The Influence of Utilization of Instructional Materials in the Teaching and Learning of Physics

ABSTRACT: The study examined The Influence of Utilization of Instructional Materials in the Teaching and Learning of Physics. The study employed survey research design in carrying out the study. The population of this study was made up of all the students in all the nine public secondary schools in EketLocal Government Area. All the five public secondary schools were selected to form the sample size for the study. One hundred students were drawn using simple random sampling technique.

The Influence of Utilization of Instructional Materials in the Teaching and Learning of Physics

Data obtained were analysed using independent t-test statistical method. The result of the findings revealed that charts and models have significant influence in the teaching and learning of physics in secondary schools.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study

Instructional materials are print and non-print items that are rested to impact information to students in educational process. Instructional materials include items such as kits, text books, magazines newspaper, pictures, recording video etc. instructional material play a very important role in the teaching and learning process.

Instructional materials have been defined by various authors. According to Obanya (2009) he viewed them as didactic materials thing which are supposed to make learning and teaching possible. According to Abdullahi (2010), instructional materials are materials or tools locally made or imported that could made tremendous enhancement of lesson impact if intelligently used. They are objects or devices, which help the teacher to make a lesson much clearer to the learner. Instructional materials are also described as concrete or physical objects which provide sound, visual or both to the sense organs during teaching (Agina-obu, 2015).

Instructional materials have been observed as a powerful strategy to bring about effective teaching and learning. The importance of quality and adequate instructional materials in teaching and learning can occur through their effective utilization during classroom teaching. Instructional materials here include all the tools that the teachers can use to make the learning more interesting and memorable. According to Farombi, (2008), instructional materials include books, audio-visual, software and hardware of educational technology.The priority of all countries, especially the developing ones, is to improve the quality of schools and the achievement of students since learning outcomes depend largely on the quality of education being offered. Higher quality education fosters economic growth, social integration and development. Therefore the use of instructional materials in the teaching and learning cannot be overemphasis as it is crucial for realization of educational objectives and curriculum implementation.

For realization of good performance in a school, instructional resources must be put in place and used effectively in classroom practice. Todaro (2012) noted that the formal education system of a nation is the principal institutional mechanism used for developing human skills and knowledge. Education is, therefore, viewed as an indispensable catalyst that strongly influences the development and economic fortunes of a nation and the quality of life of its people. In this context, nations, organizations and individuals spend huge sums on the provision and consumption of education for the citizen.

Instructional materials are in various classes, such as audio or aural, visual or audio-visual. Thus, audio instructional materials refer to those devices that make use of the sense of hearing only, like radio, audio tape recording, and television. Visual instructional materials on the other hand, are those devices that appeal to the sense of sight only such as the chalkboard, chart, slide, and filmstrip. An audio-visual instructional material however, is a combination of devices which appeal to the sense of both hearing and seeing such as television, motion picture and the computer. Among the instructional materials the classroom teacher uses, the visuals out-numbered the combination of the audio and audio-visual. Instructional materials are the devices developed or acquired to assist or facilitate teachers in transmitting, organized knowledge skills and attitudes to the learners within an instructional situation (Nwachukwu, 2006). Teachers use different instructional materials to motivate learning.

The used of instructional material can enhance the learning achievement Cronbach (2009), the used of instructional material can appeal to the individual attention by creating interest goal that will help the learner achieve direct effort. Teacher problem of motivation is essentially of the arranging situation with instructional materials in which the learner will goals he or she wanted attain. Brown (2015) summarized the role of teaching aids as follows. It promotes meaningful communication and effective learning. They ensure better retention, this making the inaccessible accessible they provide a common experience upon which late learning can be improved. They stimulate and motivate student to learn.

Utilization of instructional material depends on their viability in the school. Teachers often make use of textbooks, charts, models, graphics, realiaas well as improvised materials (Awotua-Efebo, 2011). The success in the skill and knowledge acquisition in an instructional situation depends on the suitability of the instructional material, adequacy and effective utilization of the available materials (Olaitan and Agusiobo, 2014). Also,the relevance of instructional materials to the objective of the lesson and the ease of use of the instructional materials are serious considerations in instructionalmaterials utilization to better the learner’s performance.Whether instructional material are designed as improvised or imported, the most important effect of these materials is to assist in achieving the stated behavioural objectives evaluation is carried at the end of a lesson or programs. It is against this background that the study sought to investigate the influence of utilization instructional and the teaching and learning physics in secondary schools.

The Influence of Utilization of Instructional Materials in the Teaching and Learning of Physics

1.2     Statement of the Problem

In spite of the desire for technological development, couple with the fact that Physics is a very vital subject for technological development and as such, its teaching and learning as well as students’ poor academic performance have become a source of concerns to all stakeholders. The problem of the present study is to investigate the effects of using instructional materials in the teaching of Physics in secondary schools. Most studies that look into the state of instructional materials in schools, rarely do scholars attach poor performance with lack of, inadequacy or non-utilization of these materials.

The performance of the students in agricultural science and practical agriculture in high schools respectively is not encouraged (Ikot, 2008). Ikot observed that the poor performance of students in agricultural examinations may not be unconnected with non-utilization of suitable instructional materials. Many teachers go to classes to teach agricultural science and practical agriculture as liberal arts without any material to assist them or the learners. Learning is facilitated when the learners make use of at least three of the sense organs namely: seeing, hearing and touching.

For quite some times now, the teaching of physics has suffered in the hands of un-resourceful and un-motivated teachers, especially at the secondary school level. Many teachers at this level feel that physics lesson does not necessarily need to be accompanied by the uses of instructional materials. There has been general outcry of poor performance of learners in physics in secondary schools in the state. This poor performance stems from the mere fact that there are inadequate instructional materials or resources that will facilitate the teaching of the basic concept of physics.

The physics learning therefore appear very abstract and difficult for the learners as they used their sense only. It has been observed the physics teachers find a very herculean task to accompany their lesson with relevant instructional materials such as audio aids, visual aids, visual and audio-visual aids. This is perhaps due to lack of textbooks or resourcefulness or lack of innovativeness or gross incompetents of the teachers. Whichever is the case, this lack of instructional materials constitutes a great deal of problem for effective teaching and learning of the subject.

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