Isaac Abimbola

Excellent Learning Technology Ltd., Ilesa, Nigeria

INAUGURAL LECTURE

The purpose of the paper was to discuss the influence of AFRICAN worldview on school science. The paper discussed the attributes of the two world views and compared the two to locate their influences on one another. An attempt was made to discuss the implications of their interactions on science curriculum planning and development and science teach...

Discovery, as a teaching approach, has a long history to it, which blossomed during the curriculum development years of the sixties. Despite the long existence of the term "discovery", users of the term in science education hardly realise that they use it in many ways. This paper is therefore an attempt to provide a base from which the analysis of...

The purpose of this study was to describe and provide explanations for the alternative conceptions related to human respiration held by selected Form Four students before and after instruction. Twenty-seven subjects from a grade one secondary school in Osogbo, Oyo State of Nigeria took part in the study. An experienced N.C.E. teacher taught the les...

The purpose of this paper is first to define the key concepts in the paper to assist in the understanding of the discussion. Second, the paper discusses the status of Nigeria's development using human development indices and world development indicators. These two sources form the basis of the comparison made between Nigeria and six other purposive...

This is a chapter, titled, "The Structure of Science," in a book titled, "Biology Teaching Methods. It is an attempt to describe the structure of science with implications for biology teaching. Science has three major components, which are products, processes, and ethics. Science is defined by its products, which encompass knowledge in the form of...

Professional development programs are a primary means by which schools assist their teachers to continue to grow and develop their knowledge, skills, and attitudes over time so that they can be very useful to their students and themselves. Teachers should therefore continue to grow and develop in their profession and not think that they have alread...

The purpose of this book, "Biology Teaching Methods," is to provide adequate guidance for students undergoing the initial teacher education programs in universities and colleges of education, and all other biology teachers in secondary schools in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world. We believe that it is important for biology teachers to know why th...

This is a webinar presentation complete with the full transcript of the interactive session. It's about the processes involved in instructing and assessing for a perfect understanding of learned materials by students. The various perspectives introduced by members of the online group, HelPnet, make reading the paper worthwhile

This book provides a self-instructional study material to assist learners and instructors in achieving perfection in their learning. The book opens with a rationale for learning how to learn and teaching how to learn. It then focuses on significant barriers to understanding how any learner can identify their existence through their unconscious reac...

This study examined the effect of qualification and experience of Biology teachers on the status of ecology teaching in Kwara State. This study sample included one hundred and forty two (142) Secondary Schools selected by random sampling technique. The researcher designed teachers' questionnaire which were administered to four hundred and fifty (45...

Cell division has been identified in literature as a hard-to-learn biology process due to poor instructional strategies and students’ inability to delineate between mitosis and meiosis. Hence, there is need to explore alternative strategy such as modelling clay for the concretization of cell division processes. Therefore, this study, conducted to a...

The controversies related to unethical research practices have engendered significant research interest across the globe. This unethical practice is becoming more pronounced among academics in Nigeria, this tends to affect the research abilities of academics as well as their research outputs. The malady of unethical authorship in Nigeria, particula...

This is a webinar paper on how to achieve student perfect understanding through instruction and assessment. It was presented on Saturday, 29 February 2020 between 8:00pm and 12:01 am to members of the HelPnet, an online higher education group

This is a Webinar paper on how to achieve student perfect understanding through deliberate instruction and assessment. It was presented to an online higher education chat group, HelPnet on Saturday, 29 February 2020 at 8:00 pm to 12:01 am.

This presentation is the content of a Webinar presented to members of the online group, HelPnet, on Saturday, 29 February 2020. It raises the awareness of the members of the group to the possibility of perfect understanding of instructional contents by students under suitable circumstances.

Students held misconceptions about many biology concepts and theories such as ecology, genetics, evolution, respiration, and cell, among others, and these can be traced to ineffectiveness and inappropriate use of instructional strategies. This study therefore, examined the effect of concept-mapping instructional strategy in remediating senior schoo...

The purpose of the paper is to raise awareness about a career-long journey, as both an observer and a participant, on the road to finding appropriate instructional and learning strategies that would lead to quality education by way of perfect understanding of learned materials by students. I leave readers, in the end, to conclude if indeed, a unive...

The achievements of students in the senior school certificate Biology examinations over the years have not been encouraging. Studies have indicated that this is partly due to students' poor knowledge in biological drawings. Evidence in the literature suggests that biological drawings could be used to facilitate students' learning. This study, there...

The purpose of the paper is to sensitize members of the Science Teachers' Association of Nigeria, Kwara State Branch as to strategies for enhancing STEM Education in the State. The paper elucidates the meaning of STEM Education and describes the status of STEM Education in Nigeria. It then discusses strategies for enhancing STEM Education in Nige...

This position paper was written in response to an open memorandum to Nigerian citizens and education stakeholders to submit a memorandum to reposition education in Nigeria. The bases of the suggestions in the paper are: 1. Lack of knowledge by students on how to study 2. Incomplete understanding of contents by students 3. Inability of students to...

The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness about the potency of study technology for use as a basis for future research and application to studies in teacher education. The paper first builds a rationale for study technology. Its objectives are then clearly stated. The paper describes the three barriers to study, including students' reaction...

The purpose of this paper is to first identify and describe teacher education institutions, which are concerned with the initial teacher education of teachers. Second, it identifies and describes the three formats of initial teacher education in Nigeria. Third, it then identifies the goals of teacher education in Nigeria as stated in the National P...

The total number of higher institutions in Nigeria is first analyzed according to the order--universities, polytechnics, mono-technics, and specialized institutions, colleges of agriculture, colleges of health technology and allied institutions, vocational enterprise institutions and innovation enterprise institutions, and colleges of education. T...

The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness about the potency of study technology in improving students' performance in the University of Ilorin Preliminary Studies Program. Based on the knowledge of the earlier moderate performance of candidates of the program, in the paper, it is assumed that perfect scores are possible in examinations. The...

The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the trends of science and technical education in Nigeria, with a view to identifying the challenges facing the disciplines and deducing the prospects for them. First, basic definitions of relevant concepts were clarified to enable us have a proper understanding of relevant ideas of the study. Sec...

The purpose of the paper is to underscore the contributions that education could make to the overall development of the country, Nigeria, through the establishment of private schools.. The paper starts by describing the characteristics of private schools and public schools. The advantages and disadvantages of each of private and public schools ar...

The duties and responsibilities of a university teacher are closely tied to the functions of a university. First, the functions of a university were presented from a historical point of view. Second, the specific conditions of service for academic staff were presented from the assumption of duty through the career ladder to the pinnacle of the prof...

This paper is organized according to the following outlines: (a) Clarification of terms (b) The status of postgraduate education in Nigeria (c) Challenges facing postgraduate education in Nigeria (d) HIghlights of the NUC Minimum Academic Standards (e) Concluding remarks and recommendations

Outline Introduction Types of test Essay Objective Forms of objective test Quality Assurance Ethical Principles in Evaluation Conclusion

This paper was presented as a foundation member of staff of the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria at its 40th Anniversary Reunion Luncheon organized on 21 October 2015 doe Foundation Staff and Students, and Senate Members of Unilorin during its Convocation Ceremonies. The paper went through memory lane to describe the beginning years of the Un...

This paper was first presented at a workshop organized for all Lecturers in the Faculty of Education, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria on 17 December 2015 to sensitize the Lecturers on the basic principles and practices of the teaching practice exercise in the Faculty. First, the meanings and differences of aims, goals, and objectives were cl...

This paper was first presented on 5 May 2016 at the Annual Conference of the Kwara State Science Teachers Association of Nigeria, which held at the Kwara State College of Education Hall in Ilorin, Nigeria. The purpose of the paper is to describe and discuss the role of ICT in STEM Education in Nigeria, using as a basis: Nigeria's National Policies...

This paper was first presented to the Kwara State Branch of the Educational Psychologists Association of Nigeria on Thursday, 2 March 2017 at the Institute of Education Board Room, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria, Mini Campus. The composite functions of a university were used as a basis for describing and discussing the functions of an acade...

The purpose of this book is to present a compilation of my important papers commissioned for presentation at different fora, as a way to leave a legacy behind on retirement, for use by my former students, other students, colleagues, well-wishers, and admirers. The papers in this book were arranged chronologically in the order they were presented....

The purpose of this chapter is to attempt to discuss the relationships between mathematics and science to enable us draw implications for the teaching of mathematics and science. First, we describe the origins of mathematics and science, to enable us to trace the evolution of each discipline. Second, we describe the structures of mathematics and...

This study examined the effects of computer animation instructional package on secondary school students’ achievement in practical biology in Ilorin, Nigeria. The study adopted a pre-test, post-test, control group, non-randomised and non-equivalent quasi-experimental design, with a 2x2x3 factorial design. Two intact classes from two secondary schoo...

The main objectives of this chapter are to describe and discuss the major theories of learning guiding biology teaching. I attempted to describe the basic principles of each of the various learning theories in a near chronological order to summarize the theories for students. This is followed by a discussion of the implications of each of the learn...

The purpose of this book is to reduce undergraduate and postgraduate students' frustrations in knowing what to write in their research project proposals and reports. In addition, as the number of students under supervision by a given supervisor keeps on increasing from year to year, and the time to do this becomes limited, this book would assist in...

In this chapter, the concepts of observation and peer teaching have been briefly discussed. Possible lessons learnable from observation and peer teaching exercises are discussed in specific ways to enable them to inform subsequent teaching practice exercises, and ultimately post-qualification teaching experiences.

This chapter discusses the innovations taking place in biology and in the teaching profession. It also provides some hints on why it is required of the teachers to be current and aware of the innovations and various by which the teachers can assist the students to learn what is required. Some guidelines are provided on the effective use of teachin...

The major aim of this book is to highlight how knowledge about subjects contributes to their effective teaching. Therefore, the history and nature of the subjects and their philosophy are brought in contact with the teaching of the subjects. The premise upon which the book is based is that the teaching of a subject can be improved upon if it is i...

The study investigated the effects of the use of demokit by senior secondary school students on their achievement in biology. The use of demo kit was found to improve the achievement of high-scoring students in biology.

The study investigated the Assessment of perceived academic and incentive needs of senior secondary school biology teachers in Kwara State, Nigeria. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select two hundred and fifty (250) biology teachers from the three senatorial district of Kwara State. A questionnaire was prepared, validated and used...

This study investigated the effects of senior secondary school students' use of demo kits on their achievement in biology in Omu-Aran, Nigeria. The study utilized a quasi-experimental design and followed the non-randomized, non-equivalent pre-test and post-test control group of 2x2x3 factorial matrix. Data was obtained from four intact classes in f...

The National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) is Nigeria's plan for prosperity. The plan focuses on four key strategies: reorienting values, reducing poverty, creating wealth and generating employment. In realizing the plan, education is recognized as the vital transformational tool and a formidable instrument for any socioecon...

Efforts were made in this study to find out the views of science teacher educators in Nigerian Universities and Colleges of Education on the American minimum professional knowledge standards for science teacher educators. Ninety-three teacher educators participated in the study. Thirty three came from the Universities while 60 were from the College...

This study reports on the influence of teaching experience and school location teachers on Biology teachers' rating of difficulty levels of Nutrition concepts in Ilorin, Nigeria. The study compared the ratings of experienced and less-experienced teachers, and also those of teachers whose schools were located in the urban and rural areas. A research...

There have been arguments about the relationships between scientific literacy and the African worldview. The purpose of this paper is to examine the concepts of scientific literacy and African worldview and draw implications for sustainable development of science education in African. First, I present the definitions of the concepts of scientific l...

This study has attempted to examine what science skills the pre-service integrated science teachers have acquired from their training. The level of attainment of the skills and the ability to reach the skills, the study involved 124 students form 17 colleges of Education that offer integrated science double major. Using the researchers developed in...

This study evaluated the outcomes of using the NCE integrated science double major curriculum. Data on the students' perception of the value of their training and the worth of the curriculum was collected using researchers developed questionnaire and student teacher test of science process skills as instrument for assessing the students acquisition...

The purpose of this paper is to sensitize science teachers and educators to areas of research interest in analogies and to the potency of using analogies in their teaching to deal with difficult science concepts. First, the concept and nature of an analogy was discussed to clarify its meaning. Second, examples of common analogies that science te...

The purposes of this study were to investigate what biology content areas that biology teachers perceive as important but difficult for them to teach and the reasons they give for their perceptions. Most of the content areas perceived as important to teach belonged to Applied biology, while most of the content areas perceived as difficult to teach...

This study sought to find students' level of achievement in selected ecology concept. It also sought to determine the influence of sex and school location on the level of their achievement. A multiple-choice achievement test was designed for the study Alternative conceptions and misconceptions were deliberately, injected into the options as distrac...

This study sought to find students' level of achievement in selected ecology concept. It also sought to determine the influence of sex and school location on the level of their achievement. A multiple-choice achievement test was designed for the study Alternative conceptions and misconceptions were deliberately, injected into the options as distrac...

This study sought to determine gender influence on student’s concept-mapping ability and achievement in evolution. As a case study, only one small group of students participated in the study. A total of eighty-seven second-year senior secondary school students took part in the study. A slightly modified form of the Evolution Theory Test developed b...

The purpose of this research work is to demonstrate further that misconceptions and alternative conceptions exist in science textbooks and that traditional textbook evaluation techniques have not been adequately focused on their identification. We reported here a study in Nigeria in which we analyzed a biology textbook, STAN Biology, for its misco...

______________________________________________________________________________ The purpose of this paper is to assess the science education research scene in Nigeria with a view to suggest the adoption of the "subject matter knowledge and conceptual change" as a worthwhile research paradigm for Nigeria. First, I described in the paper ' the general...

In this paper, an attempt is made to argue that philosophy if science is relevant to science, science teaching and learning and is useful in analyzing the concept of sciencing. The analysis focuses on the goals of sciencing, the conceptions of the scientific method, scientific discovery, and scientific progress held by philosophers of science. The...

The purpose of the paper is to describe the origin and structure of science knowledge and discuss how they influence concept difficulty in science. First, we describe various sources through which science knowledge comes to a science student. Second, we follow this with an analysis and description of the structure of science discipline and student...

This study was designed to investigate philosophical views on the nature of science held by Kwara State Science. Teachers based on statements made by the logical empiricists and the ‘new’ philosophers of science. Subjects for the study were one hundred and twenty trained and untrained graduate science teachers teaching Biology, Chemistry, Physics...

The purpose of this paper is to sensitize science teachers and educators on the need to rethink the traditional role usually accorded laboratory practical work in science teaching. The historical evolution of the use of laboratory work in science teaching it-as traced to the early scientists. Then, the paper examined how the laboratory method first...

The discussion in this paper begins with the dominant empiricist analytic mode of curriculum theorizing. An attempt will be made to account for its success. Then, criticisms of the model will be discussed to demonstrate the necessity for an alternative theoretical mode. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of two alternative modes, the historical...

This paper revisits the problem of terminology in the study of student conceptions in science (Abimbola, 1988). Progress on the resolution of the problem is reviewed first. Knowledge of science is then analyzed into disciplinary, curricular, experiential, and personal knowledge. The paper concludes that misconceptions, alternative conceptions, and...

This paper revisits the problem of terminology in the study of student conceptions in science. Progress on the resolution of the problem is reviewed first. Then, an analysis is performed on the knowledge of science subdividing it into components such as disciplinary, curricular, experiential, and personal knowledge. An attempt is then made to analy...

The purpose of this paper is to sensitize educators through the use of questions to enable us think about issues related to the role of supervisors as both curriculum analysts and developers. First, the paper is used to raise questions that supervisors can answer to assure themselves that they are familiar with their subject curricula. Second, sp...

The purpose of this study was to determine the readability of STAN Biology and the appropriate classes for which it is suitable. The Edward Fry's and Rudolf Flesh's formulae were used. It was found out that the book was suitable for grade 10 (SS1) and the reading ease was "standard." It was concluded that the book would be fairly difficult for the...

The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the epistemological roots of the various terms that have been used to describe student conceptions in the literature with a view to suggesting which term science education researchers could adopt. First, the paper describes the relevant tenets of empiricism and the "new" philosophy of science. Se...