ABSTRACT: This research investigated Learning Strategies and Learning Performance of Students . One hundred and twenty students from Senior Secondary Two (SS2) were randomly selected from four secondary schools in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area for the study. They were assigned into two groups experimental and control group. The experimental group was exposed to guide Inquiry Strategy and the control group was exposed to expository strategy. Two research questions with two null hypotheses guided the study with the aid of a quasi experiment research design since it has a direct manipulation of the variables. Instrument for data collection was Biology Achievement Test (BAT).
Learning Strategies and Learning Performance of Students
The result revealed a significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students exposed to guided inquiry learning strategy and expository learning strategy. However, there was no significant difference in the achievement of male and female students exposed to guided inquiry. It was concluded that guided inquiry is more suitable for learning Biology in secondary level of learning.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Researches on correlations between learning strategies and students’ academic performance had for long received attention from scholars and educational experts.
According to Ekanem (2006), the teaching learning process involves a vast array of interventional process at the centre of which is the teacher whose role remains pivotal to the success of any educational programme. In spite of the technological breakthrough in audio-visual equipment, teachers have remained indispensable since they constitute the bulwark in which educational machines are made to have meaning.
Constructivism is a theory that suggests that learners construct knowledge out of their experience which is associated with pedagogical approaches that promote learning by doing or active learning. Constructivism teaching focuses on independent learning, creativity, critical thinking and problem solving. And it is based on the fact that skills and knowledge acquisition are not by passive and rote learning, but involve active participation of learners through knowledge construction, hands-on and minds-on activities (Ndioho, 2007).
Five basic themes pervade the diversity of theories expressing constructivism. These themes are:
- Active agency
- Order;
- Self;
- Soda! — symbol retardedness, and
- Life span development with different languages and terminological preferences.
In Nigerian Akwa Ibom State in particular, a lot of resources have continued to be poor and discouraging. The situation can be described as nostalgic and hopeless arid perhaps should be critically analyzed.
Some of the learning strategies used for the learning of Biology in senior secondary schools include:
+ Expository learning strategies
+ Cooperative learning strategies
+ Activity learning strategies
+ Guided inquiry learning strategies
+ Discovery learning strategies
+ Self-instructional learning strategies
It is understandable that students who possess adequate mental abilities sometimes do not perform well in their academic work because of the learning strategies employed. If best learning strategy is employed at the appropriate time, the educational system will strive well.
Learning Strategies and Learning Performance of Students
1.2 Statement of the problem
Over the years, poor records in academic performance of students in Biology had 1nade students to lack interest in studying Biology in both. secondary and tertiary levels of education. In fact, the nation as a whole has fallen in area of science since Biology is a major component of science. That—was
Many have attributed the causes of poor academic performance of students to family background, socio- economic status of parent, attitudes of the teachers, students’ attitude as well as poor teaching methods. But learning strategies stand out as a militating factor that degrades the academic performance of Biology students in senior secondary schools.
It therefore becomes necessary to analyze the relationship between learning strategies such as Guided inquiry learning strategies and expository learning strategies and their relationship with the students’ academic performance in senior secondary schools.
