Fostering achievement and retention in basic science using simulation and demonstration strategies

The importance of affective domain in acquisition of scientific knowledge cannot be overemphasized. Hence, the study investigated students' motivation and academic achievement in Basic Science. Quasi experimental research design was adopted for the study and purposive sampling technique was used to select Emohua Local Government Area. Stratified random sampling on basis of school location (urban and rural) was used to select two UBE schools. While simple random sampling by balloting was used to select one hundred (100) JSS2 Basic Science students that participated in the study. Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT) was used to collect data for the study and the data collected were analyzed by using mean and standard deviation to answer all the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at.05 level of significance. The study found that, students' motivation have significant effect on their achievement mean scores in Basic Science P<.05. Gender does not have significant effect on achievement mean scores of motivated students in Basic Science, P >.05. School locations have significant effect on mean scores of motivated students in Basic science P <.05. The urban motivated students did better than the rural students. Hence, this study recommends that students should often be motivated in order for them to achieve maximally in acquiring Basic Science skills and knowledge. Rural schools should also be well equipped to boast the achievement of students in Basic Science.

<p>This study examined the effects of peer-led, inquiry-based, and lecture instructional strategies on students’ achievement and retention in basic science in Delta Central Senatorial District. 5 research questions and 5 hypotheses guide the study. The pretest-posttest delayed-posttest planned variation quasi-experimental design was employed for the study. The population of the study consisted of 82,712 JSII basic science students in the 183 public secondary schools. The sample size is 292 basic science students selected from 6 public mixed junior secondary schools. The instrument for data collection, which was duly face and content validated, was the Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT). The instrument, with a reliability coefficient of 0.79, was established using the Kuder-Richardson Formula – 21 (K-R-21). All research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation, while the hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance with t-test, and ANCOVA. The study found that; there is a significant difference in the mean achievement scores among students taught basic science using peer-led, inquiry-based and lecture instructional strategies, there is a significant difference in the mean retention scores among students taught basic science using peer-led, inquiry-based and lecture instructional strategies, there is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students taught basic science using peer-led, inquiry-based and lecture instructional strategies, there is no significant interaction effect of method and gender on basic science students’ achievement, and there is a significant interaction effect of method and gender on basic science students’ retention. the study, therefore, concluded that the peer-led instructional strategy and the inquiry-based instructional strategy are more effective in enhancing basic science students’ achievement and retention than the lecture method. The study also, amongst others, recommends that basic science teachers should adopt the use of peer-led instructional strategy in teaching basic science in junior and senior secondary schools.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu/0217/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

This study investigated the Effect of Metacognitive Instructional Strategy (MCIS) on the Self-esteem and Achievement of Students in Basic Science in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Quasi experimental research design of pre-test and post-test of non-randomized and nonequivalent experimental and control group was adopted. The population of the study was 17,761 JS III students from junior secondary schools in the three educational zones in Nasarawa State, during the 2018/2019 academic session. The sample size was 300 JS III students drawn from six intact classes of 50 students, using a simple random technique. Two instruments which comprised of Basic and Achievement Test (BAT), and Basic Science Self-esteem Rating Scale (BSSERS), were developed by the researcher and validated by two experts from the Measurement and Evaluation and Science Education Departments were used for data collection. The internal consistencies of the instruments- BSSERS and BAT were obtained using Cronbach Alpha and Kuder Richardson formula as 0.86, and 0.74 respectively. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation scores were used to answer the research questions while the null hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Results showed that metacognitive instructional strategy was more effective in facilitating students’ self-esteem, and achievement in Basic Science than conventional teaching method. The strategy promoted the use of cognitive knowledge of thinking and the acquisition of scientific skills as well as mastering concept and principles of Basic Science. The study recommended adequate training and re-training of teachers on the use of metacognitive instructional strategy model for Nigerian Junior Secondary Schools through workshops and seminars organized by school authorities or Professional bodies such as Science Teachers’ Association of Nigeria.

This study was designed to determine the effects of Learning Activity Package (LAP) teaching method on students’ achievement in basic science and technology with special consideration to the moderating effect of learning styles. A pre-test - post-test quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study. Three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study for data collection and analysis. The sample for the study comprised sixty-nine (69) students from two (2) co-educational junior secondary schools in Ijebu-Ode local government area of Ogun state, Nigeria. Basic science and technology achievement test (BSAT) and learning styles self-assessment questionnaire were used as instruments in collecting data for the study. Data collected were analysed using ANCOVA and MCA in order to determine the magnitude of students’ post-test achievement scores in basic science and technology. Findings of the study showed a significant main effect of teaching strategy on students’ academic achievement in basic science and technology (F (1, 57) = 8.362, P < 0.05). However, no significant main effect of learning styles on students’ academic achievement in Basic Science and Technology (F (1, 57) = 0.070, P > 0.05) was revealed, neither any significant interaction effects of teaching strategies were found. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Learning Activity Package (LAP) teaching method should be incorporated into the teaching of basic science and technology at the junior secondary school level. Furthermore, Learning Activity Package should be particularly introduced into system approach to instruction in basic science and technology at all levels of teacher education.

The importance of Science to national development cannot be disputed. That is why Basic Science is taught as a foundational science subject in the Junior Secondary Schools in Nigeria. It is meant to inculcate basic scientific knowledge and skills in students. However, the subject, in which students’ performance is low, has also not enjoyed a plethora of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools to support its learning. Given these challenges, an investigation of the effect of personalized strategy on achievement in Basic Science was carried out. The study employed the pretest, posttest group, quasi-experimental design. The sample comprised of intact classes of year three (JSS 3) Basic Science students (87) from two junior secondary schools in Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area. Using the Balloting method, the students were assigned experimental and control groups. Two stimulus instruments (Teachers’ Conventional Teaching Guide (TCTG) and Teachers’ Instructional Guide on Personalized Learning (TIGPL), and, response instrument (Basic Science Knowledge Assessment Scale (BSKAS) (r = 0.78), were used for data collection. The four hypotheses raised were tested using t-test at 0.05 level of significance, to compare performances. The results show significant mean differences in the performance scores of the experimental and control groups. This was in favour of the experimental group who were instructed using personalised strategy. Based on this, more efficient ICT-based personalised packages need to be developed for students to aid their understanding and learning of Basic Science.

The study investigated the effects of process-oriented instructional strategies on the spatial abilities of basic science students in Kogi state. Spatial ability contributes immensely to the understanding of science. 702 basic nine students, made up of 316 boys and 386 girls were used for the study. While the experimental group was taught topics in basic science using process-oriented instructional strategies, the control group was taught with lecture method. Variables such as gender and teaching strategies informed the direction of the investigation. Four null hypotheses were formulated and tested at the 0.05 level. Three research instruments; Spatial Ability Test (SAT), reliability 0.81, Basic Science Achievement Test I (BSAT I), reliability 0.87, and Basic Science Achievement Test II (BSAT II) with a reliability of 0.85 were used. Data analysis utilized percentages, frequencies, means, and t-test for independent samples. The results showed that no significant differences in basic science achievement between boys and girls taught by lecture method and those of process-oriented instructional strategies were found. Significant differences were found between the spatial abilities of girls taught by lecture and those taught by process-oriented instructional strategies and between boys taught by lecture and those taught by process-oriented instructional strategies. It was recommended that boys and girls could be taught together; thus solving the problem of space and materials/resources often expensive and relatively scarce in many Nigerian schools. Teachers should emphasize the process-oriented instructional strategies in science teaching.

Overweight and obesity among students as a specific sub-group, is an area of concern. Lifestyle factors such as cigarette smoking, drinking of alcoholic beverages and poor dietary habits are inextricably linked to overweight and obesity. Little is known about trends in smoking, drinking,dietary habits and physical activity levels of university students in South Africa. This paper compares the prevalence of overweight, obesity and selected lifestyle habits between a cohort of sport science students and general students in the Faculty of Education at the University ofKwaZulu-Natal located on the Edgewood Campus, South Africa. A total of 259 students, consisting of 116 sport science students and 143 students from the general education group participated in the study. Anthropometric measurements were performed using standard procedures. A structured health and physical activity questionnaire was administered to allparticipants. Criteria for overweight and obesity were estimated according to the guidelines of the National Institute of Health (NIH, 1998). The results indicated that 19% of the students were overweight and 6% were obese. Surprisingly, it was observed that the prevalence of overweightwas higher among males (22%) than females (17%), which however was not significant (p=0.32). However, with respect to obesity females (7%) had higher incidence than males (5%). The comparison between sport science and general students showed that 28.3% of male sportscience students were overweight whereas 16% of the other male students were overweight. Seven and half percent of male sport science students were obese while 1.8% of the male general students were obese. Comparison between female sport science students and other femalestudents showed that 15.9% of female sport science students were overweight compared to 17.5% of the female students. Obesity among general female students (17%) was not significantly higher much higher than female sport science students (11%) (p=0.35). Forty threepercent of the students had a history of cigarette smoking and 22% of the sport science students were smokers as compared to 25% of the general group. With regard to frequency of exercise (3-4 times per week), sports science students (17%) were significantly more active (p=0,00), thanthe general student group (10%). . Physical activity levels for most students did not meet the minimum guidelines.

The suicide mortality rate per 100 000 population (SMRP) consistently decreased before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Japan and then unexpectedly increased during the pandemic. However, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. To identify trends in and factors associated with suicidal mortality and motives among students in Japan from 2007 to 2022. In this cross-sectional study, data on SMRPs among Japanese middle-school, high-school, and university students were obtained from the government suicide database Suicide Statistics of the National Police Agency. Age-dependent and temporal fluctuations in annual SMRPs, disaggregated by suicidal motive (7 categories and 52 subcategories), sex, and school, were analyzed using linear mixed-effect and joinpoint regression models, respectively. Total suicide numbers from 2007 to 2022 were as follows: 760 male middle-school students, 635 female middle-school students, 2376 male high-school students, 1566 female high-school students, 5179 male university students, and 1880 female university students. The mean (SD) student populations from 2007 to 2022 were as follows: 1 752 737 (81 334) male middle-school students, 1 675 572 (78 824) female middle-school students, 1 648 274 (67 520) male high-school students, 1 614 828 (60 032) female high-school students, 1 652 689 (32 724) male university students, and 1 229 142 (57 484) female university students. Among male students, the leading motives were school-related factors (underachievement and worrying about the future), followed by family-related and health-related motives. Among female students, school-related and family-related motives decreased, but health-related motives showed an age-dependent increase. The SMRPs of middle-school male students and female students were almost equal (mean [SD], 2.7 [1.0] vs 2.4 [1.4]), but the age-dependent increase in SMRPs among male students was pronounced (mean [SD], high-school vs university male students, 9.1 [2.4] vs 19.6 [3.0]; high-school vs university female students, 6.1 [2.4] vs 9.6 [1.8]). However, the incidence of suicide among high-school students associated with health-related motives was greater in female students. The majority of suicides associated with major impactable suicidal motives (school-related, health-related, and family-related motives) began increasing before the pandemic. Changes in SMRP associated with interpersonal relationships, such as conflict with classmates or parents, were not significant, but the rates increased greatly during the pandemic. School-related, health-related, and family-related problems were major motives, whereas the impacts of health-related and family-related motives increased and decreased with age, respectively. Notably, most SMRPs associated with major impactable motives (underachievement, conflict with a parent or classmate, and mental illnesses) had already begun increasing in the late 2010s, indicating that recent increasing SMRPs among school-aged individuals were associated with pandemic-related factors and other factors affecting this generation before the pandemic. It may be inappropriate to uniformly apply research findings based on school-aged individuals to school-based suicide prevention programs for students in middle school, high school, and university.

The significant time that learners spend on using e-learning media for teaching learning purpose at schools and homes creates some thought provoking questions like how the use of e-learning media may influence cognitive skills enhancement?, and if it does have influence, then how much? The study evaluates the effects of e-learning media on cognitive skills enhancement of science students respectively, and compares the impact of elearning media on cognitive skills enhancement of male and female science learners. The study is experimental in nature. Results of the study are tested at significance level alpha: a = 0.05. After conducting pre-tests, treatment and post-tests, it is found that the post-test results of male and female science students are better than their pre-test. It is also found that the cognitive skills enhancement score of both genders of students of experimental group is higher than the score of both genders of students of control group on the basis of post-tests scores. It is also found that there was no difference between cognitive skills enhancement score of male students of experimental group and that of female students of experimental group on the basis of post-tests scores. Consequently, it is concluded that the use of e-learning media has considerable positive effect on the achievement of male and female science students and it enhances their cognitive skills, but no considerable difference was observed between the cognitive skills enhancement of male and female students using e learning media.

This study explored how assessment for learning, classroom management strategies, and teacher-student relationships predict students' academic achievement in Basic Science among students in Enugu State. The correlational survey design was employed in the study. The population of the study comprised 21,989 JSS III Basic Science students for the 2022/2023 academic session in public secondary schools. A sample of 400 students determined using Taro Yamen's (1967) formula and drawn through a multi-stage sampling procedure was used for the study. Data was collected using the Assessment Quality Enhancement Scale (AQES) and the Basic Science Academic Achievement Proforma (BSAAP). The internal consistency of the AQES was determined using Cronbach's Alpha reliability method, yielding a reliability estimate of 0.84. The BSAAP, on the other hand, collected existing academic achievement scores of sampled students in Basic Science from their 1st and 2nd term results for the 2022/2023 academic session. Data was analyzed using regression analysis. Results revealed significant predictive relationships between teachers' use of assessment for learning, classroom management approaches, teacher-student relationships, and students' academic performance in Basic Science. Specifically, the correlation coefficients (R) of assessment for learning, classroom management, and teacher-student relationships were 0.53, 0.51, and 0.41, with predictive powers of 28%, 26%, and 16%, respectively. These findings highlight the importance of ongoing teacher professional development, curriculum reform initiatives, and supportive school environments in fostering academic success in Basic Science. The

Over the last decade, we have made great progress in our knowledge and understanding of the pathophysiolgy of sepsis, the mediators involved, and the underlying mechanisms, and yet, until very recently, little advance had been made in the field of sepsis therapeutics. Achievements in basic science and cellular research have not been matched by clinical success, and mortality rates from this disease process have remained virtually unaltered over the past 50 years [1]. Indeed, despite the development of many dozens of new so-called immunomodulatory agents, poor results from clinical trials mean that the treatment of sepsis remains antibiotic therapy, source removal, and organ support. In this chapter we will briefly discuss the reasons behind these ‘failed’ clinical trials before focussing on the recent and exciting results of activated protein C (APC), a drug aimed at the coagulation system, which has been shown to improve mortality rates in patients with severe sepsis.

The aforegoing chapters focused on the description of high-resolution imaging and spectrometry. The current status of the most advanced techniques was described and the prospects for the near and far future were presented. While these achievements are spectacular and noteworthy as a fundamental achievement in basic science in its own right, without correlation to any macroscopic property, they may remain a mere academic exercise without apparent consequence.

In this paper the logistic growth model of spontaneous utilization of school library in Imo State, is presented. First‐order variables separable logistic equation is solved. The parameters that gave the best logistic curve for the data were determined. The number of male and female science students who utilized school library spontaneously also is presented. The logistic equation allows rigorous estimation of 2.34% growth rate of male science students’ spontaneous utilization of school library in Imo State. While that of female students is decreasing by 2.71%. The results revealed that male students are experiencing upward trend in the spontaneous utilization of school library while their female counterparts are experiencing downward trend. Therefore, it is recommended that science students should utilize the school library resources spontaneously without being induced to do so. They should also develop passion for reading because reading books pushes readers to use their imaginations and encourages creativity for scientific endeavours.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the fit of a hypothesized model of medical students' diagnostic or clinical reasoning skills based on their aptitude for medical school, basic science achievement, and clinical competency measures. A total of 589 medical students who received their MD from 1994 to 2002 participated in this study. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the fit of theoretical models of clinical reasoning using measures of basic science and clinical knowledge. The results provided support for a three-factor model of medical student performance (Bentler's Comparative Fit Index = .905, standardized root mean squared residual = .054, root mean squared error of approximation = .105). The clinical reasoning skills of medical students were influenced by an independent relationship between latent variables of basic science achievement and clinical competency. The findings support a theoretical model of diagnostic or clinical reasoning that treats the basic science and clinical knowledge of medical students as distinct domains.

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to answer the following two questions: (1) Do significant differences exist in high-school learning experience, interests, self-efficacy, and career aspirations between male and female science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students? (2) Can high-school learning experiences, interests, and self-efficacy significantly predict career aspirations, and do differences exist between male and female STEM students? This study highlighted the gender gap between male and female university students who had already chosen STEM majors with similar academic ability. A total of 407 first-year students were surveyed at a 4-year research university in Taiwan. For the data analysis, a t-test and multiple regression analysis were used, and the findings indicated that male STEM students had greater family support than their female counterparts. The variable of task value could significantly predict STEM career aspirations for both male and female students, whereas the variable of STEM course self-efficacy could only significantly predict that of male students. In conclusion, the findings highlighted that the motivation of task value was a vital factor for predicting STEM career aspirations, whereas the factor of family support was the main gap between male and female STEM students in terms of their high-school learning experiences.