Effects of Real Specimens on Retention in Biology Concepts among Secondary School Students in Bomadi, Delta State, Nigeria

The study investigated the effects of real specimens on retention in Biology concepts among secondary school students in the Bomadi local government area. The study employed a Pre-test Post-test non-equivalent control quasi-experimental design using intact classes. Three research questions and three corresponding null hypotheses guided the study. The Population of the study was five hundred and thirty-seven (537) Senior Secondary year one students during the 2023/2024 in Bomadi Local Government Area, Delta State, using a sample size of one hundred and one (46 males & 55 females) students selected from two coeducational public schools using the multistage sampling technique. The Biology Retention Test (BRT), with a reliability coefficient of 0.791, was used to collect data for the study. T-test of independent samples and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. Results revealed that students taught Biology concepts using real specimens had significantly higher retention scores than their counterparts taught without real specimens. There was no significant difference in the mean retention scores by gender or the interaction of gender and method. It was recommended that Biology teachers should use real specimens to facilitate students’ retention of Biology concepts and improvement of academic achievement in Biology at the senior secondary school certificate examinations. Government and other stakeholders, like the Parents, Teachers’ Association should make efforts to provide real specimens to Schools.