EFFECT OF PRE-INSTRUCTIONAL WORD-CLEARING STRATEGY ON THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL BIOLOGY STUDENTS IN ILORIN, NIGERIA M.Ed. RESEARCH PROPOSAL BY GBIGBADUA, Dare Abdulraheem 03/250C079 DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, ILORIN, NIGERIA SUPERVISOR: PROF I. O. ABIMBOLA VENUE: PG SEMINAR ROOM DATE: TIME: 10:00AM

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background to the Problem Science is generally defined as a body of knowledge, a way of investigating or method, and a way of thinking in the pursuit of an understanding of nature (Abimbola&Omosewo,2006). Biology is designed to produce educated individuals some of whom may or may not take to biological studies in their professional studies or pursuit, but may find it useful in their daily activities (Sule,2000). According to Hubbard (1998), a misunderstood word will remain misunderstood until one clears the meaning of the word. Once the word is fully understood by the person, it is said to be cleared. The procedures used to locate and clear up words the student has misunderstood in his studies are called Word- Clearing.

Background to the problem continued Abimbola (2011) asserted that, ‘the outcomes of the application of study technology are seen in students who know how to learn, how to apply knowledge and motivated lifelong learner. Teachers who know how to use this method become new teacher, who know how to teach student how to learn and whose lives can no longer be the same again because they too, become lifelong learner and teaching anything to anybody.’ According to Ausubel (1960),Pre-instructional strategy is an instructional technique which involves deliberate introduction of certain concepts and sub-concepts called sub-summers in advance of the presentation of the actual learning material or task in order to enhance meaningful learning and retention of the learning materials perceived difficult to learners.

Statement of the Problem Martin, Sexton, Wagner and Gerlovich (1998) noted that learners’ attitudes carry a state of readiness or willingness to learn. They direct learners when they enter into new experiences and hence influence how they would respond to situations or events. The dismal performance of students in biology over the years necessitates the search for alternative instructional strategies that could ensure better students performance. This study therefore sought to determine whether or not pre-instructional word-clearing have any effect on the performance of biology student in Ilorin, secondary school level.

Purpose of the Study The main purpose of this study is to determine the effect of pre instructional word-clearing strategy on the achievement of secondary school students in biology in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study will examine the: 1.Effect of using pre-instructional word-clearing strategy on SS2students’ achievement in biology. 2.Difference in the achievement of students using pre-instructional word-clearing strategy and those that are not using it, based on gender. 3.Difference in the achievement of students using pre-instructional word-clearing strategy and those that are not using it, based on students’ scoring levels.

Research Questions For the purpose of this study, the following researcquestions will be raised and answered; 1.What is the effect of using pre-instructional word- clearing strategy on SS2 students’ achievement in biology? 2.What is the difference in the achievement of students using pre-instructional word clearing strategy and those not using pre-instructional word clearing strategy based on gender? 3.What is the difference in the achievement of students using pre-instructional word clearing strategy and those not using, based on students’ scoring levels?

Research Hypotheses The following null hypotheses are formulated and will be tested in this research work. HO 1 : There is no significant difference in the achievement of students taught using pre-instructional word-clearing strategy and those that are not taught using the pre-instructional word-clearing strategy. HO 2 : There is no significant difference in the achievement of students using pre-instructional word clearing strategy and those not using pre-instructional word clearing strategy based on gender. HO 3 : There is no significant difference in the achievement of students using pre-instructional word- clearing strategy as an instructional approach and those not using, based on students’ scoring levels?

Scope of the Study The scope of this study will be limited to biology students in senior secondary school (SS2) in Ilorin, Kwara State. Two senior secondary schools in Ilorin will be purposively selected for this research work. A privately owned secondary school will be use for experimental group and a government owned secondary school will be use for control group. The content area for treatment will be drawn from WAEC recommended syllabus for Biology. Pre-instructional word clearing approach will be use for experimental group only, while the control group will be taught using the conventional method of teaching.

Clarification of Major Terms and Variables The following terms have been defined as used in the study; 1.Study 2.Technology 3.Innovation. 4.Word-clearing 5.Instructional strategy 6.Achievement: 7.BAT 8.Pre-instructional strategy

Significance of the Study The finding of this study might be of importance to the following: 1. Biology teachers 2.Teacher-trainers 3.Curriculum planners and developers 4. Federal, state local governments 5. Ministries and 6.other educational bodies as well as future 7.Researchers in science education.

CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 1.The review of related literature shall be done under the following sub-headings; 2.The objectives and content of senior secondary school biology curriculum. 3.Teachers’ teaching methods and their Students achievement in biology. 4.Study technology as an instructional strategy. 5.Pre instructional strategy as an instructional method of teaching science. 6.Word clearing method as an approach in teaching science. 7.Gender and students’ achievement in science. 8.Scoring levels and students’ achievement in science. 9.Appraisal of the reviewed literature.

CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter would describe the procedures that the researcher will follow in carrying out the study. It will be presented under the following subheadings: - 1.Research Design 2.Sample and Sampling Techniques 3.Research Instrument 4.Validation of Instrument 5.Procedures for Data Collection 6.Data Analysis Techniques.

Research Design The design for this study will be a quasi- experimental design. The first group will be the experimental (treatment) group and the second group will be the control group. The researcher will expose the experimental group to pre-instructional word-clearing method of instruction and later compare the result to the control group, which will not receive the treatment.

Sample and Sampling Techniques The target population for this study will consist of all the students in senior secondary schools in Ilorin metropolis, Kwara State. Two co-educational schools will be purposively selected for the study, because the students had adequate stock of recommended textbooks needed for carrying out the study. The two selected secondary schools are Ansarul Islam secondary school, Ilorin and Busari Alao Science College, Ilorin. 50% of the students’ population will be selected from each of these schools.

Research Instrument For the purpose of this study, a Biology Achievement Test (BAT) which contains twenty-five objective questions which will be drawn from past WAEC question papers will be used as an instrument to collect data. The researcher will design a pre- instructional word clearing manual, which will contain 25 terms involved in the topic. These words will be cleared using a biology dictionary, Wikipedia and biology textbook.

Validation of Research Instrument The test instrument will be given to the Supervisor and to the experts in the Department of Science Education, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, for validation. Their concerns will be taken into consideration in revising the instrument. The reliability of the test will be determined by test-retest method of three weeks interval in which the test items will be administered to 30 biology students of SS2 class at Ilorin Comprehensive High School (ICHOS), Ilorin, who will not be part of the main study.

Procedures for Data Collections A letter of request for permission will be taken to the Principals of the schools to be involved in the study. After obtaining the permission from the principals. The researcher will now interact with the biology teachers. The pretest will be administered to determine the students’ level of understanding of the selected topics before teaching them. The word clearing pre- instructional strategy will be used to teach the experimental group while the control group will be placed on placebo. After 3 weeks of teaching both the experimental and control groups, they will be post-tested.

Data Analysis Techniques The data collected from pre and posttests of both groups will be analyzed by subjecting the results to the following statistical procedures. The mean scores and standard deviation for both groups will be analyzed. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) would be used to test for the hypothesis one, two and three for rejection and non rejection of the hypotheses.

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