Interaction Effect of Selected Science Process Skills Acquisition on Students’ Academic Performance in Practical Biology in Calabar Education Zone, Cross River State of Nigeria

The study explored the interaction effect of selected science process skills of drawing, observing, classifying, measurement and problem-solving on students’ academic performance in Practical Biology in Calabar Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. The study employed a quasi-experimental design of pretest-posttest non-equivalent intact class. One Hundred and Ninety Senior Secondary One (SS1) Biology students drawn from a target population of 5218 participated in the study. One research question guided the study and one null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. Three secondary schools selected from 81 public secondary schools using simple random sampling of balloting with replacement were used for the study. Two research instruments tagged Science Process Skills Acquisition Test (SPSAT) and Practical Biology Performance Test (PBPT) was sources for data collection. The reliability indices of the instruments established via Cronbach alpha gave 0.812 and 0.815 respectively. Data obtained were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The results showed significant interaction effect of acquired science process skills of classifying, measuring, and problem solving on students’ academic performance in Practical Biology. However, the interaction was not significant for science process skills of drawing and observing. On the basis of the results, recommendations were made among which is that biology teachers should imbibe classroom practices that will enhance acquisition of all process skills to bring about improved academic performance in Practical Biology. Keyword: Science Process Skills, Students’ Academic Performance, Practical Biology DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-29-05 Publication date: October 31 st 2020