Impact of Microteaching Skills on College of Education Student-Teachers' Performance in Teaching Biology during Teaching Practice in Kwara State, Nigeria

This study investigated the impact of micro-teaching skills on College of Education student-teachers’ performance in teaching Biology during teaching practice in Kwara State, Nigeria. The study was guided by four specific objectives, four research questions answered using percentages, mean and standard deviation and two hypotheses which were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted ex-post facto research design. The study was carried out on a population size of 2321 and a sample size of 374 which was determined using Taro-Yamane formula of finite population. Multi-stage sampling technique was used for the study because each stage involves different sampling techniques. The instruments used for data collection were a proforma and a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher. The questionnaire was validated by three experts and trial-tested on students in College of Education, Oju Benue state. Data obtained were subjected to a reliability test using Cronbach alpha method. The result yielded a grand reliability coefficient of 0.84 indicating that the instrument was reliable for the study. The questionnaire was administered and retrieved by the researcher who also collected the proforma. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while t-test was used to test the hypotheses. The study revealed that microteaching has an impact on the performance of Biology student-teachers in teaching practice exercise. The study also revealed that there is impact of microteaching on teaching practice scores of Biology students irrespective of gender (male and female) in Colleges of Education in Kwara State. The study concluded that microteaching positively impacts the teaching skills of Biology students in Colleges of Education in Kwara State, with a gender-neutral effectiveness, hence, recommended integrating microteaching consistently into the teacher education curriculum in Colleges of Education in Kwara State to enhance the teaching skills of Biology Education students, while encouraging further research to explore its applicability in diverse educational settings.