Princess Jirah F.
Calaluan | EDUC 122 T
One primary goal of the teachers in their profession is to effectively direct learning
process to happen. However, as much as the teachers wants the students to comprehend,
organized, and master complex information, concepts, and skills, there are just too many
factors that make teaching difficult, hence slowing the process of learning to occur.
The reason why it is hard to teach a particular subject, in my literature map’s case –
Biology, is categorized into three general factors namely lack of resources, problem with the
curriculum content of biology and insufficient lack of support the teachers receive from the
school administration as well as the students’ views towards biology subjects.
As stated by Çimer (2012), one of the main reasons for learning difficulties in Biology
is the nature of the topic which involves abstract level concepts. He further added that our
Biology curricula in the country is too overloaded which later bombards students with too much
information they can’t all handle and retain. In addition to this, the curriculum content of Biology
in secondary schools is high compare to the student’s actual grasping level (Chavan, 2016).
As teachers, we need to divide these abstract concepts into smaller and simpler forms that
can be easily comprehend by the students. However, doing this requires quality textbooks,
equipment, laboratory facilities, sufficient reference materials and teaching aids which
according to many researches is what often missing, not enough or completely unavailable
(Anderman & Sinatra, 2008; SEI-DOST & UP NISMED, 2011; Henandez and Vergara, 2014;
Chavan, 2016; Anderman and Sinatra, 2008). It is important that the students can easily
visualize and apply the concepts in biology in practice through hands-on activities since
according to Vygotsky, learners learn best by doing. For example, simply knowing the parts of
a microscope and their function would only be useful when they can apply them to develop
skill in microscopy. However, regular high schools do not have microscopes or even a science
laboratory.
Meanwhile, in tertiary level of education, teaching Biology courses tend to rely heavily
on summative assessment as a basis of learning when in fact it only contributes very little to
student learning. For these reasons, many students are developing negative attitude towards
the subject. They become demotivated, making them unable to connect with the material being
taught (Fuller, 2017). Also, because of the diversity of the learners, the teaching style
employed by the teacher might not much the student’s learning and study habits (Çimer, 2012)
which will provide barrier for the teaching-learning process to occur. Furthermore, given the
overloaded biology curricula as mentioned earlier, the schools still conduct various curricular
activities that can compromise achieving the number of hours to be consumed in order to finish
the content of the curriculum. Aside from this, such activities add to the already heavy
workload of teachers, affecting the preparation of their teaching materials. Overcrowding of
Princess Jirah F. Calaluan | EDUC 122 T
classrooms also limits the space the teacher can utilize in order to conduct interactive activities
that would engage the students to learn.
Ever since, Filipino teachers have been facing these difficulties not just in teaching
Biology but in the overall teaching experience. This has prompted many of them to be
resourceful and creative as possible. Being aware of these difficulties forces the teachers to
look for alternatives to lessen these challenges in order to still employ an effective teaching.
As a future teacher, as early as now, it is a good thing that we are being immersed to these
difficulties so that starting now, we can already think of ways and strategies to addressed
these difficulties so that when we become practice teachers ourselves, we can change the
negative notion students have developed towards a particular subject and also effectively
transfer learning given that we will not always have the appropriate teaching environment and
materials we needed or wish to acquire.
REFERENCES
Anderman, E., & Sinatra, G. (2008). The Challenges of Teaching and Learning about
Science in the 21st Century: Exploring the Abilities and Constraints of Adolescent
Learners. National Academy of Education.
Cajaiba, R. (2014). Difficulty of Science and Biology Teachers to Teach Entomology in
Elementary and High Schools in the State of Pará, Northern Brazil. American Journal
of Educational Research, 2(6):389-392.
Chavan, R. (2016). Difficulties in Teaching Biology Concepts by Science Teachers at Upper
Primary Level. Aayushi International Interdisciplinary Research Journal, 8(3):10-18.
Çimer, A. (2012). What makes biology learning difficult and effective: Students’ views.
Educational Research and Reviews Vol. , 7(3):61-71.
Fuller, K. (2017). Beyond Reflection: Using ePortfolios for Formative Assessment to Improve
Student Engagement in Non-Majors Introductory Science. The American Biology
Teacher, 79(6):442–449.
Hernandez, D. F., & Vergara, B. S. (2014). Introducing Biology Curriculum Innovations in
Philippine Schools. The American Biology Teacher, 30(1):26-30.
SEI-DOST & UP NISMED. (2011). Framework for Philippine Science Teacher. Manila: SEI-
DOST & UP NISMED.
Princess Jirah F. Calaluan | EDUC 122 T
