Abstract:
Genetic concepts are topics in secondary school biology devoted to the study and
manipulation of heredity and variation in living organisms.However, reports have
shown that students’ achievement in these concepts is poor in Kwara State.This has
been attributed to the use of teacher-centred methods ofinstruction. Previous studies
concentrated largely on teacher and students-related socio-psychological factors with
little consideration for student-centred learning strategies. This study, therefore, was
carried out to determine the effects of Gallery Walks Strategy (GWS) and Mind
Mapping Strategy (MMS) on students’ learning outcomes (attitude, achievement and
process skills) in genetic concepts in biology in Kwara State, Nigeria. The moderating
effects of mental ability and learning styleswere also examined.
Vygotsky Social Development and Piaget’s Development theories provided the
framework. The pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design with a
3x3x3 factorial matrix was adopted. Three Local Government Areas (LGAs) were
randomly selected fromKwara State.Three public Senior Secondary Schools were
randomly selected from each LGA, while an intact class of Senior School II learners
was selected from each school. The participants in the schools were randomly
assigned to GWS (109), MMS (121) and control (135) groups. The instruments used
were Genetic Concepts Achievement (r=0.86), Mental ability(r=0.87) tests, Attitude
to Biology (α=0.89), Science Process Skills (r=0.83), Students’ Learning
Styles(r=0.81) scales and instructional guides.The treatment lasted eight weeks. Data
were analysed using descriptive statistics, Analysis of covariance and Bonferroni
post-hoc test at 0.05 level of significance.
The participants’ age was 17.15±2.35 years, 51.7% had moderate mental ability and
43.6% had visual learning style. The treatment had a significant main effect on
student achievement (F(2,361)=17.62; partial
2=0.01). The participants in MMS had
the highest post-achievement mean score (19.34), followed by GWS (16.52) and
control (14.76) groups.The treatment had a significant main effect on students’
attitude to biology (F(2,361)=10.84; partial
2 =0.06). The participants in GWS had the
highes tpost-attitude mean score (56.68), followed by MMS (55.68) and control
(50.38) groups. The treatment had a significant main effect on students’ science
process skills in biology (F(2,361)=30.64, partial
2=0.16). The participants in GWS
had the highest post-science process skills mean score (59.85), followed by MMS
(56.78) and control (47.70) groups.There was asignificant interaction effect of
treatment and mental ability on students’ achievement in biology (F(2,361)=3.89; partial
2=0.05) in favour of high mental ability students in MMS group. The interaction
effect of treatment and mental ability on science process skills in biology was
significant (F(2,361)=3.44;partial
2=0.04) in favour of high mental ability studentsin
GWS groups. The interaction effects of treatment, mental ability and learning style on
science process skills in biology was significant (F(2,361)=2.40; partial
2=0.05) in
favour of high mental ability auditory learning style students in GWS group.The other
two and three-way interaction effects were not significant.
Gallery Walks and Mind Mapping teaching strategies enhanced students’ learning
outcomes in genetic concepts in biology in Kwara State, Nigeria with emphasis on
learning style and mental ability. Therefore, these strategies should be adopted in
teaching Biology in secondary schools.
