University of Nigeria Research Publications

ONA, E. E. A

utho

r

PG/Ph.D/99/26607

Title

Effect of Integrating Theory with Practicals on

Students’ Achievement in Biology

Facu

lty

Education

Dep

artm

ent

Science Education

Dat

e

July, 2007

Sign

atur

e

TITLE PAGE

EFFECT OF INTEGRATING THEORY W T H PWACTICALS ON STUDENTS' ACHBEVEMENT IN 810!.OGY

OMA, E.E

A Project Report Presented to the Department of S1-3ieni:e Education, Faculty ui Education, University oi Nigeria N::;rkkr;r

11-t Partiai Fulfillment of thc? requirement for the Awatd of idi&er of Etiucarm (ME.D) Degree iv Science Education

JULY 2007

COVER PAGE

EFFECT OF INTEGRATING THEORY WITH PRACTICALS ON STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY

*ONA, E.E.

Department of science Education, Faculty of Education

University of Nigeria Nsukka

JULY 2007

iii

APPROVAL PAGE

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA MSUKKA FACULTY OF EDUCATION

EFFECT OF INTEGRATMG THEOFtY WITH PRACTICALS ON

STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT [N BIOLOGY

ONA, E.E

. .* A. oro,ject presented to the Department of Scienca Education,

Iln~vc:!rsity of Nigeria, Nsukka in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of master or educaticn (MED) in Science E,!uci-ti~n.

Approved:

b S~.~pervisor \ ) Head of departmsnt

CERTIFICATION

Onah, Emmanuel Egbe a postgraduate student in the Department

of Science Education with the Registration Number PGlMEDl99126607

has satisfactorily completed the requirements for the degree of masters

In Science Education. The work embodied in this thesis report is

original and has not been submitted in part or full for any other degree

of this or any other University.

PROF. U. M. NZEWI MR. ONAH EMMANUEL EGBE Student

DEDICATION

This project is dedicated to the blessed memories of my beloved

Mother Mrs. Grace Ornilonye Ejugwu and Son Martins lbechi Egbe.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am immensely indebted to our father in Heaven who made it

possible for me to start and accomplish this work. My appreciation and

gratitude also goes to my supervisor Prof. l J . M Nzew~ for her

patience, direction and advise and for spending her limited '4me to

read this work and make necessary corrections I am also gral.eful to

Prof. A. Ali who gave me a great insight on the task before me.

I equally recognize and appreciate the good roles of my wife

Mrs. Abigail A. Ona and Children for their moral suppwt and - . encouragement Finally, I am grateful to my typist lyanya Ogbudu who

typed this work

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title Page - - Cover Page - Approval Page -

Certification -

Dedication - -

Acknowledgement

Table of Content - List of Tables - Abstract - -

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study - -

Statement of Problem - - -

Purpose of Study - - -

Significance of the Study - -

Scope of the Study - - -

Research Questions - ., ,- , .!. .,. . L.,#

Hypotheses - - - -

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

Conceptual Framework - - - - Empirical Framework - - - - - Summary of Literature Review - - -

i . . I I

iii

i v

v

vi

vii

X

xi

vii

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

-Research Design ........................................................ 38

Area of Study ............................................................. 39 .

Population of the study ................................................. 40

Sample and sampling technique ..................................... 40

........................................... Development of instrument

......................................... Vaiidation of the instrument

Reliability of the instrument .......................................... 42 .

Treatment procedure .................................................. 42

Method of Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

............ CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF RESULTS 45

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSIONy SUMMARY. AND

RECOMMENDATION

Discussion of findings ......................................................... 51

Summary of findings ......................................................... 54 ...... 9 wvb . v . . .....> .

...................................................... Implications of the study 55

Limitations of the Study ...................................................... 56

Reconmendations ........................................................... 57 . . . . . ............................................... Suggestion for further study 58

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of the study .58

References ..................................................................... 61

Appendix 1 ..................................................................... 66

. . . . . . . . . . . Appendix 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Appendix 3 .................................................................... 67

Appendix 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Appendix 5.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Appendix 6... .................................................................. 77

Appendix 7.. .................................................................. . .@2

.............. Appendix 8.. .'. ................................................... 3 4 ' , Appendix 9.. .................................................................... -98 . i , ,

LIST OF TABLES

Table I: Table of specification for construction of test items k

Table 2: The pre-test and post -test mean scores of the

experimental an3 control groups.

Table 3: Comparison of the mean scores of boys and girls t'aaght

Biology through theory integrated with practicals.

Table 4: Distribution of the mean achievement s m e s of urban and

ruralstudents +

Table 5: T-test of difference between the post mean sc::)res of

experimental and co~tro l groups.

Table 6: The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for comparing data

obtained from Urban and rural schools, and boys and girls

on integrating theory with practicals in biology.

Abstract

It has been observed that students perform poorly in biology in the

SSCE and other external examinations bt;cause of the theoretical .- ..,* method of teaching that dominate most classrooms. As a result of this,

students lack the necessary process skills which is the ultimate goal

of any scientific and technological development. It became pertinent

therefore to investigate the effect of integrating theory with practicals

, on students achievement in biology. A quasi - experimental design

was adapted for the investigation and intact classes were used for - .

both the experimental and control groups. Two urban and two rural

schools were randomly sampled from ninety four schools in the study I

area. A teacher made achievement test was used for data collection. \ Kudei-Richardson formula 21 was 0.37 for pre-test and 0.60 for post-

test, while the experts carried out face and content validations. Four

research questions and three research hypMheses guided the study.

Mean score was used to answer the research questions, while the t-

test o f independent mean and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were

used to test the hypotheses.A.was found that students who were

taught biology through integrating theory with practical improved

tremendously in their performance and acquisition of skills. It was *

therefore recommended that theoretical aspect of ieaching biology

should not be separated from practical activities and that efforts d t ,

should e made by the government to provide the necessary materials P, and equipments needed for meaningful and functional scientific

'1 ' 1

know!edpe in our schools irrespective of the location. ' r ; # I I

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study.

The Science that deals with the study of living objects goes by

the general name of Biology. The word "biology" has been derived

from two-root words- " bios" (meaning "life") and "logy" or "logos"

(meaning "the study of'). (Ndu, Asun & Aina, 1988) Since both . .

........ animals and plants are living, biology includes the study of both.

Therefore, biology can be defined as the scientific study of life.

Although there is no universally accepted definition of life, scientists

and science educators agree that all livlng things share certain basic

characteristics. According to Michael (2000:12-13) living things;

- are made of organized structures.

- reproduce .,,,... I..V. . .

- grow and develop

- feed

- respire

- - excrete their waste

- respond to their surroundings.

- control their internal conditions.

- are able to evolve.

The National core Curriculum for biology, Federal Ministry of

Educatson FME, (1985:20) has the following cardinal objectives which

are to prepare pupils to acquire:-

1 adequate laboratory and field skills in biology,

2 meaningful and relevant knowledge in biology;

3 ability to apply scientific knowledge to every day life in matters of

personal and community health and agriculture;

4 reasonable and functions! scientific attitudes.

In accordance with the stated objectives, the contents and

contexts of the curriculum place emphasis on field studies guided-

discovery, laboratory techniques and skills coupled with conceptual

thinking. This curriculum is intended to provide modern biology course

as we!! as meet the needs of the society through relevance and

functionality in its content,.metbd, processes and application

It was sbserved by the researcher and other colleagues in the

field that biology teachers organize practical lessons separately after , I

the theory aspect of the t.opic(s) have been taught. This practice goes

contrap] to the stated objectives in the biology curriculum, therefore

adequate acquisition of process skills (observing, measuring,

collecting data, experimenting etc), interest in the sub/ect ant4

conceptual thinking cannot be developed. The West Hfricm

Examination Council (WAEC) Chief examiner's report (1998) (see

appendix 3) identified the candidate's poor achievement in their

approach to answering questions, poor expressions in describing

principles of some processes in biology and lacked the understanding

of basic concepts in biology.

Research works of Uwadiae (1997), Onwakpa (1998) and

Farombi (1998) showed that the level of student's achievement in

senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) and Joint

Admissions and Matriculati~n Board (JAMB) Examinations in biology

and other science subjects had been poor over the years. 'The feeling

is that several factors contribute to this poor achievement. Among

these factors are the methods of teaching, the facilities available,

student's interest or lack of it, student's motivation and scope of the

biology curriculum etc. It9~'96sci;ibl'e that tirese factors act singly or in

combination in affecting the achievement of students in biology. It is

therefore possible that the method of teaching this subject cmtributed ( 1

to student's poor achievement.

According to James (2000) one popular method of teaching

biology at the Senior Secondary schools in Nigeria today is to collect

plants and animal materials for observation and dissection In the .... ",

laboratory in form of laboratory demonstration conventionally called

practicals. This instructional

participation of students and it

strategy does not allow active

does not make learning meaningfui,

relevant and functional in biology.

The most popular types of tests are measures of school

achievement, that is, the level of knowledge, skill or accomplishment

in an area of endeavour (Lewis 1979). Unlike tests of general

intelligewe, special abilities and personality, achievement tests are .- . direct measures of what they are designed to measure. -rests of

intelligence and special abilities, for examole, are ind~rect measures,

since these characteristics are inferred from performance or

accomplishment of some sort. All tests of ability- general intelligence.

special abilities, and achievement are measures of achievement. The

items on tests of intelligence and aptitude, like those in achievement

tests, require that the examimwdemonstrate some accompiishment.

Achievement tests serve numerous functions, the basic one

being to determine how much a group of people know about a , I . .

particular topic or how well they can perform a certain skill. The results

' of an achievement test inform students and their parents about the

academic accomplishments of the former. In addition, they motivate

learning, provide teachers and school administrators with information

to plan or modify the curriculum for a student or group of students, and

serve as a means of evaluating the instr~nctional programme itself.

Tests are empioyed to determine the extent a trait or construct is

possessed by a person or group of persons. (Harbor-Peters, 1999)

Presently, it is observed that teachers still adopt in their classrooms

teacher dominated methods of teaching. Ajaja (1998) noted that since

the estaSlishrnent of the first school in 1843, the dominating approach

to instructioti in schools has been the expository type. This is = .

sometimes referred to as "talk and chalk" method or verbal

explanation of theory. Theory in this context means a set of

explanatory pr~nc~ple or a set of properly ,argued ideas miended to

explain facts, concepts, principles and events (Oxford Advanced

Learners Dict~onary 1998). According to Gbamanja, (1 991 : 12) "Theory

'means a logical network of postulates and propositions that are used

to explain empirical relatiomhip* and interpret objects ana events

..... observed in the natural world."

Today's. science teaching and. learning have become more ( I . .

activity- oriented and more student- centred as reflected in the

national core curriculum for biology and other science subjects.

Problem solving is a primary characteristic and the learner does not

just read about science but he "does" science. There is increased

laboratory activity and the learner is encouraged to "find out" more

6 i \

knowledge about the "moving" universe. To provide continuous

experiences in process skill development as required by the biology

curricula, theory and practical work ought to be integrated as much as

possible.

Through the research studies of Gagne, (1965), Bruner (1966)

and Piaget (I 954) the importance of concrete manipulative CI

experiences in the learning process was demonstrated. To divorce '-

practical from theory shall place the vast majority of students in a

situation where they find science concepts and principles difficult to

grasp. Practical work in this context is defined as the learning

experiences In which there are mteractions with apparatus and

chemicals so as to improve the power of observation of the instances

of scientific pr~nciples or concepts Busar~ (1996). Praclrcal work In

science is very essentl'Wfo'r the development of scientific s,kills,

techniques and problem solving. This can best be achieved when

practical activities are carried out alongside with the theorical

explanations by the teacher through integration.

Practical work in biology constitutes an integral part of the

course (theory). Practical work in biology aroses interest of the

learner in the learning process. (Ango1990). There are a!so many

scientific process skills the learner should acquire in order to benefit

from the learnmg process. Such process skills include observing,

measurmg, classifying, communicating, experimenting, problem-

..-.. solving, data collection, interpreting data and inferring. The students

are seen active in the learning process in which they are continually

enquiring, testing, speculating and building their own personal

constructs of knowledge (Akale, 1993). It is only by personalizing such

knowledge that it becomes valued, meaningful and useful. It is the ..

effects ef integrating theory with practical on student's achievement in

biology that this study seeks to examine with a view to improving their

\ performance in both cognitive and psychomotor skil!s.

One of the purposes of integration is to enhance curiosity and

developme'nt of scientific skills among those studying biology and

other science subjects. When studen;:; are more interested and curios

in the teaching -learning,.praeess' their performance shall also be

improved. integration here means doing practical work alongside with

the theoretipl explanations of the, concepts and principles. This ( 1

implies that practical work forms an integral part of the lesson. This

can be done in such a way that the students are simultaneously taught

the concepts and skills as the lesson progresses.

According to Ali, (1 998) there are two levels of integration:-

1 Iniernal level of integration.

2 External level of . integration

By internal levels of integration he means that wlthin the theory

..._ ..- when the teacher is explaining concepts, principles and events

in biology, the teacher should introduce practical activity. For

instance, while the teacher is explaining the ccmcept "ceil" to the

students, they should be made to observe the cell structure

4 . .

under the microscope. As the students observe the cell under

the microscope further details of the cell structure and function

I could be explained by the teacher. ,

\ I

The external level of integration on the other hand involves the

teacher bringing together the theoretical and practical aspects of the

concept being taught to students. This can be done by organizing a

practical activity such as observing the cell and the drawing (of it. As

the students observe and"draw ;he cell, the structural and f~nctional

details are explained again. This activity will help students to develop &

certain process skills such as,, observing, describing, and raising

questions etc. After this exercise there should be a general discussion

on the concept "celLn This is expected to consolidate what was

learned from the activity the students carried out.

Within the study area you have urban and rural settlements

where schools are located. There are more schools located in rural

settlements than in urban area. In urban settlements they have some

amenities such as electricity, water supply, good roads etc and more

teachers which are relatively lacking in rclral settlements. In science

subjects it is assumed that boys appear more active and dominating

than girls and teachers may show preferential treatment to either of

them in the class. This study shall examine some constraints in

integrating theory with practicals in biology. Such constraints may "

include the learning environment, communication bottlenecks etc. ......*'

It is the intention of the researcher to examine how the location

of school affects integrating theory with practicals on student's

achievement in biology. Also within the study are; you wi!l find many

coeducational institutions .both in urban arid rural locations. it is also

the intention of the researcher to find out how boys and girls differ in

their achievement in biologylWh$'n theory is integrated with practicals.

\ If the laboratory facilities are available in all the schools and are \

efficiently and effectively used I # for teaching students biolcgy, would

students show significant improvements in their achievement in this

subject when theory is integrated with practicals?

Statement of problem.

Considerable attention of science educators have been focused w

on how to improve science instruction in 'Schools. Practical work in

biology is very essential for the development of practical scientific

skills, techniques and problem-solving. Science therefore is not just "

learning about knowledge, but "doing things" to experience the

knowledge. The modern method of teaching science does not only

involve the understanding of facts, concepts, principles etc (product)

but it also involves the understanding of the way this knowledge is

obtained such as observing, measuring, classiQing, collecting data, . .

experimenting etc (process).

A biologist mav start an investigation by making observations or

by using observations described by other biologists Such

observations may be obtained directly by the senses or indirectly

through instruments such as microscope etc. Based on the eviderrce

. in the background the level of student's achievement in the Senior

Secondary Certificate .Examination (SSCE) and other p~iblic

examinations in biology have been poor over the years. Uwadiae,

(1 937) Nwak~a, (1 998) & Farombi, (1 998). The reason for undertaking 11

this study is that the separation of theory lessons from practical

activities might make students fail to relate what is learnt in the theory

lesson with practicals. It is possible that this method of teaching

biology contributed to students' poor achievement. How can

integration of theory with practicals help to improve student's

achievement in biology? This is the problem of the study.

I Purpose of Study

This study intends to examine the effects of integrating theory

with practicals on student's achievement in biology. Specifically the

study is intended to:-

Find out::-

'1. Whether there could be improvement in student's achievement

in biology when exposed to theory integrated with practicak.

*') L . the effects the location of school (rurallurban) may have on

student's achievement when theory is integrated with

practicals in biology.

the effects of integrating theory with practicals in biology . , ,, .. . "I. .?. > .

on the achievement of boys and girls.

Significance of the study. , I . .

The following individuals or group of persons shall benefit from

the results of the study in the following ways:-

1. The teachers shall benefit from the results of the study as they

learn to use the new technique in the teaching-learning process.

'This shall lead to student's better achievement in biology.

2. The students shall benefit from the results ~f the study as they

understand the concepts and principles etc in biology better.

This will help them to improve on their performance. Also as

they participate fully in the learning process it will help them to

acquire some process skills such as observing, recording,

measuring and experimenting etc.

3. The parents shall also benefit from the results of the study ..

because their children shall understand biology better than

before as it shall become a meaningful and functicnal

knowledge. Also the parents shall feel happy as their children

become potential scientists.

4. The society shall as well benetit from the results of the study

because, the acquisition of knowledge shall become relevapt

and functional, and meefthg needs of the society, in ti?e area of

scientific and technological development.

Scope of the study.

The study was delimited to the senior secondary school

year I students in education zone "C" of Benue Stste. Benue

State is divided into three education zones named alphabetically

as zones A, B and C res~ectively. Education zone "C" is made

up of 9 local government. areas of Benue State. The 9 local

government areas that make up education zone "C" are:- Ado.

. .- G Agatu, Apa, Obi, Oju, Qgbadibo, Ohimini, Okpokwu and Otukpo.

The study was also delimited to the following topics in biology

because of time frame, cell structure, photosynthv;is and

classes of food. The study addressed itself to the effect of

integrating theory with practicals on student's achievement in ..

biology.

Research Questions.

This study'attempted to answer the following questronS:

1 What is the mean score of biology students when %ey are

taught biology with theory integrated into practical?

2. To what extent d~~*~bwys 'and girls exposed to the cti.lssroorn

situation of integrating theory with practicals differ in their *

achievement in biology? , I . . .

3. HOW does the location of the school (urbantrural) affect student's

achievement in biology when theory is integrated with practical?

Hypothesis.

The following null hypotheses were tested:-

HO. 1'. There will' be rro significant difference in the mean

achievement score of students taught biology through

integrating theory with practicals and their cowterparts

taught biology without theory integrated with practiwls. 1 I

I Ho 2. The location of the school will have no influence in the

achievement score of students taught biology through

inkgating theory with practicals.

Ho 3. There will be no significant difference in the mean - .

achievement score of boys and girls taught brology

through integrating theory with practicals.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE. REVIEW

The related literature was reviewed under the following

sub-headings;

Conceptual framework

1 Practical aspect of teaching biology (.I

2 Method of teaching biology

3 Purpose of integrating theory with practical work in biology

4. Student's achievement in biology

5. Constraints in integrating theory with practical work in bidogy.

Empirical Studies

1 %elated literature review on theory and practical work in science

2. 1,ocation of schools and student's achievement in science.

3. Gender interaction inp'actical work in science.

Summary of literature review.

Conceptual framework . ( 2 ) Practical aspect of teaching biology

Within a science course and in particular biology, the practical

work may be taken to include any activity involving student's in real

situations using genuine materials and proper working equipment.

Laboratory work has long been considered the unique feature of

education in a science discipline. The reason for this tradition is that

most of the physical and biological sciences are essentially empirical

rn nature. Laboratory observation and experiment are required to

provide sufficient evidence that can support a theory or explanation of

the particular event or phenomenon. Practical work in bio!cgy is an

ir~dispensable tool for the development of student's skills In the use of

scientific knowledge and emphasises the non-cognitive aspect of the

domain. .,,,... 1 . 4 9 . ,a .

Ango (1990:90-91) opined that practical work in biology and in

science could take different forms. There is no need limiting practical ,I . .

work to laboratory tests and experiments only, since the learner can

be made to experience science in so many other forms. The important

emphasis of practical work should be in making the learner have

experiences as much as possible with the real things or phemme~a of

science in order to:

1. Develop practical skills of biology.

2. Develop good observation behav~our and skills

3. Develop skills of measuring, manipulative and interpreting data

etc.

4. Behave like the scientists in solving problems.

Practical work in biology can also take the form of investigations

such as investigating the composition and structure of certain objects

or materials. Practical activities are designed to help students . - acquire some basic scientific skills. Science educators also agree

that practical activities promote student's achievement.

The role of practical work in psychomotor or manipulative skills

as well as enhancing better understanding of products and processes

in biology cannot be over-emphasised. The practical nature of the

,subject is an important source of pupil motivation. Mercy & Faiilatu

(1 997) re~orted that practip!,.gxperiences that utilize hands-on inquiry

have also been considered as one of the most effective methods of

, learning about science and developing the higher order thinking skills 1 . .

necessav to do science.

If active learning described by the National Science Education

standards (National Research Council, 1996) implies "hand-on" and

"mind-on" learning which takes place in an inquiry-based laboratory, . ... 4.

then the need arises for the science teachers to spend more time with

the students on this "hand-on" learning. This could be achieved

through integrating theory with practical work in biology. Practical

biology being an area for development of psychomotor skills prov:des

proper understanding of the content of the subject.

Aceording to Escalada and Zollman, (1996), practicals or

I'

I laboratosy experiences have always been important components for I

I

the reinforcement and understanding of science concepts and so

there is a great need for the biology teachers to spend more tim'e on . .

"hands-on activities." Thus activity-based strategies are recommended

for the implementation of the new senior secondary school biology

curriculum so as to accomplish its objectives.

If we should expect better and improved acquisn\on a:

knowledge and skills in the students, there is need to adopt a new

method that deviates in the style of teaching from the tradit~onal

approach presently beingwed'sa that students would be able lo iearn

more, retain more and apply what is learnt by engaging in significant

and appea1in.g activities. It is on the basis of improving student's , I . .

learning ir, biology that this method of integrating theory with practical

is suggested.

Efiective biology teaching and learning is trle gateway to the

attainment of scientific and technological greatness. Moderr. science

teaching and learning stress student's participation in the learning

process through series of activities. Integrating theory with practical d

\ work in biology could provide continuous experiences in process skill

' development such as observing, measuring, experimenting etc.

2. Method of teaching biology.

Scientific method is the method of reporting scientific

information. The various steps in the scientific method are: making - .

observations and taking measurements, asking questions about 4-

observations made and posing a problem, formulating hypothesis,

testing the hypothesis usually by carrying out a controlled exper~ment

aimed at producing data that will either support or contradict the

hypothesis. A biologist may start an investigation by making

observations, which may be obtained through the senses, or indirectly

through instruments suck~~as.~micrOscopes, potometer, thermometer -

etc. A biologist on the other hand may start an investigation by having

an idea that something happens in a particular way and then the idea , , .

will be tested by making observations or carrying out experiments to

see if it is valid. A hypothesis is suggested and then tested in all

investigatrons. With the explosion of scientific knowledge much

dernand is placed on both the texher and the learner in the whole

process of teaching and learning. Teaching biology as a body of facts

to be learned can be regarded as theoretical. Ajaja, (1998) noted that

since the establishment of the first school in 1843, the dominating

approach to instruction in schools has been the expository type.

Ogunniyi (1986) & Busari (1995) rightly observed that the teaching of

science is by experimentation rather than separation of two lessons

for theory and practical work.

Science teaching in Nigerian secondary schools is dominated by . .

teacher centred lecture/expository method, (Ajewole Ajogbasile &

Okebukola 199Q). The results of the study conducted by Ajewose,

Ajog basile & Okebukola (1 990) showed that the teaching technique

majority of the teachers used frequently was expository because,

according to them it would enable teachers have a wider coverage of

the contents of the curriculum. Theoretical teaching !Rerefore

prevailed most of the time-With 'the'result that the activities earmarked

for practical were seldormly done. This attitude has rmdercd biology

"laching in many schools into a "chalk-talk" affair. This method may ( 1 , .

..fail to produce biology students to acquire scientific process skills,

reason critically and be able to transfer what is learnt to new but

similar situations. Thus, the theoretical aspect of teaching biology

involves explanation of facts, concepts, events, principles and laws by

the teacher to help students understand the body of knowledge. In

*

science, facts are observable phenomena, while concepts are mental

constructs which the learner has formed as a result of classifyir\g and 1

synthesizing facts or information. A concept is also the prodwt of the

learner's own imagination, insight or reasoned judgment (Gi2arrlanja

Biology teaching becomes teacher-centred when the teacher

"talks about" biology while the students "read about" biolcsy. This

leads to rote learning where the learner memorizes facts and theories .

about the universe. The teaching and learning of biology sbould be

more activity-oriented and student-centred. This could be achreved

through integrating theory with practical work. Theory in this context IS

seen as an explanation of spectf~c sc~ent~f~c facts. For example, cell is

explained as the buildins block of all irvlng organisms, photosynthesis

is the process by which pl'diW%i&ke their foods etc. Biology kaching

is not just learning about knowledge but "dotng things" to experience

the kncwledge when the teacher is *teaching the academic material

(facts. concepts and principles). To develop cognitive talents, the

teacher should also try to assist the learner interpret these cognitive

talents into the learners' psychomotor and affective domains.

The learner should be able to value the knowledge as rclevan't

to his life activ~!~es. Valuing such knowledge in this way mems that

the learner should be able to supply the knowledge in practical terms. * i

This involves being able to use his motor skills in applying the

knowledge learnt in practical l ~ fe situat~ons. It is the researcher's view

that integrating theory with practical in biology could help students to

love, value and interpret the cognitive knowledge. This could go a long

way to enhance student's understanding and achievement in biology.

'Teaching biology for cognitive talents involves dispemation of, .. .

factual information to enrich the learner's thinking faculties. This leads

to rote memorization of facts. This means that only a portion of the

individual's talents are developed and tested. This is referred to as

fractionated learning. Modern instructional theories suggest that multi-

talented approach to teaching (wholistic) should be adopted to

' produce a total well-adjusted individual. This implies that teachers

should attempt to develop.allw~.the.~4alents of the learners miher than

just the academic knowiedge as is oftec the case. Integrating theory

with practical could help to achieve this wholistic approach. , # . . .

(3) Purposes of integrating theory with practica? work in biology.

The scope of integration that may be used in scierce lessons

inv~lves a coordination type and a combination type (Busari j996).

The coordiriation type involves coordinating the theory with practical in

such a way that the students are simultaneously taught the concepts

and skills while performing practical activities. The combination type

employs doing practical work before or after the presentation of

theory. Learnrng involves an interaction between students' mental

schemes and the experience they have. In view of this, integration of

theory with practical work using coordination type could progressively

help the students to build their scientific knowledge through inter lay . . mmrlr cr(1 r

of experiences with concepts (Busari, 1996).

rpclmP B R ~

According to Ali (1998), the teaching act can be viewed as a

process of integration of cognitive, affective and technical components

into a sequence of activities aimed at the attainment of selected

learni~g goals or outcomes among those taught. The cognitive

components include the teachers knowledge of the subject area and . , , , . . " l . . V , a,.- .

understanding of those aspects of applications that can be taught as

useful information. Affective components include those attributes that

compose an individuals teaching style, personality, and feeimgs about 'I

students, the educational system and the subject area. The technical

components include techniques such as the use of questiot-1s and the

appropriate clse of science instructional materials and equipments,

knowledge and applications of testing and evaluating procedures.

The way in which

and how these interact -

24

these components are applied by the teacher

with each other def~nes the teaching-learnmg

situation in which the teacher attempts to meet the learning goals

confronting his students. The teaching act then is the product of the

result of the teacher's integration of these components into a

sequence of activities. The degree of success with which the teacher

I.

performs this task depends on many th~ngs ~ncluding h ~ s capacity for

selection of appropriate task and his skills at integrating the pieces of

task into a coherent whole.

There is no doubt that so much is required of the teacher with

regard to motivation (Ivowi 1998). To ensure that teacher$ perform

their duties satisfactorily all the times, they need motivation to give

instruction, guide and facilitate learning, and also motivate learners to

. < ,, .:, "!. .*. , .,* . learn. Because of this cruc~al role of teachers, integrating taeory with

practical work in biology could help to motivate the students and e,

promote achievement and retention . . of what is learned.

'The importance of theory and practical work in the evaluation of

biology is not far fetched as these methods are known to inst!ll in the

students the required skills in biology. The practical activity provides

opportunity to promote scientific method of thought. The screntiflc

method, entails inculcating wlto the learner the habit of drawing

I

conclusions on the basis of observation and experiment. Thus, . students develop scientific attitudes such as curiosity, open-

mindedness, objectivity, honesty and sceptism etc. Getting students

involved in practical and theory shall enable them to learn much about \.

the inter-relationship between biology and other science subjects.

4. Students' achievement in biology.

According to Habor-Peters (1999) a test which measures what

individuals have learned to do is known as achievement or attainment

\ test. Achievement tests are specially designed to test the level of

competency of an individual in a particular lesson unit. There are

different forms of achievement tests. Some achievement tests may be

-. used to diagnose difficult concepts, others may be used as surveys or

prognostic test. .<,, ..I..?. r " a

Achievement tests may be divided into two categories,

depending on the mode of preparation. There are the teacher- made , . .

achievement tests and standardized achievement tests. A teacher - *..

made test is more specific to a particular teacher, classroom and unit

of study and is easier to keep up-to-date Consequently, a teacher-

made test is more likely to reflect the current educational objectives of , \

a given school. In contrast, standardized tests are built arounql a core 1

- - of general educational objectives, representmg the combined

.-..- judgments of subjectmatter experts, (Lewis 1979). Obviously,

teacher-made and standardized tests complement rather than replace

each other.

Research works of Uwadike (1 997), and Farombi (1998) showed \

that the level of students achievement in Senior Secondary

Examination (SSCE) in biology and other science subjects had been . .

poor over the years. Similarly, the chief examiner's report in biology ,

(1 998) showed that the students lacked the understanding of the basic /

conceots in biology and the performance is generally door. (see

appendix I ) The solution to this problem of poor achievement of

students in biology demands a critical look at the goings-on in the

classraorns. It is the researchers view that adequate teaching and

learning is therefore n'0t"'~bih'g on very well in biology classrooms. r

Perhaps, integrating theory with practical work in biology c h d help to

reverse the poor trend. , I . . .

5. Constraints in integrating theory with practical work in biology.

Students do not achieve as well as they should in b~ology

and other science subjects because of the problems related to.

the teaching- learning processes. These problems can be

discussed under the following major component areas. Adamu, -

( 1 Hindrances to the teaching-learning process.

I (2) Resources for teaching and learning science.

(3) Communication bottlenecks in the classroom I t '

i

8

(4) The examination system in secondary schools.

( 1 Hindrances to the teaching-.learning process.

A 1992 national survey of basic education in Nigeria, conducted

by UNICEFIFGN (1993) paints the learning environment an6 facilities

in a pitifui picture.

At the secondary school level, the sclence teacher still rely heawlv on

lecture method because the classrooms lack adequate facilities 01'

supplies such as up-to~~ate"'fextbooks, and science equipments.

Another disturbing point is the problem of over-crowded class which

makes effective teaching imposs/ble, Lack of or inadequate laboratory -.-+. ?--

and workshop facilities, overloading of science teachers with teaching

periods and shortage of qualified support personrie! such as

laboratory and workshop assistants further compound the problem.

These are hir?drances to the teaching -leal ning process.

The funding profile of government is low. UNICEFIFGN (1993)

showed that Nigeria spends less than 10% of the Gross National t

!%duct (GNP) on education as against the 15% recommended by

UNESCO. Also, even when the teachers are competent and facilities

made available, the attitude of the students to work constitute yet

anothe hindrance to teaching- learning process.

The success of any curriculum innc:ation rests, largely on the

availability of highly ccnscierltious and eeicient ciassroom teachers

who are both intellectually and practcally equipped to teach the

.-. curricu?ur,t content in the classroomllaboratory situations. It col~ld be

obser-led that every biology curriculum reform is inquiry-based a ~ d

prcb1,entl-solving in style.

., ;, . . "7 . .*. , '

(2) Resources for teaching and learning science.

By simpk definition, resources are materiais empioyed oy the

teacher to improve the effectivene,ss of imtruction. , , , These resources

I help to maximize learning on the part of the students by appealing to a

variety of senses. By. this definition resources could be classified into

human and non-human resources. Advances in technology have

brought about tremendous application of technological przducts in

improv~ng the effectiveness of products or what Okwo (19963 referrec!

to as new media which include audio cassette /tape, television, ,film

strips and slides, overhead projector and computer. W ~ t h these new

media, the term instructional technology has become a familiar term in

the classroom practice.

The pressing inadequacy, and in some more serious situation, _ I ,

? / 'I

< .

the near- absence of teaching laboratory equipments, reagents,

chemicals, laboratory space etc. are well known to the colleagues in - .

the field. Another area of constraint is that the culture and practice of

improvisation especially from local materials which could have, in

some way alleviated the difficulty may be virtually lacking. Ir, addition,

there seems to be no deliberate policy or drive towards generating

awareness, let alone training and re-training of teachers in acquiring

' the skiils of improvisation both at the pre-service and in-service levels.

(3) Communication bottlenecks in the classroom.

For now, Eng!ish language is not only the lingua-'ranca in , . .

Nigeria, but it is also the medium of instruction. It is logical to infer that

there could be some direct correlation between proficiency in English

language and students ability in science and technology education.

Scientific ideas and biology concepts are expressed, explained and ..-d-

communicated in the English language, be it from the textbooks or

through formal instructions in the class, or in the laboratory. If a

student does not understand what the teacher says, or what is written

in the textbook he or she may not effectively learn the subject matter.

One of the serlous dangers in this situation could be that the students %'\\

*. - would through such half or near lack of understanding, develop

misconceptions which are very often difficult to ameliorate in future' /

learning. This constitutes, yet, another major area of constraint that , ,

could militate against efforts to integrate theory with practical in

biology.

(4) The examination system in secondary schools.

Evidence from literature Adamu (1999) showed that science

teaching in schools are geared towards passing the prescribed

examinations. Adamu fy,flhe.r.,. asserted that in this sort of condition,

teachers are continually under pressure to coves the generally content

-heavy syllabuses and prepare the students "adequately" to pass the 11

examinations, often within limited time-frame. It was also observed

that examination questions, in themselves, tend to be concentrated

towards eliciting mastery of content, which can be demonstrated by

mere recall of "facts" either in the short-term or long-term memory. Ir:

this way, the process of developing the higher-order skills of

comprehension, synthesis and application, are neglected such that - .

teachers no longer feel obliged to expose students to the rigours of

scientific enquiry and problem solving. -. --.

Empirical Studies. i

(I) Related literature review on theory and practical work in ', . science. - .

The instructional approach recommended in science,

and mathematics (STM) curricula requires that learners are provided

with continuous experiences in process skill development, applying, i i

generalizations and executing projects. This view emphasises the

basic abilities and skills the STM teacher must possess in order to

develop the resources available to him to provide appropriate learning

experiences for his or her students. Dan-Azumi, (1998) carried out a .,,,.., " l . . t ' , .>? .

study on the effects of integrating theory with practical on student's

performance in chemistry and found that the mean achievement score

of students' increased whenlt they were involved in the theory

integrated with practicals. The students performed better in chemistry . - -

\ I

when they were exposed to theory integrated with practicals. !r!'"(-.

theory, only one of the senses (seeing) is being put into use, while in

practicals, all the three senses (seeing, hearing and feeling) are put

into action, so there is more likehood of transfer of information.

' Busari (I 996) explored the understanding of integration of theory

with practical work exhibited by practicing and pre-service chemistry II

teachers. A 50 item questionnaire was developed on th8 basis of

information obtained from the relevant literature on practical work and

scope of integration. The result showed that the coord~nation type of

integration of theory with practical work was more fruitful. This was

because the approach gave room for specificity, clarity, development .. .

of skills, management of time, energy and individual differences as \'

well as opportunity for first hand experiences. Coordination type of '"<

integration in this context means that the students will be taught in!

such a way that, concepts and skills are simultaneously taught, while

performing practicals. It is important to know that when the teacher

presents the concept, the meaning is not automatically grasped by the

students. The concept shallf.beeome more meaningful to the students \

when he or she engages in practical activity from which hslshe can

construct hislher own meaning and, generate more related concepts 11

based on the experiences of "doing". Learning therefore involves an

interaction between student's mental schemes and the experiences

they have.

(2) Location of schools and student's achievement in science.

Environment plays a major part in all the characteristics of.-:fi~ *.

N"k,- - organisms. By environment here is meant the immediate surrounding

1

of an organism. Experience of the researcher and other colleagues in

the field have shown that environment has a substantial influence on

the teaching learning situation in the school. Environment as used in

this study comprises urbanlrural environments. Majority of Nigerians .. . .

' live in the rural areas. These rural communities lack the basic

infrastructural facilities such as good roads, pipe-born water, electricity

and small-scale industries. Considering the rural and urban secondary

schools, it could be observed that most of the urban schools are well

equipped and have more facilities that can promote learning and

'

social development (Obodo and Onoh (2001). Some of the urban

schools are even called, model dschools wh~ch have more requirements

for any science learning. On the contrary, rural schools do not have

-- access to a good quantity of human and material resources. , . .

. _.c. Aleyideino (1989) reported that the background of the Nigerian

child imposed limitations on his learning of science. The specific

elements in this background identified as hindrances to learning of

science included under-developed physical environment that lack -.

such things as electricity, good roads, pipe-born water as well as

impediments of the linguistic background and superstitious beliefs. He

also observed in his study on "science and background of Nigerian

children" that some conditions in the rural environments favour

teaching and learning of science. These include availability of fresh

biological specimens and habitats for study of ecology as well as

relative low level of noise. Ndu (1991) reported in his study on "the

problems of teaching and learning science and technology in the rural :.

environments of Anambra State" that some of the pronlems of

teaching and learning science in the rural environments are

Inadequate equipment of science laboratories, insufficient number of

science teachers, inadequate facilities for students to study at home .-.

and lack of electricity etc. It is therefore, the intention of the

researcher to find out how location affects integrating theory with ...-

practical~ on student's~achievement in biology.

(3) Gender interaction in practical work in science.

Gender bias is a set of beliefs or attitude that indicate a primary ,I , .

view or set of expectations of people's abilities and interest; +iccording

to their set. Gender is seen as a cultural, psychological, and social

dimensions of maleness and femaleness. Gender is a social construct

because it refers to roles, which each society assigns to men and:

women both inside and outside the house-hold. Hence there are

terminoloaies like "men's work" and -mascuiine ana rne oonosrres 2 : . ,

"women's work" and "feminine." Consequently, gender or ,gender role

is nor a matter of biology or physiology but of social convention.

Gender roles differ across cultures and are also dynamic.

Beverly (1995), Carried out a study on "building gender fairness

in schools," noted that the assumption of the society is that women are

to be mothers, school teachers, secretacies, nurses, hair dressers,

- maids and social workers. With these assumpt~ons women will not

need training in Physics, Calculus, Chemistry, auto mechanic or

welding. Anyaeze (1996) also identified some factors ?hat have .-

contributed to differential valuation of the male and female

specialization. These include:- parental, peer-group, society or -.

cultural, marriage and school influences. This could greatly influence . , ,, . . ml. .*. 3 '

achievement in biology as well as having adverse effect on manpower

development. Sex differentlation on career choice could lead to poor

standard of .education.

Okeke (1992)) reveaked that in some industrialized but strongly

traditional countries of Japan, China and India, women were still ? i

struggling under emanc~pation issues of women ir, science,

technology and mathematics. The situation in Nigeria was in nG way

different. Research carried out on "Sociological and Poilosophical i'i

issues in science, mathematics and technology education of women in

Nigeria" (Okeke, 1992; Ekuri and Windapo 1997) indicated thst:," ,

( 1 Among the factors contributing to low participation of females in 1..

science, mathematics and technology education are role models, sex

stereotyping, and enrollment patterns. etc.

(2) Attitude of women through the home and school, ill-equipped

I .schools and apathetic poorly trained and motivated teachers at most -. .

especially primary and secondary levels. i

(3) Most women avoid science, technology and mathematics

careers because of fear of possible conflict with demands of : ,'

motherhood.

(4) Co-operative instructional strategies tend to foster gender equity

in the mastery of science concepts.

Results of the stuijd'y"'ca~ried out by Onyegegbu (2004). on

interaction and gender in senior secondary school science ciassroam

showed that .there was a clear , disparity . . between participatior: lessons.

The observation focused on differences between boys and girls

participation in science lessons and any stereotypical, behaviour ' .\3

P'.-, exhibited by science teachers during teaching. Boys had higher .

chances of part~cipation and dommatmg

This was more evident during the teacher

the lessons than the girls.

initiated interaction than the

students initiated interactions. Girls generally participated- in-- fewer f

interactions than boys. The girls on the other hand were extra-careful ,*

--.

and initiated few interactions than boys. These findings are in line with

the findings of White (1 984)

A programme is gender biased whero experiences of men are

given undue considerations. The school for example,' perpetuates i

gender bias through. the following organizational and administrative ..

patterns:- Segregation of schools by sex, that is, running single sex

sch0.01~; separating names in the register; sitting arrangement; class ;

competitions along the line of sex (girls pitched against boys) and

classroom control along gender roles-girls are quiet and passive, boys I*

are active. Skelton (1 987), therefore advises school administrators

and teachers to be aware of and rectify these practices which

differentiate between gids'"$h8'bby's as these frequently remind pupils

that they are either male or female, and thus help ir! fixing and

perpetuating. gender identity. It It is . the . intention of the researcher to

establish whether gender bias has significant difference in irdegrating . c\.\:. -

&\.-',

theory with practical work on student's achievement in biology.

Summary of literature review. I

I . i

The national biology core curriculum (FME, 1985) provides 'that

the ~nowkdge acquired in biology is mtended to meet the needs of

the society through relevance and functionality in its content. method, " - _ -- - . "

processes and application. In view of this, more emphasis is placed on -.

field studies, guided-discovery, laboratory techniques and skills '"-

-.

coupled with conceptual thinking. In line with this expectation, the

totality of the materials that appeal to all senses of perception and I

improve effectiveness of instruction could be a strategy for improving / /

student's achievement. /

Studies by Ajewole, Ajogbasile and Okebukola (1990) showed

that the teaching technique majority of thc teachers used frequently Z I

was the expository type. Theoretical teachmg prevailed most of the.

time with the result that the activit~es earmarked for prac~ical i/vork

were seldomly done. Similarly, observation by the reseay~her and .3

other colleagues in the field showed that practical work in biology was

carried out after teaching tti'6"ftieoretical aspects of the topk(s). This

means that practical work was separated from theory. This was

clearly observed when biology practical guides are sent to various , . ..

schools by WAEC in preparation for the Certificate Examination. , .." 4 . - - 8 .

Evidence from Literature by Ogunnyi ($986) and Busari (1995)';\::

showed that science teaching should be by experimentation rather

than separation of two lessons for theory and practical work.

Based on the evidence from earlier studies and other colleagues

in the field, the teaching technique that could be employed by the

teacher to help students acquire the necessary skills through active

learning and meet the needs of the society through relevance and

functionality as reflected in the biology core curriculum has not been

adequately addressed. Therefore integrating theory with practical work

in biology is one of the techniques that could be used to help students

achieve the stated objectives in biology curriculum. This can be

achieved through teaching the concepts, principles and skills

simultaneously, and making the learners active participants in the

lesion. If scientific and technological development is to be achieved in

Nigeria, then teaching for the acquisition of the necessary skills la

through active participation of the learners, and making the knowledge

relevant and function~a~~""s~iould be properly addressed in the

classroom. Learning experiences that stimulate or appeal to limited

senses of.receiving informatian would not be enough for the teacher to

convey meaningful information to the student nor would it be adequate

enough to stimulate the learner to receive and process all the

necessary information for the development of cognitive, psychomotor

and affective skills or competences in biology.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

The methods and procedure used for obtaining and treating data

for finding solutions to the problem of this study was discussed under

the following sub-heading: Research design, Area of study,

Population of the study, Sample and sampling technique,

Development of instrument, Validation of the instrument, Reliability of

the instrument, Treatment Procedure and Method of data analysis.

Research Design

The research design in this study was the quasi-experimental

design, specifically the non-equivalent control group design. In this

design, the researcher could not randomly sample and assign his

subjects, and as a result, he used intact classes (ie groups whose . , , q . . m l * + ' , '

membership was not determined by the researcher) for the

experimental and control groups. I f . .

Area of study

The area of study is Benue State located in the middle belt zone

of Nigeria. This area was the education zone iiC" of Benue State. The

secondary schools were located in the North western and southern

parts of Benue. Some schools were located in urban settlements and

others in rural settlements covering the 9 local government areas

found in the study zone. A large number of the schools in the study

area were co-educational institutions while others had single stream of

either boys or girls.

Population of the study.

The population for this study was the entire senior secondary

school year 1 students who offered biology in the study area.

According to the statistics section of the Ministry of Education,

Makurdi, about 13,500 students were in SS 1 class in the study area

in the 200412005 academic session. The choice of SS 1 class was

because they should have covered a larger content of the syllabus

from where the instrument for the study was constructed. la

Sample and Sampling Technique

A total of 4 schoo~s~'~"each'from urban and rural schools were

randomly selected from the 94 schools in the study area. The subjects

of the study were made up of ,SS1 :students in the randomly selected

schools. Simple random sampling technique was used in selecting the

schools and the subjects in their intzct classes. Two schools were

drawn from urban area and also two from rural area. One of the

schools randomly selected from thi., urban area was assigned

experimental group and the other the control group. The same was

done for schools in the rural area.

Development of Instrument

The instrument used for data collection was the teacher-made

biology achievement test (BAT). The test covered the theoretical and

practical aspects of the topic(s) treated. The topics treated were cell

structure, photosynthesis and animal nutrition. The test was made up

of section A comprising short-answer questions and section B,

alternative to practical questions.

On the whole, there were 20 items of the questions. The items

of the test was designed to assess students in three cognitive levels of

Bloom's (1 956) taxonomy of educational objectives, namely, %

knowledge, comprehension and application.

Validation of the Instrument.

The test items was based on .the concepts and skills which the 11

students might have learnt during the lesson. And to ensure the

content validity of the instrument, a table of specification was used for

its construction. A table of specification is a blue-print which guides

the test writer to write appropriate item types. It defines the scope,

emphasis the test, related content to objectives and ensures a

balanced test.

Table 1 : Table of specification for construction of test items

he cell I I - I I

12 13 I I I 6

Total Cognitive levels

The instrument was given to experts in test development for

their comments. Their comments helped to ensure appropriateness of

the language used, clarity of the directions and the suitability of the

arrangement of the items. By these measures, the content and face

validity of the instrument was achieved.

Knowl.

Photosynthesis Animal Nutrition

Reliability of the Instrument

The Biology achievement test (BAT) constructed by the 1

researcher was administered to equivalent groups from G.S.S lkachi

and ICSS Okileme in rurdl"locatioh~; Wesley High School Otukpo and

GSS Otukpo in Urban area. The reliabilgty coefficient using the Kuder-

Comp

4 3

Richardson formula 21 was 0.3?, and 0.60 for the pre and post tests

were respectively obtained

Appl.

Treatment Procedure

A pre-test was administered to the sampled subjects in their

intact classes. This lasted for I hour. To achieve the objective of the

9 5

-

3 I

study, the subjects were subjected to scime form of formal instruction

2 I

that lasted for 2 months. Graduate teachers of long experience with

specialization in biology were used as instructors or research

assistants. The researcher provided written lesson notes as a guide

to the instructors to be used for the experimental class and another for

the control class. The study was designed in such a way that the

instructors or research assistance taught all the three topics in the

experimental and control classes.

The method of teaching in the experimental group was the

inquiry method whereby the concepts were simultaneously taught

while practical activities were being carried out. There was no

separate theory and practical lessons in the experimental group. In the

control group, the method of teaching was the expository type and 1

practical activities were separated from the theory. The questions that

were administered as pte-T&t'w&re also given as post-test after the

formal instruction in the class. To avoid the transfer effect from pre-

test to post-test, the question numbers were altered and the colour of

the paper was changed.

Method of Data Analysis

The pre-test and post-test scores obtained from the

administration of the teacher made biology achievement test (BAT)

instrument was analysed using mean to answer research questions I,

2 and 3. To test hypothesis I a t-test of independent mean was

computed. This was to determine whether or not a significant

difference exists between the two groups. The analysis of covariance

(ANCOVA) was used to analyse hypothesis 2 and 3. The ANCOVA

was considered appropriate because of its statistical tool for analyzing

data based on a pre-test and post-test design. It also served as a

technique for controlling extraneous variables and contamination

Control of Extraneous Variables C

To control extraneous variables the researcher personally .,,,.."I.". . "j. '

carried out the teaching exercise. This would eliminate the problem of

teacher differences. With the use of already existing classes, initial

equivalence may not be achieved for ihe students in the two groups.

In order to eliminate the errors associated with non-equivalence

arising from the non-randomization of the subjects, the researcher

used analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for data analysis. This

corrected the initial differences among the students.

To reduce the non-experimental biology experiences among the

students' participants of this study, no homework, or out of class

assignment was given to the students during the instructional period.

As the marked pre-test scripts were not given back to the students

after the test, the questions administered were equally collected or

retrieved from them after the pre-test.

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION OF RESULTS

In this chapter, data for this study were analysed and presented

based on the research questions and hypotheses.

Research question 1.

What is the mean score of biology students when they are taught

biology with the theory integrated with practical?

Table 2: The pre-test and post -test mean scores of the experimental

and control groups.

I Pre-test mean 1 2o ' / Post -test mean 1 20 I Total

I 1 40

(Experimental

Theory

practical from practicals)

Table shows that the experimental group taught biology with 4

theory integrated with practical using .'the inquiring method had mean

achievement score of 72.60, while the control group taught biology

with theory separated from practical using conventional method had a

lesser mean score of 53.85. It can be seen that the experimental

group performed better than the control group.

Research question 2

To what extent do boys and girls exposed to the classroom

situation of integrating theory with practicals differ in their achievement

in biology?

Table 3: Comparison of the mean scores of boys and girls taught

biology through theory integrated with practicals.

Sex

Boys

mean of the post- test scores of boys and girls fl

Girls

N = Number of the sampled subjects

N

15

X = Sum of the post-test scores of boys and girls.

Sum of the post-test scores of boys (x)

896

15

- la

X = Mean of the post- test scores of boys and girls.

In table 2 the higher mean.-*post-test score of boys shows that the

-

boy's achievement in biology was better than that of the girls when

824

theory was .integrated with practical. One of the reasons for this , . .

difference between boys and girls achievement could be that the boys

were more active and dominating than the girls in practical lessons.

Research question 3:

How does the location of the school (urbanlrural) affect students'

achievement in biology when theory is integrated with practical?

Table 4: Distribution of the mean achievement scores of urban and

rural students.

/ Urban students / Rural students

I Mean score / 62.84 1 53.46 I Results in table 4 shows that the students in urban schools that had

more qualified staff, laboratory facilities and infrastructural facilities

had a mean achievement score of 62.84, while students in rural

schools with a lesser number of qualified staff and lack laboratory

facilities had a mean score of 53.46. It can be observed that the

students in the urban schools performed better than the students in

rural schools.

Hypothesis 1 . ,, . . *I. .?' , ., + .

There will be no significant difference in the mean achievement scores

of students taught biology through integrating theory with practicals

and their counterparts taught bidlogy without theory integrated with

practicals.

Table 5 t-test of difference between the post mean scores of

experimental and control groups

Group

Experimental

Control group

Post-test mean of deviation experimental & control groups -

T. table

The df = 38 (N, +N2 - 2) i.e 20 + 20 - 2 level of significance = 0.05

N = Numberofsubjects.

The t-calculated value = 5.77

The t-table value = 1.684.

Decision. The null hypothesis is rejected because the t-calculated

value is greater thaibl ., ,, the . m f . ., .t-table , *,+ value. This means that there is a

difference in the mean achievement score of students taught biology

through integrating theory with practical and their counterparts taught ,

biology without integrating theory with practicals. (See appendix 7)

Hypothesis 2 and 3.

Table 6: The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for comparing data

obtained from Urban and rural schools, and boys and girls on

integrating theory with practicals in biology.

F- Crit. L 3.10

Sources of

variance

Between groups

Within groups

Total

dfT = N-l(ie20-1=19)

dfB = k-I( i .e4-1=3)

df, = N-k (i.e. 20- 4 = 160

level of significance = 0.05

Df

3

16

19

F - calculated = 7.274

. , ,, . . - 1 - .?. , .,4-

Critical value of F = 3.1 0.

The analysis of data obtained in table 3 shows that the overall

mean achievement score of boys was higher than those of the girls.

The boys were more active than the girls in practical activities. The

students in urban schools performed better than their counterparts in

the rural areas. The ANCOVA show that the difference between the

two groups is significant. The reason for this could be that the

students in the urban schools had more qualified staff and facilities

than what was obtained in the rural schools (see table 4)

Decision. F- ratio is significant at 0.05 level of significance and at df3

and 16 for enumerator and denominator respectively. From the F -

ratio distribution, the critical value of F with 3 and 16 degrees of

freedom at 0.05 level of significance is 3.10. Since the computed

value of 7.27 is greater than the critical value of 3.10, the null

hypothesis 2 and 3 are rejected A significant difference exists between

boys and girls, urban and rural schools when biology is taught through

integrating theory with practicals (see appendix 9).

CHAPTER FIVE

Discussion, Summary, And Recommendation

The discussion of the results, the summary and conclusion of .

the study as well as recommendations are presented in this cha~ter , ,

under the following sub-headings.

Integrating theory with practical in biology

The findings from Table 2 revealed that integrating theory ,with

practical in biology had a high positive effect on student's

performance. The high mean score in the post-test result of the

experimental group was because the students participated

meaningfully well, and were actively involved in the lesson. Because

the students were simultaneously taught the concepts and skills while

.. performing practical activities, their performance was found to be

better than their counterparts taught biology without integrating theory . ,, .*I- .? . " + .

with practicals. The findings of this study are in line with the findings

of Escalade & Zollman (1996) and Mercy (1997) who found that

practical experiences that utilize hands-on inquiry have been

considered as one of the most effective methods of learning science.

The implementation of the results of this study could help to correct

the observation of the Chief examiner's report in biology (1998) that

the students lacked the understanding of the basic concepts in biology

and the performance is generally poor.

Table 4 shows that the null hypothesis was rejected. This

means that a significant difference in the mean achievement score of

students was found in favour of students taught biology through

integrating theory with practical. The pre-test result provided basis on

which it could be assumed that both the control and experimental

groups had equivalent entry knowledge at the commencement of the

treatment. An examination of the mean of the raw scores (see

appendix 8) shows that the experimental group performed better than

the control group who were taught biology without integrating theory

with practical. This observation is suggestive of a higher degree of

original learning among the experimental group. It may atso be an

indication of better understanding of concepts, principles and attitudes

that could facilitate application ., , , . . * I - .* , .,$ and productivity in the teaching and

learning of biology.

~ e n d e r effect on integrating theory with practicala.

Table 3 shows that boys performed better than the girls when

biology was taught through integrating theory with practicals. This

finding may be attributed to the higher chances of participation of boys

in the lesson than the girls. This result differs from the finding of

practical. The mean achievement score of students in urban school

was found to be higher than the mean score of students in rural

schools. The findings in the post-test results of hypotheses 2 table 6

show that experimental group (urban school) performed better than

the control group (rural school). The students in urban schools had

higher mean score than their counterparts in the rural schools. This

observation could be as a result of the availability of adequate

qualified staff and facilities which were found more in urban schools

than rural schools (see appendix 9)

The findings in this study differs from that of Aleyideino (1 989)

who found that some conditions in the rural environment such as fresh

biological specimen and relative low level of noise favour teaching and

learning. However, the result of this study is in line with the findings of

Ndu (1991) and Obodo (2001) who found that some of the problems . ,, .wl .?. ,

of teaching and learning science in the rural environments are

inadequate equipment of science laboratories, insufficient number of

science teachers, inadequate fadties for students to study science

and lack of electricity.

Summary of Findings.

From the foregoing discussion, the following conclusions

were reached:-

1. Students' taught biology through integrating theory with

practicais performed better than their counterparts taught

biology without theory integrated with practicals.

2. Boys performed better when taught theory integrated with

practicals.

3. The students in the urban schools performed better than their

counterparts in the rural area when taught theory integrated with

practicals.

Implications of the study

The findings of this study have far-reaching implications:

1. Since practical activities in biology are separated from the

theory, teaching is not likely to be effective, relevant and

functional. Poor teaching arising from reliance on theoretical . ,< . . -1" 5,' .

method of teaching will certainly affect students in their learning,

and may result to under-achievement and lack of skill

acquisition. Therefore, biology should be taught through theory

integrated with practicals.

2. It was clear from the results that most females were 2s

competent as most males. In the same manner, most student$\

from rural schools were as competent as most students from the

urban schools. Therefore, it would be necessary for the teachers

to device techniques that will strengthen the girl's confidence in

the participation of practical activities. Also it is important to

provide the human and materials resources needed for

integrating theory with practicals in biology as is found in urban

schools. The rural areas also need the establishment of special

science school.

3. The poor performance of the students and lack of skill

acquisition is indicative of the fact that biology is poorly taught in

most schools, and also that difficulty exists in learning the

subject among the students because of the constraints faced by

both the teachers and students. From this point of view,

teachers of biology need to make use of improvised materials in

order to stimulate the student's, interest, by integrating theory

with practicals.

Limitations of the study . , . . .'+

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher

experienced many limitations. They included among others:-

1. The terrain and transportatibn to the schools in rural locations

was a serious setback in this study. This affected the sample

size of the study.

2. The respondents were not initially free with the researcher as

many thought the test instrument was for their continuous

assessment.

3. The time needed to complete this study was short when

compared with the content and geographical coverage of the

study.

4. It was nearly impossible to obtain a perfect control of the

controlled group during the experimental study.

Recommendations

The following recommendations have been proffered based on

the findings and conclusion made in this study.

1 School laboratories, materials and equipments should provided

and made functional in order to enable the staff and students be

actively involved in biology lesson when theory is integrated with

practicals. Government can do this by showing the political will

in making science . ,, educatjon . . "I+ .* functional for a technological

breakthrough.

2. Practical activities in biology should not be separated from , . .

theory so as to help the students relate the concepts learnt with

the skills for better understanding. Teachers can do this by

teaching the concepts and skills simultaneously in order to yield

better results.

4. Strategies for increasing the productivity level of teachers in

rural areas.

Summary Of The Study

The national core curriculum prepared by the federal

ministry of education (198520) was obtained by the researcher

in order to identify the cardinal objectives for teaching biology. In

accordance with the stated objective, the contents and contexts

of the curriculum place emphasis on field studies, guided -

discovery, laboratory techniques and skills coupled with

conceptual tk~nking. The instrument used for data collection was

the teacher-made achievement test. The test covered both the

theoretical and practical aspects of the topics selected for

teaching in the SS 1 class. In order to ensure the content validity

of the instrument, a t&b.(g,- gf ,specification was prepared and 20

test items raised there from.

The test items were validated by experts in test 11

development who made comments in terms of face and content

validity of the instrument. The reliability of the instrument was

determined using Kuder-Richardson formula 21 and this yielded

0.37 and 0.60 for the pre-test and post-test respectively. The 20

test items made up of theoretical and practical questions were

pre-tested on a sample of 100 SS1 students offering biology

from the randomly selected schools in the urban and rural

locations. The Kudder-Richardson formula 21 yielded 0.37 for

pre-test and 0.60 for post-test.

The mean achievement score was used to answer the

research questions of the study, while the t-test of independent

mean and Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were employed to

test the hypotheses at 0.05 probability level. Significant

differences existed between the mean achievement score of

students taught biology through integrating theory with practicals

and their counterparts taught biology without theory integrated

with practicals. Similarly, significant differences existed between

the mean achievement score of students taught biology through

integrating theory with practicals in urban and rural schools and

between boys and girls. Results from this study showed that the

mean achievement score of students increased when biology

was taught through . integrat~pg ,, . ..I- theory with practicals. Students

understood the lesson better, learnt the necessary process skills

and concepts and can apply the knowledge learnt in everyday

problems. Conducive learning environment and the resources

needed for teaching biology and other science subjects should

be provided for scientific and technological development.

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Aleyideino, S. (1 989) Science and Background of Nigerian Children. Journal of STAN. 25(1)87-89

Ali, A (1 998) Strategic 1ssues''Atfd Trends in Science Education in Africa. Onitsha: Cape Publishers International LTD.

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Brett, A (1 991) Why Gender is a Development Issue. In Wallace T. and March C (Ed) Changing Perceptions: writing on Gender and Development. U. K.: Oxford.

Bru ner, J . S (1 966) To wards a Theory of Instruction. Cambridge: Belkne Press.

Bursari, 0.0 (1 995) Teaching school science. In press.

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Appendix 1 I

The number of schools in the study area and the SS 1 students'

population in 2004/2005 academic session . . -- ........ ---. ..

r ~ u m b e r of schools 1 SS 1 Student's population 1

Source: Statistics unit of the ministry of education, Makurdi Benue State.

Appendix 2

Distribution of students by Boys and Girls in the study area in

2004/2005 academic session.

I Zone / Boy's I Girls' I SS 1 Student's I I I population 1 population I population /

Source: Teaching Service Board Makurdi Benue state. - ,,. 4.5. d. " C '

APPENDIX 3 t

THE WEST AFRICAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL

PRIVATE MAIL BAG 1076

YABA-LAGOS

SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION

NOVEMBERIDECEMBER 1998.

CHIEF EXAMINERS' REPORT %

1,

Biology 1 '

Candidates' strengths.

The following were identified as candidates' strengths:

Improvement in identification, labeling and stating of functions of

drawn specimens;

Demonstration of proficiency in questions requiring

interpretations of experimental set ups, ecology .and simple

mathematical applications;

Adherence to paper rubrics

Candidates' weaknesses

The following were identify as candidates' weaknesses;

Poor approach in answering questions;

Inability to use one word answers and exhibition of poor

expression of English. . , . 1 . ." '

Biology 2 B

CANDIDATES' STRENGTHS:

The candidates had commendable qualities in the following

areas:

Good approach to short answer questions and definitions;

Ability to make good diagrams;

Ability to label correctly;

Good knowledge of some biological processes;

Adherence to rubrics

2. CANDIDATES' WEAKNESSES

The follcwing were identified as candidates' weaknesses; - Poor approach in answering essay questions - Poor spelling;

- Inability to answer questions demanding one-word answers; - Poor expressions in describing principles of some processes in

biology; - Lacked basic concept of biology

APPENDIX 4

PRE-TEST'

Using KR 21 formula.

r total test = (K) (sD') - X (K-X)

K= the number of items in the test.

SD= the standard deviation of the score.

X = the mean of the scores.

r total test = (20) (1 1 . 5 ~ ~ ) - 53 (20-53)

POST TEST t

Using KR 21 formula.

r total test = (K) (so2) - x (K- X)

K= the number of items in the test.

SD= the standard deviation of the score.

X = the mean of the scores.

r total test = (20) (10.44~) -69 (20-69)

APPENDIX 5 t

List of Urban and Rural Schools in Education Zone "C" of Benue

State.

URBAN SCHOOLS. Jesus College Otukpo.

Wesley High School, Otukpo.

St. Francis College, Otukpo.

Government Model Secondary School, Otukpo.

St Anne's Secondary School, Otukpo.

St Monica's Girls' Secondary School, Otu kpo.

Otukpo Comprehensive Secondary School, Upu- Otukpo.

Ujor Memorial College, Otukpo.

St. Paul's Secondary School, Otukpo.

Nicholilson Commercial and Secondary School, Otukpo.

Apa Demonstration College, Ugbokpo. .< ,, . . "7. .*.

Government Secondary School, Ugbokpo.

Emmanuel Secondary School, Ugbokolo.

Adoka Comprehensive ~edondary School, Adoka.

Holy Rosary College, Adoka.

Ugboju Comprehensive Secondary School, Okpachenyi.

Okpeje Comprehensive Secondary School, Okpeje-Adoka.

Ewule College Otukpo.

I

RURAL SCHOOLS

Government College Uton kon.

Government Secondarv School. Ulayi

Government Secondary School, Agila

Methodist High School, Igumale.

Auila Comprehensive Secondary School, Auila.

Ufia Comprehensive Secondary School, Utonkon.

St. Mochael's Secondary School, Apa-Aguila.

Apa Comprehensive Secondary School, Apa-Aguila.

Government Secondary School, Obagaji.

Methodist High School, Obagaji.

Methodist High School, Ogwule.

Methodist High School, Ogbaulu. . ,,. . "7 . .*. 3

St. Paul's Secondary School, Odugbeho.

Muslim Comprehensive Secondary School, Ogwule.

Achega Comprehensive Secondary School, Ogwule.

Achema M.C.S.S. Iga-Okpaya.

St. John's Secondarj 'School, Amoke.

Omachi Memorial College Idada.

lkobi Comprehensive Secondary School, Ikobi.

20. St. Joseph's Secondary School, Auke.

Methodist High School, Oiji. I

Ojope Comprehensive Secondary School, Ofoke.

Methodist High School, Ojantele.

Odugbo Comprehensive Secondary School, Odugbo.

Government Secondary School, Ito

St. Joseph's Secondary School, Ito.

Ito Compreherlsive Secondary School, Okpokwu

Government Girl's Secondary School, Obarike-lto

Government Secondary School, Ugbugbu-Owukpa.

Government Secondary School, Orokam.

Otukpa Comprehensive Secondary School, Otukpa.

Okam High School, Orokam.

Edugwu-lye Comprehensive Secondary School, Adum-Oko.

Owukpa Comprehensive,Sewndary . ,, . . -?. ., , . I * School, Ibagba-Owukpa.

ltabono Comprehensive Secondary School, Itabono-Owukpa.

Methodist High School, Odoba-Otukpa. , . .

Onoja Memorial Secondary School, Abo-Otukpa.

Aiodo Community Secondary School, Otto-Otukpa.

National College, Orokam.

Government Secondary School, Ikachi.

Government Secondary School, Obusa.

42. Government Secondary School, Oju. t

43. Government Secondary School, Odigo. ,

44. Methodist High School, Ainu.

45. lgede Community Secondary School, Okileme..

46. lgede Community Secondary School, Akwula.

47. lgede Community Secondary School, Oboru.

48. lgede Community Secondary School, Opiem-Owo.

49. lgede Community Secondary School, Ogege-ldelle.

50. Comprehensive Secondary School, Anyuwogbu.

51. Methodist High School, Ameka.

52. College of Immaculate Conception, Oju.

53. Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Atilo.

54. Ugene city High School, Ugene.

55. Onyangede Comprehensive . G , 4 . . w l . ., , Secondary 4r School, Onyangede.

56. Ukpiko Comprehensive Secondary School, Odel!e.

57. St. Vincent Catholic School, Oglewu. , I . .

58. Ajegbe Secondary School, Ohaji.

59. Ochobo Comprehensive Secondary School, Ochobo.

60. Government Secondary School, Okpoga.

61. lchama Comprehensive Secondary School, Ichama.

62. Ekenobi High School, Ekenobi.

Fatima Girl's Secondary School t

Edumoga Comprehensive Secondary School, Ojigo.

Obeya Memorial Secondary School, Okpoga.

Ejiga Memorial College, 0 kpaflo-Adoka.

ldoma Comprehensive Secondary School, Otobi.

Federal Government College, Otobi.

Akpa Comprehensive Secondary School, Allan-Akpa.

Okalekwo Memorial Comprehensive Secondary, School, Aune-

Adoka.

Elabo Technical Secondary School, Okpaflo-Adoka.

Ugboju-lche Comprehensive Secondary School, Ipom-Ugboju.

Adokpela College Umogidi.

Memorial High School, Ombi-Ugboju.

King's College Ogobia-Ugboju. . . , . . ri. .* 'st

topa-Community Comprehensive Secondary School, Opa-

Adoka.

APPENDIX 6 t

Department of Science Education, University of Nigeria Nsukkz. 21 October, 2002

Dear ProfIAssoc. Prof./ Dr./ Sir/ Ma.

REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE TO VALIDATE A RESEARCH INSTRUMENT (BIOLOGY ACHIEVEMENT TEST)

May I request you to kindly read the attached test questions in

Biology with a view to validating same for use in my research study.

Please. I am presently undergoing a research aimed at finding the

effect of integrating theory with practical work on students'

achievement in biology for a master degree progreamme at the

University of Nigeria, Nsu kka:~ .?.

This instrument is designed for the purpose' of eliciting

information from SS I Students with regards to their achievement in , I 1 .

biology. The instrument is intended to measure the degree to which

their understanding of the subject enhances their performance.

Kindly review the items in the instrument in relation to:-

1. Their relevance to the intended purpose

2. Their clarity and appropriateness of the language and 1

expressions to the respondents.

3. The nature of the statements; whether they are positive or

negative in character and meaning.

4. The appropriateness of the statements in the factors they are

placed.

5. 1 shall be grateful too, if you can make general comment on the

instrument from your expertise point of view, please.

Yours faithfully,

(Emmanuel E. Ona) Investigator

TEACHER-MADE ACHIEVEMENT TEST QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS IN SS. I IN EDUCATION ZONE 'C' OF BENUE STATE

INSTRUCTIONS: Answer all questions in sections 'A' and '6' Time: - 50 minutes.

SECTrON 'A' (Short -answer questions) 50 marks

Define a cell

State any two observable differences between a plant cell and

an animal cell.

What is the function of the nucleus in the cell?

What is photosynthesis?

Write a balanced chemical equation for photosynthesis

Name the stages involved in photosynthesis.

State one reason why the boiling -tube containing alcohol is

heated in a water-bath when testing for starch in the leaf?

State one reason why light is necessary for photosynthesis to . . I . . "7. .1' .I..

occur in green plants.

Mention one way photosynthesis is beneficial to man.

Name the classes of food eaten by animals. I

Which of the food nutrients is a body-building substance?

SECTION 'B' (ALTERNATIVE TO PRACTICAL QUESTIONS) 50 MARKS,

1. Identify the organism labeled I - iv in the diagrams illustrated

below giving one reason each

Study the diagram illustrated below and label the arts I-iv.

a. Is the organism above, a plant or an animal?

b. Give one reason for the answer you gave above

c. Name two reagents used in testing for a reducing sugar in food

substances

d. State why it is not necessary to set up a control experiment

when using a variegated leaf in the test for starch?

e. What do you observe when lcm3 of Benedict's solution is , . , . .' "+

mixed with I cm%f glucose solution in a boiling test tube?

f. What does this observation confirm?

g. Name the organic catalyst that breaks down food into

absorbable form. , . . *

h. List the conditions necessary for photosynthesis

i. What is the use of the black paper in the diagram below

APPENDIX ? LESSON NOTE (EXPERIMENTAL GROUP)

School: GSS Otukpo.

Subject: Biology.

Class: SS lB.

Topic: The Cell Structure.

Date: 6-2-2005

Time: 9:OO-9:40am.

Duration: 40 minutes

Number in class: intact class

Average age: 1 8years,

Sex: mixed.

Behavioural Objectives:-

By the end of the lesson'#~'dldents should be able to:-

(1) Define Cell

(2) Observe and identify the parts of plant and animal cell.

(3) Draw and label the structure of plant and animal cell.

lnstructional Materiah: Microscope, prepared slides of plant and

animal cells.

Previous knowledge:- The students have learnt and can identify t

unicellular organisms such as Paramecium, Amoeba, Clamydomanas

etc.

Introduction:-

The teacher asked students some questions from the previous lesson.

e.g. name any four (4) unicellular organisms.

State one reason why the organism is called Amoeba, Paramecium

etc.

Presentation:-

Step I.

The teacher defined the concept "Cell" as the basic unit of living

matter. The students used the microscope to observe and identify the

parts of onion cell and scrqn$.qm the check.

Step II

The teacher explains the structure and functions of the various 1,

parts of the plant and animal cell. The students drew and label the

parts of the cell as the lesson progressed.

Evaluation:- The teacher all asked the following questions at the end

of the lesson.

1. Define Cell.

2. State any one function of the nucleus of the cell.

3. '

State any three differences between a plant and an animal cell.

The teacher collected the student's book for marking and corrections. I-

LESSON NOTE (CONTROL GROUP)

School: Methodist High School, Ainu.

Subject: Biology.

Class: SS I".

Topic: The ceil structure.

Date: 6-2-2005

Time: 10:20-11 :OOam.

Duration: 40 minutes.

' Number in class: intact class

Average Age: I Byem,,, ,

Sex: mixed.

, I . .

Behavioural objectives:

By the end of the lesson the students should be able to:-

(1) Define Cell

(2) State the differences between a plant cell and animal cell.

(3) Draw and label the structure of the plant and animal cell.

Instructional Materials:

Diagramme of plant and animal cell, microscopes, prepared slides of

plant and animal cells.

Previous knowledggThe students have learnt and can identify the

unicetlular organisms such as Ameoba, Euglena, Paramecium etc.

The teacher asked some questions from the previous lesson. e.g. :.

Name any four (4) unicellular organisms. State one reason why the

organism you have named is called Amoeba, Paramecium etc. 1

Step [

The teacher defined the concept "cell" as the basic unit of life

and names some examples such as onion cell, nerve cell, etc.

Step I I . . -7 . *: . ,r

With the aid of'the d~agram of the cell, the teacher explained the

structure, functions and differences between the plant and animal cell.

Step Ill , t . .

The teacher organized a practicai activity for the students to

observe the ?ell under the microscope drew and label the parts of the

plant and animal cell.

Evaklaation :

The teacher asked the students the following questions at the end of

the lesson.

1. Define cell.

2. State any one function of the nucleus of the cell.

3. State any three differences betweeh a plant and an animal cell.

Conclusionlsummary.

The teacher I collected the student's book for marking and corrections.

LESSON NOTE (EXPERIMENTAL GROUP)

School: G.S.S. Otukpo.

Subject: Biology.

Class: SS lB.

Topic: Photosynthesis.

Date: 6-2-2005

Time: 9:OO-9:40am.

Duration: 40 minutes

Number in class: intact class

Average Age: 18years.

Sex: mixed.

' Behavioural Objectives;

By the end of the lesson the students should be able to:- ., ,, . . "1. .*. , .?< .

1 Define photosynthesis

2. Write a Chemical equation for photosynthesis.

3. Test for starch in a green leaf. , I . ..

Instructional materials;

A fresh green leaf, Bunsen burner, test tube, beaker, water, alcohol,

petri-ash ,iodine solution.

Previous knowledge: The students have learnt carbohydrates such as

cassava, yams, corn and sweet potatoes etc. produced by plants.

The teacher asked students to name some food crops produced

by farmers.

Presentation:- Step I

The teacher

chemical equation

C6HI2O6 +0$

Step 11.

The teacher

defined the concept "photosynthesis", wrote the

on the board and explained it. H20 + C02 Sunlight Chlorophvll

informed the students about the precautions to take

when carrying out the test for starch. The students tested for the

presence of starch in a fresh green leaf. At each stage of the students'

findings, the teacher explained what was happening. When the

students get the blue-black coiour of the leaf, it confirmed the

presence of starch in the.leaJ..., . , ,,

Step Ill

The process of photosynthesis was discussed with the students.

Evaluation:.

The teacher asked the students the following questions at the

end of the lesson.

1. Define Photosynthesis.

2. Write a balanced chemical equation for photosynthesis.

3. Why is alcohol in the test tube containing a green leaf heated

under water-bath?

Some questions on practical exercises were given to students to f

amwer at the end of the lesson. e.g

1. Whyisalcoholusedinthisexperiment?

2. Why must the leaf be boiled before testing for starch?

LESSON NOTE (CONTROL GROUP)

School: Methodist High School, Ainu:

Subject:

Class:

Topic:

Date:

Time:

Duration:

Number in class:

Average Age:

Sex:

Biology.

SS I c

Photosynthesis.

6-2-2005

10:20-11:OOam

40 minutes.

Intact class

1 8years.

mixed .

. , . I . . Behavioural objectives:

By the end of the lesson the students should be able to:-

1. Define photosynthesis.

2. ~ r i t e a chemical equatioh for photosynthesis.

3. Describe the test for starch in a green leaf.

Instructional Materials:- A fresh green leaf, Bunsen burner, test-

tube, Beaker, water, alcohol, iodine solution, petri-dish.

Previous knowledge:- The students have learnt carbohydrates such

as cassava, Yam, corn, sweet potatoes, etc. produced by pants.

i Introduction:-

The teacher asked students to name five food substances produced

by plants.

Step I The teacher defined the concept "photosynthesis" and wrote the

chemical equation on the board.

H20 + C02 sunlight C6H1206 +02 7' ---, Chlorophyll

Step II The teacher explained the process of photosynthesis and

described how to test for starch in a green leaf to show that

photosynthesis took place.

Step Ill . ., . . .$. .,. .,..

The teacher demonstrated how to test for starch in a green leaf.

Evaluation:-

The teacher asked the students the following questions at the , I . .

end of the lesson.

1. Define photosynthesis.

2. Write a chemical equation for photosynthesis.

3. Describe how to test for starch in a fresh green leaf.

The teacher asked the students to do some exercises on the I

lesson taught. e.g.

1. List the materials needed to test for starch in a green leaf.

2. What are the stages involved in the process of photosynthesis?

LESSON NOTE (EXPERIMENTAL GROUP) School: GSS Otukpo.

Subject: Biology.

Class: SS 1 b.

Topic: classes of food.

Date: 6-2-05.

Time: 10:OO-10:40am.

Duration: 40 minutes.

Number in class: intact class

Average Age: 1 8years.

Sex: mixedr -1. 3'' ,, ' ' 1 ' '

Behavioural objectives:-

By the end of the lesson the students should be able to:-

1. Name the classes of food with examples.

2. State the functions of each type of food in the body.

3. Test for protein.

Instructural Materials: -

Meat, Egg, Yam, Ground-nut, Maize, Palm-Oil, Benedict's t

solution, Sudan Ill solution Iodine solution, Fhelings solution A and B,

boiling tubes etc.

Previous knowledge:-

The students knew the different types of food substances eaten

by man from home.

The teacher explained to the students that the food substances

eaten by man can be classified into six groups and each of them

performs different functions in our body when eaten.

Presentation:-

Step I

The teacher explained the food substances eaten by man and

listed them on the board. e.g. Carbohydrates, Protein, Fats and Oil,

Vitamins, Mineral Salts and Water.

Step III ., ,,. 4-1 . .t. 3 '

The students tested for simple reducing sugar, protein and fats

and oil and the teacher supervised them to solve some problems.

Step Ill I ( . .

The student's findings from the activities were discussed in the class.

Step IV

The functions of the food substances were also discussed.

The teacher asked the students the following questions at the end of 4

the lesson.

1. Name the classes of food substances eaten by man with an

example each.

2. What are the functions of the following food substances:-

Carbohydrate, Protein and Vitamins.

3. How is the test for Protein in an egg- white confirmed?

Conclusion1Summary:

The teacher gave students assignment to read the effect or lack

of Protein, Vitamins and Mineral salts etc. on the body.

LESSON NOTE (CONTROL GROUP)

School: Methodist High School, Ainu;

Subject: Biology.

Class: SS I c

Topic: Classes of food.

Date:

T i m .

Duration: 40 minutes.

Number in class: intact class. 1 8 . .

Average Age: 18years.

Sex: mixed .

Behavioural Objectives:-

By the end of the lesson the students should be able to:-

1. Name the classes of food with examples.

2. State the functions of each type of food in the body.

3. Test for protein.

The teacher asked the students the following, questions at the end of t

the lesson.

I. Name the classes of food substances eaten by man with an

example each.

2. What are the functions of the following food substances:-

Carbohydrate, Protein and Vitamins.

3. How is the test for Protein in an egg- white confirmed?

ConclusionlSummary:

The teacher gave students assignment to read the effect or lack

of Protein, Vitamins and Mineral salts etc. on the body.

LESSON NOTE (CONTROL GROUP)

School: Methodist High School, Ainu.

Subject: Biology.

Class: SS I c

, Topic: Classes of food.

Date:

Time:

Duration: 40 minutes.

Number in class: intact class. . , I . .

Average Age: 1 8years.

Sex: mixed

Behavioural 0 bjectives:-

By the end of the lesson the students should be able to:-

1. Name the classes of food with examples.

2. State the functions of each type of food in the body.

3. Test for protein.

+ Instructional Materials: - Meat, Egg, Yam, Ground-nut, Maize, Palm-Oil, Benedict's solution,

Sudan Ill solution Iodine solution, Fhelings solution A and B, boiling

tubes etc.

Previous knowledge:-

The students knew the different types of food substances eaten by

man from home.

The teacher explained to the students that the food substances

eaten by man can be classified into six groups with each having its

own functions.

Presentation:-

Step I

The teacher explained the.lf& substances and listed them on the

board. e.g. Carbohydrates, Protein, Fats and Oil, Mineral Salts,

Vitamins and Water. The students named some examples.

Step II , , . .

The teacher described how to test for simple reducing sugar, protein,

fats and oil.

Step 111

The teacher explained the functions of the food substances.,

Step IV

The teacher demonstrated the test for each of the food substances.

The teacher asked the students the following questions at the end of i

the lesson.

I. Name the classes of food substances eaten by man with an

example in each case.

2. What are the functions of the following food substances in the

body:- Carbohydrates, Protein and Vitamins. ,

3. Mention the materials needed for testing Protein in a food

substance.

,. . The teacher gave the students assignment to read the effect or lack of

Protein, Vitamins and Mineral Salts etc on the body..

APPENDIX 8 4

Hypothesis 1 P-test of independent mean

Mean - . - Cx , . . - N

Where Cx is the silni total of the scores and N is the number of subjects

Post test mean of a experimental group = & = 1452 - - 72.60 N 20

Standard deviation. f

s2 = ox2 - (W2 N

N - I where s2 = variance of the group.

S

where S = Standard deviation of the group.

Ox = 1452 o x 2 = 107568 s2 = O X ~ - ( O X ) ~

N N-I

I4 . . The standard deviation for the treatment group is = 10.64

The mean of the control group - - = 1077 - 53.85 -

N 20

Standard Deviation.

N where S2 = variance of the group. N 1

S

N-I where S = standard deviation of the group Ox = 1077

N - I

i.e. s2= 59853 - (1 077)2

Computation of t-test statistics

X of treatment group = 72.60

S of treatment group = 10.64

N1 of treatment grwp = 20

X of control group = 53.85

S of control group = 9.88

N2 of control group = 20

t = -- K- q

By substitution we have:

APPENDIX 9 t

Analysis of covariance ( AN COVA) for hypothesis 2 and 3.

Computation for the four groups.

. N = 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + = 20

Cxy (A+B+C+D) = 466

C(Zx)( Cy) = 439.2 (ie 35x1 8 + 32 XI 5 +35xl5 +33xl7 N 5 5 5 5 .

Note that A+ B+C+D = G (i.e. 4 groups taken at a time)

Computation for the values of SST; SS, and SSe

SST = Total sum of squares

SS, = The within sum of squares

SSB = The between sum of squares.

By substitution

SST = 955 - 91 1.25 - (466 - 438.75)2 239-27.75 - - 43.75 - (27.75) 2 1 a -

239 -27.75 - - 43.75 - 742.56

21 1.25 =43.75 - 742.56

21 1.25 - - 43.75 - 3.51 - - 40.24.

XXG ssw = x x 2 - 2 ( z x G ) ~ - - ( z ~ y - z A ) N

By substitution t

By substitution.

Note that d f ~ = N - 1 (i.e. 20 - I = 19) dfB = k - 1 (i.e 4-1 = 3) df, = N - K (i.e 20 - 4 = 16).