EFFECT OF LEARNING MAP INSTRUCTION APPROACH ON STUDENTS’ RETENTION IN BIOLOGY

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the effects of learning instruction approach on students’ retention in biology. The study was carried out in two secondary schools in Ezza south L.G.A. of Ebonyi State. One school was assigned to treatment group while the other school was assigned to control group. The treatment group was taught biology using learning map instructional approach while the control group was taught biology using the conventional approach. Two intact classes were used, one in each of the two schools. Pretest and posttest were administered to the two classes before and after the commencement of the experiment respectively. Biology Retention Test (BRT) was the instrument used for data collection and the teaching lasted for four weeks. The findings revealed that the learning map instructional approach is more effective than the conventional approach in fostering students’ retention. It was also discovered that with the learning map instructional approach, males showed higher achievement in biology than females. However, the difference in the mean achievement of males and females taught biology using the approach wasn’t statistically significant. This means that there was no interaction between gender and instructional approach on students’ retention in biology. The study therefore recommended that teachers should use learning map in teaching both male and female biology students.