Instructional strategies and academic achievement in Agricultural Science among secondary school students
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Agricultural Science is one of the core subjects taught
in both junior and senior secondary schools in Nigeria. Because of its
promising role in promoting self-reliance through the provision of employment
opportunities and production of staple foods for the populace together with raw
material supply for the agro-allied industries, its teaching as a course
offering in our schools and colleges has been made compulsory by the federal
Government (Noah, 2013).
According
to Daluba (2015) the Federal Republic of Nigeria in its attempt towards the
attainment of the laudable goals of the subject outlined the basic objectives
of teaching agricultural science at the secondary level as follows:
(i) to
stimulate and sustain students interest
in Agriculture
(ii) to inculcate in
students farming skills
(iii) to enable students acquire basic knowledge
and practical skills in agriculture.
(iv) to produce
prospective future farmers
The above objectives can only be attainable through
better planning and directing the process of teaching, impartation of knowledge
or the teaching giving by the teacher of Agriculture to the students. It is
through effective instruction motivation of students by teachers of Agriculture
that academic achievement in Agricultural Science among secondary school
students can be achieved.
However, conventional lecture method is a common
strategy teachers employ in the teaching of Agricultural Science. It is also
referred to as talk and chalk or textbook method (Gbamja, 2001). In the course
of employing this method, the teacher dominates the teaching with very little participation on the part of the learners.
Here the teacher is seen as the repository of al knowledge while the students
are passive recipients of knowledge transmitted by the teachers in the process
of learning. The method has the advantage of covering a wider are within a short
time. It is not student-centered and students do not gain mastery of concepts.
MDGS (2010) reports that for academic achievement of
students to be achieved and Agricultural Science to be effectively taught, to
the students, appropriate instructional strategies have to be used.
Accordingly, it is desirable that a teacher of Agricultural Science use the
modern teaching method which encompasses interactive, active-learning and
student-centered teaching methods in the teaching of Agricultural Science instead
of the old ineffective and traditional teacher-centered methods in which a
teacher too was taught with while he/she was a student.
Mundi (2006) states that the use of activity stimulating
and students-centered approach like demonstration method instead of depending
on the conventional approach need to be embraced. Demonstration method as one
of the modern instructional strategies used in the teaching of Agricultural
Science refers to the type of teaching method in which the teacher is the
principal actor while the learners watch with the intention to act later. Here,
the teacher does whatever the learners are expected to do at the end of the
lesson by showing them how to do it and explaining the step-by-step process to
them. Demonstration method makes students to be creative. It encourages the
students to participate actively during Agricultural Science lessons. Also,
assessment is used to promote learning rather than just know the students’
scores. It is with this that academic achievement of Agricultural Science among
secondary school students could be achieved.
Another instructional strategies or technique of
teaching used in the teaching Agricultural Science in secondary school is the
inquiry approach. The knowledge a teacher has on how students learn requires
that he/she help them discover, see relationships in what they discover and
organize their new discoveries into meaningful ideas and not just learning
through rote. For instance, under crop improvement, Guinea Corn, most of which
are tall and take a long time to mature can be made to be able to produce an
improve variety that is short and matures within a short period by Agricultural
Science plant breeders. The knowledge is gained through inquiry method of
teaching and learning of the subject in schools (Igbokwe, 2014).
MDGs (2014) observed that field trip/excursion method is
one modern teaching method and is activity-oriented and helps the learner see
the relevance and Agricultural Science in everyday living with the use of
materials obtained from the environment. Field trip/excursion method is the act
of taking students outside the classroom so that they can learn some
Agricultural Science concepts and themes as they occur in actual situations. It
promotes learning by socializing through team work. As an Agricultural Science
teacher, you guide the students to work together as a team through group
activities and projects.
The limitations of the traditional method therefore
calls for need to use the modern instructional strategies which are creative
methods in teaching Agricultural Science as this will aid in academic
achievement in Agricultural Science among secondary school students and also
promote understanding of Agricultural Science as well as cater for individual
needs of the students.
1.2 Statement
of the Problem
The
use of modern teaching methods in teaching Agricultural Science in our
secondary schools can result in students love for the subject, thus aid in
academic achievement in Agricultural Science among the students. This is because
the modern teaching techniques like demonstration method, inquiry and
process-based including field trip/excursion are learners-centered activity or
task-based and problem-solving centered. In addition, these instructional
strategies are interactive, integrative and makes use of authentic materials.
The modern teaching method enables the learners to learn by doing in line with
Confucius philosophy of “what I hear I forget” and “what I do I understand”
(Igobokwe, 2014).
Surprisingly, most teachers of
Agricultural Science in our secondary schools today are still known to have
difficulty in teaching some Agricultural Science concepts thus leading to
students poor academic achievement in the subject in our secondary schools.
Again, there has been a general perception of Agricultural Science by an
average Nigerian student, that if it is a subject that is dominated with
practical and is majorly meant to students that are intellectually
incapacitated (Adah, 2011).
The way and manner student perceived the
subject, arises from the fact that instructional strategies adopted by the
teachers both in the classroom and on the field during teaching and learning
process are not impressive. The effect of this is lack of interest and poor
academic achievement of student s in the subject. To arrest students’
attention, interest, curiosity and promote their achievement, the use of
activity stimulating and student-centered approach like demonstration method,
inquiry method and field trips/excursion instead of depending on the
conventional approach need to be embraced.
The problem of this study, therefore, is
to examine the relationship between the modern teaching strategies mention
above and how it influenced academic achievement in Agricultural Science among
secondary school students in Etinan Local Government Area.
1.3 Purpose
of the Study
The purpose of the study was to examine instructional
strategies and academic achievement in Agricultural Science among secondary
school students in Etinan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
Specifically, the study sought
to:
(i) Determine
the influence of demonstration method of teaching and academic achievement of
Agricultural Science students.
(ii) Investigate
inquiry method of teaching and academic achievement of Agricultural Science
students in secondary schools.
(iii) Examine
the academic achievement of Agricultural Science students through the use of
field trip/excursion approach in teaching.
1.4 Significance
of the Study
The study will be important in these
ways; it will enable teachers of Agricultural Science to have the basic
knowledge of the modern teaching strategies such as demonstration, inquiry, and
field trip/excursion approaches and use same in the delivery of Agricultural
Science lessons both inside and outside the classroom. To the authorities,
especially school administrators, Ministry of Education and the State Secondary
Education Board (SSEB) personnel, it will serve as a guide to design
appropriate in-service training programme to update teachers’ skills on the new
teaching strategies and monitor it to ensure that they use same in teaching
Agricultural Science students in secondary school. To stakeholders and indeed
all lovers of education, it will give insight on the activities in schools in
terms of the concept of modern instructional strategies and the problems
associated with the use of these teaching strategies in teaching.
Finally, the findings of the study will
serve as reference materials for scholars/students that are interested in
studying more about instructional strategies and academic achievement in
Agricultural Science and indeed other subjects in secondary schools.
1.5 Research
Questions
The following research questions were formulated based
on the purpose of the study:
(i) Does
demonstration method of teaching have any influence on academic achievement of
students studying Agricultural Science in secondary schools?
(ii) To
what extent does inquiry approach of teaching affect academic achievement of
students studying agricultural science in secondary schools?
(iii) What
influence has field-trip/excursion method of teaching on academic achievement
of Agricultural Science students in secondary schools?
1.6 Delimitation
of the Study
The study is restricted to all public secondary
schools Etinan local Government Area. It is limited to five (5) secondary
schools out of the available secondary schools in the study area. The study
will also focused on aspect of instructional strategies and academic
achievement in Agricultural Science among secondary school students, such as
demonstration method of teaching, inquiry method of teaching and
field-trip/excursion strategy.
1.7 Limitation
of the Study
The study was affected by twin problems of time and
finance. Time constraints did not allow for coverage of such an extensive
scope. Insufficient funds prevented the researcher to carry out the research in
a wider scope, that is covering all the schools in the study area. In addition,
there was transport problems in accessing the sampled schools.
1.8 Definition
of Terms
For the purpose of clarity, certain terms used in this
study are defined as thus:
Instructional Strategies:
This refers to skills or methods used in planning and directing the process of
teaching in the classroom. In involves using the modern teaching techniques in
the teaching-learning process.
Demonstration Method:
It means the type of teaching method in which the teacher is the principal
actor while the learners watch with the intention to act later.
Inquiry Approach:
It is a method of teaching that helps students to discover, see relationship in
what they discover which helps them to achieve academically.
Field Trip/Excursion Method: This
is the act of taking students outside the classroom so that they can learn some
Agricultural Science concepts and themes as they occur in actual situations.
Teaching:
This is the work of a teacher which aims at passing of instruction to learners
in the classroom setting.
Hey! Can we talk?
ReplyDelete