ABSTRACT
The study investigated improvised DNA model, realia, virtual reality and Biology students’ interest, academic achievement and retention in genetics due to the fact that many Biology concepts such as genetics in the senior secondary school curriculum is perceived to be abstract and difficult to understand by students. Nine research questions were raised and nine hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Quasi-experimental design specifically, non-randomized pretest-posttest control group design was adopted and used for the study. The population for the study comprises all 9,082 Biology students’ of 2019/2020 academic session from four (4) Local Education Zones in Akwa Ibom State. The sample size used for the study was two hundred and fifty-five (255) SS3 Biology students from four (4) intact classes in four (4) schools drawn purposively through multi-stage sampling technique. Biology Interest Scale in Genetics (BISIG) and Biology Achievement Test in Genetics (BATIG) were the instruments used to collect data for the study. Biology Retention Test (BRTIG) was the reshuffled form of BATIG used for retention measurement. Both instruments were validated by three (3) lecturers from the department of Science Education, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. Reliability coefficients of .83 and .84 were obtained through Cronbach alpha (A) and Kuder- Richardson’s formula 20 (KR – 20) for BISIG and BATIG respectively. Mean, Standard deviation and graphical representation of interaction were used to answer research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Results of findings show that there is a significant difference among Biology students taught with instructional resources (improvised DNA model, realia, virtual reality and Biology textbook). Students taught with improvised DNA model, realia and virtual reality resources had higher interest, academic achievement and retention when compared with students taught with Biology textbook. The study also showed that gender was not a significant determinant of students’ academic achievement and retention in Biology. Based on the findings, recommendations were made among which is the need for Biology teachers to adopt and make effective use of (improvised DNA model, realia, virtual reality) as instructional resources in teaching DNA in genetics; Biology teachers should also encourage both male and female students in learning genetics since they can benefit equally from science instructions depending on the involvement of individual student.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Dedication iii
Certification iv
Acknowledgements
v
Table of Contents
vi
List of Tables x
List of Figures xii
Abstract xiii
CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study 1
1.2 Statement
of the Problem 13
1.3 Purpose
of the Study 14
1.4 Research
Questions 15
1.5 Hypotheses 16
1.6 Significance
of the Study 17
1.7 Scope of
the Study 19
CHAPTER 2:
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Conceptual Framework 21
2.1.1 Overview of
genetics 22
2.1.2 Overview of
instructional resources 22
2.1.3 Overview of improvised DNA model 23
2.1.4 Overview of realia 25
2.1.5 Overview of virtual reality 26
2.1.6 Concept of biology textbook 30
2.1.7 Concept of interest 31
2.1.8 Concept of academic achievement 33
2.1.9 Concept of retention of knowledge 34
2.1.10 Concept
of gender 35
2.2 Theoretical framework 38
2.2.1 Person-object theory of interest 38
2.2.2 Theory of cognitivism 39
2.2.2.1 Jean Piaget’s theory of intellectual
development –schemas 40
2.2.2.2 David Ausubel cognitive theory of learning 42
2.2.3 Theory of constructivism 43
2.2.3.1 Jerome Bruner’s theory of learning discovery 44
2.2.3.2 Lev Vygotsky’s theory of learning (1978) 46
2.3 Related Empirical Studies 47
2.3.1 Improvised DNA model
and students’ interest, academic achievement and
retention in science 48
2.3.2 Realia and students’ interest, academic achievement
and
retention in science
50
2.3.3 Virtual reality and students’ interest,
academic achievement and
retention in science 53
2.3.4 Gender and students’ interest, academic achievement
and
retention in science 56
2.4
Summary of Review of Related Literature 59
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Design of the Study 62
3.2 Area of the Study 63
3.3 Population
of the Study 64
3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques 65
3.5
Instruments
for Data Collection 66
3.6 Validation of the
Instruments 67
3.7 Reliability of the Instruments 67
3.8
Experimental Procedure 69
3.9 Control of Extraneous Variables 71
3.10 Method of
Data Collection 72
3.11 Method of Data Analyses 72
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1
RESULTS OF DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS
AND ANSWERS TO
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS 74
4.1.1
Research question one 74
4.1.2
Research question two 75
4.1.3
Research question three 76
4.1.4
Research question four 77
4.1.5
Research question five 78
4.1.6
Research question six 79
4.1.7
Research question seven 80
4.1.8
Research question eight 82
4.1.9
Research question nine 84
4.2 TESTING
OF HYPOTHESES 86
4.2.1 Hypothesis one 86
4.2.2 Hypothesis four 88
4.2.3 Hypothesis seven 89
4.2.4 Hypothesis two 89
4.2.5 Hypothesis five 91
4.2.6 Hypothesis eight 92
4.2.7 Hypothesis three 92
4.2.8 Hypothesis six 94
4.2.9 Hypothesis nine 95
4.3 Major
Findings of the Study 96
4.4 Discussion
98
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary of the Study 111
5.2 Conclusion 112
5.3
Recommendations 113
5.4 Educational
Implications of the Study 113
5.5 Limitation
of the Study 114
5.6 Suggestions
for Further Study 114
References 116
Appendices 125-218
LIST OF TABLES
4.1: Mean and Standard Deviation of Pre-Interest
and Post-Interest Scores of Students taught Genetics
Classified by Instructional Resources 74
4.2: Mean and Standard Deviation of Pre-test and Post-test
Scores of Students taught
Genetics Classified by Instructional Resources 75
4.3: Mean and Standard Deviation of
Post- test and Retention test Scores of Students taught Genetics
Classified by Instructional Resources 76
4.4: Mean and Standard Deviation of Male
and Female Biology Students’ Pre-interest and Post- interest Scores taught Genetics
Classified by Instructional
Resources 77
4.5:
Mean and Standard Deviation of Male and Female Biology
Students’ Pre-test and Post- test Scores taught Genetics Classified by Instructional Resources 78
4.6: Mean and Standard Deviation of
Male and Female Biology
Students’ Post-test and
Retention test Scores taught Genetics Classified by Instructional Resources 79
4.7: Estimates Marginal Means (Adjusted
Means) of Male and Female Post-interest
Scores of Students by Resources using Pre-interest as covariate 80
4.8: Estimates Marginal Means (Adjusted
Means) of Male and Female Post-test Scores of Students by Resources using Pre-test Scores as covariate 82
4.9: Estimates Marginal Means (Adjusted
Means) of Male and
Female
Retention Scores of Students by Resources using Post-test Scores as covariate 84
4.10: Summary of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of Post-interest
Scores of Students
Classified by Instructional Resources with
Pre-interest Scores as
Covariate 86
4.11: LSD (Least Square Difference) Post
hoc Analysis of
Post-interest
Scores of Students Classified by Instructional Resources with
Pre-interest as Covariate 87
4.12: LSD Post hoc Analysis of Male and
Female of
Post-interest
Scores of Students
Classified by Instructional Resources and Gender with Pre-interest as
Covariate 88
4.13: Summary of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of
Post-test
Scores of Students Classified
by Instructional Resources with
Pre-test Scores as
Covariate 90
4.14: LSD Post hoc Analysis of Post-test Scores of Students Classified
by instructional Resources with Pre-test as Covariate 91
4.15: Summary of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of
Retention test Scores of
Students Classified by Instructional Resources with Post-test Scores as
Covariate 93
4.16: LSD Post hoc Analysis of Retention test Scores of Students Classified by Instructional Resources with Post-test as Covariate 94
4.17: LSD Post hoc Analysis of Male and
Female Retention
test
Scores of Students Classified by
Instructional Resources and Gender with Post-test as Covariate 95
LIST OF FIGURES
1: The Researcher- made DNA Model 25
2: Schematic Diagram (Flow
chart) of Dependent and Independent
Variables and their Relationships 37
3: Interaction effect of instructional
resources and gender on Biology
students’ interest in genetics 82
4: Interaction effect of
instructional resources and gender on Biology
students’ academic achievement in genetics 84
5: Interaction effect of
instructional resources and gender on Biology
students’ retention in genetics 86
6 Improvised DNA Model Structure 197
7: Nucleotides of DNA 197
8: DNA Base Pairs 198
9: DNA Replication 200
10: Summary of Process of DNA
Replication 202
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Science teaching in secondary schools is aimed at promoting the
understanding of the concepts taught with a view to applying knowledge of such
understanding in real life situation. The National Policy on Education
emphasizes that sciences should be taught in schools in such a way that it will
have meaning and relevance to the needs of the students and society and provide
the students the opportunity to explore, interact with and intercept certain
scientific processes going on in their environment (FGN, 2013). Biology is one
of the science subjects in Nigerian secondary school education system and it is
an important subject for science students. It is a branch of natural science
concerned with the study of life and living organisms including their
structure, functioning, growth, evolution, distribution, identification and
taxonomy (Miller & Levine, 2017). Due to importance of Biology, much
emphasis has been placed on instruction especially at the secondary school
level. This is to ensure the understanding of principles and objectives of
Biology education as stipulated by the National Policy on Education (FGN,
2013). Biology is therefore a stepping stone for millions of secondary school
students for successful career in some areas of science.
In Nigeria, the Secondary School Biology Curriculum
is designed to prepare students to acquire adequate laboratory skills, relevant
knowledge in Biology and also enable students apply scientific knowledge to
everyday life in matters of personal, community, health and agriculture among
others (Ado & Udoh, 2018). Biology is useful in solving problems resulting
from human interactions with the environment like water, air and land
pollutions (Okorie, 2018). Institute of Biology (2013) opined that Biology is
indispensible in the fields of medicine, pharmacy, agriculture, brewery,
geology, nursing among others. Maduabum (2009) and Cakir (2017) also
highlighted the importance of Biology to include: helping individuals to
understand the parts of body and their functions; enabling one to question
superstitions due to sustained interest arising from comprehension of the
events; understanding and appreciating life; bringing into focus the need to
maintain good health; promoting the individual for choice of careers;
inculcating in the individual scientific skills and attitudes in his approach
to personal and societal problems; imparting factual knowledge and stimulating
scientific reflective thinking so as to produce a better informed individual.
The study of Biology in senior secondary schools is expected to equip students
with useful concepts, principles and theories that will enable them face life
challenges before and after graduation. It also aims at equipping the learner
with knowledge, skills and attitudes that are necessary for controlling and
preserving the environment; enabling the learner to appreciate humans as the
broader community of living organisms (Cakir, 2017).
Despite these benefits of the subject matter, many Biology
concepts in the senior secondary school curriculum are perceived to be abstract
and difficult to understand by students such as genetics and nervous
coordination (Edet, 2018). West African Examination Council (WAEC) Chief
Examiner’s report (2017) has also revealed that students perform poorly in
genetics questions. The report further enumerated candidates’ weakness as lack of
mastery of subject matter, misunderstanding of questions, and wrong spellings
of scientific term and poor drawing skills. The reports also stated that the
performance of candidates in 2017 is slightly poorer than the one in 2016. Statistics
showed that in 2017, the total percentage of students who attained credit
passes and above in Biology was 44.93% while 55.17% failed and in 2016, 46.87%
passed and 53.13% failed. Though the performance of students slightly improved in
2018 to 50.52%, statistics indicated poor performance of students in Biology
with particular respect to questions in genetics. This has become a source of
concern to researchers (Miller & Levine, 2017; Ezekiel, 2017; Ndirika
& Udoh, 2019), (See Appendix 1, pg 125). This
poor achievement of students in Biology has been attributed to factors such as:
lack of instructional resources for difficult concepts, poor instructional
delivery, insufficient laboratory facilities, large class sizes and inadequate
time allocation (Etiubon & Udoh, 2017). Ehikioya (2011) noted that one of the reasons
of students’ poor achievement in public examinations is that most secondary
school science teachers are using conventional teaching strategy and do not
make use of appropriate instructional resources but predominantly teaching
without any activity-based or instructional resource.
Conventional
teaching strategy like
the use of Biology textbook refers to the
traditional teaching method which is teacher-centered, with the teacher being
the controller of the learning environment. It
is mainly authoritarian in nature whereby teaching– learning is not based on hands-on activities. In this teaching
strategy, teachers often taught the way they were taught sometimes using the
same textbooks and notebooks they used as students. According to Etiubon (2013),
in conventional teaching strategy teachers
are expert information providers while the students learn by rote, memorize,
regurgitate facts and prepare to reproduce the facts during examinations.
Sharma (2012) opined that conventional way of science
teaching is based on the assumption that students are passive subjects that
store what they learnt as a result of repeated practice and reinforcement which can be replaced with the use of demonstation teaching
strategy.
Demonstation teaching strategy is a
method of teaching whereby learning materials are presented to the learners through
a step-by-step process. Eboro (2016) stated that in
this strategy, the teacher provides an example which the students watch
intending to imitate what the teacher does. Ezendu
(2012) opined that demonstration teaching strategy is
used to communicate an idea with the aid of visuals such flip charts, posters,
power points among others. Eboro (2016) added that demonstration strategy teaches
learners how to complete a task using actual materials. Etiubon and Udoh (2017)
stated some advantages of demonstation teaching strategy to include; improving students’
understanding of complex skills and principles, students pay attention and
follow along with the learning process, students are motivated to study and
gain necessary skills, and no time is wasted because students see the process live
and understand how to apply theoretical knowledge practically. Demonstration
teaching strategy may be used to teach activity based concept such as genetics.
Genetics is a branch of Biology which studies information systems in an
organism. It is the study of genes, genetic variation, functions and
how traits are passed from parents to their offspring in living
organisms. According to Sobotka (2016), genetics is a science of heredity that deals with resemblances
and differences of related organisms resulting from the interaction of their
genes and the environment arranged linearly along long chains of DNA base-pair
sequences. The passing of traits from parents to offspring is known as
heredity; therefore, genetics is the study of heredity (Sobotka, 2016). King, Mulligan, and Stansfield
(2013) defined genetics as the study of heredity and gene action that is essential to
modern advances in agriculture, medicine, and many industrial fields dealing
with biological diversity. Ramalingam (2007) opined that there are principles
of heredity that are used extensively in genetic engineering, hybridization
technology, crops and animals breeding, counseling for genetic disorders,
rhesus factor and genetic therapy. Researches show that genetics help students
to understand certain aspects of gene, their mode of transmission from
generation to generation and problems of genetic nature, rather than relying on
superstition and other mystical explanations, students learn accurate
scientific ways of explaining the genetic defects that may be found in their
families and communities (Ishaku, 2015). The information content of genetic
sequences is enormous and a major tool in tracing evolutionary lineages in
re-assessing biological classification. The sub themes found under genetics as
highlighted by Ramalingam (2007) include: principles of heredity, the
transmission of inheritable characters from parents to their offspring via
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) in genes, variation and differences
that occur within the individuals of a specie. DNA is located
in the nucleus of every cell in the human body and it is the information
molecule. It stores instructions for making other large molecules, called
proteins. These instructions are stored inside the cells, coiled into
structural units called chromosomes that contain all of human genetic
information. Humans have 46 chromosomes in each of their cells: 23 from mother
and 23 from father. Human chromosomes contain smaller segments called genes
that determine human physical traits such as two arms, legs, eyes among others.
Other characteristics are more specific, such as curly or straight hair,
attached or detached earlobes among others (Michael, 2008). According to Tasker, LaRue, Beherec, Gangitano and
Hughes (2017), genetics molecule called DNA carries all genetic information for
an organism. It provides cells with the information they need to perform tasks
that allow an organism to grow, survive and reproduce. Hartl and Jones (2005) opined
that gene is one particular section of a
DNA molecule that tells a cell to perform one of its specific tasks. During
reproduction, DNA is replicated and passed from a parent to their offspring.
This inheritance of genetic material by offspring influences the appearance and
behaviour of the offspring. The environment that an organism lives in can also
influence how its genes are expressed. Genetics is a very important aspect of Biology
since it is the study of genes, genetic variation and how traits are passed from parents to their
offspring in living organisms, thus, it requires the use of instructional
resources that are appropriate for the reduction of abstraction of the
difficult concepts and to increase the interest, academic achievement and retention of students in genetics.
Since this is the case, effective Biology teachers seek for more
effective and efficient ways of teaching since the emphasis of the teaching is
to get the students to understand, comprehend and apply the concepts taught.
This has continued to drive researchers towards finding different teaching
resources to facilitate the teaching and learning of Biology in order to make
it interesting and meaningful for the learners. Miller and Levine (2017) opined
that a good teacher should present his teaching in an interesting and
motivating way. In doing so, a good teacher will
plan effectively for the lesson, choosing appropriate instructional resources
and making the learner the center of all activities in the course of teaching
(Onwioduokit, 2013). This is of great importance because learners tend to be
scared of difficult concepts like genetics because of its complex and abstract
nature which can be communicated to the learners through the use of instructional
resources.
Instructional resources are collection of materials
including animate and inanimate objects, human and non-human
resources that a teacher may use in the teaching and learning situations to
help achieve desired learning objectives. According to Kaspar and Borgerding (2017), instructional resources
refer to those equipment and materials that a teacher uses to illustrate, explain
and emphasize a lesson, thus, making the lesson clear to the students. Those equipment and materials range from
objects that students are familiar with and can be obtained locally to the
sophisticated industrial products which cannot be obtained locally. Instructional
resources may aid a
student in concretizing a learning experience so as to make learning more
exciting, interesting and interactive. Ehikioya (2011) opined that instructional resources
are the tools a teacher uses in educational lessons to help
him teach his students effectively. Onasanya
(2011) added that instructional resources can be divided into two main groups,
namely; traditional instructional resources and teacher-made instructional
resources. Traditional instructional resources include textbooks,
workbooks, novels, poems and any supplemental reading material used in the
classroom while teacher-made
instructional resources include anything the teacher creates, like
handouts, worksheets, and projects (Mbajiorgu, 2013). Instructional resources
can also be classified into graphic materials, still pictures, motion pictures,
audio resources, three dimensional resources, visual resources and computer aided instructions
resources (Bably & Nusrat, 2017). Some examples of visual instructional resources are improvised DNA model, realia and example of computer
aided instructions resource is virtual reality. The teacher should know how to classify
the instructional resources, prepare and use them in the teaching of Biology
concept like genetics.
Improvised Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) model is a visual instructional resource that a teacher may use in
the teaching and learning of genetics that could help the
students to discover the structure of DNA under the guidance of the teacher. It is one of the visual instructional
resources that could be used as substitutes for standard resource for
the purpose of teaching the concepts of DNA. Improvised DNA model could be made
into three subunits; the phosphate group, the deoxyribose sugars and the base
pairs. This model resembles a double helix because two long strands twist
around each other like a twisted ladder.
The rails of the ladder are made up of alternating sugar and phosphate
groups while the steps of the ladder are made up of two bases joined together
by hydrogen bonds. In the improvised DNA
model, beads of different sizes and colours can be used to represent the three
subunits (the phosphate group, the de-oxyribose sugars and the base pairs). It
can also be used to represents the hydrogen bonds. The improvised DNA model can
be held by a wooden frame. Edet (2018) added that improvised DNA model can
enable students to understand the structure of DNA and how it is ideally suited
to encode information that can be replicated. DNA can also be made from local
resources in form of realia for the teaching and learning process.
Realia refers to objects or items from real life used as instructional resources
which have the potential to address the problems of effective teaching and
learning in Biology. It is another visual
instructional resource that a teacher may use in the teaching and learning
of genetics that could help the students to discover the structure of DNA and
component under the guidance of the teacher through the help of a compound
microscope. They are instructional resources used in teaching to sharpen
students’ observation skills and foster interest in learning. Okorie (2018)
stated that realia are real objects or specimens which are readily available or
accessible and could be employed by science teachers in the teaching and
learning of science concepts. They are instructional resources whose primary
functions are to facilitate the teaching of skills, facts, concepts,
principles, generalizations, values and attitude in science (Ezekiel, 2017). Realia
are important visual teaching aids which are used to facilitate and enhance
science teaching and learning (Ezendu, 2012). It is widely viewed as a catalyst
for change from the teacher-centered to learner-centered teaching-learning.
In learner-centered teaching-learning process, the teacher is a
facilitator of learning. Chew (2014) opined that recent trends and emphasis in Biology
education suggest that the teacher should be a “facilitator of learning” as
opposed to being a lecturer of facts, concept, principles and generalization in
science. As a result of this trend and emphasis, there had been an expansion in
the development of visual materials which could assist the Biology teacher
achieve his objectives in the classroom. Udo (2015) stated that the use of
realia in teaching is very important to Biology teachers and students for a
number of reasons; It focuses the attention of students on the concept being
taught, helps to engage students on the learning task, stimulates the interest
of the students in the learning process and makes them positively disposed to the
subject matter, help students to interact with the subject matter at the
semi-concrete rather than at an abstract level and also help the teacher to
achieve the lesson objectives. Therefore, the use of realia as instructional
resource could enhance students’ interest, achievement and retention since
students may forget the topic of the lesson but will not forget the
illustrations used in demonstrating the exercise (Okorie, 2018). Apart from the
use of improvised DNA model and realia in facilitating learning of different
concept like genetics, teachers can also make use of virtual reality.
Virtual reality is a visual instructional resource that could
be employed by Biology teachers in the teaching and learning of Biology concepts.
It is a computer programme that uses simulation to model real-world phenomena
in order to help students gain insights into the behaviour of complex systems (Huppert,
Yaakobi & Lazarowitz, 2011). Umur and Xing (2017) opined that virtual
reality reproduces a natural phenomenon through the visualization of the
evolution of its state which could help students develop interest for hard work
and love for Biology. Virtual reality is used in every sphere of human
endeavour and educational sector is not left out as computers are becoming more
powerful and computerized learning environments are becoming more
sophisticated. Virtual reality could be seen as a powerful teaching aid which
can be effectively used to enhance science learning and teaching (Jackson,
2015).
Virtual reality helps students to understand invisible conceptual worlds
of science through animation which can lead to more concrete understanding of
scientific concepts. It does not only allow learners to construct and
manipulate screen “objects” for exploring concepts, but they also provide
learners with the observation and manipulation tools necessary for exploring
and testing hypotheses in the simulated world (Umur & Xing, 2017). Virtual
reality allows learners to visualize and link abstract concepts to prior
knowledge thereby fostering conceptual learning when combined with graphic
representations. Students interacting with virtual reality also gain better
understanding of the real system. This interactivity provides opportunities for
students to modify their mental models by comparing the outputs of the model
with their expectations (Serger & Verheoven, 2005).
Jackson (2015) described virtual reality as a computer programme
containing a manipulable model of a real object. Virtual reality has the potential
to reorganize mental processes by closing the temporal gaps between thought and
action and between hypothesis and experiment. It is also valuable in presenting
many types of instructional formats including diagrams, graphics, animations,
sound and video that can facilitate understanding. The programme accepts
commands from the user, alters the state of the model and displays the new
state. Thus, in this modern days and age where virtual reality is being used at
higher levels in every sphere of human endeavor especially during this pandemic
period, it is critical to provide Biology teachers with sufficient skills to
apply technological products effectively to improve students’ interest, academic
achievement and retention.
Students’ interests refers to an attitude expressing
concentration, attention and persistence of activity towards a particular
subject. Students’ interests play an important role in the teaching/learning
processes and it is used to designate what attracts an individual to various
objects, persons, course and activities within the person’s environment. Okon
(2016) opined that when a learning task is set before the students, the aptness
in responding to the set learning task is centrally controlled by interest. Effiong
(2016) added that organization and presentation of the learning task are geared
towards awakening the students’ interest to the learning of the concept. In the field of education, interest has been
the pivot that enables a student to be actively involved in any course of
study. Godspower-Echie and Wisdom (2019) stated that the extent to which a
student is interested in a particular course of study is indicated by the student’s
active participation in the study of the subject with resultant good
performance in same. Student’s interest is what every teacher in any field of
study strives to obtain in order to transfer learning to the learners.
Fink (2011) also opined that interest plays an important role in the
knowledge of a particular concept in science. Eni and Aliyah (2015) found
a significant difference on students’ interest in physics taught viscosity using Javascript interactive experiment. This is
done through possibly transfers of knowledge of the learning concept because
interest brings excitement and deep concentration in what is being studied.
Cakir (2017) found a significant difference in the interest of
Biology students on genetics because interest promotes intrinsic motivation which has
been shown to drive and sustain students’ engagement in a particular task. Breckler, Christensen and Sun (2015)
found no significant differences on students’ interest taught with
thermal and electrical conductivity of palm oil in
viscosity and stated the extent to which the student is interested in a
particular course of study is indicated by active participation in the study
with good performance. Ahopelto, Mikkila-Erdman and Kaapa
(2011) found no significant difference on students’ interest with
electric energy transfer in oils and viscosity. Effiong (2016) added that students who have interest in study achieve the
concept taught better than those with little or no interest which could
determine students’ academic achievement on any concept.
Academic achievement could be referred to as the learning outcome acquired
as a result of test or examinations administered to the learners to show the
extent to which students have achieved their learning goals after exposure to
learning. Ezendu (2012) defines achievement as the outcomes of education that
indicate the extent to which a person has accomplished specific goals that were
the focus of activities in instructional environments. Okorie (2018) describes
achievement as a measure of knowledge gained through education process usually
indicated by test scores, grade point average (GPA) or ranking in class. Empirical studies from Edet (2018), Udo (2015) and Jackson
(2015) confirmed that academic achievement of students in Biology has been
below expectation and unimpressive thus, it has become a source of concern
to researchers who noted that regardless of the laudable values attached to
academic achievement, achievement in external examination is still poor. Akanwa, Ndirika and Udoh (2018); Ado and Udoh
(2018) submitted that many researchers
have adduced that poor academic achievement in public examination is traceable
to poor instructional delivery by teachers. Opara (2011) added that causes of
mass failure of students in senior secondary school Biology examination is
attributed to teacher’s methodology, and inability of students to perform
enough Biology practical work before their external examination. Chew (2014) asserted
that for learning of Biology to be meaningful and effective in Biology classroom,
the teacher should be able to select appropriate teaching resources that would
stimulate the interest of the learners and get them actively engaged in the
process of learning since learning is facilitated by a range of tasks that
involve students in active processing. Therefore, academic achievement of a
student represents intellectual endeavours and could mirrors the intellectual
capacity of a person. Students’ achievement in Biology could be influenced by
their retention ability.
Students’ retention is their ability to remember the fact they have been
taught. Ezekiel (2017) describes
retention as the ability to store facts and knowledge and remember them easily rather
than losing it or stopping it. The purpose of knowledge retention is to prevent
the loss of such knowledge (Cakir, 2017).
Eboro (2016) opined that every good teacher is confronted with the
problem of how to improve retention ability of his students and suggested five
ways of improving retention which include: organization of subject matter, use
of more mnemonic devices, self-recitation, overlearning, and the use of the
principles of learning by doing. In these factors, the teacher’s role is very
crucial in enhancing retention ability of the child. This can be done through
meaningful and effective presentation of the instructional content in an
interactive way that will encourage effective participation of the learner in
the teaching- learning process (Okoro, 2011). Empirical studies from Cakir
(2017), Branton (2012), Eton and Udoh (2018) confirmed that retention of
students in Biology has been below expectation. Wynn, Mosholder and Larsen
(2014) also asserted that failure to provide enough applications to real life
activity and social usage, poor teaching techniques are strong limiting factors
to students’ retention. Retention helps in knowledge development and can be
guaranteed when effective teaching instructional resources are used in the
teaching and learning process and students are able to internalize the concept
taught which could affect both male and female students in Biology.
Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls
and boys that are socially constructed. These include norms, behaviours and
roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships
with each other (Ajayi & Ogbeba, 2017). It is either of the two sexes (male
and female), especially when considered with reference to biological, social
and cultural differences. Gender issue in education with academic achievement
and retention have become very important issue among researchers. Some research
works have shown contradicting evidences in students’ academic achievement in
science due to gender. For instance, Amedu (2015), Ndirika (2013), Ndirika
and Udoh (2019) found out that there is no
significant influence in the academic achievement of male and female Biology students
but Mkpayen (2016), Eniajeyu and Fatokun (2014), Obumnenye and Ahiakwo (2013), reported
that there are significant gender differences in students’ academic achievement
and retention in sciences. Etiubon (2011) reported that male students achieved
better than female in chemistry when using simulation technique while female
achieved better significantly than male when using video compact disc tape. Ekeh (2016) observed that male
students achieved and retained significantly better than their female
counterparts in mathematics when taught using iconic models. The issue of
gender in science achievement of students has not yet been resolved
particularly in relation to Biology; hence, the need for further study on the
influence of gender on students’ interest,
academic achievement and retention in genetics with the use of improvised DNA
model, realia and virtual reality in senior secondary schools.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
There has consistently been poor academic achievement of Biology students because the educational system in Nigeria is faced with so many challenges which
have certainly brought about a decline in the quality of education (Okorie,
2018). Some Biology teachers still find it difficult to effectively transfer
scientific knowledge to students in secondary schools. Students tend to
memorize the contents in order to pass their examinations and this has resulted
in rote learning, lack of interest, poor academic achievement and retention
of Biology students and particularly, in difficulty concept like genetics.
The concept of genetics in most secondary schools is viewed as difficult by many
Biology students and this is reflected in poor academic achievement in Nigerian public senior
secondary schools examinations, West African Examination Counsel (WAEC, 2017). This has become
a major concern to educators, parents and even students themselves. To address
this issue, researchers in Biology education have identified reasons for poor
achievement in Biology to be poor teaching methods with the use of conventional
teaching method and inadequate use of instructional resources. This shows that
teacher-centered classroom does not effectively equip the students with enough
techniques to broaden their level of understanding. This shows that these
instructions do not engage students in the class activities that could help
students acquire the required results that can expose them to the real world
situation. Emphasis
have been made on appropriate and proper use of instructional resources for
teaching since it could give first hand personal experience to students and
eliminate the abstractness of Biology concepts. Instructional resources have
been proven by research to be effective in enhancing students’ interest, academic achievement and retention. However, no study, known
to researcher, has compared effects of improvised DNA model, realia, and virtual reality on students’ interest, academic achievement and retention
in genetics. Therefore, the study seeks to find out if students’ interest,
academic achievement and retention of Biology concepts can be enhanced with the
use of improvised DNA model, realia and virtual reality instructional resources.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study was to
determine the effects of improvised DNA model, realia, and virtual reality on
students’ interest, academic achievement and retention on the concept of genetics.
Specifically, the study is designed to:
1.
determine the mean interest
scores of Biology students taught genetics using improvised DNA model, realia,
virtual reality and with Biology textbook.
2.
ascertain the mean academic
achievement scores of Biology students taught genetics using improvised DNA
model, realia, virtual reality and with Biology textbook.
3.
examine the mean retention
scores of Biology students taught genetics using improvised DNA model, realia,
virtual reality and with Biology textbook.
4.
determine
the mean interest scores of male and
female Biology students taught genetics using improvised DNA model, realia,
virtual reality and with Biology textbook.
5.
determine the mean academic
achievement scores of male and female Biology students taught genetics using improvised
DNA model, realia, virtual reality and with Biology textbook.
6.
examine the mean retention
scores of male and female Biology students taught genetics using improvised DNA
model, realia, virtual reality and with Biology textbook.
7.
determine the interaction
effect of instructional resources and gender on Biology students’ interest on
the concept of genetics.
8.
determine the interaction
effect of instructional resources and gender on Biology students’ academic
achievement on the concept of genetics.
9. determine the interaction effect of
instructional resources and gender on Biology students’ retention of genetics
concept.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Nine research questions were raised
to guide the study.
1.
What difference exists among
the mean interest scores of Biology students taught genetics using improvised
DNA model, realia, virtual reality and with Biology textbook?
2.
What difference exists among
the mean academic achievement scores of Biology students taught genetics using improvised
DNA model, realia, virtual reality and with Biology textbook?
3. What
difference exists among the mean retention scores of Biology students taught
genetics using improvised DNA model, realia, virtual reality and with Biology
textbook?
4.
What
difference exists in the mean interest scores of male and female Biology
students taught genetics using improvised DNA model, realia, virtual reality
and with Biology textbook?
5.
What difference exists in the mean
academic achievement scores of male and female Biology students taught genetics
using improvised DNA model, realia, virtual reality and with Biology textbook?
6.
What
difference exists in the mean retention scores of male and female Biology
students taught genetics using improvised DNA model, realia, virtual reality
and with Biology textbook?
7.
What is the interaction effect
of instructional resources and gender on Biology students’ interest on the
concept of genetics?
8.
What
is the interaction effect of instructional resources and gender on Biology
students’ academic achievement on the concept of genetics?
9.
What
is the interaction effect of instructional resources and gender on Biology
students’ retention of genetics concept?
1.5 HYPOTHESES
Nine null hypotheses were formulated to guide and direct
the study and they were tested at 0.05 level of significance.
HO1: There is no significant difference in the mean
interest scores of Biology students taught genetics using improvised DNA model,
realia, virtual reality and with Biology textbook.
HO2: There is no significant difference in the mean academic
achievement scores of Biology students
taught genetics using improvised DNA model, realia, virtual reality and with
Biology textbook.
HO3: There is no significant difference in the mean retention
scores of Biology students taught genetics
using improvised DNA model, realia, virtual reality and with Biology textbook.
HO4: There is no significant difference in the mean interest of
male and female Biology students taught genetics
using improvised DNA model, realia, virtual reality and with Biology textbook.
HO5: There
is no significant difference in the mean academic achievement scores of male and female Biology students taught genetics using
improvised DNA model, realia, virtual reality and with Biology textbook.
HO6: There is no significant difference in
the mean retention scores of male and female Biology students taught genetics using improvised
DNA model, realia, virtual reality and with Biology textbook.
HO7: There is no significant difference in the
interaction effect of instructional resources and gender on Biology students’ interest on
the concept of genetics.
HO8: There
is no significant difference in the interaction effect of instructional
resources and gender on Biology
students’ academic achievement on the concept of genetics.
HO9: There
is no significant difference in the interaction effect of instructional
resources and gender on Biology students’ retention of genetics concept.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
The
findings of this study may be of immense benefit to the Students, Teachers, Science
Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN), Policy makers and Future
researchers. The researcher will ensure that the results of the study will be
properly disseminated through publications in research gate, conference proceedings
and journals, presentations at workshops and seminars.
Education
is students/learners centered and they are always the central focus in every educational
curriculum planning. Thus, curriculum objective had always specified what the learner
should be able to do after passing through the curriculum. In this present
study, the Biology students in the Senior Secondary Schools are the learners,
whose interest, achievement, and retention in Biology this research work was
examined. Thus, the findings from this study will expose the students to the different
instructional resources which the teachers should use in teaching DNA in genetics
so as to improve their interest, achievement, and retention in Biology. This might bring the problem of poor results
in the WAEC/NECO senior school certificate exams to an end and they may find it easy to secure admission in tertiary
institutions, pursue careers of their choice and excel in them.
Teachers
would benefit from this study because the findings will reveal different types of instructional resources they
can use so as to make their teaching more effective and meaningful to the students. The way each of the resources will be employed in
the study would enable the teachers not only to understand what each of the
strategies entails, but also how to employ each of them correctly. The findings
of this study will, therefore clear any form of doubt that may be in the mind
of the teachers about the use of instructional resources and how to employ
them, particularly the improvised DNA model, realia
and virtual reality. The efficacy of the three
instructional resources would be revealed as the findings of this study would
equip the teachers with better and more effective strategies for teaching the
students. The urge to achieve better result with the new instructional resources
would be high in the teachers. As students graduate out with good results in
Biology in their senior school certificate exams, the credit goes to the
teachers and they will definitely derive joy and satisfaction for the job well
done and thus put in more efforts. This may also earn the teachers favorable
assessment by their employers. The teaching of
genetics using improvised DNA model, realia and virtual reality will add
instructional resources to laboratory facilities and help Biology teachers to
acquire skills. It will also enhance effective teaching and learning of Biology
in secondary schools using local materials found around the environment.
The significance of this study may also be of great benefit to Science
Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) who has interests in science teachers. Based
on the findings of this study, it would reveal the efficacy of the different
types of instructional resources that can be taught in seminars and workshops.
Such workshops or seminars would be aimed at strengthening the serving teachers
to equip them with the knowledge and skills of applying the preferred different
types of instructional resources.
Policy makers stand to gain from the findings of this
study because they can incorporate improvised DNA model, realia, and virtual
reality resources for teaching specific content areas such as genetics. They could equally press it upon government
to come up with a policy statement regarding the need to adopt improvised DNA
model, realia, and virtual reality
resources in the classrooms. It will be useful for encouraging
learner-centered teaching and learning process through enhancing students’
independence teaching. Also, for the improvement of students’ interest,
achievement and retention in Biology thus, enhancing the achievement of the
national goals and objectives of Biology at the secondary school level of
education.
The future researchers would also benefit from the finding
of this research because they will use it as empirical framework by adding to
the pool of information that exits in this area. Researchers can therefore fall
back on information gathered here by replicating this study in another setting.
It will give them focus and guidance for
further research studies in Biology which will enable Nigeria to achieve the
much desired scientific growth and development.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study focused on determining the effects on the use of improvised DNA
model, realia and virtual reality on Biology students’ interest, academic
achievement and retention using the concept of genetics. The concept was taught
to Senior Secondary Three (SS3) students only as contain in the curriculum in four
(4) Local Education Zones in Akwa Ibom State. The choice of Senior Secondary
Three (SS3) students was due to the fact that the concept of the study is
usually taught in Senior Secondary Three (SS3) classes.
Demonstration teaching method was
used to teach the concept of genetics to facilitate the use of instructional
resources with the use of Biology textbooks. The study was also delimited to
four (4) governments owned, co-educational secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State. It was delimited to four (4) types of
instructional resources, improvised DNA model, realia, virtual reality and
Biology textbook was used for the control group. The learning experience was delimited to the
difficult concept of genetics under the following sub headings: concept of deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA), components of DNA, structure of DNA, DNA replication and functions
of DNA.
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