ABSTRACT
The study investigates the impact of instructional materials in teaching and learning Biology in senior secondary schools in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State. The study make used of simple random sampling techniques to select fifteen (15) secondary schools, forty (45) Biology teachers from Senior Secondary Schools in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire, which was developed and administered to Biology teachers. The data from their responses were analyzed with the use of frequency count, simple percentage, mean score and standard deviation.
The result of the analysis revealed that the effect of instructional materials on students’ academic performance in Biology include; facilitate learning of abstract concepts by helping to concretize ideas and stimulate learners’ imagination; make learners get motivated and have idea of sharing in participation of Biology lesson; make learning faster and promote retention as well as help to increase active participation in the learning process while saving teacher energy and also reducing the verbal instructions; the importance of instructional materials in teaching Biology include; Helping teachers to teach with ease and the learners to learn without stress; break language barriers and ease difficulties and in the end make the lesson more meaningful; help to assist in achieving the stated behavioural objectives when evaluation is carried at the end of a lesson or programme and help the teacher to convey the intended message effectively and meaningfully to the learners so that the learners receive, understand, retain and apply the experience gained to reach overall educational goals; the readily available instructional materials for Biology practical in secondary schools in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State includes wall chat, petri dish and dissecting kits; and the factors effecting the production and use of instructional materials in Biology include; unavailability of instructional material for teaching Biology; inadequate time not allotted for the proper teaching and practical of Biology; difficulty in the operation or technical know-how of some instructional material like the projector; Lack of fund for the production and maintenance of instructional materials in teaching Biology; and Lack of power supply or electricity in secondary school.
It is therefore recommended that Government and school administrators should make adequate provisions of instructional materials for teaching Biology; It is also recommended that regular meaningful workshop on improvisation technique for Biology teachers should be conducted to substitute the unavailable instructional materials; there should be cordial relationship between ministry of education, educational stakeholders and schools for the provision of essential resource materials, like laboratory, glass wares, reagents, microscope, burner etc. for the teaching of Biology in secondary schools; the government and educational stakeholders should organize workshops, seminars and conferences for teachers to enable them up-date their knowledge on new developments on the use of instructional materials; and the challenges regarding the use of learning resources should be collectively addressed by the stakeholders in education.
