MISCONCEPTIONS AMONG METALWORK TRADE STUDENTS IN GOVERNMENT TECHNICAL COLLEGES IN KANO STATE: TRACKING MISCONCEPTIONS USING ChatGPT

By A. A. Njibulwa

Abstract: Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is a comprehensive term that refers to those aspects of the education process involving in addition to general education, involving the study of technology which dealt with the acquisition of practical skills, attitudes, and knowledge in relating to occupations such metalwork trade. Misconceptions tend to be stable, resistant to change, and very problematic to the students. Due to their strength and flawed content, misconceptions also interfere with students' learning of the correct understanding of technical concepts. Example, ‘Boss’ which means rounded projection on the outside of the cast metal, confused with ‘Boss’ that is principal officer in the organization. The objective of the study was: 1) To find out the mean score of rural and urban students in misconceptions in metalwork trade. 2) To find out the mean scores NTC I, NTC II and NTC III students in misconceptions in metalwork trade among metalwork trade students in technical colleges of Kano State Nigeria.Two research questions were raised: 1) Is there any difference in mean score of rural and urban students in misconceptions in metalwork trade? 2) Is there any difference in mean score of NTC I, NTC II and NTC III students in misconceptions in metalwork trade? The survey research design was use for the study. Two Hypothesis were formulated as, Ho1: There is no significant difference between the urban and rural students’ performance students in misconceptions in metalwork trade. 2) Ho2: There is no significant difference between NTC I, NTC II and NTC III students’ performance in misconceptions in metalwork trade. The area of the study comprises of 5 Senior Technical colleges of Kano State. Purposive sampling was used to select four Technical colleges. The target population of the study was 210 NTC I, NTC II, and NTC III Metalwork trade students. Purposive sampling was use to select 129 NTC I, NTC II and NTC III Metalwork trade students. NABTEB pass question papers was adopt as the instrument for data collection. The data was analyses using SPSS. The findings of the study indicated that the mean score of rural students was 6.304 and the mean score of 7.759 of urban students in misconceptions in metalwork trade. Some of the recommendation includes; Teachers should devote more time in explanations and definitions of some misconceptions so that students will be familiar with them. Students should be taught to use appropriate concept in describe and explain metalwork trade concept. Teachers should use visual representations of the words in order to assist students’ understanding metalwork trade. Tracking Misconceptions using ChatGPT as a tool to address misconceptions among metalwork trade students presents an innovative way forward. ChatGPT could serve as a powerful resource to correct misunderstandings, enhance learning, and provide continuous support to metalwork students.
Keywords: misconceptions, Metalwork, Trade and Technical Education