Integration of Instructional Materials for Effective Teaching / Learning of Integrated Science in Junior Secondary Schools

Integration of Instructional Materials for Effective Teaching / Learning of Integrated Science in Junior Secondary Schools

ABSTRACT                                              

The study intends to examine the integration of instructional materials for effective teaching-learning of integrated science in junior secondary schools. Four (4) research and questions and hypotheses were raised to guide the study. A survey research design will be adopted for the propose study. The population of the propose study consisted of all the junior secondary students offering Integrated Science in ten (10) public secondary schools in Lagos State.

The total of one thousand (1000) Integrated Science students constituted the population for this study. The sample size of the study consisted of 100 respondents drawn from selected 10 public secondary schools in the study area. Simple random sampling technique was employed to select one hundred (100) JSS1 – JSS3 Integrated Science students to form the sample size. “Integration of Instructional Material on Teaching-learning Questionnaire (IIMTLQ)”, was used for data collection.

The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and Independents t-test analysis was used for data analysis. The findings of the study revealed that instructional materials utilization enhance teaching-learning of students in Integrated Science in secondary schools. The study also found that when teachers utilize the available instructional material during teaching it will create a lasting and concrete idea of the concept been taught in the minds of the learners. Hence, it was recommended among others that, adequate instructional materials should be provided in schools by Government for the teachers and learners to use.

Integration of Instructional Materials for Effective Teaching / Learning of Integrated Science in Junior Secondary Schools

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study       

Instructional materials are important element of teaching and learning activities. The term instruction according to Adekola (2008) is a deliberate arrangement of experiences within the learning space, classroom, laboratory, workshop, etc. aimed at helping learners to achieve desirable changes in behaviour or performance. Instructional materials are materials which assist teachers to make lessons explicit to learners. Instructional materials are the devices developed or acquired to facilitate teaching and also transmitting knowledge, skill and attitude to the learners within an instructional situation Nwachukwu (2014).

According to Abdullahi, (2015), instructional materials are tools locally made or imported that could make tremendous enhancement of lesson impart if intelligently used. Instructional materials include; visuals, audio, and audio-visuals materials such as pictures, flash-cards, posters, charts, tape recorder, radio, video, television, computers among others. These materials serve as a supplement to the normal process of instruction. (Osafehniti, 2013),points out that concrete or physical object which provides sound, visual or both the sense organ during teaching-learning process.

Teachers should use different instructional materials to motivate the learners to learn more effectively. Cronbac (2015), opined that, the integration of instructional materials during teaching and learning process can appeal to the individual’s attention among students by creating interest in order to attain the goal for the learner. He also noted that, the integration of instructional materials can facilitate the decision of a person towards learning by taking the right actions.

Learning is facilitated when learners make integration oftheir sense organs for seeing, hearing, and touching. (Morenfolia, 2013) pointed out that instructional materials are normally chosen to meet the teaching requirements of an approved curriculum. Therefore, in the educational development, selection and acquisition of instructional materials in teaching Integrated Science, the relevance of such materials for the contents of the curriculum must be ensured. However, students’ perception of the subject as being particularly oriented needed materials to be used in teaching of Integrated Science in secondary schools.

Integration of Instructional Materials for Effective Teaching / Learning of Integrated Science in Junior Secondary Schools

Onyeozu (2007) Instructional media are resource materials which help to facilitate teaching and learning. The term instructional materials as described by Adekola (2008) are materials available for human senses, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching or feeling and which assist to facilitate teaching and learning. Instructional media are channels of communication through which information passes for usage in educational institution in conjunction with the instructor.

Going through the description of instructional media, it would be observed that the understanding behind the integration of instructional media is to aid learner in his learning. Barro (2006) noted that higher quality education fosters economic growth and development. Appropriate integration of instructional media is important factor during the implementation of curriculum which helps the implementers to realize their goals and guide therein the teaching – learning process in the classroom practice (Shiundu and Omulando, 2009).

This factor is one of the most important ingredients that bring about good teaching-learning of in integrated sciences that enhances better performances in examinations. Eboh (2010) opined that the basic goals can only be realized through proper utilization of learning resources. No matter how well staffed the school has, without appropriate learning materials; the basic goals of the school cannot be achieved.

Agwu (2011) views instructional media as these apparatus of teaching which may include audio materials, cassette, video tapes, computer and other relevant things that will attract students’ attention, and which should only be introduced at the appropriate time by the teacher. Simply put, instructional media are those things which a teacher puts into use to promote the effectiveness of instructions which also help him or her to communicate more effectively to the learners.

Integration of Instructional Materials for Effective Teaching / Learning of Integrated Science in Junior Secondary Schools

Nevertheless, a number of factors have been attributed to poor achievement in secondary level of education such factor is non – integration of instructional media and central in the teaching and learning of Integrated Science because no matter the efficiency of a teacher, effectiveness in lesson delivery cannot be guaranteed without the integration of instructional media. Emeh and Eze (2008) affirmed that instructional media facilitates learning of abstract concepts by helping to concretize ideas and stimulate learners’ imagination.

Moreover, instructional media help to increase active participation in the learning process while saving teacher energy, reducing the verbal instructions. In the same vein, Mathew (2012) stated that the integration of instructional media make teaching effective as it enables learners to participate actively in classroom instruction. All these views suggest that the integration of instructional media bring about improved students performance.

However, in a clear departure from the above views, Oriji (2011) and Ekpe (2010) in their independent studies, agreed that instructional media are not necessary important if the learners are intelligent and the teachers has good mastery of the subject matter.

Egbu (2009) argued that involving learners in classroom activities is what matters most as it makes teaching learners centered. He further maintained that involving learners in classroom activities helps learners to discover new knowledge and gain new insight. From the views of the scholars cited above, there is a strong argument on the place of effects of instructional materials on teaching-learning in Integrated Science, hence the need for this study.

1.2     Statement of the Problem

In Nigeria, often times when the results of public examination are released, there seem to have been mass failure in Integrated Science. The reason for this could be attributed to the fact that there are some topics in Integrated Science that pose serious challenge to the comprehension of the students. As such, there is need for the integration of instructional materials to teach these topics.

This is because some topics cannot be taught effectively without the integration of relevant instructional materials to make the lesson practical. Knight (2015) stated that, using the available instructional materials, a student is expected to get the greatest satisfaction in the classroom during teaching.

Suddenly, it has been found that most Integrated Science teachers have not been using the available instructional materials and as such, students are then to perform very poor in both internal and external examinations. It is based on these problems that the researcher was interest is to find out the extent to which instructional materials could affect teaching-learning in Integrated Science in selected secondary schools in the study area.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of instructional materials on teaching-learning in Integrated Science.   Specifically, the study sought to:

1. examine the effects of utilization of visual materials teaching-learning in Integrated Science in secondary schools.
2. ascertain the effects of utilization of audio-visual materials on teaching-learning in Integrated Science in secondary schools.
3. determine the effects of utilization of charts on teaching-learning in Integrated Science in secondary schools.
4. assess the effects of utilization of models teaching-learning in Integrated Science in secondary schools.

1.4       Significance of the Study

Instructional materials utilization and usage gives the learners opportunity to; touch, see, and where possible smell or taste objects in the teaching of Integrated Science. Therefore, the study of this nature is significant to students, teachers and the government at large.

This is because; learning is a process through which knowledge, skills, habits, facts, ideas, and principles are acquired, retained and utilized, and the only means of achieving this in Integrated Science is through the effective integration of instructional materials. The study would help to enhance teaching effectiveness and productivity.

It will further help the teachers to teach effectively in the class by exposing them, to the real teaching objectives. Enhance prompt and significant higher achievement in learners and will be able to promote the learner’s perception understanding, reinforce and retain the learnt materials.

The study will be of immense benefits to the government, ministry of education, and the educational policy makers and administrators as it will emphasize the important of instructional materials in lesson delivery.

Finally, the instructional material utilization in this study will enhance and have values in importing information to the learners, teachers, researcher and the government at large.

1.5 Research Questions

The following research questions were raised to guide the study:

1. To what extent does the utilization of visual materials affects teaching-learning in Integrated Science in secondary schools?
2. To what extent does the utilization of audio-visual instructional materials affects teaching-learning in Integrated Science in secondary schools?
3. How does the utilization of charts affects teaching-learning in Integrated Science in secondary schools?
4. To what extent does the utilization of models affects teaching-learning in Integrated Science in secondary schools?

1.6 Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses were formulated to facilitate the study:

1. Visual instructional material does not significantly effects teaching-learning in Integrated Science in Secondary schools.
2. Audio–Visual instructional materials does not significantly affects teaching-learning in Integrated Science in Secondary schools.
3. There is no significant difference between teaching-learning of Integrated Science with the integration of charts and without the integration of chart in secondary schools.
4. There is no significant difference between teaching-learning of Integrated Science with the integration of models and without the integration of models in secondary schools.

1.7 Limitation of the Study

In conducting a research study of this kind, there are bound to be some challenges. Thus, some of the challenges encountered in the course of this study are as follows:

1. Time constraint: time duration allowed for the completion of this research work could not be enough for the research to have a wider scope. Hence some schools were sampled and student out of all the schools in the area.
2. Financial problem: this constituted one of the major limitations to the researcher especially as the researcher had to source for relevant materials on the topic and visit the sampled schools under the investigation for data collection.
3. Insufficient references materials: this also was a problem as the researcher needed enough relevant literature on the topic.

1.8 Delimitation of the Study

The focus of this study was to examine the effects of instructional material utilization on students’ performance in Integrated Science in Lagos State. The scope of the study is delimited to JSS1 – JSS3 Integrated Science students in secondary schools in Lagos State.

1.9 Operational definition of Terms

The following are taken as the definition to suit the purpose of this study:

Instructional materials: these are materials use in the teaching and learning which aid the teacher for easy demonstration and stimulate the sensory of the learners. In addition, instructional materials are the tools used in educational lesson which include active learning and assessment.

Teaching: this is the process by which information is transferred from one person to another in a classroom setting.

Learning: this is the process in which knowledge and idea acquired through the process of teaching.

Secondary School: this refers to school which provide secondary education between age 11 and 16 or 11 and 19 after primary and before higher education.

Models: is a representation of a system using general rules and concepts.

Charts: Charts are used in situations where a simple table won’t adequately demonstrate important relationships or patterns between data points.