Project Material on; Examining the Limitation of Effective Teaching and Conducting Practical Biology in Senior secondary Schools in Isanlu L.G.A, Kogi State

Project Material on; Examining the Limitation of Effective Teaching and Conducting Practical Biology in Senior secondary Schools in Isanlu L.G.A, Kogi State

1.1 Introduction

Practical work is conducted through various practical activities. Practical activities have for a long time been recommended for use in biology teaching. These activities involve the learner wholly when well planned. Daba, Anbassa, Oda and Degefa, (2016) are of the view that learners tend to be more successful when they practice the subject matter through practical activities. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2017 study (Sturman, Ruddock, Burge, Styles, Lin, & Vappula, 2018) found out from a study in England that, 13 to 14-year old learners are most likely to utilize more of their lesson time undertaking science practical activities unlike learners in other international countries. Given that a large proportion of time in science lessons is expected to be spent on practical work in England, it is important to be able to justify that amount of time by understanding the challenges and benefits of the methodology. Furthermore, science teachers in England often use hands on teaching approaches during classroom instruction.

Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary (2010) defined “problem” as a thing that is difficult to deal with or to understand effectively. Oxford advanced learner dictionary (2010) defined practical as an idea, a method or a course of action, right or sensible, likely to be successful. Practical work is very essential to the effective teaching of biology in schools. Everybody will be able to participate more effectively in any life situation can speak out on questions that involve both biology principles and human welfare, such knowledge will out come not from bookwork, but from practical application of the materials learnt to real life situation. As Nigeria tries to make a mark in technical development, the teaching of biology has advocated for in recent times by the Federal Government. This is because of the realization that biology and technology where the bed rock from which developed industrialized countries of the world evolved.

All other aspects of human life revolve around science that is to say without biology all aspects of life will be meaningless. Biology is quite interesting in advanced countries of the world where practical work is given the priority and students are able to see for themselves what is taught in the class. Science and technology have proved significantly useful in man’s daily struggle to control his immediate environment and build a virile world. Specifically, Jegede and Brown (2018) opined that sound national development emanate mainly from the areas of science and technology. Okeke (2017) stated that science and technology are like two inseparable twins that mainly hold the National development and sustainability. Science is a systematic process of obtaining testable knowledge about nature and natural occurrences, utilization in careful manner of the observation and experimentation. Technology, on the other hand is the process of designing and utilizing techniques to convert resources to material object. Most developing nations as a result of visible role of science and technology now make frantic efforts to improve on the study of science and allied science subjects in their schools, for instance in Nigeria, the National policy on education stipulates that admission into the Nation’s tertiary institutions should be based on 60:40 ratio of science and Arts related subject respectively (Federal ministry of Education (FME, 2014).

The study of biology is essential for nation’s building, scientific and technological development. Without sound knowledge and wholesome attitude towards biology, the much needed and vouched technological breakthrough may not be achieved. For instance, the knowledge of biology is brought to play, in the area of manufacturing and processing industry, medicine, food production and pharmaceuticals among others. Osuafor and Okoro (2013) said that science education is imperative for useful living in any society. It is the centre for producing resources necessary for socio-economic, scientific and technological development need for advancement of any nation.

From the above, notwithstanding much has been said about factor that hinders the effective teaching and learning of biology and has caused a lot of backward and poor academics performances of senior secondary school student in Kogi State and Nigeria entirely. The implication of this persistent poor performances of students in biology due to a lot of factors created greater percentage of them to fall to get good grades that will take them to higher institution of her studies. This has been a source of problem to well-meaning Nigerians, parents, governments, researchers and science educators.

Researchers in science education in Nigeria have continued to seek for ways of improving the situation and maximize meaningful learning of biology by the students. Biology is described as a science of life and plays vital roles in the life of every human being. It is very vast with many decisions including zoology, botany, ecology, genetics, morphology anatomy, physiology histology, microbiology, biochemistry evolution and the more advanced cell biology, molecular biology among other. Apart from the interrelatedness that exists among these branches, biology is close related with other science subject like agricultural science, chemistry, Geography, mathematics and physics. Little wonder that biology finds application in many specialized areas like medicine, pharmacy, food production and processing industries, biotechnology, genetics engineering, agriculture and horticulture, agriculture and environmental protection, tourism industry among other (Osuafor and Okoro 2013).

Considering biology’s many branches and vast application in every field of human endeavor as enunciated above the importance of biology in the nations economic development cannot be over emphasized. It is therefore becomes very necessary that effort are geared towards finding a last solution to the students academic poor performances in the subject. To this end several factors have been identified by researchers as been responsible for the effective teaching and learning which definitely lead to poor performances. These includes the following; lack of qualified and experienced teachers, lack of educational instructional materials like textbook, visual and audio visual aids, laboratories, conducive learning environment, over loaded syllabuses, lack of interest on the parts of the students, poor teaching method/interaction pattern on the parts of the teachers, large class size/high teacher, family background (Nwagbo, 2011).

Ncharam (2018) has established that students inability to seat down and study, comprehend what the curriculum talked about and this highly result to poor performances in external examination. This also results to general backwardness in technological and scientific advancement. Akpan (2019) rightly documented that proper understanding of concept and concentration science related subject and this contribute to no small measure to better the academics achievement and performances of students. He went further to say that, to such students there is therefore no nature of manipulated questions that might be posed to them in that particular concept that they cannot be able to provide solutions to, since they have mastery and regular practice of the concept involved in the question. This would give the students the opportunity to think ethically, manage and use available resources within their environment effectively to develop the Nation.

 

 

1.2 Background of the Study

Science learning is expected to produce individuals that are capable of solving their problem as well as those of the society. Such individuals are expected to be autonomous, confident and self reliant. Science and technology constitute the basis of advancement in nearly all fields of human endeavors. Obiekwe (2018) reported that all is not well with science instruction in Nigerian secondary schools, and noted that science teaching lays extreme emphasis on content and the use of “chalk and talk” method neglecting the practical activity method which enhances teaching and learning. This negligence and ‘shy-away’ attitude from activity oriented- method of teaching has led to abstraction which makes the students less active and more prone to rote memorization. Based on this, the Federal Government of Nigeria is emphasizing “the teaching and learning of science process and principles which will lead to fundamental and applied research in the sciences at all levels of education” (FRN, 2014). A lot has been done to improve science teaching in secondary schools in Nigeria. In spite of that, students continue to perform poorly in science subjects, of which biology is one. This situation has created the need for more effective teaching method. It then becomes necessary to explore the efficacy of alternative method of redressing this situation. Studies have been done on science process skills, but there is no empirical evidence so far, on effects of biology practical activities on students’ process skills acquisition. Obiekwe (2018). Therefore, the problem of this study posed as a question is: which of the two teaching methods chosen (practical activity method and lecture method) better elicits the acquisition of science process skills.

According to Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary (2010) defined “problems” as a thing that is difficult to deal with or to understand effectively. According to the Oxford advanced learner dictionary (2010) defined practical as an ideal, on method or a course of action, right or sensible, likely to be successful. Practical work is very essential to the effective teaching of body in school. Everybody citizen will be able to participate more effectively in any life situation, he can speak out on questions that involve both biology principles and human welfare, such knowledge will out come from were bookwork, but from practical application of the materials learnt to real life situation.

Science is the study of the natural things around us. Biology being a branch of science involved the study of living and non living things. (Sanjini, 2011). Similarly, World Book Encyclopedia (2010), defined Biology as the scientific study of living thing. Traditionally, biology is divided into two branches Viz; Botany and study of plants and Zoology the study of animals. Some of the usefulness of biology were cited by Sarojiet (2011), as follows: it helps; (1) Scientific research and development of new tools and techniques which in variable improve the quality of our lives, (ii) Finding applications in medicine, dentistry, vetenary, science, agriculture and horticulture, (iii) Biotechnology which include fields like genetic engineering and hybridoma technology. (iv) Dealing with ecological problems such as over population, food storage, erosion, pollution, and diseases etc.

Practical biology is the scientific study of the life and structure of plants and animals and their relative environment in real or experimental set-up rather than dwelling in the theory and ideals (Opuh, Eze and Ezeagu (2018). On its preamble to the international senior secondary school certificate Examination syllabus, West African Examination council WAEC (1998: 2013), buttresses the used for biology practical in teaching and learning of biology in the secondary schools. The syllabus was designed to asses candidates in; (i) Understanding of the structure and function of living organism as well as appreciation of nature. (ii) Acquisition of adequate laboratory and fields skills in order to carry out and evaluate experiments and projects in biology. (iii) Acquisition of scientific sill example observing, classifying and interpreting biology data etc, to its previous edition WAEC Syllabus (2011), stated that great importance should be attended to experimental work and we control experiments, it was recommended that, whenever possible throughout the whole course candidates should be award of practical application of what is being studied. From the foregoing, we can understand that biology practical lesson is most essential for effective teaching and learning of biology in secondary schools. Whereas, Akinpelu in Aguokogbuo (2012), defined teaching as a deliberate effort by a matured or experienced person to impact information, knowledge, skills and so on to immature or less experienced person. Consequently, national teachers institution NTI (2010) course book on education, defined learning as the acquisition of new knowledge, ideas, skills, values and experience which enable the individual to modify or alter his action. It also involves the utilization of newly acquired knowledge or experience as well. It further stated that leaning brings about permanents change to the learners.

The nation policy or education (2014), defined secondary education, as the education children received after primary educational level and before the tertiary state. According to post primary school management Board PPSMB statistical rewards PRs (201), there are six secondary schools in Igbo Isanlu local government Area, Kogi State

Practical work is conducted through various practical activities. Practical activities have for a long time been recommended for use in biology teaching. These activities involve the learner wholly when well planned. Daba, Anbassa, Oda and Degefa, (2016) are of the view that learners tend to be more successful when they practice the subject matter through practical activities. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2017 study (Sturman, Ruddock, Burge, Styles, Lin, & Vappula, 2018) found out from a study in England that, 13 to 14-year old learners are most likely to utilize more of their lesson time undertaking science practical activities unlike learners in other international countries. Given that a large proportion of time in science lessons is expected to be spent on practical work in England, it is important to be able to justify that amount of time by understanding the challenges and benefits of the methodology. Furthermore, science teachers in England often use hands on teaching approaches during classroom instruction.

Biology is fundamentally one of the science subjects implied in this case. Conducting an observation of the surrounding and practical activities both outside and inside the classroom are necessary so as to have an understanding of the nature of science and also to motivate the learners. Moreover, Chala, (2019) posits that in countries like Greece and Ireland biology teachers occasionally use practical work, as a result of insufficient resources. However, it has been observed that even when the resources are sufficient like in Germany, the routine seems to be more teacher-led practical work than any other approach. Such teacher-led practical activities limit the interaction of learners with instructional resources. In Nigeria the objectives of studying biology in secondary schools revolves around hands-on activities and active learning (WAEC, 2014). Ackon (2014) from a study conducted in Ghana identified challenges including: time, attitude of the learner, resources and material as contributing to the minimum use of practical work in biology.

According Sharpe (2012) practical work refers to any teaching or learning activity which at some point involve the students in observing and manipulating the objects and materials they are studying. Many school science practical tasks, however, do not have this form. It is worth noting that not all practicals require to be conducted in the laboratory. Therefore, the implication is that the absence of a laboratory should not totally deter use of biology practical approach. Many countries have given attention to the effective implementation and practice of science education at their secondary schools (Beyessa, 2014).

China and India are the two outstanding countries strengthening their science curriculum standards to become economic and industrial powerhouses and in several ways compete effectively with developed countries (Daba et al., 2016). Chala (2019) observes that, many research findings in various countries continue to show that practical work is either totally not done or poorly implemented in secondary schools in these countries. The minimum use of these practical work in teaching biology might be due to the challenges teachers face in implementation. Daba, and Anbesaw (2016) from another study in Ethiopia found out that the key challenges to biology practical work were: absence of separate biology laboratory, teachers not embracing improvisation and local government lack of paying attention to school challenges.

Adherence to educational aims, develops teachers’ abilities to assess the way they teach biology through practical activities at all education levels. This in turn increases the teachers’ confidence and their ability to practice the methodology (Sharpe, 2012). Okoli and Egbunonu (2010) describes the practical teaching approach as one that engages learners in active learning process by enabling manipulation of available resources and equipment. Biology practical is the scientific study of the life and structure of plants and animals and their relative environment in real or experimental set up.

According to Owiti (2015), the defining feature of school science is ‘the practical’, its characteristics have changed substantially during the lifetimes of many science teachers. Of importance is that most learners come to the biology classroom with some significant prior knowledge of the subject as a background. Therefore, under no circumstance should learners ever be considered as ‘blank slates’, beginning without any scientific knowledge, just waiting to receive the concepts, principles and skills (Owiti, 2015).

From the study by Ongowo and Indoshi (2013) it can beobserved that practical activities are fundamental for improved learner performance in biology examinations. This standpoint is supported by Imanda, Omwenga, Andima and Obuba (2020) who posit that practical activities are necessary ingredients for active learning whereby learners are engaged through process skills. They further posit that; teachers have outcried a number of reasons that limit their use of hands-on instructional approaches in biology. With these reasons in mind yet, emphasis has been that the biology teacher should as much as possible be innovative (Ameka and Nyakwara, 2020).

1.3 Statement of Problem

It was observed that most schools rarely take biology practical which affects the students’ academic performance in both external and internal examinations which could be as a result of many factors that would be revealed in this research. Biology as a science subject requires trained technicians and the laboratory attendant employed. In few schools laboratory attendant are school dropouts no basic knowledge of how to prepare specious for biology practical. In most cases, these laboratory attendants lack technical know how to operate, maintain repair or service the few available equipment whom they broken down. According to Nwamonu (2013), students perform poorly in biology practical leading to their failure in biology examiners. Similarly, WAEC chief Examiners (1993), reported that performance of candidate in biology fell bellow expectation.

Based on the poor academic (1999) stated that the objectives of practical biology are not being realized to a satisfactory extent. He pointed out that the power academic performance in biology practical are caused by, lack of well equipped laboratory, inadequate qualified biology teachers, limited time table hours, poor observation, poor drawing and labeling and poor comparism of specimens, etc. these begin stated of affair is disturbing . The also emphasis on the West Africa School Certificate to Benin city of Nigeria also observed that the biology laboratory were inadequate. As a result the students were not adequately involved only practical lessons. The students only watched teacher’s demonstration exercise

The poor performance of the secondary school students in Biology examinations (such as in SSCE and JAMB examinations had been a matter of concern to both the government and the Nigerian society. This is because Biology is one of the most important science subjects since it deals with life and living things. In addition, a sound knowledge of Biology will prepare the student for degree programme on such vital courses as medicine, pharmacy, microbiology, nursing and many others. Despite all the efforts being made by the various ministries of Education in the country to enhance students’ performance in Biology, the problem still remains.

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The purpose of this study is to determine the problems of teaching biology practical in senior secondary school. Specifically, the study intends to ascertain:

1)      To examine the effective teaching and conducting practical biology in senior secondary schools in Isanlu L.G.A, Kogi State

2)      To highlight and discuss the relevance of well-equipped laboratory to the teaching of biology in the secondary schools in Isanlu L.G.A

3)      The differential problems of biology practical activities and teaching method on the learners.

4)      To ascertain the effect of the use of professional biology teachers (resources teachers) on the teaching of biology in secondary schools.

1.5 Research Questions

This study will be guided by the following research questions:

1.      Does effective teaching and conducting practical biology in senior secondary schools positively impacts students in Isanlu L.G.A, Kogi State?

2.      To what extent does the use of well-equipped biology laboratory affect the teaching and learning of biology in the secondary schools in Isanlu L.G.A, Kogi State?

3.      What is the impact of regular tests/assessments on student’s proficiency in biology?

4.      How does the use of professional biology teachers (resource teachers) affect the teaching and learning of biology in the secondary schools?

1.6 Research Hypotheses

For the successful completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher;

Hypotheses One

Ho: Teaching and conducting practical biology in senior secondary schools has no positive impacts students

Hi: Teaching and conducting practical biology in senior secondary schools has positive impacts students

Hypotheses Two

Ho: The use of well-equipped biology laboratory doesn’t significantly improve teaching and learning of biology in the secondary schools in Isanlu L.G.A, Kogi State

H2: The use of well-equipped biology laboratory has significantly improve teaching and learning of biology in the secondary schools in Isanlu L.G.A, Kogi State

Hypotheses Three

Ho: Teaching and learning of biology in the secondary schools doesn’t required use of professional biology teachers

H3: Teaching and learning of biology in the secondary schools requires use of professional biology teachers

1.7   Significance of the Study

The practical activities in biology are designed to help students acquire basic scientific skills and improve their performance and achievement as well. The study gives a clear insight on the challenges besetting the effective teaching and learning of biology in secondary school. The study will be benefitted to teachers and students y addressing what could be challenges of teaching biology in secondary school. The study will also serve as a reference to other researchers to promote the ideals that science is both a process and product in students by arousing their interest in practical biology work and also to motivate the parents to provide the basic requirements to practical lesson for their children.

 

 

1.8 Scope of the Study

The scope of the study covers limitation of effective teaching and conducting practical biology in senior secondary schools.  The study of the research work was specifically based and limited to some selected secondary schools in Isanlu L.G.A, Kogi State.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Problem: Something that is difficult to deal with.

Practical: Concerned with the actual doing or use of something rather than with theory and ideas.

Biology: Natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their functions and structures.

Equipment: supplies or tools needed for a special purpose

Laboratory: is a facility that provides controlled condition in which scientific or technological research, measurement and experiment maybe performed

NPE: National Policy on Education

FRN: Federal Republic of Nigeria

NRC: National Research Council

AAAS: American Association for the Advancement of Science        

SAPA: Science A Process Approach

 

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW