AVAILABILITY, UTILIZATION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF SPECIMENS AND MODELS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN BIOLOGY PRACTICALS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF KATSINA METROPOLIS

Low performance of students in biology particularly practicals and experimental topics has been reported from many researches which is attributed to many factors, among which include inadequate and inappropriate instructional specimens and models to use for effective instruction and learning. Secondly, Effective teaching and learning of Biology as a science subject matter entails the effective utilization of specimens and models by the teachers rather than theoretical memorization of concepts which is proved to be the most usual method of learning used by students. This study specifically assessed the impact of Independent variables (Availability, Effectiveness and Utilization) to the dependent variable (Academic performance). The study adopted two types of research designs which are Survey research design to collect data on interest and opinions of respondents and it also adopted 2×2×2 factorial, pre-test, post-test quasi experimental design to investigates the effect of the multiple independent variables on the outcome of the interest which is the dependent variable. The population of the study comprised of (26,358) senior secondary school students and (77) teachers meant for biology in (12) public secondary schools in katsina metropolis. The sample of the study were (3391) respondents with (3372) students and and (30) biology teachers of (4) schools from (12) randomly selected senior secondary schools in katsina using multi-stage sampling procedure. At different stages of sampling include; selection of schools using simple random sampling technique, purposive selection of science class In each school and lastly using of biology intact class making total of (100) students and (30) biology teachers. Three set of instruments named Biology Achievement Test (BAT), Practical Work Questionnaire (PWQ) and Biology Equipment Checklist (BEC) we're validated by experts and used for the study. The instruments yielded reliability coefficients of 0.85, 0.81, 0.79 respectively. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to answer the (3) research questions formulated while the inferential statistics involving Chi-square and t-test statistics was used to test the (3) research hypotheses, at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study reveals that facilities for Biology practical activities were rarely available in schools. It was also found that the extent of utilization of available facilities for Biology practical activities in schools was also rare and thus, there is significant influence of instructional biology specimens and models on academic performance of students. Lastly, it was found that there is significant difference in the academic performance scores of Biology students in the experimental and control groups in favour of experimental group. Recommendations were made in line with the findings which include that the Ministry of Education should ensure adequate provision of relevant and effective Biology instructional and practical materials together with ensuring the positive standard of well equipped Biology laboratories. Teachers should organize periodic seminars and workshops in order to enhance their effective utilization of specimens and models or improvisation were materials are not available and there should be supervision to ensure that the available materials are effectively utilized.