EFFECT OF ENRICHED DEMONSTRATION INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY IN ONITSHA EDUCATION ZONE

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of Enriched Demonstration Instructional Strategy (EDIS) on secondary school students’ academic achievement in Biology in Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study and three null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. A quasi-experimental research design, specifically the non-randomized pretest–posttest control group design, was adopted. The population of the study comprised 4106 Senior Secondary School II Biology students in public secondary schools in Onitsha Education Zone, while the sample of 196 (104 males and 92 females) was drawn using multi-stage sampling procedures. The experimental group (66 males and 50 females) was taught using the Enriched Demonstration Instructional Strategy, while the control group (38 males and 42 females) was taught using the conventional lecture method. The instrument used for data collection was the Biology Achievement Test (BAT), this instrument was validated by experts from Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The BAT was subjected to reliability testing, using Richard Kuderson formula-20 to establish a reliability coefficient of 0.70. Data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that students taught Biology using the Enriched Demonstration Instructional Strategy achieved higher mean achievement scores than those taught using the lecture method. Gender did not significantly influence students’ achievement, and there was no significant interaction effect of teaching strategy and gender on students’ achievement in Biology. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the Enriched Demonstration Instructional Strategy is an effective learner-centred approach for improving students’ academic achievement in Biology. It was therefore recommended amongst others that Biology teachers adopt enriched demonstration strategies in classroom instruction and that educational authorities organize training programmes to enhance teachers’ competence in the use of innovative instructional strategies.