The Effectiveness of Using Instructional Materials in Biology Teaching and Learning: Human Immunity Battle (HIB) Boardgame

Abstract

The traditional technique to teaching human immunity in Biology in Malaysian secondary schools has run into difficulties, with students struggling to understand. This is due to an insufficient utilization of instructional materials with high complexity and abstractness of the topic. As a result, a board game called Human Immunity Battle (HIB) is designed to assist secondary school pupils in mastering the topic while enhancing teaching and learning engagement. The major objective of this study is to improve students' understanding and boost their enthusiasm in learning biology, specifically on the topic of human immunity.  N=101 of secondary school students from Putrajaya, Selangor Malaysia with 52 form 4 students and 49 form 5 students in science stream were successfully recruited for the study. IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 was used to analyse the data using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation tests Analysis of Variances (ANOVA) and T-Test. The results of Pearson correlation showed statistically significant correlation between students' perception of teaching aids and its benefits with r = 0.809, p=< 0.001. Besides, there was no significant difference found between the perceptions of teaching aids and overall student performance Overall, the success of instructional materials in teaching and learning is determined by how students perceive their benefits as well as their perception of the teaching aid employed. However, students' performance is determined by more than just their engagement in learning or the efficiency of instructional resources; it is also influenced by demographic, social, and attitude aspects. Furthermore, it is impossible to deny that instructional strategies can assist biology students enhance their performance and engagement in challenging topics like human immunity.