Story Telling in Secondary Biology Classrooms for Enhanced Understanding: A Case of Kitwe District

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VII, Issue II, February 2020 | ISSN 2321–2705

Story Telling in Secondary Biology Classrooms for Enhanced Understanding: A Case of Kitwe District

Susan Mwelwa^1*, John Soko^2
1Mukuba University P.O. Box 20382, Itimpi, Kitwe, Zambia
²Ministry of General Education, Malela Secondary School P.O. Box 22095, Kitwe, Zambia

Abstract: – Poor performance in Secondary School Biology has attracted the attention of the academic community across the world. Many studies in this regard have been undertaken and Researchers’ seem to agree that teaching methods are one of the factors contributing significantly to this problem. This study therefore, sort to find out the effectiveness of Story Telling in teaching Ecology. The study employed a pre-test posttest quasi-experimental design. The data collection instruments used were a Likert-type Attitude Questionnaire and an Achievement test. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations while the analysis of variance was a Statistical test used to compare means. The method of teaching, School and method of teaching by School interaction effect were statistically significant with F (1, 1037) =54.22, P<0.001, F (4, 1037) =17.29, P<0.001 and F (4, 1037) =17.49, P=0.000 respectively. This implies that Achievement varies with the method of teaching and that given a method of teaching, Achievement varies across Schools. Gender and method of teaching by gender interaction were non-signifificant with F (1, 1037) =0.33, P<0.0561 and F (1, 1037) =6.01, P=0.908 respectively. This implies that given a method of teaching, Achievement is the same across gender.

Key Words: Ecology, Story telling, Gender and Achievement.

I. INTRODUCTION

Poor performance in Secondary School Biology is increasingly becoming a source of concern. According to the Examination Council of Zambia (ECZ), the average achievement of pupils in Biology in 2015, 2016 and 2017 were 21.6%, 24.1% and 26.6% respectively. The ECZ reports from 2013 to 2017 show that Ecology is one of the topics that significantly contributes to this poor performance. In this Century, it is neccessary that students acquire basic ecological understanding in order to cope with the greatest environmental challenges the world is facing. These among others include; adapting to climate change, ensuring that the remaining biodiversity is conserved, protected and accessing clean water and developing novel creative ways of coming up with renewable energy (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2012; Oyovwi, 2015). Although many researchers agree to the fact that having basic ecological literacy is necessary for an individual to participate and adapt in the constantly changing society, Africa as a whole, including Zambia as a country are however, far from achieving ecological literacy (Cherif, 1992;Melnychuk et al., 2003; Soylu, 2006).

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