Abstract:
This study investigated the effect of two Instructional Scaffolding Strategies on Secondary School Students’ Achievement and Interest in Biology in Udi Education Zone, Enugu State. The study adopted a factorial research design which helped the researcher to determine the main effects of two treatments in one single experiment. Six research questions and six null hypotheses guided the study. A sample of 140 students from four intact classes purposively selected from government co-educational secondary schools in Udi Education Zone, were used for the study. The main instruments for the study consisted of Biology Achievement Test (BAT) and Biology Interest Inventory (BII) which were developed, validated and used for data collection. The instruments (BAT and BII) were trial-tested on 30 SS 2 students of Nsukka education Zone. The data collected from BAT and BII were tested for reliability using Kuder-Richardson (K-R 20) and Cronbach Alpha statistics. Reliability indices of 0.89 and 0.86 respectively were obtained which guaranteed the use of the instruments for the study. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results showed among others that Cueing Questions strategy has more effect on students’ mean achievement scores in Biology than the Concept Mapping strategy; Cueing Questions strategy has more effect on students’ mean interest scores in Biology than the Concept Mapping strategy; The posttest and adjusted mean achievement scores were greater than the pretest mean achievement scores with the male students having higher mean score than their female counterparts; There was a significant effect of Cueing Questions and Concept Mapping as instructional scaffolding on students’ achievement in Biology with those taught using Cueing Questions strategy having a higher mean achievement score. There was a significant effect of Cueing Questions and Concept Mapping as instructional scaffolding on students’ interest in Biology with those taught using Cueing Questions strategy having a higher adjusted mean interest score. There was no significant interaction effect of gender and strategies on students’ mean achievement score in biology. There was a significant interaction effect of gender and strategies on students’ mean interest score in biology. Based on the implications of the study, it was recommended among others that curriculum development bodies such as the National Research and Development Council (NERDC) and other curriculum bodies should focus towards preparing Biology teachers to acquire appropriate skills in instructional strategies such as Cueing Questions and Concept Mappings. Based on the findings of the study, conclusions were drawn, the limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies were equally made.
