Assessment of Strategies for Enhancing the Teaching and Learning of Biology in Ikwuano Local Government Area, Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the strategies used to enhance the teaching and learning of Biology in senior secondary schools in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study consists of 1200 senior secondary class two (SS 11) students and 15 teachers from all the public secondary schools in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia state. Two hundred and forty (240) students and 15 teachers from the public secondary schools in the area were selected using simple random sampling technique and census sampling, respectively. The instrument for data collection was “Assessment of Strategies to Enhance Teaching and Learning of Biology Questionnaire” (ASETLBQ). The questionnaire was developed based on a 4-point Likert scale of strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree. The instrument was validated by two experts in Biology education and one expert in Measurement and Evaluation. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach’s alpha method, and a reliability index of 0.79 was obtained. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while independent sample t-test was used to test the null hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The result revealed that great emphasis should be made on instructional materials and monitoring of students' ability to boost students' learning and teaching of biology in secondary schools. Based on the findings the following recommendations were made: Teachers should be trained on the best way of teaching Biology with appropriate strategies to enhance teaching and learning, and workshops and seminars should be organised by the science teachers association of Nigeria on areas of strategies in teaching and learning of biology.