THE IMPACT OF CONSTRUCTIVIST BASED TEACHING STRATEGY ON JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

        The goal of scientific education is to instill creative qualities in students so that they can live a self-sufficient existence in the future according to the National Policy on Education (2004),  However, because students cannot pass exams easily, adopting these goals and objectives of scientific instruction in our secondary schools has not resulted in any substantial improvement in pupils. Many Nigerian students, according to critics of public education, lack the depth of knowledge and skills necessary for personal achievement or national economic competitiveness (Akpan, 1996). The apparent incapacity of many students to engage in complicated problem-solving activities and to adapt classroom knowledge and abilities to real-life difficulties in business contexts has been a source of worry for critics (Akpan, 1996). Teachers and schools are confronted with a fundamental rethinking of what it means to be a student or a teacher, as well as what it means to study or educate. Educators are facing a paradigm change in teaching and learning as a result of the existing educational system's developing abnormalities (Kim, 2002). High dropout rates, low skill and knowledge levels among many students, low levels of student participation in schoolwork, and poor worldwide comparisons all point to the existing educational paradigm as being ineffective or inadequate.

Educators must recognize that changes in students' results must be accompanied by curriculum and teaching modifications. Many of today's teachers, however, appear to be caught in the middle of a transformation for which they may or may not have been adequately prepared (Dogru and Kalender, 2007). Many instructors were trained in classrooms where students were required to learn material, execute well-controlled experiments, complete mathematical calculations following a precise method, and then be assessed on their ability to repeat these activities or recall specific facts. The concepts that underpin an education that defines competence as a student's capacity to adapt information and skills to new situations are not novel.

Constructivist theory provides a framework for bringing together disparate concepts about teaching, learning, and evaluation (Young and Collin, 2003). The issue and challenge that classroom professionals face is that "constructivist" reform efforts in curriculum, instruction, and assessment are guided by different assumptions and ideas about the nature of knowledge and the human ability to learn than traditional classroom practices (Kim, 2005). Furthermore, the traditional teaching style with the instructor as the sole source of knowledge for passive pupils looks to be outmoded. In a study of undergraduates in a big lecture hall setting conducted by (Colburn, 2000), it was discovered that only 20% of the students remembered what the teacher said following the lecture. They were too preoccupied with taking notes to absorb the material. Furthermore, just 15% of pupils are paying attention after an eight-minute lecture, with no correlation between previous and current schools.

According to Nwosu and Nzewi (1998), the use of analogy, enquiry, cooperative learning, problem-solving, and constructivism are among the strategies promoted for effective teaching and learning of science topics in recent times. These activity- and interaction-based tactics assist learners in developing suitable skills for better comprehending scientific subjects in the classroom, as well as building their creative capacities, improving their self-esteem, and making them active participants in the classroom. These tactics not only assist students in learning and remembering knowledge, but they also have a favorable impact on their attitudes about science topics. The researchers are limited to addressing constructivism for the sake of this study. Constructivism is a teaching technique that advocates for the student to create and reassemble scientific knowledge based on his or her own experiences. It is an instructional style that enables for interaction in the classroom between students/students and students/teacher. It's a problem-solving approach to learning that encourages students to explore and collaborate in groups, making sense of assignments and attempting to solve problems that they find difficult (Tim, 1993).

Many scholars, including Nworgu (1997), Nwosu and Nzewi (1998), Iloputaife (2000), Mandor (2002), and Eze (2005), have shown that this approach may improve science accomplishment. It is thus necessary to investigate its usefulness in conjunction with the usage of computer-based learning in order to determine whether or not learning can be done more successfully. Freenberg (1999) argued for providing students the most control over their learning and developing curriculum that encourage mental growth and development. This can be accomplished by taking advantage of the unique nature of new technologies such as computers and their accessories, which are designed to be used as a teaching, learning, and problem-solving tool, with the ultimate goal of providing instruction on par with or better than that provided by a human teacher (Dalal, 1992). Because program learning is significantly dependent on the design of the questions for its efficacy, the human capacity to coach, encourage, and reinforce positively is still a necessary component of teaching with computer-based learning. However, some studies, such as one conducted by Baggot and Wright (1997), found no significant change in cognitive achievement when computers were used in the classroom. Preparing pupils to be effective adaptable learners is one recommended solution to the aforementioned challenge. That is, students should be able to apply what they learn in school to the diverse and unpredictable scenarios that they may face in the workplace. Clearly, the traditional teacher as information provider and textbook-driven classroom have failed to provide the anticipated result of generating critical thinkers (Young and Collin, 2003). As a result, a popular option is to use a constructivist approach to shift the focus of the classroom from teacher-centered learning to student-centered instruction.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In many Nigerian secondary schools, teaching and learning of Basic Science has taken on a style in which instructors mostly employ lecture-based instructional approaches with little demonstrations. Students are rarely exposed to practical exercises, group discussions, or educational tours as a result of the instructional techniques. However, if suitable teaching resources are not provided, student achievement in Integrated Science will suffer. The low results necessitate a rethinking of the instructional techniques employed in secondary schools to teach Basic Science, particularly the topic of ecology. A strategy that has the potential to improve learner accomplishment should be learner-centered. The constructivist technique is therefore one of the learner-centered educational strategies. Constructivist teaching approaches, according to Spector et al., (2010), give learners with the ability to generate knowledge rather than being recipients of passive information, resulting in improved learning. Learners are in charge of their own learning process, acquiring information, skills, and understanding, as well as managing their knowledge and abilities (Spector et al., 2010). Although there have been numerous remarks in publications, notably those produced in Europe and America, confirming constructivist-based teaching as an efficient technique to arrange learning activities. However, there is surprisingly little research effort, particularly in Nigeria, that focuses on constructivist-based scientific teaching strategies, and much less that focuses on Basic science at the junior secondary school level. Thus is upon this premise that this study seeks to examine the impact of constructivist based teaching strategy on junior secondary school students academic performance.

  1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study has both broad objective and specific objectives. The broad objective  is to investigate the the impact of constructivist based teaching strategy on junior secondary school students academic performance.The specific objectives are:

i.          To ascertain the effect of constructivist based teaching strategy on academic performance of junior secondary school students.

ii.        To validate if there is  any difference in achievement test scores between high ability students using the constructivist strategy  and those taught with traditional classroom teaching method?

iii.      To establish if  there any significant difference in achievement test scores between low ability students taught with constructivist-based teaching strategy and those taught with traditional classroom teaching method?

iv.      To investigate any difference in attitude scores between students taught using constructivist based teaching and the traditional method.

1.4   RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

The research is guided by the following tentative statement:

HO1:  There is   no significant  difference in achievement test scores between high ability students  taught with  constructivist strategy and those taught with traditional classroom teaching method

HO2: There is no significant  significant difference in achievement test scores between low ability students taught with constructivist-based teaching strategy and those taught with traditional classroom teaching method?

HO3:  There is no significant  in attitude scores between students taught using constructivist based teaching and the traditional method.

1.5   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY     

The findings of this study will be significant in the following ways:

It is expected that the constructivist-based teaching strategy employed in the study would improve the teaching and learning process thereby enhancing student’s performance in Basic Science and attitude in Science and Technology. The results of this study will be useful to the teacher and student as it would provide them with alternative method of teaching and learning Science related topics.  It is hoped that the results of the study would provide information on the extent to which the use of constructivist-based teaching strategies could affect learning outcomes in Integrated Science. The results of this study will also be helpful to curriculum planners and authors as it will guide them in terms of what to include on the curriculum and their texts respectively. The findings of this study could observe as a basis for further research.

1.6  SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study seeks to to investigate effect of constructivist based teaching strategy on academic performance of Junior Secondary School students in Basic Science. This study covers selected Junior Secondary Schools in Asaba Local Government Area of Delta State.

1.7  LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size covering only  selected secondary school in   Asaba Local Government Area of Delta State. Thus findings of this study cannot be used for generalization for other secondary school in other States within Nigeria. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work will impede maximum devotion to the research. Finally, respondent could not return all the questionnaires distributed to the researcher and this has only made the researcher to only work with the ones that got to him. Howbeit, despite the constraint  encountered during the  research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

1.8   DEFINITION OF TERMS

The following terms were used in the course of this study:

Effect: A change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause.

Constructivist teaching: Teachers provide an environment in which students are actively engaged in their own learning, and build their own knowledge structures by Investigating and discovering (Marlowe & Page, 1998).

Junior secondary school: This is the stage of education following primary education.

Academic performance: This refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks.

Teaching: This is an intimate contract between a more mature personality and a less mature one, which is designed for the further education of the latter.

Students: A person who is studying at a school or college. Denoting someone  who is studying in order to enter a particular profession.