EFFECT OF IMPROVISED MEDIA ON BIOLOGY ACHIEVEMENT AMONG SECONDARY STUDENTS IN NIGER STATE

Abstract:

This research delved into assessing the impacts of improvisational instructional media on the academic performance of secondary school students in biology within Niger State. Additionally, the study explored how gender and varying levels of ability influenced this achievement. A total of two hundred and seventy (270) students were sampled from nine public senior secondary schools. Employing a pretest-posttest control group factorial design, the intervention encompassed three teaching methods: experimental group 1 received instruction utilizing improvised models, experimental group 2 was taught using a developed video DVD instructional package, while the control group was subjected to the traditional lecture approach. To gather data, a 40-item Structured Biology Achievement Test (SBAT) was crafted, validated, and demonstrated a reliability coefficient of 0.83. Seven hypotheses were formulated and assessed at a 0.05 significance level, employing ANOVA statistics for hypothesis testing. Post hoc analysis, specifically Scheffe’s test, was applied in cases of significant differences among multiple groups. The research revealed significant disparities between experimental groups 1 (models) and 2 (video DVD), when compared to the control group (F-cal. 83.12 > F-tab. 3.92; P < 0.05) and (F-cal. 112.9 > F-tab. 3.92; p<0.05). Further distinctions emerged between male and female students in experimental groups 1 and 2, as opposed to their counterparts in the control group (F-cal. 28.38> F-tab. 2.68; P < 0.05) and (F-cal. 48.58 > F-tab. 2.68; P< 0.05). Notably, significant variances surfaced among students of varying ability levels (high, average, and low) in experimental groups 1 and 2, in comparison to their peers in the control group (F-cal. 9.11 > f-tab. 2.29; P< 0.05) and (F-cal. 22.48 > F-tab. 2.29; P< 0.05). These findings underscore the recommendation that the use of improvised instructional media be actively endorsed when conventional resources are lacking. Teachers of biology and other science subjects can effectively utilize either improvised models or video DVD packages.