Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BIOLOGY
CURRICULUM IN DESSIE COLLEGE OF TEACHERS’ EDUCATION
M.Ed. Thesis
ABEBAW ABAYNEH
December 2009
Haramaya University
EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BIOLOGY
CURRICULUM IN DESSIE COLLEGE OF TEACHERS’ EDUCATION
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Education, Department of Biology,
School of Graduate Studies
HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
MASTER OF EDUCATION IN BIOLOGY
By
Abebaw Abayneh
August 2008
Haramaya University
ii
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY
As thesis research advisor, I hereby certify that I have read and evaluated this thesis prepared,
under my guidance, by Abebaw Abayneh entitled: Evaluation of the Implementation of
Biology Curriculum in DDeessssiiee CCoolllleeggee ooff TTeeaacchheerrss’’ EEdduuccaattiioonn.. I recommend that it be
submitted as fulfilling the Thesis requirement.
______________________ _________________ _______________
Major Advisor Signature Date
_____________________ __________________ _______________
Co –Advisor Signature Date
As member of the Board of Examiners of the M.Ed Thesis Open Defense Examination, We
certify that we have read, evaluated the Thesis prepared by Abebaw Abayneh and examined
the candidate. We recommended that the Thesis be accepted as fulfilling the Thesis
requirement for the Degree of Master of Education in Biology.
______________________ _________________ _______________
Chairperson Signature Date
______________________ _________________ _______________
Internal Examiner Signature Date
______________________ _________________ _______________
External Examiner Signature Date
iii
DEDICATION
I dedicate this thesis manuscript to my wife, Shibrie Getachew, my daughters, Hibist Abebaw
and Lisanemariam Abebaw, my mother, Butika Feleke and all my sisters, for their love and
untold-enormous partnership effort in my academic success.
iv
STATEMENT OF AUTHOR
First, I declare that this thesis is the result of my own work and that all sources or materials
used for this thesis have been duly acknowledged. This thesis is submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for an M.Ed. degree at Haramaya University and to be made
available at the University’s Library under the rules of the Library. I assertively declare that
this thesis has not been submitted to any other institutions anywhere for the award of any
academic degree, diploma, or certificate.
Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that
accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation
from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by Dean of the
School of Graduate Studies when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in
the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from
the author.
Name: Abebaw Abayneh Signature: ……………………
Place: Haramaya University
Date of submission: August, 2008
v
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
The author was born in South Wollo Administrative Zone of the Amhara National Regional
State in 1977. He completed his primary education in Soye Primary School. He attended his
junior and high school education at Borena Junior Secondary School and Borena High
School, respectively, in Mekane Selam. He then joined Bahir Dar University in September
1997 and graduated with B.Ed degree in biology in July 2001.
After his graduation, he worked in Borena Preparatory Secondary School for two years and
has been working as a land use expert in Debresina Woreda Environmental Protection, Land
Administration and Use Office since June 2003. In July 2006, he joined the graduate program
in biology education at Haramaya University. The author is married and has two daughters.
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I want to give my thanks to Almighty God and his mother, St. Marry for
smoothening of all aspects of my life and my study in particular. I would like to extend my
heartfelt thanks to my major advisor Dr. Solomon Areaya, as without his encouragement and
guidance, the completion of this work may not have been possible. Thus, I am very much
indebted to him for all his support and willingness to advise me to successfully finalize the
thesis. Special appreciation should also go to my co-advisor Dr Ameha Kebede, as he added
valuable and constructive comments in the proposal and the thesis as well.
I would like to express my heart-felt thanks, gratitude and appreciation to my beloved wife,
Shibrie Getachew, who is always with me in help and wish for my success through her
everyday pray. I would also like to express my heart-felt thanks, gratitude and appreciation to
my lovely mother Butika Feleke, and to my lovely sisters, Fentanesh Abayneh, Tiruwork
Abayneh, Habtam Abayneh, Zenebech Abayneh and Mekides Shiferaw for their generous
assistance, moral support and helpful encouragement during my graduate study with all their
kindness and affection.
I am greatly indebted to Ato Demissew Embiale for his greatest moral, financial, and material
helps and encouragements to accomplish my study successfully.
The 112 respondents of DCTE and other collaborating individuals also deserve special thanks
for their unforgettable contribution during data collection.
vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AAU Addis Ababa University
ANRS Amhara National Regional State
ANRSEB Amhara National Regional State Education Bureau
CTEI College of Teachers’ Education Institution
DBCTE Debrebirhan College of Teacher Education
DCTE Dessie College of Teachers Education
EMA Education Media Agency
f frequency
GCTE Gondar College of Teacher Education
MoE Ministry of Education
MoI Ministry of Information
NSTET Natural Science Teacher Education Trainee
PBL Problem Based Learning
R Respondents
TEI Teacher Education Institution
TESO Teacher Education System Overhaul
TTI Teacher Training Institute
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
V very
10+2 Second year
10+3 Third year
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
STATEMENT OF AUTHOR ................................................................................................ iv
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .................................................................................................. v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................... vi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................... vii
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. xi
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... xii
LIST OF TABLES IN THE APPENDIX............................................................................ xiii
ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................... xiv
1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................ 1
1.1. Back ground of the Problem ...............................................................................1
1.2. Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................4
1.3. Objectives of the Study......................................................................................4
1.4. Research Questions...........................................................................................5
1. 5. Significance of the Study ..................................................................................5
1.6. Delimitation of the Study ...................................................................................6
1.7. Limitation of the Study......................................................................................6
2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE......................................................................... 7
2.1. Curriculum Implementation................................................................................7
2.2. Evaluation of Curriculum and Curriculum Implementation .....................................8
2.3. Teacher Education in Ethiopia ..........................................................................12
ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
2.4. Approaches of Science Education Provision .......................................................13
2.5. Teacher Education System Overhaul (TESO)......................................................17
2.6. Factors Affecting Curriculum Implementation ....................................................20
2.7. Teaching and Learning Biology ........................................................................23
2.8. Student Evaluation in Biology ..........................................................................24
2.9. Nature of Tests and the Objectives to be Measured ..............................................26
3. MATERIALS AND METHODS ...................................................................................... 30
3.1. Samples and Sampling Techniques....................................................................30
3.2. Source of Data and Data Gathering Tools ...........................................................33
3.3. Data Analysis.................................................................................................37
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................................................ 39
4.1. Clarity of the Program to the School Community.................................................39
4.2. Adequacy and Responsiveness of the Curriculum ................................................40
4.3. Emphasis Given for Implementation of the Program Components ..........................47
4.4. Implementation of Active Learning and Student Centered Approach ......................52
4.5. The Implementation of Practical Activities in Biology Courses..............................62
4.6. Attitude of NSTETs towards Teaching Profession ...............................................68
4.7. Outcomes of the Implementation of Biology Curriculum ......................................72
4.8. Problems Influencing Biology Curriculum Implementation ...................................79
5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION........................................ 82
5.1. Summary and Conclusion ................................................................................82
5.2. Recommendation............................................................................................84
6. REFERENCES................................................................................................................... 86
x
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
7. APPENDICES .................................................................................................................... 89
7.1. Appendix I: List of Tables................................................................................90
7.2. Appendix II: List of Achievement Test ............................................................101
7.3. Appendix III: List of Interview Guides.............................................................103
7.4. Appendix IV: List of Questionnaires................................................................106
xi
LIST OF TABLES
Tables Page
1. Population and sample size of the study ............................................................................. 32
2.The five biology courses, the major contents and the credit hours of the courses............... 40
3.The opinion of respondents on adequacy of the biology curriculum to prepare trainees for
upper primary school biology teaching............................................................................ 41
4.The opinion of respondents on emphasis given for implementation of the program
components ...................................................................................................................... 49
5.The opinion of respondents on student- teacher interaction in the classroom ..................... 55
6.The opinion of respondents on continuous assessment practice during the training program
.......................................................................................................................................... 57
7. The extent of courses that involve practical activities in the biology courses .................. 63
8. The extent of conduction of experiments and availability of resources.............................. 65
9.The attitude of trainees to the subject matter and to the profession..................................... 70
10a. The opinion of respondents on outcomes of biology curriculum implementation in the
program components........................................................................................................ 73
10b.The opinion of respondents on outcomes of biology curriculum implementation in the
program components........................................................................................................ 77
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figures Page
1. The focus of evaluation of implementation ........................................................................ 11
2. Factors affecting curriculum implementation ..................................................................... 22
3. The process of students’ evaluation .................................................................................... 26
4.The location of the study area .............................................................................................. 30
xiii
LIST OF TABLES IN THE APPENDIX
Appendix Table Page
1. Clarity of TESO curriculum objectives to the school community...................................... 90
2. Class room observation Results (Rating scale)................................................................... 91
3. Class Room Observation Results (Checklist) ..................................................................... 92
4 . The test achievement results of second and third NSTETs................................................ 93
5. Rank of factors influencing the implementation of biology curriculum at DCTE (Rank by
10+2 NSTETs) ................................................................................................................. 94
6. Rank of factors influencing the implementation of biology curriculum at DCTE (Rank by
10+3 NSTETs) ................................................................................................................. 95
7. Rank of factors influencing the implementation of biology curriculum at DCTE (Rank by
instructors) ....................................................................................................................... 96
8. Table of specification for the test of biology courses at DCTE.......................................... 97
9. Discrimination index values of the pretest results of the achievement test items............... 98
10. The match between biology contents of DCTE and upper primary school (grade 7)....... 99
11. The match between biology contents of DCTE and upper primary school (grade 8)..... 100
xiv
EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BIOLOGY
CURRICULUM IN DESSIE COLLEGE OF TEACHERS’ EDUCATION
ABSTRACT
The study was made to investigate the extent of implementation of biology curriculum vis-à-
vis the implications of TESO to biology curriculum and to identify the major problems
impeding its implementation at DCTE which is found in ANRS, Dessie town. The study
utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods of data gathering tools such as
questionnaires, observation ratings and checklists, biology curricular documents at DCTE
and at upper primary school, interview and achievement tests. The data was gathered from
269 target population taking 102 NSTETs, 7 biology instructors, one natural science
department head and two college principals. The data was analyzed and interpreted using
frequency, percentage, mean and narration. The results of the study generally indicated that
the biology curricula that are being employed at DCTE and at upper primary schools (grade
7and 8) are congruent enough to prepare NSTETs for teaching biology at upper primary
school, but there were gaps between the intended and the implemented curriculum at DCTE.
NSTETs were generally deficit in subject matter knowledge (biology) and in some
pedagogical skills such as experimentation skills, action research skills, problem solving
skills and in terms of confidence. There were a number of factors affecting the implementation
of biology curriculum in the college. Some of the major ones were poor supply of laboratory
equipment and chemicals, inability to concretize the subject matter, time constraint to cover
the course contents, teacher-centered classroom, inefficiency of teachers, difficult words in
the text, language competency problems of NSTETs , poor attention given by principals for
implementing biology curriculum, unfair time allocation for the program components,
absence of laboratory schedule, and low emphasis given for implementation of practicum.
Thus, on the basis of these results, suggestions were made to alleviate such problems in order
to attain the intended objectives.
1. INTRODUCTION
This unit deals with the background of the study, statement of the problem, basic research
questions to be answered, objectives, delimitation and limitation of the study.
1.1. Back ground of the Problem
The term curriculum is used in several different ways in modern educational literatures. It has
both broad and narrow definitions. In its narrow sense, it is an out line of course of study and
in its broad sense; it is considered as every thing that transpires in the course of planning,
teaching and learning in an educational institution. It can also be defined as a plan for action
or written document which includes strategies for achieving the intended goals and objectives
(Diribisa et al., 1999:1-3). So, curriculum is a major information source for classroom
teachers with regard to the purpose, the objective, the content of instruction, the methods,
techniques, and strategies of instruction, patterns of organization, media materials, means and
strategies of assuring success (ibid:31).
Curriculum implementation is the effort made to put what has been planned into practice. It is
accomplished by classroom teaching learning processes. The classroom teachers play a major
role in organizing, planning and directing the students’ learning towards the intended
objectives of the curriculum. So, the day-to-day classroom interaction of instructors and
NSTETs is a determinant factor for success (Diribisa et al., 1999:40).
Evaluation is a comprehensive and continuous process which covers every aspects of an
individual’s achievement in the educative programme. It is an integrated part of education in
which students and teachers are partners. It signifies a wider range of judging students’
progress in various aspects. This evaluation integrates with the entire tasks of education and
includes examinations, tests and measurement (Aggarwal, 1997:130).
2
The training of teachers in Ethiopia has a long history, more than half a century. In Amhara
National Regional State (ANRS), there are four colleges of teacher education institutions
(Gondar, Debremarkos, Dessie and Debrebirhan) that have been training teachers at certificate
and diploma levels. Dessie College of Teachers’ Education ((DDCCTTEE)) is one of these
institutions that has been used to train teachers for the last 28 years. The college was founded
in 1980 by the MoE to train primary school teachers from different regions of the country.
From 1980-1989, the trainees were recruited from Wollo, Gojam, Wollega, Arsi, Sidamo,
Harar, Shewa, Tigray, and Addis-Ababa. The average enrollment rate of the trainees was 550
per year (Dessie TTI, 1990:1-5). Later, the institute began to train candidates only from
Amhara, Afar and Benishangul-Gumuz regions until the 2006/07 academic year in both
regular and evening programs. Currently the institute is training candidates from ANRS only.
In August 2003, the ANRS upgraded the institute to diploma level to train diploma teachers in
five streams, i.e., mathematics, natural science, language, social science, and aesthetics, to
alleviate shortage of upper primary school teachers. Since then, the college has been training
diploma teachers in regular, extension, summer and distance programs. The institute has
graduated diploma holding teachers in the last two academic years (2005/06 and 2006/07).
Currently (2007/08 academic years), 163 third and 93 second year natural science students
(trainees) are attending in the college. There are also ten biology instructors, one natural
science department head, two deans (dean and academic vice dean) and other supportive
administrative staff members running the program.
Natural science stream (department) is a composite of three subjects, namely: biology,
chemistry and physics education. The NSTETs are supposed to complete 116 credit hours for
graduation. The time allotted for the three subjects is 16-18 credits each and the remaining
credit hours account for the supplementary courses (practicum and professional courses).
Such credit hours are assumed to be enough for NSTETs to teach the three subjects at upper
primary school (DCTE, 2006:1, TESO pre-service committee, 203:45). But, in Ethiopia,
currently there are problems of provision of quality education in natural science including
biology. The subject matters of the disciplines in natural science and mathematics are faced
with inherent difficulties. Textual approach and two dimensional representation of the real life
3
situation take the highest share. Students don’t concretize objects and observe processes and
relationships. Even if the laboratories are equipped with the necessary materials, they require
well informed (trained) teachers who can assemble the apparatuses together and establish the
necessary procedures for experimenting (Aderajew, 2007:7-9). Ambaye (1999:1) also stated
that all available evidences indicated that among teachers in Ethiopia, the critical determinants
of effective teaching, namely knowledge of the subject matter, pedagogical skills, and
motivation are critically lacking. The reason for this is inability of the teacher training system
to respond to the difficult tasks of the training and complex processes of education in the
context of limited resources. This implies that the efficiency of a classroom teacher is crucial
to the success of education. Bakalu and Netsanet (2005: 185) noted that higher institutions of
Ethiopia produce graduates who lack confidence in their skills and knowledge which in turn
hinder progress and development. Aderajew (2007:7-9) stated that quality problem is not the
problem of primary and secondary schools only, but also the problem of the tertiary education
in integrating theory with practice even in TEIs that are having regular, summer and distance
programs.
Similarly, based on personal experience, the researcher also believes that the diploma
graduate teachers of natural science stream have serious academic shortcomings to teach
biology at upper primary schools due to ineffective implementation of the biology curriculum
in the college in line with the objective of TESO.
There are no direct and accessible studies made on the implementation of biology curriculum
at higher institution level except a comparative study made on implementation of practical
activity in biology in two institutions at Nekemte and some points rose in relation to
integration of real life situation with theoretical aspects in mathematics and natural science.
Even though there is no study in implementation of biology curriculum in higher institutions,
the researcher is initiated to carry out the study as he believes that there are problems of
implementation of biology curriculum in the country in general and in DCTE in particular. In
other words, the researcher senses that there is a gap between the intention and
implementation of teacher education program in general and that of biology curriculum in
4
particular vis-à-vis the new paradigm shift of the country as indicated in the TESO document
(TESO pre-service committee, 2003:37).
1.2. Statement of the Problem
Biology, a branch of natural science, plays a very important role in satisfying the growing
human needs in all spheres of life such as agriculture, industry,and medicine. To utilize
biology for various purposes including teaching, trainees should master biological contents as
well as pedagogical knowledge in combination. This could be achieved when the theoretical,
practical, and pedagogical aspects of biology education are integrated in the teacher education
curriculum.
On the basis of his own observations and experiences, the researcher believes that there are
implementation problems of biology curriculum, which need to be researched at DCTE.
Besides his experience, evaluation of implementation of a curriculum should be done
repeatedly as it helps to know the extent of translation of the plan to work and to correct the
implementation weaknesses in order to enhance the learning outcomes (Saskatchewan
Education, 1992). Hence, the general purpose of this study is to examine the implementation
of Biology curriculum vis-à-vis the implications of TESO to Biology curriculum.
1.3. Objectives of the Study
This study addresses the following objectives;
1. Examine the match and/or mismatch between the implementation of a Biology
curriculum at DCTE and the principles of TESO.
2. Examine the level of the attainment of the intended objectives of a biology curriculum
at DCTE in terms of NSTETs’ attitude, knowledge, and professional skills.
3. Examine the congruence between the biology curriculum offered to NSTETs at the
college and that of biology curriculum they are expected to teach (Grades 7 & 8) after
completion of the program.
4. Investigate factors influencing the implementation of biology curriculum at DCTE.
5
1.4. Research Questions
In line with the aforementioned objectives, the study therefore attempts to find answers for the
following specific research questions;
1. How is the match and/or mismatch between the implementation of Biology curriculum
at DCTE and the principles of TESO?
2. Are the intended objectives of Biology curriculum at DCTE attained in terms of
attitude, knowledge and pedagogical skills?
3. What is the level of congruence between the contents of biology courses offered to
NSTETs at DCTE and that of biology curriculum NSTETs are expected to teach at the
upper primary schools (grades 7-8)?
4. What are the factors affecting the implementation of Biology curriculum at DCTE?
1. 5. Significance of the Study
This study is important at least for the following reasons:
1. It will help to create awareness about the status of the implementation of the program
among policy makers, planners and implementers and accordingly could help to take
appropriate measures towards the full attainment of the intended objectives.
2. Teachers in the college in general and biology teacher educators at DCTE in particular
could benefit from the study by way of examining and learning from their successful
as well as unsuccessful practices in the process of producing the required types of
teachers for the level.
3. It could serve as a baseline for further in-depth studies on biology curriculum in the
college and other equivalent TEIs in the country.
6
1.6. Delimitation of the Study
The natural science diploma teacher education program at DCTE constitutes a composite of
three subjects: biology, chemistry and physics. The three subjects are placed under one stream
(natural science) instead of under full-fledged separate departments. However, since each of
the three sciences exist as well organized and independent disciplines consisting of their own
courses, this study will focus only on biology curriculum.
Emphases are made on the survey of factors that affect the implementation of biology
curriculum at the DCTE. Thus, the generalizability of this study will also be limited to DCTE
natural science education students (trainees) even though it could have implications to similar
contexts within and outside the region. The study didn’t also attempt to examine the
sequences of the organization of contents in the courses although it is known that it is one of
the determinant factors in the implementation of curriculum.
1.7. Limitation of the Study
Though there are four CTEIs in the region, the study was conducted on one of the institutes,
which may not be representative for other equivalent colleges. The major limiting factors for
extension of the scope to other institutions are financial and time constraints. The references
used in the study may not also be sufficient enough due to lack of updated reference materials
at Haramaya University.
Although there could be attained valuable data from upper primary school biology teachers ,
they were not include in the target population of the study due to time and resource
constraints. So the information obtained from the college instructors and the third year
NSTETs on the contents of biology at upper primary school and on effectiveness of graduates
in the classroom may not be sufficient.
7
2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
In this unit, important documents necessary for the study are consulted in order to assess
what has been done so far in line with the topic and to identify the research gaps. Besides, this
unit serves as a theoretical framework for data analysis and interpretation.
2.1. Curriculum Implementation
Curriculum is an academic plan or a total blueprint for actions where the objectives, aims and
outcomes of a program are clarified and the processes required to achieve them are identified;
the methods required to measure success are selected; and systematic review and adjustment
mechanisms are incorporated as part of the plan (Chhem, 2001: 132). If a curriculum is to be a
plan for learning, its contents and learning experiences need to be organized so that they serve
the educational objectives. So organization in curriculum is an important determinant factor
for effectiveness. Often curriculum is ineffective as learning experiences are organized in a
way that makes learning either less efficient or less productive than it might be (Taba,
1962:290).
Curriculum implementation is expressed as the effort made to put what has been planned into
use or practice and is a function of a number of variables. Some of the variables are the nature
of the curriculum itself, the situation of the learner, the professional competency of the
instructors, availability of resources, the school environment, the school-community
relationships and the leadership and management practices in the school (Diribisa et al.,
1999:40-63). As implementer of the curriculum, the teacher has been recognized as being
critical to the success of the curriculum (Ambaye, 1999:5). Implementation of curriculum at
various levels involves four stages in the change process. These are making awareness of the
curriculum change or innovation through education and staff development activities, making
teachers feel more comfortable with the technical and pedagogical aspects of the change, as
they feel comfort with the curriculum, more teachers begin to change their practice, forming a
“critical mass’’ and finally the curriculum change is fully accepted and becomes
8
institutionalized in the organization. Each stage in the process is critical if the innovation is to
occur successfully; Failure at any one of the first three stages can prevent full implementation
(Marlow and Minehira, 2003).
Designing the curriculum is the most exciting and creative part of curriculum development.
However, the ultimate goal is not to design the best and ideal curriculum, but to put it into
practice successfully. The many conditions and requirements for successful implementation
include the promotion of faculty members’ ownership of the process of curriculum
implementation and the allocation of adequate resources. Unequivocal support from the
highest academic authority must be secured before starting to put a new curriculum into
operation (Chhem, 2001: 132).
In the implementation of TESO curriculum objectives of Ethiopia, TEIs are responsible in
monitoring and evaluating the commitment of teacher educators and ensuring the availability
of resources, textbooks and teacher guides enough for practicum; and teacher educators are
responsible to prepare NSTETs for actual school experience, monitor and evaluate, and give
written and oral feedback within a day of observation (TESO pre-service sub-committee,
2003: 12).
2.2. Evaluation of Curriculum and Curriculum Implementation
The term evaluation is defined in a variety of ways by different curriculum planners and
implementers. To mention few, it is the processes of describing some thing in terms of
selected attributes and judging the degree of acceptability or suitability of that which has been
described. Evaluation is a continuous process which may be academic or non-academic and is
a procedure to improve the product. If the purpose of evaluation is to enhance and encourage
the course of study, it must be able to determine whether the pupils are really developing
greater educational value from the enriched and vitalized programme than they did formerly
(Aggarwal: 1997:134-138). Diribisa et al., (1999:41) also stated it as a systematic collection,
analysis and interpretation of data for the purpose of decision making.
9
When we come to the two terms, evaluation of curriculum and evaluation of curriculum
implementation, they are two different processes. Curriculum evaluation is the study of the
curriculum plan itself. As Solomon (2000:15) noted curriculum evaluation is the study of
inherent characteristics of the curriculum document rather than its effect. The focuses of the
study are on the adequacy of objectives, consistency between the objectives, and the contents
of the instructional materials and the accuracy, coverage and significance of contents.
According to Saskatchewan Education (1992), Curriculum evaluation involves the gathering
of information (the assessment phase) and the making of judgments or decisions based on the
information collected (the evaluation phase), to determine how well the curriculum is
performing. The principal reason for curriculum evaluation is to plan improvements to the
curriculum. Such improvements might involve changes to the curriculum document and/or the
provision of resources or in-service training to teachers. It is intended that curriculum
evaluation be a shared, collaborative effort involving all of the major education partners in the
country.
Although the national education organization is responsible for conducting curriculum
evaluations, various agencies and educational groups will be involved, for instance,
contractors may be hired to design assessment instruments; teachers will be involved in
instrument development, validation, field testing, scoring, and data interpretation; and the
cooperation of school divisions and school boards will be necessary for the successful
operation of the program (ibid).
In the assessment phase, information will be gathered from students, teachers, and
administrators. The information obtained from educators will indicate the degree to which the
curriculum is being implemented, the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum, and the
problems encountered in teaching it. The information from students will indicate how well
they are achieving the intended objectives and will provide indications about their attitudes
toward the curriculum. Student information will be gathered through the use of a variety of
strategies including paper-and-pencil tests (objective and open-response), performance (hands
on) tests, interviews, surveys, and observation (ibid).
10
As part of the evaluation phase, assessment information will be interpreted by representatives
of all major education partners including the curriculum and evaluation departments of the
country, educational organization and classroom teachers. The information collected during
the assessment phase will be examined, and recommendations, generated by an interpretation
panel, will address areas in which improvements can be made. These recommendations will
be forwarded to the appropriate groups such as the curriculum and instruction division, school
divisions and schools, universities, and educational organizations in the country (ibid).
On the other hand, evaluation of curriculum implementation is a process of collecting,
analyzing and interpreting data about the various variables of the curriculum in relation to the
classroom instruction. The data can be on the nature of the objectives, the type, relevance and
difficulty level of the contents, the appropriateness and effectiveness of the learning
experiences, the organization pattern of the contents and the time allotment. The data on
evaluation of implementation can be on attitudes and achievements of learners, the views and
comments of teachers, and the availability of resources, media materials and administrative
environment of the school (Diribisa et al., 1999:41).
Curriculum implementation evaluation addresses to the question of whether what is planned
in the curriculum is put into action or use, or to what extent the intended plan is translated into
work as intended (Saskatchewan Education, 1992).
Although evaluation of implementation of the curriculum is the last step in its practical
approach, it is not necessarily the final action. The evaluation data collected must serve as
criteria for adjusting the curriculum to the goals of the programme or the mission of the
faculty. The most important message here is that a curriculum must be evaluated, corrected
and go through repeated levels of innovation because it is not a static system. Feedback from
teachers, tutors and students must continuously be taken into serious consideration so as to
enhance the learning outcomes for the students (Chhem, 2001: 132).
11
Figure 1. The focus of evaluation of implementation
By assessing the implementation of several technological innovations and by identifying and
analyzing the factors that influence the outcomes of implementation, Mei (1994) summarized
the following points:
12
1. The purposes of introducing an innovation must be clearly defined.
2. The nature of the innovation must be carefully determined and specified, to ensure that
it is applicable to the particular subject curriculum.
3. Selection of the components of the innovation must be appropriate to the subject
discipline and to the process of learning, so that it can improve the outcomes of
learning.
4. The implementation perspective must also be clearly defined, in order that the
innovation can be adopted both by the implementers and learners.
5. Factors that may influence the implementation process must be identified and
analyzed in detail, such that these factors can be controlled in further implementation
stages.
6. Changes in the innovation components may be necessary during different stages of the
implementation process to control unintentional outcomes, in order to bring about
effective learning.
7. An appropriate evaluation model must be sought that can accurately explore the
context of the innovation and its implementation.
8. The implementation of the innovation treatment must be carefully conducted, in order
to ensure that the findings may serve the purposes and hypotheses generated for the
evaluation study.
2.3. Teacher Education in Ethiopia
According to EMA-MOE (1999: 14), teacher education is one of the most important factors
that affect an educational system. Standards of education are raised at low cost through
teacher education than many other activities.
The role of teachers in overhauling the educational system and improving the quality and
standard of education in Ethiopia is very crucial. To this end, a revision of the curriculum,
upgrading the standard of in-service teachers’ training programs and massive training of new
teachers at different levels is required. Similarly, Ambaye (1999:3) stated that the success of
educational process is highly dependent on the character and ability of the teacher. Teaching
13
is more than imparting knowledge as it helps learners to learn by themselves, acquire skills,
and develop attitude in the changing social context. So teachers are the backbone of the whole
education program on which quality of education is highly dependent.
Training, conducting conferences to upgrade professional efficiency, distributing equitable
educational services, revising curriculumla, and conducting student-centered assessments,
setting up libraries and laboratories are some of the measures to be taken to improve quality
education (Lule, 2005).
There are different education programs in Ethiopia; First Cycle Primary Teacher Education
(Certificate) Program (10+1), Second Cycle Primary Teacher Education (Diploma) Program
(10+3 NSTETs), Secondary School Teacher Education (Degree) Program and Teacher
Education Graduate Programs. Second Cycle Primary Teacher Education Diploma Program
(10+3 NSTETs) is a three-year programme that admits students who have successfully
completed grade 10, and met the minimum requirements. The trainees need to take courses in
three components: the practicum, academic subject streams and shared professional courses.
The goal of the program is to produce academically and professionally qualified teachers
that are able to teach all the three subjects in their chosen stream effectively in the classroom
at their level /grade 5-8(TESO pre-service sub-committee, 2003:37-39).
2.4. Approaches of Science Education Provision
Singh and Kayak (2005:124) stated that a teacher of science has a Variety of methods and
techniques he might use in his every day classroom teaching. The main purpose of the
different methods is to make interactive process effective to attain the intended objectives. A
science teacher can select the most relevant methods of teaching, keeping in view the needs of
the learner and its relevance to the science content. Felder and Silverman, (1988: 674-681)
attempted to construct a framework for learning styles to highlight the difference between
diverse learning styles and the traditional teaching styles in science courses. They proposed
four dimensions of student learning styles based on:
1. The type of information they receive (sensory or intuitive),
14
2. The modality in which they receive it (visual or verbal),
3. The process by which they receive it (actively or reflectively), and
4. The order in which they receive it (sequentially or globally).
Singh and Kayak (2005:124) classified the different methods of teaching in to three: oral,
activity and special methods. The different oral methods are characterized by teacher centered
approach in which teacher gives knowledge through verbal means. In these methods, the
learners are passive listeners. The activity methods are learner centered in which learners are
actively involved in the learning process. The special methods are methods that require
specific technological facilities.
According to Felder and Silverman (1988: 674-681), the four dimensions are useful in
considering the diversity of learning styles and how teaching strategies in science classrooms
do or do not regularly provide access to learning for these different types of students.
Science coursework is generally rich in the amount of information being presented. In their
model, Felder and Silverman (1988: 674-681) proposed that students can differ substantially
in the types of information they prefer to receive during learning. At one extreme are sensory
students who prefer to receive facts and prefer clear expectations and well-established routines
in learning. Dichotomous to them are intuitive learners, who prefer to receive concepts, see
relationships among ideas, explore complexities and exceptions, and welcome innovative and
varied approaches to problems. Felder and Silverman (1988: 674-681) emphasized that there
is certainly a continuum of preferences between the extremes of sensory and intuitive learners
as described above but argue that the distinction is helpful in considering the match or
mismatch between these two learning style dimensions and an instructor's pedagogy in a
science course. Both types of learning are essential if a student is to acquire both the needed
knowledge base and the desired skills to apply the knowledge in thinking creatively about
scientific problems.
The second aspect of learning style proposed by Felder and Silverman relates to the actual
sensory modality through which learners get information. Visual learners are characterized by
15
preference for learning from demonstrations, pictures, diagrams, and graphs, whereas verbal
learners prefer opportunities to explore new material through language-based processes such
as talking, writing, explaining, and discussing. Felder (1993: 286 -290) pointed out that much
of college-level science teaching relies heavily on the use of the lecture as a pedagogical tool,
a practice that consistently would obstruct access to learning by a preferentially visual learner.
Also relevant to the dominant pedagogy of science classrooms, the third element of learning
style draws a distinction between active learners and reflective learners. They stated that
active learners prefer to learn while doing and being actively engaged in investigations, group
work, discussions, and other opportunities for student-student and student-instructor
interactions. Reflective learners, on the other hand, are more likely to prefer opportunities for
reflection, individual work, and a chance to digest information in the absence of social
context. The active learners might possess high interpersonal intelligence, whereas reflective
learners might excel in the domain of intrapersonal intelligence. Ideally, opportunities for both
individual and group work should be part of any introductory science course.
Finally, Felder and Silverman proposed a dimension of learning based on the preferred
manner in which learners build new knowledge for themselves, describing the dichotomy
between a sequential learner and a global learner. Sequential learners are described as
individuals who prefer a well-ordered, linear pathway to new knowledge, which is presented
as a series of smaller pieces that fit together. Global learners, in contrast, prefer to establish an
overview of the larger concepts and then proceed to under gird these ideas with smaller
details. In traditional science courses, sequential learners might likely excel, and might be able
to do so in the absence of understanding the systems and interconnectedness of major
concepts. In these same environments, however, global learners could get lost along with the
facts and fail to grasp the larger picture which is essential to them in knowledge building.
The current trends of science education provision in Ethiopia are to integrate knowledge and
application of science, which in turn leads to integration of technology and social issues in
science education with a methodology of student centered teaching learning process.
Therefore, the sciences offered at the lower cycle of the primary education take an integrated
16
approach and the subject is known collectively as environmental science; it incorporates both
natural and social science components. This is also intended to help the learner grasp more of
the applied as opposed to the pure science aspects adopting new trend in science education
(Ethiopian National Agency for UNESCO, 2001).
At the upper primary (5-8) education, the teaching of science follows a linear approach. It is
graded having systematic and progressive development from grades 5–8 though some
elements of integration are retained at grade 5 in the forms of Biological Science and Physical
Science. The full-fledged linearity of the sciences begins at grade 6 with Physics having
elements of applications of science and incorporating technology element. Chemistry also
emerges as a discipline again with applications of science incorporating technology at grade 7
(ibid).
The natural science core subject at the secondary level (grades 9-10 and grades11-12)
becomes distinctly differentiated as Biology, Chemistry and Physics. At this level, slight shift
of emphasis is on the pure science aspects. Nevertheless, aspects of applied sciences of
agriculture, and productive technology have to some extent been incorporated. It should be
noted that all of these science subjects- be it integrated or linear- have aspects of applied
science and related technology elements as their major contents to ensure the achievement of
problem solving capacity through the understanding of one's environment (ibid).
But the real classroom interaction of science education follows a traditional teaching approach
rather than student centered teaching learning process. According to Prince and Felder (2007),
Science courses are traditionally taught deductively. The instructor first teaches students
relevant theory and mathematical models, then moves on to textbook exercises, and
eventually gets to real-world applications. Often the only motivation students have to learn
the material, beyond grades, is the vague promise that it will be important later in the
curriculum or in their careers. Failure to connect the course content to the real world has
repeatedly been shown to contribute to students leaving the sciences. Though the different
active learning methods vary in quantity and persuasiveness, the collective evidences favoring
17
active learning over traditional teacher centered pedagogy is unequivocal. Active learning is
supported by widely accepted educational theories, cognitive science, and empirical research.
2.5. Teacher Education System Overhaul (TESO)
According to MoI (2005:15-17), quality of education in Ethiopia is poor due to a number of
reasons such as the education system weakness, shortage of qualified teachers and quality of
teachers. As unqualified teachers produce unqualified graduates, the problem continues and
become severe in academic subjects than vocational training. MoI also mentioned that
shortage of inputs such as texts, teaching aids, number of students per class and other
supplements are important factors that affect the quality of education. So quality became a
serious problem of Ethiopian education system.
There are instruments used to measure quality of education. According to MoI (2002:69-72),
the instruments used to measure quality of education vary from nation to nation. But there are
minimum requirements which are common for all nations. The quality indicators are:
1. Ethically and academically qualified teachers
2. Qualified and efficient educational administration system
3. Student centered, situational and standardized curriculum
4. Provision of education facilities
To improve the quality of education in Ethiopia, MoE tried to identify the gaps and change
the education system. In 2002, MoE conducted a study on the ‘Quality and Effectiveness of
Teacher Education in Ethiopia'. Based on the recommendations and indicative action plan
presented in the study report, a task force was established to produce the ‘National
Framework for the TESO Programme’. TESO consists of five priority programmes that have
been implemented since 2003. The programme is an extensive and radical reform of the
teacher education system encompassing areas from pre-service teacher education to
continuing professional development of teachers, the professionalizing of teacher educators,
selection for teacher education programmes and organization and advancing of teacher
18
education system itself. Quality is the core element of the whole programme (UNESCO
Institute for Capacity-Building in Africa, 2005).
The paradigm shift (TESO) involves: i) a commitment to active, learner-focused education,
ii) teaching which makes changes in ideas and directly in peoples’ lives, iii) taking the real
world into the classroom and taking teachers out into the real world, and iv) democratizing
teacher education - giving teachers, students and citizens confidence to make decisions and
take initiative, to take control of their world (TESO pre service sub-committee, 2003:5).
The MoE has set competencies that teachers of all levels must exhibit. Teachers need to be
competent in: producing responsible citizens, the subject and content of teaching, the
classroom, areas relating to the school and the education system, and the values, attributes,
ethics and abilities essential to professionalism in upholding the professional ethics (ibid).
However, the present paradigm shift practice of Ethiopian Teacher Education is characterized
by a landscape of persistent contradictions, challenges, and confusion. The state actors have
officially decided quick and sweeping change in the structure and content of teacher education
since 2003. But the state’s 'change agents' themselves are not yet familiar with and aware of
the descriptions and curricular concepts their consultants had introduced to them (Kedir,
2006).
Now, more and more indicators are accumulating that suggest schooling and teacher
preparation activities do not match in aims, practices, and conceptions. The gaps within and
between the discourse and practice reflect the depth of the confusion and the superficiality of
the engagement to change and improve teacher education in Ethiopia. In particular, practices
in secondary schools and teacher preparation activities in education faculties are in a state of
increasingly diverging tension and conflict (ibid).
The paradigm shift in teacher education system has several objectives. The new curriculum is
designed to:
19
1. prepare teachers who will be able to attain educational objectives contained in
National TESO framework
2. produce teachers who are academically qualified, professionally skilled, attitudinally
and ethically committed to their profession and able to teach all the subjects
effectively in the class room at their level;
3. prepare teachers who can confidently promote active learning and develop the
problem solving skills through a learner centered approach where contents and
methods are integrated;
4. attract interested and potentially able students towards teaching profession;
5. equip teachers with knowledge of their students’ physical, social, emotional, and
intellectual development including those with special needs;
6. produce professionally responsible and dependable teachers aware of their rights and
obligations;
7. equip teachers with knowledge and ability in classroom management, which fosters
constructive student inquiries and interaction;
8. prepare teachers who can actively apply continuous assessment and evaluation to
students’ learning and have basic knowledge and application of action research;
9. actively encourage student teachers to develop their learning potential;
10. establish strong links and clear communication between all stake holders in the
education system;
11. prepare teachers who can choose, produce and make use of appropriate educational
technologies to enrich students’ learning
12. establish a system and culture of continuous teacher development programme that
prepare school students to become good citizens with strong ethical values
13. produce confident students who have understanding of their role in Ethiopian society
and who are equipped with skills which they will need to make a useful contribution to
the society
14. use local language for classroom interaction where appropriate (TESO pre service
sub-committee, 2003:37).
20
The three year training is designed in such a way that the essential contents of the grade level
are completed in the first two years training of the programme. The planners believed that the
training is sufficient enough to produce qualified teachers to the level required. In the third
year, NSTETs are expected to master the subject area contents with appropriate methods
(ibid: 45-46).
2.6. Factors Affecting Curriculum Implementation
As noted by Solomon (2000:20) there are a number of factors that could inhibit or facilitate
realization of the curriculum. The sources of the problems or factors affecting the realization
of implementation are usually lack of emphases given to implementation by policy makers.
Policy makers rarely develop a process for the implementation or their formulations. They
expect the people on the receiving end of the policy to make it simply work or practice. It
seems that usually policy makers consider the change as an event, not as a process.
Implementation process is a change process and in this change process there are a number of
interacting factors affecting implementation. The major factors which influence
implementation as categorized by Marlow and Minehira (2003) are seven. These are
temporal, physical, political/legal, organizational, personal, economic and cultural factors.
To implement the change in schools, time certainly emerges as a critical issue. Teachers want
to know when they will learn about the expected changes, when they will have time to
practice them prior to full implementation, and how they will fit into the daily routine. For
many teachers, time–especially instructional time–is seen as their most precious resource.
This is why the temporal actions, such as changing bell schedules and school calendars, often
precede major curriculum changes. Effective principals understand how important the time
issues are to teachers and direct their efforts toward ensuring that teachers have sufficient time
to learn about, and implement the curriculum change (ibid).
21
The physical factors also play role on implementation of curriculum. So the principal should
try to obtain necessary materials and equipment to support teachers in curriculum
implementation and should be aware of how the school’s physical condition can have an
impact on teaching and learning process. The other point is that the principal must be aware of
any political or legal requirements before approving any curricular program for
implementation (ibid).
Organizational and personal factors are probably the most crucial ones for the principal to
consider in curriculum implementation because they deal with human considerations, and all
change ultimately depends on the willingness of the people involved to adapt. This means that
there must be a high level of trust between the principal, teachers, and the larger school
community. Principals must make the time and effort to know their teachers and students
well, and the parents to a certain extent. Principals must understand not only the importance
and relevance of the curricular innovation, but also have insight as to how the people involved
will respond to the change. Effective principals provide support and encouragement for
teachers, capitalizing on their strengths and reassuring them at times when they feel uncertain
about implementing change (ibid).
Like physical factor, economic factor may affect implementation of the curriculum. The most
effective principals are often those who have a clear picture of economic constraints–and
potential resources–at the federal, state, and local levels, and are able to minimize the
constraints and capitalize on the resources. Principals are expected to lead their schools not
only in curriculum development and implementation, but also in helping to pay for the
innovations (ibid).
The cultural framework of the curriculum does not relate directly to the technical dimensions
of implementation. A curriculum depends upon two sets of cultural factors: those of the
school, and those of the community. For effective implementation, the principal must be
aware of the accepted beliefs and norms governing people’s conduct in both the school and
community and must guide the implementation process accordingly. It is especially important
22
that the curriculum be developed to fit the needs of the community (ibid). The factors
affecting curriculum implementation are summarized as shown below.
Figure 2. Factors affecting curriculum implementation
23
2.7. Teaching and Learning Biology
Biology Education is said to be the science for knowledge of life intricacies because it
provides to individuals and society, the knowledge that enables them to live a proper life.
Georgewill (2006:25) summarized the roles of biology education as follows.
1. It helps an individual understand himself, the part of his body and their functions.
2. It questions superstitions caused by sustained interest arising from a comprehension of the
causes of events.
3. It brings into sharper focus, the need to maintain good health such as using clean water,
clean air, having good sanitation, vaccination against infectious diseases, exercise and
adequate rest as well as eating balanced diet.
4. It promotes the understanding of the relation of man to his environment as well as
acknowledges the interrelationships that exist between living and non-living things.
5. It prepares the individual for both professional and vocational selections in medicine,
dentistry, agriculture, pharmacy, teacher education etc.
6. It prepares the individual for higher education.
7 It inculcates scientific skills and attitudes into an individual that will help him handle both
personal and social problems, ask questions, formulate hypotheses, analyze data, and make
inferences and predictions.
8. It increases the individual’s interest and aesthetic appreciation of nature, because where
there is admiration of nature, there will also be the desire to protect it.
9. It stimulates interest in biologically based hobbies such as floriculture, collecting insects
etc, thereby encouraging leisure activities for individual enjoyment.
10. It imparts factual knowledge and stimulates reflective thinking to produce a better-
informed individual.
Trainees are expected to teach biology using appropriate teaching methods. TESO pre service
sub-committee (2003:46) stated that all subject areas will deal with active learning, problem
solving, assessment and planning, reflective teaching, classroom management, life skills,
resource preparation, gender issues and strategies for helping students with learning
difficulties.
24
Problem-based learning (PBL), one of the active learning methods, is an exciting way to learn
biology and is readily incorporated into large classes in a lecture hall environment. PBL
engages students in solving authentic biological case problems, stimulating discussion among
students and reinforcing learning. A problem-based learning environment follows the
workplace and develops self-directed learners. This is preferable to a mimetic learning
environment in which students only watch, memorize, and repeat what they have been told.
The method is applicable to any class size and educational level (Ommundsen, 2001).
To facilitate PBL, the instructors should do the following activities:
(1) Forming small groups of students either by asking them to form groups of 3-5 students, or
assigning the groups himself or by lottery.
(2) Presenting the students with a brief problem statement
3) Activating the groups by asking them to brainstorm possible causes of the problem
4) Providing a continuous feedback. The key to managing a PBL session is providing
continual feedback to maintain student enthusiasm while simultaneously prolonging the
resolution of the problem to ensure that adequate learning occurs. The students might not
solve a problem on the first pass, and the feedback from the instructor motivates the next
work.
(5) Asking for a solution. At this point the groups will likely focus on the solutions of the
problem (TESO pre service sub-committee, 2003:14-15).
Effective problem-solving skill requires an orderly approach. Problem-solving skills do not
magically appear in students as a result of instructors simply throwing problems at them.
Students need to use the following heuristic: "How to make a DENT in a problem: Define the
problem carefully; explore possible solutions; narrate their choices; and test their solutions”
(Ommundsen, 2001).
2.8. Student Evaluation in Biology
Students’ evaluation can be viewed as a cyclical process including four phases: preparation,
assessment, evaluation, and reflection. The evaluation process involves the teacher as a
25
decision maker throughout the four phases. In the preparation phase, decisions are made
which identify what is to be evaluated, the type of evaluation (formative, summative, or
diagnostic) to be used, the criteria against which student learning outcomes will be judged,
and the most appropriate assessment strategies with which to gather information on student
progress. The teacher's decisions in this phase form the basis for the remaining phases (Elliott
et al., 2000:423-427).
During the assessment phase, the teacher identifies information-gathering strategies,
constructs or selects instruments, administers them to the student, and collects the information
on student learning progress. The teacher continues to make decisions in this phase. The
identification and elimination of bias (such as gender and culture bias) from the assessment
strategies and instruments, and the determination of where, when, and how assessments will
be conducted are examples of important considerations for the teacher (Saskatchewan
Education, 1992).
During the evaluation phase, the teacher interprets the assessment information and makes
judgments about student progress. Based on the judgments or evaluations, teachers make
decisions about student learning programs and report on progress to students, parents, and
appropriate school personnel (Elliott et al., 2000:454).
The reflection phase allows the teacher to consider the extent to which the previous phases in
the evaluation process have been successful. Specifically, the teacher evaluates the utility and
appropriateness of the assessment strategies used and such reflection assists the teacher in
making decisions concerning improvements or modifications to subsequent teaching and
evaluation. All four phases are included in formative, diagnostic, and summative evaluation
processes (Saskatchewan Education, 1992).
26
Figure 3. The process of students’ evaluation
At the start of any class, a teacher has a group of new students as they will be dealing with the
material from different point of view within an evolving system of interactions. The learning
objectives of the curriculum become the criteria by which to assess the students. The
objectives may be attainable by the majority of students, but for some students, they will be
outside their capabilities (Saskatchewan Education, 1992).
2.9. Nature of Tests and the Objectives to be Measured
Using tests, a teacher can assess the match between a trainee and the instructional practice
over a very narrow range of skills. The results may be unattainable by some students.
Alternatively, some students may not reach full potential because they are not challenged but
are allowed to remain at the acceptable "average". So the needs of all students must be
considered for effective teaching and learning to occur. Tests become a critical link in
27
teaching learning process when teachers provide students with clear feedback about results
(Elliott et al., 2000:423-427).
In assessing the progress of students, methods can be established for addressing knowledge,
values, and abilities in ways that suit the nature of the factor. Assessment can be based on oral
or written response or observations of performance or some combination of these.
Performance tasks are excellent ways to assess scientific and technical knowledge and skills.
For example, reading a thermometer diagram is not the same as knowing how best to use and
place the thermometer in order to measure temperature (ibid:434) .
The best way to assess whether students can perform an activity is to observe them while they
are actually performing the activity. The use of subjective records, observation checklists, and
rating scales can assist in data collection when these observations have taken place. Examples
of performance tasks in biology are microscope care, microscope techniques, wet-mount
preparation, dissection techniques, equipment set-up and demonstrations, (Cruickshank et al.,
1995:282-284)
The types of tasks and questions which students are expected to address influence their
responses. When the tasks and questions are limited, so are the responses. Tasks and questions
which elicit only one word or simple sentence answers test only basic recall of factual
knowledge. It is very important to consider that once students have formulated a model in a
particular context during a science activity, and same context is given in the assessment, the
response is only recall, and not a test of any conceptual or process ability. Assessment must
require slightly different conditions so the ability is tested through a new set of events
(Saskatchewan Education, 1992).
Good questioning is extremely important for effective teaching and learning. Avoid questions
where there is only a single response. Structure questions in such a way that require some type
of reasoning in order to develop critical and creative thinking. Students may be asked to
interpret a graph or photograph, or to answer a question orally. Assessment does not have to
28
consist totally of written work. Varied formats should be adapted to students of different
learning styles (ibid).
Formative assessment is preferred over Summative assessment to solve the teaching learning
problems. But, the Summative assessment items following the completion of a unit can cover
more scope and depth than formative assessment items. Apart from the scope and depth of the
activities selected, the format of summative assessment can be just as varied, including
practical tasks, interpretation of graphs and photographs, and investigative problems and
assignments (Cruickshank et al., 1995:263).
Objective tests usually assess only basic factual recall. Such tests should be used as little as
possible and fewer marks should be awarded them in comparison with those items that require
process abilities (Arends, 1994:224).
Essay questions are more useful tests. They can promote the processes of science and can be
used in both formative and summative assessment. For those students who have difficulty
writing, discuss the essay topic for the assessment. Illustrations or art projects, an oral report,
a concept map, a project, journal writing, or a science challenge activity may serve as
innovative alternatives to the written essay (Saskatchewan Education, 1992)
Projects are useful items for recording as summative assessments, because they usually cover
a topic in depth as well as scope. They also involve the use of a range of process abilities.
Difficulties might arise in assessing the individual participation of each student, if the project
is a group effort. The contributions and participation of individuals within a group can often
be determined by observing the ways in which the group members interact with one another
and with other members of the class or by using student self-assessment. The number and
type of assignments completed in a learning center can also be recorded as a summative
assessment (ibid).
There are valid reasons to assess students' value and attitude outcomes at school and to
attempt to promote these with effective teaching methods and individual student reflection.
29
Emphasizing many of these values through the grades can provide the reinforcement to help
students to incorporate the values into their lives. Through the school years, students display
their current values and attitudes by what they say, write, and do. These three actions can be
used for assessment purposes. When a value or attitude is observed, record the observation
(ibid).
In Ethiopia, to guarantee quality assurance, TESO (2003:18) set standardized assessment
patterns for subject area, and professional courses and practicum. Continuous assessment of
the cognitive level of subject area and professional courses is (25%). This assessment may
include 2-3 written assessments and 1-2 non written assignments, and some elements of group
work. Assessment of practical activities such as teaching skills also shares 25%, project 25%
and final examination 25% of the total value. With regard to practicum, they share as
continuous assessment competencies 25%, block teaching competencies 50% and portfolio
25%. Such values may be gathered using the following mechanisms: subjective records,
laboratory report, observation checklist, oral response, peer assessment, portfolio, project or
written report, performance test, rating scale, written test and self assessment.
30
3. MATERIALS AND METHODS
As mentioned earlier, this study focused on examining the implementation of Biology
curriculum at DCTE. The methodological framework of this study was descriptive survey.
Descriptive survey was preferred to other methods as it enables to make investigations with
predictions, narration of events, comparisons, and drawing of conclusions based on the
information obtained from relatively large and representative samples of the target population.
The target population consisted of 269 participants (163 third year and 93 second year natural
science education NSTETs, 10 biology instructors, 1 department head and 2 principals).
3.1. Samples and Sampling Techniques
The study was conducted at DCTE which is found in ANRS, South Wollo Administrative
Zone, Dessie town. It is 401 km. from the capital city of Ethiopia. It location indicated in the
figure below.
#
EthiopiaDebub Wollo
# Desie tow n
400 0 400 800 Kilometers
N
EW
S
#
Figure 4.The location of the study area
31
As indicated in the introductory part, the institute was established by the MoE in 1980. Since
then, it had trained certificate holding teachers up to August 2007 in both regular and
extension programs. In addition to certificate program, the institute has been training diploma
teachers in five streams, namely, Natural Science, Mathematics, Language, Aesthetics, and
Social Studies, since September 2003. The major objective of the training is to produce
qualified and competent teachers, in line with TESO, for the second cycle of primary
education.
Although there are four CTEIs (Gondar, Debremarkos, Dessie and Debrebirhan) in the
ANRS, DCTE was selected for this study purposively for the following reasons:
1. easy access for gathering information from the target population
2. the area is not researched before with the problem stated
3. familiarity of the researcher with the area.
4. to minimize the research cost and the time required for the study
The descriptive survey is also selected purposively as it is crucial for the purpose of the study.
In connection with this, Wiersma, (1995:15) had indicated that a survey research is important
to deal with the incidence, distribution and relationships of educational variables in their
natural settings. Wiersma (ibid: 175-176) also said that descriptive surveys are used to
measure attitudes, opinions or achievements or variables in their natural settings. Similarly,
Elliott et al., (2000:586) had reported the importance of descriptive survey method to test
hypothesis or answer questions related to the current status of the problems.
To answer the specific research questions set for this study; both quantitative and qualitative
data were collected from respondents as well as other relevant documentary sources. There
were three categories of respondents (trainees, instructors, and program managers). Further
more, the biology curricula at the college as well as at the upper primary schools (Grade 7 &
8) served as strong sources of evidence for the study.
There were three research subjects (participants) from the managerial position (the dean, the
vice dean and the department head) who were selected purposefully as sources of data
32
because of their in-depth knowledge about the program and the responsibilities they had in the
college studied.
Purposive and simple random sampling methods were used to select representative samples
from the target population of DCTE. Accordingly, the sample of the study constituted those
NSTETs who had attended biology courses at DCTE at least for two full semesters. This was
done in order to obtain in-depth and reliable information and data. To this end, 163 third year
and 93 second year students attending in the natural science stream who are all taking biology
courses were considered as the total target student population in DCTE. The individual
samples were then selected from such NSTETs randomly using lottery method. The size of
the sampled NSTETs was forty percent of each of the two batches.
The reason why the relatively senior natural science students (second and third year students)
were deliberately included (incorporated) into the sample was to increase the chance of
obtaining better information as they had a relatively longer time of exposure in the college
than the first year students.
Furthermore, among the instructors of biology working in the college, seven of them were
purposively included in the study as they could provide detailed information about the process
of implementation of biology teacher education at DCTE. Three of the biology instructors had
no experience and exposure to the profession. So, they were not included in the sample. The
following table best depicts the overall population and specific sample size of the study.
Table 1. Population and sample size of the study
Target groups Total Group size Sample size
10+3 NSTETs 163 65
10+2 NSTETs 93 37
Instructors 10 7
Deans & department head 3 3
Total 269 112
33
3.2. Source of Data and Data Gathering Tools
Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. Primary data were collected from
the sampled respondents of the study through questionnaires that contained open ended and
close ended questions, achievement tests, observation and interview. The questionnaires
prepared for NSTETs and biology instructors had three major parts. The first part focused on
rating of the different aspects of the curriculum; its adequacy, its extent of implementation,
the outcomes of implementation, emphasis given to implementation, and NSTETs’ attitude
towards the profession. The congruency of the college biology curriculum with that of upper
primary school (grade 7 & 8) biology curricula was mainly gathered from third year NSTETs
and instructors. The second part focused on obtaining detailed information on the overall
implementation process and factors affecting implementation or on parts that needed further
explanation using open ended integrated with close ended question. So the major instrument
used for gathering information from students and instructors was close ended questionnaire.
The questionnaires were adopted from the TESO curriculum guideline objectives. The third
part of the questionnaire contained randomly listed possible factors that could impede
implementation of the biology curriculum at DCTE and respondents were asked to rank these
possible factors according to the degree of their influence. All possible factors were listed
and ranked by the NSTETs and instructors of biology education according to the perceived
severity of each factor in affecting the implementation process. Then the individual ranks
were further ranked to discriminate the order of the factors affecting the implementation of
the biology curriculum.
Before administering the questionnaires, they were pre-tested. The purpose of the pilot study
was to avoid ambiguity; confusion and poorly prepared items. The pilot test was done with a
limited number of individuals, usually five to ten; seldom more than twenty five, and the
samples were similar to all intended respondents (Wiersma, 1995:175-176). The pre-testing
involved 12 NSTETs (five of second year and seven of third NSTETs) from DBCTE, an
institution which was believed to be equivalent to the study area in terms of objectives,
capacity and the presence of educational levels similar to the target population, to predict the
34
effectiveness of the instruments. In addition to the pilot test, the questionnaires were
commented by three biology instructors of Wollo University. Subsequently, based on the pre-
test value and the comments given, amendments were made; the vague items were either
discarded or modified and the relevant items were included.
Though all the questionnaires were originally prepared in English, as it was the medium of
instruction at upper primary school and at DCTE, they were translated to Amharic language
by taking into consideration the English language difficulty of the respondents, which was
observed in the pilot study. This was done after they were piloted to see the extent to which
they were appropriate to serve the purpose of the study. Translation was done by the
researcher himself and commented by three Amharic department instructors of Wollo
University. Based on the comments given, some amendments were made on sentence
construction and on preferable word selection. Then all the distributed questionnaires for
NSTETs were filled and returned under close supervision of the researcher. The seven
biology instructors also filled the same and returned properly.
Based on the biology curriculum course descriptions of the college, the course outlines of the
courses and the teaching materials of the courses, achievement tests were prepared. Prior to
preparation of the achievement tests, a table of specification was prepared by considering the
credit hours of the courses. Then, 25 and 22 achievement test items were prepared for third
and second year NSTETs based on table of specification by the researcher in collaboration
with three biology instructors of DCTE to increase the validity of the tests. The tests were
prepared based on the specific objectives of the contents of biology courses listed on the
course outline and the teaching materials of the college. The test items were prepared from all
the courses students covered. The test items for second year NSTETs were prepared from the
first four general biology courses and for third year NSTETs from the entire courses as the
academic year was completed. The achievement tests were also pre-tested taking 64 NSTETs
(31 second year and 33 third year NSTETs) from the DBCTE to assess the reliability of the
test items using the coefficient alpha formula.
35
2
))
1(
2
11t
iit
SD
qpSD
n
nr and
2
n
xxSD i
t
Where r11 =the estimate reliability of the test
Where r11 =the estimate reliability of the test
n = the number of items in the test
SDt2=the standard deviation of the test scores
Pi = the population passing individual items
qi = the population failing the item
X i =the i th test score
x = the mean test score (Thordike, 1997:102-103).
The estimated reliability values of the pretests, using the formula, were +0.88 and +0.89 for
third and second year NSTET respectively. According to Elliott et al., (2000:432), teacher
constructed tests are considered as reliable when the coefficient alpha value is equal or greater
than +0.80. Thus, higher calculated values showed the reliability of the pretests. The
discrimination index of the individual test items were also calculated by subtracting the
number of students who got the item correct in the lower group from the number who got it
correct on the upper group and dividing the difference by the number in one group to know
the effectiveness of the items in relation to the intended objectives. As shown in Table 9 in the
Appendix, the indices of 23 and 20 test items of third and second year NSTETs generally
ranged from +0.25 to +0.50 which were acceptable and the indices of two other test items fell
below +0.20 and above +0.50 and were considered as poor discriminators (Thorndike,
1997:480-482). The test items were also commented up on by biology instructors of Wollo
University. Based on the results of the pre-test value and the comments given, amendments
were made before the real use of the instruments. The two items with poor discrimination
power were discarded from the achievement test items. Then the NSTETs were informed a
week before administration of this test. The test items were prepared to assess NSTETs’
achievement of intended academic knowledge with some skills in the courses. Then the data
36
from students’ achievement tests were collected, organized and used for analysis. As the
TESO curriculum is objective-oriented, the results of the tests were interpreted using criterion
referenced evaluation approach to know NSTETs mastery level (ibid: 56-57). So based on
their test results, NSTETs were classified into two categories: greater than or equal to the
minimum mastery level and below the minimum mastery level and then their percentages
were calculated. Even though there is no standardized value to measure mastery of a subject
matter, the minimum mastery level in this study was taken as 50% as the grading system of
the ANRS-CTEIs including DCTE was predetermined with a minimum passing mark of fifty
percent (ANRSEB, 2006:16).
The classroom activities and participation of the NSTETs were also observed and used as a
source of data for analysis in the overall study. The classroom observation ratings and
checklists were taken from the TESO curriculum guideline for the pre-service teacher
education programmes. In preparing the observation ratings and checklists, important
behaviors and characteristics were listed into an appropriate format. The format was adopted
from Solomon (2000:50-51). The rating scales were prepared with three point scales to
indicate the frequency of implementation of the variables of biology curriculum in line with
the guidelines of TESO. Similarly, the checklists were prepared with two point scales to
indicate the absence or presence of identified implementation variables. Two instructors of
the educational psychology department of DCTE commented on the ratings as well as the
checklist items and subsequently two additional instructional variables were included.
Interview was also used to secure in-depth information or data about the process of
implementation of biology curriculum in the area of study. So the researcher employed
interview guides which were prepared by him and commented up on by three biology
instructors of Wollo University before final utilization. Similar to that of the questionnaires,
the interview guides were first prepared in English and translated to Amharic language to
obtain the necessary in-depth qualitative data from 6 second year NSTETs, 6 third year
NSTETs, one biology instructor, one department head and two deans. The data obtained from
the respondents were recorded, and translated back into English.
37
As supplement of the data gathered above, the match and mismatch between contents of
biology curricula at DCTE and at upper primary school was compared using the lists of
contents of the biology course outlines at DCTE and the contents of grade7 and 8 biology
texts to know the effectiveness of the training.
3.3. Data Analysis
To answer the research questions, the data gathered were analyzed using both qualitative and
quantitative approaches. The first two research questions were answered through triangulated
analyses of various data on the implementation of biology curriculum versus the TESO
principles. This was done by properly classifying, tabulating and calculating the data from
close ended questionnaire and observation ratings and checklists to draw statistical inferences.
The analysis was done using tally, frequency count and percentage as statistical tools. In
addition to the above quantitative data, the qualitative data from open ended questionnaires
and interview guides were presented, narrated and described. Furthermore, the attainment of
intended academic knowledge was measured using achievement test results. The results of the
achievement tests were classified, tabulated and computed to draw conclusion.
The congruence between the biology curricula at DCTE and at upper primary school was
analyzed using data from questionnaires, interview and curricular documents. The data from
questionnaires were tabulated and computed to draw conclusions on the extent of congruence.
The qualitative data was quoted, categorized and narrated to generalize the extent of content
congruency of the two curricula. To supplement the above data, the content congruency of the
two curricula was checked by simple comparison of the contents in the two curricular
documents.
To know the factors affecting implementation of biology curriculum at DCTE, the data from
interview guides and open ended questionnaires were presented using some quotations. In
addition to the above data, the ranks of the possible factors affecting implementation were
classified, tabulated and ranked according to their influence by calculating the mean value of
38
each possible factor. The smaller the mean value of the possible problem, the higher is in its
rank and its impact on implementation.
Finally, the results of the analysis and interpretation of the data obtained were discussed and
summarized to forward implications and/or recommendations on the basis of the findings.
39
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this chapter, the data collected from different sources using questionnaires (close and open-
ended), interviews, achievement test, observation ratings and checklists and curricular
documents are presented and discussed. The direct quoted opinions from informants were
coded using symbols D1, D2 and D3 for principals and department head; 3NS1, 3NS2, 3NS3;
and 2NS1, 2NS2, 2NS3 for third year and second year NSTETs respectively. Presentation of
the data is followed by discussion and interpretation in line with the major research questions
(objectives) outlined.
4.1. Clarity of the Program to the School Community
As shown in Table 1 in the Appendix, four of the biology instructors responded that they have
clear understanding on the objectives of TESO, and three of them mentioned that they have
no clear view on the program. Concerning NSTETs clarity to the program objectives, 54.1%
and 56.9% of second and third year NSTETs respectively mentioned that they have clear view
of the program. Similarly, three of the instructors suggested that the new program objectives
are clear for NSTETs. The rest three instructors suggested as NSTETs didn’t know the
objectives of the program and one of the instructors responded that he was not sure whether
NSTETs knew it or not.
The interview data from principals indicated as there was no problem on clarity of the TESO
objectives. One of the principals (D1) said:
As trainers were trained repeatedly about the program at different workshops, I don’t think there would be a clarity problem on the program objectives.
The suggestion of the principal was his belief rather than telling what was really happening in
the college. He didn’t know the real classroom interaction among teachers and trainees as he
assumed there is no clarity problems.
40
Similarly D2 said:
All the college communities/the instructors, the trainees and administrative/ have enough understanding on the TESO curriculum objectives.
But the implementers themselves responded the presence of some clarity problem on the
objectives of the programme. Regarding to the clarity problem, D3 said:
Though there was an introduction of the programme, until now there exists a clarity problem. The instructors don’t have enough understanding of the programme objectives. So it is better to have workshop especially on course breakdown.
From the data we can conclude that the programme is not clear for nearly half of the college
community members.
4.2. Adequacy and Responsiveness of the Curriculum
DCTE offers five general biology courses with a total of 17 credit hours. The courses,
contents and credit given are summarized.
Table 2.The five biology courses, the major contents and the credit hours of the courses
s/n Course Number contents credit
1 General Biology I (Boil 111)
the science of biology cell biology the chemical basis of life classification plants structure & function
(5cr.hr.)
2 General biology II(Boil 122) human biology and the various human
diseases the various systems various diseases and their causes
(5cr.hr.)
3 General biology III (Boil 231)
microorganisms (bacteria and virus) respiration genetics and evolution
(2cr.hr.)
4 General biology IV (Boil 351) the major groups of animals
(3cr.hr.)
5 General biology V (Boil 362) environmental biology
(2cr.hr.)
(DCTE, 2006:1-2).
41
Table 3.The opinion of respondents on adequacy of the biology curriculum to prepare trainees for upper primary school biology
teaching
items R Alternatives
V. low Low Fair High V. high Total
f % f % f % f % f % f %
1.Coverage of the curriculum in relation to upper primary school biology curriculum
10+3 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 69.2 20 30.8 65 100
Inst. 0 0 3 4 0 7 100
2.Depth of the curriculum in relation to upper primary school biology curriculum
10+3 0 0 0 0 19 29.2 41 63.1 5 7.7 65 100
Inst. 0 0 4 3 0 7 100
3.Capacity of the curriculum to prepare the trainees for further training or education
10+3 0 0 0 0 27 41.5 35 53.8 3 4.6 65 100
Inst. 0 0 4 3 0 7 100
4.Capacity of the curriculum to prepare students for the real world teaching of biology in the upper primary school
10+3 6 9.2 23 35.4 18 27.7 18 27.7 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 3 3 1 0 7 100
5.Time allotted for the biology courses 10+3 34 52.3 28 43.1 3 4.6 0 0 0 0 65 100
Inst. 5 2 0 0 0 7 100
6.Integration of biology with physics and chemistry courses
10+3 0 0 10 15.4 36 55.4 16 24.6 3 4.6 65 100
Inst. 0 0 2 4 1 7 100
42
Respondents’ opinion on the five general biology courses coverage, depth, and capacity to
prepare NSTETs for further education and for real world teaching was gathered using
questionnaires and interview items and the responses obtained as such were almost similar for
most of the respondents. Data gathered using questionnaires on the coverage of the biology
curriculum of the college vis-à-vis that of the upper primary school biology curriculum is
shown below.
As shown in Table 2, Respondents’ opinion on the five general biology courses coverage,
depth, and capacity to prepare NSTETs for further education and for real world teaching was
explanatory. The data indicated that the coverage of the biology courses in the college is
greater than that of upper primary school biology curriculum. Most of the third year NSTETs
(69.2%) and the instructors (four) responded as the coverage is sufficient enough to prepare
NSTETs for upper primary school biology teaching. The rest of the instructors and third year
NSTETs also said the coverage is sufficient and very high, respectively. These values
indicated that there is no problem in coverage of the course contents to teach biology at upper
primary schools.
The courses are also deep enough to prepare trainees for teaching biology at upper primary
school. All respondent third year NSTETs and instructors responded that the depth of the
curriculum is high and fair to produce qualified teachers that can teach biology at upper
primary school specially those of Grade 7 and 8. Thus, the overall respondents’ opinion
showed that the depth of the courses is sufficient enough to produce qualified biology
teachers for the second cycle primary school.
The capacity of the curriculum to prepare NSTETs for further education was also rated as fair
and highly sufficient (by 100% of the respondents). So the curriculum has enough capacity to
prepare trainees for further education.
The curriculum’s capacity to prepare NSTETs for upper primary school teaching of biology in
real world context was rated by nearly half of the third year NSTETs and instructors as below
the satisfactory line. The reason is that there is some limitation of the curriculum in aspects of
43
integration of contents and methods to prepare NSTETs for upper primary school biology
teaching.
On time allotted, more than 90% of third year NSTETs and all instructors responded as there
was a time constraint to cover the biology courses. This indicated that though the contents of
the biology curriculum document are sufficient enough in depth and coverage to attain the
intended academic knowledge, the time constraint is the major limiting factor. Concerning
integration of the biology curriculum with other natural science courses, the biology course
description of DCTE (2006:1) indicates that the goal of the courses is to produce qualified
teachers in diploma level who are able to teach biology integrated with other natural science
subjects in the second cycle primary school. The opinion of respondents on the degree of
integration of the biology courses with other natural science subjects was sufficient enough.
More than 84% of respondents’ response indicated that the curriculum is designed in the way
that NSTETs can integrate the natural science subject matters.
The open ended questionnaire data gathered from second and third year NSTETs indicated
that the contents of the courses are so vast (are very wide in terms of coverage and depth) that
they have the potential to produce qualified teachers for upper primary school. They further
said the courses are sufficient enough in depth and coverage to teach beyond upper primary
school. But there is time constraint to cover and master the intended academic knowledge.
The courses material is not covered on the time given. The instructors skipped some of the
contents of the biology courses. As trainees mentioned, they are going to be graduated with
out attaining the intended objectives.
The comparative results of the two curricular contents also indicated that they are highly
congruent. All the contents of grade seven and eight biology curricula are included in the
biology curriculum of the college. There are contents in the college biology curriculum which
are not included in grade seven and eight biology curricula. e.g. the chemistry of life. The
contents are presented in detail, but the materials are prepared carelessly. In some parts of the
material, the bodies of the contents are not well organized in meaningful manner. Some of
them are written and others are photocopied and sandwiched. There is a redundancy of ideas
44
and pages. Though it seemed that attempts had been made to prepare them in the context of
student centered approach, the notes of contents are vague and having no complete meaning.
In addition to this the modules incorporate difficult words for NSTETs to understand easily.
The grade seven biology contents such as the scope of biology and the cells are deeply
described in Biol 111 and these courses include practical activities. The content human
biology is explained briefly in Biol 122 (human biology and human diseases), Single celled
organisms and the characteristics of insects, their role, importance and control of the harmful
insects are mentioned in Biol 351(animal biology). The content habitat is also explained in the
course environmental biology. Regarding the contents of the courses such as algae, fungi, and
none-flowering plants, they are dealt in detail in Biol (Table 10 in the Appendix).
The grade 8 biology curriculum contents are all found in the biology curriculum of DCTE.
The depth and the coverage of the contents in the modules of the biology courses are greater
than that of grade 8 biology text. The human biology and health and human and disease are
treated in detail in Biol 122 (human biology and human diseases). It includes the various
systems and causes of diseases. Flowering plants and Photosynthesis are treated in detail in
Biol 111. The content our environment is explained in the course environmental biology (Biol
362) and the content classification is treated in Biol 111. In general, the depth and coverage
of biology courses in DCTE is greater than that of upper primary schools (grade 7 and 8).
From the crosscheck of the contents of the curricula, there is no content limitation of the
college biology courses to teach at upper primary school. The problem is on the time allotted.
From the total 116 credit hours assigned for the program, the biology courses are given
only17 credit hours (Table 11 in the Appendix).
The data gathered from interviewees also confirmed that the coverage and the depth of the
courses are sufficient enough to prepare NSTETs for teaching biology at upper primary
school and for further education. Almost all of the informants stated that the depth and the
coverage of the courses are sufficient enough and highly related to upper primary school
biology curriculum. But there is a chronic time constraint to cover all the courses. Though the
course outlines and the teaching materials are given for NSTETs, some of the contents are
45
skipped untouched. In addition to time constraint, there are difficult words in the module and
there is a language competency problem of NSTETs. The opinions of some of the
interviewees are quoted here under.
On the coverage, depth and time allotted, D1 mentioned as:
I have no detailed information about the depth and coverage of biology courses; but I learned from different workshops and instructors’ opinion that there is time constraint to cover the courses. The NSTETs cover only 18-20 credit hours in each academic subject area in their three years of training time which makes it difficult to imagine that they have adequate academic knowledge in their major areas. So it is difficult to say graduates have detail academic knowledge in biology.
The principals’ opinion confirmed that it is difficult to say graduates have sufficient academic
knowledge in biology, to teach at upper primary school due to limitation of time for
implementation.
Similar to that of D1, D2 said:
Though it is explained in detail by the department instructors, I believe that there is no problem of depth and coverage of the courses. Had there been the opportunity for NSTETs to cover the courses effectively, I think, there wouldn’t have been problem in the job area.
The suggestion of the second principal also strengthened that there is no problem in depth and
coverage of the biology curriculum at DCTE.
D2 further explained:
The region made an assessment on performance efficiency of diploma graduate teachers on the five streams. The assessment focused on the three components of the programme; teaching methods, subject area and professional ethics. The result of the assessment indicated that graduates are in a better position in methodological aspects but have content (subject matter) deficiency. In the case of biology, I believe that the time allotted is sufficient enough to cover the courses. Until now, none of the instructors explained anycomplaint on limitation of time to cover the contents. The diploma graduates have subject matter limitation and the problem is not the contents of the courses, rather it is subject mastery problem of the NSTETs. There is a language competency problem to understand contents. The graduates also faced problems to explain the subject matter they mastered using English as a medium of instruction.
The principal information clearly indicated that graduates are not competent enough in
academic knowledge to teach at upper primary school. The factors impeding the attainment of
the intended objective are content mastery and language competency problems. Such
46
unqualified graduates produce unqualified students at upper primary school all over the
region. Under qualification of students at their level hinders their secondary and tertiary
education. MoI (2005:15-17) stated that the quality of teachers are determinants for quality of
education. As unqualified teachers produce unqualified graduates, the problem continues and
it becomes severe in academic subjects than vocational training.
D3 said:
The biology courses have enough depth and coverage to prepare NSTETs for biology teaching at upper primary school.
Similar to the first two principals, D3 expressed his opinion that the coverage and depth is
sufficient to prepare trainees for biology teaching at grade seven and eight.
The adequacy of the curriculum and limitation of the time allotted for implementation was
also suggested by the NSTETs themselves. 3NS3 said:
The coverage and the depth of the biology courses and the time allotted for implementation is not proportional. From the first year to the end of third year of my college life, we didn’t cover any one of the biology courses properly. This implies that the courses are very wide and the time allotted is very short.
2NS1 repeated the opinion of the first trainee. He said:
The coverage and depth of the two courses given in the last year training was very high. But the time allotted was insufficient to cover the courses. The instructors gave us the course outline and give every duty for NSTETs. But the courses and contents were so complex that we couldn’t understand by ourselves. In general there was a serious time constraint to cover the courses.
Trainees explain their day-to-day experience and their eyewitness clearly in the following
way: though the depth and the coverage of the courses are sufficient, there was time constraint
and content mastery problem. So based on the above information, we can generalize that the
curriculum depth and coverage is sufficient enough to attain the objectives. But there is
undeniable time constraint to cover the courses. Though one of the principals of the college
couldn’t realize the time constraint, it is the major limiting factor for implementation of the
biology curriculum. Time is a highly determinant factor for implementing any curriculum.
Regarding this, Marlow and Minehira (2003), stated that to implement the change in schools,
47
time certainly emerges as a critical issue. For many teachers, instructional time is seen as their
most precious resource.
4.3. Emphasis Given for Implementation of the Program Components
The Ethiopian education and training policy give strong emphasis for the following three
components of the program; the desired academic knowledge, the professional skills and
ethical values and practicum and methodological approaches (TESO pre- service committee,
2003:5). So the emphasis given for implementation of the three components of the biology
curriculum was rated by trainees and instructors as follows.
The emphasis given for implementation of the curriculum to attain the basic biological
knowledge was rated as insufficient by 62.2% of second, 58.5%, of third year NSTETs and
five instructors. The data from the three respondents indicated that the emphasis given for the
academic subject biology was poor.
Regarding the emphasis given to the professional values and ethics, 73% of second year,
53.8% of third year NSTETs and four of instructors rated it was fair. Most of the rest of the
respondents also suggested that the emphasis given was high. The result implies that the
emphasis given to professional values and ethics is sufficient for NSTETs to attain the
intended objectives.
Emphasis given to teaching method was rated as fair by 56.8% of second year and 61.5% of
third year NSTETs and high by five of instructors. Most of the remaining respondents
mentioned that the emphasis given was high. Generally, the result of the respondents
indicated that the emphasis given for teaching method is sufficient enough for NSTETs’
acquisition of intended objectives.
The emphasis given for practicum implementation was rated as below the satisfactory line by
more than 75 % of third year NSTETs and by all instructors. The results of the data from third
year NSTETs and instructors indicated that though the time allotted is one third of the courses
48
duration, the emphasis given for practicum during its implementation is poor. There is no
appropriate support during the course implementation.
49
Table 4.The opinion of respondents on emphasis given for implementation of the program components
Items R Alternatives
V. low Low Fair High V. high Total
f % f % f % f % f % f %
1. Basic knowledge/ Academic knowledge
10+2 0 0 23 62.2 9 24.3 5 13.5 0 0 37 100
10+3 0 0 38 58.5 18 27.7 9 13.8 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 5 2 0 0 7 100
2. Professional ethics
and ethical values
10+2 0 0 4 10.8 27 73 6 16.2 0 0 37 100
10+3 0 0 9 13.8 35 53.8 21 32.3 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 0 4 3 0 7 100
3. Teaching methodology
10+2 0 0 1 2.7 21 56.8 9 24.3 6 16.2 37 100
10+3 0 0 4 6.2 40 61.5 15 23.1 6 9.2 65 100
Inst. 0 0 2 5 0 7 100
4. practicum 10+3 39 60 10 15.4 9 13.8 4 6.2 3 0 65 100
Inst. 4 3 0 0 0 7 100
50
The data from the open ended questionnaires also strengthened the data obtained from the
close ended questionnaires. The respondent trainees suggested that the time allotted for
practicum, professional and academic subject courses in the programme is not fair. They said
that the time allotted for practicum is very much greater than the academic courses in relation
to the courses coverage and depth. The time allotted for professional courses are relatively
greater than that of academic subjects. The higher credit hours given to practicum and
teaching method courses had a negative impact on quality of education as students were given
higher grade points in the two components. There is also redundancy of contents in
professional courses. But there is a serious time constraints for biology courses. Similarly, the
biology instructors said that the time allotted for practicum is so much greater than the time
given for academic and professional courses and students are given A& B grades. But the
time constraints for academic subjects are very severe. So graduates have no enough mastery
of academic knowledge. The reason for unfair grading could be the subjectivity of the
evaluation system and absence of formative evaluation for the practicum courses.
In addition to the data from the questionnaires, information is gathered using interview. The
data gathered from most respondents indicated that the emphasis given for practicum and
teaching methods is higher than academic subjects and professional courses in respect to time
allotment. They also mentioned that though the time allotted for practicum is very long, they
didn’t use it effectively. Some of the opinions are quoted as follows.
On the emphasis given for implementation, D3 said:
The curriculum actually implemented in the class seems give more emphasis to the practicum and professional courses and doesn’t give sufficient emphasis toacademic subjects and laboratory activities.
Similar to that of the above principal, D1 said:
The emphasis of the TESO on the components of the program seems unequal. It seems it gives more emphasis for practicum and common courses, especially the practicum covers one-third of the training duration.
The principals themselves described that the time given for practicum is one third of the
courses duration of the college and the emphasis given for academic biological knowledge is
low.
Similar to that of the college principals, 3NS3 said:
51
The time allotted for the three components of the program; academic courses, practicum and professional courses are not fair; the time allotted for practicum courses shares the highest.
One of the biology instructors in DCTE said:
Time allotted for practicum courses is very long which creates a time constraint on other courses. In addition to the time factor of practicum, it is the major source of grade inflation. As practicum instructors gave high grade points, academically poor NSTETs are being graduated.
On the extent of support given to NSTETs during practicum, the instructor said:
Though the time given is too long, the support given for NSTETs during the practicum program is low. The instructor goes the area where the NSTETs teach for evaluation only. NSTETs are evaluated by a period of activities observed by the instructor per semesters.
The instructor’s opinion summarized that the extended time of practicum courses create
problems in the implementation of the program components. The data also indicated that the
grading system of the practicum courses have some sort of problems. The support provided
and the evaluation system of the practicum trainees was also insufficient and unfair
respectively.
2NS2 said:
The time allotted for academic subjects is very small. From a total of 21 credit hours given in second year second semester, only nine credit hours are given for academic subjects.
3NS4 said:
Though the time allotted for practicum is too long, there is no emphasis given for NSTETs support and achievement of intended objectives.
The above data indicated that trainees also revealed the problem of time allotment in relation
to the courses’ depth and coverage and the poor emphasis given for implementation of
practicum.
The data gathered from both the questionnaires and interviews indicated that the program
gives greater emphasis for practicum in allotting time than academic and professional courses.
The instructional time is the major determinant factor for success. So the subject matter is
under emphasized in allotting time which is the core determinant factor for implementation of
the program. Though the practicum training covers long period of time in the program, the
emphasis given for its implementation and for attainment of intended out come in relation to
52
the paradigm shift is insufficient. NSTETs didn’t acquire the comments from their instructors
during the practicum program.
4.4. Implementation of Active Learning and Student Centered Approach
Classroom is the place where the official curriculum, which is documented, is implemented.
So the achievement of intended objective is dependent on the match between the official
document and actual implementation. Marlow and Minehira (2003) said that the curriculum
of a school is made or broken at the operational level. If the two works are compatible and the
teachers are actually implementing the official curriculum, the school is likely to demonstrate
positive student outcomes. If gaps appear between the official and operational curricula, it is
signal of problems of curriculum implementation in the school that might diminish student
performance. So to evaluate the success of curriculum implementation, observation of the
real teacher-student interaction gives an index. So the aim of TESO is to train the would be
teachers in a classroom that considers the different learning needs of students and be able to
relate the different learning needs of their students to the local and global issues (TESO pre-
service committee, 2003:5).
But the teaching learning process in DCTE was dominated by traditional teacher centered
method. The data from the observation rating scales indicated that the extent of instructional
consideration was very poor. The active participation of NSTETs in the learning process,
demonstration of activities, feedback to questions, application of formative assessment, extent
of checking all the NSTETs understanding, extent of implementation of problem based
learning, consideration of differences among NSTETs, extent of action research practicing
,contextualization of the lesson with the environment in the teaching learning processes is
very low. The classroom was dominated by teacher centered teaching environment. The
teacher is lecturing and writing notes on the blackboard most of the time. He rarely asks
questions, but didn’t give attention whether NSTETs know the answer or not (Table 2 in the
Appendix).
53
The data from the observation checklist also indicated that most of the selected variables were
not implemented during classroom interaction. Among the selected variables, those which
were not implemented are: beginning the lesson with goals and specific objectives,
summarization of the course activities given, creation of student centered learning
environment, and provision of student support in the learning process, formative assessment
of attainment of intended objectives, and demonstration of practical activities. The
implementation variables such as assignments and project work, preparation of teaching
material, and giving feedback for assignments were in a better condition (Table 3 in the
Appendix).
In addition to the classroom observation data, the extent of classroom interaction was
gathered via questionnaires. As shown from the Table 4 below, the extent to which biology
lesson presentation meets the needs of diverse students in the classroom was rated low by
62.2% of second year and 55.4% of third year NSTETs. Most of the rest NSTETs
emphatically stressed that the lesson presentation was teacher centered. On the contrary, four
of the instructors indicated that their lesson presentation considered the needs of diverse
students in the classroom. But the instructors themselves believed that most of the classroom
interaction was covered by a unidirectional lecturing method. So the opinions of the
instructors themselves contradicted each other which are indicators of low emphasis given to
the needs of trainees. In addition to the open ended data, the classroom observation ratings
and checklist data also confirmed that there was no consideration of the diverse needs of
trainees.
The other point needed attention in active teaching learning process is the classroom
management. The program aimed at producing teachers with sufficient knowledge and ability
in classroom management, which fosters constructive student inquires and interaction. This
aspect was rated as low and fair by most NSTETs and instructors respectively. Among the
samples, 62.2 % of second year and 67.7% of third year NSTETs responded that the
classroom environment was not ideal and doesn’t initiate them to actively participate in the
teaching learning process. The rest, 24.3% of second year and 13.8% of third year NSTETs
mentioned that almost all classroom sessions were covered only by the teacher. It means that
54
the instructors are dominant and don’t foster NSTETs’ interaction in the learning process.
Unlike the NSTETs, six of the instructors responded that the teaching learning process fosters
interaction. But, as mentioned above instructors used a lecture method of teaching approach to
cover the contents with out considering trainees progress.
The other point considered was the integration of the biology course contents and the methods
used in the teaching learning process. The biology course description of DCTE (2006:1)
indicates that the objective of the course is to produce qualified teachers at a diploma level
who will teach the contents of biology using appropriate methods including active learning
and cooperative learning techniques in the second cycle primary school.
The opinion of NSTETs on integration of contents and teaching method indicated that it was
very poor. Among them, 75.7% of second year and 63.1% of third year NSTETs mentioned
that the integration of contents and methods was very low. Similarly, five of the instructors
said that integrations of contents and methods were insufficient for NSTETs to acquire the
intended objectives. The reason was that the instructors frequently use talk and chalk to cover
the courses rather than using appropriate method for the content.
As shown in Table 4, most instructors do not communicate about their trainees’ achievement
with each other. Among the instructors, four of them believed that their practice was not
sufficient enough to know the level of students’ success.
55
Table 5.The opinion of respondents on student- teacher interaction in the classroom
Items R
Alternatives
V. low Low Fair High V. high Total
f % f % f % f % f % f %
1. extent of lesson presentation meeting the needs of diverse students
10+2 8 21.6 23 62.2 4 10.8 2 5.4 0 0 37 100
10+3 16 24.6 36 55.4 10 15.4 3 4.6 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 0 5 2 0 7 100
2. effectiveness of class
room management
and student support
10+2 9 24.3 23 62.2 3 8.1 2 5.4 0 0 37 100
10+3 9 13.8 44 67.7 10 15.4 2 3.1 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 1 4 2 0 7 100
3. integration of contents and teaching methods
10+2 28 75.7 9 24.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 100
10+3 41 63.1 12 18.5 12 18.5 0 0 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 5 2 0 0 7 100
4. communication among instructors about students’ achievement
Inst. 0 4 2 1 0 0 7 100
56
On assessment and evaluation, the TESO curriculum guideline states that there must be
sufficient practice of continuous assessment to measure students’ educational needs and
progress (TESO, 2003:37). But the frequency of assessment and evaluation undertaken to
measure NSTETs’ achievement of intended objectives was rated by NSTETs and instructors
differently. The former rated as low but the later as sufficient. It is summarized in Table 5
below.
Assessment and evaluation may be internal and external. Internal evaluation provides a
comprehensive picture of students and help to improve the teaching learning processes. It
provides a continuous feedback for undertaking diagnostic and remedial teaching and other
measures (Aggarwal: 1997:196-197).
With regard to the extent of practicing continuous assessment and evaluation, there were two
contrasting opinions. NSTETs said the emphasis given to the continuous assessment and
evaluation during implementation of the curriculum was very low (54.1% of second year and
63.1% of third year NSTETs). On the other hand the instructors rated the implementation of
continuous assessment and evaluation as high (five of the instructors). But the data from
observation indicated that the extent of assessment and evaluation was low.
A formative assessment is important to improve the day-to-day progress of trainees as it helps
to adjust the instructional processes in the classroom. But the frequency of assessment was
also rated by trainees and instructors differently. Among the NSTET respondents, 59.5% of
the second and 56.9% of the third year NSTETs rated the frequency of assessment and
evaluation as insufficient. On the contrary six of the instructors stated the frequency of
assessment and evaluation as sufficient to know the achievement level of NSTETs and the
practice gave them enough experience on how they will implement assessment and evaluation
in the school where they will be assigned. Though instructors overlooked the problem, the
observation data revealed that there was low frequency of assessment and evaluation of
trainees’ progress. The trainees also mentioned there was no consideration of trainees’
progress.
57
Table 6.The opinion of respondents on continuous assessment practice during the training program
Items R Alternatives
V. low Low Fair High V. high Total
f % f % f % f % f % f %
1.emphasis given for
continuous assessment &
evaluation
10+2 0 0 20 54.1 9 24.3 8 21.6 0 0 37 100
10+3 0 0 41 63.1 13 20 11 16.9 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 1 2 4 0 7 100
2.frequency of assessment
and evaluation of
achievement of objectives
10+2 10 27 22 59.5 4 10.8 1 2.7 0 0 37 100
10+3 10 15.4 37 56.9 10 15.4 6 9.2 2 3.1 65 100
Inst. 0 1 4 2 0 7 100
3.consideration given for
feedbacks from NSTETs and
instructors
10+2 28 75.7 8 21.6 1 2.7 0 0 0 0 37 100
10+3 46 70.8 10 15.4 9 13.8 0 0 0 0 65 100
Inst. 2 5 0 0 0 7 100
58
Another important variable for active teaching–learning process is the emphasis given for
learning difficulties and extent of feedbacks given for the problems. The data collected from
NSTETs and instructors on the extent of emphasis given for feedbacks indicated that it was
very weak and weak, respectively. Among the respondents, 75.7% of second year NSTETs
and 63.1% of third year NSTETs rated it as very poor and five of instructors responded as
attention to feedbacks was insufficient.
The data from open ended questionnaires indicated that NSTETs know some approaches of
active learning methods such as discussion, project work, peer teaching, observation &
reflection, inquiry and answering, assignment and demonstration. But the instruction methods
they experienced frequently are instructors’ lecturing (chalk and talk) and assignment. The
factors that impeded the implementation of different active learning approaches are the wide
coverage of the courses and time constraint to cover the courses. But the day-to-day
classroom interaction of instructors and trainees are determinant factor for success (Diribisa et
al., 1999:40).
Similarly, instructors mentioned that the active learning methods they know were discussion,
project work, peer teaching, observation and reflection, inquiry and answering, assignment
and demonstration. But the methods they use frequently were lecturing, group discussion and
assignment.
TESO also aimed at producing teachers who can use appropriate methods for contents, apply
student centered learning and use problem solving techniques in a number of different
situations (TESO pre service sub-committee, 2003:37). As shown in Table 1 in the Appendix
about problem based learning approach, only 16.2% and 27.7% of second and third year
NSTETs, respectively, responded that they have the concept. But they couldn’t mention the
procedures to follow in the learning process. Even most of the instructors themselves have no
clear view on PBL. Among the instructors, four of them responded as they have clear view on
problem based learning. But only two instructors suggested the procedures of problem based
learning approach.
59
Though TEIs are responsible in monitoring and evaluating the commitment of teacher
educators (TESO pre-service sub-committee, 2003: 12), there was no follow up of
implementation of the biology curriculum by the college principals. The instructors
mentioned that monitoring the implementation of curriculum is really the responsibility of the
dean, vice dean, natural science department head, unit coordinators and instructors of biology
in the college. But it was completely left for instructors. D2 also mentioned:
There is no specific procedure to follow up implementation of biology curriculum; rather responsibility is given for the classroom instructors. The reason behind is that monitoring of instructors’ commitment to implement the program is very difficult as it is a mental process.
So implementation is totally dependent on commitment of the instructors. But
implementation of any curriculum requires strong support from the principals. Marlow and
Minehira (2003) stated that the principals must provide strong support to teachers at the
operational level; i.e., at the level where instruction actually occurs. This is especially
important in the case of curriculum change or innovation. They must provide strong support
to make sure teachers not only understand the change, but are comfortable with it and able to
accept its implementation.
As shown in Table 1 in the Appendix, integration of assessment with feedback on
instructional practice is also unsatisfactory. Most (four) of the instructors said that the
evaluation system of the biology curriculum implementation didn’t connect the continuous
assessment with continuous feedback on instructional practices.
The data from the interview also indicated that though the courses are suitable for active
teaching learning process, the real interaction was teacher centered. The opinions of some
respondents are quoted hereunder.
2NS2 stated:
All the biology courses are suited for participatory teaching learning process as they involve experimentations and are highly related to the real environment. But instructors use lecture methods only and tell us to read further. The situation with some instructors is very severe. As they are very aggressive we don’t interact with them at all even if we know the answers of the questions they asked. They consider us as if we know nothing. So we dislike both the teachers and the courses. We don’t ask questions even if the
60
lesson is not clear. The evaluation system is not also standardized and discriminative. The major means of evaluation is assignment.
2NS1 said:
The teaching method for biology courses in the college is totally teacher centered following the old system. Even though they said discuss on the issue, they returned us to the lecture in not more than two minutes. Some instructorsare very aggressive that we can not interact with them.
The data from the above informants revealed that the subject matter is highly suitable for
active participation of trainees in the teaching learning process and integration of the subject
matter with the real environment. But the classroom interaction is a sending and receiving
(unidirectional) type of communication. The instructors are the only source of information for
trainees in the class as trainees didn’t obtain the opportunity to construct understanding of the
subject matter by themselves.
Similar to the above trainees, the principals mentioned that the biology classroom was
dominated by teacher centered traditional method. Among the principals, D3 said:
It is difficult to say the classroom interaction is student centered. Due to the large coverage of the courses, teachers frequently use lecture method to cover the content.
D1 also mentioned that lecturing, group work and pair work were the common teaching
method in the college. He said:
The major teaching method is lecturing, group work and pair work. There is a saying that the only active learning method used frequently in the college is group work.
Though D1 mentioned as group work and pair work were the common active learning
approaches of the college, the real role of such approaches are low. Their application is
limited to assignments which are frequently done by one of the member of the group.
Another third year NSTET (3NS1) stated that there was no active participation of trainees in
the teaching-learning process beyond the theoretical frame work told to them. He said:
The nature of the courses is very suitable for active learning approaches. But the instructors didn’t implement it beyond telling the methods. I tried to implement it in the practicum program. But students didn’t follow my lesson as they didn’t have prior experience.
3NS5 revealed that instructors didn’t assess the needs of trainees. He further mentioned that
instructors didn’t know the time required for a given task. He said:
61
The curriculum is student centered, but the methods teachers used are lecturing/ teacher centered. Teachers have problems in assessing needs of NSTETs. Teachers don’t know even the time required to answer questions they ask. So I can’t say the objectives of the curriculum were attained
3NS6 said that the lesson is not concretized. He said:
The courses are suited for student centered learning, but instructors follow only lecture method. We didn’t even know the name of plants in the campus.
The biology instructor said:
I used demonstration and assignment as a means of active teaching approach. But the extent of demonstration is limited by availability of resource in the college.
As mentioned by the instructor, the practice of demonstration is rare and the classroom is
dominated by the instructors’ traditional note giving approach. The major constraint for
demonstration is lack of laboratory chemicals and equipments.
Even though there are some opposing opinions in the questionnaire data that need further
information, enough data was gathered from the real classroom observation and the
interviewees. Though the instructors said as there was need assessment in the class, active
classroom interaction, integration of contents and methods, and frequent assessment of
NSTETs progress, the data from the interviewees and classroom observation indicated that
their interaction didn’t consider the needs of diverse students, it was not student centered,
there was no integration of contents and methods, and there was no frequent assessment of
NSTETs progress; rather the class was dominated by the instructors. The opinion of most of
the interviewees on the nature of interaction in the class indicated that it was dominated by
teacher centered lecturing methods regardless of the learners’ needs. The group work was also
limited to the assignments. But the assignments were given frequently in groups and these
were the major active learning methods for instructors.
But Felder and Silverman, (1988: 674-681) mentioned that there are different learners in a
class. They may be sensory or intuitive learners, visual or verbal learners, active or reflective
learners, and sequential or global learners. So the classroom interaction is not in line with the
TESO objectives.
62
4.5. The Implementation of Practical Activities in Biology Courses
The attention given for practical activities in the programme seems underemphasized in both
the preparation of the operational curriculum and the implementation of the curriculum. The
availability of field and laboratory equipments, availability of chemicals, the extent to which
experiments are conducted, investigation, and field work are insufficient.
Field works are essential part of the biology courses to contextualize the subject matter with
the real environment. The extent of implementation of field work in the biology courses, as
shown in Table 6 below, was unsatisfactory. More than 83% of second year, 74% third year
and five of the instructors rated it below satisfactory level.
The extent of implementation of project work on the other hand seems better than that of field
work activities. About 62.2% of second year, 58.5% of third year NSTETs and five of the
instructors responded that implementation of the project works was fair to attain the intended
objectives. Most of the rest respondents also strengthened the opinion of the above
respondents. With regard to investigative approach of learning, almost all the respondents
stated that its practice was unsatisfactory to attain the intended objectives. About 54.1% of
second year and 55.4% of third year NSTETs mentioned that it was very low and five of
instructors rated it low.
From the data we can generalize that the extent of implementation of fieldwork and
investigative approach of learning are insufficient.
63
Table 7. The extent of courses that involve practical activities in the biology courses
Items R Alternatives
V. low Low Fair High V. high Total
f % f % f % f % f % f %
1. extent of courses that
involve field work
10+2 10 27 21 56.8 4 10.8 2 5.4 0 0 37 100
10+3 8 12.3 40 61.5 13 20 4 6.2 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 5 2 0 0 7 100
2. extent of courses that
involve project work
10+2 0 0 4 10.8 23 62.2 8 21.6 2 5.4 37 100
10+3 0 0 4 6.2 38 58.5 16 24.6 7 10.8 65 100
Inst. 0 0 4 3 0 7 100
3. extent of courses that
involve investigation
10+2 20 54.1 14 37.8 3 8.1 0 0 0 0 37 100
10+3 36 55.4 16 24.6 12 18.5 1 1.5 0 0 65 100
Inst. 2 5 0 0 0 7 100
64
As shown in Table 7 below, the extent of conduction of experiments and percentage of
experiments conducted in the biology courses of the college was rated very low and low by
most of NSTET’s and instructors respectively. Among respondents, 70.3% of second year,
and 70.8 % of third year NSTETs rated extent of experimentation as very poor. Similarly five
of instructors also rated as insufficient to give the proper experience for NSTETs. Two of
instructors also mentioned that the extent of implementation per activities in the courses was
very poor. So NSTETs will face difficulties in their work area if they are taking the teaching
assignment without the necessary skills and knowledge in practical activities.
The data also indicated that there is limitation in supplying the major physical resources such
as chemicals, and equipments. With regard to availability of chemicals and equipment 67.6%
of second, 69.2% of third year NSTETs and four of instructors evidenced the presence of very
low supply in the laboratory.
The data from the open ended questionnaires also revealed that though there are a number of
practical activities in the courses, the experiments done were very few in numbers; even
trainees didn’t know the laboratory equipments. I had the opportunity to observe the internal
facilities of the laboratory. There were no necessary chemicals and equipments in the
laboratory room.
From the data above every one can conclude that the extent of implementation of experiments
was very low and the availability of laboratory chemicals and equipments were extremely
lower than the need of the college. This indicated that trainees didn’t obtain the opportunities
to do practical activities in the biology courses.
65
Table 8. The extent of conduction of experiments and availability of resources
Items R Alternatives
V. low Low Fair High V. high Total
f % f % f % f % f % f %
1. the extent of conduction of
experiments and percentage
of experiments conducted
10+2 26 70.3 10 27 1 2.7 0 0 0 0 37 100
10+3 46 70.8 15 23.1 4 6.2 o 0 0 65 100
Inst. 2 5 0 0 0 7 100
2. the extent of availability
of chemicals and laboratory
equipments
10+2 25 67.6 9 24.3 3 8.1 0 0 0 0 37 100
10+3 45 69.2 11 16.9 6 9.2 3 0 0 0 65 100
Inst. 4 3 0 0 0 7 100
3. the extent of availability
of facilities(room, water,
table)
10+2 2 5.4 7 18.9 22 59.5 6 16.2 37 100
10+3 0 0 7 10.8 36 55.4 10 15.4 12 18.5 65 100
Inst. 0 0 4 3 0 7 100
4. the extent of availability
of manuals
10+2 0 0 6 16.2 26 70.3 4 10.8 1 2.7 37 100
10+3 0 0 16 24.6 34 52.3 12 18.5 3 4.6 65 100
Inst. 0 0 5 2 0 7 100
5. the extent of availability
of field equipments
10+2 0 0 24 64.9 9 24.3 2 5.4 2 5.4 37 100
10+3 10 15.4 38 58.5 12 18.5 4 6.2 1 1.5 65 100
Inst. 0 5 2 0 0 7 100
66
In addition to laboratory equipments and chemicals, facilities are also necessary to carry out
experimentation. Most respondent NSTETs (about 59.5% and55.4% of second and third year
NSTETs respectively) rated facilities such as room, water, table etc necessary for practical
activities as fairly available. Similarly, four of the instructors rated the above facilities as
fairly available. The availability of laboratory manuals, as rated by most of NSTET and
instructor respondents, was not a limiting factor for laboratory activity implementation. About
70.3% of second year, and 52.3% of third year NSTETs and five of instructors rated it as
fairly available (Table 7).
The availability of field equipments (net, clinometers, insect kit, jar, paddle etc.) was rated as
they were in short supply. From the respondents, 64.9% of second year NSTETs, 58.5% of
third year NSTETs and five of instructors rated their supply as low.
Though there was slight variation between NSTETs and instructors’ ratings, most of the
responses led to the same conclusion. We can, therefore, conclude that the extent of
implementation of laboratory work, investigation, field work, availability of laboratory and
field equipments & chemicals, and extent of experimentation by instructors and NSTETs were
very poor. But the extent of doing project works, availability of facilities and the availability
of laboratory manuals were satisfactory.
The above data is also supplemented by data from interview and observation. The interview
data from most of the respondents indicated that the subject matter is suitable for teaching and
learning in a real life situation. But most of the courses are thought using a talk and chalk
approach. Some of the opinions of informants are quoted here under.
2NS2 said:
Practical activities are skipped. The only practical activity we did in this academic year is application of microscope.
Similarly, 3NS6 said:
Though the instructors don’t relate the contents in a real world environment, we ourselves tried to relate the course contents with the environment. We didn’t do practical activities/ experiments. The numbers of experiments done in the three years training were not more than 2-3.
67
The opinions of the respondents indicated that the extents of implementation of practical
activities in the biology courses were very low.
Similarly2NS1, 3NS2, 2NS4, and 3NS5 mentioned that they didn’t do the practical activities
in the biology courses. This phenomenon led them to a lack of confidence to implement the
activities in upper primary schools. Regarding this, 3NS2 said:
The lesson provision is not in the context of real world environment, rather it is theory only. As theories are not integrated with practical activities our knowledge is not sufficient enough to teach at upper primary school.
Similarly, 2NS3 said:
There is no observation of the environmental phenomena, and even we didn’t cover the theory parts of the courses. We will face problem of implementation of practical activities found in grade seven and eight biology textbooks. We have no experience to implement/ practice activities in the text.
One of the principals of the college (D3) mentioned that implementation of practical activities
are the major problems of the college. He said:
Implementations of practical activities are serious problems of the college. There is no separate contact hour for the theoretical parts of the course and the laboratory activities of the biology courses unlike that of other natural science subjects i.e. chemistry and physics. There are no laboratory equipments and chemicals to implement these activities. Though there is a chemical constraint, we can get it from the market or can borrow from the nearby high schools. But the apparatuses are not available either in the market or in the nearby high schools. The problem may be severe in the near future as the numbers of NSTETs are increasing.
The above data indicated that in addition to the chemical and equipment constraints, there was
also no scheduled program for the theoretical aspects and laboratory activities of the biology
courses in the college.
One of the biology instructors said that the implementation of practical activities relative to
GCTE was very low. He said:
The capacity of the college to implement practical activities, compared to that of GCTE, is very poor. I did several laboratory experiments when I was there. Here, there are no chemicals and equipments to do so.
One of the principals (D2) also revealed that the extent of implementation of activities in real
environment context was low. The reason he stated is that it was not a short period plan rather
it will be attained through time. He said:
68
Though it should be clarified by the department instructors, generally the theory parts are emphasized. There are no activities done in a real environment context. The objectives of TESO can’t be attained in a short period of time. It will be attained through time.
The opinion implies the principals themselves believed that the attainment of the intended
objectives need some years in the future. But every one should know that the practices we do
today are the baseline for the success of tomorrow. Counting the number of years can’t bring
the intended objectives of the paradigm shift, rather doing what are expected to be done.
The classroom observation ratings and checklists also indicated that demonstration of
practical activities and contextualization of the lesson with the environment in the teaching
learning processes is very low (Table 2 and Table 3 in the Appendix).
Generally the data from the questionnaires and interview guides indicated that though the
subject matter is suitable for contextualized interaction among instructors and NSTETs, the
teaching learning process gave greater emphasis to the theoretical aspects of the courses. The
same problem was mentioned earlier by Aderajew (2007:7-9) as problem faced in integrating
the theoretical aspects of the courses with the real life situation in the teaching learning
process. Students didn’t concretize objects and observe processes and relationships.
Similarly, the above data indicated that the extent of implementation of practical activities in
the biology courses was very poor.
4.6. Attitude of NSTETs towards Teaching Profession
The missions of the TESO curriculum is to produce competent teaching staff that have the
desired academic knowledge, sufficient professional skill, appropriate citizenship, attitudes
and skills, and those ethical values enshrined in the Ethiopian constitution. So, NSTETs are
expected to be attitudinally and ethically committed to their profession (TESO pre-service
committee, 2003:5). To know the commitment of NSTETs to the profession, their attitude is
assessed using a five point rating scales as shown in Table 9 at page 71.
69
Here the responses of most NSTETs and instructors were completely different. The interest of
NSTETs to learn biology was rated as fair (by 78.4 % of second year NSTETs, and 55.4% of
third year NSTETs). But, four of the instructors rated as NSTETs have no interest to learn
biology.
On NSTETs’ interest of being biology teachers, most of them showed great ambition of
being a biology teacher. Among the respondents, 81.1% of second year and 69.2% of third
year NSTETs rated their interest as satisfactory. But four of the instructors responded contrary
to the above report. The data from the interview guides as shown on page 72 -73 has
implication that the trainees have interest to the profession. Some of the trainees mentioned
that they joined the profession though they have other opportunities.
The commitment of NSTETs to the code of ethics and values was rated as fair by 62.25% of
second year NSTETs, and 58.5% of third year NSTETs. On the contrary, four of the
instructors rated NSTETs commitment to the professional code of ethics and values as low.
The commitment of NSTETs to practice continuous assessment was rated as fair by most of
the NSTET respondents. About 54.1% of second year, and 55.4% of third year trainees
committed to implement continuous assessment. In addition to the above respondents, 32.4%
of second year and 20% of third NSTETs said that they were highly committed to practice
continuous assessment. On the other hand, four of the instructors rated NSTETs commitment
to carry out continuous assessment as low. As the principals mentioned from the regional
assessment made on graduates’ effectiveness, they are relatively in a better position in aspects
of methods and ethics. The opinion of trainees also strengthened it. Though it is difficult to
generalize the internal feeling of organisms including human beings, the perception of
instructors and principals are negative to the profession and assumed every body dislikes the
profession. But the data from trainees has implication that they have interest and committed to
the profession.
70
Table 9.The attitude of trainees to the subject matter and to the profession
Items R Alternatives
V. low Low Fair High V. high Total
f % f % f % f % f % f %
1. NSTETs’ interest to learn
biology
10+2 0 0 1 2.7 29 78.4 7 18.9 0 0 37 100
10+3 4 6.2 8 12.3 36 55.4 17 26.2 0 0 65 100
Inst. 1 3 2 1 0 7 100
2. NSTETs’ interest to teach
biology
10+2 0 0 3 8.1 4 10.8 30 81.1 0 0 37 100
10+3 1 1.5 8 12.3 11 16.9 45 69.2 0 0 65 100
Inst. 1 4 1 1 0 7 100
3. NSTETs’ commitment to
professional ethics
10+2 2 5.4 3 8.1 23 62.2 9 24.3 0 0 37 100
10+3 3 4.6 6 9.2 38 58.5 18 27.7 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 4 2 1 0 7 100
4. NSTETs’ commitment to
carry out continuous
assessment
10+2 1 2.7 4 10.8 20 54.1 12 32.4 0 0 37 100
10+3 5 7.7 11 16.9 36 55.4 13 20 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 4 2 1 0 7 100
71
As a complement of questionnaire data, the opinions of respondents were gathered using
interview. Here, the opinions of the respondents are categorized in to two, opinions of the two
principals and the instructor and opinions of one of the principals and the NSTETs. The first
category of the respondents suggested as though it is difficult to say on attitude, the NSTETs
could not have positive attitude for the profession. On the contrary,D3 and NSTETs stated as
trainees have a good attitude to the profession. Their opinion is quoted as follows
As mentioned above, D1 said:
Concerning NSTETs attitude to the profession, I expected that the response of all respondents will be the same; it is the last job opportunity. They may /may not be interested after they join the profession due to the various activities done .But from my observation, they have no interest.
Similar to the principals, the biology instructor believed that trainees could not have positive
attitude towards the profession. He said:
Though it is difficult to know the attitude of NSTETs towards the profession, it is common that teaching is the last job preferred by everyone.
The principals and the instructor concluded that trainees’ attitude towards the profession is
negative. They believed that trainees joined the profession only when they have no other
opportunity.
On the contrary, the D3 and NSTETs mentioned that the trainees have positive attitude to the
profession. Some of the opinions are quoted as follows
The D3 said:
As NSTETs consider biology as a soft science relative to physics and chemistry, their attitude towards it is high.
One of the third year NSTETs (3NS4) also said:
Studying biology is studying self and nature. So I am interested in being a biology teacher.
Similar to 3NS4, 3NS1 said:
I am interested in teaching profession. I had the opportunity to join preparatory school. The interest of mine made me to join the teacher education college. My colleagues have also interest to the profession.
The attitude 3NS6 and 3NS5 also mentioned that trainees had interest to join the profession.
72
Attitude is assessed based on what the target groups write, say, and perform. The data from
the questionnaires and interview indicated that the principals and instructors have a wrong
conclusion that no one can have positive attitude for teaching. But the NSTETs themselves
confirmed by writing and saying that they have good attitude towards teaching profession
particularly teaching biology. So we can conclude that they have a positive attitude for
teaching profession and are committed to the professional ethics.
4.7. Outcomes of the Implementation of Biology Curriculum
The TESO curriculum guideline has objectives to produce competent teachers. Teachers
should be competent in producing responsible citizens, in subjects and methods of teaching, in
the classroom, in the education system, and in values, attributes, ethics, and abilities essential
to professionalism (TESO pre-service committee, 2003:3).
The data gathered in this section focused on the quality of diploma NSTETs in aspects of the
two components of the TESO curriculum; subject matter knowledge particularly that of
biology, and professional code of ethics. It is summarized in Table 10a.
73
Table 10a. The opinion of respondents on outcomes of biology curriculum implementation in the program components
Items R Alternatives
V. low Low Fair High V. high Total
f % f % f % f % f % f %
1. academic knowledge 10+2 7 18.9 19 51.4 8 21.6 3 8.1 0 0 37 100
10+3 8 12.3 34 52.3 14 21.5 9 13.8 0 0 65 100
Inst. 2 3 2 0 0 7 100
2. professional ethics 10+2 0 0 10 27.0 21 56.8 4 10.8 2 5.4 37 100
10+3 0 0 0 0 33 50.8 26 40 6 9.2 65 100
Inst. 0 1 5 1 0 7 100
3. self confidence 10+2 5 13.5 23 62.2 9 24.3 0 0 0 0 37 100
10+3 21 32.3 34 52.3 9 13.8 1 1.5 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 5 1 1 0 7 100
4. action research 10+2 24 64.9 9 24.3 4 10.8 0 0 0 0 37 100
10+3 37 56.9 17 26.2 9 13.8 2 3.1 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 4 2 1 0 7 100
5. problem solving skills 10+2 10 27 19 51.4 6 16.2 2 5.4 0 0 37 100
10+3 15 23.1 35 53.8 10 15.4 5 7.7 0 0 65 100
Inst. 1 4 2 0 0 7 100
74
With respect to academic knowledge qualification to teach biology at upper primary school,
most of the respondents said that the NSTETs didn’t acquire the intended objectives. Among
the respondents, 51.4% of second year NSTETs, 52.3% of third year NSTETs, and three of
the instructors responded as low. The rest 18.9% of second year, 12.3% of third year and two
of instructors rated as very low.
The achievement test results also indicated that most trainees scored below the minimum
mastery level of the college grading system. More than 64% of second year and 73% of third
year NSTETs were below the minimum mastery level of the intended objectives of the
courses. As shown in Table 4 in the Appendix, the mastery problem was pronounced more in
female trainees than that of males in both batches. This could be due to the problem of the
selection criteria of the pre-service teacher education training program. The data gathered
from instructors using the open ended questionnaires indicated that the candidate trainees
were not competent as the selection criteria gave lower weight for academic achievement and
as trainees were selected using a quota system. Though the selection criteria proposed by the
TESO selection sub-committee (2003:6) are entrance examination (35%), personal interview
(30%), high school GPA (20%) ESLCE or EGSECE (10%) and supportive evidence (5%),
unqualified trainees have the opportunity to join the program due to the quota system.
Though the objective of the curriculum is to produce teachers who are academically qualified,
professionally skilled, attitudinally and ethically committed to the profession and able to teach
all the three subjects effectively in the classroom at their levels (TESO pre service sub-
committee, 2003:37), their academic knowledge was found to be far below the minimum
requirement due to implementation failures. In line with this, Ambaye (1999:1) stated that the
critical determinants of effective teaching in Ethiopia are limitation of knowledge of the
subject matter, pedagogical skills, and motivation.
The attainment of professional know-how, as rated by 56.8% of second year, 50.8% of third
year NSTETs and five of the instructors was fair. The rest respondents also strengthened the
opinion of the above respondents. This indicated that the implementation of the professional
components of the curriculum was in a better position in contrast to the academic knowledge.
75
Similarly, the implementation result of biology curriculum in aspects of production of self-
confident upper primary school biology teachers was low. As noted by Bakalu and Netsanet
(2005: 185), higher institutions of Ethiopia produce graduates who lack confidence in their
skills and knowledge. The NSTETs were not confident enough to teach at upper primary
school as they have academic knowledge deficiency. Among the respondents, 62.2% of
second year 52.3% of third year NSTETs and five of the instructors responded low confidence
of NSTETs to teach biology at upper primary school.
The action research experience of NSTETs is also not sufficient. The TESO curriculum is
designed in such a way that NSTETs are able to develop the basic knowledge of action
research and can apply it to promote the teaching learning process. But the data from the
questionnaire indicated that they have insufficient knowledge and skill to carry out an action
research at their work area. Among the sampled respondents, more than 80% of second year
and more than 83% of third year NSTETs responded that they have low potential to practice
action research. This indicated that the out comes of implementation are not attained.
Similarly, four of the instructors mentioned that the NSTETs have no sufficient skill to do it.
The TESO curriculum guideline also emphasized that NSTETs could have the capacity to
actively apply continuous assessment and evaluate students’ learning to know their progress
(TESO, 2003:5). But the outcomes of implementation in DCTE were unsatisfactory.
Some of the outcomes of implementation of the biology curriculum are summarized in Table
10b below.
With regard to learner oriented methodological skills, most of the respondents mentioned that
NSTETs have the basic knowledge. Among respondents, 62.2% of second year, and 56.9% of
third year NSTETs mentioned that they have sufficient skills. In addition to NSTETs, four of
the instructors mentioned that NSTETs have sufficient learner oriented methodological skills.
The rest instructors also strengthened the opinion of the first four instructors. The
methodological component of the program is encouraging.
The other point is that NSTETs’ capacity to carry out continuous assessment is sufficient
enough and they can practice it in their work place. The analysis of the data indicated that
76
48.6% of second year, 61.5% of third year NSTETs and four of the instructors responded as
NSTETs’ capacity to carry out continuous assessment methods was fair. The rest respondents
(37.8%of second year, 26.2% of third year and two of the instructors) also believed that
NSTETs’ ability to carry out continuous assessment was very high. From this data we can
generalize that NSTETs have the basic knowledge of continuous assessment and evaluation.
Regarding the needs of trainees, TESO indicates that NSTETs should be equipped with
knowledge of their students’ physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development (TESO
pre service sub-committee, 2003:5). Similarly, the capacity of the NSTETs to understand the
physical, emotional and social development of their students was rated as fair by 67.6% of
second year NSTETs, 58.5% of third year NSTETs, and four of the instructors. This result
indicated that most of the NSTETs have the potential to identify the needs of their students.
Another important objective considered in this study was the production of learning materials
by the NSTETs from their local resources to concretize the subject matter. The objective of
TESO is to produce teachers who can choose, produce and make use of appropriate
educational technologies to enrich students’ learning from the local material (TESO pre
service sub-committee, 2003:6). In this regard, as shown from Table 10b, the capability of
NSTETs to produce learning materials from the local resources was rated by most
respondents as fair. From the total sampled population, 64.8% of second year, 60% of third
year NSTETs and four of the instructors rated the potential of the NSTETs to produce
teaching materials from the local resources as sufficient. This indicated that most of the
NSTETs had sufficient skill to produce the learning material from the local resources.
77
Table 11.The opinion of respondents on outcomes of biology curriculum implementation in the program components
Items R Alternatives
V. low Low Fair High V. high Total
f % f % f % f % f % f %
1. skills of learner oriented
methods
10+2 0 0 9 24.3 23 62.2 5 13.5 0 0 37 100
10+3 0 0 25 38.5 37 56.9 3 4.6 0 0 65 100
Inst. 0 0 4 2 1 7 100
2. skills to carry out
continuous assessment
10+2 0 0 0 0 18 48.6 14 37.8 5 13.5 37 100
10+3 0 0 3 4.6 40 61.5 17 26.2 5 7.7 65 100
Inst. 0 0 4 2 1 7 100
3. capacity to understand
students’ development
10+2 0 0 0 0 25 67.6 10 27 2 5.4 37 100
10+3 0 0 2 3.1 38 58.5 20 30.8 5 7.7 65 100
Inst. 0 1 4 2 0 7 100
4. ability to produce learning
materials
10+2 0 0 0 0 24 64.9 8 21.6 5 13.5 37 100
10+3 0 0 0 0 39 60 22 33.8 4 6.2 65 100
Inst. 0 0 4 3 0 7 100
78
As a complementary data, information gathered from the respondents (using interview)
showed that a number of intended outcomes of the training were not attained. The opinions of
some interviewees are quoted as follows.
D2 mentioned his belief as some of the objectives are attained. He said:
We believe that the objectives of the TESO curriculum are partially achieved. But so much is expected from the college. We should do more than the minimum requirement and should assess the performance and professional development of graduates in their work place.
D1 clearly mentioned that graduates are full of problems and were unable to teach the
academic subjects effectively at the school where they were assigned. He said:
To know the quality of graduates, one must make assessment in the work area. Though we didn’t do any assessment, we informally know that our graduates are not as expected. Informal communication with schools where they are currently working indicated that their academic quality is low. A general regional assessment was also done on the graduates’ academic subjects, methodology, and ethical value competency. The study indicated that the graduates are full of intricate problems especially in content deficiency. In addition to the stated assessment, the issue had been repeatedly raised in different regional workshops.
From the above interview data we can conclude that the quality of teachers graduated from
DCTE are not competent enough in academic knowledge.
Similar to the suggestion of the principals, the biology instructor said:
Though efforts are made to produce qualified teachers, it is difficult to say graduates are competent enough to implement the TESO objectives at their job area. Obviously, the objectives could not be attained by instructors’ efforts alone; rather it needs the participation of different stakeholders..
Trainees also suggested that the opportunities of having unqualified graduates are very high as
the evaluation system of the college are poor. A second year NSTET (2NS2) said:
Instructors use assignments to cover biology courses. This assignment is often given in groups and accounts for about 60% of the evaluation results. Even though the assignments are given in groups, one or few member of the group does them and it is the performance of these individuals that determines the outcome of the evaluation for all other group members. There is no individual evaluation system in the group activities. Every student can obtain a pass mark from the assignments with out doing anything. As the NSTETs that follow the instructors’ lessons and guidance are very small in number, I can’t say all the
79
graduates are competent enough to teach biology education at upper primary school.
TESO (2003:18) set a standardized continuous assessment strategy having 2-3 written
assessments, 1-2 non written assignments, and some elements of group work. Its percentage
value in trainees’ evaluation is 25%. But the evaluation system of the college was not in line
with that of the TESO evaluation guide line. Teachers use frequent group assignment to cover
the courses and give uniform value for the group members. So the evaluation system plays
role for production of unqualified teachers.
Another second year NSTET (2NS1) mentioned that the instructors themselves didn’t carry
out their responsibilities in the training program. He said:
The instructors didn’t give emphasis for the teaching learning process. They didn’t consider themselves as responsible person for the attainment of the intended objectives. If they become professional and productive, NSTETs will be professional and productive.
From the above data we can conclude that the outcomes of implementation in academic
knowledge, action research skills, confidence to teach biology at upper primary school, and
ability to solve biological problems are very poor. The assessment criteria of the college are
also poor that plays role for graduation of under qualified trainees. But the professional code
of ethics and the methodology components are relatively encouraging.
4.8. Problems Influencing Biology Curriculum Implementation
The data gathered from the open-ended questionnaires indicated that there are a number of
factors influencing biology curriculum implementation. The second and third year NSTETs
listed the problems they encountered during implementing the biology curriculum. The
problems related to physical resources were: lack of laboratory chemicals, shortage of text
and reference books, shortage of laboratory equipment, delay of teaching materials, and lack
of field equipments.
The problems that resulted from instructors’ inefficiency were: poor time management ability
of instructors, shortage of quality instructors, lack of interest of instructors to demonstrate
activities, dominance of teacher centered classroom environment, absence of ideal classroom
80
environment, utilization of difficult words in the modules, absence of tutorial program,
considering assignments as the major means of evaluation (most students are dependent on
others work), low interest of teachers to implement the curriculum, poor communication
between NSTETs and instructors, bias in evaluation of NSTETs, and emphasis on coverage of
the courses with no consideration of students progress.
Absence of support for implementation of the curriculum from principals and variation
between the documented curriculum and actually done in the classroom. Lack of emphasis for
teaching learning problems, shortage of time to cover the courses, and absence of continuous
assessment of NSTETs’ progress were undermined by the principals.
Some of the problems instructors raised were: lack of interest of trainees to the new
curriculum, lack of transport, and program arrangement inconveniency and content
unsuitability for active learning.
In addition to the above questionnaires, trainees and instructors ranked the possible factors
impeding implementation according to their severity. Among eighteen possible factors that
impeded curriculum implementation, the respondents list them according to level of influence
on the implementation of biology curriculum at DCTE. From analysis of the data, the first ten
major problems that impeded implementation of biology curriculum at DCTE, as rated by the
second year NSTETs, are poor supply of laboratory equipments and chemicals, inadequacy
of the time allotted for the courses, teacher centered classroom environment, difficult words in
the text, Poor quality of biology instructors, Absence of Computers & the Internet access,
Shortage of teaching materials ,modules, and reference books, bias in evaluation, lack of
attention of principals for implementation of the biology curriculum, and lack of feedbacks
for implementation problems.
The third year NSTETs also ranked the following factors that influence implementation of
biology curriculum in the college. These are poor supply of laboratory equipment and
chemicals, inadequacy of the time allotted for the courses, difficult words in the text, teacher
centered classroom environment, shortage of laboratory room, bias in evaluation, poor quality
81
of biology instructors, shortage of teaching materials ,modules, and reference books, absence
of tutorial program, and lack of feedbacks for implementation problems.
The problems are ranked by instructors as poor supply of laboratory equipments and
chemicals, inadequacy of the time allotted for the courses, lack of clarity of the new
curriculum, shortage of biology instructors, lack of attention of principals for implementation
of the biology curriculum, absence of consistent assessment practice, Shortage of teaching
materials ,modules, and reference books, Poor quality of biology instructors, shortage of
laboratory space and lack of feedbacks for implementation problems.
82
5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
In this unit, the objectives of the study, the methods used and the major findings of the study
are summarized and conclusions are given based on the findings of the study. Based on the
data analysis, the major findings of the study and the conclusion, the possible solutions to the
problems are recommended.
5.1. Summary and Conclusion
The objective of this study was to examine the implementation of biology curriculum of
DCTE with reference to the TESO curriculum objectives. So the intention of this study was to
compare congruency of the objectives of the curriculum of biology at DCTE with the
objectives of the TESO curriculum and with that of upper primary school biology curriculum,
to know the extent of attainment of intended objectives in terms of academic knowledge,
professional code of ethics and attitude as well as to identify the factors affecting
implementation of the biology curriculum using a descriptive survey. The data required for
the study were gathered using qualitative and quantitative methods. The quantitative data
were collected using questionnaire, achievement tests and observation ratings and checklists
where as the qualitative data were collected from analysis of curricular documents,
questionnaire and interviews. Such data were gathered from two principals of the college, one
department head, seven biology instructors, 65 third year NSTETs and 37 second year
NSTETs.
Based on the basic research questions, the findings of the study are summarized as follows
1. The coverage and depth of the biology curriculum of the college is congruent enough
and highly related to that of the upper primary school biology curriculum (Grade 7 and
8).
2. There is a chronic time constraint to cover all the biology courses in the college.
83
3. In addition to time constraint, there is utilization of difficult words during module
preparation and problem of language competency of NSTETs.
4. The time given for the three components of the training program (academic knowledge,
professional courses and practicum) are not fair. The program gives greater emphasis
on practicum than academic and professional courses.
5. Though the practicum covers long period of time which is nearly one third of the
program duration, the support given for NSTETs during implementation to attain the
intended outcome in relation to the paradigm shift is insufficient. Almost there is no
support from the college. Instructors went to the practicum area only once for
evaluation in a semester.
6. There is no practice of monitoring of implementation of the biology curriculum in the
college. The principals didn’t know what is being really done in the classroom. It is
totally left for the instructors’ willingness.
7. There is no continuous assessment of NSTETs’ progress. The common means of active
learning method used by biology instructors is group assignment. More than 50% of
the evaluation criteria are group assignment that doesn’t indicate individual progress.
They don’t set individualized evaluation criteria in the group assignments.
8. The classroom interaction didn’t consider the needs of diverse students, it is not
student centered, there is no integration of contents and methods, and there is no
frequent assessment of NSTETs progress; the classroom interaction (the classroom
teaching learning process) is dominated by teacher centered lecturing methods
regardless of the learners needs.
9. The extent of implementation of practical activities in the biology courses at DCTE is
almost negligible. The extent of implementation of laboratory work, investigation,
field work, availability of laboratory and field equipments and chemicals, extent of
experimentation are almost none.
10. The extent of implementation of the professional code of ethics, teaching methods, and
project works, availability of facilities and laboratory manual are relatively
encouraging.
11. There are a number of factors affecting the implementation of biology curriculum in
the college. Some the major factors are poor supply of laboratory equipment and
84
chemicals, inability to concretize the lesson, time constraint to cover the course
contents, teacher centered classroom, poor quality of teachers, difficult words in the
text, language competency problem of NSTETs ,absence of laboratory schedule and
lack of attention of principals for implementation of the biology curriculum.
From the findings of the study, we can conclude that the intended outcomes such as academic
knowledge, action research skills, confidence to teach biology at upper primary school and
knowledge of problem solving skills are not sufficient.
5.2. Recommendation
To produce academically qualified, professionally skilled and attitudinally committed biology
teachers, the following suggestions among other things will help to implement the biology
curriculum successfully:
1. There should be adequate indoor and outdoor laboratory equipments and chemicals to
put the designed curriculum in to practice. Furthermore, the experimentation of
practical activities and contextualization of the subject matter should be given
attention by the administration of the region and the college
2. The gaps between intention and implementation in academic knowledge, action
research skills, confidence to teach at upper primary school, and ability to solve
biological problems should be filled by setting appropriate pre-service and in-service
training programs.
3. There should be a scheduled program for laboratory activities and sufficient time to
adequately cover the biology courses.
4. The principals should know what is really done in the classroom and give support for
implementation of the curriculum.
5. The region and the college should set a program /a course /that helps NSTETs and
diploma graduate teachers to develop their language competency.
6. Instructors themselves should have positive attitude to the profession and avoid a
wrong generalization as NSTETs could not have positive attitude to the profession.
85
7. The implementation of the biology curriculum should be participatory one that
encourages self directed learning among NSTETs. Furthermore attention should be
given for the needs of the NSTETs.
8. The assessment criteria of biology instructors should incorporate activities that
measure the progress of individuals in the group activities.
9. The evaluation system of practicum courses should be able to discriminate NSTETs
based on the attainment of intended objectives.
10. The time allotted and the total grade point given for practicum should be reduced and
added to the academic subjects.
11. The different courses of professional ethics and practicum should be summarized and
condensed to have time for self-study and tutorial program.
86
6. REFERENCES
Aderajew Mihret, 2007. Virtual Reality: Alternative Approach to Foster Quality in Science Education. Quality Matters (News letter of the center for Research and quality assurance). Addis Ababa, St Mary’s university college, Vol.1 (4)
Aggarwal, J.C., 1997.Essentials of Examination System: Evaluation Tests and Measurement. Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd,New Delhi.
Ambaye Tsehaye, 1999. Curriculum evaluation: monitoring the harmony of TTI syllabuses with the new primary level education vis-à-vis standard models and new education and training policy. The Ethiopian journal of education, vol. 19(1).
ANRSEB, 2006. Internal implementation directives of Teachers’ education colleges (legislation), article 24(2). August 2006, Bair Dar.
Arends, R.I., 1994. Learning to Teach (third edition).McGraw-Hill, inc., United States of America.
Bekalu Atnafu, and Netsanet Demewoz1, 2005. Creditability Gap: An Analysis of Employees’ Capability and Employers’ Expectation: The Case of St. Mary’s College. Proceedings of The 3rd National Conference on Private Higher Education in Ethiopia, Sheraton Addis, Addis Ababa, August 20, 2005,St. Mary’s University College.
Chhem, R. K., 2001.Curriculum Design & Implementation: The Basics. Curriculum Design, Vol. 4 (6).
Cruickshank, D.R.,D. l. Bainer, and K.K.Metcalf,1995. The Act of Teaching. McGraw-Hill, inc., United States of America.
DCTE, 2006. The courses description for 10+3 Diploma programme (from GCTE). Office of the registrar,Dessie.
Dessie TTI (1990). A Short History of Dessie TTI. Dessie. (Bulletin)
Diribisa, D., Belete. K., Tilahun, F., Getnet, D., and A.Pandhan, 1999. Principles of curriculum inquiry (educ211). AAU.
EMA-MOE, 1999. Handbook for Designing and Writing Distance Education Materials. Addis Ababa. (Compiled material).
Elliott, S. N., T.R. Kratochwill, J. L. Cook, and J.F. Travers, 2000. Educational psychology: effective teaching, effective learning (3rd ed).McGraw-hill companies, Inc., United States of America.
87
Ethiopian National Agency for UNESCO, 2001. The Development of Education: National Report of Ethiopia (final version). International Bureau of Education, March, 2001.
Felder, R.M. (1993). Reaching the Second Tier: Learning and Teaching Styles in College Science Education, J. Coll. Sci. Teach., 23(5).
Felder, R.M., and L.K. Silverman, (1988). Learning and Teaching Styles in Engineering Education. Engr. Educ., 78 (7).
Georgewill, J. W., 2006. Biology Education: the science for knowledge of life intricacies and improvement of educational system. Nkpolu Oroworukwu, Port Harcourt, Rivers State University of Science and Technology.
Kedir Assefa T., 2006. ‘Contradictions, Challenges, and Chaos in Ethiopian Teacher Education’. In Journal of Critical Education Policy Studies, Vol. 4(1). March, 2006.Available at http://www.catmachine.com/
Kothari, C.R., 2004. Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New age international (p) ltd., publishers, Jaipur ((India).
Lule Belay, 2005. Tertiary Education: Its Quantity and Quality (Opinion).The Reporter, Available at Http://Www.Ethiopianreporter.Com/Index.Php
Marlow ,S. ,and N. Minehira, (2003) Principals as Curriculum Leaders: New Perspectives for the 21st Century. Available at Email: [email protected] • Website: www.prel.orgMei, L. N., 1994. Implementation Evaluation of the PAD System into the Pattern Construction Curriculum, Sept 2, 1994.avilable at http://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/
MOI, 2002. Implementation of Capacity Building Strategies and Programs, Addis Ababa.
MOI, 2005. Education and Capacity Building Pathway, Addis Ababa.
Ommundsen, P., 2001. Problem based learning in biology. Available at http://www.saltspring.com/capewest/cw.htm
Prince, M. And R. Felder, 2007. The Many Faces of Inductive Teaching and Learning. The College Science Classroom. 36 (5). Available At Http://Www3.Nsta.Org/Main/Pdf_Validate.Php?Pdf=Jcst0703_14.Pdf
Saskatchewan Education, 1992. Assessment and Evaluation. Available at http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/curr_inst/iru/bibs/secsci/index.html
Singh, U. K., and A.K. Nayak 2005. Science Education: Methods of Teaching Science.
Commonwealth publishers, New Delhi (India).
88
Solomon Areaya, 2000. The evaluation of the implementation of grade eight mathematics
syllabuses in SSNP region: with specific reference to Sidama Zone. An M. A. thesis presented
to the School of Graduate Studies, AA U.
Taba, H., 1962. Curriculum Development: Theory and Practice.Harcourt, Brace and worldinc., United States of America.
TESO Pre-Service Committee, 2003. A National Curriculum Guide Line for Pre-Service Teacher Education Programme: T.E.S.O. (Draft Outline), Ministry of Education, Addis Ababa.
TESO Selection Sub-Committee (2003). Proposed Selection Criteria: T.E.S.O. (Draft Outline), Ministry of Education, Addis Ababa.
Thorndike, R.M., 1997. Management and Evaluation in Psychology and Education (6thedition Prentice-hill, Inc., United States of America
UNESCO Institute for Capacity-Building in Africa (2005). In the Framework of the UNESCO Teacher Training Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa: Country Report, Ethiopia, October 2005, Paris.
Wiersma, W., 1995. Research Methods in Education: An introduction (6th ed). Allyn andBocan, university of Toledo.
89
7. APPENDICES
90
7.1. Appendix I: List of Tables
Table 1. Clarity of TESO curriculum objectives to the school community
Item R. Yes No Not sure
f % f % f %
Do the biology instructors
including you have a clear
understanding on the objective of
TESO curriculum?
10+2
10+3
Inst. 4 3 0
Do NSTETs have a clear
understanding on the objective of
TESO curriculum?
10+2 20 54.05 10 27 7 18.9
10+3 37 56.9 28 41.1 0 0
Inst. 3 3 1
Do you believe that the
implementation of biology
curriculum create a real life
environment in the classroom?
10+2 6 16.22 31 83.78 0 0
10+3 17 26.15 46 70.77 2 3.08
Inst. 2 5 0
Do you have a clear understanding
on problem based learning
approach?
10+2 6 16.2 31 83.8 0 0
10+3 18 27.7 47 72.3 0 0
Inst. 4 3 0
Does the evaluation of the
implementation of biology
curriculum connect the continuous
assessments result of NSTETs with
feedback on instructional practices?
10+2
10+3
Inst. 2 4 1
Are there clear procedures specific
to biology curriculum
implementation and follow-up?
10+2
10+3
Inst. 2 2 3
91
Table 2. Classroom observation Results (Rating scale)
Instructional consideration Frequency Total
sessions
observed
frequently Rarely Not at all
No % No % No %
To what extent do NSTETs actively participate in
the teaching-learning process
0 0 10 50 10 50 20
How often does the biology teacher use
demonstration of real life situation in his/her
instructional processes
0 0 2 10 18 90 20
How often does the teacher ask questions? 4 20 9 65 3 15 20
How often does the teacher check for students
understanding?
0 0 8 40 12 60 20
How often does the teacher obtain responses from
all NSTETs?
0 0 4 20 16 80 20
How often does the teacher pose a real biological
problem for students to find its solution
0 0 20 100 20
How often does the teacher guide students to
observe patterns and discover rules and generalize
the facts by them selves
0 0 2 10 18 90 20
How often does a dialogue with self and with
others among NSTETs in order to keep students
attention?
00 0 6 30 14 70 20
How often does the teacher attempt to relate day-
to-day affairs to the lesson
0 0 4 20 16 80 20
How often does the teacher take individual
differences in to consideration and assist his /her
students
0 0 0 0 20 100 20
How often does the teacher write notes on the
black board
15 75 3 15 2 10 20
How often does the teacher do action research 0 0 0 0 20 100 20
92
Table 3. Class Room Observation Results (Checklist)
Selected implementation variables Check Total
sessions
observed
yes % No %
Do the teachers begin a daily lesson with
statement of goals and then specific objectives
8 40 12 60 20
Do NSTETs do assignments and project works 14 70 6 30 20
Do the teachers summarize the activities given to
students in the class(assignments and project
works)
4 20 16 80 20
Do the teachers prepare a teaching materials for
students
20 100 0 0 20
Do the teachers provide active learning
environment in the classroom
3 15 17 85 20
Do the teachers provide immediate support in
students learning
0 0 20 100 20
Do the teacher present the lesson/problem in the
context real environment
2 10 18 90 20
Do the teacher check the attainment of intended
objectives at the end of each session
2 10 18 90 20
do students implement and demonstrate practical
activities
0 0 20 100 20
Do teachers integrate Scientific Skills and
Attitudes' in the biology curriculum implement
0 0 20 100 20
Do the teachers give feedback for students
assignments and project works
8 40 12 60 20
93
Table 4 . The test achievement results of second and third NSTETs
Respondents sex category
≥50% Below 50% Total;
No % No % No %
10+2 NSTETs M 9 24.32 8 21.62 17 100
F 4 10.81 16 43.24 20 100
M+F 12 35.13 33 64.86 37 100
10+3 NSTETs M 12 18.46 32 49.23 44 100
F 5 7.69 16 24.62 21 100
M+F 17 26.15 59 73.85 65 100
94
Table 5. Rank of factors influencing the implementation of biology curriculum at DCTE (Rank by 10+2 NSTETs)
No Frequency1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 tota
l
aver
age
rank
1 10 15
5 2 3 1 1 96 2.59 1
2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 4 12 5 7 539 14.56 163 3 2 5 3 1
04 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 193 5.22 5
4 1 1 1 1 1 3 4 3 3 19 598 16.16 185 1 1 2 1 3 4 15 4 3 1 1 1 433 11.7 136 1 1 1 1 2 1 13 4 5 2 3 1 1 1 396 10.7 12
7 3 2 5 8 8 8 1 1 1 386 10.43 118 16 8 5 2 1 1 2 1 1 97 2.62 29 10 5 8 4 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 133 3.78 310 9 8 7 5 3 1 1 1 1 1 136 3.67 411 3 8 5 6 2 3 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 195 5.27 712 2 7 5 2 3 3 4 5 2 1 1 1 1 215 5.81 813 1 1 1 2 1 2 5 6 8 5 2 2 1 474 12.81 1514 1 1 1 1 3 2 3 2 4 8 5 2 3 1 433 11.7 1315 1 1 1 4 4 3 2 4 12 5 264 7.13 916 1 2 4 6 10 5 4 2 1 2 268 7.24 1017 1 1 1 2 2 4 3 10 6 3 1 2 1 275 7.43 5
18 1 1 1 2 5 2 3 1 6 9 4 2 602 16.27 17
95
Table 6. Rank of factors influencing the implementation of biology curriculum at DCTE (Rank by 10+3 NSTETs)
No Frequency1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 tota
l
aver
age ra
nk
1 10 15 15 12 3 4 3 1 1 1 222 3.45 1
2 11 7 8 4 2 9 8 4 7 3 1 1 336 5.17 53 6 5 8 6 13 7 4 5 5 2 2 1 1 351 5.40 74 1 1 3 4 3 5 4 5 6 7 8 18 956 14.71 185 1 1 1 1 2 4 3 5 6 18 7 4 2 2 1 1 663 10.2 136 1 2 3 4 3 5 3 16 6 7 5 2 2 2 1 1 626 9.63 127 1 2 3 5 2 3 7 10 11 9 2 3 3 2 1 1 665 10.23 148 15 10 8 7 5 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 268 4.12 29 13 9 8 7 5 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 335 5.15 410 13 9 11 8 6 3 3 1 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 306 4.7 311 5 10 7 8 6 5 3 5 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 380 5.85 812 8 11 8 7 6 5 4 5 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 341 5.25 613 1 1 3 3 3 5 3 5 7 8 10 7 5 3 1 763 11.74 1514 4 3 5 3 5 6 5 3 7 9 7 2 3 1 2 907 13.95 1715 3 5 6 9 13 8 7 5 5 2 2 486 7.47 1116 1 3 4 5 3 7 6 13 9 6 4 2 2 480 7.38 1017 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 2 6 4 7 7 13 8 7 902 13.88 1618 1 1 1 2 5 1 1 1 6 9 4 2 474 7.29 9
96
Table 7. Rank of factors influencing the implementation of biology curriculum at DCTE (Rank by instructors)
No Frequency
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 tota
l
aver
age
rank
1 2 2 1 1 1 18 2.57 12 1 3 2 1 24 3.43 23 2 1 1 1 1 1 45 6.43 44 2 1 1 1 1 1 59 8.43 85 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 77 11.00 126 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 78 11.14 137 1 1 1 1 1 2 82 11.71 158 1 1 1 1 2 1 65 9.28 99 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 78 11.14 1310 1 2 1 1 1 1 42 6.00 311 2 2 1 1 1 54 7.71 712 2 1 1 1 1 1 46 6.57 513 1 1 1 2 2 84 12.00 1614 2 1 1 1 1 1 46 6.57 515 1 1 1 1 2 1 71 10.14 1116 1 1 2 1 2 70 10.00 1017 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 86 12.29 1718 1 1 1 1 2 1 99 14.14 18
97
Table 8. Table of specification for the test of biology courses at DCTE
s/n
Instructional objectives courses Time (period)used
No of test items
Trainees will be able to
1 Name the parts of microscope and give the function and location of each part
Compare plant cell with animal cell Draw the organs of flowering plants and list
their general functions Define species Identify the components of nucleic acids Describe the life cycle of plants
General Biology I (Boil 111) the science of biology cell biology the chemical basis of life classification plants structure & function
(5cr.hr.) 6(item 1-6)
29.41% 26.09%
2 Explain the modes of transmission, cycle and prevention of STDs
Describe the process of absorption by villi Describe the mechanisms of breathing in and
out
List food substances according to preference of cells as source of energy
Name the different endocrine glands and their function
General biology II(Boil 122)
human biology and the various human diseases
(5cr.hr.) 6(item 7-12)
29.41% 26.09%
3 Describe the different types of respiration in bacteria
Describe the two methods of fossil dating Compare photosynthesis and respiration describe the difference between the two types
nucleic acids
General biology III (Boil 231)
microorganisms (bacteria and virus)
respiration genetics and evolution
(2cr.hr.) 4(item13-16)
11.76% 17.39%
4 Explain the life cycle of locust Know the difference between the two
gnatosome
Mention the advantage of four chambered heart over others
Know the different types of reproduction in animals
General biology IV (Boil 351)
the major groups of animals
(3cr.hr.) 4(item 17-20)
17.65% 17.39%
5 Define community and give examples Explain the causes ,effects and prevention of
water pollution Describe the physical factors affecting the
environment
General biology V (Boil 362)
environmental biology
(2cr.hr.) 3(item 21-23)
11.76% 13.04%
98
Table 9. Discrimination index values of the pretest results of the achievement test items
Number of test items
Index value for Items selected
courses10+2 NSTETs 10+3 NSTETs
1 0.3333 0.3125 √ Boil 1112 0.3333 0.3125 √3 0.4000 0.3125 √4 0.0667 0.1875 x5 0.2667 0.3125 √6 0.4667 0.4375 √7 0.4667 0.4375 √8 0.4000 0.3750 √ Boil 1229 0.2667 0.2500 √10 0.8000 0.8750 x11 0.4000 0.4375 √12 0.3333 0.3750 √13 0.3333 0.3125 √14 0.4667 0.3750 √
15 0.4000 0.4375 √ Boil 23116 0.2667 0.3750 √
17 0.4667 0.3125 √18 0.4000 0.4375 √19 0.3333 0.3750 √ Boil 35120 0.4667 0.3750 √21 0.4000 0.3125 √22 0.4000 0.4375 √23 - 0.3125 √ Boil 36224 - 0.4375 √
25 - 0.4375 √
99
Table 10. The match between biology contents of DCTE and upper primary school (grade 7)
Grade 7 Biology Curriculum The DCTE biology
curriculum in which
the contents of grade
7 are briefly discussed
Contents Some Methods Of Teaching learning process
Recommended In The Chapter
The scope of biology
(5 periods)
Discussion, project work, explanation, assignment,
reflection,
In General Biology I
(5cr.Hr.)
The cell(15 periods) Demonstration, experimentation, discussion, using
specimen, reflection
In General Biology I
(5cr.Hr.)
Single celled organisms
(10 periods)
Introduction, Discussion, observation,
summarizing results of Discussion, project work
In General Biology IV
(5cr.Hr.)
habitat(12 periods) Explanation, observation, demonstration, project
work, collection
In General Biology V
(2cr.Hr.)
Algae, fungi and non
flowering plants
(15periods)
Collection and preservation, observation,
Discussion ,using models and charts, practicing,
relate to the context, lecturing and discussion,
questioning
In General Biology I
(5cr.Hr.)
Insects (15 periods) preservation, discussion, visit, interviews, project
work, sorting
In General Biology IV
(5cr.Hr.)
Human biology and
health (33 periods)
using charts, discussion, explanation, dissection,
role playing,
In General Biology II
(5cr.Hr.)
100
Table 11. The match between biology contents of DCTE and upper primary school (grade 8)
Grade 8 Biology Curriculum The DCTE biology
curriculum in which the
contents of grade 8are
briefly discussed
Contents Methods of teaching used in the chapter
Human biology
and health (32
periods)
Brainstorming, asking, discussion, explanation,
observation, dissection, practicing, demonstration,
questioning and answering
In General Biology II
(5cr.Hr.)
Human and
disease
(23periods)
Discussion, observation demonstration, group
project, observation, investigation,
In General Biology II
(5cr.Hr.)
Flowering
plants
(15periods)
Discussion, using specimens, preparing teaching
aids, observation, explanation, doing activities,
examining,
In General Biology I
(5cr.Hr.)
Photosynthesis(
10 periods)
Demonstration, tests, explanation In General Biology I
(5cr.Hr.)
Our
environment(15
periods)
Observation, discussion, explanation In General Biology V
(2cr.Hr.)
classification(1
0periods)
Observation, discussion, explanation, sorting In General Biology I
(5cr.Hr.)
101
7.2. Appendix II: List of Achievement Test
HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
Achievement test to be filled by second and third year NSTETs
Name _____________________section___________ sex_______________ id_________
Instruction: read the following questions carefully and complete them. Give a short and
precise answer when needed.
1. The function of objective lenses in a compound microscope is__________________
2. The reason why plant cells are relatively regular in shape than that of plant cells is the
presence of_____________________
3. The major components of nucleic acids are_________________________________
4. The essential parts of a flower are _________________________________________
5. Define the term species_________________________________________________
6. In the life cycle of plants ,the diploid phase is called___________________________
7. _____________________________is a master gland in human endocrine system
8. HIV is transmitted from one individual to another through _____________________
9. The role of villi in the wall of the digestive system are_________________________
10. The circulation of blood between the heart and the lung is called_________________
11. If the blood group of somebody is A, then his blood contains ___antigen and ______
antibody respectively.
12. Explain the modes of transmission and prevention of TB._____________________
13. Based on their oxygen requirement, bacteria are categorized in to three. These are
_______
14. The sites of cellular respiration in the cell are________________________
15. List the difference between DNA and RNA_________________________________
102
16. The two methods used to know the age of a fossil are
________________________________
17. Show the life cycle of locust diagrammatically_______________________________
18. A single animal that produce both the male and female gametes are called _________
19. The advantages of four chambered hearts over three chambered heart are__________
20. The major difference between bony and cartilaginous fish is____________________
21. The major abiotic factors of the environment are(for third year only______________
22. Mention two causes of water pollution (for third year only)_____________________
23. In ecological succession, the first and the last community are respectively called
_________________________________________________ (for third year only)
103
7.3. Appendix III: List of Interview Guides
HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
Interviews Guides for second and third year natural science teacher education trainees
Title: The Implementation of Biology curriculum in DCTE
General Information
Name of the College/School
Interviewees
Name
department
Sex
Current academic qualification
Education level
1. What is your opinion on the coverage, depth and the time allotted for the biology
courses?
2. Do you believe that the implementation of biology curriculum create a real life
environment in the classroom?
3. How do you rate the outcomes of implementation of biology curriculum in the college
vis-à-vis to the objectives of TESO?
4. What do you rate the effectiveness of biology curriculum implementation in relation to
the emphasis given to the following qualities noted in the Ethiopian Education &
Training policy?
5. To what Extent does the implementation of biology curriculum in your college involve
active participation of students and student centered learning?
104
6. How do you rate the extent of implementation of practical activities per biology
courses?
7. What do you say about the attitude of NSTETs towards teaching profession?
8. What problems did you encounter in trying to implement the biology curriculum vis-à-
vis to the TESO objectives? Is there any measure taken?
105
HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
Interviews Guides for the college biology instructors and principals
Title: The Implementation of Biology curriculum in DCTE
General Information
Name of the College/School
Interviewees
Name
department
Sex
Current academic qualification
Position and education level
1. What your opinion on the clarity of the college community on the objectives of TESO
curriculum?
2. What is your opinion on the coverage, depth and the time allotted for the biology courses?
3. Do you believe that the implementation of biology curriculum create a real life
environment in the classroom?
4. How do you rate the outcomes of implementation of biology curriculum in the college vis-
à-vis to the objectives of TESO?
5. How do you rate the effectiveness of biology curriculum implementation in relation to the
emphasis given to the following qualities noted in the Ethiopian Education & Training policy?
6. To what Extent does the implementation of biology curriculum in your college involve
active participation of students and student centered learning?
7. How do you rate the extent of implementation of practical activities per biology courses?
8. What do you say about the attitude of NSTETs towards teaching profession?
9. What problems did you encounter in trying to implement the biology curriculum vis-à-vis
to the TESO objectives? Is there any measure taken?
106
7.4. Appendix IV: List of Questionnaires
HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
Questionnaires: To be filled by second year and third year natural science teacher education
trainees and biology instructors.
Title: The Implementation of Biology curriculum in Dessie College of Teachers Education
Instruction: The purpose of this questionnaire is to gather information on the title
Implementation of Biology Curriculum in DCTE. Dear Respondents since the Reliability of
this survey depends on the objectivity of your response, you are kindly requested to offer your
response based on factual and genuine information. No Need of Writing your name. Thank
you in advance for your cooperation!
Part I
Direction: 1) Please Put tick mark (√) on the space provided.
2) When written response is required, please make a brief comment.
3) Respond to all questions precisely and genuinely
1. Name of the College__________________________
2. College/School location : Region _______________ Zone ____________
3. Respondents’ sex, age, educational level and years of service
Sex) Age Educational
Level
Years of service in (for
Teachers)
M F Education
sector
Other(specify)
107
M=male, F=female
Part II
Direction: Based on the likert rating scales (Very high, High, Fair, Low, and Very low), put
tick mark (√) on one of the five alternatives from questions number 1 to 6 on the space
provided for your choice.
V. low =1
Low =2
Fair =3
High =4
V. high =5
1. How do you rate the adequacy of the biology curriculum in relation to coverage, depth as
well as its responsiveness to prepare NSTETs for teaching? (To be filled by 3rd year NSTETs
and instructors only)
No Adequacy of biology Curriculum V. low low fair high V. high
1 Coverage of the curriculum in relation to upper
primary school biology curriculum (grade 7 &8)
2 Depth of the curriculum in relation to upper
primary school biology curriculum(grade 7 &8)
3 Capacity of the curriculum to prepare the
NSTETs for further training or education
4 Capacity of the curriculum to prepare students
for the real world teaching of biology in the
upper primary school(grade 7 &8)
5 The time allotted to cover the biology courses
108
2. How do you rate the effectiveness of biology curriculum implementation in relation to the
emphasis given to the following qualities noted in the Ethiopian Education & Training policy?
(To be filled by the three categories)
No Emphasis of the biology education
Training
V. low low fair high V. high
1 Basic knowledge/ Academic knowledge
2 Professional ethics
3 Teaching methodology
4 Practical training
3. To what Extent does the implementation of biology curriculum in your college involve
active participation of students and student centered learning? (To be filled by the three
categories)
No Extent of active participation of students in their
learning process and implementation of student
centered learning
V.
low
lo
w
fair high V. high
1 The extent of Lesson presentation meeting the
needs of diverse students in the classroom
2 The extent of effective Class room management
and student support that fosters interaction
3 The extent of integration of contents and methods
4 Frequency of assessment and evaluation of
NSTETs achievement within the classroom
5 consideration given for the feedbacks of NSTETs
and teachers
109
4. How do you rate the extent of implementation of practical activities per biology courses?
N
o
implementation of practical activities V.
low
low fair high V.
high
1 The extent of courses that involve field work
2 The extent of courses that involve project work
3 The extent of courses that involve Investigations
4 The extent of Practical activities conducted by teacher
demonstration &trainees themselves
5 The extent of practical activities actually practiced per the
number of practical activities in the biology courses.
6 The extent of chemicals availability for practical activities
7 The extent of equipment availability for practical
activities
8 The extent of availability of facilities such as room
,water, table etc for practical activities
9 The extent of availability of laboratory manual
10 The extent of availability of field equipment (net,
clinometers, insect kit, paddle etc.)
110
5. How do you rate the implementation of biology curriculum in the college Vis-a- vise to
the intended outcomes? (To be filled by the three categories)
s/n Outcomes of Biology curriculum implementation V.
low
low fair high V.
high
1 Producing biology teachers who have appropriate
academic knowledge to teach at upper primary
school(grade 7 &8)
2 Producing biology teachers who have appropriate
professional ethics to teach at upper primary
school.
3 Producing biology teachers who have self-
confidence to teach at upper primary school
(grade 7 &8).
4 Producing biology teachers who have sufficient
action research skills.
5 Producing biology teachers who have sufficient
problem solving skills.
6 Producing biology teachers who have learner-
oriented methodological skills.
7 Producing biology teachers who would be able to
carry out continuous assessment.
8 Producing biology teachers who have the
capacity to understand the physical, emotional &
social development of their students.
9 Producing biology teachers who are capable of
producing learning materials from local
resources.
111
6. What do you say about the attitude of NSTETs towards teaching profession? (To be filled
by the three categories)
No The attitude of NSTETs towards the
profession
V. low low fair high V.
high
1 The interest of NSTETs of being a
biology teacher
2 Trainees commitment to the professional
code of ethics and values
3 Trainees commitment to change(
professional development)
4 Trainees commitment to continuous
assessment
5 Trainees interest to learn biology
Part III
Direction:-From question number 7 to question 13, indicate your response by circling the
letter of your choice and for those questions that require written responses, please make a
brief comment(To be filled by second and third year NSTETs)
7. Do you have a clear understanding on the objectives of the new curriculum? A. Yes B.
No. C. Not sure
8. What are the active learning methods you use in the biology class room interaction?
9. Do you believe that the implementation of the biology curriculum create a real life
environment in the classroom? A. Yes B. No.
112
If your answer is no, what problems did you encounter in implementing the biology
curriculum? What are the possible solutions for the problems you mention?
10. What is your opinion on the coverage and depth of the five general biology courses given
in the three year training versus teaching biology at upper primary school?
11. What is your opinion on the time allotted for practicum, academic subjects and
professional courses in the programme?
12. Do you have a clear understanding on problem based learning approach? A. Yes B. No.
If you say yes, how do you practice it?
13. What is your overall comment for effective implementation of biology curriculum in line
with TESO in the college?
113
Part III
Direction:-From question number 6 to question 18, indicate your response by circling the
letter of your choice except questions require written responses. For questions that require
written responses, please make a brief comment (To be filled by biology instructors only)
7. Do you have a clear understanding on the objectives of TESO curriculum? A. Yes B. No.
C. Not sure
8. Do you believe that NSTETs have a clear understanding on the objectives of the new
curriculum? A. Yes B. No. C. Not sure
9. What are the active learning methods you use in the biology class room interaction?
10. Do you believe that the implementation of the biology curriculum in DCTE create a real
life environment in the classroom? A. Yes B. No.
If your answer is no, what problems did you encounter in implementing the biology
curriculum? What are the possible solutions for the problems you mention?
11. Are there clear procedures specific to biology curriculum implementation and follow-up?
A. Yes B. No. C. Not sure
12. Who is responsible for monitoring biology curriculum implementation in the college?
State why?
13. What is your opinion on the coverage and depth of the five general biology courses given
in the three year training versus teaching biology at upper primary school?
14. To what extent do you discus with other teachers on NSTETs’ achievement to know their
success?
15. What is your opinion on the time allotted for practicum, academic subjects and
professional courses in the programme?
16. Do you have a clear understanding on problem based learning approach? A. Yes B. No.
If you say yes, how do you practice it?
17. Does the evaluation system link continuous assessment of students’ achievement and
feedback on instructional practices? A. Yes B. No.
18. What is your overall comment for effective implementation of biology curriculum at
DCTE in line with TESO in the college?
114
Part IV
DIRECTION: - After reading the following possible factors, give rank according to their level
of influence on the implementation of biology curriculum in DCTE on the space provided in
front of each statement.
NB. Those factors which have strong influence take the upper rank (1, 2, 3, ---) and those
which have minimal influence should take the lower rank (---16, 17, 18). (To be filled by the
second year & third year NSTETs and biology instructors)
Possible factors ranks/n Possible factors1 Poor supply of laboratory inputs such as chemicals and manuals2 Shortage of laboratory space3 Poor quality of biology instructors 4 Poor coverage and depth of the curriculum5 Shortage of biology instructors6 Lack of information about the curriculum objectives7 Lack of clarity of the new curriculum
8 Inadequacy of the time allotted for the courses9 Domination of Teacher centered classroom environment10 Difficult words in the text 11 Shortage of teaching materials and modules and reference books12 Shortage of reference books13 Absence of adequate guidance and counseling services14 Absence of consistent continuous assessment practice15 Lack of attention of principals for implementation of the biology curriculum16 Lack of emphasis for implementing feedbacks 17 Absence of Computers & the internet access18 Absence of tutorial program19 Others(specify)
115
HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
በደሴ መምህራን ትምህርት ኮሌጅ በ2ኛና ዓመት በ3ኛ ዓመት እጩ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንና
በኮሌጅ የባዮሎጅ መምህራን ሚሞላ የፅሁፍ መጠይቅ::
ርዕስ፡-በደሴ መምህራን ትምህርት ኮሌጅ የባዮሎጅ ስርዓተ-ትምህርት አተገባበር
መመሪያ፡-የመÖይቁ ¯ላማ በደሴ መምህራን ትምህርት ኮሌጅ የባዮሎጅ ስርዓተ-ትምህርት
አተገባበርን ለማወቅ የሚያስችል መረጃ ለመሰብሰብ ነው፡፡ የዚህ ጥናት ተዓማኒነት እርሰዎ
በሚሰጡት መረጃ ላይ የሚመሰረት በመሆኑ ትክክKኛ SMe በመስጠት እንድተባበሩኝ
እጠይቃለሁ፡፡.ስምዎን መጻፍ አያስፈልግዎትም:: ስለትብብ` በቅድሚያ አመሰግናለሁ፡፡
ክፍል አንድ
መግለÝ፡- 1) በሚመርጡት ሀሳብ ፊትለፊት የልክ (√) ምልክት ያድርጉ
2) የጽሁፍ መልስ ሲያስፈልግ ግልጽ ማብራርያ ይስጡ
3) ለሁሉም ጥያቄዎች ግልጽና ትክክለኛ መልስ ይስጡ
1. የኮሌጁ/ ƒ/u?ƒ ስም____________________________
2. ኮሌጁ/ ƒ/u?ቱ የሚገኝበት ቦታ: ክልል ________ ዞን _______
3. መጠይቁን የሚሞሉት መላሾች ጾታ፡እድሜ፡የትምህርት ደረጃና የአገልግሎት ዘመን
መጠይቁን የሚሞሉት መላሾች ጾታ፡እድሜ፡የትምህርት ደረጃና የአገልግሎት ዘመን
ጾታ እድሜ የትምህርት ደረጃ የአገልግሎት ዘመን
ወ ሴ በት/ት ዘርፍ በሌላ(ይገለጽ)
116
ክፍል ሁለት
መመሪያ፡-የሚከተሉትን የሊከርት የማወዳደርያ ደረጃዎች (በጣምዝቅተኛ"ዝቅተኛ "
በቂ"ከፍተኛና በጣም ከፍተኛ) መሰረት በማድረግ ከጥያቄ ተራ ቁጥር 1 እስከ 6 ላሉት
መጠይቆች ከተዘረዘሩት አምስት አማራጭመልሶች መካከል አንዱን በመምረጥ ለተመረጡት
ሀሳብ በተዘጋጀለት ቦታ ላይ የልክ ምልክት (√) ያድርጉ፡፡
በጣም ዝቅተኛ =1
ዝቅተኛ =2
በቂ =3
ከፍተኛ =4
በጣም ከፍተኛ =5
1. በስፋት" በሽፋን እና በጥልቀት እንድሁም ብቃት ያላቸዉ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንን
ለማፍራት የሚያስችል ብቃት ያለዉ (adequacy) ስረዓተ-ትምህርƒ Sዘርጋቱን እንዴት
Ãመዝኑታል (በ3ኛ ዓመት እጩ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንና በኮሌጅ የባዮሎጅ መምህራን ሚሞላ
መጠይቅ)
ተ
.ቁ
ብቃት ያለዉ (adequate) የባዮሎጅ ስረዓተ-ትምህርት ስለSዘርጋቱ 1 2 3 4 5
1 የስ`ዓተ ትምህርቱ ስፋት ሽፋን(coverage) ከ7ኛና8ኛ የባዮሎጅ
ስ`ዓተ-ትምህርት ስፋትና ሽፋን አንጻር ሲታይ
2 የስ`ዓተ ትምህርቱ ጥልቀት(depth) ከ7ኛና8ኛ የባዮሎጅ ስ`ዓተ-
ትምህርት ጥልቀት አንጻር ሲታይ
3 ስረዓተ ትምህርቱ እጩ መምህራንን ለቀጣይ የትምህርት ደረጃ
የማዘጋጀት ብቃቱ
4 ስ`ዓተ ትምህርቱ እጩ መምህራን” የአካባቢዉን ተጨባጭ ሁኔታ
መሰረት ያደረገ የ7ኛና 8ኛክፍል የባዮሎጅ ትምህርት እንዲያስተምሩ
የማዘጋጀት ብቃቱ
5 የባዮሎጅ ኮርሶች ከፊዚክስና ክሚስትሪ ኮርሶች ጋር የማቀናጀት ሁኔታ
117
2. የባዮሎጅ ስ`ዓተ-ትምህርት ትግበራን ከሚፈለገዉ ዉጤት አንጻር እንዴት Ãመዝኑታል
(በ2ኛና ዓመት በ3ኛ ዓመት እጩ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንና በኮሌጅ የባዮሎጅ መምህራን
ሚሞላ መጠይቅ)
ተ.ቁ የባዮሎጅ ስ`ዓተ-ትምህርት ትግበራ ዉጤት 1 2 3 4 5
1 በቂ ዕዉቀት ያላቸዉ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንን እያፈራ መሆኑ
2 የተላ የሙያ ስነምግባር ያላቸዉ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንን እያፈራ
መሆኑ
3 ሙያዉን የሚያፈቅሩና በራሳቸዉ የሚተማመኑ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንን
እያፈራ መሆኑ
4 በቂ የድርጊት ጥናትና ምርምር ለማካሄድ ችሎታ ያላቸዉ የባዮሎጅ
መምህራንን እያፈራ መሆኑ
5 በችÓር ፈች የማስተማር ዘዴ የተካኑ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንን እያፈራ
መሆኑ
6 ተማሪ ተኮር የማስተማር ዘዴ የተላብሱ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንን እያፈራ
መሆኑ
7 የተከታታይ ምዘና ዘዴ ለመተግበር የሚችሉ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንን
እያፈራ መሆኑ
8 የተማሪዎቻቸዉን አካላዊ' ስT@ታዊና ማህበራዊ ለዉጦች መረዳት
የሚችሉ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንን እያፈራ መሆኑ
9 በአካባቢዉ ከሚገኙ ቁሳቁሶች የትምህርት መርጃ መሳሪያዎችን
መስራት የሚችሉ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንን እያፈራ መሆኑ
118
5. የባዮሎጅ ትምህርት አሰጣጥ ብቃትን ከኢትዮጵያ ትምህርት እና ስልጠና ፖሊሲ
ትኩረት አንፃር እንደት ይመዝኑታል ;( በ2ኛና ዓመት በ3ኛ ዓመት እጩ የባዮሎጅ
መምህራንና በኮሌጅ የባዮሎጅ መምህራን ሚሞላ መጠይቅ)
ተ.ቁ ¾vÄKAÏ ƒUI`ƒ ›c×Ø ƒŸ<[ƒ” u}SKŸ} 1 2 3 4 5
1 KSc[•© የባዮሎጅ •¨<kƒ(basic biological knowledge)
2 ለሙያዊ ስነምግባር
3 ለማስተማር ዘዴ
4 ለተግባ` ስልጠና
5 ለተከታታይ ምዘናና ግምገማ
4. የባዮሎጅ ስ`ዓተ-ትምህርት ትግበራ ምን ያIል ተማሪዎችን የሚያሳትፍና ተማሪ ተኮር
ነዉ (በ2ኛና ዓመት በ3ኛ ዓመት እጩ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንና በኮሌጅ የባዮሎጅ መምህራን
ሚሞላ መጠይቅ)
ተ.ቁ የባዮሎጅ ስ`ዓተ-ትምህርት ተማሪዎችን የማሳተፍ ደረጃዉና ተማሪ
ተኮር መሆኑ
1 2 3 4 5
1 የትምህርቱ አቀራረብ በክፍል ዉስጥ የተለያየ õLÔƒ ÁL†¨<”
}T]ዎ‹ T"}~
2 ¾}T]‹” }dƒö ¾T>ÁÖ“¡`'Ø\ ¾¡õM ¨<eØ ›ÁÁ´“ •Ñ³
S•\(SÖkS<)
3 K}KÁ¿ `°f‹ ¾T>eTS< ¾}KÁ¿ ¾Te}T` ²dዴ‹”
¾SÖkU G<’@•
4 uvÄKAÏ e`¯} ƒUI`ƒ ›}Ñvu` ሂደት ¾}T]‹” ¾Ó”³u?
Å[Í (eŸ?•T’ƒ) KT¨p ¾ሚድ>[Ó ¾U²““ ÓUÑT ÉÓÓVi
5 ŸvÄKAÏ }T]‹ •“ SUI^” KT>k`u< Ów[ SMe
(feedback) ¾T>cØ ƒŸ<[ƒ
119
5. ¾vÄKAÏ ኮርሶች ¾} Óv` eMÖ“›}Ñvu`ን ( implementation of practical activities per
courses) •”ዴƒ Á¿•M; (በ2ኛና ዓመት በ3ኛ ዓመት እጩ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንና በኮሌጅ
የባዮሎጅ መምህራን ሚሞላ መጠይቅ)
ተ.ቁ ¾}Óv` ƒUI`ƒ ›}Ñvu`” u}SKŸ} 1 2 3 4 5
1 ¾T>cÖ<ƒ ƒUI`„‹ ¾Lx^„] e^‹” ¾T"}ታቸዉ
G<’@•
2 ¾T>cÖ<ƒ ƒUI`„‹ ¾Se¡ e^‹” ¾T"}ታቸዉ
G<’@•
3 ¾T>cÖ<ƒ ƒUI`„‹ ¾ýaË¡ት e^‹” ¾T"}ታቸዉ
G<’@•
4 ¾T>cÖ<ƒ ƒUI`„‹ ¾Ó˜ƒ e^‹” ¾T"}ታቸዉ
G<’@•
5 SUI^” ¾}Óv` e^‹” K}T]‰†¨< c`„ ¾Td¾ƒ
MUdž¨<
6 ¾}c\ƒ ¾}Óv` e^¨‹ u¢`f‹ ¨<eØ Sc^ƒ
"Kv†¨< Ò` c=’íì\
7 ¾}Óv` e^¨<” KT"H@É ¾T>ÁeðMÑ< Ÿ?T>"KA‹
¾S•^†¨< G<’@•
8 ¾}Óv` e^¨<” KT"H@É ¾T>ÁeðMÑ< የላቦራቶሪ
እቃዎች ¾S•^†¨< G<’@•
9 ¾}Óv` e^¨<” KT"H@É ¾T>ÁÓ²< Ów¯„‹ TKƒU
¨<H'¾Lx^„] ¡õM' Ö[â?³ ¨²} ¾S•^†¨< G<’@•
10 ¾}Óv` e^¨<” KT"H@É ¾T>ÁeðMÑ< ¾Lx^„]
SS]Á‹( manual) ¾S•^†¨< G<’@•
11 የመስክ ስራዎችን ለመስራት
የሚያገለግሉመሳሪያዎች(ኔት'ክሊኖምትር'ኢንሴካ-ክት ጃር
' አካፋ ወ.ዘ.ተ.)የመንራቸዉ ሁንታ
12 ተማሪዎች በራሳቸዉ ሙከራ የመስራታቸዉ ሁኔታ
120
6. •Û SUI^” uSUI`’ƒ S<Á Là eLL†¨< አመለካከት U” ÃLK<; (በ2ኛና
ዓመት በ3ኛ ዓመት እጩ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንና በኮሌጅ የባዮሎጅ መምህራን ሚሞላ
መጠይቅ)
ተ.ቁ cM×™‹ uSUI`’ƒ S<Á Là ÁL†¨<”
አመለካከትu}SKŸ}
1 2 3 4 5
1 cM×™‹ ¾vÄKAÏ ƒUI`ƒ ለመማር ÁL†¨< õLÔƒ
2 cM×™‹ KSUI`’ƒ ¾S<Á e’ UÓv` S`I KSѳƒ
ÁL†¨< l`Ö˜’ƒ
3 cM×™‹ KK¨<Ø( ለሙያ መሻሻል) ÁL†¨< l`Ö˜’ƒ
4 cM×™‹ }Ÿ••Ã U²“ KT"H@É ÁL†¨< l`Ö˜’ƒ
5 cM×™‹ ¾vÄKAÏ ƒUI`ƒ SUI` KSJ” ÁL†¨< õLÔƒ
ክፍል ሶስት
መመሪያ፡-ከተራ ቁጥር 7 እስከ 17 ላሉት ጥያቄዎች ከተዘረዘሩላቸዉ አማራጭ
መልሶችመካከል የሚስማማዎትን ሀሳብ የያዘዉን ሆሄ መርጠዉ በመክበብ መልስ ይስጡ!
የጽሁፍ መልስ ሲያስፈልግ ደግሞ ግልጽ ማብራሪ ይጻፉ፡፡< (በ2ኛና ዓመት በ3ኛ ዓመት
እጩ የባዮሎጅ መምህራን ሚሞላ መጠይቅ)
6.¾vÄKAÏ ƒUI`ƒ cM×™‹ u›Éc< e`¯} ƒUI`ƒ ¯LT¨‹ Là ÓMê ¾J’
Ó”³u? ›L†¨<”; G - › K- ¾L†¨<U N - •`ÓÖ— ›ÃÅKG<U
7. ከተማሪ ተኮር የማስተማር ዘዴዎች መካከል በክፍል ዉስጥ የመትጠቀሙባቸዉ
የትኞችን ነዉ
__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
8. በ¡õM ¨<eØ ¾T>"H@Ũ< ¾vÄKAÏ ስርዓተ-ƒUI`ƒ ƒÓu^ ÑHÆ” ¯KU ( real life
environment) TዕŸM ÁÅ[Ñ ’¨< wK¨< ÁU“K<; G - › K - ›LU”U
121
SMe ›LU”U ŸJ’ ¾e`¯} ƒUI`~” ¯LT KTd"ƒ uT>Ø\uƒ Ñ>²? ¾ÑÖሙዎƒ
‹Óa‹ U” U” “†¨<;
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
ለችግሮች የሚያስቀምቸዉ መፍትሄዎችስ ምንምን ናቸዉ;
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
9. ¢K?Ì u3¯Sƒ ¨<eØ ¾T>cጣቸዉ ›Ue~ ¾vKAÏ ¢`f‹ eóƒ“ ØMkƒ (coverage
and depth) ¾7— •“ ¾8— ¡õM ¾vÄKAÏ ƒUI`ƒ” ŸTe}T` ›”é` U” ›e}Á¾ƒ
›K¨ƒ;
___________________________________________________________________________
10. K}V¡a( practicum)'K›ካÅT>¡“ KS<Á ƒUI`„‹ በተመደበዉ c¯ƒ( Ñ>²?) ላይ
U” ›e}Á¾ƒ ›K¨ƒ;
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
11.‹Ó`ን መስረት ባዴረገ (problem based) ¾Te}T` ²È ላይ ÓMê ¾J’ Ó”³u? ›K-
ƒ;
G - ›K˜ K - ¾K˜U
Ó”³u? ›K˜ "K< የአተገባበር ሂደቱን ያብራሩ
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
12. ŸSUI^” e`’kM K¨<Ø ¯LT‹ (TESO objectives) ›Á ¾vÄKAÏ e`¯}
ƒUI`ƒ ƒÓu^ ¨<Ö?•T •”ÉJ” U” ›e}Á¾ƒ ›Kƒ;
___________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
122
ክፍል ሶስት
መመሪያ፡-ከተራ ቁጥር 7 እስከ 17 ላሉት ጥያቄዎች ከተዘረዘሩላቸዉ አማራጭ
መልሶችመካከል የሚስማማዎትን ሀሳብ የያዘዉን ሆሄ መርጠዉ በመክበብ መልስ ይስጡ!
የጽሁፍ መልስ ሲያስፈልግ ደግሞ ግልጽ ማብራሪ ይጻፉ፡፡( በኮሌጅ የባዮሎጅ መምህራን
ሚሞላ መጠይቅ)
7. ¾vÄKAÏ SUI^” •`e” ÚUa u›Éc< e`¯} ƒUI`ƒ( TESO Curriculum)
¯LT‹ Là ÓMê ¾J’ Ó”³u? ›L‹G<”; G - › K - ¾K”U N - •`ÓÖ— ›ÃÅKG<U
8.¾vÄKAÏ ƒUI`ƒ cM×™‹ u›Éc< e`¯} ƒUI`ƒ ¯LT¨‹ Là ÓMê ¾J’
Ó”³u? ›L†¨<”; G - › K- ¾L†¨<U N - •`ÓÖ— ›ÃÅKG<U
9. ከተማሪ ተኮር የማስተማር ዘዴዎች መካከል በክፍል ዉስጥ የመትጠቀሙባቸዉ
የትኞችን ነዉ
_________________________________________________________________
10. በ¡õM ¨<eØ ¾T>"H@Ũ< ¾vÄKAÏ ስርዓተ-ƒUI`ƒ ƒÓu^ ÑHÆ” ¯KU ( real life
environment) TዕŸM ÁÅ[Ñ ’¨< wK¨< ÁU“K<; G - › K - ›LU”U
SMe ›LU”U ŸJ’ ¾e`¯} ƒUI`~” ¯LT KTd"ƒ uT>Ø\uƒ Ñ>²? ¾ÑÖሙዎƒ
‹Óa‹ U” U” “†¨<;
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
ለችግሮች የሚያስቀምቸዉ መፍትህዎችስ ምንምን ናቸዉ;
___________________________________________________________________________
11. ¾vÄKAÏ e`¯} ƒUI`ƒ” KS}Óu` •“ ¡ƒƒM KTÉ[Ó ¾T>Áe‹ሉ ÓMê
¾Jኑ pÅU }Ÿ}L© SS]Á(procedures) ›ሉ”; G - ›K K - ¾KU N - •`ÓÖ—
›ÃÅKG<U
12. u¢K?Ì ¨<eØ ¾vÄKAÏ e`¯} ƒUI`ƒ ƒÓu^ ¾T>Ÿ•}K¨< ›"M T” ’¨<;
KU”;
__________________________________________________________________________
123
13. ¢K?Ì u3¯Sƒ ¨<eØ ¾T>cጣቸዉ ›Ue~ ¾vKAÏ ¢`f‹ eóƒ“ ØMkƒ
(coverage and depth) ¾7— •“ ¾8— ¡õM ¾vÄKAÏ ƒUI`ƒ” ŸTe}T` ›”é` U”
›e}Á¾ƒ ›K¨ƒ;
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
14.¾}T]‹” ¾Ó”³u? Å[Í (eŸ?•T’ƒ) KT¨p ŸK?KA‹ SUI^” Ò` ምን ያክል
¾Hdw M¨<¨<Ø ያዴርጋሉ;
15. K}V¡a( practicum)'K›ካÅT>¡“ KS<Á ƒUI`„‹ በተመደበዉ c¯ƒ( Ñ>²?) ላይ
U” ›e}Á¾ƒ ›K¨ƒ;
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
16.‹Ó`ን መስረት ባዴረገ (problem based) ¾Te}T` ²È ላይ ÓMê ¾J’ Ó”³u? ›K-
ƒ;
G - ›K˜ K - ¾K˜U
Ó”³u? ›K˜ "K< የአተገባበር ሂደቱን ያብራሩ
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
17. ¾vÄKAÏ e`¯} ƒUI`ƒ ¾ÓUÑT ²È Ÿ}T]‹ }Ÿ••Ã U²“ ¨<Ö?ƒ •“
KTe}T` ²È¨< ŸT>cØ ግብረመልስ( feed back) Ò` ¾}dc[ ’¨<”; G - › K -
›ÃÅKU
18. ŸSUI^” e`’kM K¨<Ø ¯LT‹ (TESO objectives) ›Á ¾vÄKAÏ e`¯}
ƒUI`ƒ ƒÓu^ ¨<Ö?•T •”ÉJ” U” ›e}Á¾ƒ ›Kƒ;
124
ክፍል አራት
SS]Á፡-Ÿ²=I u•‹ KvÄKAÏ e`¯} ƒUI`ƒ ƒÓu^ ‹Ó` ÃJ“K< }wK¨<
¾}²[²\ƒ” U¡”Á„‹ "’uu< uL uT>ÁdÉ\ƒ }ê°• Sc[ƒ òƒ Kòƒ u}cÖ¨<
¡õƒ x• LÃ uÅ[Í ›ekUÖ(በ2ኛና ዓመት በ3ኛ ዓመት እጩ የባዮሎጅ መምህራንና
በኮሌጅ የባዮሎጅ መምህራን ሚሞላ መጠይቅ)::
Tdcu=Á፡-Ÿõ}— }ê°• ¾T>ÁdÉ\ƒ U¡”Á„‹ ¾SËS]Áቹ” Å[Íዎች ( 1'2'3'...)
¾T>ò< c=J” ´p}— }ê°• ¾T>ÁdÉ\ƒ U¡”Á„‹ ÅÓV ¾SÚ[h‹” Å[Í-
‹(...18'19) ÃóK<::
ተ.ቁ ‹Ó` ÃJ“K< }wK¨< ¾•cu< ደረጃ
1 ¾Lx^„] Ÿ?T>"KA‹“ Sd]Á‹ ›KSTEL•†¨<
2 um ¾Lx^„] ¡õM ›KS•\
3 ¾vÄKAÏ SUI^” wnƒ T’e
4 ሥE`¯} ƒUI`~ um eóƒ •“ ØMkƒ ¾K?K¨< SJ’<
5 ¾SUI^” •Ø[ƒ
6 ¾e`¯} ƒUI`~ ¯LTዎች ግንዛቤ አጥረት
7 ›Éc< e`¯} ƒUI`ƒ ÓMê ›KSJ’<
8 K¢`f‹ ¾}SÅu¨< Ñ>²? um ›KSJ’<
9 SUI` }¢` SJ’<
10 SUI^” uVÌKA‹ ¬eØ ŸvÇ= nLƒ SÖkT†¬
11 ¾ƒUI`ƒ S`Í Sd]Á‹ •“ VÌKA‹የማጣቀh Sî%õƒ •Ø[ƒ
12 ¾SUI^” uS¨²“ Là ›ÉKA— SJ”
13 um ¾J’ ¾U¡` ›ÑMÓKAƒ ›KS•`
14 ወጥ ¾J’ }Ÿ••Ã U²“ ›KS•\
15 •Lò‹ Ke`¯} ƒUI`ƒ ƒÓu^ ¾T>cÖ<ƒ ƒŸ<[ƒ ›“d SJ”
16 uƒÓu^ ²<]Á KT>k`u< ›e}Á¾„‹ ƒŸ<[ƒ ›KSeÖƒ
17 ¾¢Uú¨<}` •“ ›=”}`’@ƒ ›ÑMÓKAƒ ›KS•`
18 ¾~„`ÁM ýaÓ^U ›KS•`
19 ሌላ ካለ ይገለጽ
125
