Effects of Scaffolding Instructional Strategy on Students Performance and Retention in Biology among Secondary School Students in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Effects of Scaffolding Instructional Strategy on Students Performance and Retention in Biology among Secondary School Students in Ekiti State, Nigeria Author’s Details: ABIDAKUN, Ojo Titus PhD and Prof FATOBA, Joseph Oba titusabidakunoludare@gmail.com, obafato@gmail.com Department of Science Education, Faculty of Education, Ekiti State University Ado- Ekiti Abstract: The study examined the effects of scaffolding instructional strategy on performance and retention in Biology among secondary school students in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study ascertained the difference in the pre-test and post-test mean scores of students exposed to scaffolding instructional strategy and conventional method of teaching Biology in secondary schools. The study investigated the effects of scaffolding instructional strategy and conventional method on students’ performance and retention in Biology. This study adopted a two group quasi-experimental of pre-test, post-test and control group design. The population for the study comprised 12,585 SSSII students in 205 public secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The sample for the study consisted of 159 SSS II students in the selected schools using multistage sampling procedure. Two instruments used to collect data for the study, were: Biology Performance Test (BPT), Biology Retention Test (BRT). The face and content validity of the instruments were validated by experts, The reliability of the instruments (BPT and BRT) yielded reliability coefficients of 0.81 and 0.91 respectively. One research question was raised and answered while three hypotheses were generated and tested. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Research question was answered using mean and standard deviation. Hypotheses were tested using t-test. The findings of the study showed that: there was significant effect of scaffolding instructional strategy on the performance mean scores and retention mean scores of students in Biology after treatment. Based on the findings it was recommended that, implementing scaffolding as instructional strategy can significantly enhance students’ performance and retention in Biology, Therefore, the use of scaffolding instructional strategy should be incorporated into the teaching approach by biology teachers. Key words: Scaffolding, Performance, Retention