Drawing and visual literacy skill are essential to the success of not just visual art students but also science students and biology students in specific, because biology is the most visually intensive among the science subjects. However studies have shown that students are having challenges with visual literacy skill in biology in Nigeria. This study looks at the effectiveness of the technology-education-art (TEA) application to mitigate these problems. The study used a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach for data gathering.
The sample comprised 85 students from two higher institutions in Lagos states. The intact classes of these institutions were used as experimental and control groups. Two instruments – Questionnaire on Student’s Attitudes to Biological Drawing (QSABD) and Students’ Perception about TEA Interview Guide (SPTCIG) – were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The QSABD instrument had a reliability value of 0.87. The experimental group were exposed to the TEA application while the control group students learn with the traditional lecture method. The quantitative data gathered were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The research question was analyzed using analysis of covariance.
The results showed that there is no statistically significant was attained for the attitude of students toward biological drawing. Output of the qualitative data however showed that the students perceived TEA as viable tool for learning biological drawing.
Based on the findings of this study and within its limitations, it was recommended that visual literacy skill for science students should be given more attention and relevant authorities should adopt technology for personalized learning experience and AI should not be seen as a treat to learning but as an important tool to support teachers.
