EFFECT OF IMPROVISATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR BIOLOGY INSTRUCTION IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPETR ONE

INTRODUCTION 

1.1        Background of the study

1.2        Statement of problem

1.3        Objective of the study

1.4        Research Hypotheses

1.5        Significance of the study

1.6        Scope and limitation of the study

1.7       Definition of terms

1.8       Organization of the study

CHAPETR TWO

2.0   LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPETR THREE

3.0        Research methodology

3.1    sources of data collection

3.3        Population of the study

3.4        Sampling and sampling distribution

3.5        Validation of research instrument

3.6        Method of data analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introductions

4.2 Data analysis

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Summary

5.3 Conclusion

5.4 Recommendation

Appendix

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Abstract

This study is on effect of improvisation of instructional materials for biology instruction in senior secondary schools. The total population for the study is 200 staff of selected secondary schools in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made principals, vice principals administration, senior staff and junior officers were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

Science education must seek to permit the individual to develop to the fullest his capacities for adjustment and continuous change in order that he may meet the problems of his day and solve them successfully when they arise.  Biology, the study of living things is a science which has developed methods of its own. The structural complexity of the organisms themselves, the multiplicity of functions occurring simultaneously in organism’s body and the inter-relationship between the organisms and their environment have led to methods of study unique to this particular science. Jean Bremner (2000) stated that the methods are characterized by the art of scientific investigation in relation to pupils study of new specimen, the experimental approach to biological science in relation to experiment carried out by the individual study. These are necessary for the effective transfer and permanent communication of biological knowledge.
Practical experience in any science for that matter is crucial for proper understanding of any principle and application of the knowledge in that subject for cognitive growth and technological orientation and advancement. In appreciation of this fact, Lee (1999) emphasized that if biology is to perform the above role of improving the society, then the biology teacher must do the following:

1. Choose the best materials to present to students.
2. Try new roles, materials and strategies.
3. Make use of individual instruction.

Therefore activities such as collecting of materials, observing, recording observations, classifying and carrying out field work should be well encouraged.  The method for achieving this is through visual instruction.  It was the original method in biological science when the naturalist devoted his study to organisms as he found them in nature. The result of his work, he wrote down to be passed on to others.   The knowledge was finally put in form of books.  As the study of biology becomes more popular in schools, and number of students increased, it becomes more difficult to study original materials.  Part of this difficulty comes by the use of laboratory, preserved materials and chart and models.  But the pressure of larger number of students and increasing cost caused this situation to be abandoned most times.  Miller and Blaydes (2001) asserted that the result has been that an increasing proportion of biology teaching has been done from books and lecture notes.  This situation to a large extent is responsible for the poor performance in the senior secondary school certificate examinations conducted by West African Examination Council.  In Nigeria, the educational system has been facing a lot of critical problems amongst which are increasing enrolment, shortage of qualified teachers, absence of laboratories and in many cases presence of laboratories but acute shortage of necessary teaching and learning materials.
The Federal Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Education with the assistance of UNESCO in 1998 established a science equipment centre to provide course for science teachers and laboratory assistants.  The provision of this centre though laudable has been inadequate. Teachers of biology and other sciences therefore have to acquire and develop skills of producing teaching materials.  This is what improvisation is all about.  It is the process of providing quickly in time of need, using whatever happens to be available, the materials and equipment for facilitating the teaching of biology. Otitoju (2000) opined that in biology teaching nature presents a rich laboratory because specimens of plants and animals are abundant around us, however equipment needed for capturing animals.  Performing physiological experiment, timing experiment or processes as well as some specimens which are available have to be improvised using locally available materials and a little imagination. The essential qualities of any improvised teaching aid are accuracy, realism, comprehensibility and interest.

 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Evidence from the studies reviewed shows that failure rate in biology at senior certificate examinations is high. This could be attributed to a number of factors; one of such factors is lack or total absence of instructional materials. In teaching and learning, instructional materials play a key role towards concretizing learning. Instructional materials make learning meaningful and help to improve students’ academic achievement. However these advantages of instructional materials have not reflected in the education system because of the dearth of these instructional materials in our schools. Hence, the need for alternative instructional materials called improvisation. Biology is resource intensive, and in an era of poor funding or scarcity of resources, it may be very difficult to find some of the original materials and equipment for the teaching of Biology in schools adequately, improvisation becomes the next option. Studies have shown the importance of improvisation in teaching of Biology. All these studies used conventional instructional materials, but there have not been studies specifically on the effect of students’ improvised instructional materials on students’ achievement in Biology. This study therefore, is geared towards finding out if the use of students’ improvised instructional materials could bring a solution to the problem of poor achievement of students in biology. Hence, the problem of this study is therefore posed as a question; what is the effect of students improvised instructional materials on students’ achievement in Biology?

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of improvisation of instructional materials for biology instruction in senior secondary schools. This study specifically will determine:

1. Effect of students improvised instructional materials and conventional materials on students’ mean achievement scores in Biology
2. Influence of gender on students’ means achievement scores in biology when taught using students improvised instructional materials
3. Influence of school location on students’ means achievement scores in biology when taught using students improvised instructional materials
4. Interaction effects of material and gender on students’ mean achievement scores in biology
5. Interaction effect of material and location on students’ means achievement scores in biology

1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

For the successful completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher;

H₀:  there is no effect of student’s improvised instructional materials and conventional materials on students’ mean achievement scores in Biology

H₁: there is an effect of student’s improvised instructional materials and conventional materials on students’ mean achievement scores in Biology

H₀²: there is no significant interaction effect of material and gender on students’ means achievement scores in Biology.

H₂: there is significant interaction effect of material and gender on students’ means achievement scores in Biology

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be useful to classroom teachers, curriculum planners, students, researchers and parents. For teachers they will be better informed on how to help and guide their students on better way of producing improvised materials with local resources where standardized materials are unavailable or inadequate. The teachers can also engage students to do some of the illustrations during biology instructions. This study will help to develop problem solving skill in students and will also help student to be more resourceful during lessons. The study could be beneficial to curriculum planners who would design functional curriculum by taking into considerations students teacher’s improvised instructional materials. The findings of this study, if discussed in workshops and seminars will guide the choice of improvised instructional materials used in the teaching/learning process in biology and other subject areas. The findings of this study will equally help to alleviate the problem of the scarcity of instructional materials for biology teaching/learning. The results of the study could provide information to researchers interested in working on student-teachers generated improvised materials in other subject areas. This may help them to get more information on the efficacy of improvisation, especially researchers in the area of science and technology. Parents will be better informed on how to encourage and help their wards to produce improvised materials. This may be in form of sourcing local materials and providing fund for those that cannot be found in their environment.

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers effect of improvisation of instructional materials for biology instruction in senior secondary school. The researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;

1. a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
2. b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
3. c) Organizational privacy: Limited Access to the selected auditing firm makes it difficult to get all the necessary and required information concerning the activities

 1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

IMPROVISATION: Improvisation is creating or performing something spontaneously or making something from whatever is available. Improvisation, in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL: Instructional materials are the tools used in educational lessons, which includes active learning and assessment. Basically, any resource a teacher uses to help him teach his students is an instructional material. There are many types of instructional materials, but let’s look at some of the most common ones.

BIOLOGY: Biology is the natural science that involves the study of life and living organisms, including their physical structure, chemical composition, function, development and evolution. Modern biology is a vast field, composed of many branches

SENIOR SECONDARY: High school (North America) (usually grades 9–12 but sometimes 10–12, it is also called senior high school) is always considered secondary education; junior high school or intermediate school or middle school (6–8, 7–8, 6–9, 7–9, or other variations) are sometimes considered secondary education.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study

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