The Impact of Improvised Instructional Materials Utilization and the Teaching of Chemistry in Secondary Schools

The Impact of Improvised Instructional Materials Utilization and the Teaching of Chemistry in Secondary Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine improved instructional materials utilization and the teaching of chemistry in secondary schools in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Two research questions were raised to guide the study. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The population for this study was all the chemistry teachers in the study area.

Sample size of twenty (20) teachers were selected from ten (10) schools using purposive sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire. The data collected were analysed using simple percentage. The result revealed that most chemistry teachers do not improved nor use instructional materials for the teaching of chemistry. Based on the finds of the study, it was recommended among others that awareness should be created on the importance of the use of improvised resources to the teaching of chemistry.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

School environment has been described as an organization where resources are produced, managed and organized in such a way that enables the students to acquire desirable learning competencies. The teaching of chemistry in the school system just like any other science subject demand active student’s participation, involving the use of resources to enhance the teaching process (Nwagbo, 2012). This means that for effective teaching of chemistry to take place, the teachers must make use of instructional materials. When these ready-made instructional resources are not available, the best solution is improvisation.

Improvisation is the act of construction of instructional materials from locally available materials that can adequately replace or function in place of the original material which otherwise may be very expensive or in short supply or unavailable (Eriloa, 2011). It can also be seen as the art of using alternative materials and resources to facilitate instruction whenever there is a lack or shortage of some specific first hand teaching aids.

Improvisation could also mean making of instructional materials or teaching aids by teachers or students from locally available materials where the original materials are not available or where there are available but not functional. Ofoefuna (2014) states that improvisation is a technique of origination a totally new tool, instrument, material and device or modifying an existing one for a particular purpose.

There are needs for the improvisation of materials in teaching and learning process especially in our present Nigeria situation where government seem to pay little or no attention to the provision of instructional materials in our schools.

Eya (2012) maintain that the only way out of this present educational predicament is to return to resourcefulness on the part of teachers. Maduabun (2016) noted that our secondary school systems are poorly equipped. According to him, the expensive nature of scientific equipments, difficulty in purchasing them and persistent problem of lack of funds have worsened the situation. He argued that if science is to be learnt by doing the teacher must look for resources beyond the Classroom.

Availability of resources and adequacy of these facilities promote effective teaching process in school while inadequacy affect the teaching process negatively. Several attempt has been extended by Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) to train secondary school teachers on improvisation techniques in various science subjects including chemistry. Hence, there is need to evaluate how for the teachers have been able to improvise materials for effective teaching of chemistry.

The Impact of Improvised Instructional Materials Utilization and the Teaching of Chemistry in Secondary Schools

For example, the teacher may improvise fine granded stick as a meter rule, use of glass cup as a beaker, the moulding shapes using clay, drawing of cell using card board papers, the use of watch in place of stop watch, the use of stove in place of bursen burner, the use of transparent glass container in place of aquarium. The above mentioned methods are the examples of improvisation.

The importance of improvisation in the teaching/learning process according to STAN 40^th anniversary conferences includes the improvised materials provide a cognitive bridge between abstraction and reality to students, it save cost, it also makes the students to think and be creative. It is faster and cheap, moreover students are familiar with those resources so they understand the concept very fast.

The process of managing and organizing resources is called utilization. The utilization of the improvised materials in teachings brings about fruitful learning as it stimulates studetns’ senses organ as well as motivating them Shamija (2015) opined that when the resources are improvised and utilized, it make the teaching of chemistry more concrete, real, immediate and permanent. Thus, it motivated the researcher to examine improvised instructional material utilization and the teaching of chemistry in secondary schools.

1.2   Statement of the Problem

Resources are indispensable in the teaching of science subjects such as chemistry. In spite of the immense importance of resources to effective teaching of chemistry, many research revealed that essential resources for teaching chemistry are inadequately provided in the secondary schools. It is a noted facts that chemistry teachers do not put into use the available resources.

Because of these lack of resources utilization, students are scare of science since they learn science in an abstract form. Moreover, as the students’ population increases, the few available resources cannot go around the class. This discourages the teachers from using resources in the teaching process. As the result, the academic achievement of students are hindered. If nothing is done about this situation, the educational system will loss it value. Thus, this motivated the educational to carry out this study on improvise instructional material utilization and the teaching of chemistry.

1.3   Purpose of the Study

The general purpose of this study is to examine improvised instructional materials utilization and the teaching of chemistry in secondary schools in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.

Specifically, the study aimed at:

1. Examine the extent of which chemistry teachers improved instructional materials for the teaching of chemistry in secondary schools in Nsit Ubium L.G.A.
2. Examine the extent of which the improvised materials are utilized in the teaching of chemistry in secondary schools in Nsit Ubium L.G.A.

 1.4   Research Questions

        The following research questions were raised to guide the study:

1. To what extent are instructional materials improvised for the teaching of chemistry in secondary schools in Nsit Ubium L.G.A?
2. To what extent are the improvised instructional materials utilized in the teaching of chemistry in Nist Ubium L.G.A?

1.5   Significance of the Study

The findings of this study will be beneficial to the students, teachers’ educational planners and other researchers in the following ways:

It will motivate the science teachers to adopt the habits of improvisation of instructional resources in the absent of the standardized one. The teachers will also see the need of utilizing the available resources in teaching/learning process. The educational planners will see the need of providing instructional materials to the school system. The students will benefit better because the abstractness of the chemistry concepts will be reduced when the teachers improvised and utilized instructional materials. This study will also served as reference point to their researchers.

1.6   Delimitation of the Study

This study is delimited to improvised instructional materials utilization and the teaching of chemistry in secondary schools in Nsit Ubium L.G.A. The population for this study are all the chemistry teacher’s in the study area. the study only examined improvisation and utilization of resources.

1.7   Limitation of the Study

The following challenges were confronted by the researcher in the course of this study

1. Time Factor: The period of time given for the completion of this study was short since the researcher had other school activities to carryout as at the time of this study.
2. Financial Constraint: High cost of transportation to visit the selected schools for this study posted a serious problem to the researcher.
3. School Location: Most of the schools visited by the researcher were located in the rural areas, so bad road network was another problem.

1.8   Definition of Terms

The following terms were defined as they are utilized in this study for easy understanding of the work.

1. Improvisation: This is the act of construction of instructional materials from locally available materials that can adequately replace or function in place of the original.
2. Utilization: This refers to the process of managing and organizing materials for the purpose of achieving a set of goal.
3. Instructional materials: These refers to those resources that are needed for effective teaching/learning process.
4. Teaching: The act of transferring knowledge from one person to another.
5. Chemistry: This is a branch of natural science that deals with the composition and constitution of substances.