Biology students exposed to CIA were compared with their counterparts taught using the traditional lecture method, to ascertain whether significant preferences exist in their mean achievement scores. One hundred and forty (140) biology students in Senior Secondary one (AS') drawn from four intact classes were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Test of Science Process Skills Acquisition in biology was administered in Pre-test and Post-test to test for mean achievement. The result of the analysis showed that CIA had significant effect on student's acquisition of science process skills than the traditional lecture method.
It was then recommended that since the production of CIA is complex and expensive ND teachers lack the skills, funds and competencies of producing them, professional organizations like the Nigerian Association for Educational Media and Technology (EMANATE), Science Teachers Association (STAN) and all other stakeholders in Education who are concerned with improving instruction should undertake the production of CIA for use in schools. Introduction Education in the 21st century no longer prepares individuals for securing employment in local industries or services; rather, it is for individual and national development.According to Baby (2006), the major objective of education is to bring training . T has been observed that, in most secondary schools in the study area ,conventional teaching method has been employed by most teachers thus making teaching teacher - centered and thus affecting students' performance in external examinations (Enough state WAKE Office, 2010) To promote students' performance in examinations and create room for desirable change in behavior, activity - oriented and learner - centered approach like the use of Information and Communication Technology (ACT) need to be employed.Officer (2005) stated that CIT related tools can make institutions more productive and enhance acquisition of kills and learning in general. Information and Communication Technology COT) can be defined as a diverse set of electronic technologies, technological tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information (Kooky, 2012 ) This technology may include computers, the internet, broadcasting technologies and telephony.
It also encompasses several other devices like video and camera that convert information (text), images, motion and so on, into common digital form.Sits offer several opportunities in education. Tolerable (2012) opined that CIT is a critical tool n preparing and educating students with the required skills for the global work place. He added that it educates students so that they continually adapt to a work world of continuous technological innovations.
CIT is a potent tool in promoting educational change, improving the skills of learners and preparing them for global economy and information society. Kooky (2003) maintained that education should serve as an instrument for national and specifically, scientific development if effectively provided.Effective education can be achieved through meaningful teaching and learning with adequate, relevant and effective instructional materials eke the CIT facilities, as these facilities engender acquisition of the skills needed for 'doing science. These skills are referred to as the science process skills or critical thinking skills. The skills are also known as the inquiry skills.
Wetted (2008) defined science process skills as the capability of accomplishing a thing with precision and certainty.The Nigerian National Policy on Education (2004:29) identified the process skills as the basis for fundamental and applied research in the sciences. The American Association for the Advancement of Science identified fifteen 15) process skills, which they grouped into two - basic and integrated process skills. The basic (simpler) process skills provide a foundation for learning the integrated (more complex) skills. The basic process skills according to the AAAS are seven (7) and include: observing, classifying, measuring, inferring, predicting, communicating and using number relationships.The integrated process skills are eight (8), namely; making models, defining operationally, collecting data, interpreting data, identifying and controlling variables, formulating hypotheses and experimenting.
Patella (1990) minted out that these process skills are hierarchically organized. Thus, the ability to use the integrated process skills depends on the ability to use the basic ones. He further explained that each process skill is a specific intellectual skill - a transferable behavior of scientists.Since process skills are transferable, students can learn The mastery of science process skills can help the student in more than Just science.
The skills promote logical and sequential problem-solving. Classroom activities using science content provide opportunities to develop these skills and encourage students to learn to think like scientists. Science activities using process skills allow students to manipulate objects and events to investigate scientific phenomena, analyze data and present their findings. It is therefore important that science teaching and learning be geared towards the acquisition of these skills.
When armed with these skills, students are able to carry out mental operations and physical actions (Harlan, 1984) and on graduation, are equipped with skills for making scientific inquiries and hence discoveries which tend towards scientific development of the nation. The science process skills covered by this study are explained thus: ). Observing: This is a fundamental process skill which is very essential for the development of other process skills. Observation is done using the five senses or instruments to aid.
2). Communicating: Communication goes hand in hand with observation.It is the ability to share ideas. Effective communication can be made using graphs, charts, maps, diagrams and visual demonstrations. 3). Classifying: Classifying is sorting objects or phenomena into groups based on observation.
Grouping objects or events is a way of imposing order based on similarities, differences and interrelationships. This is an important step towards a better understanding of the different objects and events in the world. 4). Measuring: The science process skill of measuring is really a special case of observing and communicating.
It means using measuring devices which employ standardized units correctly and with appropriate precision as required to describe the properties of objects such as height, width, length, area, volume, space, time and mass. 5). Inferring: Unlike observations, which are direct evidence gathered about an object, inferences are explanations or interpretations that follow from observations. For example, it is an observation to say an insect released a dark, sticky liquid from its mouth and it is an inference to state, the insect released a dark, sticky liquid from its mouth because it is upset and trying to defend itself.When students are able to make inferences and interpret and explain events around them, they have a better appreciation of the environment around them. 6).
Predicting: Making predictions is making educated guesses about the outcomes of future events. It is forecasting future observations. The ability to make predictions about future events allows students to successfully interact with the environment around them. Prediction is based on both good observation and inferences made Officer (2005) identified the computer as an CIT facility that can engender achievement when used in science instruction.Kinkajou (2009) defined a computer as an automatic machine that follows instructions stored within it to capture data, store data, process data and display information.
Computer is said to be multimedia because it can present mixtures of different modes of communication; video, still pictures, graphics, texts and sounds (Nonfat, 2007). Computer Assisted Instruction (CA') is an automated instructional technique in which a computer is used to present n instructional programmer to learners through an interactive process on computer (Syllabi, 2002).CIA is learner - centered and activity oriented. There are many instructional delivery modes in biology, which include the Conventional Teaching Process, which represents the traditional mode and is in vogue among biology teachers. In this study, attempt was made to use commercially produced CIA of the tutorial mode, to instruct learners in biology.
The study sought to investigate the effect of CIA on students' acquisition of six basic process skills, in the course of teaching the topic vying and non living things, in senior secondary schools in Unusual, Enough State.Purpose of the study The study investigated the effect of Computer acquisition of science process skills in biology. Research question - Assisted Instruction on students' What are the mean achievement scores and standard deviation of students taught biology using CIA and ACT in a Test of Science Process Skills Acquisition (TOSSES) in biology? Hypothesis The study was guided by a null hypothesis tested at 0. 05 level of significance.
HOI - There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students exposed to CIA and those exposed to ACT as measured by a test of science process skills acquisition in biology.Methodology The study adopted the pretest post test non-equivalent control group research schools in Unusual Education Zone. One hundred and forty (140) Senior Secondary (SSI) biology students from two schools purposively selected from Unusual urban, constituted the sample for the study. In each school, one arm was randomly selected and the intact classes used. The number of students used in each school was 69 and 71 for the experimental (CA') and control (ACT) groups respectively.A computer assisted instruction package containing biology instructions on osmosis and diffusion, stored in a Compact Disc Read only Memory (CD-ROOM) was used in the instructional process.
Instrument for data collection was a 16-item Test of Science Process Skills Acquisition. Test items were paper and pencil type, consisting of practical, alternative to practical and multiple choice questions. The CIA and test were validated by experts to ensure face and content validity. The reliability of the test was ascertained using the test - retest method.
A reliability index of 0. 63 was obtained using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation.Two secondary schools were purposively selected and each instructional method randomly assigned to each of the two intact classes used. The methods are CIA and Conventional Teaching Process.
The CIA group was the experimental group while the ACT was the control group. Students in the CIA group received instructions based on CIA as presented by the computer and responded to the questions and activities accordingly using the keyboard. The regular biology teachers taught the ACT group, without the use of computers, after being trained on how to use the lesson notes for uniformity.The objects were protested before they were presented with the instructions, based on the provision of the senior secondary school core curriculum for biology. This was to determine the effect of the manipulation of the teaching process on senior secondary school students' acquisition of science process skills in biology.
Post test was administered after the treatment. Data collected was subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics. The mean and standard deviation scores were used to answer the research questions, while the analysis of covariance (ANCHOVY) was used to test the hypothesis at probability level of 0. 05.
