Abstract
The total population for the study is 200 staff of selected secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State was selected randomly. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up principals, vice principals administration, senior staff and junior staff were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background of the study
The teaching of science in general and Biology, in particular, required the active participation of students in the teaching-learning process, to enable students to connect scientific concepts and theories to real purposes and practices in the world in which they live (Dumela,.& Bree, 2016). Unfortunately, the majority of the teachers teach Biology without engaging the learner actively during the teaching-learning process. (Okoli &Azubuike, 2012: Ibe, 2015). Students’ poor performance in external examinations could be as a result of poor teaching strategies and neglecting of students’ learning styles. However, different teaching strategies have been introduced but could not improve the achievement of students in Biology. Teaching and planning are different ways employed by a teacher to impart knowledge to the learners.
It is also disheartening to note that, in spite of the much focus on teaching strategies in science, students’ performance in science subjects particularly Biology have continued to record a persistent and depressing downward trend ((Ikitde, & Edet, 2013: Okoli &Azubuike, 2012) [9, 11] . Several factors have been identified as affecting students’ achievement, these factors include inadequate laboratory equipment, inadequate science teachers, lack of science textbooks, poor teaching strategies amongst others but the neglected variables is learning the style. It is believed that effective learning takes place when the interactive process is one that is best suited to the individual students in terms of learning styles (Ikitde, & Edet, (2013). Learning styles (Visual / Verbal, Active / Reflective, Sensing / Intuitive, and Sequential / Global learning styles) are different approaches or ways of learning by students (Akinbobola, 2015: Fayombo, 2015; Dumela. 2016). Active learners tend to retain and understand information best by doing something active with it discussing or applying it or explaining it to others. While Reflective learners prefer to think about it quietly first. Sensing learners tend to like learning facts; intuitive learners often prefer discovering possibilities and relationships. Sensors often like solving problems by well-established methods and dislike complications and surprises; intuits like innovation and dislike repetition. Visual learners remember best what they see, pictures, diagrams, flowcharts, timelines, films etc. Verbal learners get more out of words. They prefer written and spoken explanations. Sequential learners tend to gain understanding in linear steps, with each step following logically from the previous one. Global learners tend to learn in large jumps, absorbing material almost randomly without seeing connections, and then suddenly “getting it.” Sequential learners tend to follow logical stepwise paths in finding solutions; global learners may be able to solve complex problems quickly or put things together in novel ways once they have grasped the big picture, but they may have difficulty explaining how they did it. In this study, the effect of individual students learning styles on achievement in Biology was investigated. However, the theory of multiple intelligence suggests that there are a number of distinct forms of intelligence that each individual possesses in varying degrees. According to Howard Gardner (1995), the implication of the theory is that teaching and learning should focus on the particular intelligence of each learner. For example, if an individual has strong spatial or musical intelligence, they should be encouraged to develop these abilities. Gardner (1995) points out that the different intelligence represents not only different content domains but also learning modalities/learning styles
- STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
To overcome these problems of students’ poor performance, there is need to strive for a balance of effective instructional strategies for science subjects such as demonstration, guided enquiry and lecture to students’ individual learning styles (Visual/Verbal, Active/Reflective, Sensing/ Intuitive, and Sequential/Global). If the balancing is achieved, it is hoped that all students will be taught in a manner they prefer which will lead to an increased comfort level to learn, and high achievement. It is against this background that the researchers sought to investigate impact of teaching, planning on student’s achievement in biology.
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