IMPACT OF USING MEDIA PROJECTED INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN BIOLOGY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The processes of teaching and learning are very important at all stages of educational growth. They are the key to an individual's success and advancement if they are properly planned and directed. As a result, in order to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning, the finest approaches must be used. Because of this, it is necessary to utilize teaching aids, also known as audiovisual resources, in order to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning in the classroom. According to Dike (2010), instructional materials not only help to boost the motivation of instructors and students, but they also help to improve the quality of instruction. They help students understand the subject matter better and make studying more enjoyable. According to Ahmed (2010), the purpose of education is permanent learning, which means that the learner should be able to retain what they have learned. Because they appeal to more than one sense, educational materials help students retain more information. According to a study conducted by Ode and Omokaro (2007), learners retain the majority of what they hear, see, and feel rather than just what they hear. This approach lends weight to an ancient Chinese proverb that states, "What I hear, I forget; what I recall, I remember; and what I do, I understand." A visual teaching emphasizes the use of audiovisual materials to help learners understand abstract concepts in a more tangible manner. Consequently, the teacher's responsibility is to make learning a living experience, not merely something to be remembered but rather a part of one's everyday life. This may be accomplished efficiently via the use of audiovisual aids in teaching and learning as a way of imparting information to students. When it comes to teaching and learning, educators have discovered that the most effective results are obtained when a person has direct contact with the subject matter under study, and this is true in the sequence of experience. Doing is the most effective way for learners to learn. Learning by doing can only be accomplished with the use of audiovisual resources, since audiovisual materials improve students' attention, motivation, focus, and memory.

As a result of the large amount of research and writing done by reputable researchers and authors, there has been no widespread agreement on whether using audiovisual resources in teaching and learning is effective or not; on the contrary, the number of people who are concerned about the negative aspects of using such resources has increased dramatically.

In fact, the utilization of instructional materials in the context of teaching and learning was seen as an eccentric practice in its whole by the group. The research explores the influence of the usage of projected instructional resources on teaching and learning in the context of the dissident voices' questions about whether instructional resources have in any way improved teaching and learning.

In order to effectively teach and understand all scientific disciplines in general, and Biology in particular, a large amount of instructional material is required. These instructional media are tools that an instructor employs to execute education and promote learning since they assist in capturing students' attention, sprouting and stimulating their interest, as well as making learning a pleasurable experience (Akoja & Ali 2012). A large number of schools do not have access to instructional media, and among those that do, the amount of material offered is drastically insufficient. Currently, many schools are experiencing a scarcity of instructional material, which has led to a lack of efficient Biology education, which has resulted in students doing poorly in both internal and external assessments. For example, Eniayeju (2005) found that inadequate laboratory facilities, inability of science teachers to communicate ideas clearly to students, and a lack of learning facilities in schools, as opposed to a consistent increase in the number of students enrolled in schools, are all factors contributing to students' poor performance in science, technology, and mathematics (STEM).

In light of this, Igyo (2000) defines instructional media as those teaching aids and devices that have been systematically designed, produced, and evaluated, and which an instructor or facilitator uses to illustrate the point he wishes to emphasize in his teaching and his intentions to facilitate learning, according to Igyo (2000) Specifically, according to Njoku in Akoja and Ali (2012), instructional media are those means of communication that improve the quality of teaching and assist the instructor in successfully communicating concepts to his or her pupils. An instructional medium is one of the many various modes of communication available to a Biology instructor for the purpose of concretizing an idea when he or she is teaching a class.

Teaching materials and significant resources refer to all of the materials and substantial resources that an educator may employ to execute teaching and promote students' accomplishment of instructional goals. They (instructional media) are intended to capture attention, pique interest, enhance learning via live examples and visual elaboration, create a learning atmosphere in the classroom, and assist in converting learning into a pleasurable experience for students. (2010) (Isola, 2010)

Instructional media may be divided into many categories, including audio or aural, visual or audio visual. In this case, audio instructional media refers exclusively to those devices that rely only on the sense of hearing, such as radios and audio cassette recorders. For example, visual instructional media such as the blackboard, chart, slide, and filmstrip are devices that primarily appeal to the sense of sight and do not appeal to the other five senses. An audio visual instructional medium, on the other hand, is a technology that appeals to both the senses of hearing and sight, such as television, motion pictures, and computers, that is used to teach students. The visual instructional medium outnumbered the combination of audio and audio-visual instructional media in the classroom, according to the results of the study. Kareem (2003) and Moronfola (2002) have both written on this topic.

Instructional media may be either concrete or non-concrete in character, and they are used by the instructor in a lesson to facilitate learning. Such medium might be utilized to communicate ideas, knowledge, information, and a message regarding what the instructor is bringing to his or her pupils (Amali & Adejoh, 2013). According to Akoja and Ali (2012), in order to improve successful classroom communication, the teacher should use a variety of techniques and methods that appeal to the senses of the students. In this respect, instructional media are required in order to stimulate all five senses, including hearing, touching, seeing, smelling, and feeling (Isola, 2010). According to the findings of Akoja and Ali (2012), the usage of instructional media increases improved retention of concepts, resulting in more lasting learning, as well as a high level of interest among students. Students' low performance in the sciences, technology, and mathematics is attributed to a number of factors, one of which is a lack of use of instructional media. As a result, the current research investigates the use of instructional media to teach Biology topics, as well as how this might affect students' success in biology.

Specifically, achievement refers to the measurements of success in a certain research (Musa & Agwagah, 2006 & Abakpa, 2011). According to the authors, students' achievement is defined as the demonstration of their abilities to facilitate the learning of abstract concepts and ideas. This is because instructional media are regarded as reinforcers of the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor aspects of learning, respectively. It is possible that the teaching-learning process will result in good information retention since students tend to recall what they see, touch, feel, and manipulate throughout the process.

In order to improve students' achievement in biology, many researchers and biology teachers have used a variety of instructional materials, such as charts, models, printed materials, felt boards, and chalk boards. However, the problem persists. The present researcher intends to use a projected aid as an instructional media, which is a device for transmitting photographic and other images in an enlarged form onto a viewing screen. The projected aid, also known as a projector, is equipped with a light source and a lens system for use. Additionally, the use of motion images, filmstrips, and slides is included into this kind of assistance. Generally speaking, it is considered to be the most convenient and cost-effective teaching material. It may be used to show either moving or static images, and the usefulness of the projector is dependent on the quality of the image being projected. This kind of media might assist in reducing the abstract character of the topics and improving students' progress in the biology subject..

1.2              Statement of the Problem

Biology has applications in practically every aspect of human existence. Despite the significance of biology for national development, the persistently low accomplishment of students in biology at the Senior Secondary school level in Nigeria over the last decade has been a source of severe worry for educationists and other interested parties. According to the yearly reports of the WAEC Chief Examiner, the failure indices are increasing throughout the state. During the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC), the percentage of students who passed biology increased from 28.50 in 2009 to 49.60 in 2010, 38.40 in 2011, 34.00 in 2012, and 33.90 in 2013. The percentage of students who passed biology increased from 28.50 in 2009 to 49.60 in 2010, 38.40 in 2011, 34.00 in 2012, and 33.90 in 2013. In Nigeria, the percentage of students who passed biology at credit level (A1-C9) has continuously been less than 50% over the previous five years (2003-2009). Possibly, this is due to the fact that students are having trouble comprehending and integrating the Biological notion provided theoretically and without the assistance of instructional material. Further research indicates that female students' success in biology is worse than that of male students when compared to their male peers. However, it is unclear whether or whether a lack of use of instructional media by biology instructors is a contributing reason to this trend. In order to explore the influence of employing media projected instructional content on secondary school students' academic performance in biology, the current research was designed to do just that.

1.3             Objective of the Study

The general objective of this study is to investigate the impact of using media projected instructional material on secondary school students academic performance in biology. Specifically the study shall find out:

i.          To examine if there is an availability of media projected instructional material in secondary schools.

ii.        To find out the effect of media projected instructional material on students academic performance.

iii.      To recommend an improvement of media projected instructional materials in secondary schools.

1.4              Research Question

The following research questions have been raised to guide the study:

i.          Is there an availability of media projected instructional material in secondary schools?

ii.        What are the effect of media projected instructional material on students academic performance?

iii.      What are the recommend improvement to media projected instructional materials in secondary schools?

1.5          Significance of the study

The finding of this study will be of help to the students in leaning and acquiring knowledge and skills in biology. The study may also be of benefit if the utilization of instructional media proved effective, as students’ achievement may increase. This is because instructional media may integrate the cognitive, affective and psychomotor aspects of learning of biology and making teaching and learning attractive, inspirational and effective.

The finding of this study will encourage biology science teachers to make use of instructional media in their teaching and learning process to facilitate their effective communication.

The findings of this study will also sensitize school administration to encourage Biology teachers to utilize instructional media by providing them necessary instructional materials for the teaching and learning of biology.

The finding of the study will also be of benefit to biology curriculum planners; this is because they will systematically plan the curriculum alongside with the needed instructional materials to be used in order to facilitate students’ achievement in biology.

The finding of this study will be of benefit to the academic community as it will contribute to the existing literature.

1.6       Scope of the study

The study will examine if there is an availability of media projected instructional material in secondary schools. The study will also find out the effect of media projected instructional material on students academic performance. Lastly, the study will recommend an improvement of media projected instructional materials in secondary schools. Hence this study will be delimited to secondary schools in Kaduna State.

1.7       Limitation Of The Study

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire, and interview), which is why the researcher resorted to a moderate choice of sample size. More so, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. As a result, the amount of time spent on research will be reduced.

1.8       Operational Definition of Terms

Instructional media –this are those channels by which information skills, knowledge etc. is transmitted to learners during –learning process and assist in achieving the stated behavioral objectives when evaluation is carried  out at the class or programme.

Performance– this is a measure of success exhibited by the senior secondary school student in term of score obtained in a Biology Achievement Test administered.

Projected aids – are instructional media which is a device for transmitting photographic and other image in an enlarged form into a viewing screen.

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