Effects of Instructional Materials on Achievement and Retention of Biology Concepts Among Secondary School Students in Delta State, Nigeria.

Effects of Instructional Materials on Achievement and Retention of Biology Concepts Among Secondary School Students in Delta State, Nigeria.

CHAPTER ONE

Objectives of the Study

The study has the following objectives, to:

1. Investigate effects of the use of instructional materials on the academic achievements of SS2 Biology student’s in Delta
2. Investigate effect of the use of instructional materials on the retention ability of SS2 Biology students in Delta
3. Examine the gender-related effect of instructional materials and academic achievements of biology
4. Examine the gender-related effect of instructional materials and retention ability among SS2 Biology

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

 Introduction

In this chapter, literature relevant to the study is reviewed. Specifically, the chapter is organized and presented under the following sub-headings: –

1. Teaching Biology at Secondary School
2. Instructional Materials and Teaching Biology
3. The Use of Indoor Laboratory in the Teaching of Biology
4. Improvisations of Biology Teaching Materials
5. Science Teaching Methods
6. Academic Achievement in Biology
7. Gender and Academic Achievement in Science
8. Retention Ability in Biology
9. Overview of Similar Studies
10. Implications of Literature Reviewed on the Present

Teaching Biology at Secondary School 

Biology is a science that studies living things; which involves plants and animals. If science is defined as the study of natural world, biology focuses on the systematic study of the living world. As a result of its importance, the subject Biology is one of the core subjects in senior secondary schools’ curriculum in Nigeria. Biology is important in school curriculum and serves as a foundation to several courses and careers such as medicine, which included Ophthalmology, Morphology, and Anatomy, physiology, Hematology, Dentistry, Gynecology and so many related careers. Biology has a role to play in Agriculture, Environmental control, population control, pharmacy, Laboratory analysis and in some areas of biology such as Anatomy, Botany, Zoology, Biological Science, Genetics, Ecology and others. Biology enables one to become more aware of one’s changing environment such as effect of drought on plants, explores it and adapt to it better. Abu (1998) explains that Biology is one of the most important subjects that should be taught meaningfully by creating awareness in the minds of the learners hence the use of instructional materials or concrete materials should be used to enhance effective learning.

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CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY

Introduction 

This chapter outlines the methodology employed in conducting the study. The chapter is organized and presented under the following subheadings:-

1. Research Design
2. Population of the Study
3. Sample and Sampling Technique
4. Instrumentation
5. Pilot Study
6. Validity of the Instrument
7. Reliability of the Instrument
8. Treatment
9. Biology Curriculum Used
10. Procedure for Data Collection
11. Data Analysis
12. Research Design

The study is Quasi experimental in nature involving pre-test, post-test and postpost test on two equivalent groups designated as experimental and control. In this design, a total of 141 SS2 Biology students were randomly selected, pretested and divided into two equivalent groups, viz experimental and control. The experimental groups were then taught Biology concepts using instructional materials while the control groups were taught same concepts without any instructional materials for a period of 6 we  The two groups were post  tested and post tested for achievement and retention respectively.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Introduction

The focus of this study is to investigate effects of the use of instructional materials on the academic achievements and retention of Biology concepts among SS2 students in Delta State. In Chapter three, the methodology used in conducting the study was discussed.

The concern of this chapter is to analyze the data collected in relation to the research questions and null hypotheses stated in Chapter One. Three forms of data were collected using Biology Achievement Test (BAT) as follows:

• Pretest data, to determine group equivalence of experimental and control
• Post test data to determine achievement after six weeks of
• Post test data to determine retention of learned

These forms of data are analyzed in the following paragraphs and used to answer four research questions and their corresponding null hypotheses.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction 

This study investigates effects of instructional materials on academic achievements and retention of SS2 biology students. The last chapter analyzed the data used from the test scores and used it to test for the null hypotheses outlined to guide the investigation.

This chapter gives an over-view of the study and is presented under the following sub- headings:

• Introduction
• Summary
• Major Findings
• Conclusion
• Recommendations
• Contributions to Knowledge
• Limitations of the Study
• Suggestions for Further Studies

Summary

Poor performance of students in biology examination in West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) are of great concern to the Education Governing bodies (NTA News 2012). James et al (2000), suggested Biology Garden as a teaching strategy that would motivate students.

For learning to be more participatory and real, students should be involved in collection of specimens and handle things physically to gain real natural experience.

This study investigated effects of using instructional materials on academic achievement and retention of SS2 Biology students in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State. It also investigated gender influence on academic achievement of students. Four research questions and their corresponding null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.5 level of significance. Two groups of students, experimental and control groups were selected for the experiment using the SS2 students; the experimental group was exposed to the use of instructional materials in the teaching and learning of some selected biology concepts while the control groups were not exposed to the use of instructional materials.

Major Findings

•  The use of instructional materials in the teaching of Biology concepts significantly improves the academic achievements of students involved in the
• The use of instructional materials in the teaching and learning of biology concepts is found to be gender-friendly.
• The use of instructional materials enhances retention ability of
• Students exposed to the use of instructional materials in the teaching of biology concept generally had better academic achievements and retention ability than students who were not exposed to use of instructional materials in the experiment

Conclusions 

From the findings of the study it is clear that the use of instructional materials in the teaching of biology at Senior Secondary Schools has significant impact on the student’s academic achievements and their retention ability. It is therefore concluded that the use of instructional materials significantly improves students’ academic achievements and retention among Biology students in Delta State.

The following conclusions were drawn from the findings of the study: –

1. The use of instructional materials in teaching Biology concept increases students performance.
2. The use of instructional materials in teaching strategies enhance learning and retention abilities.
3. Students taught using instructional materials perform better than their counterparts who were taught without the use of instructional
4. The use of instructional materials has no significant difference in the ability of both male and female

Recommendations 

Based on the findings emanating from this study, the following recommendations are suggested: –

1. Instructional materials should be provided by the Ministry of Education for effective teaching and learning of Biology concepts in Delta State Senior Secondary
2. Other Stakeholders like the PTA should also make effort to provide teaching materials  to schools.
3. The pre-service teachers curriculum in the colleges of education should emphasize the use of instructional materials in Biology
4. Teachers should be fully and adequately trained to make use of instructional materials through regular workshops and seminars

Contribution to Knowledge

This study empirically establishes that:

1. Students exposed to instructional materials performed significantly higher than the students who were taught without instructional
2. There is no significant difference between male and female students
3. There is no significant difference in the retention ability of students taught with instructional
4. Instructional materials enhance students learning

Limitations of the Study

This study has some limitations that include the following: –

1. There was limited time and facilities for the
2. The School time table and activities did not give enough room for extensive research work.

Suggestion for Further Studies

This study can be extended further in the following ways: –

1. Conducting a similar study in other Local Government Areas of Delta State to find out if the same findings can be established or
2. The State Ministry of Education and Federal Ministry of Education may organize seminars for teachers and this study as pilot study; carryout similar study to propagate the effect of instructional materials in teaching Biology and other science

• REFERENCES
• Abu, A.O,(1998) Resource Utilization in Classroom “The Effect of Learning Activity Package to teach Biology at the Senior Secondary School Level of Education”. Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) 41^st Annual Conference proceeding 2000 P. 103 – 106.
• Agholar,R.N.(1993) Motivating African Girls to Science: Removing Social Cultural Barriers.
• A Paper Presented at the International Conference of Science Education in Developing Countries from Theory to Practice. January 3^rd-7^th, Jerusalem, Israel.
• Ajayi, U.O. (2004)Improving Teaching Aids in the Nursery/Primary Schools. Journal of Institute of Education, University of Jos, Nigeria.
• Akale, M.A and Usman I. (1993) Effects of practical Activities on the Achievement in integrated Science Among Junior Secondary School Students in Kaduna State. Journal of the Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) 28 (1) 102 – 108.
• Akimoyewa, J.O. (1992) Improvisation and the Effective Teaching of Technology. A paper presented at the 6^th Annual Conference of Technological Writers Associates of Nigeria. Ibadan.
• Akpochiafo, W.P. (2001)Effects of Expository Discovery and Discussion Method on Academic Achievement of Junior Secondary Schools.
• Chemistry Association of Nigeria CAN. 01(2).79-85
• Akude,I and Ofoefuma.O.M.(1990)Introducing Educational Technology to Nigerian Students. New Age Publishers, Enugu, Nigeria.

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