IMPACT OF STUDY SKILLS TRAINING ON
ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY OF STANDARD VIII STUDENTS
K.Abdul
Gafoor
C.Shemi
INTRODUCTION
These are days of
self-directed learning, active learning and life long learning. Active and
constructivist modalities of learning are gaining ground in the field of
education. ‘Learning to learn’ is one of the main purposes of teaching,
training and learning. Study skills, study habits, meta learning skills etc.
are major factors that help students for attaining this goal. Students need
direction and guidance about how to study and how to become good achievers.
Efficient learning process does not depend on teaching alone, it depends on
learning procedures and learning techniques as well. The acquisition,
integration, organization and storage of knowledge are all facilitated by the
use and practice of effective and efficient learning strategies and techniques.
These processes can be facilitated through study skills training.
OBJECTIVES
The major objective of the
study is to test the effect of study skills training on the achievement in
Biology of standard VIII students.
HYPOTHESES
1. There will be
significantly higher mean post test scores of achievement in Biology for study
skills trained group than the control group in the total sample;
2. There will be
significantly higher mean post test scores of
achievement in Biology for study skills trained group than the control
group in the sub sample of: boys and
girls;
3. There will be
significantly higher mean post test scores of
achievement in Biology for study skills trained group than the control
group in the sub samples; of : a) high achievers, b) average achievers, c) low
achievers; based on previous achievement in Biology;
4. There will be
significant difference in the mean percentage scores of achievement in Biology
of study skills trained group over the
control group in total sample and sub samples based on gender and levels of
achievement;
5. There will be remarkable
improvement in study skills and student performance as perceived by the
teachers and students, after study skill training.
VARIABLES OF THE STUDY
Independent Variable
Study skills training is
the idependent variable in the present study. It denotes the systematic training and practice
for scheduling the study time, note making, efficient reading , correct and
neat drawing, different techniques of organizing ideas, preparation for
examination etc. for improving the academic performance of students.
Dependent Variable
Achievement in Biology is
the dependent variable. It denotes the
knowledge attained or skills developed in biology determined through test
scores on the content of the unit ‘Excretion’ of standard VIII Biology of
secondary schools of Kerala.
Control Variables
Sex and previous
achievement are the control variables in the present study.
METHOD
Sample
The sample was from standard VIII of a Govt. Higher Secondary School of
Malappuram district of Kerala. Two divisions of standard VIII with a
combined strength of 64 students formed the experimental group and an equal
number formed control group, selected
through ndividual to individual matching technique on the basis of previous
achievement in Biology.
Tools
1. Test of achievement in
Biology;
2. Study skills
questionnaire;
3. Study skill training module;
4. Questionnaire on
teacher’s opinion about student’s performance; and
5. Questionnaire on student’s perception about
the usefulness of study skills training.
ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION
The mean performance
of study skills trained group and control
group on the pre-test of achievement in Biology was studied and compared by
using the test of significance of difference between means, in the total
sample. The obtained critical ratio for
test of significance of difference between the mean pretest scores of study
skills trained group (25.74) and control group (25.07) was 0.36, which was not
significant because the value obtained was less than the tabled value (1.67)
required. Hence, there was equality of the study skills trained groups and
control groups on the previous achievement in Biology. The mean post test
scores of achievement in Biology of the study skills trained group and control
group were studied and compared by using the Test of Significance of difference
between mean scores, in total sample. Critical ratio obtained for the test of
significance of difference between means (3.90) was found to be exceeding the
limit set (2.39; P<0.1) i.e. there is significant difference in the mean
post test scores of achievement in Biology between study skills trained group
and control group in the total sample. Mean scores indicated that study skills
trained group was superior over the control group with regard to post test
scores of achievement in Biology. The means and standard deviation of post test
scores of achievement in Biology of study skills trained group and control
group in the sub samples were found out and subjected to the test of
significance of difference between means for small samples. There was
significant difference in the mean post test scores of achievement in Biology
for study skills trained group (14.60) and control group (9.97) in the sub
sample of boys at 0.01 level of significance (C.R. = 3.07; P < 0.01). There
was significant difference in the mean post test scores of achievement in
Biology for study skills trained group (19.50) and control group (15.14) in the
sub sample girls at 0.01 level of significance (C.R. = 4.48; P < 0.01).
There was significant difference in the mean post test scores of achievement in
Biology for study skills trained group (20.43) and control group (16.90) in the
sub sample high achievement category at 0.01 level of significance (C.R.
= 4.28; P < 0.01). Significant difference was found in the mean post test
scores of achievement in Biology for study skills trained group (13.95) and
control group (10.90) in the sub sample average achievement category at 0.01
level of significance (C.R. = 7.82; P < 0.01). There was significant
difference in the mean post test scores of achievement in Biology for study
skills trained group (9.72) and control group (5.50) in the sub sample low
achievement category at 0.01 level of significance (C.R. = 5.86; P < 0.01).
In order to know the extent
of difference in mean post-test scores of achievement in Biology of the study
skills trained group and control groups, the difference in the post-test scores
were transformed into percentage terms, for the total sample and sub
samples. The difference between study
skills trained group and control group scores in percentage score terms gave an
index of the effectiveness of the study skill training in enhancing the
achievement in Biology. In order to know whether the obtained percentage
differences were significant, the test of significance of difference between
percentages was also employed. In total sample, the difference in the mean
scores of achievement in Biology between study skills trained group and control
group was 13.60 %. In the sub samples of boys and girls, the difference in the
mean scores of achievement in Biology between study skills trained group and
control group was 18.60 % and 17.50 %
respectively. In the sub samples of high, average and low achievement
categories, the difference in the mean scores between study skills trained
group and control group were 14.10%, 12.20% and 16.80% respectively. All these
percentage score differences between the study skills trained group and control
group were significant as indicated by
the critical ratios obtained for the test of significance difference between
percentages. An average student made an improvement of 13.60 % in achievement
in Biology due to study skills training.
It is also notable that boys gained in achievement better than girls,
and low achievers improved better than average and high achievers in Biology
achievement owing to study skills training.
Responses of other teachers
and students regarding the effectiveness of study skills training on the
improvement in students’ performance related to various study skills were
analysed. From student as well as teacher perspectives, the effectiveness of
study skills training was highest in the area of time management. 91 per cent
of teachers’ opinion was that time management skill practice made more effect
on student’s performance in terms of organizing their available time purposefully
for study and other activities. 98 %
students agreed that time management skill helped them more in scheduling their
time for study, home work, play etc. The importance and usefulness of
note-making was supported by 90 % of students.
Their opinion was that as a result of skills training they could prepare
notes by considering the important components of the skill and able to prepare
notes, outline and organize ideas by different techniques. About 86 % teachers reported that there was a
notable improvement in students in note keeping, note-making, etc. A marked
improvement in student’s drawing ability was perceived by 83 % teachers and was
supported by 90 % students. According to
students, important guidelines for drawing diagram and the techniques of
drawing were of great importance in their studies. The usefulness of
memorization strategies and preparation for examination skill was reported by
71 % and 65 % of teachers respectively.
The same was supported by 97% and 95 % students respectively. Majority of the students supported the
advantages of mnemonic aids and metaphor using techniques in learning. There
was a notable improvement in reading ability and concept mapping skill as
perceived by 78 % and 75 % teachers respectively. In the case of students, it was 97% and 95
% respectively. Thus, students and
teachers highly appreciated the effectiveness of study skills training in
improving the learning skills.
CONCLUSION
There is a marked effect on
Achievement in Biology in study skills trained group as a result of study
skills training in the total sample. The same result was obtained from the
analysis of sub samples based on gender and levels of achievement. The
percentage of mean post test scores of study skills trained group and control group in total sample and
subsample, 10-18 percent of increase in the achievement in Biology of standard
VIII students was observed. Students and teachers highly appreciate the
effectiveness of study skills training in improving the learning skills. It was
very useful in enhancing achievement as its effect is highest in low
achievement strata, though high achievers and average achievers also are
supported by it in improving their learning skills. The findings in general
goes along with the observation of other researchers from experimental studies
(Shinde1993; Viswanath 1993; Gelat 1998 ) that study skills are positively
related to academic achievement but goes against the findings of some others
that achievement increase is not
significant after study skill training (Mehta & Kumar 1985; Saroda 1999).
The development of study skills will remain important in advancing student’s
academic, personal and professional success. By providing proper assistance and
guidance, low achievers and average achievers can improve their academic
performance. In teaching process, if teachers take the responsibility of
equipping students with the important study skills, students would become
independent learners to a great extent. At least a few hours in every term
should be set apart to develop newer techniques and skills which will make the
learners better in learning and achieving.
REFERENCES
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