REVITALISING TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS USING ICT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
THE FIRST CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION
The Study’s Background
Since the dawn of human history, education has continued to evolve, diversify, and broaden its reach and coverage. Every country develops its own educational system in order to express and promote its distinct socio-cultural identity and to meet the challenges of the day. There are times in history when, in addition to the standard scheme of studies, a new direction must be given to an old process in the school curricula.
Today, Africa is confronted with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The strategic application of information technology to all aspects of life can assist Nigeria in emerging as a global player. There are numerous opportunities in all areas of economic and social activity, including government, healthcare, and small and medium-sized business development. The key to realizing this potential, however, is the strategic use of ICT in education.
Unless African countries develop local competencies and provide their people with all of the necessary knowledge, skills, and tools to compete in the global economy, Africa will miss out on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Achieving success in this area would unleash the talents of African populations, create new jobs and raise compensation, attract foreign investment to Nigeria, prevent brain drain, and raise the continent’s GDP and standard of living. As a result, comprehensive e-transformation
should be at the top of every African government’s agenda. The first step in the e-transformation roadmap should be devoted to e-education.
Education and Technology
Evidence from many countries has clearly demonstrated that ICT can improve educational quality. ICT has the potential to address illiteracy and improve educational quality in all sectors of education, and through multimedia capabilities such as simulations and models, ICT can provide learners with access to concepts that they could not previously grasp.
The use of learner management systems and administration tools can increase transparency in procedures, ensuring that funds are directed and accounted for. This can free up resources for new educational projects such as new schools, teacher professional development, or increased school facilities.
Data can be transmitted over the internet using centralized administration processes, avoiding cost and effort duplication. All learners with some level of Internet connectivity can access high quality content and receive relevant education through a variety of Internet-based applications and services.
Education is the lifeblood of any nation or economy, so it must be delivered with care and attention. Knowledge is a critical component of the equation because it is at the heart of education. To be the best, every economy must ensure that the best practices are used to ensure proper teaching and learning, particularly in secondary schools, which have the lowest level of acceptable education in recent times.
In any given educational institution, teaching methods are just as important as curriculum, because the delivery style is what ensures that the learners achieve the majority of the learning objectives and outcomes.
As the times change and technology evolves, there is an urgent need for teachers to revitalize their teaching methods and students to revitalize their learning methods. The urgent need for a change in teaching and learning methods is recognized in higher education and the labor market,
where students are expected to have mastered the skill of knowing how to learn and apply what they have learned. There is a significant gap between what students are capable of doing in secondary school and what they are expected to do at university and later in their careers.
Traditional methods of teaching and learning require a radical shift in the modern era, owing to advances in technology and innovations in curriculum and assessment. The current curriculum and assessment have narrowly defined education, and intelligence is measured by the grade received.
As a result, the educational environment is dominated by a control culture that values traditional teacher-student relationships and traditional classroom/learning boundaries.
A new system must be implemented in which learning entails the development of a change and innovative culture that allows students to be creative, self-directed, talented individuals who become knowledgeable workers in the global market. It can be accomplished by revitalizing teaching and learning methods as well as the school curriculum through the efforts of administrators, teachers, and students, as well as by involving parents in the design of the school curriculum.
As a result, teaching skills and learning methods must evolve to close the gap between knowing and doing. Students must be able to apply what they learn. Modern teaching practices enable students to investigate and develop thinking and learning skills that will help them succeed in university and in the workplace.
Unfortunately, many of the teaching methods that are still in use in Lagos secondary schools do not empower students to be independent thinkers or learners. As a result, there is an urgent need to revitalize teaching and learning methods that prepare students for the real world and foster investigative and inquiry skills in them.
A Teacher’s Changing Role as a Facilitator –
Shakespeare’s adage that “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” (Choube, 2003) The teaching profession has a distinguishing feature. It allows the teacher to grow in mind and spirit while participating in it. According to the approach of social activists, a teacher must adapt to the role of a facilitator (Vadana Merah 2006).
• A teacher delivers a didactic lecture, but a facilitator assists the learner in arriving at his or her own understanding.
• In the former, the learner takes a passive role, whereas in the latter, the learner takes an active role.
• A teacher tells, and a facilitator asks; a teacher lectures from the front, and a facilitator assists from the back.
• A teacher provides answers based on a predetermined curriculum; a facilitator creates the learning environment.
• A teacher typically delivers a monologue, whereas a facilitator maintains an ongoing dialogue with the learner. “A teacher can never truly teach unless he is still learning himself,” as Rabindernath Tagore correctly observed, “just as a lamp can never light another lamp unless it continues to burn itself…” (Gupta, 2005)
Learner
When sophisticated and modern teaching and learning methods are used, education can be revitalized. There are many teaching methods available to educators, many of which have recently been broadly classified as 19th century teaching and learning methods and 21st century teaching and learning methods.
Teaching and learning methods from the nineteenth century have recently been described as archaic because they do not encourage students to develop critical thinking skills. Among the 19th century teaching methods are lecturing, dictating,
voluminous note copying from the board, teaching (doing all the talking, popularly known as the sage on the stage in western countries), and so on. Students who learn using most of the above teaching and learning styles can only achieve level two of the Blooms taxonomy, which is recall and understanding.
Teaching styles in the twenty-first century are more student and teacher friendly because they ensure that both students and teachers actively participate in the learning process. Think-Pair-Share, Cooperative Learning, use of
ICT resources, Graphic Transformation and Representation, Peer Tutoring, Post Box Activity, KWL (what you know, what you want to know, what you have learned), and so on are among the 21st century teaching and learning styles. Students who are exposed to these teaching and learning methods can achieve up to Level Six of the Blooms Taxonomy.
It has been discovered that one method of maintaining quality education is through the use of information and communication technology. Evidence suggests that using ICT in the classroom can improve learning quality by making students more independent and capable of sustaining their own life-long learning observation.
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