Effects of Computer Assisted Simulation Instruction on Secondary School Students’ Retention in Chemistry in Awka Education Zone in Anambra State

This study examined the effect of computer assisted simulation instruction on senior secondary school students’ retention in Chemistry in Awka Education Zone of Anambra State. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study at 0.05 level of significance. Quasi-experimental design was adopted, with a population of 4,755 SS1 Chemistry students. A sample size of 160 SS1 students consisting of 82 males and 78 females were selected using multi-stage sampling techniques. Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) consisted of 50 test items was used for data collection. The instrument was subjected to face and content validation. The reliability of the instrument was carried out by the researcher with students who were not part of the study. Reliability co-efficient of 0.76 was obtained for CAT using Kuder-Richardson (KR-20) formula. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviations and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results showed that students taught Chemistry using computer assisted simulation instruction performed better than those taught using lecture method. Findings also showed no significant difference in the performance of male and female students’ retention in Chemistry. Based on the findings it was recommended that computer assisted simulation instruction (CASI) be used in teaching Chemistry and other subjects.