IMPACT OF SCIENCE PROCESS-BASED APPROACH ON PROCESS SKILLS ACQUISITION AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL BIOLOGY STUDENTS WITH VARIED ABILITY IN ZARIA, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated: “The Impact of Science Process - Based Approach on Process Skill Acquisition among Secondary School Biology Students' with Varied Abilities in Zaria, Nigeria.'' Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study, tested at a significance level of P ≤ 0.05. The research employed a pretest and post-test quasi-experimental design with a control group. 133 SSII students, 63 in the experimental and 70 in the control groups, were selected from intact classes in two coeducational secondary schools in Zaria Educational Zone, Kaduna State. The experimental group received instruction in Biology using the Science Process-Based Approach (SPBA), while the control group was taught using the Lecture Method. Data were collected using a validated instrument called the Test of Science Process Skills Acquisition (TSPSA). Mean rank and standard deviation were used to analyze the research questions. At the same time, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and Kruskal Wallis tests were employed to test the null hypotheses. The results indicated that: (i) students taught using SPBA showed a significant difference in process skills acquisition, favouring the high experimental group over those taught using the lecture method; and (ii) there was no significant difference in process skills acquisition between male and female students taught using SPBA compared to those taught using the lecture method across varied ability groups. The findings suggest that SPBA instructional strategies enhance process skills acquisition in Biology concepts. Consequently, the study recommends organizing SPBA training workshops for Biology teachers to enable them to integrate SPBA into their lessons, thereby improving students' process skills acquisition.