EFFECT OF POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS MODES ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION IN BASIC SCIENCE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of study
Education is the key that enable the public to move with time and attain excellence in science and technology. This is why the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) stated clearly in the National Policy on Education, that education as an instrument could be used to meet the needs of people and determine the kind of society which would evolve. However, there are many levels of education in Nigeria they include; Nursery/pre-primary education, Primary education, Secondary education and Tertiary education. One of the aims and objectives of secondary education is to provide trained manpower in the applied science and raise a generation of people who can think and contribute to the development of the society (FRN, 2004).An important aspect of secondary education is science education. Science education enables people to use scientific principles and processes in making personal decision and to participate in discussion of scientific issues that affect the society. (National Science Education Standard, 1996).
However, science education is the bedrock of a realistic national development. There are two basic fields of science. They include: Natural science, the study of the natural world and Social science; the systematic study of human behaviour. Natural and Social science runs across the following subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth science etc., all embedded in a given subject known as Basic Science. Basic Science is one of the subjects taught/offered in the Junior Secondary Schools in Nigeria. Basic science is formally called integrated science. It is an integrated science course that generally deals with the study of living things and non-living things. Basic science, is the first form of science a child comes across at the Secondary school level. It prepares students at the Junior Secondary School level for the study of core science subjects (physics, chemistry, biology) at the Senior Secondary School level (Olarewaju,1994). This by implication, means that for a student to be able to study single science subjects at the Senior Secondary School level successfully, such student had to be well grounded in basic science at the Junior Secondary School level. Teachers, School administrators, Curriculum experts and Society at large believe that basic science prepares and grooms the students to do well in science subjects in their senior classes and in university education.
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Basic Science Curriculum was reviewed in the year 2007 by Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), where some new topics like: desertification, drug abuse, depletion of ozone layer and their effects among others were added to the existing one to create awareness on the high rate of climate change in the world today. Depletion of Ozone layer as one of the new topics in JSS3 is a very important topic to be taught with a concerted effort. This is because the rate at which Ozone layer depletes and its effect on human being is increasing with time. However, having taught junior secondary school three students for five years, the researcher observed that there are some topics in the basic science curriculum that are difficult to teach and learn as well. Depletion of ozone layer is one of them. Ozone layer can be depleted by production and emission of Chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs), which accounts for about 80% of the total depletion of ozone, hydro chlorofluorocarbon (HCFCs) and Volatile organic compound (VOCs). These gases are often emitted by vehicles, as a bi-product of industrial process, refrigerants and aerosols (Chandramita, 2012). As the ozone depletes in the stratosphere, it forms a ‘hole’ in the layer. This hole enables harmful ultraviolet rays to enter the earth’s atmosphere. This brings about many health’s related issues like skin cancer, eye damage, cataracts, immune system damage, difficulty in breathing, chest pain, throat irritation, as well as earth disasters and climate change across the globe.
Many reports and researches have shown series of earth disasters and other effects of ozone layer depletion in Nigeria and in the world at large. For instance, it was reported by the state of Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation Agency that the flooding in Kano in August 2013 destroyed about 408 houses. Over one thousand, two hundred (1,200) houses were destroyed and seven thousand (7,000) people displaced in Abare and Toni – Angiama in Patani area of Delta state as a result of flood in October 5th2012.Atawa (2012) reported that there has been high amount of rainfall which has been attributed to climate change and global warming as a result of depletion of Ozone layer.
It is quite alarming that the public seems not to be aware of Ozone layer depletion and how to prevent or reduce its effect on the earth and its inhabitants. Tosin (2013) pointed out that despite the spirited sensitisation programme and advocacy by different environmental right group and intercontinental bodies; it appears that many people still do not have idea of what climate change is and the attendant environmental issues that face them as individuals or as a nation. This may be attributed to ignorance or lack of information.
Ignorance of the people thereby affects students in Junior Secondary Schools. Therefore, it is important to give adequate information on climate change to the young Nigerian students, especially those in the junior secondary schools. Such new topic as ozone layer depletion is introduced in their curriculum to sensitise and educate them on how to be conscious of their environment and to be able to prevent those earth disasters and their effects. Failure to teach and learn these topics well may lead to poor academic achievement.
Achievement is what someone has done successfully, especially using his own effort and skill (Ishiwu, 2014). In the same line, Igbo (2014) in Anekwe (2006) defined achievement as the capability to operate efficiently, react quickly or perfectly to a given task. In his words he stated that to achieve is to accomplish, acquire or gain by effort or do something successfully with an effort or skill. Academic achievement on the other hand is an outcome of teaching and learning encountered. (Anekwe 2006). It reflects the extent to which students have attained their educational stated objectives as well as students’ cognitive attainment in the core subjects at school level. In line with the above Iwundu, in Ernest-Ehibudu and Opurum (2013) defined academic achievement as the degree or level of success attained at the end of an endeavour. The yardstick for measuring ones level of academic achievement is by assessing the academic performance of an individual through test and observation. Students’ achievement tests are used to describe student’s strength and difficulties as at the time the test was given. It is mostly used in determining the relative position or rank of students with respect to their performance in various fields of learning, for instance sciences. Anekwe (2006) defined science achievement as a test for measurement and comparison of skills among science students. This shows rate of knowledge demonstrated by an individual after learning has taken place. Operationally, Science achievement can be defined as how well a learner accomplishes work in science setting and changes in behaviour after learning has taken place. Students’ poor achievement in basic science has been observed over the years, with special reference to secondary school students in Nsukka local government of Enugu State. The result of Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) conducted by state Ministry of Education, Enugu in 2012, 2013, and 2014 indicates students’ poor achievement and difficulty in crediting Basic science. Specifically, schools in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, in the above mentioned years, 22.5% of students scored credit or above credit grade while about 74.5% had ordinary pass in Basic science (Appendix 1).The rate of achievement may be dependent on the ability of the learner to retain what has been learnt.
Retention is referred to as the ability to remember or utilize already acquired knowledge and skill. It is also seen as the skill or knowledge or competencies a learner acquire and internalizes from a learning situation after forgetting has taken place, (Ezugwu, 2013).However, Momoh, in Abd-El-Aziz (2013) defined retention as the repeat performance by a learner, of behaviour earlier acquired, elicited after an interval of time. A student is said to have retained something when he/she has the capacity to remember something, knowledge, skill, habits, attitude or other responses initially acquired. This implies that high retention may lead to high achievement.
Some research studies showed that inadequate coverage of syllabus, ineffective method of teaching and instructional media used, can make or mar the retention and achievement rate of a particular concept taught. The manner in which science subjects are taught by teachers in the classrooms had been highlighted as an important factor affecting students’ achievement and retention in science. Udeji (2007) and Udousoro (2002) in their studies identified that method of teaching adopted by a teacher affects the level of student’ retention and achievement in school. Supporting this, Omeje (2001) stated that the extent to which a teaching method is effective can be judged from the effect of the teaching method on student’s achievement in class test and examination (both external and internal). In line with the above, Ezugwu (2013) noted that effective teaching as a result of the use of appropriate method and instructional media might facilitate learning and make it more meaningful. Effective teaching helps the learner to learn better while poor teaching would naturally lead to poor learning and consequently poor achievement and retention.
Besides the teaching method, instructional media for students to interact with becomes necessary as this will provide a first-hand experience which guarantees learning (Okoye, 2003). As observed by Examination Development Centre (EDC) Enugu, (2015), students’ performance in Basic science, BECE was poor, as majority of the students had below credit for three consecutive years (2012, 2013, and 2014).The continuous inability of the students to get credit in basic science, therefore the need of a paradigm shift from the conventional method of teaching to innovative–interactive methods of teaching that is ICT based. Example Computer Assisted Instructions (CAI), Computer Concept Mapping (CCM)Video conferencing and presentation software among others. This traditional method keeps the students passive in class and invariably leads to poor achievement and retention. (Alumona 2012).Supporting the above, Udo and Udosen (2010) stated in their study, that most of our teachers are used to chalk-talk method of teaching, rendering the student passive learners. The use of this method (talk chalk/ traditional method) contradicts the students-centred-learning-approach recommended by the Federal Ministry of Education (Federal Republic of Nigeria, FRN 2004). Meanwhile, interest in the use of modern technology in every discipline is increasing in all nations of the world. Countries strive to produce more and better trained students through the adoption of various educational technological innovative techniques. Educational technologists believe that if educational institutions prepare the students to meet the challenges of the new millennium, they should accommodate educational technology competence to fit in their work places after graduation (Bartsch & Cobern, 2003). This therefore calls for teachers or instructors to incorporate educational technology in teaching and learning process, thereby giving the students opportunity to engage actively in the lesson as well as develop technical skills and explore in more details the content taught. This however will increase high academic achievement and retention in Basic science, specifically earth disaster/Ozone layer depletion related topics in the curriculum.
One of the educational technologies that is readily available in the classroom is presentation software. Presentation software allows the teachers and students to generate many different actions including overheads, slides, hand-outs and speakers note, all in single file. By interacting with this type of technology, students play a more active role in their own learning situation. Different types of presentation software exist. Some of them include: Adobe Persuasion, Gold Disk Astound, Delta Graph Pro and Microsoft PowerPoint. According to inMcCleland 1994, in Ramazan (2006) all these presentation packages are fairly compatible. One of this software that is user-friendly, accessible to teachers and allows arrays of options is PowerPoint by Microsoft.
In this research, Microsoft PowerPoint (full name Microsoft office PowerPoint) was used because it has advantages over other presentations, being widely used by business people, educators, trainers, and so on. Apart from being among the most prevalent forms of persuasive technology, supporters and critics, generally agree that PowerPoint is easily accessible and saves time for people who, otherwise, would have used other types of visual aids, like hand-draw or mechanically typeset slide, blackboard or overhead projections. Some researches stated that PowerPoint presentation (PPT) enhances instruction, motivates and influences students learning positively (Harrison 1999, Parks, 199). Connor and Wong (2004), Bartsch and Cobern (2003), Jonassen, Howland, Moore and Marra (2003), Craig and Amermic (2006) stated that PPT have become the most prevalent and popular form of multimedia in education, as students prefer it to presentation from transparencies.
Modes of presentation of PowerPoint software in this study means different ways in which instruction can be presented using PowerPoint. This modes may vary from one researcher or teacher to another depending on how the person wants it namely; Basic PowerPoint (text only),text in combination with still picture (text-picture), text with animation (text-animation), text with video (text-video), text with pictures and sound/voice (text-picture-sound), text with recorded voice(text-voice), text with instructors voice, voice with pictures(voice-picture), and so on. These above listed modes are combination of two or three media of interest.
Operationally, this study has two modes of presentation with the following headings: text with picture and text-pictures and animation.
· Text- pictures: This mode can be described as PowerPoint presentation slide that has typed
words or text and images or pictures on the concept to be taught. The text illustrates or explains the images. It is a mixed approach that contains note, though in a more abbreviated format that can be copied by students during or after the lesson.
· Text- animation: This is a combination of the above mentioned mode and animation. It is also
a mixed approach where there is text explaining the vital points, pictures for illustrations and animation for visual effect applied to individual items on the slide such as graphics, titles or bullet points. There are two types of animation: Text and graphic animation. Text animation involves animating text while graphic animation involves animating graphics. Either type of animation may add interest to the presentation.
Use of PowerPoint Presentation tools in teaching may have the same or different impact in both male and female students. This brings in the issue of gender of students in relation to achievement and retention. Unger in Edebor (2002) defined gender as the psychosocial aspect of maleness and femaleness. According to Ishiwu (2014) gender can also be said to be the societal groupings of people into Masculine and feminine. It does not only refer to women and men but also to the way their qualities, behaviours and identities are determined .Operationally, gender can be said to be the culturally determined traits associated with the roles played and grouping of male and female. Many scholars have researched on the influence of gender on students’ achievement and retention in science subjects over years and they came up with diverse findings as shown below.
Badmus (2002) in the findings of his study stated that male achieve and retain higher than female Supporting this, Manuel (2002) noted that males have more favourable and comfortable attitude towards computer and internet use than female students, while Omoniyi (2006) was against this in his findings. Mamah (1998) found gender as no significant factor in student’s achievement in biology while Okoye (2012) found out otherwise in biology. Seeing these diverse findings from above mentioned researches, it is therefore worthwhile to see how these two modes of PowerPoint presentation would bridge the possible gender gap on student’s achievement and retention in Basic science, to either support or refute the debate on influence of gender on achievement and retention.
Statement of Problem
It has been observed that there have been high rates of earth disasters and ozone layer depletion these days. This has made the Federal government of Nigeria to enlarge the curriculum of upper basic education by including the topics such as: Desertification and depletion of Ozone layer. These are targeted to address the earth disaster problems. It has also been noted that most Nigeria teachers use talk-chalk/ traditional method of teaching, which makes the students passive in learning. This traditional method keeps the students passive in class, which contradicts the students-centred-learning-approach recommended by the Federal Ministry of Education (Federal Government of Nigeria, FRN 2004). Inappropriate method of teaching invariably leads to poor students’ achievement in an examination. Experience has also shown that students learn at a high rate through effective and efficient use of information and communication technologies in teaching and learning. Teaching the Earth disaster/Ozone layer depletion related topics in the curriculum effectively may require the use of more effective instructional delivery method that is ICT based. Therefore, exploring the influence of new instructional software such as PowerPoint presentation, using the following modes (text-pictures and text-animation) on students’ achievement and retention in basic science, is not only desirable but timely. The problem of this study as a question is: “What is the effect of text-pictures and text-animation mode of PowerPoint Presentation on Students’ achievement and retention in Basic Science.
Purpose of Study
The general purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of PowerPoint Presentation modes on students’ achievement and retention in Basic Science.
Specifically, the study sought to:
1) Find the comparative effect of text- picture and text- animation of PowerPoint Presentation modes on students’ achievement in Basic Science
2) Ascertain the effect of text-pictures and text-animation of PowerPoint Presentation modes on students’ retention in basic science.
3) Determine the influence of gender on students’ achievement in basic science when taught using text- picture and text- animation of PowerPoint Presentation modes.
4) Determine the influence of gender on students’ retention in basic science when taught using text- picture and text- animation of PowerPoint Presentation modes.
5) Find out the interaction effect of PowerPoint Presentation modes and gender on students’ achievement in basic science.
6) Determine the interaction effect of PowerPoint Presentation modes and gender on students’ retention in basic science.
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will have both theoretical and practical significance.
Theoretically, the findings of this study will create an opportunity for a better and elaborate understanding of Social learning theory, Cognitive theory of multimedia learning and Theory of learning and instruction. Social learning theory proposes that people learn by observation and imitation of events in the environment. This implies that students learnt by observing and imitating the modes of PowerPoint presentation that will be used in teaching them while cognitive theory of multimedia learning states that presentation of words and picture to the learner through multimedia presentation is better than by words only. This means that learning is more effective when the sense organs of sight and hearing of learners are captured in teaching and learning process. Theory of learning and instruction proposes thathuman being is an information processors, thinkers, creators of idea and transfers their learning to different problem situation. By implication this is to say that every learning / instructional environment should be designed to solve human problems. Inability of students to have credit in BECE and reduction of the rate of ozone layer depletion are the problems that the modes of PowerPoint tend to solve.
Therefore, the result of this study will help in validating and authenticating the tenets of social learning theory and cognitive theory of Multimedia learning.
This study is also practically significant, because it will be of immense benefit to students, teachers, parents, ministries of education, curriculum planners, instructional designers and society among others.
Students may benefit from the findings of this study, by increasing their interest, participation and as well their academic achievement. It may also increase the retention of the content learnt and motivates them to learn some ICT techniques. It may also bridge the possible gap in Basic science achievement and retention of male and female students because both sexes will be exposed to both treatments. Also students may learn the best way to protect their environment and nature through Earth disaster and Ozone layer depletion content.
The research findings will be of great benefit to the teachers because it is teachers who instruct, determine the class activities and how to plan the lesson to be effective and efficient. So, the teacher will benefit by being exposed to the use of instructional software or different modes of PowerPoint Presentations that may motivate the students towards high achievement and retention in basic science.
Parents will also benefit from the findings of this study, because when the students are taught and there is high achievement and retention of the content, the information will be passed to the parents/guardians who will be informed by their wards about the dangers of ozone layer depletion on human beings.
The findings will be of immense benefit to the Ministries of education, by exposing them on the importance and advantage of multimedia in teaching and learning and therefore, this may convince them to procure computers, and as well equipping them with necessary instructional software for effective teaching and learning. It can also sensitize them to organise workshops for teachers to get them informed about current ICT innovative teaching strategies, and as well train them on how to use them especially the best mode of PPT as will be indicated from the findings of this study.
Curriculum planners will benefit from the findings of the study because it is their duty to determine the learning objectives, achievable knowledge and skills appropriate for each of the content to be taught. If the use of any of these modes of PowerPoint Presentation is found most valuable, the curriculum planners will recommend the use of it in schools for effective teaching and learning.
Instructional designers will benefit from the findings of this study because it will enlighten them on the importance, effectiveness and efficiency of use of different modes of PowerPoint presentation software in designing instructions for Schools. By so doing they may design instruction on basic science content and other subjects using any of these modes of PowerPoint Presentation found most valuable.
Lastly, the society will be exposed to the negative effects of ozone layer depletion on human beings through the students that were taught with PPT, Teachers, and Parents of students, Instructional designers, Curriculum planners and Ministries of education. On hearing this, they may desist from all human activities that could promote ozone layer depletion.
Scope of the Study
The study will be limited to the investigation of the effect of PowerPoint Presentation modes on students’ achievement and retention in basic science. The study will be limited to junior secondary schools three (JSS3) students of co-educational public secondary schools in Nsukka local government of Enugu state. The unit that will be covered is: Ozone layer depletion.
Research Questions
The following research questions will guide the study:
1) What are the effects of text-pictures and text-animation of PowerPoint presentation modes on students’ mean achievement scores in Basic science?
2) What are the effects of text-pictures and text-animation of PowerPoint presentation modes on students’ mean retention scores in Basic science?
3) What is the influence of gender on student’s mean achievement scores in Basic science when taught using text-pictures and text-animation of PowerPoint presentation modes?
4) What is the influence of gender on student’s mean retention scores in Basic science when taught using text-pictures and text-animation of PowerPoint presentation modes?
Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses will be tested at 0.05 level of significance to guide the study.
HO1: There will be no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students in basic science when taught using text-pictures and text-animation of PowerPoint Presentation
modes.
HO2: There will be no significant difference in the mean retention scores of students in basic science when taught using text-pictures and text-animation of PowerPoint Presentation modes.
H03: There will be no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students in Basic science when taught using text-pictures and text-animation of PowerPoint Presentation modes.
H04: There will be no significant difference in the mean retention scores of male and female students in Basic science when taught using text-pictures and text-animation of PowerPoint Presentation modes.
H05: There will be no significant interaction effect of PowerPoint presentation modes and gender on students mean achievement scores in Basic Science.
Ho6; There will be no significant interaction effect of PowerPoint presentation modes and gender on students mean retention scores in Basic Science.
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