education department has pushed the digitisation of teaching through the White Paper on e-Education. However, as much as a lot has been researched in this field, there is still a gap in knowledge about developing the conceptual understanding of fundamental concepts in science through the meaningful use of ICT in teaching, particularly the use of ICT simulations. As a result, this study reports on constructive use of ICT simulations to develop the junior secondary learners’(JSLs’) understanding of the atomic theory concepts following the qualitative research. Two research questions guided the study. (i) What are the JSLs' prior understanding of the atomic theory? (ii) How can JSLs’ understanding of the atomic theory be developed through integrating ICT simulations? The study was theoretically underpinned by the Technological and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and the Activity Theory (AT) to explore how JSLs were pedagogically supported to develop their understanding of atomic theory. The researcher followed the action research approach with a group of 30 JSLs to investigate how their prior understanding of the topic developed through the integration of ICT simulations. These JSLs were conveniently sampled from a township school in Umlazi district. The results generated prior to the ICT-based intervention indicated that JSLs have a considerable number of misconceptions about the atomic theory concepts. During the intervention, the use of ICT for meaningful learning was measured through the active, constructive, authentic, intentional, and cooperative dimensions adopted from the TPACK rubric. The ICT intervention was found to be successful in developing and improving their understanding of the topic. The study concludes by recommending further in-depth research, including different forms of ICT tools across all grades to teach abstract concepts in Chemistry.