PRE-SERVICE TEACHER’S PERCEPTION OF THE USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS CLASSES IN SECONDARY SCHOOL
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
The importance of mathematics in society cannot be overstated. According to Akinsode (2000), mathematics has always held an enviable position in our daily lives. It has served as the foundation for many human endeavors, most notably science and technology.
It’s no surprise that it’s still a required subject in Nigerian schools from kindergarten to graduate school. However, mathematics education appears to be in crisis today, as evidenced by students’ poor performance in private and public school examinations, as well as a general drop in standard.
Just as students struggle to learn mathematics due to factors such as laziness and boredom, teachers struggle to achieve effective teaching in our school system due to the use of ineffective teaching methods and teaching aids.
Some non-specialists define mathematics as the abstract science that investigates deductively the conclusions implicit in the basic concepts of spatial and numerical relations, and which includes geometry, arithmetic, and algebra as its main divisions (Oxford English dictionary, 1933).
It is also defined as the use of numbers and symbols to study the measurement, properties, and relationships of quantities and sets. (From the American Dictionary, 2000). Mathematics is the science of structure, order, and relationship that arose from the primitive practices of counting, measuring, and describing the shapes of objects (encyclopedia Britannica)
Some experts define mathematics as the science of numbers. Discrete quantities were studied by arithmetic, while continuous quantities were studied by geometry, according to Aristotle’s classification of the sciences.
The definition proposed by Auguste Comte attempted to explain the role of mathematics in coordinating phenomena in all other fields. In addition, he defines mathematics as “the science of indirect” measurement.
In Comte’s definition, “indirectness” refers to determining quantities that cannot be measured directly, such as the distance between planets or the size of atoms, through their relationships to quantities that can be measured directly. (1955)
As we all know, mathematics is one of the fundamental tools used to explain other scientific and technical concepts. Mathematics has been the only language used by developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan to advance their technology.
They’ve also used technology to conquer the land, sea, and space, making life worthwhile for their people. Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity, published in 1905, aided us in developing our understanding of space and time. Newton’s law was used to launch satellites.
Mathematics and mechanics also play an important role in helping pilots, navigators, and flight engineers better understand their jobs (Aderogha, k. 1990).
According to Faleye (2002), Russia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, Japan, and a slew of other developed nations will forever nurture the wanders that mathematics has and will continue to bring them.
According to Ivowi (2003), in order for national development to occur, a crop of human resources with sufficient knowledge and skills to interact with ideas and materials must be available. The problem of such interaction must be solutions to identified problems that significantly contribute to the improvement of society. Mathematics education, among other things, is critical to the development of individuals and societies.
According to Akesode (2000), the Nigerian education policy clearly insists on a mathematical foundation for good reason. Literacy and numeracy—the ability to use numbers—go hand in hand. A person who is illiterate in mathematics will be useless to himself and the country.
A numeracy skill, without a doubt, is the language in various aspects of our lives and the nation.
Without mathematics, for example, the health care delivery system, both the doctor and the patient, will be in trouble.
A mathematical instrument is required to document a patient’s condition. To say that a patient’s temperature is high or his blood pressure is low, the doctor must have precise measurements in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimeters of mercury for blood pressure.
The language is mathematics, from diabetes diagnosis to paternity testing using DNA to determine HIV status. Mathematics has a place in everything from minor surgery like suturing an ulcer to major surgery like brain surgery or organ transplant, especially when it comes to precision of measurement.
The manufacture of military hardware and equipment in the defense sector is heavily reliant on mathematical concepts and skills. A missile aimed at point A will end up in point B if sound geometric calculations and computations involving projectile notion are not used. If you ask the pilot of a modern jet fighter or bomber, he will tell you that he cannot communicate with his plane without mathematics.
For planning purposes, the list is limitless; however, the population of an area is required, as is mathematics. In the popular program “Kick Polio Out of Africa,” the number of children immunized against polio is to be calculated, and the number of those who have not been immunized is to be deduced; this is nothing more than mathematics.
Because mathematics is so important to the development of a nation, the importance of having competent teachers, the right method of teaching, and, most importantly, relevant instructional media to develop future professionals who will champion the development of our nation on multiple fronts cannot be overstated.
The level and extent of media use in the classroom will be determined in large part by teachers’ perspectives on the role of media in classroom instruction. Teachers form an impression, either positive or negative, based on specific characteristics teachers attribute to media.
Teachers’ perceptions of media are influenced by what they believe media can do in the teaching-learning process. However, evidence abounds that the reasons given by teachers for not using media were false (Zepp, 2005:Scrimshaw, 2004; SugarCrawley & Fine, 2004; Cohen, 1996; Hubbord,1999).
Educational technologists frequently use the term instructional media to refer to all of the devices that teachers and students use to help them learn. Many educators, however, use the terms educational technology, instructional media, and instructional technology interchangeably. The term “media” can be defined in a variety of ways.
According to Gagne (1970), media are various components in the learner’s environment that support the learner’s learning. According to Briggs (1970), media are physical means that are used to send messages to students and stimulate them to learn. The National Education Association defines media as forms of communication that are either printed or audiovisual, which differs slightly from the opinions of the two experts.
According to Scanlan, instructional media includes all materials and physical means that an instructor or teacher may use to implement instruction and facilitate learners’ achievement of instructional objectives.
Chalkboards, handouts, charts, slides, overheads, real objects, flash cards, and videotape or film are examples of traditional materials, as are computers, DVDs, CD-ROMs, the Internet, and interactive video conferencing.
According to Richard (1992), instructional media in general refers to television, radio, and newspapers as a whole and as ways of entertaining or spreading news or information to a large number of people. Multimedia or mixed media refers to teaching materials that incorporate various types of media, such as visual and printed media.
There are various types of media, but visual aids are the best for learners, especially young learners. Whatever definitions of media exist, there is a general rule that can be stated about media.
Anything used to send message(s) from the sender(s) to the receiver(s) in order to arouse the learners’ thoughts, feelings, and interest in order to gear the students’ learning is referred to as media. Sadiman et al. (2002
Instructional media and teaching aids are sometimes used interchangeably. Both instructional media and teaching aids have functions that help learners understand what they are learning. However, some experts continue to distinguish between instructional media and teaching aids.
When we talk about a board, either whiteboard or blackboard, that a teacher uses to inform students about what he or she is teaching, we also talk about instructional media and teaching aids.
What’s on the board is instructional media, and what’s on the board is teaching aids. Teaching aids are the objects here, and the content of the objects is the instructional media.
A good piece of media is similar to a window. It should not have drawn attention to itself; it should simply have been exposed to light. In general, teachers should use instructional media in accordance with their best judgment.
It can be used to facilitate learning or to improve understanding of materials. Of course, communicating to facilitate learning can be a difficult process that frequently necessitates creative efforts to achieve a variety of implicit instructional goals (University of Saskatchewan,).
Among the implicit goals that teachers can assist media in achieving are the following: attracting attention, developing interest, adjusting the learning climate, and promoting acceptance (of an idea).
The use of media in mathematics education is extremely beneficial. The use of media by teachers, instructors, and learners aids in the achievement of learning objectives. As a result, teachers should use instructional media in their teaching – learning activities because:
1. All instructional media can be accessed outside of the classroom. There are many things around the learners that they cannot reach, such as bacteria, viruses, and so on.
We must use a microscope as a medium to know and see those tiny things. We use images to represent things that cannot be brought into the classroom, such as markets, train stations, and harbors.
2. Instructional media enabled direct interaction between learners and their surroundings.
3. The media elicited some observations. Based on the goals of the teachers, the learners’ observations can be directed toward the important things.
4. The basic, concrete, and real concepts of teaching can be preserved in the media.
5. The use of media in learning increases learners’ motivation.
6. Media transformed the experience from the concrete to the abstract.
De Porter and Hernacki (2000) state in Quantum Learning that audio visual can be created optimally, physically, and mentally through the learning environment.
According to Sukartiwi (1996), some benefits of using media in the teaching-learning process include increasing learner motivation, avoiding learner boredom, making the instructional material easier to understand, and making the teaching-learning process more systematic.
It is stated in the Sydney Micro Skill that instructional media have piqued the learners’ interest, stormed the learners’ brains to think concretely, and discovered high understanding in learning efficiently and permanently.
There are numerous instructional media used in teaching, ranging from the simplest or cheapest to the most complex, without the need for electricity, to the most expensive, which required electricity. According to Vernon (1996), there are six types of media.
Drawing or teacher mode drawings: This media can be constructed and used to support the topic being taught. The teacher can easily prepare it at home and use it in class to achieve the goals of the teaching and learning process.
Still images: This media can be used to depict real-world objects or events that occur outside of the classroom. A still picture is a record or a copy of a real object or event that may be longer or shorter than the real object or events, such as a photograph, bulletin board material, brochure, and so on.
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PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS PERCEPTION OF THE USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS CLASSES IN SECONDARY SCHOOL
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