LEARNING APPROACHES AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN BIOLOGY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

It is known that learning approach is an individual preferred or habitual ways of processing and transforming knowledge. Just as each student processes different types of knowledge from his/her experience, so does each student process information differently to complete the learning approaches?

It is known that learning processes vary from person to person due to the presence of biological and psychological differences. Dunn, R (2009) pointed out that, more than three–fifth of a person’s learning approaches is biological imposed. As a result the student’s hereditary factors, their particular life experiences and the demands of their environment, students develop learning approaches that emphasize certain learning abilities over others.

Learning Approaches and Academic Performance Of Students in Biology in Secondary Schools

Students learn in diverse ways, each of them have their own learning approaches or preference in the way they recognize and process information. Taking into consideration, the learning approaches have is significant in the teaching – learning approaches. The manner by which each students learns will either maintain or restrain their intentional cognition.

Therefore, the educator’s knowledge about the students learning approaches is cardinal. Alfonsecaet. Al. (2006) stressed that the understanding of the students’ learning approaches facilitates the adaption of suitable techniques and methods to match with the student.Students’ learning approaches may very well help the teachers in becoming more sensitive to students’ differences in the classroom, thus promoting teaching techniques that best suit the student’s learning approaches and as well improve the students’ academic performance in Biology. Cuthbert (2005) stated that awareness of the learning approaches in vital to all due to adjustment in the educators’ pedagogic approaches. Garth Johnson and Price (2000) pointed out that the learner’s unique learning approach and their academic performance correlated.

Learning approaches are among the concept that are postulated by researchers to show learner’s differences and varied needs. As a result, the present study aims at examining the effect of learning approaches on academic performance of biology students in IbionoIbom Local Government Area.

Learning Approaches and Academic Performance Of Students in Biology in Secondary Schools

1.2 Statement of the problem

Classroom teachers do not seem to realize the importance of taking into consideration learners’ learning approaches and preference factors in designing and planning for the approaches and learning activities to be conducted in the classroom.  It is known that most teachers tend to teach in the way they were taught or in the way they prefer to teach. Sometimes conflicts might arise because of a mismatch between the teacher’s teaching approaches and learner’s learning approach. This has resulted in the students being demoralized to learn since the teaching approaches do not match with their learning style.

In view of this, teachers should know the general learning approach profile of the whole class which will enable them to organize and employ instructional materials and methods accordingly. Therefore, this study seeks to investigate the impact of learning approaches on academic performance of Science Student offering Biology in Secondary School in IbionoIbom Local Government Area.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the impact of learning approaches on academic performance of students in biology in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area. Specifically, the study intends to achieve the objective by:

1. Accessing the difference in academic performance between students with kinesthetic learning and those with audio–visual learning approaches in biology.
2. Determining the difference in academic performance between females with kinesthetic learning and the males with audio-visual learning approaches in biology.

Learning Approaches and Academic Performance Of Students in Biology in Secondary Schools

Originally posted on April 22, 2021 @ 3:20 pm