2.

2 IMPACT OF PRACTICAL SESSION ON STUDENTS PERFORMANCE

Science learning is practical-oriented and requires practical activities in the laboratory. It requires
broad-based experiences to widen students' knowledge in a world of abundance of choices and
opportunities to give meaning to learning. Science learning employs experiments using enriching
learning materials to equip learners with appropriate knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours.
Achimugu (2014) stated that science learning involves experimentation that uses hands-on and
minds-on activities for better understanding. This is because experimental methods enable
students to verify theories, laws and principles surrounding science phenomena. These parameters
help the students to build their capacity and interest to attain the goals of learning science.
Students tend to understand better when they have practical experiences, when they
are involved in experiments; they tend to understand better and come to develop
interest in biology as a course (Watts 2013).
The objectives of studying science in secondary school as a life science in Nigeria contained in the
West African Examinations Council (WAEC, 2014) syllabus include among others; understanding
basic science concepts, acquisition of laboratory skills, awareness of linkage between science and
industry/environment and everyday life in terms of benefits and hazards and acquiring skills of
critical and logical thinking. These objectives require that science be learnt through
experimentation by doing practices and making thorough observations that give meaning and
relevance to understanding science. Based on these objectives, learners thinking capacity must be
developed to widen interest and curiosity to think creatively. Having known some of these
objectives, it is obvious that no concept in science should be learned in abstraction but practically
by subjecting such concepts to experiments, testing, observing and verifying problems
experimentally. It is important therefore, to give effective interpretation of existing phenomena
and to gain useful insight into science as life using appropriate practical activities (Njelita, 2008).
According to Okoye (2013), learning science practically develop students’ scientific knowledge
and aremost effective when the learning objectives are clear and relatively few in number for any
given task. The task design highlights the main objectives and keeps students busy to minimize
noise. These strategies are used to stimulate the students’ thinking beforehand, so that the
practical task is answering a question the student is already thinking about. It is therefore needful,
for science students to actively participate in practical activities that further enhance their
understanding of the concepts taught or in learning a new skill.
Practical Activities in Science Learning

Practical activities may be defined as an act of science students engaging and equipping
themselves on hand-on-skills. Lazarowita and Tamir (2006) opined that practical work is
important because it provides opportunities for students to perform various hand- on- activities.
These practical works also give students many opportunities to use their minds to discover general
laws and principles of science. to Practical activities promote conceptual change, motivation and
excitement for enriching science learning. Furthermore, practical activities develop students’
manipulative skills, attitude and interest that simplify science concepts. It make difficult and
abstract concepts real, remove misconceptions, ignite, increase and sustain students’ interest in
science through various activities using sourced science materials to enrich science learning
experiences. This is aimed at preparing students to become productive individuals at the job place
and has opened access to creativity and knowledge.
Kulshretta (2013) noted some advantages of practical activities in science to include; skills
development, planning, manipulation of equipment, observation, analyzing, evaluating,
experiential learning, testing out own ideas, testing out theories, developing of problem solving
strategies and team work. Other advantages according to Achimugu (2014), include- taking
responsibility, developing students as self learners for independent learning, students work at their
own pace, at their own level, supporting differentiation by outcome, task and questioning. This
enables them to build self- confidence, learning in different ways, working as individuals,
manipulating materials and objects, observing the use of all the senses and having informal
dialogue with peers and teachers to develop personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTs). These
therefore require that science student should be adequately taught through practical activities to
acquire useful practical skills in science concepts.
2.3 FACILITIES AVAILABLE FOR BIOLOGY PRACTICAL
The use of aids in teaching is of importance as they help to stimulate Learners interest and
promote understanding. According to Akoano and Akpokiere (2006) the teaching and learning of
science which is practical course requires practical laboratory activities because experiment is the
hall mark of science education. Uyoata (2006) also opined that meaningful learning of science
requires the use of multisensory approaches where appropriate instructional resources are selected
and used. This is necessary because in this kind of learning students make use of more than one
sense modality in learning. Dangbin (2008) also reported that practical activities using sufficient
facilities enable learners to acquire cognitive skills such as formulation of hypothesis, making
assumptions, designing investigations, understanding variables, observing, recording date etc and
associated with these activities are scientific attitudes like curiosity, perseverance etc which are
necessary for engaging in faithful science investigation. However, Lawal (2006) reported that
biology physical structure as well equipment are inadequate. Ajayi (2008) also reported that
biology teachers in secondary schools have always lamented that among the various obstacles to
effective teaching of biology practicals includes lack of laboratory space and equipment, large
class and in adequate time allocation. Oludare Abiodun and Ajayi (2006) also reported that there
are no enough classrooms and laboratories. Laboratories have poor facilities and equipment and
that, supplies of chemicals and reagents for experiments are quiet low. Also schools lack
laboratory assistance resulting in the poor maintenance and obsolete nature of laboratory facilities.
Ajayi (1995) in Adepoju (2000) also reported that the quality of the products of the education
system is daily depreciating due to obsolete, inadequate or even non-availability of materials.
Momoh and Onjewu (2006) identified the followings as the expected facilities for biology
laboratory:

1 Biology laboratory

2 Biology laboratory attendant

3 Test tube

4 Forceps
5 Dissecting set

6 Dissecting pins

7 Dissecting board

8 Dissecting dishes

9 Glass rod

10 Petri dishes

11 Prepared slides

12 Iodine solution

13 Million’s reagent

14 Sudan III solution

15 Thermometer

16 Fehling solution

17 Insect nets

18 Quadrates

19 Microscope

20 Beakers

21 Measuring cylinder

22 Storage bottle

23 Tripod stand

24 Slides

25 Stop watches

26 Hand lens
27 Round bottom flask

28 Photometer

29 Dropping bottle

30 Desiccators

2.4 EFFECTS OF BIOLOGY PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES IN STUDENTS

IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL
Onah [1994] emphasized that teaching involves morethan talking all

the time. Resources such as diagrams, field works and real objects,

when effectively than lecture. The proper place for effective practical

activities is the laboratory. Biology being one of the science subjects

cannot be taught or learnt effectively in the absence of practical. Iloeje

[2005], in his lesson for effective biology practical activities stated

that, of all the five sense organs used, the sense of sight is the highest

of them. Kildare and okoro [2007], established that students

understand better when they involve themselves in practical

experiment during practical and obtain their results such students

cannot only remember the procedure involved but also feel proud of

themselves of obtaining the correct results, thus stressing the need

match theory with practical.

Obidiwe [2005], while discussing science curriculum in Nigeria said

that, whatever project is selected theory and practical of biology is

neglected so much and when taught all, the students are almost

preparing for their senior secondary school certificate examination. As

a result, students fail biology in their SSCE confirming the above

situation Chukwu [2009], observed that practical period of biology are

not enough. He highlights the need for the students to be exposed to

series of practical activities. The theory and practical aspects of

biology need not to be separated but taught as components part of a

subjects and not as a separate entity.

2.4.1 BIOLOGY LABORATORY PRACTICAL AND ACADEMIC

ACHIEVEMENT

Nzewi (2008) and Aina (2012) observed that the laboratory is an indispensable organ
of the school if effective teaching and learning of science subjects are to be achieved
and laboratory is a room or building or a special period of time equipped and set apart
for practical or experimental studies to take place”. Ude and Onah (2017) said, “it is
an instructional facility used by the teacher to help students learn about science and
how scientists investigate the world around them. It provides learners with
opportunities to design and execute investigation, engage in scientific reasoning,
manipulate equipment, generate record and analyze data and then discuss results. This
implies that science teaching and learning cannot be completely done in a secondary
school where there is no equipped laboratory. This is the problem with government
schools in rural areas. Practical activities help learners to understand more because the
way human nature is, things done by self is difficult to be forgotten because the
picture of the incident is always registered in the brain.
According to Ibe (2004), the American Association for the Achievement of Science
(AAAS) developed a programme known as ‘Science a Process Approach (SAPA).
This programme was designed to improve children’s skills in the process of science.
The experimental approach provides the opportunity for students to seek information
using experimental procedures. It calls for careful observation and interpretation of
data and has the qualities of questioning, investigating and confronting the unknown.
It is for the above reasons that the researchers decided to investigate the effect of
practical activities on the academic achievement of senior secondary school biology
students.
2.5 GENDER INFLUENCE ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Gender Differences

There are still varied viewpoints as well as different conclusions on gender and academic
performance.

Indication on gender differences on students’ academic performances differ among gender in the
science

subjects. Okoye (2013) saw gender as a range of physical, mental and behavioural characteristics
pertaining to

and differentiating the masculinity and feminity of an individual. In the process of learning
science-based

subjects, some researches show superiority of male over female students and others show
superiority of females

over males. Udoh (2015) argued that in a classroom setting where male and female students are
actively

involved in an interactive lesson with the teacher, there will be no difference in their academic
performance.

Raimi (2010) also opined that gender is not a significant factor to be associated with students'
performance. If

given equal opportunity with the right teaching and learning process, male and female students
will achieve

equally. The observations agree with Udoh (2015) which showed no significant difference in
gender on students’

academic performance and retention in biology when taught nervous coordination using computer
simulation

and charts. Olasheinde and Olatoye (2014) also found that there was no significant effect on
gender with regards
to students' achievement in science. Okoye (2013) posited that when students are given practical
tasks to carry

out in science, the sex of the students was a non-significant contributor to their academic
performance. On the

contrary, Etiubon (2011) observed that female students performed significantly better when
exposed to the use of

different technological tools in Biology practical session than their male counterparts in and Ekeh
(2004) observed

that male students performed significantly better than their female counterparts in mathematics
when taught

using iconic models. Since the study on gender is inconclusive this study included gender as one
of its

intervening variables. The issue of gender and gender stereotyping permeate every aspect of
human

endeavour. Okeke (2007) observed that the consequences of gender

stereotyping cut across social, economic, political and educational

development, especially in the areas of science and technology. However,

there have been conflicting reports in respect to gender and achievement in

science (Abonyi, 1998 and Ezeliora, 1999).

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