The Implementation of Action Research for the Improvement of Biology Teaching and Learning in Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria

The main objective of the study was to implement an action research strategy to improve the teaching and learning of biology in senior secondary schools in Nigeria. Specifically the following research questions were raised:- •              What are the levels of intellectual challenge included in the activities used for classroom and laboratory instructions? •              What are the levels of intellectual challenge included in the redesigned course materials for classroom and laboratory instructions. •              Will there be an increase in learning when a revised course material is used for classroom / laboratory instruction. •              Is there any relationship between activities enjoyed by students and those that enhance their learning? •              Is there any relationship between effective learning and perceived students enjoyment of an activity? Purposive sampling was used to select four senior secondary schools from urban and rural location of Lagos State. In each of the participating school two intact classes were used to act as experimental and control group. Altogether 267 students and their four biology teachers participated in the study. The redesigned course material was used to teach biology to the experimental class and the traditional course material was used for the control group for the second term of the 2014/2015 academic year. The major findings were: •              The result of the analysis of the review of the activities and exercises in the recommended Biology textbook in use in Lagos State schools showed that all the exercises and activities were predominantly at the lower cognitive levels of Blooms Taxonomy of educational objectives.   •              The result also showed that the mean achievement score of the students taught with the redesigned course materials was significantly higher than the mean achievement score of those taught using the traditional course materials. •              There was no significant correlation between activities enjoyed by students and those that enhanced their learning. Educational implications of the findings for the improvement of instructional practices were discussed. Keywords: Biology Teaching, Biology Learning, Action Research Secondary School

Biological degradation of oil sludge : a review of the current state of development

Oil sludge is a thick viscous mixture of sediments, water, oil and hydrocarbons, encountered during crude oil refining, cleaning of oil storage vessels and waste treatment. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are components of crude oil sludge, constitute serious environmental concerns, as many of them are cytotoxic, mutagenic and potentially carcinogenic. Improper management and disposal of oil sludge causes environmental pollution. The adverse effects of oil sludge on soil ecology and fertility have been of growing interest among environmental scientist and an important consideration in the development of efficient technologies for remediation of contaminated land, with a view to making such land available for further use. Oil sludge can be treated by several methods such as physical, chemical and biological processes. The biological processes are mostly cost effective and environmentally friendly, as they are easy to design and implement, as such they are more acceptable to the public. Compost, the product of biological breakdown of organic matter is a rich source of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. These microorganisms can degrade the oil sludge to less toxic compounds such as carbon dioxide, water and salts. Compost bioremediation, the application of composting in remediation of contaminated environment, is beginning to gain popularity among remediation scientists. The success or failure of compost bioremediation depends on a number of factors such as nutrients, pH, moisture, aeration and temperature within the compost pile. The bioavailability and biodegradability of the substrate to the degrading microorganisms also contributes to the success of the bioremediation process. This is a review on the biological remediation technologies employed in the treatment oil sludge. It further assesses the feasibility of using compost technology for the treatment of oil sludge, as a better, faster and more cost effective option.The South African National Research Foundationhttp://www.academicjournals.org/AJBam201

Impact of a Scratch programming intervention on student engagement in a Nigerian polytechnic first-year class: verdict from the observers

An engaging first programming class (CS1) often inspires students’ passion for computer science (CS). However, the evidence in the literature suggests that the average CS1 classes are anything but engaging for many students. The performance of CS compared to other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in international student engagement surveys seems to substantiate CS1 failure, attrition rates, and lack of diversity in most CS classes. Meanwhile, for its simplicity in introducing programming to beginners, primary and secondary schools use Scratch, an educational programming environment developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. For the same reason, higher institutions now include some forms of Scratch instruction in CS1. The question remains, to what extent is Scratch engaging, especially for students in higher education? This study addressed this gap by observing college computer science students exposed to a constructionist Scratch programming pedagogy. We adopted a descriptive design based on quantitative observations. To observe the class during a weekly 2-hour session, we employed five CS educators, one observer per week. Each observer, employing a 20-item observation protocol, rated the extent of affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement of first-year CS students in a polytechnic in North Central Nigeria. Most of the students were learning to program for the first time. Analysis of the data showed a significant agreement in the ratings of the five observers for overall student engagement, although the impact was moderate. However, while agreement in their ratings for affective engagement was significant, with a large effect, there was no significant concordance in their ratings for behavioral engagement. Observers also significantly agreed in their ratings for cognitive engagement; however, the impact was moderate. These findings suggest that employing Scratch in higher education can be engaging and useful, especially for students with no prior programming experience.Institute for Science and Technology Education (ISTE