LABORATORY RESOURCES AND TEACHING OF PRACTICAL BIOLOGY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

LABORATORY RESOURCES AND TEACHING OF PRACTICAL BIOLOGY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

Certification

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Abstract

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE      – INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the study

1.2     Statement of the Problem

1.3     Purpose of the Study

1.4 Significance of the Study

1.5 Research Hypotheses

1.6 Delimitation of the Study

1.7 Limitation of the Study

1.8 Definition of Terms

CHAPTER TWO     – LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER THREE – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1     Research Area

3.2     Research Design

3.3     Population of the study

3.4     Sample and Sampling Technique

3.5     Instrumentation

3.6     Validation of the instrument

3.7     Method of data collection

3.8     Method of Data Analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION OF RESULT AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

4.1     Data Presentation

4.2     Discussion of Findings

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

5.1     Summary

5.2     Recommendations

5.3     Conclusion

5.4     Suggestion for further Study

References

Appendix

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the study

Laboratory work is an integral part of most science subjects and provides an environment different in many ways from that of traditional classroom setting. Moreover, a good laboratory environment promotes students’ curiosity, rewards creativity, encourages a spirit of healthy questioning, avoids dogmatism and promotes meaningful understanding, where wait-time is essential in promoting thoughtful responses and dialog.

Without a doubt, a good science classroom welcomes all students and strives to enable all motivated students to be successful. However, Akinbobola and Afolabi (2020), asserted that productive laboratory environment is a student-centered classroom, which is interactive, comfortable, and collaborative learning is encouraged.

LABORATORY RESOURCES AND TEACHING OF PRACTICAL BIOLOGY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Furthermore, Edem (2014) sees a laboratory learning environment as a place where students work individually, or in a small group to solve a problem. In addition, the students make use of scientific processes and materials to construct their own explanation of scientific phenomena. In fact, they make use of science process skills such as manipulation, investigation, experimentation observation, collection and interpretation of data during scientific process.

Nevertheless, the distinction between laboratory learning and traditional classroom learning according to Edem (2014) is that in laboratory learning, activities are learner-centered, with students actively engaged in a hands-on and minds-on activities using laboratory materials, equipment, tools, techniques, approaches and strategies.

The laboratory practices generally aim at improving the students’ psychomotor skills and the abilities by providing a conducive environment and observation for conducting the experiments. Laboratory resources and teaching of practical biology in secondary schools.

Without reservation, in a well-designed laboratory exercise, students can engaged and experiment with cooperatively and individually, in open-ended laboratories and discovery-based learning activities that apply theoretical concepts to relevant and appropriate real life problems. Also, in a well-designed laboratory, students interact closely with peers and teachers, so learning can be assessed, enhanced and monitored effectively (Akinbobola, 2021).

Specifically, the aims of laboratory exercises and practices in science education include attaining research and technical skills, actualizing the conceptual learning and producing effective learning products (Akinbobola & Afolabi, 2020). Indeed, laboratory activities have long had a distinctive and central role in science curriculum.

Understanding and experiencing scientific phenomena and the scientific process are goals of most science laboratory courses. To achieve these goals, laboratory courses should provide students with the opportunity to reconstruct knowledge and restructure information rather than simply involve in verifying what they have been told.

Hence, students need to actively construct scientific knowledge by involving in posing questions, providing evidence and determining claims (Akinbobola & Ikitde, 2021).

Subsequently, Afolabi and Akinbobola (2020) states that, conducting scientific discovery requires that students have easy equitable and frequent opportunities to use wider range of materials, equipment, tools, supplies and other resources for experimentation and direct investigation of phenomena. Laboratory resources and teaching of practical biology in secondary schools.

Therefore, schools must make every attempt to ensure safe and effective learning environment opportunities for students to interact with the materials or data drawn from the materials using different tools and equipment, data collection techniques, models, and theories of science. Thus, these students’ activities include physical manipulation of the real world substances or system under investigation and interaction with stimulations.

In addition, providing less direction and therefore assign students more responsibility to determine procedural strategies; cultivating interest in science and interest in learning science; producing significantly more educational gains than traditional laboratories; enhancing teamwork abilities; and understanding the ambiguity and complexity of empirical work (Akinbobola, 2021).

Hence, setting up a laboratory that utilizes the maximum of students’ participation in the inquiry process holds the greatest impact of modern science teaching (Adesoji & Ibrahim, 2019). Thus, the investigatory laboratory provides the modern science teacher with an opportunity to stimulate and guide the students into patterns that a scientist might employ in making a similar investigation. Therefore, it is against this background that the researcher focused on laboratory resources and teaching of practical biology in secondary schools.

1.2     Statement of the Problem

In spite of all the advantages and the recognition given to science subjects as the pivot for technological and economic development of a nation, the laboratory learning environment in which the science subjects supposed to be learnt seems not to be conductive for effective teaching and learning process.

Undeniably, this has led to the perception of students that science is a difficult subject. Thus, this perception of students has affected learners’ interest and led to declining rate of students’ achievement in science subjects in Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSSCE) conducted by West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) in Nigeria (Akinbobola, 2021).

Hence, do the science laboratory resources affect students’ achievement in science? Also, what difference exists between the preferred and actual science laboratory environment as perceived by students? Furthermore, do the laboratory technicians influence the teaching of Biology? Therefore, based on the above asked questions, the researcher was motivated to investigate laboratory resources and teaching of practical biology in secondary schools.

1.3     Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study was to investigate laboratory resources and teaching of practical biology in secondary schools. Specifically, the study is designed to:

• investigate the influence of laboratory technicians on the teaching of practical Biology in secondary schools.
• investigate the influence of laboratory materials on the teaching of practical Biology in secondary schools.

1.4  Significance of the Study

The study is highly significant in enabling parents, educationists and education stakeholders in measuring laboratory resources in relationship to teaching effectiveness. Also this study will be of benefit to educationists who are interested in knowing how laboratory factors affect teaching effectiveness.

This study is also helpful to parents who are interested in the educational performance of their children most especially in Biology and parents who are intending to mould their children to become biology tutors in future as this study tends to assess laboratory resources and teaching effectiveness. Laboratory resources and teaching of practical biology in secondary schools.

The knowledge among the Biology teachers on the negative influence caused by the poor laboratory management will make them to develop and enrich in proper laboratory management and control culture in order to improve their teaching effectiveness. The finding of this study will also draw attention of all the teachers not to teach whenever the laboratory is not properly arranged. Finally, the study will serve as a source of data for future researchers.

1.5 Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated in the null form to guide the study:

• To what extent do laboratory technicians influence the teaching of practical Biology?
• To what extent do laboratory materials on the teaching of practical Biology?

1.6 Limitation of the Study

The limitations for this work were that of duration since the period of the research was during the researcher’s engagement in other academic work. Also, lack of finance as well as lack of reference materials was also the challenges that were faced in this study.

Definition of Terms

The following key concepts were defined as used in the study:

Laboratory Resources: These are those human and material resources in the laboratory which assist in the explanation to scientific laws and theories are verified, proven and explain to students while teaching Biology in the laboratory.

Teaching: In brief, this is the act of helping people to learn effectively.

Biology: This is the study of plants and animals.

Conclusion

From the findings of the study, there is clear indication that the science laboratory resources have significant influence on teaching of Practical Biology. However, there exists a significant influence of laboratory technicians on teaching of Practical Biology. This is because the laboratory technicians set-up by the laboratory and also they act as an assistant to the teacher/students during the teaching learning process in the laboratory.

Also, there exists a significant influence of laboratory materials on teaching of Practical Biology as laboratory materials promote learning by doing, make the Biology classroom lively, real, and meaningful and have the potential of making the learnt content permanent and increases teaching effectiveness.

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Ikemesit

Ikemesit Akpan is my name. I am a Nigerian author. I work with projectboss.com.ng. I’m a researcher and a writer of academic research.

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