Effects of Computer-Assisted Instruction on Secondary School Students’ Achievements in Biology in Abakaliki Education Zone, Ebonyi State

Effects of Computer-Assisted Instruction on Secondary School Students’ Achievements in Biology in Abakaliki Education Zone, Ebonyi State

Chapter One

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study was to ascertain the effects of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) on students’ achievement in Biology. Specifically, the study sought to determine:

1. The effects of CAI on secondary school students’ achievement in biology.
2. The effects of CAI on the achievement of male and female students in biology.
3. The interaction effects of teaching method and gender on students’ achievement in biology.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In this chapter, literature relating to the research has been organized under four broad sections, as outlined below:

Conceptual Framework

Biology and its Roles

Biology is the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized fields that cover their morphology, physiology, anatomy, behaviour, origin, and distribution (Wikipedia, 2016). Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, evolution, distribution, identification and taxonomy. Modern biology is a vast and eclectic field, composed of many branches and sub-disciplines such as anatomy, entomology, ethology, veterinary science, mammalogy, primatology, zoology, entomology, etc. However, despite the broad scope of biology, there are certain general and unifying concepts within it that govern all study and research, consolidating it into single, coherent field. In general, biology recognizes the cell as the basic unit of life, genes as the basic unit of heredity, and evolution as the engine that propels the synthesis and creation of new species. It is also understood today that all the organisms survive by consuming and transforming energy and by regulating their internal environment to maintain a stable and vital condition known as homeostasis (Wikipedia, 2016).

Biology is a science subject taught at the senior secondary school. The subject appears to be the most popular science subject at this level. Biology teaching helps learners to understand biological concepts, principles  theories  and  laws. Biology enables learners to learn virtually everything about life. It exposes learners to characteristics of living things, mechanisms of bodily systems, microscopic organisms and their economic importance, etc. Among others,   the   objectives   of   teaching   biology   at secondary school level as stated by National Policy on  Education  (2004)  involve:

• Ability  of  the learners’  to  development  of  an  awareness  of  the environment;
• To  have  meaningful  and  relevant knowledge in biology necessary for successful living in a scientific and technological world;
• To make room for technological advancement.

Furthermore, the new biology syllabus by the Comparative Education Study and Adaptation Centre (CESAC) and adopted by Federal Government as the Curriculum and teaching syllabus to be implemented at the three tiers of the secondary school system, is patterned to embrace the evolution and philosophy of science. The major aim of the new senior secondary school biology curriculum includes;

1. To enable the students to know the meaning and have basic knowledge of biology.
2. To have reasonable and functional scientific attitudes.
3. Have adequate laboratory and field skills in biology.
4. Have ability to supply the scientific knowledge to everyday life in matters of personal and community health and agriculture.

To this end, activity based strategies (such as CAI) have been recommended for the implementation of the biology curriculum for the accomplishment of biology objectives in secondary schools in Nigeria. The biology syllabus is intended to produce modern biology course that will meet the needs of the society through relevance and functionality in its contents, methods, processes and application as well as broaden the students’ knowledge to appreciate the evolution and philosophy of the subject.

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CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

This chapter is presented under the following subheadings: research design, area of the study, population of the study, sample and sampling techniques, instrument for data collection, validity of the instrument, reliability of the instrument, experimental procedure, control of extraneous variables, method of data collection, and method of data analysis.

Research Design

This study was a quasi-experimental type, because there was no randomization of subjects into experimental and control groups. This design was chosen because intact classes which could not permit random assignment of subjects were to be used. It is also of the pre-test, post-test, non-equivalent, control group design. The design is a 2×2 factorial design. This paradigm represents two levels of treatment: Computer Assisted Instruction (experimental group) and the Conventional Classroom Instruction (control group); and two levels of gender (male and female).

Area of the Study

This study was carried out in Abakaliki Education Zone of Ebonyi state, Nigeria. Ebonyi state is bounded to the north by Benue State, to the west by Enugu State, to the east by Cross River State and to the south by Abia State. It has a land area of about 5,935 sq. km. Ebonyi State is popularly known as the ‘Salt of the Nation,’ apparently because of the large deposits of salt water in the state.

Abakaliki Education Zone is one of the three education zones in Ebonyi state. It comprises of the following local government areas: Abakaliki, Ebonyi, Ohaukwu and Izzi. The researcher chose this area because he is interested in the achievement of students from the area in Biology, especially since students from the area had not been recording good performances in Biology in external examinations. The researcher was familiar with the area and could adequately monitor and supervise the experiment.

Population of the Study

The population of the study consisted of SS1 students in all senior secondary schools within Abakaliki Education Zone. There are 78 public secondary schools in Abakaliki Education Zone (Secondary Education Board, 2016). As at the time of this study, the number of senior secondary school students in the four local government areas in Abakaliki Education Zone were: Abakaliki LGA – 8,649; Ebonyi LGA – 15,256; Izzi LGA – 12,764; and Ohaukwu – 6,902, bringing the total number of senior secondary school students in the zone to 43, 571 (Secondary Education Board, 2016). (See appendix I for detailed information).

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS

In this chapter, the results of the study are presented in tables. The analyses of the data collected from the study are presented in accordance with three research questions and three hypotheses that guided the study.

The three research questions that guided the study were answered using descriptive statistics tools (mean and standard deviation), while the null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance, using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA).

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS, LIMITATIONS, SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES, SUMMARY OF THE STUDY AND CONCLUSION

This chapter presents the discussions on interpretations of the results presented in the previous chapter. The educational implications of the study, as well as recommendations, limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies are also presented in this chapter.

Discussion of Findings

Effects of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) on Cognitive Achievement in Biology

In answer to research question one, the experimental group obtained a mean score of 20.41 with a standard deviation of 3.770, while the control group obtained a mean score of 17.87 with a standard deviation of 2.998. Comparing the two results, it is found that the students in the experimental group that were exposed to CAI in Biology achieved better than their counterparts in the control group that were taught using the conventional classroom instruction (CCI) method. The mean difference was 2.54, clear evidence that CAI is a more effective method of instruction for learners. This finding is in line with those of Afolabi & Yusuf (2010) and Anyigor (2015), who observed from their studies in Biology and Computer Studies respectively, that CAI was a powerful tool for science instruction, as students taught with CAI achieve better than those taught with conventional modes of instruction.

The result of the analysis of covariance on the achievement of students taught biology using Computer Assisted Instructional (CAI) package and those taught using conventional classroom instruction indicated a significant difference (F = 43.392, ρ = 0.000) in favour of the students in the experimental group. These findings agree with earlier findings of Afolabi and Yusuf (2010), Oduntan (2012), and Phillips and Moss (2013) which are directly on biology. Similarly, the findings agree with the studies of Ajelabi (2008) on social studies, Okeke (2012) in geography, (Udousoro, 2010) in mathematics, Anyigor (2015) in computer studies and Okoro and Etukudo, (2011) in chemistry, conducted in Nigeria which confirmed that CAI has been effective in enhancing students’ achievements in other subjects than the conventional classroom instruction. The finding is also supported by the findings of Karper, Robinson, and Casado-Kehoe (2015) on counselling education. It, however, contradicts the conclusion of Berut (2011), who established in his study that CAI has no effect on students’ cognitive achievements in Physics. It is possible to infer that the significant difference observed may be accounted for by the novel nature of the CAI settings, especially with respect to the Nigerian school setting.

Educational Implications

The findings of this study have obvious educational implications for finding useful feedback on the relative efficacy of CAI. This feedback will now provide the basis upon which biology teachers could build upon to enhance the efficacy of their instructional practice.

In general, the study revealed that CAI enhanced students’ achievements in biology. This implies that CAI is effective in increasing students’ motivation for learning. With the use of CAI, all the senses of the learner are activated, as opposed to the use of conventional teaching method where only one or two of the senses are active during learning. By using CAI, procedural, methodical and abstract things can be brought home to the understanding of the students and more so make learning very interesting and easy.

Hence, the ministry of education should think in the direction of adopting CAI for classroom instruction. The ministry of education in Nigeria should organize seminars, workshops and conferences for computer teachers on how to use CAI in teaching biology.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made.

1. Necessary attention should be accorded computer literacy and operation in the secondary schools and relevant Computer Assisted Instructional packages should be developed for use within the Nigerian school systems. In addition, Nigerian public schools should be equipped with necessary ICT facilities to leverage the potentials of ICT in Nigerian schools.
2. If computers cannot be provided for students, each classroom should be equipped with a computer system and an overhead projector for the teacher’s use. This way, CAI method will be adopted by the teacher and students for classroom instructions.
3. Further empirical studies should be carried out on the use of computer for instructional purposes, on different subjects and at different levels to provide sound basis for the integration of computer in Nigerian schools.
4. There should be computer literacy and basic skill acquisition programmes for secondary school students.

Limitations of the Study

The following limitations can be observed regarding this study:

1. The study did not examine other alternative means like Internet for delivering the course content.
2. The study was designed to focus on learning of biology by senior secondary students drawn from two public Nigerian secondary schools. Thus, the findings may not be generalizable to other public and private educational institutions.
3. The curriculum content was limited to four topics of the entire biology curriculum.
4. The use of only SS1 students may affect the generalization of the findings to other levels in biology.
5. The limited number of schools that have functioning computer laboratories made it very difficult for the researcher to use a large sample. As such, the result, which is based on the sample of the study as compared to the population of SS1 students in Abakaliki Education Zone, could not be totally free from error. Hence, the results could not be freely generalized for teaching biology in the whole state or in the entire Nigeria.

Despite these limitations the findings are significant, particularly in the use of CAI in the Nigerian school system.

Suggestions for Further Study

1. Further studies of this nature should be conducted on different types of instructional methods adopted by the science teachers in promoting students achievement in relation to CAI method.
2. Further studies on the effect of CAI method on students’ achievement in other science subjects like computer studies, chemistry, physics, mathematics and geography should be carried out.

• Studies of this nature should be carried out in different states on different levels of education.

1. Further studies that would explore teachers’ experiences and limitations for the effective teaching of biology with CAI should be conducted.

Summary of the Study

The growth and development of most nations are hugely dependent on science, technology and mathematics education. A number of studies done in Nigeria have reported students’ under-achievement and low enrolment in these subjects. This explains why some science, technology and mathematics education researchers, among others, have in recent times concentrated their research efforts on finding teaching strategies that promote teaching of science so as to increase achievements and elements in science. Consequent upon the foregoing, this study sought to explore the impact of CAI on students’ academic achievement in biology in Abakaliki Education Zone of Ebonyi State. To give a sense of direction to the study, three research questions were asked and three hypotheses formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance.

The study adopted a quasi-experimental design approach, because there was no randomization of subjects into treatment and control groups. The design was a 2×2 factorial design, representing two levels of treatment: Computer Assisted Instruction (experimental group) and the Conventional Classroom Instruction (control group); and two levels of gender (male and female).

The study area was Abakaliki Education Zone of Ebonyi State, while the population of the study consisted of all senior secondary school studentsin public secondary schools within Abakaliki Education Zone. Two local governments were drawn from the zone by simple random sampling technique. From these two local government areas, one secondary school was drawn from each by simple random sampling. These two schools were assigned to the experimental group and the control group by paper balloting. All the SS1 students in each of the two schools drawn were used as sample for the study. In the school assigned to the experimental group, there were 133 SS1 students across two classes (SS1A and SS1B). This school comprised of 65 male SS1 students and 68 female SS1 students.In the school assigned to the control group, there were 170 SS1 students across three classes (SS1A, SS1B and SS1C). This school comprised of 92 male SS1 students and 78 female SS1 students . In all, there were 303 SS1 students across the two schools. These 303 students comprised the sample of the study.

Three instruments were developed by the researcher for the study; Biology Achievement Test (BAT), Conventional Biology Instruction Package (CBIP) and Computer Assisted Instructional Package (CAIP) in Biology. The BAT was subjected to face and content validity by experts in Measurement and Evaluation and Science Education in Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. The final draft of BAT was administered to 36 SS1 students in one of the secondary schools in Onueke Education Zone of Ebonyi State that was not used for the main study. These students’ scores were used to compute the coefficient of internal consistency of the BAT, which was found to be 0.85 (See appendix VI).

All the students that partook in the study were administered the BAT as pre-test before the study and their scores were recorded. The students in the experimental group were taught four topics in biology using a CAI package (CAIP). The students in the control group were taught the same four topics in biology using conventional classroom instruction methods. The students in both groups were taught by their regular biology teachers. After this, the BAT was administered to the students again as post-test to determine the effects of the treatment on their mean achievement.

The data generated from the study were analyzed using mean and standard deviation for answering the three research questions, while analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test all the three hypotheses at 0.05 level  of significance. The result from the data analyzed showed that:

1. The students taught Biology using CAI achieved better than their counterparts who were taught the same contents in Biology using conventional classroom instruction (CCI) methods.
2. The female students exposed to CAI in Biology achieved better than their male counterparts who were also exposed to CAI in Biology.
3. There was no significant interaction between teaching method and gender on students’ achievements in Biology. The male and female students in the experimental group achieved better than their male and female counterparts in the control.
4. A significant difference was observed between the mean achievements of the students exposed to CAI in biology and their counterparts taught Biology using conventional classroom instruction techniques.
5. There was no significant difference between the mean achievement of the male and female students that were exposed to CAI package in Biology.
6. There was no significant interaction effect between method and gender on the mean achievement of the students in Biology.

Following the discussion of these findings, the educational implications of these findings were pointed out. The limitations of the study were also highlighted and suggestions for further areas of research made. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that CAI techniques should be employed in computer teaching as a means of improving academic achievements of students.

Conclusion

The results of this study demonstrated that CAI was an effective mode for teaching biology. The results were also in consonance with results of many studies demonstrating the effectiveness of CAI for better student’s achievement, in science and mathematics as done by Afolabi and Yusuf (2010), Oduntan (2012); Philip and Moss(2013) and Anyigor (2015). It can therefore be concluded that a relationship exists between the use of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) and achievements of students in biology. Results of the study showed that there was no significant difference between male and female students’ achievement in biology. Furthermore, CAI can be used as an alternative to the traditional method of teaching the various topics in biology.

It can be concluded that this study has provided strong evidence of the usefulness of CAI in teaching and learning of biology; it will therefore be very helpful if attention is paid to this study. By using CAI, procedural, methodical and abstract things can be brought home to the understanding of the biology students and more so make learning very interesting and easy.

REFERENCES

• Abimbade, A.A., Aremu, A and Adedoja, G. O. (2003). Providing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) environment for teaching and learning in the Nigerian education system In O. Ayodele Bamisaye, I. A. Nwazuoke and A.Okediran (Eds), Education this millennium: innovations in theory and practice, Ibadan, Macmillian Nigeria Publishers Ltd.
• Adeyemi, B. A. (2012). Effects of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) on students’ achievement in social studies in Osun State, Nigeria. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences.3(2), 269-277.
• Afolabi, A. O. & Yusuf, M. O. (2010). Effects of computer assisted instruction (cai) on secondary school students’ performance in biology. Journal of Educational Technology, 9(1), 34-66
• Ajelabi, A (2008): The relative effectiveness of computer assisted and text- assisted  programme instruction on students learning outcomes in social studies. Unpublished PhD thesis of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan,Nigeria.
• Anyigor, C. C. (2015). Effects of computer-assisted instruction on students’ achievement and interest on secondary school computer studies Ezza North LGA of Ebonyi State. An unpublished project paper submitted to the Department of Science Education, Faculty of Education, Ebonyi State University.
• Bello, G. (2010). Senior secondary school students’ knowledge misconceptions  and alternative conception of a major biology proposition. Unpublished M.Ed. Thesis, University of Ilorin, Ilorin.
• Berut, M. A. A. (2011). The effects of computer-assisted instruction on Jordanian college students’ achievements in an introductory computer science course. Electronic Journal for the Integration ofTechnology in Education, 5, 17 – 24.
• Bruner, J. (1966). Toward a Theory of Instruction. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

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