Preservice biology teachers using chart-based instruction to improve students’ achievement

The ability to analyse and interpret data or diagrams is an important part of science process skills. To support the achievement of these learning objectives, teacher education should teach preservice biology teachers (PBTs) with the use of charts and graphs. This research examines the application of charts by PBTs in the instruction of biology and its impact on students’ achievement. A mix methods research design was employed to evaluate the utilization of charts by PBTs. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics to answer the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. Findings revealed that 51.8% of PBTs frequently utilize charts in biology classroom. They stated that chart usage makes them confident to teach biology concepts. The result further revealed a statistically significant effect of charts on students' achievement in biology, with F (1,235) = 146.286 and p 0.05. Meanwhile, results showed that there was no significant main effect of gender on students’ achievement in biology using chart-based instruction., F (1,235) = 0.058, p 0.05. Further, the result revealed that there was no interaction effect of treatment (chart-based instruction) and gender on students’ academic achievement in biology (F (1,235) = 0.363, p 0.05). This study had provided insights for institutions in teacher training programs on the importance of incorporating visual aid training for the pre-service teachers, as it had proven to increase their teaching confidence, effectiveness, and students’ achievement in biology.