EFFECT OF LEARNING ACTIVITY PACKAGE ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE IN BIOLOGY IN OTUKPO, BENUE STATE

Abstract

The Study Was Designed And Conducted To Determine The Effect Of Learning Activity Package (lap) On Senior Secondary School Students' Performance In Biology. Two Research Questions And Two Null Hypotheses Were Formulated. A Quasi-experimental Pre-test, Post-test, Non-equivalent Control Group Design Was Adopted For The Study. A Sample Of 317 Ss Ii Students Offering Biology, Drawn By Both Purposive And Simple Random Sampling Techniques From Four Co-educational Schools In Otukpo Educational Zone Was Used For The Study. The Four Schools Were Assigned To Experimental And Control Groups Respectively. Two Intact Classes In Each School – (one As Experimental And The Other One As Control Group) Were Randomly Selected. The Experimental And Control Groups Were Taught The Biology Topic (unit Of Life) By The Regular Biology Teachers. The Instruments – Pre-bpt And Post-bpt Were Developed, Duly Validated And Reliability Of Equivalence, Internal Consistency And Stability Duly Established (0.79 And 0.83 Respectively) Before Using Them For Data Collection. The Research Questions Were Answered Using Mean And Standard Deviation While The Hypotheses Were Tested At (p < 0.05) Using Analysis Of Covariance (ancova). The Result Of Data Analysis Showed That There Is A Significant Difference Between The Experimental And Control Group, With The Mean Performance Scores Of The Lap Group Being Significant More Than The Control Group; There Was No Significant Difference In The Mean Performance Scores Of Male And Female Students In Biology When Lap Was Used. A Major Educational Implication Of The Findings Is That The Use Of Lap Does Not Show Any Significant Difference In The Achievement Of Male And Female Students. Thus The Use Of Lap Will Not OnlyHelp Reduce The Problem Of Male Being Regarded As High Achievers In Science-related Courses But Will Also Encourage The Performance Of Female Students In Such Courses Among Others.