The potency of Concept Mapping and Reflective Writing Strategies on Attitudinal Change of Pre-Service N.C.E. Biology Teachers in Nigeria

Timothy  James

Authors

Timothy James

Keywords:

Concept mapping, Reflective thinking, Attitudinal Change and Teaching, Education, Hierarchy

Abstract

This study investigated the potency of combining concept mapping with reflective writing strategies on attitudinal change of pre-service N.C.E. teachers in biology. One null hypothesis and one research question were formulated and tested at the 0.05 level of significance. A pre-test, post-test control group experimental design was used in this study. The instrument used to test the null hypothesis was the Biology Attitudinal Questionnaire (BAQ) constructed by the researcher. Analysis of Covariance (ANOVA) was used to analyse the attitudinal data which was based on a five-point scale of strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree. Numerical values of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 and 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were allotted to the responses of all positive and negative responses respectively. The result revealed a significant difference between the experimental and the control groups in terms of attitudinal change in biology with concept mapping ranking first, followed by the lecture method alone, then a combination of concept mapping and reflective writing and the least was a combination of lecture method and reflective writing strategy. The findings led to the rejection of the null hypothesis. Suggestions and recommendations were made based on the findings. The discussions of the findings ended with drawing out the implications of the findings for open and distance learning.

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