Student Achievement and Learning Problems in Genetics

Abstract

Introduction

Biology is deemed important for the reason that it covers different phenomena within and outside the human bodies which affect our being and existence. With this importance of biology, however, many students tend to consider biology difficult, unimportant, and uninteresting. (Telli et al., 2009) Some of the topics in biology considered by students to be difficult include concepts on mitosis, meiosis, and genetics (Barlow, 2006; Malchias et. al., 2010). Literature has pointed out that most students from secondary school, after formal teaching, do not understand genetics concepts. (Shaw et al., 2008; Quinn et al., 2009).Some factors which contribute to the situation include the difficulties of topics studied, quantity of subject matter covered, and teacher’s instructional competence, availability of appropriate instructional materials for teaching, and insufficient proficiency in English to learn science. (Barlow 2006, inVenville 2010; Nusantari, 2014) It was the aim of this study to determine the achievement of students in genetics, the problems they encountered in understanding genetics concepts and appropriate measures students consider helpful for them to learn genetics better.

Methods

This study used a descriptive survey design of research. The data were obtained using teacher-made questionnaires and exams to determine the students' profile and academic achievement. The data gathered were analyzed and interpreted using statistical tools such as mean, median, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson product-moment correlation.

Results

It was found that the students had an average achievement in genetics. The respondents moderately found difficulty in understanding topics in genetics. Some factors which contribute to this include the use of the English language only in discussion, inadequate time in studying genetics lessons, fast delivery of genetics lessons, and inadequate resources in studying genetics such as books, computers, and the internet.

Discussions

It was suggested that teachers should provide more elaboration in teaching genetics lessons by providing more illustrations for students’ easier visualization of concepts, more examples for lessons involving problem-solving, and by engaging students in hands-on and group activities. Also, teachers should develop teaching and learning resources that are easy to understand and should teach using simple English and Filipino language to facilitate students' understanding of genetics concepts.