Project Abstract

<p>&nbsp;               <b>ABSTRACT&nbsp;</b></p><p>The study was designed and conducted to determine the effectiveness of the Learning Activity Package (LAP) in influencing students‟ achievement and retention in Senior Secondary School Biology. Eight research questions and eight null hypotheses guided the study. A Quasi-Experimental Pre-test, Posttest, Non-equivalent Control Group Design was adopted for the study. A sample of 317 SS II biology students, drawn by both purposive and simple random sampling techniques from four co-educational schools in Enugu Educational Zone was used for the study. The four schools were assigned to experimental and control groups respectively. Two intact classes in each school – (one as experimental and the other one as control group) were randomly selected. The experimental and control groups were taught the biology topic (Unit of Life) by the regular biology teachers. Three instruments – Pre-BAT, Post-BAT and Retention Test (which is the same as the Pre-BAT) were developed, duly validated and reliability of equivalence, internal consistency and stability duly established (0.79, 0.83, 0.73 and 0.92 respectively) before using them for data collection. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested at (P &lt; 0.05) using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The result of data analysis showed that&nbsp;</p><p>1. There is a significant difference between the experimental and control group, with the mean achievement and retention scores of the LAP group being significant more than the control group.&nbsp;</p><p>2. There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students, but the male students retention test was significantly greater than those of their female counterpart.&nbsp;</p><p>3. The interaction effect of LAP and gender on students‟ mean achievement scores in the post test and mean scores in the retention test were not statistically significant.&nbsp;</p><p>4. The interaction effect of LAP and students academic ability levels on students achievement scores in the post test and mean retention scores were statistically significant.</p><p>&nbsp;A major educational implication of the findings is that the use of LAP does not show any significant difference in the achievement of male and female students. Thus the use of LAP will not only help arrest the problem of male being regarded as high achievers in science-related courses but will also encourage the female students to enroll in such courses among others. Based on these, some recommendations were made which include; that seminars and workshops should be organized by government and relevant professional bodies like STAN to educate and sensitize the teachers on the use of Learning Activity Package as they may not be familiar with it. <br></p>

Project Overview

<p><b>1.0 INTRODUCTION</b></p><p><b>1.1 BACKGROUND STUDY</b></p><p>Science and technology are important tools for development and productivity in any nation. Science is a necessity for every nation that wants to maintain its independence, sovereignty, self-reliance, ensure growth, and have its head held high among civilized nations. This is because science and technology provide the basic tools of industrialization and economic development in the areas of communication, transport, energy, information, pollution and waste control, among others. In Nigeria, the study of science is of so great importance, that a lot of emphasis has been laid on the teaching and learning of science with the major aim of science education, as contained in the National Policy on Education, being to equip the students to live effectively in this modern age (FME, 2004). This can be achieved by the inculcation in the learners the necessary scientific skills and attitudes. The inculcation of scientific skills and attitudes in students can only be achieved through the proper teaching of the various science subjects. These include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Health Science, Agriculture, etc. Biology as one of the science subjects, when properly taught, will help the students to solve personal and societal problems. The knowledge of Biology helps to question superstitions, know the function of the various parts of the body, enables one to understand oneself, maintain good health practices such as the use of clean water, good sanitation, balanced diet, the need to vaccinate, among others (Maduabum, 1998). The importance of Biology as a secondary school subject can be further illustrated by the fact that a candidate must obtain a credit pass in it, for admission into any Nigerian University to study such important science – based courses as Medicine, Pharmacy, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Food Technology, etc. <br></p><p> Despite the fact that Biology and other science related subjects are important to human progress; students still perform poorly in them. The low performance as reported in various science tests is evident in most science subjects in general. This is pointed out by the report of the Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (2008) who indicated that the performance of candidates in the University Matriculation Examination (UME) over the last three years has shown a steady decline. This is an indication of low retention of what is taught and subsequently poor achievement. <br></p><p> A statistical table of West African Senior School Certificate Examination (May/June) from 2005 – 2007 illustrated the student low performance in biology for three consecutive years. The following are the percentage (%) grade – (credit, passes and failure) obtained by the students. In 2005, the total number of candidates who sat for SSCE were seven hundred and twenty two thousand, and three (722,003) candidates and out of this number one hundred and twenty thousand, four hundred and sixty (120,460) candidates got credit and above represented by 16.71 percent. One hundred and eighty eight thousand, six hundred and three (188,603) candidates got passes represented by 26.16 percent. Four hundred and twelve thousand, nine hundred and forty (412,940) candidates failed entirely and the above represented by 57.27 percent. In 2006, the total number of candidates who sat for the examination were one million, and twenty five thousand, four hundred and fifty six (1,025,456) candidates, and out of this number, four hundred and forty one thousand six hundred and seventy two (441,672) candidates obtained passes and above represented by 43.07 percent. <br></p><p> In 2007, the total number of candidates who sat for the examination were one million, to hundred thousand, and twenty eight (1,200028) candidates, and out o this number two hundred and seventy eight thousand, one hundred and fifty tow (278,152) candidates got credit and above represented by 22.80 percent. Three hundred and seventy thousand, five hundred and one (370,501) candidates got passes and the above represented by 30.37 percent. Eight hundred and fifty thousand, six hundred and four (571,375) candidates failed entirely and the above represented by 48.83 percent (WAEC, 2008). This is also evident in the Chief Examiners Report of the West African Examination Council (2008). There are indications that candidates who sat for the WASC Examination in most science subjects exhibited the following lapses:-</p><p>&nbsp;- inability to properly interpret questions;&nbsp;</p><p>- failure to write or answer their questions logically, systematically and convincingly;&nbsp;</p><p>- poor drawing skills; - shallow understanding of most concepts in Biology;</p><p>&nbsp;- poor power of expression;&nbsp;</p><p>- inability to relate features to functions <br></p><p>-inability of the candidates to correctly spell many Biological terms.&nbsp;</p><p>The aforementioned gives an indication that there may be low desire in the area of Biology as one of the science subjects. This may lead to appreciable low/poor choice of biology or other science subjects as a subject to offer in the secondary schools or tertiary institutions. This may also be an indication that meaningful learning had not taken place. The over all achievement and retention in biology and other sciences are very much related to many other variables, which are evident in the studies carried out by other researchers. The variables include: the ability levels of the learners, gender issues, teaching – learning environment (location), teaching methods, teachers ability to use the various methods and materials provided, students backgrounds, level of intelligence of the students, students cognitive styles, among other variables (Moore, 2000; Mukalia, 2000; Ogunleye, 2002; Eccles, 2002). <br></p><p> Students vary in their academic abilities and this tends to be reflected in the extent to which they are affected by a particular teaching methods. For instance, Diamond and Onwuegbuzie (2001) expressed concern over the influence of different teaching methods on learning benefits of students of different ability groups, stating that differences in intellectual functioning among learners necessitate variations in instructional strategies. Researches conducted by Okeke (1986), Ezeh (1992) and Udeji (2007) indicated that teaching methods have differential effects on students of different academic ability levels (low, average, high levels) with one group benefiting more from a particular teaching method than the other. For instance both Eze (1992) and Udeji (2007) found out that with the various methods used, achievement is significant with the high ability groups, while the findings of Okeke (1986) indicated that in as much as some students are highly gifted they do not achieve well in science this may be due to the teaching method employed which may not suit all the groups. In view of the foregoing, it might be necessary to find out the students academic ability group (low, average or high) for which a particular teaching method will be more effective. <br></p><p> Various teaching methods are used by teachers in the teaching of Biology aimed at brining about meaningful learning. These include lecture method, demonstration method, discovery, project, inquiry among many others. The most commonly used is the lecture method. This is mostly employed by most science teachers because of some of its advantages which include the fact that it can be used to cover a large content area at a time and the students are given the same content at the same time. Another major advantage is that it can be used to teach a large class which is a prominent feature in most Nigeria secondary schools. Lecture method can be very useful in teaching when used in conjunction with other methods especially for the purpose of introducing the topic. Despite all these advantages, the lecture method employed in the teaching of biology and other sciences has some flaws, which might be one of the causes of the poor achievement in the sciences. According to Awotua-Efebo (2001), the lecture method is mainly teacher – centered, with the students being consistently passive and contents are taught as absolute knowledge. This method had failed in the recognition of the uniqueness of the inquiry-based nature of science and the learner‟s individuality. Furthermore it does not facilitate the development of reasoning skills and processes in the students. These, among other reasons had not enhanced learning in students and thus had led to poor achievement of students in the sciences. <br></p><p> It has been observed that effective teaching may facilitate learning and make it more meaningful. In line with this, Sander (2001) stated that effective teaching helps the learner to learn better, while poor teaching would naturally lead to poor learning and consequently poor achievement. Evidence available from literature on science education in Nigeria consistently shows that achievement in various aspects of science at various levels of education is very poor. Eccles (2002) whose study revealed that there was a tremendous increase in the number of students‟ under-achievement in science. The basic factors responsible for students‟ under-achievement in science can be grouped into teacher related and facility-oriented factors. These factors include the materials used, and the teaching method employed, among other things. Unfortunately, evidence from literature showed that most science teachers in Nigeria secondary schools predominately use lecture method in teaching science due to poor knowledge and none exposure to other learner centered method leading to poor achievement and retention (Anderson, 2001; Freedman, 2002; Omoniyi, 2006). <br></p><p> Retention, according to Chauhan (1998), is a direct correlate of positive transfer of learning. This means that high retention may lead to high achievement which is a factor of many variables such as interval between learning and retrieval, intervening experiences, specific subject involved, teaching strategies/methods used, and environmental situations, among others. Evidence from researches showed that there is no consistency on the variables that may lead to the students retaining more of what they have learnt. Separate studies carried out by Ndukwe (2000), Nnadi (2001) and Eze (2002) showed that there was no significant differences between the pupils mean post achievement and retention scores. However, other studies carried out by Udousoro (2002) and Udeji (2007) showed that the methods employed in teaching science led to students high retention and achievement. These findings suggest that there is need to carry out more studies to clarify issues related to achievement and retention as it concerns methods of teaching used in teaching. Since there is no consensus on the effect of methods on students‟ retention and achievement, there is need to investigate a learner centered activity oriented method and its effect on achievement and retention. Learner centered activity oriented method may include the use of a Learning Activity Package (LAP).</p><p>A Learning Activity Package (LAP) is a student – centered, activity-oriented teaching strategy where the teacher acts as a facilitator of learning, guiding the students through a series of activities and problems, which may help learners to achieve highly. In LAP, learning materials are broken into small steps that are arranged sequentially from known to unknown and in an increasing order of difficulty. This suggests that LAP calls for individualized student attention. In solving the students‟ problems of poor achievement and retention in Biology, there is the need to shift from the conventional methods of teaching sciences to a more innovative method - a method that should seek for a way of making teaching more precise, while at the same time adjusting both the objective and methods of learning to the needs and characteristics of the individual learners. This innovative method must enable each student to work at his own pace thus accommodating both the fast and slow learners. In this method, the goals of the subject matter must be spelt out very well that students can arrive at the same goals independently along some avenue other than the one provided by the teacher. This calls for an individualized type of instruction. <br></p><p> Individualized instruction, according to Chauhan (1998), is that in which the teachers attend to learning needs and problems of each learner separately. In other words, it means the tailoring of instruction to the particular needs and ability of each learner. The individualized instruction method can be approached and achieved through different methods such as Programmed Instruction (PI), Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI), Independent study (IS), Audio-Tutorial Training Models (ATTM), Learner-Controlled Instruction (LCI), Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), Protocol Packages (PP), and Learning Activity Package (LAP) among others. Learning Activity Packages (LAP) which is one of the teaching methods employed to achieve individualized instruction is the focus of the present study. <br></p><p> <b>1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM</b>&nbsp;</p><p>The persistent poor achievement of students in Biology as revealed by both research results and WAEC Chief Examiners‟ Reports calls for concern especially for teachers of Biology that enroll larger number of students. The problem has to a large extent been attributed to ineffective teaching method employed by the teachers – especially lecture teaching method which is teacher-centered. Consequently, there is felt need to improve on the teaching and learning of Biology by exploring the use of some innovative learner centered teaching–learning methods, since it is believed that meaningful learning may be as a result of active participation by students. Although, many studies had been carried out on some innovative methods, like Programmed Instruction and Computer Assisted Instruction methods. Findings have shown that they are student centered and can also enhance learning and achievement, but the problem of large class and non availability of computer systems in most Nigerian classes has made their practicability nearly impossible. Therefore there is still the need to investigate other innovative child-centered method that is affordable, readily available as well as flexible, combing both package learning and practical activities (i.e. minds – on and hands – on). Such a method should enable the teacher to easily diagnose the problems of the individual learner and allows the learners to evaluate themselves, receiving immediate knowledge of result. This calls for the trial of another individualize method such as Learning Activity Package (LAP). Hence, the study was set to find answer to the question: What is the effect of LAP on students‟ achievement and retention in Biology? <br></p><p> Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the use of Learning Activity Package on students‟ achievement and retention in Biology. Specially, the study sought to:</p><p>&nbsp;1. determine the effect of the LAP on students‟ achievement and retention in Biology when taught the Unit of Life.&nbsp;</p><p>2. find out the extent gender exerts influence on students‟ achievement and retention in Biology when taught the Unit of Life.</p><p>&nbsp;3. determine the effect of interaction between the teaching strategy and students‟ gender on achievement and retention in Biology when taught the unit of life. 4. determine the effect of interaction between teaching strategy and ability levels on students‟ achievement and retention in biology when taught the „unit of life‟. <br></p><p> <b>1.3 SIGNIFICANCE&nbsp;OF STUDY&nbsp;</b>&nbsp;</p><p>The results of this study have both theoretical and practical significance. This study is theoretically justified by the fact that cognitive development takes place from the active interaction of the child with his environment. This means that the basis of learning is the child‟s own ability as he interacts with his physical and social environment. The Piagetian theory of intellectual development holds that cognitive development takes place from active interaction of the child with his environment. This has a close relationship with the Learning Activity Package (LAP), which is student-centered. In other words, the LAP as a teaching method in conformity with the theory emphasizing active interaction of the learner with his environment while the teacher guides or facilitates the interaction; the result of this study would therefore help in authenticating the tenets of Piagets theory. Apart from the theoretical significance, the result of this study also has practical benefits. Practically, the findings of this study will hopefully be of immense benefit to individuals, groups of people/professional bodies, the government and the society at large. Specifically, the researcher hopes that biology teachers, students, authors, curriculum planners, government and the society at large would derive quite some benefit from the findings of the study. One of the major problems in science teaching has been teachers choice of expository teaching method as the method used in teaching. This has been found to be ineffective in enhancing higher student achievement and retention. If the result of this study shows that the use of LAP as a teaching strategy enhances students‟ higher achievement and increase in their retention in biology, it would then form the basis for curriculum planners to include it as another teaching strategy for enhancing instruction. <br></p><p> The findings of this study would hopefully furnish authors of secondary school biology textbooks with vital information that would enable the textbooks appeal to the interest, experience and abilities of the students. Specifically the findings of the study would, among other things, specify the type of activities that are learner-centered and of interest to students and which if included in the texts they use, will make such texts more beneficial to them. Also if the present study establishes the efficacy of the Learning Activity Package (LAP) in enhancing students‟ achievement and retention in biology, then the result could trigger off more researches and innovations in science teaching. Based on the findings, workshops and seminars on how to use the Learning Activity Package (LAP) in teaching different topics in biology to enhance better performance in the subject could then be sponsored and organized by relevant governments and such professional bodies as Science Teacher Association of Nigeria (STAN). <br></p><p> The findings would also provide a type of guide for Biology teachers. It would reveal the efficacy of LAP to the teachers based on which they would see it as a more effective method of teaching the subject. In line with this, it is hoped that the teaching and learning of Biology will become more interesting, effective, meaningful and less tedious on the part of the teacher. The study would reveal to the students the various interesting activities they should be involved in while studying Biology. This would stimulate and retain their interest in the subject. The findings of the study would also equip the students of Biology with better and adequate knowledge of how best to study Biology better. From the findings of the study the students would learn to make better use of their leisure times by engaging in useful Biology activities. It would also provide them self-assessment guides. The benefits of effective teaching and learning of Biology in the school manifest in the society in a number of ways for instance, the application of the knowledge of the subject in solving health, nutrition and even agricultural problems in the society by the students. This will make the society a better place. The students can apply the knowledge only when they learn the subject well due to better teaching method like LAP being used to teach them. <br></p><p> <b>1.4 SCOPE OF STUDY</b>&nbsp;</p><p>The study was delimited to the investigation of the effect of the Learning Activity Package (LAP) on Secondary Schools Students‟ Achievement in and Retention of Biology concepts. The investigation was restricted only to the topic – Unit of life as found in the Section of the Senior Secondary School Biology Curriculum meant for SSII students. The choice of the topic was informed by researches which identified the topic as one of those that students find difficult to learn (Ike, 2001 and Amaeshi, 2001). The Unit of Life which deals with forms in which cells exist, cell theory, cell structure and function and cell and its environment as found in the curriculum was developed into LAP by the researcher on Romsowki model of 1984. The study was carried out with only SSII Biology students in four co-educational secondary schools in Enugu Education Zone. The decision was taken to ensure that gender, which is a major variable of interest in the study, received adequate attention. SSII Biology students were used for the study because the topic Unit of Life is in their curriculum. The subunits developed were:&nbsp;</p><p>1. Cell as a living unit: - Forms in which living cells exist - Cell as part of multicellular organism&nbsp;</p><p>2. The Cell - the cell theory - the cell structure and function of cell components - differences and similarities between plant and animals cells&nbsp;</p><p>3. The cell and its environment: - Diffusion - Osmosis - Active transport - Plasmolysis - Haemolysis <br></p>