AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF CLASSROOM PROCESSES USED BY SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS MATHEMATICS TEACHERS IN EDO STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the study

The knowledge of mathematics is paramount in the success of every man in his numerous day to day activities in life. Mathematics education holds the potency of making individuals to relate mathematics knowledge to everyday problem being encountered and hence develop the individuals to a level that they are intellectually and economically stable. Right from the pre-historic days of the early human societies to the present “hitec” age, mathematics has played a fundamental role in the economic development of many countries of the world (Popoola, 2002).

In every country, regardless of the level of economic, scientific and technological development, mathematics has to be taught to a number of scientists, technical specialists, scientific researchers etc. The service of these professionals will be continuously required for the well-being of the people and for the development of the society. Nigeria as a country needs to strive for scientific and technological breakthrough in order to cater for her domestic and international needs to enable her assert her greatness among the United Nations member states. The pertinent virtue of mathematics as well as its contributions to the development of mankind has earned the subject the prominence it enjoys among other school subjects. The importance accorded to mathematics in the school curriculum from primary to secondary levels reflects accurately the vital role played by the subject in contemporary society. It is a core subject in the primary and secondary school certificate curriculum. Also a credit pass in mathematics at the senior secondary school certificate examination is needed as a pre-requisite for admission into the tertiary institutions in Nigeria. It is in realization of this that many countries resort to making specially comprehensive and well-programmed efforts towards the effective teaching and learning of mathematics and sciences at all levels of their educational system through the development and implementation of innovative programmes and projects (Azuka, 2000). Unfortunately, pupils’ and students’ performance in this all important subject have not been impressive. To support this assertion, Agwagah (2004) lamented that in spite of all the important roles mathematics play in the development of mankind; its achievement has been very poor. In the same vein Ugwuanyi (2009) stated that even though the indispensability of mathematics in the development of our society has been universally acknowledged, the out put of its teaching and learning is still not encouraging. Also (WAEC 2005 & 2009) revealed dishearting and alarming poor performance of students in mathematics. However, this situation is not peculiar to Nigeria, it depict the general trend world wide as International Studies on Education (ISE) revealed that secondary school students in developing countries lag behind in mathematics (Fennema & Sherman in Popoola, 2002).

The dishearting high failure rate in mathematics at pre-tertiary school level has bothered the minds of many researchers, authors and mathematics educators and even the government and attempts are being made to proffer some solutions. Hence, many researchers, mathematics educators and concerned individuals have been considering ways and means of ensuring effective teaching and learning of mathematics in schools that can enhance students’ achievement, interest and retention. This leads to the various teaching methods adopted by mathematics teachers in teaching mathematics in our schools.

Observational learning is learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others. It is a form of social learning which takes various forms, based on various processes. In humans, this form of learning seems to not need reinforcement to occur, but instead, requires a social model such as a parent, sibling, friend, or teacher with surroundings. Particularly in childhood, a model is someone of authority or higher status in an environment. In animals, observational learning is often based on classical conditioning, in which an instinctive behavior is elicited by observing the behavior of another, but other processes may be involved as well.

Although there are several types of observational procedures that have been used to examine effective teaching (e.g., charts, rating scales, checklists, and narrative descriptions), the most widely used procedure or research method has been systematic classroom observation based on interactive coding systems (Martinez, 2011). These interactive coding systems allow the observer to record nearly everything that students and teachers do during a given time interval. They are very objective and typically do not require the observer to make any high judgments about the behaviors they observe in the classroom. Some of the more commonly used observation instruments are the Brophy-Good Dyadic Interaction System, Stallings Observation System, and the Classroom Observation Schedule. Some of the major strengths of using classroom observation allow educators to do the following: To permit researchers to study the processes of education in naturalistic setting, to provide more detailed and precise evidence than other data sources, to stimulate change and verify that the change occurred and to provide a coherent, well-substantiated knowledge base about effective instruction. Classroom observation is an increasingly common method for assessing teaching. For a teacher to be observed, an observation can provide useful feedback that might not be revealed by other assessment methods (Center for Instructional Development and Research, 1998). The process of observation and evaluation require a very high degree of professional ethics and objectivity. Effective peer observation requires training in observational and analytical skills.

In conducting classroom observations the following steps are required: the preobservation discussion, the-class visit, after-the-class visit, the postobservation discussion. (GSI Teaching and Resource Center 1991). The Preobservation Discussion: The pre-observation discussion between the teacher and the observer helps to alleviate anxiety and provides the observer with information about how the section is going and what the teacher would like to accomplish on the day of the visit. It also enables the teacher to identify areas that he or she would like feedback on. The-Class Visit: The teacher had better informed his or her students that the university or institute has a policy that teachers should be observed in the classroom and receive feedback on their teaching, so the observer should be introduced to the class. The observer should sit in the back or to the side and should not interrupt the flow of the class. The observer should list beginning activities observed, briefly list, analyze, and discuss various room arrangements seen, identify all areas of environments which require pupils to learn/use specific procedures, make a list of procedures that the master teacher will use with or (in addition to procedures), list positive behavioral expectations/ rules are presented, record how teachers deal with inappropriate behavior, record how teachers reinforce appropriate behavior. After-the-Class Visit: The observer should review the notes he or she took during the class and consider what went well and what areas might need improvement. In reviewing his or her notes, the observer should also consider how the teacher has done in the areas that the teacher has requested feedback on. The post-observation Discussion: The post-observation discussion should be a dialogue about how the class went. The problem to be answered in the present study was to determine the significance of and carrying out the classroom observation in such a way that desirable results can be achieved in terms of developing the teachers and using their capabilities effectively. Some of the major strengths of using classroom observation allow educators to do the following: First, permit the researchers to study the processes of education in naturalistic settings; second, provide more detailed and precise evidence than other data sources; and third, stimulate change and verify that the change occurred; fourth, provide a coherent, well-substantiated knowledge base about effective instruction (Waxman, Hersh C. 1995).

1.2       Statement of the problem

Evaluation as carried out by researchers in Nigerian schools has been faulted in the area of Mathematics. Researchers including Onuoha and Nwafor (2005), Otete (2004) and Okobia (2009) have examined evaluation in Nigerian schools. Their studies revealed that evaluation in mathematics largely focus on the extent to which students retained factual content and material memorized. The emphasis is usually on the cognitive achievements of learners. As a result, assessment of the non- cognitive learning outcomes has remained one of the neglected aspects of teaching and learning in Nigerian schools. It is against this background that this study attempt to investigate the classroom processes used by secondary school mathematics teachers in Edo State of Nigeria. While both formative and summative evaluations have their strengths and weaknesses in the evaluation of educational objectives, formative evaluation has been shown to have dominant impact in influencing learning outcomes in the classroom. Unlike summative assessment, the first priority of formative assessment in its design and practice is to serve the purpose of promoting students’ learning. It is the assessment that provides information that teachers and their students can use as feedback in assessing themselves and one another and in modifying the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged.

In classroom learning, students can be assessed using various instruments such as tests, quizzes, rating scales and observation. In a school of large number of population size, frequent observation of the students either in groups or individuals becomes indispensable. Observation involves using a number of techniques including the five senses (namely; sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch) to collect data (Baker, 2006). Numale, Ohene & Addison (2012) citing Stephenson (1990) has stated that observational techniques may be casual, guided or clinical

Systematic classroom observation is a quantitative method of measuring classroom behaviors from direct observations that specifies both the events or behaviors that are to be observed and how they are to be recorded. Generally, the data that is collected from this procedure focuses on the frequency with which specific behaviors or types of behavior occurred in the classroom and measures their duration.

Classroom observation has many valid and important educational purposes. The three important purposes or areas where systematic classroom observation has been widely used are in: (1) description of instructional practices; (2) investigation of instructional inequities for different groups of students; and (3) improvement of teachers' classroom instruction based on feedback from individual classroom or school profiles. Hence, this study seeks to investigate the observational study of classroom processes used by senior secondary school mathematics teachers in Edo state.

1.3       Objective of the study

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the observational study of classroom processes used by senior secondary school mathematics teachers in Edo state. Specifically, the study seeks to:

1.        If mathematics teachers in Egor and Ovia North-East Local Government areas use appropriate teaching methods in teaching mathematics,

2.        If mathematics teachers in Egor and Ovia North-East Local Government areas have adequate communication skills in teaching mathematics,

3.        If mathematics teachers in Egor and Ovia North-East Local Government areas are able to create good mathematics learning environment.

4.        If mathematics teachers in Egor and Ovia North-East Local Government areas are able to plan and prepare appropriate mathematics lesson ,

5.        If mathematics teachers in Egor and Ovia North-East Local Government areas have good knowledge of mathematics and able to assess students’ learning effectively.

1.4       Research Questions

The following questions guide this study:

1.        Do mathematics teachers in Egor and Ovia North-East Local Government areas use appropriate teaching methods in teaching mathematics?

2.        Do mathematics teachers in Egor and Ovia North-East Local Government areas have adequate communication skills in teaching mathematics?

3.        Do mathematics teachers in Egor and Ovia North-East Local Government areas are able to create good mathematics learning environment?

4.        Do mathematics teachers in Egor and Ovia North-East Local Government areas are able to plan and prepare appropriate mathematics lesson?

5.        Do mathematics teachers in Egor and Ovia North-East Local Government areas have good knowledge of mathematics and able to assess students’ learning effectively?

1.5       Significance of the study

This study on observational study of classroom processes used by senior secondary school mathematics teachers in Edo state will not just be beneficial to teachers in the sampled LGA and state but will also help all teachers including mathematics teachers to improve on their efficiency in handling their students. This study will also guide the Ministry of education to formulate good educational policies that will promote good classroom processes and observation techniques in teachings. This study will also add to existing literature on this topic and shall serve as a reference material to students, researchers and scholars who may wish to carryout further research on this topic or related domain in the future.

1.6       Scope of the study

The study is delimited to twenty (20) senior secondary schools in Egor and Ovia North-East Local Government areas comprising of only three (3) mathematics teachers from each of the twenty schools making a total of sixty (60) mathematics teachers for the study.

1.7       Limitation of the study

The study encountered various militating factors which posed as a limitation such as:

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.