Effects of Vee Heuristic teaching approach on secondary school students' attitudes towards biology in Kenya
Biological knowledge plays fundamental role in most aspects of human life. Its application in genetic engineering has made a tremendous contribution towards meeting the demand of food security, medicine and control of a variety of diseases. Despite this significant role, there is a national concern about the attitude of students towards biology by high school students' especially in physiology and biochemical topics. This study determined the effects of Vee Heuristic Teaching Approach on students' attitudes towards learning Biology. This study was conducted in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County. Solomon Four Group Non Equivalent Control Group Design was used. Data was collected from 12 schools randomly sampled from within the county. The sample comprised of 396Form 2 students from four boys, four girls and four co educational schools. A Biology Attitude Questionnaire was developed and used for data collection. The instruments were pilot tested in one boy's, one girl's and one co educational school in Embu East Sub county to ascertain its reliability. The reliability coefficient was estimated using Cronbach's coefficient alpha. A coefficient value of 0.83 was obtained from the research instruments. Hypotheses was tested using ANOVA, and t test statistics at a 0.05 level of significance. Means were separated using Least Significant. The study found that Vee Heuristics Teaching Approach VHTA facilitated students' attitude in biology subject. Since VHTA benefited students irrespective of gender and type of school attended, education authorities should encourage biology teachers, curriculum developers, quality assurance and standards officers and teacher trainers to apply it in the pursuit of teaching endeavors. Key words; students' attitude, teaching approach, biology, Vee Heuristic Date of Submission: 19 12 2017 Date of acceptance: 13 01 2018 I. Background of the study The international community all over the world aim at educating millennial qualified enough to serve in the global task force particularly in scientific, industrial and capacity building. To this end, more and more studies are conducted in science education and continuously developing discipline which obtains information on the existence, development, modification and interrelationships of living organisms on earth (HulyaPunar, 2010) Problems related to reproduction, nourishment, environment, health, diseases, marriage and family relationships, learning and memory can be solved only through biology education (Sucuoglu, 2003) Biological knowledge plays fundamental role in most aspects of human life; its application in genetic engineering has made a tremendous contribution towards meeting the demand of food security, medicine and control of a variety of diseases (UNESCO, 2013) Despite this significant role, there is a global concern about the performance in biology by high school students especially at physiology and anatomy topics particularly in South East Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. The conventional teaching and learning situation calls for comprehensive change in almost every level of education so that practical and dynamic approach can be given to existing and new fields of biology education. The crux of modern education is to awaken the hidden curiosity and interest of the learner, nourishing behavior and beliefs in order to develop basic and essential skills of lifelong learning and ability to think critically (Samreen Sufiana, 2012) One of the notable interventions in teaching of sciences is the use of Vee diagrams approaches. This approach emphasizes the structure of and interplay between the theoretical and methodological dimensions of knowledge. It is essentially a pedagogical technique, heuristic where learning occurs through student directed, constructivist and inquiry based discoveries (Roehrig, Edward, 2001) It is ideal for enabling students to understand how events, processes and objects are meaningfully related because its overall purpose is the interplay between what is familiar and what is to be taught in scientific or mathematical explanation (Novak Alvarez, 2005) Vee heuristic enables the learners to understand the structure of knowledge, and the process of knowledge construction because knowledge is not absolute, but dependent upon concepts, theories and methodologies upon which world is viewed (Roehrig Edwards, 2001) Effects Of Vee Heuristic Teaching Approach On Secondary School Students' Attitudes Towards DOI: 10.9790/7388 0801011823 www.iosrjournals.org 19 Page Studies show that an attitude towards biology affects learners' achievements in biology (HulyaPunar, 2010) A study in Ankara Science high school in Turkey revealed a statistically significant difference between male and female science high school students in terms of attitudes towards biology course. A study on relationship between attitude towards biology course and students achievement showed that there is no significant difference between boys and girls although girls had better achievement than boys (Saltan, 2011) Barchok (2011) observed that collaborative concept mapping teaching strategy showed a significant difference in achievement between the students exposed to it and those not exposed to it. However, it was observed that this teaching approach do not affect the attitude of students towards learning of chemistry. The findings of this study are in agreement with a study finding by Muthomi (2014) who inferred that differentiated instruction did not have any effects on students' attitudes towards learning mathematics. The use of Vee heuristic has been proven to be effective tool in enhancing achievements, attitudes and creativity in mathematics, chemistry and physics, however there is scanty research known to the researcher that has been conducted in Kenya to evaluate the effects of VHTA on students' attitudes. It is against this background that the present study sought to investigate the effects of Vee Heuristic Teaching Approach on students' achievements, attitudes and creativity in biology in Kenyan secondary schools. II. Statement of the Problem The government of Kenya is geared towards provision of quality education, training and innovation in schools and other institutions of learning. This is important in making Kenya an industrialized middle income economy providing high quality life for its citizens as envisaged in vision 2030 blue print. Despite the massive allocation of resources to education sector, the sector is still faced with challenges which are likely to undermine the achievement of envisioned development. One of the challenges is the dismal performance in science subjects among high school students particularly in biology KNEC reports indicates that students are unable to interpret questions, possess poor scientific language and fail to relate biological knowledge to real life. In addition attitudes towards biology remain negative. Research finding recommends a shift from conventional methods of teaching biology to metacognitive approaches to reverse on this negative trend. Research has shown that a good teaching approach can enhance cognitive and affective characteristics of the students. In an attempt to bridge this gap, this study investigated the effects of Vee Heuristic Teaching Approach (VHTA) on students' attitudes towards learning biology. Objectives of the Study To establish the effects of Vee Heuristic Teaching Approach on students' attitudes towards Biology as a subject as compared to conventional teaching approach. Hypotheses To achieve the study objectives, the following hypothesis was tested at a= 0.05 level of significant. H01: There is no statistical significant difference in attitude towards Biology as a subject between students who are exposed to Vee Heuristic Teaching Approach and those not exposed to it. III. Literature Review Attitude is a mental tendency shown by individuals towards other people, objects, subjects and events (Adesoji, 2008) Attitude is deemed an important predictor of behavior, academic self concept which is a cognitive characteristic, is another important factor effective on learning process in turn, on academic achievement (Adesoji, 2008) Attitude outcomes are of a different form than outcomes for achievements and knowledge. They are exhibited in a different way, and have deeper roots in the experiences that students bring to school. Attitude development is a lifelong process that involves the home school and the environment, Goswani