IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVISATION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN IKORODU LOCAL GOVERNMENT
ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the importance, availability, and utilization of instructional materials by senior secondary agricultural science teachers in Lagos State. Six research questions and four null hypotheses were formulated to guide the researcher in carrying out the study. The descriptive survey research design was used. The population was made up of four hundred and thirty-one Agricultural science teachers in senior secondary schools in the State.
All the members of this population were studied; hence, there was no sampling. The data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire, comprising a checklist and other items that were designed on a 5-point scale. The data collected were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, mean scores, and standard deviation to answer the research questions… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Instructional material is crucial to teaching and learning processes. A dedicated classroom teacher feels satisfied when he realizes the objectives he has set out to achieve for every lesson. In order to achieve this, a trained teacher employs a number of methods, design, and actions, one of which includes the use of instructional material.
Instructional materials are referred to as the resources which both the teachers and students use for the purpose of effective teaching and learning. Okwo (1996) defined instructional materials as those materials that teachers can use in teaching to facilitate the learning of a particular subject or lesson. The list of instructional materials is inexhaustible and their limit is the teacher’s level of resourcefulness, creativity, and imagination.
Rominszowski (1996) listed instructional material to include newspapers, magazines, pictures, textbooks, chalkboards, laboratory equipment, posters, bulletins, journal, radio, television, audiocassettes, tapes, film scripts, and slides. Others are overhead and opaque projector, real objects, and computer. Okebukola (2003) described instructional materials as information multipliers because they are capable of providing learners with opportunities to learn beyond teachers’ capabilities when utilized for instruction.
The utilization of instructional material is the act of using and applying the available instructional material in the actual teaching/learning process. Where resources are supplied for instructional use, teachers are expected to utilize them to support a smooth and meaningful flow of instruction and promote understanding of the content being taught. To facilitate the teaching and learning of Agricultural science in Senior secondary schools, the skillful teacher can select those instructional materials that are relevant to the Agricultural science curriculum… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Statement of the Problem
Effective transfer of practical skills by the teachers to the students in Agricultural science requires good teaching methods as well as instructional materials. This implies that technological changes have always necessitated the need for the continuous provision of instructional material. Despite all the emphasis on the acquisition of practical skills and basic knowledge by the students for various activities in Agricultural science it still requires the good manipulation of skill-oriented instructional facilities.
Yet, the instructional materials are unavailable, insufficient, and inadequate (Ogwo, 1996). This may have been responsible for the Senior secondary school Agricultural science teachers’ adoption of the theoretical approach in teaching Agricultural science in most urban and rural secondary schools in Lagos State… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Research Objectives
The general purpose of this study was to investigate the improvisation and utilization of instructional materials for teaching Agricultural science by senior secondary teachers in urban/rural schools in Lagos State. Specifically, the study would:
- Ascertain the various ways instructional materials are being improvised for teaching Senior secondary Agricultural science students… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Significance of the Study
This study is significant because the findings would be of benefit to the Agricultural science teachers, the students, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBE), and the society at large.
The results of this study would immensely motivate Agricultural science teachers’ curiosity towards improvisation and utilization of instructional materials for teaching/learning. The findings of this study could enable teachers to utilize less expensive materials which the students can easily identify in their locality to make their teaching lively… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Scope of the Study
This study was limited to available instructional material for teaching Agricultural science in Upper Senior secondary, their utilization, and how instructional materials were being improvised. Also, the problems and strategies in the utilization and improvisation of instructional materials by teachers of senior secondary Agricultural science in Ikorodu LGA of Lagos State were investigated.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Concept of Instructional Materials
There are various concepts of instructional materials over the years, instructional materials have been changing names. It has been referred to as teaching aids, instructional or educational facilities, learning resources, educational technology, media materials, and curriculum materials.
Instructional materials according to Ogwo and Oranu (2006), can be defined as any device employed by teachers to transmit facts, facilitate skills/knowledge acquisition, and improve on understanding of learners. According to them, instructional materials include entirely what is known as models, objects, drawings, graphs and charts, pictures, films, and specimens. Dike (1988), refers to instructional materials assets of materials that a classroom teacher can use to extend the various experiences of his learners.
Azikiwe (1994), explained that instructional materials are those devices used for the successful and maximal achievement of the objectives of teaching. To her, they have been found to facilitate the quality of instruction when used by teachers. Moore (1994), described instructional materials as devices that are presented in different varieties, they stimulate, motivate, and arrest learner’s interest.
The term resource materials have also been used to refer to instructional materials. Obianwu (1988), defined resource materials as those devices, machines, and resource materials to educational technology that focus on better ways of maximizing educational input and output for the benefit of teachers and learners. Obianwu asserted that resource persons invited to schools to deliver one or two lessons to students are regarded as resource materials… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Theoretical Framework
- Theory of Anchored Instruction
Anchored instruction is a major paradigm for technology-based learning that has been developed by the Cognition and Technology Group of Vanderbilt (CTGV, 1990) under the leadership of John Branford.
While many people have contributed to the theory and research of anchored instruction, Branford is the principal spokesperson and hence the theory is attributed to him. The initial focus of the work was on the development of interactive videodisc tools that encouraged students and teachers to pose and solve complex and realistic problems. The video materials serve as “anchors” (macro-contexts) for all subsequent learning and instructions.
As explained by CTGV (1993), “the design of this anchor was quite different from the design of videos that were typically used in education” The goal of using anchors was to create interesting, realistic contexts that encouraged active construction of knowledge by learners. Anchors were stories rather than lectures and were designed to be explored by the students and teachers… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
- Cognitive Load Theory
This theory suggests that learning happens best under the condition that is aligned with human cognitive architecture. The structure of human cognitive architecture, while not known precisely, is discernible through the results of experimental research showing that short term memory is limited in numbers of elements it can contain simultaneously. Sweller (1988) built a theory that treats schemas, or combination of elements, as the cognitive structures that make up an individual’s knowledge base.
These structures permit one to perceive, think, and solve problems, rather than a group of rote learned facts. These structures are known as schemas. They are the cognitive structures that make up the knowledge base. Sweller’s theory is best applied in the area of improvisation of materials relating to the instructional design of cognitive complex or technically challenging material. His contention is that since students have difficulty learning sophisticated material, improvisation of such materials, might demystify the sophistication and make it easier for learners to learn using them… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Improvisation of Instructional Material
Improvisation is usually associated with the use of local resources, where and when professionally or commercially produced materials are not available a teacher, devices a substitute. Improvisation of instructional material is the imitation of those teaching aids or resources which the teacher and in fact the entire class utilize for the purpose of making teaching/learning more effective.
Stration (1994) noted that judicious improvisation and the use of improvised materials in the presentation are essential to captivate the audience and improve their perception of what the speaker is saying. Improvisation of instructional materials refers to the invention, construction, collection, modification, production, and substitution of materials for teaching in the absence of professionally made ones, (Mogbo, 1994).
It is a process whereby, teachers and students gather objects from environments and use those objects in either their original or reconstructed form, for teaching/learning. The use of improvised instructional materials in the classroom has the potential to help teachers explain concepts being thought.
Alterhaug (2004), noted that when teachers improvise instructional materials, they generate new processes in which learning, insight and knowledge acquisition from part of a meta-level and make up a platform for further development in a variety of contexts By improvising and utilizing instructional materials, more aspect of the national policy on education will be met (Ogwo, 1996)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Review of Related Empirical Studies
This section reviews some related studies on the problem under study. Anyakoha and Arkhust (2004) conducted a study titled; Availability and Adequacy of Educational Facilities for the Implementation of the Senior Secondary School Clothing and Textile Curriculum in the Southern Zone of Ghana.
The study was designed to find out which of the essential educational facilities for the implementation of the senior secondary school clothing and textile curriculum are available and also available in enough quantities in the selected schools. The study’s population was the clothing and textile teachers and the senior secondary school clothing and textile students during the 2001/2002 academic year.
The total respondents used were questionnaires, interview guided, and observation checklist. Frequency, percentages, and means were used to answer the research questions and chi-square used to test the hypotheses. The study showed that not all the needed facilities are available. Most of the equipment available was not in sufficient quantities, only 17 out of 43 are available in enough quantities. The teachers were not enough to teach more of the practical curses effectively… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter deals with the procedures that were adopted for the study. It includes the following: the research design, area of the study, population for the study, instrument for data collection, validation of the instrument, reliability of the instrument, method of data collection, and method of data analysis.
Research Design
The study adopted a survey research design. A survey design according to Akuezilo and Agu (2003) is one in which a group of people or items are studied by collecting and analyzing data from only a few people or items considered to be representative of the entire group. This design is appropriate for the present study because it involved collecting information from a sample of senior secondary Agricultural science teachers on their improvisation and utilization of instructional materials.
Population for the Study
The target population for this study consisted of 431 Agricultural science teachers in all the Senior secondary schools in ikorodu Lagos State.
The instrument for Data Collection
The instrument for data collection for this study will be a structured questionnaire which consists of two parts (part one and two). Part one will seek information on the background of the respondents. Part two comprises of six sections (A-F). Section A will seek information on the available instructional materials for teaching Agricultural science, section B on the extent of utilization of available instructional materials section C instructional materials on to be improvised by Agricultural science teachers, section D… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter dealt with the presentation and analysis of data collected for the study. The research questions generated were examined in section A, and the hypotheses formulated were tested in section B. Finally, a detailed discussion of the results of the study was undertaken.
Table 2:
Sample Characteristics of Agricultural science Teachers used in the Study.
| Variable Description | Number of Agricultural Science Teachers | Percentage of Agricultural Science Teachers |
| School Location:
a) urban b) rural |
102 325 |
23.89 76.11 |
| 427 | 100 |
Presented in Table 2 are the sample characteristics of the 427 Agricultural science teachers that returned copies of the questionnaire administered on them. The information in table 1 was obtained from the first section of the questionnaire used for the study. The findings from the questionnaire indicated that 102 respondents (23.89%) were teaching in schools located in urban areas. The results further show that 325 (76.11%) of the sample was teaching in rural schools… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion
Literature has indicated that instructional materials can improve learning outcomes among students (Arkhurst & Anyakoha, 2004; Olaitan, 2008). Instructional material on its own may have little value for learning unless teachers use it in classrooms. The findings of this study have indicated that materials for teaching Agricultural science in Senior secondary were largely unavailable, there was a low extent of teachers’ utilization of available instructional materials by the teachers, and the Agricultural science teachers improvised few of the instructional materials available for teaching… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Recommendations
The following recommendations are made based on the research findings.
- Government and non-governmental organizations should sponsor Agricultural science teachers for training in improvisation of instructional
- Principals, heads of Agricultural science departments, and supervisors from the State Education commission should sensitize Agricultural science teachers on the potentials of using instructional materials for teaching. This would help the teachers become more knowledgeable and improvise instructional materials to improve their teaching… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
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