The Effects of 21st Century Teaching Methods on the Skill Development of Biology Students in Secondary Schools within Fako Division in the South West Region of Cameroon

The study examined the effects of 21st century teaching methods on skill development of biology students in secondary schools in Fako Division. Four research objectives guided the study which sought to investigate: the effects of blended learning on skills development of biology students in secondary schools in Fako Division, the effects of flipped classroom on skills development of biology students in secondary schools in Fako Division, the effects of differentiated instruction on skills development of biology students in secondary schools in Fako Division and the effects of cooperative learning on skills development of biology students in secondary schools in Fako Division. The objectives were converted to research questions while the questions were transformed to four research hypotheses. The research design used for this study was the explanatory sequential design which combines both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. The target population was Lower Sixth biology students and teachers drawn from selected secondary schools in Fako Division. The accessible population consist of 820 students and 11 teachers from lay private, public, and confessional schools. Multi-stage sampling procedures which included stratified, simple random and purposive sampling procedures was used to select a sample size of 206 Lower Sixth students drawn from five schools; public, lay private and confessional secondary schools in Fako Division. The researcher used a Likert scale student questionnaire for students and an interview guide for teachers as instruments for data collection for the study in order to get enough data from a large population and to have first-hand information. The instruments were subjected to face and content validation and to test for reliability, a test re-test reliability was carried out in a public school in Fako Division which was not part of the sample. Coefficient was established using Cronbach's Alpha (α) and the reliability index here was 0.804 which implies that the questionnaire was reliable and the interview was analysed using thematic analysis. The data collected were analysed using descriptive through mean scores standard deviation frequency and percentages and inferential Analysis of Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test the hypotheses at the level of significance. The findings revealed that blended learning, flipped classroom, differentiated instruction and cooperative learning have significant influence on skill development of biology students in secondary schools within Fako Division in the South West Region of Cameroon. It is recommended that students learn to participate in the learning process and also that students follow the order given by the teacher so as to facilitate learning. Teachers should assess students’ learning need regularly and also encourage students’ voice and choice.