Students derive enjoyment from learning when it incorporates engaging activities, particularly when the level of abstraction is kept to a minimum. Utilizing information and ICT tools in educational settings serves as one approach to achieving this goal. Therefore, this research explores the efficacy of CAI featuring animation in the delivery of Biology curriculum, aiming to enhance student achievement and motivation. Employing a non-randomized experimental design with pretest and posttest measures, the study targeted a population of 9,780 SSII Biology Students across 222 government-owned secondary schools in Delta South Senatorial District, Delta State, Nigeria. A sample of 207 SSII students was selected from four secondary schools using simple random sampling techniques, facilitated by balloting with replacement. The study utilized the Biology Achievement Test (BAT) and Computer Animation Instructional Package (CAIP) as research instruments, both validated by three experts in Science Education and Measurement and Evaluation to ensure face and content validity aligned with the study’s objectives. The reliability of the BAT instrument was assessed through administration to 30 biology students, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.81 using the Kudar-Richardson formula 21. Both the experimental and Non-intervention groups underwent administration of the BAT instrument, with the intervention group subjected to biology curriculum through CAI animation, while the Non-intervention group received instruction without animation. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics (mean and st.d) alongside inferential statistics, specifically t-tests at a critical value of 0.05. The study’s primary findings highlight a substantial disparity in achievement between students subjected to biology curriculum with CAI animation paralleled to those without animation, with the former showing higher performance. Additionally, a notable gender disparity emerged, favoring female students in the group subjected to biology curriculum with CAI animation. The study acclaims, among other measures, the development of additional biology software packages employing CAI with animation for integration into Nigerian school curricula, calling for collaboration among government bodies, educators, and school administrators to facilitate this endeavor.
Keywords: Achievement, Animation., Curriculum, Motivation, computer-assisted instructional
