PURPOSE FOR TEACHING BIOLOGY

To produce a scientific community that is beneficial to

society and to encourage the development and promotion
of scientific ideas and practices.
1. General purposes for teaching Science can be of both
societal and disciplinary considerations
a) Society considerations
When teaching, some students may end up working in
environmental aspects .Students may find discoveries
beneficial to the society e.g. Typhoid – we are told to boil
water which sounds simple. If people are aware of the
benefits, they can do a lot of good for themselves. i.e. the
information is of great importance.
 Cont’

b) Disciplinary considerations -Future biologists

may become great researchers’ e.g on AIDs,
Cancer, hence understanding organisms much
more. This is the extrinsic of developing biologists
and intrinsic justification of teaching biology
2. Specific purpose -When teaching biology we
are passing on specific purposes. These include
knowledge, skills, attitudes for science education
i.e scientific literacy specific technical skills. These
should be manual or mental.
 Cont’
a) Manual -This is giving them a chance to
manipulate materials e.g holding leaves, cutting,
removing microscope from a cabinet.
b)Mental -Ability involving observation or involving
all the other senses e.g. smelling flowers and
check /find scent, observing, classifying recording,
interpreting, controlling variables such as time,
volume of water; designing experiments, asking
questions and ability to draw inferences .These skills
are not limited to biology or sciences but are also
applicable in other humanity subjects.
 Cont’
c) Specific Attitudes -Develop genuine interest,
curiosity.
Give students opportunity to discover e.g. insect
collecting, naming plants making extracts form
plants .
Open mindedness is also positive – not to have
closed mind. Responsive to ideas when evidence
is provided , also be able to question. Answers
to be based on evidence.
 Cont’

For biology -General purposes of intrinsic and extrinsic

justifications apply.
• Learners should be able to understand basic principles i.e life
from previously existing forms.
• Students should be made to understand self and
environment better e.g. albinism is not due to one being
bewitched, Understanding need of balanced diet i.e. can
explain the results e.g-wearing away of tissues
• Relating what one is teaching with everyday life.
• Environment protection is through better understanding of
self and the environment e.g. dumping waste near residence,
food factories near chemical factories lead to pollution and
consequently ill health.
 IMPORTANCE OF BIOLOGY

• Appreciation of the positive contribution

• Enhancement of scientific literacy e.g. when using pesticides ,
reading instruction is appreciated if biology
• There is need to appreciate the ability to read especially if what
one is reading has some biology
• Lead role as a science i.e. a discipline in its own right.
• An integrating agent across discipline i.e. Biology is somehow
involved in all other subjects. Example Maths – Genetics, Home
science – food Preservation & microorganisms, Chemistry –
Pasteurization, fertilizer . Geography – Adaptations to
environment
• Language specific -Certain terms are specific to biology,
Specific terminologies.
 TEACHING APPROACHES

Teaching approach means ways of presenting a lesson . An

approach is the sum total of steps, ways or stages. When
preparing to teach
(i)Keep objectives in mind as well as learning outcomes
(ii)What teaching strategies to use.
2 Main types of approaches
(1) Expository approach - Involves content delivery by teacher.
The teacher explains with little pupils /students participation.
There’s predominance of teacher talk with minimum or no
learner active participation. It involves explanation of
concepts delivery of facts. It is useful in: - synthesis of many
sources of information in large classes and impractical
lessons.
 2. Inquiry ( Hiuristic )

• It’s the discovery method or approach

• Student find out for themselves
• Students are involved actively through hands on
activities , investigations
• It is useful in promoting development of technical
skills and the attitudes ( positive)
• It can be open ended or guided Greek word
Hiuriskein which means to discover
• It helps put theory into practices (because when
performing practical lessons , students observe and
relate) by relating information to practical .
 Cont’
• It involves real life experiences
• Teacher can give individuals students a
problem , hence open ended go cut and
collect insects
• It can also be guided where the teacher
decides what to do then the students go head
it’s useful to use the guided approach.
• Inquiring is exploratory in nature exploring is
problem solving.
 Merits and demerits of the two approaches
• Expository; Merits
1. Useful a large class
2. Useful when time is limited
3. Syllabus coverage when content is wide
4. Useful when a topic is impractical
5. Useful during a single lesson
6. Time saving
7. When teaching where resources are not
available
8. More comprehensive
Expository; Demerits
1. Can be boring monotonous
2. Student passively participating
3. Some student may be unattended
4. There is no development of manipulative
skills
5. No opportunity for motivation
2. Inquiry (Heuristic)Merits
1. Use of several senses hence for better understanding;
examples are seen and handled by students
2. There’s improvisation
3. When examining specimen – Student chooses apparatus
4. Handling apparatus is an opportunity for enhancement of
manipulative skills
5. Development of positive attitudes e.g check on heart beat
6. Students discover, find out something new in discovery
 Inquiry (Heuristic) -Demerits
1. Covers less content
2. Time consuming with respect to preparation
by the teacher
3. Fairly expensive especially if one has to buy
what to use
 METHODS OF TEACHING
Teaching methods are specific methods within
approaches. They are skills and techniques used by a
teacher during instruction and implements of a lesson
plan. Examples of methods include:
1. Lecturing-Involves passing on information. Learning
is essentially passive. It can be improved through use
of realia, models charts and photographs i.e enhanced
by use of visual aids( learning resources). Students can
do a project work to get visual aids. It is teacher
centered with little opportunity or skills development
Advantages of lecture method
i) Teachers give information inaccessible to
students
ii) Teachers can combine information from
many sources
iii) Useful when teaching a large group
iv) It helps in quick coverage of syllabus
v) Saves time
vi) Some topics only need this method
Disadvantages of lecture method
i) It doesn’t offer training for the attainment of
scientific skills
ii) Materials taught are quickly forgotten
iii) Lecturers repeat materials found in
textbooks
iv) Boring if lecture is lengthy
v) Inadequate means of communication
 2. Demonstration
Show and tell process .It is useful when an
activity is dangerous, when there is limited
supply of materials or when equipment
/materials or whatever resources are being used
are delicate.
During demonstration, arrange students so that
they see what you are doing as a teacher. There
are 3 stages (phases) of a demonstration.
 Phases of Demonstration
i) Pre-trial -Rehearsal –to ensure that the
demonstration works. Plan before hand
ii) The demonstrating itself -Learners should be
able to see and participate. Keep the students
busy and within
(iii) Follow –up; Class discussion ,Re-run the
demonstration if necessary by learners. Also
involves further reading write up of the
demonstration e.t.c When same results are
obtained they save on time and materials .
Accuracy of results is better clarified on the spot.
3. The laboratory method
• It is discovery learning by student
• Specimens, apparatus , chemicals e.t.c are
provided.
• Instructions are given in worksheets or
written on the chalkboard.
• There’s need for pre-trial and to have
adequate supplies.
 Advantages

i) Learners gain practical manipulative and mental

skills
ii) Their interest and curiosity in the subject are
aroused
iii) Co-operation is enhanced
• The laboratory method is relatively expensive
materially. Supervision and class discussion is
necessary during and after the practical. Learners
should write up their own work. We should be able
to think of topics where practical are possible and
Use various methods to introduce the lesson.
 Cont’
• It is important to go through the instructions
and Instructions should be written in advance.
• Teacher has to know how many students are in
class so that one many be able to supply
materials in class.
• Decide in advance how many groups ,Tidying
up at the end is very important.
• Class discussions at the end of the practical are
very important .
• The materials, used are resources for learning.
 4. Field Trip
In this method learners visit specific points of interest,
outside the classroom. There is need for adequate
planning
Advantages
i) Students gain first hand information
ii) Hands on experience possible
iii) Skills of observation , recording asking questions and
communication are enhanced
iv) It is a source of acquiring positive altitudes
v) It is an opportunity for some students to gather
information for future careers
 Disadvantages of field trips
(i) It may cause some inconveniency to other
school programs
(ii) Discipline problems may occur
(iii) Expensive
(iv) Time consuming .
• There must be specific questions for students
to ask, a code of conduct and a sheet of
instructions to follow.
 5. The project method
This is an extended independent academic task,
usually practiced in nature.
It involves problem identification, data collection,
analysis and presentation by a student or a group
of students. The learner usually:- Chooses the
topic, Designs investigation , Searches for relevant
resources and information, Analyses data
/complies, Write reports, Presents the findings in
written form or series if display as in charts i.e
developing cognitive and application domain
Disadvantages of project method
I) Quality of work may vary due to lack of
adequate supervision
II) Time consuming assumes learners know the
topic
III) Can encourage infighting
 Advantages
I) Involve learners –Active participators
II) Brings students into real contact with the
environment
III)Teach learners co-operation

NB: Before one decides on the method to use, it

is important to plan for teaching.
It is important to know what is available in the
school or what can be bought i.e be aware of the
resources.
 ENROL ON LMS
ENROLMENT KEY -334EDCI