Abstract:
This study investigated the use of animations and models to enhance the teaching and
learning of biology at St Mary‟s Boys Senior High School, Takoradi in the Western
Region of Ghana. It explored the views of students on biology as a subject as well as the
views of students on the role of animations in learning. The population consisted of 60
students from two intact classes of Saint Mary‟s Boys Senior High School in the Western
Region of Ghana. Based on the results of the pre-test, one of the classes was assigned to
the control group, and the other to the experimental group. Interviews, questionnaires and
test were used as the main instruments to collect data for the study. These instruments
were examined and modified by lecturers in the Department of Science Education,
University of Education, Winneba. The Cronbach Alpha reliability of the questionnaires,
pre-test and post-test used were determined to have values ranging between 0.75 and
0.81. An animation-oriented instructional approach was applied in teaching the
experimental group whereas the control group was taught without the use of models or
animations. Analysis of the data gathered with the various instruments was conducted
using the Statistical Package for The Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16. The results
showed that, there was a statistically significant difference in performance between the
experimental and control group. The experimental group performed better in the post-test
than the control group. It was recommended that biology teachers should employ an
animation-oriented instructional approach in teaching biology to enhance students‟
understanding and performance in the subject.
Description:
A DISSERTATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION,
FACULTY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF
GRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA IN
PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD
OF THE MASTER OF EDUCATION DEGREE IN SCIENCE EDUCATION
OCTOBER, 2013