Assessing Cognitive Conflicts Teaching Strategy Influence on Senior High School Biology Students’ Genetic Performance.

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of cognitive conflict teaching strategy on the academic performance of students‘ in Senior High school students in genetics. A Quasi experimental pretest posttest control group design was used for the study. Two groups of students were used in the study, that is, control group and experimental group. The experimental group was exposed to cognitive conflict teaching strategy while the control group were taught using the lecture method. One hundred and thirty-seven (137) students participated in the research from two Senior High Schools in the Ahanta West Municipality of the western region. The instrument used in the collection of data was Genetic content knowledge test, which was in the pretest and posttest. Three research questions guided the study and was analyzed using paired sample t-test and independent sample t-test. It was found out that; students‘ have difficulties in learning genetics. The use of cognitive conflict as a teaching strategy helped students overcome these difficulties, by exposing them to contradictory information which led students to find out scientific principles for themselves. It was therefore recommended that biology teachers should use teaching strategies that involves participation such the cognitive conflict teaching approach.