Enhancing Science Process Skills and Academic Performance in Biology: The Impact of Practical Work

Abstract

Purpose of the study: This study aims to determine whether the use of practical work can enhance General Science students’ science process skills acquisition and academic performance students in biology at Juaben Senior High School in Ghana. The study sought to answer two research questions and test one hypothesis at a 0.05 significance level. 
 Methodology: The study used action research, and the sample consisted of 45 students, selected through convenience sampling. The study used various instruments, including pre- and post-tests, weekly intervention exercises, and scoring rubrics, to collect data. The analysis of the gathered data employed descriptive statistics and a paired sample t-test to reveal and solidify the findings of the study.
 Main Findings: According to the study’s results, the use of practical work resulted in a steady increase in students’ acquisition of science process skills in each cycle, and all students were able to demonstrate some degree of required science process skills at the post-test level in contrast to the pre-test level. Furthermore, the pre- and post-test outcomes of a paired sample t-test analysis with a 95% confidence level showed a significant improvement in the academic performance of the students, attributed to practical work.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: This research update confirms the need for practical work in biology education and shows that incorporating it into biology lessons enhances students’ acquisition and development of science process skills, which in turn enhances their academic performance.

A Study of Mixed-Method: Science Process Skills, Interests and Learning Outcomes of Natural Science in Junior High School

“…Science subjects contain natural events or phenomena, the identification process and problem formulation of observing natural phenomena as well as ways to find answers and solve problems (Karyadi et al, 2018;Odom et al, 2021;Nahar, 2023;Jusmaniar et al, 2024). The contents of the natural sciences are biology, chemistry and physics (Birzina et al, 2019;Rybalko et al, 2020;Apeadido, Opoku-Mensah, & Mensah, 2024). Science develops theories that explain how the world works and important aspects of the application of activities (Luneeva& Zakirova, 2017;DeBoer, 2019).…”