ABSTRACT Achievement in Biology in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education has consistently been low for the period between 2000 and 2006. This would imply that the objectives of Biology teaching have not been achieved. In addition, the performance of girls has often been lower as compared to that of boys. Low achievement in examinations would partly be attributed to lack of effective learning, as a result of ineffective teaching approaches. The expository approach has been the main met...
ABSTRACT Mathematics plays an important role in the scientific and development of all nations. In Kenya mathematics is compulsory in all Primary and secondary schools. However the performance in the subject at the National Examinations has remained below average with marked gender differences. The students‘ performance in some mathematics topics such as ―Loci‖ has been wanting. The reason for the poor performance in mathematics and the Loci topic in particular has been attributed to se...
ABSTRACT The study of Chemistry at secondary school level help students in developing basic scientific skills, knowledge and competence required in problem solving in their environment. However, this might not be achieved unless teachers employ effective methods of techniques during instruction. Performance of students in Chemistry in Kenya at the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations is poor. The poor performance may be partly attributed to teaching methods used by te...
ABSTRACT Mathematics is a subject which seeks to understand patterns that permeate both the world around us and the mind within us. The knowledge of mathematics as a tool for use in everyday life is important for individual and societal development. Students’ achievement in mathematics is important in Science and Technology which is important for industrial advancement of a country. There are many ways of thinking and the kind of thinking one learns in mathematics is an ability to handle a...
ABSTRACT The teaching approach that teachers adopt is a crucial factor that may affect students’ motivation and achievement in Chemistry. Innovative and research based teaching methods that enhance effective and efficient teaching of chemistry should be used. Such methods promote cognitive, psychomotor and affective characteristics of the learners. Recent developments in science education show that there is need to expose learners to basic concepts in a given topic. This prepares them psyc...
Biology is one of the science subjects taught in Kenyan secondary schools. It provides a foundation subjectfor the health sciences, agriculture, biotechnology and environmentalscience. However, secondary school students in Kenya have continued to perform poorly in Biology in the KCSE national examination. This is an indication that most students do not acquire requisite knowledge and skills during Biology lessons. This is partly attributed to the instructional approaches used. The purpo...
The knowledge of biology is applied in many aspects of human life including genetic engineering, population control, branches of medicine and environmental conservation. It has a significant role to play in enhancing the country’s socio-economic development by enabling exploitation of land, animal and other natural and human resources. Inspite of this, the overall achievement in biology in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination (KCSE) has been poor. Approaches used in the instructi...
ABSTRACT Biology is a key science subject in the Kenyan Secondary School Curriculum. However, evidence available indicates that students’ achievement in the subject has been poor. One of the factors attributed to this poor achievement is the teaching approaches used by teachers, with teacher-centered approaches being pre-dominant. This study sought to address the problem of ineffective instruction by teachers by investigating effects of Collaborative Concept Mapping Teaching Approach (CCMT...
ABSTRACT Chemistry is a major career subject in secondary education that is done by most of the secondary school students in Nandi North District. However, the subject has been underperformed in the past years. This could be attributed to inappropriate teaching methods employed in teaching and learning. Constructivist teaching strategy may help in improving teaching and learning of scientific concepts, but this had not been established in the District. The aim of the study was to determine t...
ABSTRACT The world and the global economy are changing very fast. Collectively, we are faced with very significant economic, environmental and social challenges. Creativity and ingenuity will be keys to addressing the challenges. To be able to achieve Kenyan Vision 2030 (economic and social pillars), learners should be equipped with scientific creativity skills to enable them participate in nation building and take on present and future challenges in the world. Studies carried out in Kenya s...
ABSTRACT Physics is recognized today as a fundamental part of both science and society. Knowledge of physics provides solutions to many of the problems that occur in today’s world. Deficiency in linking physics knowledge to real-life context of problem-solving by learners is however a major problem in the Kenyan education as evidenced by results in KCSE Physics national examinations. Progressive research recognizes the importance of teaching thinking skills through appropriate methodology a...
ABSTRACT Physics knowledge is vital for socio-economic development of any society. Technologies transforming the world are directly linked to physics inventions. Despite its importance, achievement and motivation to learn physics subject at the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) has remained low in comparison to other science subjects. One of the factors attributed to the low achievement and motivation to learn physics is the poor teaching approaches. There is therefore need for ...
ABSTRACT This study was undertaken with the specific aim of investigating stress experienced by families of intellectually impaired children at the Dagbreek and Môreson Centres in Windhoek and to find out how these families cope with such stress. For the purpose of this study, a qualitative approach was adopted. Phenomenology was the guiding theory and semi-structured interviews were carried out to collect data with a sample of ten families whose children attended school at the aforementione...
ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to investigate the Grade six Natural Science teachers’ understanding of concept mapping. The study also investigated learners’ understanding of science concepts on “matter and its properties” taught through the use of concept mapping as compared to traditional lecture method. The study was conducted with two science teachers who taught Natural Science to Grade six, thirty-three learners at Alpha Primary School and thirty-seven learners at Omega Pr...