The purpose of this study was to evaluate the laboratory skills performance of undergraduate biology students in Ethiopian universities based on skill performance rubric. Individual laboratory practical skill performance test was implemented with 55 randomly selected third year biology students from three universities in a laboratory setting under supervision of the raters. Five level scale questionnaires were administered to 208 third year biology students, 26 biology instructors and 2 laboratory assistants. The results showed that the laboratory skill performance test score was below the midpoint with significantly different between the old and the middle as well as the new university. Correlation and multiple regression analyses showed that teachers' experience had significant positive regression weight. From the results of the analysis, it is recommended that in biology laboratory, performance-based assessment needs to be undertaken in placement to written exam and instructors need much more assistance and professional development of biology laboratory performance skills as well as pedagogies of how to assess the laboratory performance skills of their students.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the undergraduate biology laboratory manuals of Ethiopian Universities. It focuses on assessing how they promote the basic and integrated science process skills that are involved in scientific inquiry with seven levels of Laboratory Task Analysis Instrument (LAI). A total of 22 undergraduate biology laboratory manuals were collected from three sample universities with different age. Manipulating materials, measuring and using numbers and pre -lab activities were common activities, and were found in every manual and in every university. However, students rarely asked to plan and design and to communicate and interpret the results. The results also show high percentage rate of basic science process skills (75.4%) as compared to the integrated science process skills (24.6%). Implications for universities and the Ministry of Education should develop standard harmonized biology laboratory manuals with all the necessary scientific skills that would promote the students' use of much integrated scientific skills.
The focus of this research study was to investigate the relationship between students’ prior achievement in higher education entrance examination score and their course achievement in undergraduate biology program. It also examined the relationship between students’ high school and college preparatory school biology laboratory experience and their undergraduate biology laboratory skill performance. A correlational study was used. The sample consisted of 55 third year undergraduate biology students. The findings of the study showed that there is significant and positive linear correlation between students’ competences in practical skills and performance in higher education entrance examination scores. There is a significant and a positively linear relationship between the students’ cumulative grade point average (CGPA) with higher education entrance exam scores and biology laboratory skill test score. However, laboratory skill performance test score was not correlated with students’ high school laboratory background and sex. The findings implicated that the Ministry of Education should foster secondary high schools and college preparatory schools to put greater efforts at preparing undergraduate admitted students for students’ better outcome and their retention in universities. Key words: high school achievement, practical skill test, undergraduate biology.
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