Effects of Guided-Inquiry and Demonstration Method on Science Process Skills Acquisition among Secondary School Biology Students in Anambra State

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the effect of guided-inquiry and demonstrationmethods of teaching on science process skills acquisition among secondary school biologystudents. The design of the study was quasi-experimental, specifically, the non-equivalent,pretest-posttest was used. One hundred and fifty (150) Senior Secondary one biology studentsin co-educational Government owned schools formed the sample of the study. Three (3)groups co-educational schools were randomly drawn from the fifty (50) co educationalsecondary schools in Ogidi education zone in Anambra state. Intact classes were randomlyassigned to two experimental groups and a control group. The experimental groups one andtwo were taught using guided-inquiry and demonstration methods respectively. The controlgroup students were taught using the conventional method. Two research questions and twonull hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A Test of Science Process SkillsAcquisition (TOSPSA) of twenty (20) items was developed and used in obtaining data onstudents’ acquisition of the process skills of science. The data were analyzed using mean andstandard deviation to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance(ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result revealedthat students taught using the guided-inquiry method performed significantly better than thosetaught using demonstration and conventional methods. It was recommended that teachersshould use guided-inquiry method of teaching that challenges students to be involved in theclassroom, this will spur their interest to learn. In-service training and workshop should beorganized by the Ministry of Education to train teachers in the use of importance of activitymethod.