EFFECTS OF PROBLEM SOLVING AND GUIDED DISCOVERY METHODS ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCES IN BIOLOG

 

EFFECTS OF PROBLEM SOLVING AND GUIDED DISCOVERY METHODS ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCES IN BIOLOGY

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the study

Education is the bed rock of every nation. Education is a path way of fostering a nation economy and a way of sustaining a peoples’ culture which is transfer from one generation to another. Then teaching methods becomes an important path-way that should not be under mind by Science teachers and should be apply appropriately in order to enhance learning outcomes of students. The problems the educational system is facing, it’s not because the schools lack professional teachers alone, professional teachers may be there but how do these professional teachers teach? That is, what approach or Methods do they use in teaching? Teaching methods is considered as most important aspect in teaching science subjects (physics and Chemistry) especially, in senior secondary schools. The status of science education in Nigeria schools in terms of scientific concepts and development methods of teaching, learners interest in the subject continues to dwindle (Adediwu and Tayo, 2017, Ugwuadu, 2015) several researcher reports indicate that learners perform poorly in science subjects (Agbi, 2016. Hassan, 2010). Several factors have been identified as the objectives of science instruction but the commonest factor documented by researchers is inappropriate and uninspiring teaching methods adopted by science teachers (Aremu, 1999; Jimoh, 2013; Ezeoba, 2010). These researchers express their views that teachers shy away from inquiry method, discovery method, problem solving method, concept mapping and others, which are known to be effective and rely on teaching methods that easy to implement in the classroom but must time inadequate and inappropriate.

Problem-solving has been an aspect of science (biology, Physics and Chemistry) teaching and learning that has attracted the attention of educators. Problem-solving has long been recognized as a skill that also foster a better understanding of Physics and Chemistry concepts. It can be an excellent tool to encourage the learning process (Danjuma & Arshatu, 2010). Problem-solving is the highest form of learning (Babatunde, 2018). Oneshakepokaiye (2015) cited Kolawole and Oluwatayo (2015) that effective teaching implies productive, purposeful, result oriented, qualitative, meaningful and realistic teaching. The essence of being an effective teacher views on what to do to foster student learning. Physics teachers should therefore adopt teaching methods that will enable the students to understand whatever concepts topic or principles being taught.

Various methods of teaching Physics are known, such include guided discovery problem-solving, discussion, expository individualistic methods. These methods depend on various forms of teacher –student-activities through some methods are more activity oriented than others. Problem-solving is a systematic approach that reviews learning competencies, comprehending and composing critical and creative thinking these features are most important dimensions of thinking and learning in regardless of the acknowledgement of the importance of developing problem-solving skills, relatively little research has been conducted on the theme in the field of instructional design (Jonalsen, 2014). It is against this background that this research sought to examine the effect of problem-solving and guided discovery in teaching and lerning of biology

Statement of the Problem

The performance of biology students in Senior School Certificate Examination on (SSCE) both West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) is not encouraging in the recent years. Poor performance of students in these subjects is as a result of the teachers not using the appropriate teaching methods during teaching. The methods which teachers use in teaching  biology concept contribute to their poor performance. Biology is one sciences subject that students face many challenges in learning. They fail to solve calculations and equations problems correctly after doing and exercising many other similar problems as a result of wrong teaching method. Inappropriate use of teaching methods result in students not being able to explore the natural environment; inability of the students to see, feel and touch science resources that will bring about creative thinking and learning of science in their natural state.

The researcher‟s interaction with some biology teachers in some secondary schools in   reveals that there are inadequate facilities and lack of seriousness on the part of the student. Also an interaction with the students has shown that most did not understand the subject very well, possibly because of the teaching methods used by the teachers. These inconsistencies in opinions prompted the researchers‟ concerned and seeks to establish the causative factors of poor results with reference to the methodology of teaching  biology with particular reference to problem-solving and guided-discovery methods of teaching.

Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study was to ascertain the effectiveness of problem-solving and guided-discovery methods  on students‟ performance in biology in secondary schools in ------------  State, Nigeria.

The specific objectives were to:

 

i.       compare the effect of using problem-solving and lecture methods of teaching on the performance of secondary school students in biology .

ii.     determine the effect of using guided-discovery and lecture methods of teaching on the performance of secondary school students in biology .

iii.  ascertain the effect of using problem-solving and guided-discovery methods of teaching on the performance of secondary school students in biology .

iv.  determine the effect of using problem-solving, guided-discovery and lecture methods of teaching on the performance of secondary school students in biology .

1.4        Research Questions

The study provided answers to the following research questions:

i.       what is the effect of using problem-solving and lecture methods of teaching on the performance of secondary school students in biology ?

ii.     what is the effect of using guided-discovery and lecture methods of teaching on the performance of secondary school students in biology ?

iii.  what is the effect of using problem-solving and guided-discovery methods of teaching on the performance of secondary school students in biology ?

iv.  what is the effect of using problem-solving, guided-discovery and lecture methods of teaching on the performance of secondary school students in biology ?

1.5        Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were stated to further enable the researcher arrive at meaningful conclusion:

i.       there is no significant difference in the performance score of students taught biology  using problem-solving and those taught using lecture method of teaching.

ii.     there is no significant difference in the performance score of students taught biology  using guided-discovery and those taught using lecture method of teaching.

iii.  there is no significant difference in the performance score of students taught biology  using problem-solving and those taught using guided-discovery method of teaching.

iv.  there is no significant difference in the performance score of students taught biology  using problem-solving, guided-discovery and lecture methods of teaching.

 

 

1.6        Significance of the Study

It is expected that the study findings would be beneficial to the following stakeholders; students, teachers, curriculum planners, policy makers as well as other research.

The students will benefit immensely from this study in that most effective methods of teaching biology  had been revealed by this study. Such methods would be used in the classroom to teach the students biology  so as to make them skillful and perform better academically in their final examinations. The findings of this study will assist teachers in practicing biology  using effective methods of teaching in secondary schools in Kaduna state, thereby, exposing the students to meaningful learning experiences. The study will be significant and beneficial when designing curriculum for biology . This will go along way to recommend textbooks and other materials for biology . The findings will be of help to policy makers in Kaduna state and Nigeria as a whole in the area of vocational and technical education to include appropriate in-service training programme and encouraging biology  teachers to attend seminars, workshops and conferences on the use of teaching methods for biology . Finally, the findings of this study will serve as a reference material to other researchers.

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