COMPARATIVE IMPACT OF ADVANCE-ORGANIZER AND CONCEPT-MAPPING ON PERFORMANCE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS OF BIOLOGY IN TARABA, NIGERIA

Abstract

This research investigated the impact of Advance Organizers (AO) and Concept Mapping (CM) on
the academic performance of secondary school biology students in genetics in the Jalingo Education
Zone, Taraba State, Nigeria. The research aimed to assess how these instructional strategies affect
students’ performance of genetics. The paper adopted a quasi-experimental design with intact
classes, utilizing pre-test and post-test data to measure performance gains. The sample comprised
150 students drawn from a population of 800 students drawn from eight randomly selected schools,
divided into two comparative experimental groups (AO) and (CM).Data analysis was conducted to
answer the research question using descriptive statistics and testing hypothesis with ANCOVA.
Results revealed that both AO and CM significantly enhanced students' academic performance, with
Concept Mapping showing a stronger impact. The paper concludes that incorporating AO and CM
into biology teaching can improve student engagement and learning outcomes, particularly in
complex topics like genetics. Therefore AO and CM are recommended for teaching Biology at the
secondary school level.