ASSESSING THE STATUS OF IMPROVISATION ON THE TEACHING LEARNING OF BIOLOGY IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ABEOKUTA METROPOLIS

This research work examined assessing the status of improvisation in the studying of Biology in public secondary schools in Abeokuta metropolis. Improvisation of instructional material is an attempt to adapt and make use of local resources in the teaching and learning process when the ready made materials are not available or not within the reach of users. The teacher and the students could produce the improvised instructional materials. Various concept were examined to shed more light on the research work, questionnaire was used to generate data whereby the population for the study comprises 100 biology students in the study area, copies of the questionnaire were given to the various respondents and data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics i.e percentage, mean, standard deviation and Pie chart. The results of the study shows that 88% of the respondents agreed that biology teachers should use improvised material in the classroom to facilitate teaching and learning while 12% disagree with the statement. The study show that 73% of the respondents agreed to encouraging students to give feedback on the use of improvisation in the classroom while 27% disagreed with the statement. The study also show that 74% respondents agreed that lack of awareness on where to obtain facilities for improvising instructional materials are problem faced by teachers towards improvisation of instructional materials while 26% of the respondents disagreed with the statement. Pie chart were used to test the formulated hypothesis and the results of the study indicate that 230.4 (64%) of the respondents agreed that students acquired cognitive skills. 72(20%) agreed that students acquired psychomotor skills, 39.6 (11%) agreed that students acquired affective skills, 18(5%) agreed that students acquired dexterity with the use of improvisation in teaching and learning of biology in senior secondary schools. At the end of the findings conclusion and recommendations were therefore put forward that there should be proper awareness on where to obtain facilities for improvising instructional materials for effective teaching and learning of Biology in public secondary schools, pre-training programs and seminars should be provided to enlighten the Biology teachers on the basic skills and technical knowledge on how to improve instructional material for their teaching, there should be provision of conducive environment where improvised instructional materials for teaching biology could be purchased or acquired at minimal cost in order to encourage its utilization in the teaching and learning process. This research advocates for an approach to improvisation that begins with a collaborative effort between teachers, students, and the community. By fostering open communication, leveraging community resources, integrating improvisation into the curriculum, providing teacher training and support, celebrating student success, and measuring impact, schools can create a thriving improvisation program that benefits all involved. This approach promotes creativity, critical thinking, and community engagement while enhancing the overall learning experience. Keywords: Status, Improvisation, Teaching-learning, Biology, Secondary School.