TEACHING FRUITS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS USING REALIA AND CHARTS AND STUDENTS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY IN UYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
ABSTRACT
This study was design to investigate the Effect of Teaching fruits in senior secondary schoolsusing Realia and chart and students’ academic performance in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. One school out of 15 public secondary schools in the Local Government Area was selected for the study. The population size was 2750 while the sample size was 100 Senior Secondary 2 (SS 2) Biology students. Quasi experimental research design was adopted for the study. The relevant data was collected using a researcher made Biology Achievement Test (BAT) with a reliability coefficient of 0.76. Analysis was carried out using the independent t-test. Three research questions were posed while three research hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance to guide the study. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the mean achievement scores of experimental and control groups. And also there was a significant difference between the mean achievement scores of students by their ability levels. It was recommended among others that Biology teachers should make deliberate effort to teach with real objects.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is written under the following subheadings; Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the Study, Research Questions, Research Hypotheses, Significance of the Study, Delimitation of the Study, Limitation of the Study, and Definition of Terms.
1.1 Background of the Study
Education is the most effective instrument for positive change and development of the society and the individuals (Archibong, 2008). It has been given particular consideration by many societies, worldwide. In Nigeria, it is an instrument “par excellence” for effecting national development (NPE, 2005). Farrant (1981) describes education as the total process of human learning by which knowledge is impacted, facilitates, trained and skills developed. Education therefore frees man from his illusions and helps him to identify himself with his environment.
In Nigeria, the realization of the need for a more meaningful and relevant education for development and self reliance is evident in the formation of the National Policy on Education as well as the production of innovative curricula materials for school (Peter, 2009). The science curricula, specifically biology curriculum for senior secondary schools were one of such curricula. According to Hornby (2002), science is the knowledge about the structure and behavior of natural and physical world based on facts that can be proved. To a scientist, science is an intellectual activity through which man seeks to understand nature. The science teacher conceives sciences as an organized body of knowledge in form of concepts, laws and theories. But to a layman, science is more or less everything that has made life more comfortable for man. Any of those views of science is misleading as neither the scientific activities which includes formulating hypothesis, designing experiment and synthesizing theories nor the viewing of science has merely an accumulation of facts or body of knowledge typifies scientific enterprise. Science is defined as activities cumulating into a testable and verifiable body of knowledge (Abdulahi, 1992). Science has been and would continue to be of tremendous importance because of its ability to explain many natural occurrences and the central role it plays in the world’s current technology development (Olayiwola, 2014).
Ajaja (2007) identified the objectives of teaching science to include; knowledge of science academic discipline to acquire the skills of scientific method, having clear explanations for social issues through increasing interest in science literacy and societal goals, for personal needs and for career awareness. Biology is one of the science subjects that are offered at the secondary school educations cycle in Nigeria. The knowledge of biology contribute a lot to scientific literacy so that people can understand the world around them and enable them to make informed choices about their health care, the environment and the society in which they live (Karan, 2008).
The term biology is derived from two Greek words “bios” and “logos” which mean life and study respectively. Victoria (2015) noted that biology is a natural science subject consisting of microscopic organisms in the biosphere. It is therefore the study of living things (plant and animals). It has become the central intellectual discipline especially in the aspect of biotechnology and it is indispensible in helping individuals to think more clearly aout the values involved in this fast changing world (Thieman and Palladino, 2008). According to the National Policy on Education (2013), Biology is an elective science subject to e chosen from physics, chemistry or health science. Inspire of the popularity attached in biology and its application to everyday life, the performance of students in the subject has been consistently poor (Ige, 2001).
The growing incidence of failure in biology rating performance in both Senior School Certificate Examination (WAEC 2004-2008) and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB 2004-2008) were recognized by poor state of resources for teaching and learning biology and the environment under which biology take place. Another reason for the poor performances is the abstraction and processes involved in some topics that are not physically observable (Locke and McDenald, 2005; Ruryong, 2004). Thus to acquire any successful teaching and learning process, it is necessary that every teacher should decide on the appropriate instructional strategies in collaboration with good instructional materials (Kichin, 2008).
Instructional materials play a very important role in the teaching and learning processes. It enhances the memory level of the students. At this time that education has spreads wide and entirely, oral teaching cannot be the key to successful pedagogy; therefore the teacher has to use instructional materials to make teaching and learning process interesting (Nichulls, 2003; Rad, 2006). According to Abdullahi (2010), instructional materials are tools locally made or imported that help to facilitate the teaching/learning process. In teaching biology more effectively and meaningfully, the use of resource material teaching aid are effective but according to Abu (1998), mere use of the materials does not guarantee effective communication in teaching. It is therefore the proper useful selection and skillful handling by the teacher that renders its usefulness in facilitating learning indicated in the studies of (Ohnson, 1991) and Eshiet (1996). In Education, realia are objects from real life used in classroom instruction by educators to improve students understanding of other cultures and real life situations. Researchers and educationist maintain that no other group of teaching aids could compete with realies (real objects) in fascinating learning and retention of concepts learnt (Gbamanja, 2008).
According to Eshiet (2004) the best approach in teaching of a particular concept or phenomenon is the presentation of the real objects in the learning units as teaching facilities such as real specimen of plants and animals. Teacher uses instructional charts to stimulate and record student prior knowledge, experience and attitudes about a topic and to encourage further questions about it. It helps to raise learning from verbalization to practical aspect of teaching and learning. Instructional chart are often used to ease understanding of large quantities of data and the relationships between parts of the data.
Realia and charts are often used to ease understanding, fosters academic achievement of learners at all ability levels. Thus, the teaching of biological concepts like fruits should emphasize the use of realia and charts because it stimulates students desire to learn, equally assist the student learning processes by making assimilation and memorization. It makes materials easy and help to hold attention as well as longer retention of information (Urom, 2010). But the problem in many secondary schools is that some instructors continue to teach with traditional methods of instructions such as lecture and note taking without making use of appropriate instructional materials that can stimulate students desire to learn. It is in line with this background that this study attempts to examine the rationale for teaching fruits in secondary school using realia and charts and academic achievement in Biology in Uyo, Nigeria.
TEACHING FRUITS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS USING REALIA AND CHARTS AND STUDENTS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY IN UYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
