A comparison of student perceived control and retention with varied methodologies in a high school chemistry classroom

In this study a comparison is made of five basic teaching methods used in a high school chemistry classroom: reading, notes with lecture, demonstrations, traditional step-by-step labs, and student designed labs. The goal was to determine the retention of inquiry-based methods such as student-designed labs and to a lesser extent, traditional labs and demonstrations. Students were asked to answer a series of questions immediately before and after each activity and then again at the end of the semester. Students were also asked to rate each activity on how much control they felt they had in the activity and how effective they think it is in teaching the concept. These responses were then compared to questions that measured retention at different points in time.; Comparisons made were: (I) What activity type has the best initial gains? (II) What activity type has the best retention? (III) What correlation is there between student-perceived ownership and retention? (IV) What correlation is there between how well a student actually did and how well they perceived that they did? and (V) Is there a correlation between how much control students feel they have and their own perceived mastery of the concept?; Final results showed a statistical correlation between the amount of control a student reported and retention.