EFFECT OF SCAFFOLDING INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY IN ONITSHA EDUCATION ZONE IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

Effect of scaffolding instructional strategy on secondary school students’ achievement in biology in Onitsha education zone of Anambra state was investigated. Two research questions guided the study and three null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The quasi-experimental design, specifically the pre-test post-test non-equivalent control group design was adopted. The population of the study was 4,724 SS2 biology students in Onitsha Education Zone, of Anambra state. A sample of 154 SS 2 biology students obtained using a multi-stage procedure was involved in the study. The instruments for data collection was Biology Achievement Test (BAT) validated by two lecturers in Departments of Science Education and Educational Foundation, from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and one experienced secondary school biology teacher. The reliability of the instruments was established using Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 to be 0.61. The experimental group was taught biology using SIS while the control group was taught using conventional method. Data were collected by administering the instruments as pre-test and post-test before and after treatment. The data obtained were analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions and analysis of covariance was used to test the hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that scaffolding instructional strategy significantly enhanced the achievement of both male and female students in biology. The conclusion was that scaffolding instructional strategy positive enhances achievement in biology. The study recommended among others that biology teachers should acquaint themselves with the various scaffolding strategies and integrate them in their biology lessons.