ABSTRACT: This study is purposed to examine the improvisation and use of community resources in geography teaching in some selected secondary schools. The need for quality education and learning is crucial in preparing high school students towards their future career prospects. This could be achieved through classroom learning, however, learning processes outside classroom is vital to students understanding and appreciation of the real world phenomena. This therefore, instigate the need for this study which aimed at examining the improvisation and use of community resources as teaching aids in FCT secondary schools. In other to actualize the aim of this research, direct field survey was conducted using both structured and semi-structured questionnaires. A total of 150 questionnaires was administered to teachers of geography in the respectively schools. The data collected was analyzed using simple percentage and bar graph. This study reveals that most teachers do not utilized the use of community resource in teaching. Inadequate funding of the exercise, inadequate availability of community resources, students unwillingness to participate, as well as proximity to the source of community resources were identified as some of the setback to the practice and use of community resources in teaching.
IMPROVISATION AND USE OF COMMUNITY RESOURCES IN GEOGRAPHY TEACHING IN SOME SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS
The study further reveals that fieldtrip, study excursion and casual environmental visit as the major means through which the use of community resources can be actualize are not inculcated into school curriculum/syllabus. The use of community resource are only achievable through the use of rock fragments, soil samples and plant species to increase the knowledge and understanding of students. From the findings, it was recommended that teacher’s syllabus/curriculum in geography should be redressed to inculcate the use of community resources as part of their academic exercise given to students, and adequate financial support coupled with regular training, seminars and workshop to aid the understanding and effective utilization of community resources for academic purpose should be conducted to teachers of geography; Field trip, study excursion and environmental visits should be conducted to students on a regular basis by teachers of geography, so that the concept of the subject can be appreciated by the students.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The primary purpose of teaching at any level of education is to bring a fundamental change to the learner. To facilitate the process of knowledge transmission, teachers should use appropriate teaching methods that best suit specific objectives and exit outcomes. In the traditional epoch, many teaching practitioners widely applied teacher centred methods to impact knowledge to learners comparative to student-centred methods. Until today, questions about the use of community resources in teaching of geography on student learning have consistently raised considerable interest in the thematic field of education research (Oguzor, 2011). Furthermore, research on teaching and learning constantly endeavour to examine the extent to which different teaching methods enhance growth in student learning.
Taking students on field trips or using other community resources in their classes is totally not a new idea for teachers. Often, however, these experiences are thought to be of importance coupled with instructional time in the classroom. Especially at a time when education is increasingly becoming learners-based, the use of community resources which involves using of live experiences and features in and around our environment is fundamental. This of course has been the traditional and fundamental basis in the teaching of geography.
Curriculum reform in sciences generally calls for a new look at using community resources (NERDC, 2012). The national standards in science suggest that good programs require access to the world beyond the classroom so that students will see the relevance and usefulness of science both in and out of school. Ologe (2000) observed that changing the educational experiences of children by moving beyond the classroom walls can diversify the array of learning opportunities and connect school lessons with daily life and real problems. For example, imagine the interactions that occur as a small group of students experiments with an interactive museum exhibit. They talk about what they see and what they know, relating what they are doing in the museum to what they have learned in and out of the classroom. They experience, create, and solve problems together. Knapp (2003) also noted that social discourse and direct experience help them construct an understanding of the phenomenon. The exhibit puts constructivism in action.
Teachers always face the task of pulling together the diverse understandings their students bring to the classroom. Thus, the uses of community resources provide a shared memory for the class (Freire,2005). For example, going on a field trip is only part of the total experience. As students and teachers talk about the trip and think about it after it is over, they are building shared understanding. The event becomes part of the common knowledge of the class and can be referred to in subsequent lessons. What was learned is, thus, reinforced and extended in later discussions as the teacher refers to field observations.
Teachers can effectively develop interdisciplinary units with their students outside of the classroom. The world is not made up of discrete disciplines. Geography as an integrated discipline simply portrays this. Students working on a city street, for example, could be doing urban and social studies (e.g., making a survey of how a building is used today and how it has been used over the years), language art (e.g., writing a short story about the building), mathematics (e.g., devising ways to measure the height of the building), and science (e.g., observing the materials used in the building for signs of weathering). Subject matter barriers dissolve as children learn from their environment (Freire,2005).
Community resources that can enhance geographic learning include physical features (like mountains, rocky outcrop, valleys, river courses, coastal areas, desert areas, wetlands, forest and games); human structures (e.g. industries, markets, residential areas, airport, seaport among others. museums, interacting with people, aquaria, gardens and zoos); other places to explore that are unique to the local school (a nearby creek, pond, city street or business), people in the community, meteorological station or materials that can be borrowed or purchased.
A learning activity must have a purpose or reason so field trips should be thought of as part of the curriculum which has always been. Some educationist has attested that children generally find interactive exhibits engaging. These exhibits can be appealing and effective tools for teaching geography and other science subjects in other to generate a positive outcome of student performance (Meremikwu and Enukoha, 2010).
Freire,(2005) noted that inadequate finance should not be an excuse for not using community resources in teaching and learning. Distance from the field site need not be a limitation. Community resources include unconventional sites, such as the tile factory or a hardware store, fabric store, farm, or ranch. While extended field trips can be rewarding, short school yard trips can be equally valuable. These allow students to discover answers for themselves in a familiar context. Whether your school is urban, suburban, or rural, it reflects the habitat of its neighbourhood such as the hard-topped surfaces, the soils, grasses, and trees, the weather, vehicles, motorbikes and so on. The young inquirer can easily return to the school yard for further data gathering if a question is left unanswered or new questions arise. A class studying the sun and its shadows in a particular location, for example, can gather data at intervals throughout the day.
IMPROVISATION AND USE OF COMMUNITY RESOURCES IN GEOGRAPHY TEACHING IN SOME SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The importance of the use of community resources in secondary schools cannot be overemphasized. According to Meremikwu and Enukoha (2010), no meaningful learning can take place without the use of community resources. Apart from enhancing the quality of teaching and learning, it is well known to influence students’ academic performance. Its importance is so remarkable that Onasoteet al., (2011) has referred to it as a panacea for effective learning. As important as community resources, it is however, sad to note that they are not adequately provided particularly in Nigerian secondary schools.
Experience shows that not very many teaching or community resources are available to teachers to teach and for students to learn (Gbenu, 2012). He further noted that poor funding by government and other non-governmental agencies is the major factor ascribed to this problem. Although teachers have the privilege of improvising, however, the improvised ones, particularly the ones made by the teachers are never good enough for teaching as they are poorly made and hardly expressive for students understanding (Ojeifo, 2013). Even with these inadequacies, the use of community resources remain a basic requirement in the teaching of all secondary school subjects. Fortunately, most geographic community resources are all over the surroundings, lack of funds cannot completely be blame.
In the discipline of geography, the study of natural phenomena (mountain, valleys, drainage pattern and forest settings) as well as artifact (human population, housing pattern and roads) are mandatory as being part of the curriculum and constitute the core aspect of the subject. Geography as a subject is abstract in nature making it seem more difficult to teach and learn about, and more importantly, confusing. Thus external exercises outside classroom will better improve the understanding of both teachers as well as student offering the subject (Aderogba, 2010). In other for student to acquire the basic geographical knowledge, field trip exercise must be conducted, for better appreciation of classroom studies.
Originally posted on May 13, 2021 @ 6:33 pm
