Abstract:
ll1e purpose of this study was to tind out state of Biology teaching in
public senior high schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis. The study sought
insight into the difficulties both Biology teachers and students encounter in
teaching and learning some Biology topics respectively, the teachers'
specialised area of teaching and experience in the number of years of teaching,
teaching methodologies employed, teaching and learning resources available,
how Biology students are assessed and standard equipment in the
classroom/laboratory: An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was
used for the study. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 28
teachers teaching Biology and used a multistage sampling technique to select
281 senior high Biology school students from 6 schools. Quantitative data was
analysed using descriptive statistical methods and inferential statistics.
Classroom observations and interviews were used to suppOtt and explain the
findings from the quantitative data. It was found out that over one-half of the
teachers and students perceived Kreb's cycle as a difficult Biology topic to
teach and learn respectively. Again, teachers and students perceived the Life
cycle of insects and Ecology as easy or very easy to teach and easy or very
easy to learn. Teachers combined more than one teaching method/strategy to
teach. Effective teaching and learning strategies may help students to
overcome their learning difficulties. It was, therefore, recommended that
teachers teaching biology must update their knowledge on difficult biology
topics and find more effective teaching strategies to teach it.
