Impact of Computer-Assisted and Science Process Instructions on Performance in Biology Among Secondary School Students of Varied Abilities in Sabon Tasha Education Zone, Kaduna Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of three instructional strategies on the academic performance of senior secondary school (SS) students with varied abilities (high, medium and low) with respect to learnt biological concepts in Sabon Tasha education zone of Kaduna, Nigeria. The research was quasi-experimental in nature, pre-test, post-test, non-equivalents and control group design. A sample of 153 Senior Secondary (SS) II students was drawn from a population of 3841. Biology Performance Test (BPT) was used to collect data. The reliability of the BPT was calculated using the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient (PPMC) to be 0.84. The subjects in the experimental group 1 were taught biology using Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) and the experimental group 2 were taught the same biological concepts but using the Science Process Approach (SPA) and their varied performances were compared with those of the control group, who were taught those biological concepts using the Lecture Method (LM). The research question was answered using deferential statistics which showed that the varied performance levels of high, medium and low abilities students exposed to CAI was (H=39.12. M=38.12, L=37.12) and SPA (H=39.12, M=38.12, L=37.12). This indicated a slight difference in their mean scores. However, in the LM (H=39.12, M=33.82, L=24.59) high, medium and low showed some differences in their mean scores in favor of the high and medium abilities students. The hypothesis was tested using the two-ways analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that the ‘P’ value observed for the CAI, SPA and LM was 0.001 which was less than the alpha P≤0.05. This showed a significant difference in the academic performance of the subjects with high, medium and low abilities exposed to CAI, SPA and LM respectively. However, the observed difference was based on their abilities level. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the CAI and SPA should be used by teachers to teach biology in Nigerian secondary schools because these pedagogy methods allow students to learn at their own pace which takes care of the difficulties in their individual learning abilities.This study investigated the impact of three instructional strategies on the academic performance of senior secondary school (SS) students with varied abilities (high, medium and low) with respect to learnt biological concepts in Sabon Tasha education zone of Kaduna, Nigeria. The research was quasi-experimental in nature, pre-test, post-test, non-equivalents and control group design. A sample of 153 Senior Secondary (SS) II students was drawn from a population of 3841. Biology Performance Test (BPT) was used to collect data. The reliability of the BPT was calculated using the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient (PPMC) to be 0.84. The subjects in the experimental group 1 were taught biology using Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) and the experimental group 2 were taught the same biological concepts but using the Science Process Approach (SPA) and their varied performances were compared with those of the control group, who were taught those biological concepts using the Lecture Method (LM). The research question was answered using deferential statistics which showed that the varied performance levels of high, medium and low abilities students exposed to CAI was (H=39.12. M=38.12, L=37.12) and SPA (H=39.12, M=38.12, L=37.12). This indicated a slight difference in their mean scores. However, in the LM (H=39.12, M=33.82, L=24.59) high, medium and low showed some differences in their mean scores in favor of the high and medium abilities students. The hypothesis was tested using the two-ways analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that the ‘P’ value observed for the CAI, SPA and LM was 0.001 which was less than the alpha P≤0.05. This showed a significant difference in the academic performance of the subjects with high, medium and low abilities exposed to CAI, SPA and LM respectively. However, the observed difference was based on their abilities level. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the CAI and SPA should be used by teachers to teach biology in Nigerian secondary schools because these pedagogy methods allow students to learn at their own pace which takes care of the difficulties in their individual learning abilities.