Instructional Materials

CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

200%">The school is a very important institution which can provide career pathways for students. Thus the need for the realistic and experiential learning aided by the right and adequate tools, equipment and machines for instruction is necessary. The influence of instructional materials in promoting students’ academic performance and learning is indisputable. The materials used by teachers to teach and drive home their subject points on our education system is incontrovertibly a paramount important issue in practical classroom interaction and successful transfer of knowledge from teachers to the learners.

200%">Instructional resources which are educational inputs are of vital importance to the teaching of any subject in the school curriculum. Wales (1975) was of the opinion that the use of instructional resources would make discovered facts glued firmly to the memory of students. Savoury (1958) also added that, a well planned and imaginative use of visual aids in lessons should do much to banish apathy, supplement inadequacy of books as well as arouse students’ interest by giving them something practical to see and do, and at the same time helping to train them to think things out themselves. The scarcity of textbooks, libraries, and physical facilities according to Coombs (1970), will constraint educational system from responding more fully to new demands. In order to raise the quality of education, its efficiency and productivity, better learning materials and resources are needed. Knezewich (1975) also stressed the importance of having appropriate personnel plan and adequate instructional materials and physical facilities to support educational effort.

200%"> Instructional materials are the tools teachers use to teach students. The excellent instructional material has a big impact on the students learning since students learn most by doing. Together with the excellent instructional materials are its adequate numbers of units in proportion to the number of the students. Engaging in hands-on activities gives the learners idea on how this experience can be applied in a real life situation. This instructional material serves as an aid for instruction. Through this, the teacher will be able to make his/her strategies in teaching more effective and meaningful. It is much easier also for students to learn and understand their lesson as well as acquire the skills necessary in the field. Further, the adequacies of instructional materials that will support the student’s effective learning also have its own demand in the educational system.

According to Obanya (2001), IMs are didactic material things which are supposed to make learning and teaching possible. While in views of Abdullahi (2003) they are materials or tools locally made or imported that could make tremendous improvement of a lesson if intelligently used. In the same vein, Isola (2010), referred IMs as objects or devices, which help the teacher to make a lesson much clearer to the learner. In support of these views, Agina (2005), describe IM as concrete or physical objects which provide sound, visual or both to the sense organs during teaching.

Instructional materials play a very important role in the learning process. It enhances the memory level of the students. At this time that education has  spread wide and entirely, oral teaching cannot be the key to successful pedagogy; therefore the teacher has to use instructional materials to make teaching and learning  process interesting (Nichulls, 2003; Raw 2006). IMs are tools locally  made or  imported that help to facilitate the composed posted that could make tremendous  enhancement of intellectual use impact the instructional materials (Abdullahhi 2010). The use of instructional materials can enhance the learning achievement.

Cronbach (2009) states the important elements of behavior that provides the base for learning theory situation which consists of all the objects, persons and symbols in the learning environment. Experience in situation prepares a person to respond to a similar situation in future. Use of instructional materials can appeal to the individual attention by creating interest goal that will help the learner achieve direct effort. Teacher’s problem of motivation is essentially one of arranging situation with instructional materials in which the learner will see goals he wants to attain. Brown et. al (2005) summarized the role of teaching aids as follows:

auto;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:200%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> Symbol">·         It promotes meaningful communication and effective learning.

auto;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:200%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> Symbol">·         They ensure better retention, thus making learning more permanent.

auto;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:200%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> Symbol">·          They help to overcome the limited classroom by making the inaccessible accessible.

auto;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:200%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> Symbol">·         They provide a common experience upon which late learning can be developed.

auto;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:200%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> Symbol">·         They stimulate and motivate students to learn.

auto;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:200%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> Symbol">·         They encourage participation especially if students are allowed to manipulate materials used.

text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;line-height:200%">Osuala (2010) in his own contribution said it does not only help to motivate and develop interest on the part of the student but also help to bring about an enhance respect for teachers knowledge of the subject. Instructional materials are also described as concrete or both to the sense organs during teaching (Aginna-Obu 2000). Wales (2009) was of the opinion that the use of IM would make discovered facts glue firmly in the memory of learners. This enables the learners to keep the idea in their long term memory. According to Savoury (2003), a well-planned use of IM in lessons should do much to banish apathy. In addition, he said that selection of IM which is related to the basic activity of a lesson helps in the in-depth understanding of such a lesson by the learners, in that it makes the lesson attractive to them, thereby arresting their attention and thus, motivating them to learn and participate. Participation helps teachers to discover their learners’ potential, to realize their talents and raise their self-esteem. In turn, this can help them to question their boundaries and explore issues, voice aspirations, identify needs and facilitate their learning and personal development (Clark 2005).

Instructional materials are materials which assist teachers in making their lessons explicit to learners. They are also used to transmit information, ideas, notes to learners  (Ijaduala, 1997). Instructional materials include both visuals and audiovisuals such chalkboard, whiteboard, traditional visual aids, computer/laptop and LCD, tablet, books, hand-outs, film and among others. These materials serve as a supplement to the normal processes of instruction. The nature of the learning and the wide range of student’s abilities in the average classroom necessitate a high degree of teachers and experience in the method of presenting the subject matter. This has been truncated with the unavailability of instructional materials in schools.

However, a common goal a teacher carries wherever he is to make lesson presentation vitally fresh, stimulating and testing for their students. This will help the teacher to individualize the learning method as well as the content and also working according to the student’s need. This goal can be reached most effectively through the use of instructional materials.

The importance of Instructional Materials in any teaching/learning process cannot be overemphasized. This is the fact that such materials enhance, facilitate and make teaching/learning easy, lively and concrete. Instructional materials are the devices developed or acquired to assist or facilitate teachers in transmitting an organized knowledge, skills and attitudes to the learners within an instructional situation (Nwachukwu, 2006).To be precise, an instructional material is educational resources used for illustrating the content of instruction, thereby making learning more concrete and less abstract. The sequence in which learners encounter materials has a direct effect on the achievement of the task. In providing closer experience to a real situation, instructional material enhances acquisition and retention of factual information. Instructional material not only provides the necessary concrete experience but also help students integrate the prior experience. The need to emphasis on the use and importance of instructional materials in any teaching and learning environment cannot be underestimated. For any learning to take place, the teacher has to make use of these materials that would enable him to teach effectively.

 One of the reasons why students sometimes find it difficult to comprehend immediately what is being taught by the teacher is the non-availability of instructional materials that can easily convey the message of the lesson to the learners. Orji (2000) asserts that teaching aid is “the guidance of learning activities”  that “a teacher uses to motivate and arouse student’s desire to learn”. An instructional material makes students understand easily when the teacher makes use of a working model. Olardi (1990) has highlighted the impact of instructional materials that teachers use to improve the students from understanding and perception of the subject as an enhanced aids. It brings clarity and creates recognition that allows them to have a realistic hand and a total knowledge of the subject. It enhanced learning, improved competence of learners, and makes learning more meaningful to students. Teaching and learning through instructional materials stimulates and aids students to take an active interest in any topic introduced by teaching.

Kay (2008), IMs stimulate the students to desire to learn. It assist learning process by making assimilation and memorization of materials easy. Also, it helps to hold attention, includes greater acquisition and, as well as objectives which may be accessible to many students.

 Most often, very many teachers teach without instructional materials. They believe that any teachers who teach subjects like the physical science, mathematics etc. need to use instructional materials because these subjects need laboratory experiments. The study is therefore aimed at achieving the following objectives.

1)     To determine the extent teaching and process teachers utilize these materials.

2)     They find out the factors that militate against the use of these materials in teaching and learning in schools.

3)     To know if learners understand better with the use of instructional materials or not.

From the foregoing statement, it can be agreed that for effective learning to take place, a student needs to be properly guided by the teacher by way of employing various method and means through which his teaching could be meaningful. However, the researchers would like to investigate the possible impact of instructional materials to academic performance of 2nd-year education students of Bulacan State University-Bustos Campus SY 2016-2017. The investigation of on this area thus becomes a real and compelling motivation for the researchers to conduct this study.

Statement of the Problem

The use of instructional materials has lots of general benefits that guide a greater impact in teaching and learning process. The teacher’s level of resourcefulness, creativity, and imagination is credited to the achievement of quality education. These are expressed in how well the teacher is able to perceive, create, and use the relevant information that can enhance and promote effective teaching and learning activities. Instructional material is a major determining variable that controls the pace of learning. It has to do with the creation of an environment in which students can develop their full potentials. No matter how well staffed the school is, without appropriate learning materials, the basic goals of the school that is teaching and learning to realize good performance in a school can be seriously handicapped (Okumbe, 1999).  The general problem of this study is to find out the impact of instructional materials to the academic performance of 2nd-year education students of Bulacan State University-Bustos Campus school year 2016-2017. To get the core of this inquiry, there are questions which must serve as guides in determining the direction and focus of our research. With this in view, the study is aimed at addressing the following questions:

1. What is the academic performance of the respondents during the 1st semester of the school year 2016-2017?

2. How may the respondents describe of use the following instructional materials:

line-height:200%">2.1 Chalkboard;

line-height:200%">2.2 Whiteboard;

line-height:200%">2.3 Traditional Visual aids;

line-height:200%">2.4 Computer/Laptop and LCD;

line-height:200%">2.5 Tablet;

line-height:200%">2.6 Books;

line-height:200%">2.7 Hand-outs;

line-height:200%">2.8 Film;

line-height:200%">2.9 _______________ ?

3. How may the respondents describe the effectiveness of the instructional materials:

line-height:200%">3.1 Chalkboard;

line-height:200%">3.2 Whiteboard;

line-height:200%">3.3 Traditional Visual aids;

line-height:200%">3.4 Computer/Laptop and LCD;

200%">3.5 Tablet;

line-height:200%">3.6 Books;

line-height:200%">3.7 Hand-outs;

line-height:200%">3.8 Film;

line-height:200%">3.9 _______________ ?

4. Is there a significant relationship between the use of instructional materials and academic performance of the respondents?

5. What are the insights and reflection of the respondents to the use of instructional materials to academic performance?

6. What are the implications of the use of instructional materials to educational system?

Significance of the Study

The importance of Instructional Materials or Educational resources is to improve students’ knowledge, abilities, and skills, to monitor their assimilation of information, and to contribute to their overall development and upbringing. It also clarifies important concepts to arouse and sustain student’s interests, give all students in a class the opportunity to share experiences necessary for new learning, help make learning more permanent. The outcomes of this research will attest beneficial to the students, teachers, administrators and the school.

auto;text-align:justify;text-indent:-50.25pt;line-height:200%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">1.                            The Students will determine the impact of instructional materials in their academic performance thus giving them knowledge in their subject. The students can voice out their needs or to meet the necessities of the stakeholders when it comes to teaching-learning process.

auto;text-align:justify;text-indent:-50.25pt;line-height:200%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">2.                            School administrators will have information about the impact of the instructional materials used by the professors and how to improve the use of instructional materials.

auto;text-align:justify;text-indent:-50.25pt;line-height:200%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">3.                            Teachers will know how effective the instructional materials that they are presently using. The teachers will have the chance to enhance the quality of their instructional materials that they are presently using.

auto;text-align:justify;text-indent:-50.25pt;line-height:200%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">4.                            Future Researchers, they may be able to use the result of the study in farther research similar to what the study is. The researchers sincerely hope that this study will be a great contribution to our educational system.

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auto;text-align:justify;line-height:200%">Scope and delimitation

auto;text-align:justify;line-height:200%">       This study focused on the impact of the instructional materials towards the academic performance of Second year BSED Students of Bulacan State University Bustos, Campus.

auto;text-align:justify;line-height:200%">       The respondents of this study were the 2-N, 2-O and 2-P major in TLE and Physical Science of Bulacan State University Bustos, Campus.

auto;text-align:justify;line-height:200%">       The researchers used mixed method type of research which includes standardized questionnaires and interviews. The standardized test composed of two parts. The first part consists of ten items containing the profile information of the respondents. The second part has the five minute interview of the respondents.

auto;text-align:justify;line-height:200%"> 

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