EXPLORING BIOLOGY TEACHERS' VIEWS ON LEVERAGING SOCIAL MEDIA TO ENHANCE STUDENTS ENGAGEMENT IN TARABA STATE NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined Biology teachers perception on the use of social media to improve students classroom engagement in Jalingo, Taraba State. Four research questions were raised and three null hypotheses formulated. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population consisted of 104 biology teachers in both public and private secondary schools in Jalingo, Taraba State from which 75 biology teachers were sampled for the study.  Questionnaire on Biology Teachers' Perception on the Use of Social Media to Improve Classroom Engagement (SOMPOT) was used for data collection. The data from the pilot test was used to establish the reliability of the instrument and a coefficient of 0.77 was obtained using Cronbach alpha reliability method. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. Independent t-test and ANOVA were used to test the hypotheses formulated at 0.05 level of significance. The findings showed that social media can improve students engagement in the classroom. In conclusion, despite the negative aspect of social media, it significance to the improvement of students' engagement in the Biology classroom cannot be overlooked. .It was recommended that biology teachers should go on self-learning and the school should provide gadgets to sustain students engagement in biology classroom in Jalingo, Taraba State.