ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effects of simulation, models and realia on senior secondary Biology students’ interest, achievement and retention in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Twelve research questions and twelve hypotheses guided the study. This study adopted a non- randomized pre-test, post-test control group quasi-experimental design. The population of this study consisted of 383,234 SS3 students offering Biology in 2020/2021 academic session in the 325 public senior secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A sample of 180 senior secondary three (SS3) Biology students in four intact classes from four (4) co-educational secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State were selected for this study using multi stage sampling approach. The instruments used for data collection were Biology Achievement Test (BAT) and Biology Interest Inventory (BII). The draft of these instruments were subjected to face and content validation by three experts, all from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. The BAT instrument had a Kuder- Richardson 20 (KR-20) reliability index of 0.86 and BII had a Cronbach alpha reliability index of 0.78. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer research questions, ANCOVA was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant while Scheffes’ post-hoc pairewise comparison was used to compare the multivariate sample mean scores of students in the four groups. The results of the findings of this study revealed that there was significant difference in the mean interest scores, mean achievement scores as well as  retention mean scores of students taught Biology using models implying that teaching with models enhanced students’ interest, achievement and retention than simulation and realia. Also the result showed that there was no significant difference in the retention mean scores of male and female students taught Biology using simulation. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that Biology teachers in Akwa Ibom State should use models, simulation and realia in teaching the concept of central nervous system in order to enhance students’ interest, achievement and retention in Biology.