UNRAVELLING THE TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT OF LABORATORY PRACTICAL APPROACH ON STUDENTS' MANIPULATIVE SKILLS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCIENCE
Abstract
This study delves into the transformative influence of the Laboratory Practical Approach on students' manipulative skills and academic achievement in senior secondary science. A non-randomised pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental research design were used. Three intact classes drawn from three co-educational senior secondary schools (SSS) involving a total of 98 SSS II students from Education District V, Lagos State participated in the study. Two research instruments: Students’ Manipulative Skills Test (SMST) and Students’ Academic Achievement Test (SAAT) with reliability indices of 0.80 and 0.79 respectively were used for data collection. Two intact classes (experimental groups) were engaged in the laboratory practical approach while one intact class (control group) received the lecture teaching method. Data obtained were analysed using mean, standard deviation, and one-way ANCOVA at 0.05 level of significance. Results revealed that students’ manipulative skills and achievement in science were significantly higher in the laboratory practical group compared to those exposed to the lecture method [F(1,91)=399.85; p<.05] and [F(1,91)=21.33; p<.05] respectively. A statistically significant difference was not found for gender in manipulative skills [F(1,61)=.94; p>.05] and achievement [F(1,61)=.24; p>.05] of students in science. The study provides evidence that the laboratory practical approach is more beneficial for students’ manipulative skills and academic achievement in science than the lecture teaching approach. It is therefore recommended that teachers should ensure that all science topics taught are supported with practical tasks for the students to relate the theoretical and practical aspects to enhance their manipulative skills development as well as improve their academic achievement.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v11i2.5206
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