Fostering Senior Secondary School Students’ Performance in Biology Using Computer Simulation and Instructional Scaffolding in Minna, Niger State.

Abstract

This study examined the effects of computer simulation and instructional scaffolding on the performance of senior secondary school students in Biology in Minna, Niger state. Quasi-experimental design employing pre-test, treatment and post-test was adopted. The sample consists of ninety (90) Senior Secondary (SSII) Biology students. Three secondary school were randomly assigned to experimental group 1 and 2 and control. Thirty (30) students consisting of fifteen (15) males and fifteen (15) females were randomly assigned to each group. Experimental group 1, 2 and control were treated with computer simulation, instructional scaffolding, and traditional method, respectively. Three research questions and three corresponding hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Twenty-five (25) multiple-choice Biology Achievement Test (BAT) questions was used as instrument for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and t-test to test the formulated hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The finding shows that treatments used had significant effects on students’ post-test achievement score. Students exposed to computer simulation and instructional scaffolding did better in performance than those taught with conventional teaching methods. No significant difference was observed in the performance of the male and female students taught with both computer simulation and instructional scaffolding. It was concluded that meaningful learning can be enhanced using computer simulation and instructional scaffolding and that the approaches are gender friendly. It was recommended that the secondary school Biology curriculum should be reviewed with an aim to integrate computer simulation packages and instructional scaffolding into the curriculum.