PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

Learning Biology involves mastering declarative knowledge and mastering procedural knowledge. The 'Light-dependent Reactions of Photosynthesis' is a topic requiring procedural knowledge. Students have to remember the facts of the light-dependent reactions. They must also remember the order in which the steps of the reaction occur. Students of Malaysian Matriculation Colleges learn Biology in English, which is not their first language. As such, students have difficulty in remembering the light-dependent reactions of Photosynthesis. The purpose of this project is to help these students remember the facts correctly, and in the right order. The results of an independent samples t-test showed that this approach enabled students to consolidate their memory processes; t(146) = 21.08, p = 0.0005. The effect size was 0.8661. Based on the findings, the researcher proposed that musical mnemonics be used to facilitate remembering of other biological processes. As a learning tool, musical mnemonics must meet several criteria in order to be effective and the researcher has suggested the criteria. The results of this study imply that procedural knowledge in Biology can be successfully taught in English when teachers are innovative.