Effect of Improvisation of Instructional Materials for Biology Instruction in Senior Secondary Schools
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of improvisation of instructional materials for biology instruction in senior secondary schools. This study specifically will determine:
- Effect of students improvised instructional materials and conventional materials on students’ mean achievement scores in Biology
- Influence of gender on students’ means achievement scores in biology when taught using students improvised instructional materials
- Influence of school location on students’ means achievement scores in biology when taught using students improvised instructional materials
- Interaction effects of material and gender on students’ mean achievement scores in biology
- Interaction effect of material and location on students’ means achievement scores in biology
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
IMPORTANCE OF SCIENCE (BIOLOGY) TEACHING IN SCHOOLS
It is a well-known issue today that science influences man in all aspects of life including feeding, clothing, shelter, health care, communication, transportation, space exploration, as well as leisure. Ayodele,(2000) and Elechi, (2010) inferred that the most obvious effect of science has been its medical and technological applications, with the accompanying effects on health care, lifestyles, and social structures. Science also influences culture in many modern societies by playing a major role in shaping cultural world views, concepts, and thinking patterns (Abimbola, 1998). It is important to note that science is useful in the world today. Almost all aspects of man’s life are influenced by science either directly or indirectly (Eze, 2003). Man needs to be scientifically literate to exist comfortably in his environment. This informs the need for inclusion of scientific literacy in the goals of education in Nigeria (FME, 2008). The relevance of science in development of the nation cannot be over emphasized. Scholars (Ajayi, 2008), agreed that the growth of any nation to the standard of the 21st century technology should be anchored on the scientific based knowledge of her subjects. The growth of any nation is a measure of its advancement in science. Science is a major subject taught in schools all over Nigeria, and any nation that hopes to develop must not neglect the teaching of science in its schools (Fakorede, 1999). One of such science subjects is Biology. Biology can be defined as the science of life (Ogunleye, 2002). It is a science subject offered in all the senior secondary schools in Nigeria, which is compulsory for both the science, and Arts oriented students. Odogwu (1998) pointed out that, the teaching of biology is important because, it equips the students to comprehend the world around them and equips them with necessary skills to build a progressive society. Similarly, Odogwu (1998) observed that, biology provides a platform for teaching students the ability to apply learning of science concepts and principles in solving everyday’s problems. Biology remains one of the basic sciences whose teaching and learning is universally known to be efficient and successful, if only undertaken simultaneously with the help of adequate instructional resources and facilities. Biology plays a vital role in the field of biochemistry, medicine, physiology, ecology, genetics, and molecular biology and as such, biology has been made a central focus in most human activities including being a solution to the problem of food scarcity, health, hygiene, family life, poverty eradication, management and conservation of natural resources, biotechnology, ethics, various social vices and as well lack of appropriate infrastructural materials.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought effect of improvisation of instructional materials for biology instruction in senior secondary schools
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information effect of improvisation of instructional materials for biology instruction in senior secondary schools. 200 staff of selected secondary schools in Akwa ibom state was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.
A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain effect of improvisation of instructional materials for biology instruction in senior secondary schools. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of improvisation of instructional materials for biology instruction in senior secondary schools
Summary
This study was on effect of improvisation of instructional materials for biology instruction in senior secondary schools. Five objectives were raised which included: Effect of students improvised instructional materials and conventional materials on students’ mean achievement scores in Biology, Influence of gender on students’ means achievement scores in biology when taught using students improvised instructional materials, influence of school location on students’ means achievement scores in biology when taught using students improvised instructional materials, interaction effects of material and gender on students’ mean achievement scores in biology, interaction effect of material and location on students’ means achievement scores in biology. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff of selected secondary schools in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made principals, vice principals administration, senior staff and junior officers were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
From the results obtained in the study on the effects of improvisation of instructional materials for biology instruction in senior secondary schools, it was found that students taught biology using improvised instructional materials performed better than students taught using conventional material; male students did not perform better than their female counterparts in Biology; rural students performed better than urban students in biology; The results do not suggest ordinal interaction effect between mode of method and gender on students’ achievement in biology. This was because at all the levels of gender, the mean scores were higher for student’s improvised instructional material; the result suggests ordinal interaction effects between modes of method and location on students’ achievement in Biology; this was because at all the levels of location, the mean scores were higher for student’s improvised instructional material compared to conventional materials with lower mean scores; there was significant difference in the mean score of students taught using students improvised instructional material and those taught using conventional instructional materials; there was no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students in biology; there was significant difference in the mean achievement scores of urban and rural students in biology; The interaction effect of method and gender on students mean achievement scores in Biology was, therefore, not statistically significant. The interaction effect of method and location on students’ mean achievement scores in Biology was, therefore, not statistically significant.
Recommendation
Based on the findings of this study, and their implications, the following recommendations are made.
- The teaching of Biology in secondary school should be conducted in a manner that students will effectively understand and learn the concept taught. It should be practical as the use of improvised instructional materials has play greater role in students’ achievement.
- Teacher should try to improvise instructional materials and encourage students to do the same. This will gives students enough understanding of Biology concepts as the child’s local environment will be use to source for the materials.
- There should be cordial relationship between policy makers and schools for the provision of essential resource materials, like laboratory, glass wares, reagents, microscope, burner, etc.
REFERENCES
- Abimbola, I. O. (1998). Teachers’ perception of important and difficult contents. Journal of Functional Education. 1( 1) 10 – 12.
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- Achor, E. E., Tanngahar, B.A. & Musa, S.A. (2011). Relative efficacy of improvised and manufactured analogue voltmeters in the teaching of voltage measurements in secondary school physics. African Journal of Science, Technology and Mathematics Education. Retrieved October 5, 2009 from http://www.americanjournalofpsychologicalresearch.com
- Adeyemi, A. and Olaleye, A. (2010). Effect of Students’ Involvement in the Production of Instructional Materials on their Academic Performance in Biology. Retrieved October 20, 2010 from http://www.ladb.org/3ds/doc/educationandtechnology2
- Adipere, E. (2010). Sustainable Agriculture, Salvage to Economic Crises: The Role of Biology Teachers. STAN 51st Annual Conference Proceeding. HEBN Publishers Plc.
