SCHOOL FACTORS AND TEACHERS’ IMPROVISATION AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR THE TEACHING OF PHYSICS IN POST-BASIC EDUCATIONAL LEVEL (A CASE STUDY OF UYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF AKWA IBOM STATE NIGERIA).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover page
Fly Leaf
Title Page - - - - - - - - - - -
Declaration - - - - - - - - - - -
Certification - - - - - - - - - - -
Dedication - - - - - - - - - - -
Acknowledgement - - - - - - - - - -
Table of Contents - - - - - - - - - -
List of Tables - - - - - - - - - - -
Abstract - - - - - - - - - - -
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUNCTION
1.1 Background of the Study - - - - - - - -
1.2 Statement of the Problem - - - - - - - -
1.3. Purpose of the Study - - - - - - - -
1.4 Significance of the Study - - - - - - - -
1.5 Research Questions - - - - - - - - -
1.6 Research Hypotheses - - - - - - - - -
1.7 Basic Assumptions of the Study - - - - - - -
1.8 Scope of the Study - - - - - - - - -
1.9 Operational Definition of Terms - - - - - - -
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Theoretical Framework - - - - - - - - -
2.1.1 Cognitive/ Gestalt Learning Theory - - - - - - -
2.1.2 Operant Conditioning - - - - - - - -
2.2 School Location and Improvisation of Instructional Materials - - - -
2.3 School Management Support and Improvisation of Instructional Materials - -
2.4 Class Size and Improvisation of Instructional Materials - - - -
2.5 Time Allotted and Improvisation of Instructional Materials - - - -
2.6 Impact of Teachers’ Exposure on Improvisation of Instructional Material - -
2.7 Summary of Review of Related Literature - -
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.
3.1 Area of the Study - - - - - - - - -
3.2 Design of the Study - - - - - - - - -
3.3 Population of the Study - - - - - - - -
3.4 Sample and Sampling Technique - - - - - - -
3.5 Instrumentation - - - - - - - - -
3.6 Validation of the Research Instrument - - - - - -
3.7 Reliability of the Instrument. - - - - - - - -
3.8 Administration of the Instrument. - - - - - - -
3.9 Statistical Treatment of Data - - - - - - - -
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
4.1 Data Analysis and Results - - - - - - - -
4.1.1 Hypothesis 1 - - - - - - - - - -
4.1.2 Hypothesis 2 - - - - - - - - - -
4.1.3 Hypothesis 3 - - - - - - - - - -
4.1.4 Hypothesis 4 - - - - - - - - - -
4.2 Discussion of Results - - - - - - - -
4.2.1 School Location and Improvisation of Instructional Materials
for the Teaching of Physics--------
4.2.2 School Management Support and Improvisation of Instructional
Materials for the Teaching of Physics------
4.2.3 Class Size and Improvisation of Instructional Materials for the
Teaching of Physics---------
4.2.4 Time Allotted and Improvisation of Instructional Materials for the
Teaching of Physics---------
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary of the Study - - - - - - - -
5.2 Conclusion - - - - - - - - - -
5.3 Recommendations - - - - - - - - -
5.4 Suggestions for Further Studies - - - - - - -
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
It is common knowledge that modern-day and contemporary technological advancement is built on science. All over the world, countries especially developing ones like Nigeria are striving hard to develop scientifically and technologically, since the world is turning scientific and all proper functioning of lives depend greatly on science. According to Ogunleye (2000), science is a dynamic human activity concerned with understanding the workings of our world. This understanding helps man to know more about the universe. Without the application of science, it would have been difficult for man to explore the other planets of the universe.
Science comprises basic discipline of which physics is one. Many investigations have shown that post basic school students are exhibiting dwindling interest in science Esiobu, (2005). Besides physics remains one of the most difficult subjects in the school curriculum according to the Nigeria educational research and development council (NERDC) Isola, (2010). Omosewo, (1994) is of the view that the performance of post basic school students in ordinary level physics is generally and consistently poor over the years.
As concern mounts and questions arise, what is the responsibility of teachers’ with regards to the general poor performance of post basic school students in physics examinations? Teachers remain the sine qua-non when considering educational advancement of students, (Adeniran, 2006).Teachers play a unique role in the entire educational sector. Teachers’ strategy itself is considered as an important element, a teachers’ method and application of instructional aids makes the difference.
Most teachers of physics find it difficult to use instructional materials and teaching aids, thereby turning the entire physics class into a theory affair, (Aina, 2013). The implication of this negligence is that year in year out; schools find it very difficult to produce students with good grades in the ordinary level physics examination. Also, these schools produce students who are unable to stand the test of performance when compared to their counterparts in schools where the application of teaching aids is paramount. More so, these students find it uneasy to make use of these teaching aids during practical work due to lack of exposure (Aina, 2013)
Instructional materials help teachers to meet individual differences of the learners in the class by using aids that appeal to different persons and these could be used to supplement verbal explanation of concepts or any description so that the lesson could be real to the students. These instructional materials are categorized such that when teachers use them, they appeal to students both sight and hearing.
Frazer, Okebukola and Jegede, (1992) maintained that a professionally qualified science teacher no matter how well trained, would be unable to put his ideas into practice if the school setting lacks equipment and materials necessary for him or her to translate his competence into reality. In a situation where the schools setting lacks their equipment and material necessary for teaching, a teacher can improvise these materials, as the absence of these materials in teaching of physics could make the class uninterested to students.
Teachers’ strategy in improvisation of instructional teaching aids is very paramount, if the goal and objective of teaching-learning must be achieved. Improvisation here speaks the ability of teachers to produce alternatives where the real thing is unavailable. As earlier stated, where the school system cannot provide the standard instructional material for teaching, a professionally qualified physics teacher is expected as a matter of necessity to improvise in order to make understanding available to all students. Improvisation is deemed significant in every physics class without this substitute a teacher may not achieve the goal set for the day. With improvisation of instructional materials the class becomes interesting, what a teacher would have spent several class periods to teach for the student to understand could easily be done in a single period thereby giving room for progression.
As lofty as improvisation of instructional materials may sound, several problems are associated with it. These are seen as militating factors that hinder the introduction and application of improvisation of instructional teaching materials. In this work, some of these factors will be dealt with succinctly in order to bring to the fore the power it wields against improvisation of instructional materials. These variables are grouped and discussed as school factors. They are school location, school management support, large class size and time allotted for teaching physics in post basic educational level in Uyo Local Government Area.
It is common knowledge that school location may affect the performance of teachers and students alike. The location of a school also determines the overall zeal a teacher put into his or her work. A school location also acts as a tool for encouragement and discouragement of teachers in the performance of their duties. When school location is considered, premium is placed on urban and rural locations. A deep and critical look at these two locations, one discovers the disparity and difference that exist in terms of teachers’ performance. Teachers in urban locations out-perform their counterparts in rural location thereby bringing to the fore in gap in performance of students in these different locations. With regards to instructional materials, there also exists a great difference as some schools in these rural locations lack the basic teaching aids and their counterparts in urban location could boast of a good number of standard teaching aids. In terms of improvisation of instructional materials, teachers in rural location seem to care less as most of them are not even conversant with the use of teaching aids, talk-more of improvisation of these materials when the need arise Adeniran (2006). Also, locations where electricity is a challenge can pose difficulty in the improvisation of electrical materials. Urban areas could also experience challenges in improvisation of locally-made aids as most of their environments have been rid of these local tools.
School management support is deemed significant when referring to teachers’ performance with regards to improvisation of instructional teaching materials. What level of support do school management give to their teacher? What level of encouragement do school management give to teachers that have performed creditably? What incentives are in place for use by teachers so as to boost their performance morale? Any school that gives a negative answer to the above has failed because improvisation of instructional materials may not be achieved if the teachers are not happy with the treatment they receive from the school management. As important as the role of teachers is, so are teachers and should be given all the support necessary for them to perform Esiobu, (2005).
The challenge of large class size cannot be over-emphasized. Class-size remains an index when considering teachers performance. Inflated class size impairs easy understanding and its stands as a barrier to teaching and learning. A teacher who is confronted with large class size performs poorly than others with normal class size. As large class size affects teachers teaching performance, so does it also affect improvisation of instructional materials? Large class size makes it uneasy for improvisation to be achieved, as the instrument improvised is suppose to be touched, felt and used by all the students. A situation where the number in class cannot be managed, improvisation will be discarded as the teacher will see it as a difficult task and an impossible venture. Ogunleye, (2000) is of the opinion that for improvisation to be achieved, the number of students in a class must be manageable and not inflated.
Time remains a major constraint in every human activity. Time is never enough for all we want to do but a proper time management can always make the difference. Allotted teaching time in post basic educational level remains a limitation to the performance of teachers such that most teachers are unable to attain the desired teaching level stipulated in the syllabus before the end of a term. Due to the limit in teaching time, Teachers find it very difficult to apply improvisation of instructional materials and time is never enough for teaching. Allotted time will always remain a problem, but for improvisation to be achieved Aina, (2013) advised that improvisation should be done before a particular teaching time to enable the teacher bring in the improvised tool to the class rather than improvising in the class during teaching. He also submitted that improvisation of instructional materials cannot be complete without student participating in the process.
Adeniran also shared Aina’s view when he stated that as good as improvisation might be in teaching and learning, if learners are not involved in the process of improvisation, its aim may not be fully achieved. Learners participate in improvisation of instructional materials makes them exposed to creativity, innovation and curiosity all of which leads to achievement of goals of teaching and impacting.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Improvisation is a case of making available substitutes in science materials in cases of emergency or lack in the process of teaching and learning of science. The use of such materials has been researched to be useful to the teaching and learning of science as its influences the activities of the teacher as well as the interest of the students. But their availability has not been fully encouraging; hence, most teachers do improvise the materials while others do not. Even those who do improvise them have flaws in their processes of improvisation. Some other teachers prefer standardized materials to improvised ones. Though, teachers do teach effectively with the chalk and talk method how has these brought a change in interest.
This research work tries to show that the teaching of physics in post basic educational level in Uyo Local Government would be seriously hindered if improvised materials are not encouraged.
Additionally, most teachers complain of support from their schools, government, and lack of time and are not willing to spend their own money to improvise instructional materials. This is the rationale behind the choice of the topic “school factors and teachers improvisation of instructional materials for the teaching of physics in post basic educational level in Uyo Local Government area”.
1.3. Purpose of the Study
The study is designed primarily to unravel the effect and importance of teacher’s improvisation of instructional materials in the teaching of physics in Uyo local government area while also considering as well as ascertain the influence of school factors on teacher’s improvisation of instructional materials for teaching physics in Uyo local government area. This study also seeks the following:
1. To ascertain the influence of school location on teachers improvisation of instructional materials for teaching physics in Uyo local government area.
2. To determine the influence of school management support on teachers improvisation of instructional materials for teaching physics in uyo local government area.
3. To examine how large class size influences teachers improvisation of instructional material for teaching physics in uyo local government area.
4. To examine how time allotted for the subject influence teachers’ improvisation of instructional materials for teaching physics in uyo local government area.
1.4 Significance of the Study
The study is deemed significant because of the immense contributions it aims at bringing to the fore. The study will add to existing literature on improvised instructional material.
Teachers will find the work useful as it will aid in encourage them to meet the need of learners through improvisation of instructional material for the teaching of physics.
Students alike will also gain greatly as improvisation of instructional materials is never achieved without the participation of students. Researchers will also find the work valuable as the work is an investiture and an eye opener to the factors that influence improvisation of instructional materials for teaching of physics.
Schools will have a store of improvised instructional materials for reference purposes and for class activities.
1.5Research Questions
The study seeks to give clarification and answers to the following questions
1. What is the influence of school location on teacher’s improvisation of instructional materials in Uyo Local Government area
2. What is the influence of school management support on teachers improvisation of instructional materials for the teaching of physics in Uyo Local Government area
3. How does large class size influence teachers improvisation of instructional materials for teaching of physics in Uyo Local Government area
4. What is the influence of time allotted for the teaching of physics on teachers improvisation of instructional materials for the teaching of physics in Uyo Local Government area
1.6 Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study.
1. There is no significant influence of school location on teachers improvisation of instructional material for teaching physics in Uyo Local Government area
2. There is no significant influence of school management support on teachers improvisation of instructional material for teaching physics in Uyo Local Government area
3. There is no significant influence of class size on teachers improvisation of instructional material for teaching of physics in Uyo Local Government area
4. There is no significant influence of time allotted for teaching of physics on teachers improvisation of instructional material for subject in Uyo Local Government area
1.7 Basic Assumptions of the Study
For the sake of this study, the following assumptions have been made
1. School management support to teachers varies among post basic schools in Uyo Local Government area
2. Class size varies among post basic schools in Uyo Local Government area
3. Time allotted for physics varies among post basic schools in Uyo Local Government area
1.8 Scope of the Study
The study examined school factors and teachers’ improvisation of instructional materials for the teaching of physics.
In addition to the above, the study also examines school location, school management support, large class size and time allotted for the subject as well as teachers strategies in improvisation of instructional aids for teaching of physics in Uyo Local Government area.
1.9 Operational Definition of Terms
The following are the operational terms as used in this study.
1. School factors
This refers to the variables that can impact and influence teachers’ ability to improvise instructional materials such as school location, school management support, class size and allotted time for the subject.
2. Improvisation
This refers to the process of devising a solution to a requirement by making-do with what is available despite absence of resources that are standard.
3. Instructional materials
These are resources used by a teacher to help him deliver his physics lessons clearly and vividly for students understanding.
4. School Location
This refers to the environment (urban or rural) where the school is located in which a child finds himself/herself for learning.
5. School Management Support
This refers to the financial support and encouragements/ approval a teacher receive from the school.
6. Class Size
This is the number of students taking the same subject course at the same time, with the same instructor (Archilles).
7. Allotted Time
This refers to the time allocated for teaching/ learning and routine class room procedures like attendance and announcement. Allotted time is the duration for the teaching of the subject.
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