ABSTRACT: This study examined learning strategies and academic performance of Physical and Health Education students in Oruk Anam Local Government Area. Three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Survey research design was adopted. A sample of one hundred Physical and Health Education students were selected using simple random sampling technique. Learning Strategies Classification Questionnaire (LSCQ) and Students’ Physical and Health Education Achievement Test (SPHEAT) were used as instruments for data collection. The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using t-test. The results of the analysis revealed that there is a significant difference in academic performance between deep learners and surface learners. This was evident in calculated t-value of 6.63 for deep learners against a critical t-value of 1.99 for surface learners. Equally, there are significant differences between the mean achievement scores of male deep and male surface learners and their female counterparts with calculated t-values of 5.17 and 4.12 against critical t-values of 2.01 and 2.02, respectively. It was therefore recommended among others that students should adopt deep learning strategy in the learning of Physical and Health Education in order to improve in their academic performance.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
It is known that learning process vary from person to person due to the presence of biological and psychological differences. Pack (2008) points out that more than three fifth of the person’s learning strategies is biologically imposed, and that each person is born with certain tendencies towards particular strategies, but these biologically or inherited characteristics are influenced by culture, personal experiences, maturity level and development.
Gohdes (2005) held that most teachers teach the way they were taught. This might have caused the frustration of a good number of learners as they witness that their performances are not accounted for by many teachers. The case is more serious in a context where students come from diverse educational experiences and with different cultural background.
Compared to the extensive work done on methods and instructional activities, one vital area often neglected is the exploration of learning strategies in the classroom standard learning ability. Researchers have pointed out that learning ability or techniques among students contribute positively or negatively to their level of academic performance. Students do not learn in t he same way and a number of different learning strategies exist (Entwistle & Ramsden, 2007; 2008).
Bigg and Moore (1993) identified three approaches to learning used by secondary and tertiary school students. These are: surface, deep and achieving approaches.
Surface (passive) learning strategies involved simply scraping the surface of the materials being studied, without carrying out any deep processing of the materials. Students who adopt such approaches tend to work according to the following general pattern:
– Concentrate purely on assessment requirement s.
– Accept information and ideas passively.
– Memorize facts and procedures routinely
– Ignore guiding principles or pattern
– Fail to reflect on underlying purpose or strategies
LEARNING STRATEGIES AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN PHYSICAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION
Deep (active) learners on the other hand, are those students who adopt a deep approach to their learning. They make a serous attempt to turn other peoples’ ideas into their own personalized structure of knowledge. They tend to work according to the following general pattern:
– Endeavour to understand material for themselves
– Interact vigorously and critically with contents
– Related ideas to previous knowledge and experience.
– Use organizing principles to integrate ideas
– Relating evidence to condition
– examine the topic of arguments
Students who adopt achieving approach come from the “ego trip that comes from achieving mark” (Bigg & Moore, 1993; Flick & Hammond, 2001). Achievers choose strategies which will give them the best rewards from the teacher and the highest marks, so they strategize depending on the task and situation. According to Appleton and Beasley (1994) there is an element of efficiency in their choice, which can involve either deep or surface approach.
Biggs (2007) held that students can change their approaches to learning according to demands of each situation, and the extent to which the change occurs is affected by each student’s disposition and the events in the classroom. Biggs (1994) and Gibbs (1992) had listed the factors affecting students’ approach to learning to include: students’ awareness to task demand, teachers’ style of teaching, level of students’ intellectual development and nature of assessment.
In the school system, the level of achievement of the student s is to a great extent influenced by individual learning strategies. According to Fielder (2004), students whose learning strategies are compatible with the teaching style of a subject teacher, have a more positive attitude towards the subject and are likely to achieve higher academically.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Students have different learning strategies but they are being treated equally. This has made them find their study less interesting. Consequently, learners with special learning abilities end up performing poorly in their course of study.
Reasons for poor academic performance of students have tended to what teachers do or do not do in the classroom as well as institutional factors while students’ learning strategies received little attention.
The problem of this study is therefore, to investigate the learning strategies used by senior secondary students in their study of physical and health education and whether such learning strategies are in anyway related to their academic performance.
LEARNING STRATEGIES AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN PHYSICAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The aim of this study is to examine learning strategies and their influence on academic performance of physical and health education students.
Specifically, it is:
- To identify learning strategies used by students in the study of physical and Health education in Oruk Anam Local Government Area.
- To determine the differences in the academic performance of students on the basis of their learning strategies in physical and health education in Oruk Anam Local Government Area.
- To ascertain whether students who are surface or deep learners differ in their academic performance on the basis of gender.
Originally posted on May 24, 2021 @ 12:08 pm
