Abstract:
The aim of this study was to compare the effects of concept mapping and traditional
methods on students’ performance in some selected topics in Biology in the Kwaebibirem
District in the Eastern Region. Asuom Senior High School was the experimental school
while Kade Technical Senior High School was the control school in this study. A pre-test
– post-test non-equivalent quasi-experimental design was used for the study. The sample
size was 124 students. The experimental group consisted of 60 students while the control
group consisted of 64 students. The students in the experimental group were instructed
with concept mapping while the control group were instructed with the traditional
method. Both groups were taught the same content which was on biological classification
and ecology. Three instruments were used for the data collection in this study. These
were a biology achievement test (BAT), a questionnaire on students’ perception towards
concept mapping (QCM) and a structured interview. Descriptive statistics, paired and
unpaired t-test were used to analyse the data for answering the research hypotheses. The
results indicated that those instructed with concept mapping did better than those
instructed with the traditional method. It was also found that both males and females
constructed concept maps alike. It has been recommended that the concept mapping
method should be encouraged in science lessons especially biology classes at the Senior
High School
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of Science Education, Faculty of Science, submitted to
the School of Graduate Studies, University of Education, Winneba in partial fulfilment of
the requirements for award of the Master of Education (Science) degree.
2016
