TEACHERS’ AWARENESS AND PERCEPTIONS OF VIRTUAL LABORATORIES ON ACQUISITION OF BIOLOGY PRACTICAL SKILLS IN LAGOS STATE

Abstract

The study investigated teachers’ level of awareness and perception of the use of virtual laboratory on the acquisition of biology practical skills. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was over 1,200 biology teachers in Lagos State. A sample size of 138 Biology teachers from the six Educational Districts of Lagos State was selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. Mixed methods were employed involving the use of standardized interviews, video clips to gather qualitative data while a validated structured questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.74 titled ‘Virtual laboratory and Biology practical skills’  (VLABPS) containing 15 items was used to collect quantitative data.

Data were analyzed using frequency count and percentages. Results showed that the level of awareness of virtual laboratory among Biology teachers was generally low as biology teachers showed ignorance of the concept of virtual laboratories on the acquisition of Biology practical skills. Although, enlightenment and awareness were generated with the intervention of the video clip on virtual laboratories. The study, therefore, recommended that Biology teachers should be engaged in workshops on the use of Virtual laboratories to teach Biology practical skills while Pre-service teachers on teaching practice should be encouraged by their supervisors to use virtual laboratories for teaching Biology practical skills. The teacher education curriculum should be enhanced to include the concept and utilization of virtual laboratories.