The students' consistent low performance in internal and external examinations undermined the efficacy of chemistry teachers' methods of instruction. Thus, the purpose of the research is to find out how inquiry-based learning can impact students' academic achievement in stereochemistry in Enugu education zone. The study was guided by two research questions and three research hypotheses. The study employed a pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design. 4,532 SS2 Chemistry students made up the study's population. A combination of random and purposive sampling procedure was used to select 96 students. While the control group received instruction via lectures, the experimental group was taught using an inquiry-based teaching strategy. The Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) was the instrument used for data collection, and its reliability index was evaluated using Kuder-Richardson's formula-20 which yielded coefficient of 0.84. The mean, standard deviation, and analysis of covariance were used to analyze the data. The findings demonstrated that students exposed to the inquiry-based teaching strategy outperformed their peers who received instruction via lectures. For improved students' achievement, it was recommended that Chemistry teachers should use inquiry based teaching strategy when teaching chemistry.
Students' consistent poor achievements in physics have been attributed non-availability and non-utilization of ICT resources among others. This study therefore, sought to investigate the Availability and Utilization Status of ICT Resources for Physics Education in Colleges of Education in Enugu State. The area comprised all the 8 accredited public and private Colleges of Education in Enugu State. Census survey research design was adopted for this study. No sampling was involved due to the manageable size of the population (30 physics lecturers: 21 males and 9 females). Six research questions and six null hypotheses guided the study. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire, developed by the researcher, validated by three experts and trial tested on 7 physics education lecturers. The researcher administered the instrument to the physics lecturers in the public and private Colleges of Education in Enugu State. The responses were collected and Kuder-Richardson's formula-20 (K-R-20) (availability status) and Cronbach alpha (utilization status) statistics were employed to compute the internal consistency estimate of the items. The reliability coefficient obtained was 0.96, which shows that it is reliable. Research questions were answered using mean, and standard deviation. The results of the study indicated that ICT resources are available but fairly utilized by the physics lecturers for teaching and learning Physics in Colleges of Education in Enugu State. It was recommended that lecturers in the Colleges of Education in the state should make up their minds to embrace and harness the new learning systems which ICT tools brought by the emerging technologies for improving teaching and learning outcomes in schools and colleges.
The accepted general notion that chemistry is abstract in nature as it is presented via mathematical formulars, structures and arrows, goes to a long extent in being perceived difficult by the students, which in turn hinders their academic achievement and interest in the subject. Hence, the study investigated difficult concepts in chemistry as perceived by students and teachers in senior secondary schools in Agbani Education Zone of Enugu State. Two research questions guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The population for the study comprised 1462 senior secondary school three (SS3) chemistry students and 45 chemistry teachers in public secondary schools within Agbani Education Zone. A sample size of 359 (314 students and 45 teachers) was used for the study. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled Difficult Chemistry Concepts Questionnaire (DCCQ), which was designed by the researcher. The instrument was divided into two sections namely: A and B. Sections A was based on the respondents' biodata while B consisted 46-item statements structured to elicit information from the respondents. The instrument was validated by three experts. In order to determine reliability of the instrument, the researcher administered 30 copies of the questionnaire on 28 SS3 chemistry students and 2 teachers in two schools in Enugu Education Zone to determine the overall reliability index of the instrument. Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient formula was used to estimate the reliability of the instrument, and an overall reliability coefficient of.75 was established. The data were collected by the researcher with the help of two research assistants. The collected data were analyzed using mean scores and standard deviation. The decision rule for interpreting the results was based on the values of the calculated means. Item responses on each of the research questions were considered high and difficult when the mean is 2.50 and above, and low and not difficult when less than 2.50. The results of the analysis revealed that the chemistry concepts in senior secondary school that teachers and students perceived as difficult are: chemical combination, mass volume relationship (stoichiometry), acid, base reaction, oxygen and its compounds, among others. The study also revealed that there was a significant difference between male and female chemistry students as well as teachers in their mean difficulty in some concepts. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that: teachers and students should devote greater attention to the teaching and learning of these difficult concepts, and workshops
The study investigated social competence and gender as predictors of junior secondary school students' academic achievement in basic science in Enugu state. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The predictive correlation design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was 9,192 upperbasic science students in Enugu state. The sample size for the study was 1000 students drawn using multi-faceted sampling procedure involving purposive and random sampling techniques. The instrument for data collection was Students ' Social Competence Scale. The students' achievement scores in Basic science were obtained from the teachers' score folder. Data generated from the study was analysed using simple and multiple linear regressions. The findings of the study revealed among others that 1.6% and 1.1% of the variance in achievement in Basic science was attributed to social competence and gender of Basic science students' respectively. Also, achievement scores in Basic science were significantly predicted by social competence and gender, individually and jointly. It was recommended that basic science teachers should ensure that the atmosphere within the classroom is gender friendly enough, making sure that both male and female students have a conducive social atmosphere to be actively involved in learning Basic science.
Abigail C. Obodo, Mercy I. Ani, Olasoji V. Omosowon
Technologies are ubiquitous in the 21st century, and educators need to integrate relevant technologies into their teaching practices to meet expectations and keep abreast with the education profession's advancement. A descriptive survey research design was used in this study. Three research questions and one null hypothesis guided the study. The population of the study comprised all the 24 Integrated Science lecturers (10 males and 14 females) in both private and public tertiary institutions in Enugu State, Nigeria. The population was manageable and as a result no sample was carried out for the study. An instrument titled "Questionnaire on Emerging Technologies in Teaching and Learning" (QETTL). Three experts validated the instrument while the reliability of the instrument was estimated using Cronbach Alpha formula with reliability indices of 0.76. Frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while Chi square statistics was used to test the null hypothesis. Findings revealed that some of the challenges hindering Basic Science teachers from utilizing technologies in teaching and learning are lack of internet access and in-service training among others. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that in-service training of lecturers on the usage of 21st century technologies and provision of internet connectivity should be prioritize by government and the university management to enable lecturers maximize effectively 215 century technologies during teaching and learning.
This study focused on teachers' academic self-concept and academic stress as predictors of academic achievement of Biology students' in Enugu Education Zone. Six (6) null hypotheses were postulated for the study. The study adopted ex-post-facto research design. The population of study comprised 74 Biology teachers in 33 public secondary schools in Enugu Education Zone with SS 2 biology students' population of 4,737. The sample consisted of all the Biology teachers' in the Zone and a sample of 10% of the students' were sampled from the Biology teachers' classroom. The instrument used for data collection were three (3) Marsh teachers' academic self-concept scale, Balamurugau and Kumaran academic stress scale and Students' scores from their promotion examination 2022/2023 academic year were used to measure their academic achievement in Biology. The instruments were validated by three experts and the internal consistency reliability was determined though Cronbach Alpha method. The teachers' self-concept scale yielded a reliability index of 0.92 while teachers' academic stress scale yielded an index of 0.88 coefficients. The data collected were analysed using Simple and multiple regression analysis with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. The findings of the study showed that: Teacher academic self-concept significantly and positively predicted students' academic achievement in Biology in Enugu Education Zone; likewise, teachers' academic stress significantly and negatively predicted students' academic achievement in Biology in Enugu Education Zone. Based on these findings it was recommended amongst others that Biology teachers should arrange learning activities, in such a way that it will help students to be self-directed in their learning in order to have significantly positive achievement in Biology.
The problem of poor achievement in Physics in external examinations by students in Ebonyi State, Nigeria warranted the study. The need to use of a cutting-edge individualized instruction rooted in artificial intelligence to measure its potency in curbing the menace of poor achievement becomes necessary. The study examined the effect of self -regulated learning strategy through chat-generative-pretrained-transformer model4 (ChatGPT4) on senior secondary school students' achievement in projectile motion concepts. The study was guided by 2 research questions and 2 hypotheses. The design of the study was none- equivalent control groups quasi-experimental. The population for the study was 10,679 senior secondary school two Physics students in the thirty -one secondary schools for 2017/2018 academic session in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi state, Nigeria. The s ample size for the study was 316 se nior secondary school two Physics students in 4 sampled co-educational secondary schools in Ohaukwu. Projectile motion achievement test (PMAT) was the instrument used for data collection. Kuder-Richardson's formula-20 was used to determine the internal consistency reliability of P MAT. The coefficient was 0.88. Mean and standard deviations were used in answering the research questions while 2× 2 analysis of covariance was used to test the hypotheses at.05 level of significance. The result of the study showed that the students who learnt Physics using self- regulated individualized learning s trategy: ChatGPT model4 achieved better than th eir counterparts, who learnt Projectile motion using expository method. The result of the study also showed that there was no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of male and female students who learnt projectile motion concepts using ChatGPT model4. Hence, it was recommended that Physics students should use ChatGPT model 4 which is gender-friendly to enhance their self-learning in Physics concepts.
The study centred on the effect of project -based learning on secondary school students' academic achievement in e lectrochemical cells in Agbani education z one. Two research questions guided the study while two null hypotheses were tested at.05 level of significance. The design for this study was quasi-experimental design of the pre-test post- test non-equivalent research design. The population for the study consisted of 4,109 Senior Secondary two (SS II) students in Agbani Education Zone of Enugu State. The sample size was 365 students. Purposive sampling was adopted to identify four out of the 45 senior public secondary schools in Agbani Education Zone of En ugu State. The instrument for data collection was Electrochemical Cells Achievement Test (ECAT). The instrument was validated in two phases which included: face validation and content validation. The reliability coefficient of the ECAT was determined using Kuder Richardson KR 20. Reliability coefficient of 0.81 was gotten showing that ECAT was stable. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. Analysis of covariance was used in testing the hypotheses at.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that students that were taught electrochemical cells with project-based learning recorded higher academic achievement than those taught with expository method. The findings showed that male students that were taught ele ctrochemical cells with project -based learning recorded higher academic achievement than their female counterparts. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher revealed among others that the use of project - based learning should be encouraged by teachers to students during teaching and learning of Chemistry (Electrochemical cells in Senior Secondary School since it enhanced better performance of students irrespective of the scoring level.
Stephanie N. Ozota, Angela C. Asuzu, Chidimma O. Nwafor
The relative decline in the academic achievement of students in Biology in Senior Secondary Schools has necessitated this study. Thus, the study sought to find out the appraisal of instructional resource utilization for teaching and learning of Biology in Senior Secondary Schools in Enugu North L.G.A. of Enugu State. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The researcher adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was made up of thirty - one (31) Biology teachers in Enugu North L.G.A. No sampling was carried out as the population size was manageable. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. Cronbach alpha Statistic was employed in determining the internal consistency of AIRUTLBSSS.in which the overall reliability coefficent index of 0.873 w as obtained. The data obtained were analyzed using mean and standard deviation for answering the research questions, and t- test statistic for testing the null hypotheses. The study arrived at the following findings: Biology teachers use the available resou rce teaching materials in teaching and learning of biology to a high extent. Biology teachers had positive attitude towards utilization of instructional materials in teaching of biology. There are impediments to utilizing instructional resources for teaching and learning biology in senior secondary schools. The hypotheses showed that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of male and female biology teachers on the extent to which teachers use the available resource teaching materials for teaching and learning of Biology and their attitude towards utilization of instructional materials. The hypothesis also showed no significant difference in the mean responses of male and female teachers on the impediments in utilization of instructional materials in teaching and learning of Biology. Based on the findings, the researchers recommended that teachers should be encouraged to the method of use of instructional materials in teaching and learning of biology in senior secondary schools.
The study examined the effects of audio -visual technological aids on chemistry students' achievement in senior secondary schools in Nsukka education zone of Enugu State, Nigeria. The study employed a pre-test-post-test, control group quasi experimental research design. Two research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated to guide this study. The population of the study comprises of all the SSI Chemistry students in public secondary schools in Nsukka education zone. The sample size was 100 SSI Che mistry students comprising of 48 male and 52 female students of two intact classe s. Purposive sampling technique was used to select two co-educational schools which one were assigned to experimental group and other to control group. The instrument used for data collection was a 25 -item Chemistry achievement test (CAT). Mean, Standard Deviation and ANCOVA were used for data analysis. Result revealed that the mean score for the Chemistry students exposed to lessons with audio-visual technological aids achieved higher compared to the mean score of those counterpart not exposed to lessons with audio- visual technological aids. The study recommended that Chemistry teachers should keep pace with development trend by learning and using new technologies (audio-visual) in teaching and learning.
The study examined the effect of Peer Instructional Strategy (PIS) and expository method (EM) on the retention of Secondary School Biology Students. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of peer instructional strategy relative to expository method on the retention of secondary school Biology students. The area of the study was Enugu Education Zone of Enugu State. Two research questions and hypotheses guided the study. The study was a quasi-experimental research with pretest-posttest, non-equivalent groups research design; involving 528( 227 male and 301 female senior secondary school 2 Biology students drawn from six randomly selected co -educational schools out of the ten secondary schools in Enugu Education z one that met the inclusion criteria. Two intact classes from each of the 6 schools were randomly assigned to either PIS or EM group by balloting. The instrument for the study was a researcher -made Biology Achievement Test (BAT), validated by three experts. C ontent validity was ensured using text blueprint. The Pearson's product moment correlation c oefficient was used to carry out test -retest reliability of the instrument, r = 0.74. The BAT was administered 2 weeks after posttest. The results showed that PIS group significantly performed better than EM group in terms of academic level of retention. The researcher recommends PIS should be used in teaching and learning of Biology.
The study investigated the effects of concept mapping instructional strategy on students' ability in organic chemistry. The study was carried out in E nugu State of Nigeria. Specifically the pretest posttest non -equivalent control group research design was used. The study employed a quasi experimental design. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The experiment was done on the teaching of Chemistry to senior secondary school students two (SS2). A sample of 200 students (92 boys and 108 girls) selected randomly out of the population of 457 students in SS2 from four public secondary schools in Enugu State. Pre-test of Chemistry was given to both the groups and the results were recorded. One group was taken as a control group which was taught Chemistry by the teach er who used conventional approach of teaching while the other i.e the experimental group was taught by the teacher who used concept mapping teaching strategy. After one month 's time of teaching, a post -test was conducted. Mean, standard deviation and Analysis of Co -Variance (ANCOVA) were used to analyze data. Results showed that concept mapping is an effective strategy for teaching and learning chemistry. The strategy is also capable of improving students' mastery of content at the higher-order levels of cognition. Based on the findings, the study recommended that concept mapping should be added to the teaching strategies of chemistry teachers at the secondary school level.
