EFFECTS OF PRACTICE-INVENTION STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ PROCESS SKILLS
IN BASIC SCIENCE
IN OYO STATE
Ogundiwin Oluyemi Akinleye,
Okediji Adejare Alabi, & Odubanjo Oduwole Funmilade
Department of Teacher Education, University of Ibadan.
Department of Integrated Science, Federal College of Education (Tech.) Akoka, Lagos.
Department of Physics, Federal College of Education (Tech.) Akoka, Lagos
Email: yemiogundiwin@yahoo.com, adejare.okediji@yahoo.com, woleodus2002@yahoo.com.
ABSTRACT
Junior Secondary School Students’ process skill in Basic Science seems not to be encouraging, a trend attributed to persistent usage of teacher-centered instructional methods. This necessitates the adoption of students-centered instructional strategy such as Practice-invention strategy. The effectiveness of this instructional strategy in the teaching of Basic Science has not been properly documented. This study, therefore, investigated the effects of Practice-invention (PIIS) Instructional strategy on students’ process skills in Basic Science in Oyo State. The moderator effect of gender was also examined. The study adopted a pretest-posttest, control group, quasi experimental design. Six Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) were randomly selected from the Oyo North district, while six intact classes of JSS II student participants were randomly assigned as follows: Practice-invention Strategy (185) and control (186) groups. The five instruments used were Basic Science Process Skills Rating Scale (r = 0.76), and instructional guides for Practice-invention Strategy (π =0.76) and conventional (π =0.78) strategy. Two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance. Treatment had a significant main effect on science process skills (F(1,369) = 29.40; η2 = 0.14)., participants in Practice-invention Strategy performed better in process skills than those control ( =6.24). Practice-invention strategy enhanced student’s process skill in Basic Science. Therefore, it should be adopted in teaching Basic Science to junior secondary schools students.