Correlating students’ knowledge levels of science process skills with their conceptual understanding of biology and intrinsic motivation levels a case study of Morogoro high school students in Tanzania

Abstract

The aim of this study was to correlate students’ knowledge levels of science process skills with their conceptual understanding of biology and intrinsic motivation levels. Participants of the study were 263 advanced level Biology students (age range 19-20) from three selected secondary schools in Morogoro Tanzania. The three schools were Kilakala (145 students), Alfagerms (87 students) and Bigwa sisters (31 students) were involved in the study. The data were collected using i. Biology Process Skills Test-BPST”, ii. Genetics test and Science Motivation Questionnaire-II adapted by researchers by examining studies related to this field. Results showed that there was a moderate positive correlation (r= 0. 45) between science process skills and genetics knowledge. This correlation was significant at 0.05. The amount of change in science process skills level of Morogoro students also significantly correlated with their amount of change in their conceptual understanding of Biology contents (genetics being the case) with r=0.352. However, no statistically significant relationship between students’ achievement in science process skills and their intrinsic motivation to learn science were observed. The amount of change in science process skills level of Morogoro students also did not significantly correlate with their amount of change in their intrinsic motivation to learn science.