Coach as Champion

Findings of this study showed that the two problem solving instructional strategies, (Bio Problem-Solving Instructional Strategy and Gayford Problem-Solving Heuristics) had positive effects in students‘ achievements and science process skills in Biology Practical over the modified lecture method .The instructional strategies are activity oriented which encouraged student-teacher, student-student, and student-materials interaction. They emphasized student centered instructional paradigm. This is in line with Von Seekar and Lissitz (1999) who concluded that the student-centered approach to learning ―engages students socially, in interactive scientific inquiry and facilitate life-long learning‖. These strategies being student-centered encourage students to be responsible for what they learnt which invariably helped them to be more reflective and critical in their thinking when compared with the modified lecture method which emphasized teacher activity over students‘ involvement. The modified lecture method was teacher-centered, teacher dominated the class lessons and students were not given the opportunity to make scientific exploration on their own but depended on the facts given by the teacher, hence their poor performance as recorded in the study.

Findings of this study have therefore shown that when appropriate strategies such as problem solving are employed in teaching science concepts, students improve considerably in achievement and science process skills. The low mean achievement and

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science process skills scores of student in the Modified Lecture Method suggests that teachers should respond to the call made by the National Science Education Standards (1996) for a pedagogical shift from teacher-centered to a student-centered instructional strategy. Student-centred instruction can enable students broaden their intellectual development and critical thinking instead of memorization of facts which are later regurgitated at examination.

The influence of mental ability has a vital implication on students‘ achievement and science process skills in Biology Practical. The improvement in academic performance of medium and low ability students in the Bio problem-Solving Instructional Strategy showed that there was a greater transfer of learning exhibited by them. Besides, the strategy is a ―catalyst‖ for medium and low ability students to solve practical Biology problems. In line with the above findings, teachers should take into consideration the individual differences of their students as this will enable them assess the level of students‘ cognitive development and formulate teaching strategies that will be most appropriate in dealing with low and medium ability groups in resolving their problem solving difficulties.

Another vital implication of this study is the effect of gender on student‘s achievement and science process skills. This study showed that there was no significant main effect of gender on achievement and science process skills. This implies that the problem solving strategy had about an equal effect on student of both sexes. Therefore to give students of both sexes equal chances in achievement and in the development of science process skills, authentic laboratory work and teaching strategies which are capable of reducing gender-gap in students‘ performances should be employed by teachers. The female students in particular should be encouraged by teachers to be involved in meaningful laboratory activities.

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113 5 .3 Recommendations

Following the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made:

1. The importance of problem solving has been emphasized and found to be effective in helping students develop both conceptual scientific knowledge and procedural knowledge of how to solve problems. In the light of this, Faculties of Education and Colleges of Education should design problem solving programmes for teacher- trainees where they can be exposed to the rudiments of problem solving .The training programme should focus on the concepts and objectives of problem solving, methods of instructional production, instructional methodologies and evaluation techniques in problem solving. Similarly, both state and federal ministries of education as well as professional organisation such as Science Teachers‘ Association of Nigeria should organize seminars and workshops on regular bases for teachers on problem solving strategies in Biology and other science subjects.

2. Science Teachers should identify their students‘ mental ability levels by administering mental ability test like the ACER test. Thereafter, teachers should note their students‘ individual differences during classroom transactions and formulate teaching strategies such as the Problem Solving Instructional Strategies to deal with medium and low mental ability groups as this has been found to be effective for improved learning outcomes.

3. Gender differences in academic performance should be addressed by teachers by adopting teaching strategies such as problem solving strategy that has been found to be effective for both sexes. Using appropriate instructional strategies reduces gender-gap in students‘ achievement. Teachers have a tremendous role to play in encouraging both male and female student to be actively engaged in problem solving activities.

4. Biology text-books should be addressed to Problem Solving Strategies. The researcher therefore recommends that Biology text-books produced for teachers and students should be problem solving oriented.

6. The government should provide enough funds to equip science laboratory. These funds should be judiciously used in the provision of instructional materials for use by teachers and students in preparing science lessons. Also, the teachers should be involved in improvising materials to supplement those provided by the school.

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114 Conclusion

The results of the study have shown that the use of learner-centered instructional strategies involving Bio problem solving instructional strategy and Gayford Problem Solving Heuristics are more effective in promoting students‘ achievements and science process skills acquisition than the modified lecture method (conventional method), where teachers still dominate the classroom and laboratory transaction. This study therefore serves as part of the various efforts employed by researchers and educators to break away from teacher-centered instructional strategies (modified lecture method) to a more functional, result-oriented strategy which make the learner actively involved in learning by ―doing‖. This in essence, is an important goal in science education. The results also revealed that the two experimental strategies improved students‘

achievements and science process skills effectively irrespective of their sexes.

Furthermore, learners were able to identify problems and set up modalities to solve them and finally draw up realistic conclusions on the practical activities.

Mental ability was found to influence students‘ academic performance. Medium and low mental ability students greatly benefited from the Bio Problem-Solving Instructional Strategy over other ability groups in the Gayford Problem-Solving Heuristics and the control which is contrary to many research findings where the high ability students have always proved superior over others. It is therefore important to emphasize again that for students‘ enhanced performance in achievement and science process skills acquisition, appropriate teaching strategies which are learner-centered should be employed as they have been found to help students of varying ability levels particularly the medium and low ability students. In addition, the use of materials produced by the students helped them to gain better understanding of the concepts taught and enhanced their level of acquisition of science process skills. Therefore, teachers should employ problem-solving instructional strategy in biology practical lessons.

Limitations of the study

This study was faced with some constraints which limited the generalization of the results of the study. These include:

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Large class sizes in some schools affected classroom management during the laboratory sessions.

Suggestions for further Research

The following suggestions are made for further research

1. Other moderating variables such as cognitive style and attitude could be incorporated in the study using the Bio Problem-Solving Instructional Strategy.

2. Further research could be carried out using the Bio Problem Solving Model with other problem solving models to ascertain the effectiveness of the model over others.

3. The two problem solving heuristics could also be used in teaching difficult concepts such as ecology and heredity in Biology and in other science subjects.

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