APPRAISING ANIMATION AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY FOR ENHANCING QUALITY EDUCATION IN BIOLOGY

Abstract

This paper is hinged on the conviction that the quality of a society depends on the quality of its citizens and the quality of the citizens depends on the quality of their education.  Hence, quality education is imperative for a society to cope and compete favorably and effectively in today’s fast changing world.  Biology is a science subject that enables learners to acquire the knowledge and abilities needed for effective living in the modern age of science and technology. It is also a major requirement for higher learning in a number of science related professional fields such as medicine, agriculture, pharmacy etc.  The goal of education cannot be achieved by doing the same thing the same way always.  There is need for modification to remain relevant at all times. The desire for improvement in the quality of knowledge calls for changes in the pattern of interaction between the teachers and learners through innovation so that the product of school system can compete effectively within and in the global world.  The innovation confers relevance and importance to the knowledge acquired in schools for quality and productivity.  The process of innovation involves transforming the methods, techniques and approaches of making learning functional, relevant and qualitative. This paper seeks to appraise the use of animation in the teaching and learning of biological concepts as a means of producing quality and proactive learners that are relevant in the global world. The paper attempted to define animation as teaching tool that combine still and motion pictures with Sound and text to ensure effective instructional delivery. The place of animation in teaching particularly biology for productive education, features, benefits and limitation of animation in teaching and learning were equally highlighted. Various aspects of animation such as forms and classification were mentioned and suggestions on the use of animation such as teacher should be encouraged to use animation in teaching biology themes that are abstract in nature for better understanding and retention and others were equally discussed.