Biology Teaching Methods
Abstract
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 they are teaching the subject, what biology to teach, how to teach the biology content, how to assess students' learning outcomes from instruction, and to be up to speed concerning events in the world relating to biology and biology teaching.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
The study aimed at identification of the required skills for the improvisation of instructional resources for effective teaching of mathematics and the problems of the acquisition of the skills required. The study was carried out at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja using the mathematics teachers and specialist from the educational institutions in the FCT as the population. The instrument for the study was a well validated questionnaire. The result revealed that there are 16 different skills required of the teachers for the improvisation of instructional resources and 10 problems of the acquisition of these skills. The study made some recommendations based on thefindings. Introduction Mathematics arose from the people's need in organized society. It is also, one of the most powerful and acceptable tools, which the intelligence of man has made for its own use over the centuries (Usman, 2002). Besides, mathematics is an-important subject that is indispensable to the technological development of any nation. Despite the perceived importance of mathematics in science and technology, and also as a language ofhuman culture of all nations, certain factors have been identified as being responsible for the problem of teaching and learning of mathematics. In an attempt to solve some of these problems, mathematics educators and mathematicians initiated a comprehensive programme towards the effective teaching and learning of mathematics at all level. The programme includes new approaches or strategies ofteaching and learning of mathematics. One of the approaches or strategies is the introduction and use of instructional resources in teaching and learning. Instructional resources are the resources or teaching materials that the teacher uses in presenting his lesson so that the students can easily understand what is being taught. Instructional resources, according to Offorma (1997) are all about ways and means of making teaching and learning process more meaningful, effective, productive and understandable. The end result is the attainment of overall educational goals. To Eya (2004), instructional resources stimulate learners' interest; help both the teacher and the learner to overcome physical limitation during presentation of subject matter. Doglas (1991) recalled that instructional resources could be regarded as "the nervous system" of the teaching and learning process. As a system it cannot be separated from classroom teaching, otherwise it could paralyze the entire system or process when neglected. The use of instructional resources is often bogged by teething problems namely: inadequate materials, economic recession, and unrelatedness of the educational resources, the students' population explosion and accessibility oflocal materials network. To solve these problems, Betiku (2000) advised teachers of mathematics to improvise instructional resources where necessary. hnprovisation is the sourcing, selection and deployment of relevant instructional elements of the teaching and learning process in the absence or shortage of standard teaching and learning resources for meaningful realization of specified educational goals am objectives. hnprovisation is the actof using materials obtainable from the local environment or design by the teacher or with the help oflocal personnel to enhance instruction. hnprovisation enables the teacher to think and research for cheaper, better and faster methods of making the teachingllearning process easier for students, thereby promoting creativity and self-reliance. It enables the teacher and learner to develop mathematical skills and attitude needed to function effectively in the
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 teachers can use in teaching physics, chemistry, and biology were provided. These examples would stimulate the teacher to think up their own analogies in their teaching subjects.
Third, the advantages and disadvantage of using analogies were identified. Some guidelines in the use of analogies in science teaching were stated and suggestions were provided to science teachers, science teacher educators, textbook authors, and researchers on how they might use analogies in their work.
This study reports on the first part of a research project that investigated children's cognitive, affective, and physical behaviors as they use the Yahooligans! search engine to find information on a specific search task. Twenty-two seventh-grade science children from a middle school located in Knoxville, Tennessee participated in the project. Their cognitive and physical behaviors were captured using Lotus ScreenCam, a Windows-based software package that captures and replays activities recorded in Web browsers, such as Netscape. Their affective states were captured via a one-on-one exit interview, A new measure called "Web Traversal Measure" was developed to measure children's "weighted" traversal effectiveness and efficiency scores, as well as their quality moves in Yahooligans! Children's prior experience in using the Internet/Web and their knowledge of the Yahooligans! interface were gathered via a questionnaire. The findings provided insights into children's behaviors and success, as their weighted traversal effectiveness and efficiency scores, as well as quality moves. Implications for user training and system design are discussed.
This survey was conducted in eight major cities: Uyo, Makurdi, Benin, Kano, Katsina, Ibadan, Abuja and Jos of the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria to determine the socioeconomic characteristics of florists and identify their production constraints. Structured questionnaires were administered in 2007 to randomly selected ornamental nursery operators in the study area. Data were analyzed using averages, frequency count, percentages and Chi-square. Most of the respondents were middle aged (48.2%) and were male (83.9%). while 16.1% were female. Only 9.3% of the respondents were full time florists while others engage in other businesses such as general farming (54.2%) and civil service (11.9%). Few (19.5%) of the respondents made less than N30,000 per annum, 28.0% made less than N100,000, 14.4% made less than N200,000 while 18.6% made above N200,000 per annum respectively. There were significant relationships (p<0.05) between level of income of florist and educational qualification, occupation, age, sex, and farm size of the florists. Constraints to their production include; Inadequate water supply during dry season, lack of basic nursery facilities, pests and disease infestation. There should be support through the provision of credit facilities, better interaction between Florists, Scientists and Research Institutes, subsidy on farm inputs and training of young school leavers and other interested individuals.
The lecture method is probably the most prevalent and only method some university lecturers oftenemploy in the training programs leading to the preparation of Nigerian graduates. In recent times thequality of graduates in Nigeria has necessitated a second look at this predominant method ofpreparation. Since the lecture method is predominantly teacher – centered and mostly leaves thelearners as passive participants, only to take notes and probably ask questions after the lecturedelivery if and when time permits, the need has arisen to look for alternative ways of graduates’preparation that will be all inclusive. There is a need for a method that will shift the attention to thelearners, while the lecturers play the role of facilitator of learning. One of the methods that can promotethese all inclusiveness is Study Technology. It is to this end that this study envisages answering thequestion: "what will be the effect of study technology mode of instruction and lecture method on theacademic performance of university students in Nigeria?
In this paper there is a critical overview of the role of analogies as tools for meaning making in science education, their advantages and disadvantages. Two empirical studies on the use of analogies in primary classrooms are discussed and analysed. In the first study, the 'string circuit' analogy was used in the teaching of electric circuits with students aged 8-9. In the second study, the 'making a cake' analogy was introduced within the study of photosynthesis with students aged 10-11. Outcomes of both studies are scrutinised to assess the effectiveness of analogies as tools for meaning making. How the analogies are presented, their contexts, and how much students are involved in mapping the analogical relations appear to be determinant. This strongly suggests that research and pedagogical practice should shift from determining the effectiveness of analogy in cognitive transfer, from analogue to target domains, towards the recognition of its role in generating engagement in developing meaningful explanations through discourse. Finally, most salient aspects of the use of analogies are considered for contexts in which they are used to promote understanding of scientific ideas. Analogy can play and important role in that task if it is seen as a resource to promote understanding and meaning making but its strengths and limitations are not ignored.
The present research study was design to investigate the factors affecting academic performance of graduate students of Islamia University of Bahawalpur Rahim Yar Khan Campus. The variables under consideration were the academic performance (student's grades/marks) as a dependent variable and the gender, age, faculty of study, schooling, father/guardian social economic status, and residential area, medium of schooling; tuition trend, daily study hours and accommodation trend were independent variables. The data were collected from 100 students through separate structured questionnaire from different departments of Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus using the simple random sampling technique. For analysis, linear regression model, correlation analysis, and descriptive analysis were used. The findings revealed that age, father/guardian social economic status and daily study hours significantly contribute the academic performance of graduate students. A linear model was also proposed that will be helpful to improve the academic performance of graduate students at University level.
The study looked at the provision of facilities as it relates to academic performance of students in agricultural science in Ekiti state of Nigeria between 1990 and 1997. The study population was results of the West African School Certificate Examinations (WASCE) conducted between 1990 and 1997 in 50 secondary schools in both rural and urban areas of the state. One validated instrument (STQF) was used for data collection. One hypothesis was formulated and answered. Data were analysed using mean and t-test. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the performance of students between rural and urban secondary schools in term of availability of library facilities (t = 1.79, p<0.05), availability of textbooks (t= 1.20; p <0.05) and availability of laboratory facilities (t= 1.83, p<0.05). It has been established that facilities are potent to high academic achievement of students; therefore, Ekiti State Government should provide adequate material resources to rural/urban locations to enhance teaching and learning processes. The Parent Teacher Association (PTA), philanthropist and other charitable organizations are also implored to compliment the effort of the government to boost the performance of students in SSCE.
The aim of this study is to investigate metaphors that elementary school 5th and 8th grade students(N=567) use in order to describe the term “teacher”. The data were collected using a questionnaireconsisting of open-ended questions, and analyzed using qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques.Content analysis technique was used in the analysis of qualitative data, and chi square was used inquantitative data analysis. According to the results of the study, it was found out that 83 valid metaphorswere produced by 429 elementary school students. These metaphors were collected under 6 conceptualheadings according to their common features. It was observed that the conceptual categories formed relatedto the metaphors that elementary school students use have no significant difference according to gender andschool levels, but have significant differences related to their classroom levels.
The following study guide consists of ten (10) Modules under the following headlines/topics: 1.Getting started in the virtual classroom (Classfronter) 2. Basic terms on educational evaluation and measurement 3. Types of test and classification 4. Characteristics of test 5. Preparation of achievement test 6. Methodology of Test Construction 7 Test Planning stages 8.Test Item Development 9.Test Item Analysis 10. Development of Marking Scheme. Each module is presented in two (2) formats: An overview table, and a minilecture. The overview table consists of four (4) titles in columns arranged in rows in this order: Tasks, Activities, Resources, and Estimated ECTS hours'. The first three (3) subtitles outlined course activities while the last shows the estimated notional' ECTS hours' required to carry out each task and the corresponding activities. The minilecture on the other hand is a condensed introduction to the concepts that learner needs to learn. It is to trigger off deep thoughts that will provoke inquisitiveness on the part of the learner in order to explore the resources provided and even go beyond them as an individual or as a group with other course participants in order to grasp the full meaning of the subject matter. It is not an Instructivist approach and hence the minilecture will not be a full lecture and as such it is to make learner learn and not be taught. Immediately below the overview table is full description of the contents of the table. These are more suggestions on how to carry out each task and additional web links that will be of help to the learner.
Teachers' views and reflective comments accentuate the value of developing better models for analogical teaching and stress the value of watching and talking to experienced teachers. Experienced teachers have a wealth of practical expertise to offer educational researchers. They know what works and what does not, and their classrooms are reliable environments for testing new theories and ideas. From the perspective of the analogical teaching reported in this article, the essential elements in its success were an extensive review of the literature, formulation of literature-based innovative teaching approaches, and close collaboration with experienced teachers in trialling and fine-tuning the FAR Guide. The assistance of teachers who trialled the analogy teaching approaches in their classrooms enabled us to refine the FAR Guide to a point where it will likely enhance student understanding of the science concepts explained using analogies. Provided teachers spend time negotiating each analog's familiarity and establishing the analogy's similarities and differences with their students, analogies are powerful and motivating learning tools. The FAR Guide does more than just establish analog familiarity and ensure valid shared and unshared mapping, it encourages teachers to regularly self-evaluate their teaching, and this should result in enhanced teaching and learning.
Focusing on the teaching and learning of science concepts at the elementary and high school levels, this volume bridges the gap between state-of-the-art research and classroom practice in science education. The contributors -- science educators, cognitive scientists, and psychologists -- draw clear connections between theory, research, and instructional application, with the ultimate goal of improving science teachers' effectiveness in the classroom. Toward this end, explicit models, illustrations, and examples drawn from actual science classes are included.
The purpose of this study was to explore 13 K-12 teachers' reports of how the Internet influenced literacy and literacy instruction in their classrooms. The teachers, including ten women and three men, represented 11 different states in the U.S. and were considered ex- emplary at using technology by their colleagues. Labbo and Reinking's (1999) notion of multiple realities in relation to new tech- nologies provided a framework for understanding the participants' perspectives of the Internet's relationship to literacy and literacy in- struction. Constant-comparative analysis of data, including e-mail interviews, participants' reflective journals, Web pages, online arti- cles, and lesson plans revealed three areas of focus: (a) the appro- priateness of Internet material, (b) evaluating the accuracy of Internet material, and (c) publishing student work on the Internet. Findings indicated that the teachers viewed the Internet's influence on reading as an extension of traditional literacy skills. In addition, the elementary teachers noticed an increase in their students' motivation to write when their work was published on the Internet for a greater audience. However, the secondary teachers did not find this the case. Implications for teacher technology preparation and literacy re-search are discussed in light of the lessons learned.
This paper reports the findings of a study undertaken in four Nova Scotia public schools of twelfth grade students' information seeking strategies when they use the Internet as an information source. Various Nova Scotia Department of Education curriculum documents hold high expectations of students' information seeking strategies when using the Internet for educational purposes. This study looks at whether these expectations are being realized. The results include the students' use of specific information seeking strategies, knowledge of World Wide Web Search engines, as well as how students acquired their Internet information seeking knowledge, and students' perceptions of their ability to locate information on the Internet. The results of the study have important implications for Internet education and the role of information professionals in public schools.
The study aims to study the perception of Sr. Sec. School Teachers' towards extensive utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The Objectives of the study were: > to study the perception of Sr. Sec. School Teachers towards utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT); > to compare the perception of Sr. Sec. School Teachers towards utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in relation to gender; > to compare the perception of Sr. Sec. School Teachers of different age groups towards utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT); > to compare the perception of urban and rural Sr. Sec. School Teachers towards utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT); > to compare the perception of Sr. Sec. School Teachers to different level of qualification towards utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT); (vi) to suggest guidance for effective utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Sr. Sec. Schools. It was decided to select the sample from Sr. Sec. School teachers of Faridabad District of Haryana. In the present study 100 Sr. Sec. school teachers of Faridabad district of Haryana were selected through simple random sampling technique. Tools: Questionnaire for Teachers' Perception towards Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This questionnaire was developed by investigator and finalized with its face validity. As findings can be declare that: > There is no significant difference between the urban Sr. Sec. School teachers' perception and their counter part i.e. rural Sr. Sec. School teachers towards utilization of ICT. > There is no significant difference between the urban male and rural male Sr. Sec. School teachers perception did not differ significant on utilization of ICT. > There is no significant difference between urban and rural female Sr. Sec. School teachers perception towards utilization of ICT. It reflected that urban and rural female teachers were not differs in view on utilization of ICT.
The provision of quality education for the poor and marginalized is intertwined with addressing social justice concerns. Parents need convincing that the cost of sending their children to school is offset by tangible benefits. This article draws on a study of perceptions of school benefits and the factors and processes shaping them, in rural Sindh, Pakistan. It responds to the strategies advocated in the Global Monitoring Report 2013-2014 for solving the "quality" crisis and to the widespread struggle in low-income countries to recruit sufficient, trained teachers to achieve EFA and provide education that becomes a catalyst for social change.
This study investigates the extent and level of use of information technology (IT) by academics in selected universities in Nigeria. Five Federal universities were used for the study; and data were collected using questionnaire survey. Three parameters were used to measure the extent of use of computers: percentage of academics who used computers, variety of academic application areas in which computer is used, and various uses of available computer software packages. The level of use of computers was measured in terms of computer experience, frequency of use, and accessibility to computers. The study results show that computers were extensively used by the academics, while the level of use of computers was very low. There was negligible use of networking and Internet. Major obstacles to effective use of information technology include lack of access to IT, inadequate skills in use of computers, and incessant power supply. The study concludes that, use of IT is a recent development in these universities, and recommends provision of computers to academics with corresponding training programmes to enable them acquire adequate skills and knowledge of computer potentials.
Keyword: Computer, software, Internet, computer experience, information technology
[Global Jnl Mathematical Sci Vol.2(1) 2003: 57-65]
Teachers are indispensable within the teaching – learning process. Hence, they constitute a major input in the accomplishment of educational goals and objectives in all nations. In Nigeria, teacher education has been bedeviled with a lot of challenges in the modern day technology of imparting knowledge in the teaching and learning process. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is relatively a very new development in Nigerian educational system. ICT plays a significant role in teacher education. Hence, the objective of this paper is to discuss the prospects of ICT in teacher education as well as its challenges in E-teaching profession in Nigeria. The findings via descriptive research revealed that many teachers in Nigeria are not using ICT facilities in teaching learning process due to some challenges which include high exorbitant price of ICT facilities, lack of infrastructures in the areas of electricity supply, lack of adequate trained manpower for the development, maintenance and operation of ICT facilities, lack of commitment on the part of government towards the development of ICT, inadequate funding of internet connectivity and lukewarm attitude of many teachers to be computer literate among others. This paper proffers some probable ways of improving ICT in teacher education in Nigeria. It concludes that the importance of ICT in teacher education to improve the quality of teaching and learning process in schools cannot be over-emphasized.
Advancement in science and technology, and other emerging trends in the world are resulted in curriculum reforms. These reforms have resulted not only on the contents of the textbooks but also on its presentation. The core source of learning which has always been popular internationally is the textbook. The major concern relative to the textbook is the quality of its content and the quality of its presentation. In many countries, as also in Pakistan, textbooks are developed in the light of national curriculum after which they are submitted to an evaluation process to ensure their quality. This study identifies indicators for quality textbooks from literature and good practices employed internationally. Considering textbook as a product, Garvin's (1988) framework for quality products was used as base for identification of the indicators. The indicators identified were validated through experts' opinions. Delphi technique was employed to reach a consensus on indicators of quality textbooks. The study suggests that the quality of textbook in Pakistan could be ensured by fulfilling the compliance conditions for each of the identified eleven indicators.
Howard Gardner’s brilliant conception of individual competence is changing the face of education today. In the ten years since the publication of his seminal Frames of Mind, thousands of educators, parents, and researchers have explored the practical implications of Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory—the powerful notion that there are separate human capacities, ranging from musical intelligence to the intelligence involved in understanding oneself. Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice brings together previously published and original work by Gardner and his colleagues at Project Zero to provide a coherent picture of what we have learned about the educational applications of MI theory from projects in schools and formal research over the last decade.
In the 18th century we had the agrarian revolution; the industrial revolution followed in the 19th century, early in the 20th century came the technological revolution, and now as we head for the millenium, the Information Revolution is upon us…!This paper gives an introduction to the Internet and World Wide Web showing what they can provide for the biology teacher. It gives information for the classroom practitioner on the promises, possibilities, and realities of the new information and communications technologies; how to get connected, how to avoid the pitfalls, and how to reap the benefits of a growing and developing global information system. The curriculum opportunities are set in context for the biologist, and pointers to useful and relevant Internet sites are provided.
To carry out his investigations, Bruner went to "the clutter of life at home," the child's own setting for learning, rather than observing children in a "contrived video laboratory." For Bruner, language is learned by using it. An central to its use are what he calls "formats," scriptlike interactions between mother and child in short, play and games. What goes on in games as rudimentary as peekaboo or hide-and-seek can tell us much about language acquisition.But what aids the aspirant speaker in his attempt to use language? To answer this, the author postulates the existence of a Language Acquisition Support System that frames the interactions between adult and child in such a way as to allow the child to proceed from learning how to refer to objects to learning to make a request of another human being. And, according to Bruner, the Language Acquisition Support System not only helps the child learn "how to say it" but also helps him to learn "what is canonical, obligatory, and valued among those to whom he says it." In short, it is a vehicle for the transmission of our culture."
Through a nationwide survey of teachers experienced at integrating computers into their teaching, we probed who these teachers are, how they use computers in their classrooms, how their teaching has changed, and the barriers and incentives they experience. Overall trends indicate motivated and professional teachers who have learned to use computers in multiple ways and who believe their teaching has changed accordingly. An analysis of patterns in the sample describes five teacher segments, suggesting multiple profiles of integration. Finally, we analyze factors that have contributed to these teachers' accomplishments and implications for widespread integration of computers into teaching.
This study sought to determine how experienced language teachers use analogies to help students comprehend a text on the course of their regular teaching routines. It is assumed that analogies constitute one important component of the content of teachers' practical knowledge in the context of reading-comprehension instruction. The framework of the study drew from Shulman's notion of 'pedagogical content knowledge'; the perspective was the analogy-provider (e.g. teacher or textbook author). Eight lessons taught by eight different teachers were observed and analysed for the presence of analogies. The frequent use of analogies, continuously under discussion in the literature about science education, seems at least open to question. The research suggests that teacher education programmes for language teaching should include information about developing and evaluating instructional analogies.
Instructional transactions are instructional algorithms, patterns of learner interactions, usually far more complex than a single display and a single response, which have been designed to enable the learner to acquire a certain kind of knowledge or skill. Different kinds of knowledge and skill would require different kinds of transactions. The necessary set of these instructional transactions are designed and programmed once, like other computer applications such as spread sheets. They can then be used with different content topics as long as these topics are of a similar kind of knowledge or skill. A transaction shell is the structure of a transaction identifying the interactions, parameters, and knowledge representation needed for a given class of transactions. A transaction shell is a piece of computer code that, when delivered to a student via an appropriate delivery system, causes a transaction to occur. A transaction shell consists of two subsystems: an authoring environment and a delivery environment. The users of the authoring environment are subject matter experts and instructors; the users of the delivery environment are students. The authoring environment has a knowledge acquisition system and a transaction configuration system. The knowledge acquisition system queries a subject matter expert concerning the knowledge and skill required by the enterprise. This information is organized and stored in a knowledge base. The transaction configuration system enables the instructor, or designer, to provide values for a wide range of instructional parameters. These parameters control the nature of the interactions with the learner. Instructional parameters enable a given transaction shell to be customized for a particular student population, learning environment, ...