EFFECT OF COMPUTER ASSISTED CONCEPT MAPPING AND ANALOGICAL INSTRUCTIONAL PACKAGES ON STUDENTS' RETENTION IN BIOLOGY IN NIGER STATE

Abstract

The study examined the effects of computer assisted concept mapping and analogical models on students retention in Biology in Niger State. Quasi-experimental design (pretest- posttest control group design) consisting of multiple treatments Was adopted for the study. The target population for the study was all the Senior Secondary 2 Biology students from the three Senatorial zones of Niger State. Three co-educational senior secondary schools were purposively selected from each of the three zones making a total of nine schools used for the study. One school from each zone was used as experimental group 1, another school as experimental group 2,while the third school was used as control group. A total of 270 (135 male and 135 female) student were randomly selected by simple balloting from the nine schools for the study. Thirty SSII students (15 male and 15 female) were selected from each school. The instruments used were Multiple Choice Test ltems on Metabolism (MCTIM) and the CAI packages. A pilot test was conducted and the reliability cocfficient (r) of 0.96 was obtained Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypothesis formulated at 0.05 s level of signifance. The result revealed that students exposed to CAl packages retained the concept more than those exposed to conventional method. It was recommended that the use of Computer Assisted Concept Mapping Instructional Model (CACMM) and Computer Assisted Analogical Instructional Model (CAAIM) as teaching strategies should be adopted by science teachers in secondary schools.