The Use of Photomicrographs and Real Specimens in Teaching Biology in Secondary Schools and its Effects on Students Performance, Kenya

Abstract

The study focused on examining the effect of teaching secondary school biology using photomicrographs and real specimens to enhance students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Kenya.it employed the constructivism theory which emphasizes that in a constructivist environment, learners are able to build their own understanding by use of their previous knowledge to create new ideas. A teacher in a realism classroom is just but a facilitator who guides the active learners towards making their own conclusion. Students’ previous knowledge is prompted to ascertain what they know before a concept is taught. That would enable the teacher to correct any misconception that would arise and therefore concepts would be built on factual knowledge leading to learning of new concepts. The target population was 1490, where 298 form one Biology student and 18 teachers were used as the respondents. The Quasi –experimental design was used in the study where a pre-test Standardized Biology evaluation test (SBET) was administered to all the study participants. Then a treatment offered and later a post-test Standardized Biology evaluation test (SBET) to both groups corresponding to treatment given. The target population was 1490, where 298 form one Biology student and 18 teachers were used as the respondents. The population of interest were identified using stratified sampling and simple random sampling techniques. The Standardized Biology Evaluation Test SBET, a questionnaire for teachers TQ and for students SQ and checklist instruments were used as data collection instruments to generate data. For establishment of consistency of the questionnaire, Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient that estimates the reliability of the instrument was used which gave Cronbach’s coefficient alpha of 0.89 for students and 0.84 for teachers. The data analysis were carried out using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (t-test) guided by SPSS and excel. The study found out that the students in the experimental group outperformed those in the control group. The study recommended that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should provide the use of real specimens teaching approach in secondary schools in order to improve performance in KCSE Biology Examinations.