CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1Â Â 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), Â 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.
1.2Â Â 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.
