IMPACTS OF AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS ON RETENTION AND PERFORMANCE IN OXIDATION AND REDUCTION CONCEPTS IN CHEMISTRY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ZARIA EDUCATION ZONE,KADUNA

ABSTRACT

This study explored the impacts of audio-visual aids on retention and performance in oxidation and reduction concepts in chemistry among secondary school students in Zaria education zone,kaduna. The study adopted a quasi a experimental design to carry out the study. A sample of 130 participants was selected for the study. Findings of the study established that appropriate use of visual aids has influence on students’ academic performance. Through study findings, it was revealed that  absence of different visual aids at schools affected students performance. The study recommended several ways in order to rectify the situation. Further research was also recommended on the topic using a larger sample by using a survey research approach in order to give room for generalization of data to a large sample.

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

THE PROBLEM

• Introduction

In recent times, there has been an increasing concern for effectiveness and efficiency in the learning process. Anwukah (2000), opined that if any success must be achieved in attaining effective students learning outcomes. The teacher must know the instructional materials that are available for teaching a particular subject or topic and be able to utilize them to attain the expected students learning outcomes. Onyemerekeya (2003) defined students learning outcomes as statements which describes in a relatively specific manner, what the student should be able to achieve, produce or the characteristics the students should possess after completing the unit of a course of instruction. The classroom teacher must recognize that his task is not merely to teach but to stimulate learning. Teaching therefore is a process of guiding and directing the activities of the students in order to produce effective learning. In effect, the instructional procedure that will produce the desired learning outcomes must be adopted.

 

Onyenerekeya (2003) stated that instructional procedure is the main body of the lesson where detail of the content is recorded. It provides in steps the details of what is to be taught, it explains what the teacher should do and the activities of the students. At the appropriate stage of the development of the lesson, allowances are made for the use of relevant instructional materials. According to Eya and Ibekwe (2009), no matter how good a teacher may be judged to be, he needs some resources to aid him in his teaching.

Anyanwu (2003) stated “instead of the teachers” explaining  Chemistry concepts and how to solve problems, they should provide the students with appropriate materials and encourage them to make observations from the hypothesis guiding students to discover new ideas by asking leading question. Instructional materials available for instruction in  Chemistry are subdivided into four major categories, namely; visual aids, audio aids, Audio visual and printed materials.

Visual aids are those instructional aids which are used in the classroom to encourage students learning process and enhance effective learning outcomes. According to Burton (2003) “visual aids are those sensory object or images which initiate or stimulate and support learning. Visual aids make an issue or lesson more clearer or easier to understand, more real, more accurate and more active and interesting. In visual aids/materials learning is by engagement of the sense of sight or by visual senses. The examples of visual aids used in  Chemistry are pictures, maps, graphs, diagrams, atlas, painting, videos, slides, real objects, models, graphics charts which are used in teaching classification, explanation of concepts or ideas.

According to Okeke (2013) visual aids are any visible materials or equipment employed while teaching to aid learning. Devries (2017) explains that visual aids such as pictures and photographs facilitate learning by supplementing teacher’s verbal information. This underlies a well-founded theoretical underpinning that pictures, images and other visible aids promote better understanding to students than words alone (Mayer, 2005). Over generations, different kinds of visual aids have been used by teachers to enable meaningful learning. Some new forms constantly emerge as a result of improvements in educational science and technology (Krukru, 2015).

Preference for visual media is natural for human beings.  According to Joubish and Khurram (2011) and Woolfolk (2014), the use of concrete objects and visual aids such as drawings and illustrations are crucial in teaching children. Literature support that visual sense is a critical factor for learning. A study conducted by a psychologist and educator Jerome Bruner, cited by Lester (2012), showed that persons remember only 10 percent of what they hear, 30 percent of what they read, but about 80 percent of what they see and do. According to Gould and RoffeyBarentsen (2018) 83% of our learning is achieved through the sense of sight. 11% comes from the sense of hearing, 3.5% through the sense of smell, 1.5% through the sense of touch and another 1% through sense of taste. Emes and Velde (2005) suggest that most learners require visual content to learn. The preeminence of visual sense in learning further bears credence in famous Chinese proverb “one sighted is worth, a hundred words”.

The overall success of any lesson in the classroom relies to the teacher’s use of visual aids to enrich and supplement the subject matter taught (Konomi, 2014).  For every hour a teacher speaks, only about 8 – 10 minutes of the information given is retained in the students’ mind. The rest of the information is lost as learners tend to lose interest and attention to the content being presented especially when the lesson is dull and gloomy (Thomas, 2013). However, when visual aids are used interest and retention of the learners escalates and learning in general increases (Phillip, 2005).

Delving further, Gaikwad (2013) suggests that perception, understanding, transfer of training, recall and retention are enhanced when instructional materials are matched to the specific objectives of the lesson and learners’ characteristics. Therefore, when instructional materials consist of visual aids which are properly utilized, they help to promote learning because majority of learners are visual learners and have preference for visual content (Emes and Velde, 2005). According to Klemm (2007), learning happens by associating new information with what one already knows and associations are most effective when they include visual materials such as pictures and real objects.

Visual aids are useful for behaviour and classroom management as well (Cardillo, 2017). Teachers using visual aids improve class discipline by increasing motivation, attention and interest of the learners (Burgess, 2011 and Aggarwal, 2014). In contrast, classes that lack attention cannot receive instructions properly. This may lead to poor comprehension and performance. For most students, visual aids lead to increase in levels of attention helping them to easily acquire different skills. In line with this, Eick and King (2012) assert that use of visual aids improves learners’ attitude and interest to the subject which increases their motivation to learn taught material.

Audio Aids/materials deals with the sense of hearing only and listening. According to Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple, intelligence, student learns in variety of ways, including listening. Some students are better auditory learners than others and may see more academic improvement when using i the classroom. Using audio materials in the classroom is one of the ways of achieving effective student’s learning outcomes. The learners relying solely on speech through direct instruction include listening activities around music, noises and interactive listening assignments. The examples of Audio Aids are audio recording, radio records, tape recordings (of events, stories and song), and music and so on. Using Audio Aids in the teaching learning process leads to effective students learning outcome.

Printed materials these are reading materials used in  Chemistry teaching and learning processes which includes encyclopedias for reference work, textbooks for reliable information, magazines, journals, newspapers, pamphlets, novels and poems. The conventional values associated with reading materials such as textbooks in teaching and learning have increasingly led to the delusion of people into the thinking that “textbooks  and other printed materials are indispensable in teaching and learning” (Ikwumelu, 2002) and that they will probably continue to be a standard organizational device for (any) programme and for effective learning. The effective use of the available instructional materials enhances effective students learning outcomes and absence of instructional materials is likely to pose problem on learning outcomes.

 

It is about the availability of instructional materials in  Chemistry that the study is undertaken to determine the impacts of audio-visual aids on retention and performance in oxidation and reduction concepts in chemistry among secondary school students in Zaria education zone,kaduna.

1.2  Statement of the Problem 

The act of teaching is fundamentally concern with the passing of ideas, skills and attitude from the instructor (teacher) to the learners. In Nigeria for example experience has shown that spoken words alone in communication of ideas are grossly ineffective and inefficient in producing desired learning outcomes. The widely opinion is that the success of any educational institutions and systems depends largely on the availability of relevant educational materials that will enhance the effective students learning outcomes.

Looking at the instructional process one easily calls to mind a famous ancient Chinese adage which say “I hear, I forget, I see I remember, I do I understand” Eneh 2004. This adage emphasizes the need for availability of instructional materials in teaching learning process.

Presently in Nigerian schools, especially considering its compulsory status of the basic education or foundational level, there is adequate provision of instructional materials for effective utilization by the teachers. Most of the lessons presented by the instructor (teachers) sometime does not really enhance effective learning outcome due to inadequacy of instructional materials. Instructional materials bridge the gap between the teacher and the learners and reduces the chalk-talk syndrome that involves only the learner’s sense of hearing which makes him loose interest after sometimes. Effort has been made by the government and private sectors on the provision of instructional materials to schools, though it is not adequate and sometimes the available one are not effectively used by t he teachers.

Every year, when the results of public examination are released in Senior Secondary school, there has always been failure in  Chemistry. The reason for this could be ascribed to the fact that there are topics in  Chemistry that pose serious problem of comprehension to students. These topics cannot be taught effectively without the use of relevant instructional materials to make the learning real.

 

1.3  Purpose of the Study 

The study is poised to determine the Impacts of audio-visual aids on retention and performance in oxidation and reduction concepts in chemistry among secondary school students in Zaria education zone,kaduna.

Specifically, the objectives of this study are to:

1. investigate the difference in the academic performance of  students  taught  Chemistry using audio visual instructional materials and those who were taught without instructional materials.
2. determine the difference in the academic performance of male students who were taught  Chemistry using audio visual instructional materials and those who were taught without instructional materials.
3. determine the difference in the academic performance of female students who were taught  Chemistry using audio visual instructional material and those taught without instructional materials.

 

1.4  Significance of the Study

The study would be of benefit to the teachers, State Secondary Education Board, parents, the students and the general public at large. The study would be of benefit to the teachers in that they will know that the availability of instructional materials as a guide during lesson delivery enhances effective learning outcomes. The study would be of benefit to the State Secondary Education Board as it will provide adequate information on the need for provision of instructional materials to schools and also provide the principals  the opportunity   to improve in school supervision so as to ensure quality teaching and learning in schools.

The availability of instructional materials will help the parents as well as the public in determining the choice of schools for their children, this is because their wards will be motivated when they are exposed to instructional materials that will lead to quality learning and improved performance. The study would be of benefit to the students’ researchers as it will provide valid working documents for reference materials empirical studies on other areas not covered by this study.

1.5 Research Questions

1. What is the difference in the academic performance of students taught with audio visual materials and those taught without instructional materials.
2. What is the difference in the academic performance of male students taught  Chemistry using audio visual instructional materials and those taught without instructional materials.
3. What is the difference in the academic performance of female students taught  Chemistry using audio visual materials and those taught without instructional materials.

1.6    Null Hypotheses

The following hypotheses are formulated and tested;

• There is no significant difference in the academic performance of students taught  Chemistry using audio visual instructional materials and those taught without instructional materials.
• There is no significant difference between the performance of male students taught  Chemistry using audio visual instructional materials and those taught without instructional materials.
• There is no significant difference between female students taught Chemistry using audio visual instructional materials and those taught without instructional materials.

 

1.7     Delimitation of the Study

The study was delimited to  Chemistry students of selected secondary schools in Zaria educational zone.

 

IMPACTS OF AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS ON RETENTION AND PERFORMANCE IN OXIDATION AND REDUCTION CONCEPTS IN CHEMISTRY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ZARIA EDUCATION ZONE,KADUNA

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