COMBINED EFFECT OF COMPUTER TUTORIAL AND DRILL ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT INTEREST AND RETENTION IN BASIC ELECTRONICS IN LAGOS STATE

Abstract

This study was designed to determine the combined effect of Computer Tutorial and  Drill  on  senior  secondary  school  student’s  achievement,  interest  and retention in Basic Electronics in Lagos State. A pre-test post-test non-equivalent control group, quasi-experimental research design was adopted. Six research questions and eight hypotheses, tested at 0.05 level of significance, guided the study. The population for the study comprised all the 161 SS1 Basic Electronics students from the nine senior secondary schools offering basic electronics at SSCE level in Lagos State. The sample size for this study was 117 SS1 Basic Electronics students. Sixty eight (68) SS1 students constituted the students in the experimental group and 49 SS1 students constituted  the students in the control group. The instruments used for data collection were; Basic Electronics Achievement Test (BEAT) and Basic Electronics Interest Inventory (BEII). To ensure content validity of the BEAT, a Table of Specification was built for the test. The BEII which was used to test the students’ interest in Basic Electronics was also developed by the researcher and it contained 30 items. The instruments were also subjected to face validation by five experts which included; three lecturers  from  the  Department  of  Vocational  Teacher  Education  and  two lecturers from Measurement and Evaluation Department all from University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The BEAT was trial tested for the purpose of determining the psychometric indices of the test. A total of 45 multiple choice items of the BEAT which had good difficulty, discrimination and distractor indices were selected for the study. The trial test for determining the coefficient of stability of the  BEAT  was  carried  out  using  test  re-test  reliability  technique.  Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient of the BEAT was found to be 0.72, while the use of KR20 in assessing the test of internal consistency yielded a reliability  index  of  0.85.  Cronbach  Alpha  was  also  used  to  determine  the internal consistency of the BEII items. The reliability coefficient computed for the BEII was found to be .92 while Pearson Moment correlation test yielded

0.89. The data collected were analyzed using Mean, to answer the research questions while ANCOVA was used to test the nine hypotheses formulated to guide this study. The study found out that students taught basic electronics using Computer Tutorial and Drill had a higher mean score than students taught using the conventional teaching method in achievement test and test for retention of learning. In each of the cases, the high mean scores were found to be significant. Students taught basic electronics with Computer Tutorial and Drill had a higher mean interest score than those students taught using the conventional teaching method in the interest inventory items and the high mean scores was also found to be significant. Furthermore, the mean score of boys taught basic electronics using Computer Tutorial and Drill was higher than the mean score of girls taught using the same Computer Tutorial and Drill in the achievement test, and test for retention of learning, but the high mean score was not found to be

significant. Boys taught Basic Electronics with Computer Tutorial and Drill had a higher mean interest score than girls taught with the same Computer Tutorial and Drill in the interest inventory items but the higher mean score was not found to be significant. The study found out no significant interaction effects of treatments and gender on achievement and interest of students in basic electronics. Hence, irrespective of gender, learners would record improved achievement and  will be aroused in their interest in basic electronics when Computer Tutorial and Drill is used for teaching basic electronics. Therefore the study recommended that; Technical teachers of basic electronics in Lagos State should  adopt  the  use  of  the  Computer  Tutorial  and  Drill  to  teach  basic electronics. Curriculum planners should consider review of curriculum for basic electronics for secondary schools with a view to incorporating the Computer Tutorial and Drill technique. Necessary attention should be accorded computer literacy and operation in the senior secondary schools. The relevant Computer Tutorial and Drill packages should be developed for use within the Nigerian secondary school systems.

Background of the Study

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Technology the world over is dynamic. With advancement in technology, electronic gadgets and other products that are imported or assembled in Nigeria are coming with new devices to such an extent that technological development is in a constant state of flux and change. The influence of technological development in electronics industries has rendered traditional skills inadequate for work while creating the need for new and often sophisticated skills. Capri, Ozseevgec, Sayilkan and Emre (2004) noted that because most students get information via visual content sources like computer which are used in daily life very much,  it is more difficult to  teach students by conventional means. If principles of how students learn are taken into account, richness of the visual content makes instruction more lasting and effective Mudasiru and Adedeji, (2010). One possible solution to these challenges is the use of computer assisted instructional teaching approach.

Computer  Assisted  Instruction  (CAI)  or  Computer  Aided  Instruction (CAI) refers to use of computer as a tool in teaching and learning. Computer Assisted Instruction according to Rabia (2004) is an interactive instructional technique whereby a computer is used to present the instructional material and monitor the learning that takes place. In a computer assisted instruction the students  receive  feedback  from  the  computer and  maintain some  degree  of control (Okundaye, 2005). Some of the computer assisted instruction methods include simulation, tutorial, drill and practice.

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Tutorial provides generally new information to the students in much the same manner as a human teacher or tutor might. According to Mevarech (1985) CAI tutorials are based on the principles of programmed learning or instruction. Instructional activities are presented either in linear or branching method which uses hyperlink for videos and, graphs. CAI tutorial gives immediate feedback,

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create proficiency in computer usage, and gives students a sense of control over learning, calls for using sight, hearing and touch (Bialo and Silvin, 1990).

Drill involves a sequence of tasks, exercises, or words repeated over and over until they can be performed faultlessly. In a CAI drill and practice design, the  computer  screen  presents  the  student  with  questions  to  respond  to  or problems to solve, the student responds, the computer informs the student whether the answer is correct and if the student is right, he or she is given another problem to solve, but if the student responds with a wrong answer, he or she  is  corrected  by  the  computer  (Mudasiru  and  Adedeji  2010).  Drill  and tutorial are interactive and help students remember the concepts they have been taught previously (Rabia, 2004).

The CAI tutorial when used in combination with drill provides instruction in such a way that each tutorial lesson has a series of frame or branches. The frame or branch poses questions to students at the end of each lesson. Student answers questions about the lesson and gets immediate feedback. On each answer, if the student answers correctly, he will be told to proceed to the next frame but if the response of the student is wrong, the package will take him or her back to the frame where the answer could be found or on the alternative gives the correct answer to the student before proceeding to a new frame. The student has to respond to every framed questions in the exact order presented and there is no deviation from this presentation but the student does have the freedom to work through the material at his or her own pace (Mudasiru and Adedeji 2010).

In addition, the use of computer tutorial and drill for instruction brings with it several benefits as a teaching/learning medium. These include self-paced learning, self-directed learning, the exercising of various senses and the ability to represent content in a variety of media. With self-paced learning, learners can move as slowly or as quickly as they like through a program. According to

Cotton, K. (2001), tutorial and drill allow students to progress at their own

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speed of learning as they offer learners controlled instructions, provide prompt feedback, allow for adaptability of instructions (presentations mode and instructional  content  mode)  using  authoring  systems,  provides  lessons  with more than one purpose, random  access facilities,  and  provides facilities for revisions and updating. With self-directed learning, learners can decide what they want to learn and in what order. Various studies (Entwistle, 1981; Schmeck

1988; Ford and Chen, 2001) have shown that when learners learn in a way that suits them, improvements in the effectiveness of the learning process normally occur. Humans are multi-sensory animals. The more senses through which we receive information, the easier it is to remember. According to Fletcher (1990), people remember 20% of what they hear, 40% of what they see and hear and

75% of what they see, hear and do. The fact that the computer can exercise various senses and present information in a variety of media can enhance the learning process. Meskill and Mossop (1997) reported that computer assisted instruction encourage learning as it enhance students’ interaction with the learning environment which in turn help sustain students’ interest in learning and consequently improve students’ achievement and retention of learning.

Students’ achievement refers to performance in a school subject as designated by a score or mark obtained in an achievement test.  According to Anene (2005) achievement is quantified by a measure of the student’s academic standing in relation to those of other students of his age. Interest is a persisting tendency to pay attention and enjoy some activities. Interest has been viewed as emotionally oriented behavioural trait which determines a student’s vim and vigour in tackling educational programmes or other activities (Chukwu, 2002). Retention of learning on the other hand, refers to a repeated performance by a learner, of behaviour earlier acquired, elicited after an interval of time (Momoh- olle, 1997). It is affected by degree of original learning, the method of learning and learner’s memory capacity, among other factors. In a study, Momoh-olle

found that male generally outperformed girls in retention test in Physics while

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(2003) found a similar result in technology education. Students’ interest, achievement and retention in any learning activity are sustained by the active involvement of the learner in all aspects of the learning process. Ogwo and Oranu,  (2006)  and  Ngwoke  (1995)  emphasized   that  unless  the  teacher stimulates students’ interest in learning, students’ achievement will be minimal. Hence, it is essential that technical teachers use teaching method which ensures students’ active involvement in learning and provide suitable learning environment  to  improve  achievement,  retention  and  stimulate  interest  of students in Basic Electronics.

Basic Electronics is one of the vocational subjects offered at senior secondary school (SSS) level in Nigeria. According to Adesina (2002), electronics is a field of study that is both science and technology related. It is concerned with the ways in which the movement of electrons through space is controlled and manipulated. Its applications feature in radios, televisions, computers, transmitters, receivers, aeronautics and other related equipment. The objectives of studying basic electronics in senior secondary schools in Nigeria according to Federal Ministry of  Education (FME,  1985) are to: develop  a further understanding of the basic concepts and principles of electronics; build and test simple electronic devices; develop skills in circuit fault tracing and repairs; apply simple electronic devices in the construction of electronic system and; prepare students adequately for further work in electronics. The National Policy on Education (2004) stipulated that Electronics should be one of the Vocational courses to be taught in Senior Secondary School to provide trained manpower and give training necessary for an acquisition of skills to individual who shall be self-reliance economically. But the way topics in Basic Electronics are taught appears to lack instructional procedure that creates interactive style. Berryman (2000) noted  that  the  implication  is that the  instructions are  not logically sequenced to fit the ability of the learners as teachers could not provide teacher-led practice to engage in reciprocal teaching.

According to Boyle, Duffy and Donleavy (2003) the methods are based on  behavioural  learning  theory,  emphasize  knowledge  transmission  from teachers  to  passive  students  and  encourage  rote  memorization  of  facts. Campbell and Campbell (1999) noted that when students are passive in the classroom, they become apathetic and repulsive to learning. The consequence is that students are unable to retain their learning and apply it to new situation (Roegge, Wentling and Bragg, 1996). The shortcomings of the present teaching methods partly accounted for the poor performance of students in the Senior School Certificate Examination and National Examination Council (NECO) Examinations. In West Africa Examination Council Chief Examiners’ reports (1989 and 1990) showed that the performance of senior secondary school students in basic electronics was very poor. The council advised among others, that vocational subjects of which Basic Electronics is one of them should be taught  with  appropriate  teaching  methods  to  achieve  better  results.  WAEC results showed that average failure rate in basic electronics in the years 1996,

1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 were 86%,

94.29%, 68.85%, 72%, 30.76%, 24%, 28.82%, 40.14%, 56.84%, 59.57% and

42.49% respectively (WAEC National Office, Lagos Public Affairs Unit Vol.05/L/PR/92).  In  the  same  vein,  statistics of  NECO  examination  results showed that average failure rate in basic electronics in the years 2001, 2002,

2003, 2004,  and 2005  were 79.90%, 58.65%, 75.34%, 94.63%  and 68.27%

respectively.

The increasing effects of globalization and the rapid rate of technological changes on work places have informed the recommendation by United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) (2002) that all technical and vocational education system in the 21st  century should be geared towards life long learning. This requires that schools should in addition to academic skills; inculcate workplace basic  skills  such  as  learning  to  learn,  creativity,  problem  solving  skills,

collaborative skills and higher order thinking skills in order to increase the students’ flexibility and job mobility which will make them adaptable to the present and envisaged changes (Hallak and Poisson, 2000 and Paris, 1998). In this  context,   Rojewskin   (2002)  noted  that  a   shift  from   teacher-centred instruction to learner-centred instruction is needed to enable students acquire the new 21st  century knowledge and skills. In order to attain to students centered method of teaching Basic Electronics, Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) was to b used.

However, several studies have been conducted on CAI in many subjects. These studies indicated very different results. Some of the studies found no significant difference between CAI and conventional teaching methods on students’  achievement,  retention  and  interest  (Nurettin,  Şimşek,  Özlem  and Çakır,  2009; Cetin, 2007; Alacapinar, 2003; Bayraktar, 2001).   Some other researches  found  CAI  more  effective  in  improving  students’  achievement, interest and retention than the use of conventional teaching methods (Liao,

2007; Bryan, 2006; Wilder, 2006; Brooks, 2005; Preciado, 2004; Moodly, 2004; Cater, 2004; Yenice, 2003; Brophy, 1999, Child 1995; Morse, 1991; Cotton,

1991). Additionally, studies such as Onasanya, Daramola and Asuquo, (2006), which   examined   effect   of   gender   on   achievement   of   students   taught Introductory Technology with CAI have shown that there was no significant difference in the mean achievement of male and female students. Gender is a psychological term, which describes behaviours and attributes expected of individual on the basis of being a male or a female (Uwameiye and Osunde,

2005).  The obvious implication of these findings showed that the use of CAI in teaching is not significant in all subjects for students’ achievement, interest and retention.

Statement of the Problem

Learning outcome of every student according to Bakare, 2009, majorly depends on the type of teaching methods, teaching strategies, and instructional

techniques   or   approaches   employed   by   the   teacher   during   instruction. Traditional teaching methods such as lecture, demonstration and field trip adopted for teaching basic electronics in senior secondary school by teachers are often referred to as conventional teaching method termed to be teacher centered instead of students centered (Sonola, 2007). This method of teaching technical subjects according to her, discouraged creativity and disallowed students from thinking beyond what is presented to them by their teachers. The students are reduced to passive learners and as a result become apathetic and repulsive to learning.

Since literature review showed that there was no perfect superiority of CAI over conventional teaching methods, the researcher decided to study combined effect of Tutorial and Drill on Senior Secondary School students’ achievement, interest and retention in basic electronics to find out whether it will be more significant than the use of CAI.

The report from Federal Ministry of Education (1993, WAEC 1996-2006) (NECO 2001-2005) identified lack of application of effective methodology for teaching technical subjects as major reason for low academic achievements of students in senior secondary schools – Cambell and Cambell (1999), also explained that traditional method of teaching do not adequately equip teachers with contemporary views of students intelligences and their vast learning capabilities. Recommendation of UNESCO and ILO (2002), that vocational and technical education system in the 21st  century should be geared towards life long learning cannot be achieved by traditional teaching methods use by the teachers of senior secondary school to teach basic electronics. Hence, this traditional teaching methods used by these teachers may be responsible for the low academic achievement in basic electronics.

In  view  of  the  need  to  use  computer  technology  to  provide student- centered and interactive knowledge environment, several studies had been conducted to determine the effect of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) on

students’  achievement,  interest  and  retention  in  various  disciplines.  These studies ended up with many different results. While some of the studies found no significant difference between CAI and traditional teaching methods.

Some of the studies found significant difference between CAI and traditional teaching methods on students’ achievement, interest and retention. Hence, this study therefore is to determine the combine effect of Computer Tutorial and Drill as alternative teaching method on senior secondary school students’ achievement,  interest,  and  retention  in Basic  Electronics in  Lagos state.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to determine combined effect of Computer Tutorial and Drill on senior secondary school student’s achievement, interest and retention in Basic Electronics in Lagos State. Specifically, the study sought to:

1.       Determine the achievement scores of students taught Basic Electronics with Computer Tutorial and Drill and those taught using the conventional teaching methods.

2.       Determine   the   interest   of   students   taught   Basic   Electronics   with Computer Tutorial and  Drill and  those  taught  using  the conventional teaching methods.

3.       Determine   the   retention   of   students  taught  basic   electronics  with Computer Tutorial and  Drill and  those  taught  using  the conventional teaching methods.

4.       Compare   the   achievement   scores   of   boys   and   girls  taught   basic electronics using Computer Tutorial and Drill.

5.       Compare the interest scores of boys and girls taught basic electronics using Computer Tutorial and Drill.

6.       Compare the retention of boys and girls taught basic electronics using

Computer Tutorial and Drill.

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Significance of the Study

The benefits that shall accrue  from this study are many, specifically, teachers will benefit from  the result of this study in that they  will use the instrument to evaluate the students, rather than the teacher-made test. The achievement, interest and retention scores of students taught basic electronics with  computer  tutorial  and  drill  and  those  taught  using  the  conventional teaching methods would enlighten technical teachers on the effectiveness of computer tutorial and drill. Technical teachers’ work will become easier and interesting as they will be playing supervisory roles. This will bring great improvement in technical teachers’ morale. The knowledge gained from the skills  in  the  use  of  computer  tutorial  and  drill  method  of  teaching  basic electronics  will  be  better  as  opposed  to  the  present  conventional  teaching method which is teacher centered. Technical teachers will use student centered interactive knowledge classroom environment to secure and sustain the attention of the students in learning basic electronics. The knowledge of computer tutorial and drill if found effective will help the teachers to improve their instructional delivery to bridge the gap in achievement, interest of boys and girls in basic electronics.

The  findings  of   this  study  if  found   to  have  positive  effect  and implemented will also be of benefit to students’ participation and interest in the class room activities. There will be improvement in students’ achievements and interest through the use of Computer Tutorial and Drill command to achieve active engagement, frequent interaction, and connection to real world of work. This in turn will enable students to  pass their SSCE examinations in basic electronics. Consequently, it will help to reduce the number of unemployed secondary school leaver’s rate of drop out, crime rate, violence, substance abuse and the rise of political extremism associated with it.

Ministry of Education (Technical Division) will benefit from the findings of  this  study.  Effectiveness  of  Computer  Tutorial  and  Drill  will  no  doubt

influence the decision of the Ministry of Education on the need to provide computers and laboratories in senior secondary schools if found to have positive effect. Further more, findings will also sensitize the Ministry to organize conferences, workshops and seminars to train basic electronics teachers on the use of Computer Tutorial and Drill to improve their instructional delivery.

The significance of this study is particularly in the area of curriculum development. The result will be of immense benefit to the basic electronics curriculum development experts. They will find it valuable especially in the provision of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of computer tutorial and drill  in  the  teaching  of  basic  electronics.  The  information  obtained,  will hopefully influence future trend in basic electronics curriculum review.  The findings of this study will provide curriculum planners with the information which could lead to the recommendation of Computer Tutorial and Drill in teaching basic electronics in senior secondary schools.

Lastly, this study will also serve as source of literature to schools and educational researchers.

Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide this study:

1.       What   are   the   mean   achievement   scores  of   students   taught  basic electronics with Computer Tutorial and Drill and those taught using the conventional teaching methods?

2.       What are the mean interest scores of students taught basic electronics with Computer Tutorial and Drill and those taught using the conventional teaching methods?

3.       What  are  the  mean  scores  of  students  taught  basic  electronics  with Computer Tutorial and  Drill and  those  taught  using  the conventional teaching methods in the retention test?

4.       What are the mean achievement scores of boys and girls taught basic electronics using Computer Tutorial and Drill?

5.       What  are  the  mean  interest  scores  of  boys  and  girls  taught  basic electronics using Computer Tutorial and Drill in the interest inventory items?

6.       What are the mean scores of boys and girls taught basic electronics using

Computer Tutorial and Drill in the test for retention of learning?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.

Ho1:   There is no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of students taught basic electronics with Computer Tutorial and Drill and those taught using conventional teaching methods.

Ho2:  There is no significant interaction effect of treatments given to students by gender with respect to their mean scores in the basic electronics achievement test.

Ho3:  There is no significant difference between the mean interest scores of students taught basic electronics with Computer Tutorial and Drill and those taught using conventional teaching methods in interest inventory items.

Ho4:  There is no significant interaction effect of treatments given to students by gender with respect to their mean scores in basic electronics interest inventory items

Ho5:  There is no significance difference between the mean scores of students taught  basic  electronics  with  Computer  Tutorial  and  Drill  and  those taught using conventional teaching methods in the test of retention of learning.

Ho6:  There is no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of boys and girls taught basic electronics using Computer Tutorial and Drill.

Ho7:  There is no significant difference in the mean interest scores of boys and girls taught basic electronics using Computer Tutorial and Drill.

Ho8:  There is no significant difference between the mean scores of boys and girls taught basic electronics with Computer Tutorial and Drill in a test of retention of learning.

Ho9:  There is no significant interaction effect of treatments given to boys and girls with respect to their means scores in Basic Electronics retention of learning.

Delimitation of the Study

The study is delimited to determining the combined effects of Computer Tutorial and Drill on achievement, interest and retention of Senior Secondary School Students in basic electronics in Lagos State as well as the effects on the learning outcomes with regards to gender. Other aspects of Computer Tutorial and Drill such as simulation, games and others are not covered in this study.

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