International Journal of Chemistry Education IJCE

Vol. 2(2), pp. 022-026, November, 2017. www.premierpublishers.org ISSN: 2169-3342

Opinion

Effect of Mnemonic and Teaching of Oxidation and

Reduction Reactions to Secondary School Chemistry
Students
*Nja, Cecilia O1, Idiege, Kimson Joseph2, Obi J. Joy3
1,2,3Department of Science Education, Faculty of Education, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria

The purpose of the study was to ascertain the effect of teaching with or without Mnemonic on the
academic performance of secondary school students in Chemistry in Calabar Education Zone,
Cross River State, Nigeria. The sample consisted of 60 students selected by stratified random
sampling method. The pretest-posttest control group quasi- experimental research design was
adopted in the study. The treatment lasted for a period of four weeks. The data collected with a
60-item multiple choice achievement test instrument were analyzed using independent t test. The
results indicated that there was a significant difference in the academic performance of students
taught oxidation reduction reactions with and without mnemonic.

Keywords; Mnemonic, Academic performance, Memory, Students Teacher

INTRODUCTION

Chemistry education (chemical education) is a
comprehensive term that refers to the study of the teaching
and learning of Chemistry in all schools, colleges and
universities. Topics in Chemistry education include how
students learn Chemistry, how best to teach chemistry,
and how to improve learning outcomes by changing
teaching methods and appropriate training of Chemistry
instructors, within many modes, including classroom
lecturers, demonstrations and laboratory activities
(Coppola, 2007).
Chemistry education is a systematic process of acquiring
the fundamental knowledge about the universe with the
indispensable richly acquired knowledge which man can
shape and reshape his/her world for their benefit.
Chemistry education is the vehicle through which chemical
knowledge and skill reach the people who are in need of
capacities and potential for development. It also
addresses the social objective of sustained development
as education is now the primary means for empowerment,
participation, cultural preservation, social mobility and
equity (Emmanuel, 2013).
Chemistry is the study of matter and energy and the
interaction between them. Chemistry is everywhere in the
Effect of Mnemonic and Teaching of Oxidation and Reduction Reactions to Secondary School Chemistry Students
world around you! It is in the food you eat, clothes you
wear, water you drink, medicines, air cleaners, you name
it (Helmenstine,2016). Chemistry sometimes is called the
central science because it connects other sciences to
each other such as Biology, Physics, Geology and
Environmental Science.
Today, every developed and emerging country needs
more scientists to achieve additional scientific and
technological developments and to maintain future
economic standards of living (EC High Level Group on
Science Education, 2007). Other voices emphasize that
scientific literacy is needed for all future citizens in order to
influence techno-scientific developments in a democratic
society for more sustainability (Burmeister, Rauch, and
Eilks, 2012) and to enable all citizens to actively and
intelligently participate in societal debates concerning any
controversial socio-scientific issues (Roth and Lee, 2004).
*Corresponding author: Cecilia Nja, Department of
Science Education, Faculty of Education, University of
Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria. Email: njacecilia@gmail.com
Tel: +2347037958296
Nja et al. 023
On this basis, it is reasonable to assume that all students
need a certain level of scientific knowledge and related
skills in order to become scientifically literate citizens and,
thus, to be able to participate in dialectical socio-scientific
discussions, debates, and decision-making processes.
This is especially important in our increasingly
technological world (Hofstein, Eilks, and Bybee, (2011). In
addition, this claim supports the idea of making science
education more effective and relevant.
In as much as chemistry education and Chemistry is
important, Nigerian students have had a persistence low
performance in Chemistry examination both in internal and
external examinations. Sakiyo and Badau (2015)
conducted a research on chemistry performance of
students in WASSC that had credit pass and obtained the
following results: 44.44%, 43.69%, 50.70%, 49.54%, and
43.13% for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively.
From the above result, it is clear that there is a marginal
decline in students academic performance in Chemistry.
This kind of performance shows that learning chemistry is
not fun rather students are running away from it.
Various factors have been attributed to students
consistent abysmal performance in school science and
mathematics subjects especially chemistry at the senior
secondary level Chief among the contributing factors being
the approaches used by chemistry teachers which tend to
make chemistry concepts to be too abstract and
uninteresting to students as well as the general perception
of chemistry topics by students ..Another being that
chemistry is generally perceived difficult to learn by
students. Thus most often, students tend to view concepts
in chemistry as being too volatile as they often are unable
to remember them (Jimoh,(2005) and Jimoh, (2003).
Considering the fact that one of the main problems
encountered by students in learning Chemistry is that of
inability to organize taught concepts in such a way as to
facilitate ease of recall, it is thus felt that one vital means
of enhancing learning of chemistry is through a method
that would aid students memory. This is where
mnemonics come in as a fun not run; in teaching and
learning of chemistry.
WHAT IS A MNEMONIC DEVICE?
The word mnemonic derives from the Greek goddess of
memory - Mnemosyne, and means "memory enhancing".
Mnemonic ("nee-moh-nick") techniques, also called
mnemonic strategies, mnemonic devices or mnemonics,
are systematic procedures designed to improve our
memory. Hence, mnemonics strategies ought to be
understood as systematic procedures for intensification a
memory. The main idea of mnemonic strategies is
application in developing better ways to encode (take in)
information, so that it will be much easier to retrieve
(remember). Therefore, mnemonic devices can be
Effect of Mnemonic and Teaching of Oxidation and Reduction Reactions to Secondary School Chemistry Students
attended as learning strategies which can often enhance
the learning and later recall of information (Guthrie, (2002),
and Mastropieri (1998). The main task in developing
mnemonic strategies is to find a way to connect new
information to information students have already locked in
long-term memory. If pupils or students make an enough
strong connection, the memory will last a very long time,
because the mnemonic strategy had carefully linked it to
things that will be very familiar according to these
procedures can be extraordinarily effective. Moreover, the
mnemonic strategies can be incorporated for the elements
that require recall, what is both advantage and
disadvantage of this method.
The vital role of mnemonics as an effective pedagogical
technique had long been established. As an example,
Butcher (2000), explains that the mnemonic techniques
had long been in use by the ancient Greeks and Romans
to improve their memory. Congos (2004), [citing a study by
Miller (1967)] asserted that mnemonics increased recall
and that students who regularly used mnemonic devices
increased test scores by as much as 77%! Mastropieri, and
Scruggs (1998), inform that mnemonics can be modified to
fit a variety of learning content and especially beneficial to
students with learning difficulties. Hayden reported of
medical students use of mnemonics in committing
anatomical terminologies to memory. According to Mcalum
and Seay psychologists believe that mnemonic techniques
are so effective in learning because they impose meaning
and structure to material that otherwise would be
unstructured or less meaningful. Among others, studies by
Wang, Thomas, and Ouellette (1992), Iza, and Gil (1995),
Hayden (1995), and Mastropieri, and Scruggs(1998) have
justified the positive effects of the usage of mnemonic
devices in facilitating learning as well as its effects on
students abilities to recall learnt facts.
THEORETICAL BASIS OF MNEMONICS AS A
TEACHING METHOD
Constructivism is a learning theory and epistemology that
has influenced much of science education lately. It states
that students construct their knowledge of the world
through their past experiences. Students do not learn
much just by sitting in class listening to the teacher,
memorizing repackaged assignments, and spitting out
answers. They must talk what they are learning, write
about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their
daily lives. They must make what they learn part of
themselves. Ausubel (1968) strongly asserted that If I had
to reduce all of educational psychology to just one
principle, I would say this: The most important single factor
influencing learning is what the learner already knows.
Ascertain this and teach him accordingly (p. vi).
Meaningful learning requires the learner to assimilate new
concepts and propositions into existing cognitive
structures. Reviews of psychological foundations of
learning and memory states: the human memory is not a

single vessel to be filled, but rather a complex set of
interrelated memory systems all incoming information is
organized and processed in the working memory by
interaction with knowledge in long-term memory. The
limiting feature here is that working memory can process
only a relatively small number of psychological units (five
to nine) at any one moment this means that
relationships among two or three concepts are about the
limit of working memorys processing capacity. For
example, if a person is presented with a list of 10-12 letters
or numbers to memorize in a few seconds, most will recall
only 5 to 9 of these. However, if the letters can be grouped
to form a known word, or word-like unit, or the numbers
can be related to a phone number or something known,
then 10 or more letters or numbers can be recalled. In a
related test, if we give learners 10-12 familiar but unrelated
words to memorize in a few seconds, most will recall only
5-9 words. If the words are unfamiliar, such as technical
terms introduced for the first time, the learner may do well
to recall correctly two or three of these. Conversely, if the
words are familiar and can be related to knowledge the
learner has in her/his cognitive structure, e.g. months of
the year, 12 or more may be easily recalled (Novak
andCaas, (2008). pp 5-6).
Ausubel (1968) theory of learning and Novak and Canas
(2002) assertion of the value of using familiar words and
concepts to facilitates meaningful learning of bulky facts
and as well as to aid ease of recall, implies therefore that
mnemonics would serve as that scaffold providing the link
between what is already familiar and easy to recall and that
which is to be learnt. This no doubt would enhance the
utilization of the retention of the knowledge for long periods
of time as long as that scaffold can be remembered.
Asides being an effective aid to learning and recalling of
scientific facts, one other significant advantage of
mnemonic devices is that they can be used in a wide array
of situations involving learning of large pieces of
information, from behaviour to academics to careers to
hobbies While acknowledging that mnemonics are
considered as cognitive strategies, Spackman(2013)
lament that the use of mnemonics fell into disuse and are
not taught in schools today. They then ascribe ignorance
of the techniques being a possible factor responsible for
lack of its usage.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research design was pretest-posttest control group
quasi-experimental design. The study was carried out in
Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. The
sample consisted of 60 Senior Secondary School II
Chemistry students from two schools in one Local
Government Areas in Calabar Education Zone, selected
using the stratified random and purposive sampling
methods. There were 30 students each in the experimental
and control groups. The experimental groups were taught
using Oxidation /Reduction reactions using the following
mnemonics:
Effect of Mnemonic and Teaching of Oxidation and Reduction Reactions to Secondary School Chemistry Students
Int. J. Chem. Edu. 024
Leo says Ger! or Leo the lion, Ger! can be used to
represent Loss of electron is oxidation; Gain of electron
is reduction.
Oil Rig: Oxidation is loss; Reduction is gain (of electrons)
Cations and anions
Cations are positively (+) charged ions while anions are
negatively () charged. This can be remembered with the
help of the following mnemonics.
Cats have paws Cations are pawsitive.
Ca+ion: The letter t in cation looks like a + (plus) sign.
An anion is a negative ion. (Anegativeion Anion).
Cation vs. anion: positive vs. negative
The t in cation looks like a plus sign: "ca+ion".
Cation is positive, anion is negative.
Oxidation vs. reduction: electrochemical cell and
electron gain/loss
AN OIL RIG CAT: At the ANode, Oxidation Involves Loss
of electrons.
Reduction Involves Gaining electrons at the CAThode.
'LOAN'- Left Anode Oxidation Negative [ on the left on side
of the cell reaction (in written form), Oxidation takes place
LEO says GER: "Loss of Electrons, Oxidation; Gain
of Electrons, Reduction".
Red cat: Reduction at cathode: An ox: Anode
for oxidation.
The word oxidant and anode, both begins with vowels.
Also, both reduction and cathode begin with
consonants.
Fat Cat: electrons flow From Anode To Cathode.
The control group was taught using conventional teaching
method without mnemonics. A 60-item five-response
option objective test (Chemistry achievement test, CAT)
developed by the researchers was used as the pretest and
posttest. The CAT items which were drawn to cover all the
sub-topics of Oxidation Reduction reactions on a well-
planned test blue-print were rearranged with its options in
pretest and posttest to have different numbering so as to
give a vague impression that the tests were different. The
reliability of CAT was estimated to be 0.68.Treatment
lasted for a period of four weeks. The first author taught
the experimental groups while the normal teachers taught
the control groups. The data collected with CAT were
analyzed using independent t test.
Findings
Table 1: Independent t test of influence of mnemonics on
chemistry students academic performance in oxidation reduction
reactions
Variable: N X- SD t-value
mnemonics
With 30 17.33 1.73
Without 30 10.20 4.41 8.26
Total 60
p>0.05; df =58; critical t =2.0
Nja et al. 025
DISCUSSION
From the analysis of data obtained, it was revealed that
students taught chemistry using mnemonics had a higher
mean of 17.33 in oxidation reduction reactions test when
compared to their counterparts mean of 10.20 taught
without mnemonics. The independent t-test value of 8.26
was higher than the critical 2.0 at 0.05 confidence level
with 58 degrees of freedom. Therefore, the null hypothesis
stating that there is no significant difference in the
academic performance of chemistry students when taught
with and without mnemonics was rejected.
Mnemonics in Chemistry classroom significantly affected
students academic performance. This research
collaborated studies by Wang, Thomas, and Ouellette
(1992), Iza, and Gil (1995), Hayden (1995), Mastropieri,
and Scruggs (1998) and Akinsola and Adeyeme (2014)
who justified the positive effects of the usage of mnemonic
devices in facilitating learning as well as its effects on
students abilities to recall learnt facts.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Findings of this study have shown that Mnemonic is more
effective at improving students performance in chemistry.
The results revealed that Mnemonic Instruction had the
higher mean score than the Conventional Teaching
method. The study showed the importance and significant
role played by instructional materials (mnemonics) on
students achievement, especially in Chemistry. They
have positive influence in achievement in Chemistry.
The reason is that Mnemonic Instruction enables students
to remember factual information, answer questions and
demonstrate comprehension. It would also provide a visual
or verbal prompt for students who may have difficulty
retaining information. Also, it influences how learners
interpret new information and decide what aspects of that
information are relevant and irrelevant. Based on the
findings of the study, it has been recommended that
teachers should facilitate the use of Mnemonic
instructional strategies in schools to enhance positive
attitude of students towards chemistry and improve their
performance in the subject. They should also include
varieties of Mnemonics into their instructional strategies to
effectively cater for the diverse abilities of students.
Periodic and regular training, seminars and workshops
should be organized for teachers to update their
knowledge on current and creative ways of making
mnemonics at secondary school level. Teacher education
programs would in the same vein incorporate the use of
mnemonic devices as one of the teaching methods to be
taught in chemistry methodology courses. It would also be
important to include the use of mnemonic devices as parts
of the contents of chemistry teacher retraining programs.
Students should be taught on how to produce their own
mnemonics.
Effect of Mnemonic and Teaching of Oxidation and Reduction Reactions to Secondary School Chemistry Students
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Effect of Mnemonic and Teaching of Oxidation and Reduction Reactions to Secondary School Chemistry Students