INSTRUCTIONAL PROBLEMS ASSOCIATING WITH
PERFORMANCE OF BASIC TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN LAGOS STATE
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
Quality
education is a global concern in virtually all societies. To achieve it,
efficient and quality teaching needs to be employed. However, this may not
occur without the use of instructional technologies. Instructional technologies
play a vital role in teaching and learning process and have proved to have
several inherent advantages when well utilized.Instructional technologies helps
to provide students with the necessary experiences, concrete or simulated and
integrate prior experiences as well (Dale 2009).Hence, a student who has an
advantage of reacting to well-selected instructional methods can learn more
effectively than those who are provided largely through verbal information.
Appropriate
use of Instructional method can enrich learning settings by showing things that
are far away, those that took place in the past, those that are minute to see,
too large to bring to class, too complex to understand at first sight with
explanations only, or things that cannot be seen, heard, or perceived by other
channels (Kemp and Dayton 2015).Due to rapid technological changes,
instructional technologies have become part and parcel of the teaching and
learning process. Thus, Heinich, Molenda and Russel (2015) observe that:
…facilitation
of learning. More modern media are also making it possible for students to use
all their senses. Therefore, any instructional setting, or otherwise can become
a classroom with the aid of and sometimes near total dependence upon
instructional resources. Such media as tapes, records, films, transparencies,
filmstrips and slides, have overtaken the chalkboard in the media becoming
increasingly valuable.
Teachers
nowadays find themselves with a lot of content to cover within very a short
time. The use of instructional method can help reduce the length of time
required for instruction leaving more time for practice of skills. Most
instructional technologies are effective in the delivery of content and also helps
sustain learners‟ interest. Moreover, the students can study details of
instructional technologies at a time and place more convenient to them (Kemp
and Dayton 2015).
Methodology is very vital in any
teaching/learning situation. The method adopted by the teacher may promote or
hinder learning. It may sharpen mental activities which are the bases of social
power or may discourage initiatives and curiosity thus making self-reliance and
survival difficult Ameh, and Dantani (2014). The way a teacher presents subject
matter to learners may make them like or dislike the subject, it has also been
reported by Mtsem (2005) that teaching method affects the responses of students
and determines whether they are interested, motivated and involved in a lesson
in such a way as to engage in good learning. What constitutes good teaching and
learning of school subjects is the use of appropriate
method of teaching. Ogunniyi (2011) asserted
that one of the most persistent and compelling problems besetting academic
achievement in Nigeria is poor quality of teaching.
There exists a number of teaching methods for
teachers to use. They include: lecture, discussion, demonstration, laboratory,
individualized instructional, field-trip, peer-teaching methods and so on. Ameh
and Dantani (2009) observed that because chemsisty as a subject is bulky in
nature the subject teachers usually adopt lecture method in teaching in order
to cover the syllabus within the stipulated time and this does not give room
for proper understanding of the subject. In view of the foregoing, this study
examined the acquisition of science knowledge using two instructional methods
namely, Laboratory and discussion methods with the aim of determining the
effect of each method on the achievement of students in junior secondary
schools.
The
main purpose of teaching is to impart knowledge, information, values and skills
to the student. The use of instructional technologies also promotes sharing of
ideas, thoughts, feelings and knowledge (Macharia 2007). According to Betz (2010),
visuals attract attention, which is paramount in learning. He further observes
that many distractions compete for students‟ attention making it important to
employ attention-catching devices to focus on the lesson.
Clearly,
the importance of instructional methods in the teaching-learning process cannot
be exhausted. Teachers‟ awareness of these benefits can motivate them to
appreciate, embrace acquire and use the methodology in their teaching. It can
create one of the ingredients of developing a positive attitude by the teacher
regarding the use of instructional methods. It was for this reason therefore
this study sought to establish the instructional problem associating with
performance of students in basic technology in Lagos state
Statement Of The Problem
It
was observed at the time of this study that, effective application of instructional method were hampered by some
certain factors such as location of schools and teachers’ teaching experiences;
the aggregated by number of years in job. It is the number of years in service
that determines the experience and inexperience teachers. In most cases, the
application of certain instructional method (s) depend wooly on the
availability of instructional materials to be used and the availability of such
depend on the location of the school which is narrowed to urban and rural
schools. It was also noticed that effective application of such instructional
methods as individualized method is affect by location of school and the
learning environment, which has to do with space as concerning classroom space,
seat arrangement and number of students in each classroom. Most schools in the
urban areas are characterized by overcrowded classroom that did not permit
effective interaction while the schools located at rural areas lack competent
teachers, school library and learning materials that make classroom interaction
interesting, concrete and participatory. Human factors are problems associated
with the teacher’s professional commitments, creative ability technical skill,
ingenuity and competence.
In Nigeria, Lagos state in particular most of the schools
find it difficult to make used of appropriate instructional method to impact
knwodldhe to the students as a result of lack of instructional materials, lack
of qualify teachers and inability to make use of appropriate teaching method to
impact the necessary knowledge to the students. On this note, the study ought
to determine the instructional problems associating with performance of basic
technology students in secondary schools
Objectives of The Study
This study is designed to investigate the instructional
problems associating with performance of basic technology students in secondary
schools in Lagos State
The specific objective will be to
i.
Investigate
the positive and negative attitude of Basic Technology teachers towards Instructional
method in teaching and learning
ii.
What are the problem associated with the use
of instructional method in teaching
basic technology
iii.
Does
the use of appropriate instructional
method impact of students academic performance in basic Science
iv.
What are types of instructional
technologies used in the teaching and learning processes.
Significance Of The Study
The significance of this study is that the study could
contribute to the teaching and learning of basic technology , in secondary
schools. Besides, it could also suggest how appropriate instructional method
would be use to teach the students. Also the study could suggest to the
government how qualified personnel’s can be trained to handle available
instructional materials.
The study might also give suggestions which will influence
the decisions of teachers, Parent Teachers Association [PTA] as a body, Old
Students Association, and the community leaders on how to improve the personal
condition of schools as regards provision, caring of instructional materials.
Scope of the study
This research work investigate instructional
problem associated with students performance in basic technology in Lagos State.
The study is limited to all teachers and
students of in five selected secondary
schools in IKEJA local government area
of Lagos state
