ECTS OF TWO MODES OF CONCEPT MAPPING ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN NSUKKA EDUCATION ZONE ENUGU STATE

Abstract

The  study  investigated  the  effect  of  two  modes  of  concept  mapping  on secondary school students’ achievement and retention in English grammar in Nsukka education zone of Enugu State. The influence of gender as well as interaction effects of two modes of concept mapping and gender were also investigated.. Six research questions and six null hypotheses guided the study. Quasi experimental design of pre-test non-equivalent control group was used for the study. The sample size of 352 JSS 2 English language students using purposive   sampling   technique   constituted   the   target   population.   The instrument  for  data  collection  was  English  Grammar  Achievement  Test (EGAT) which was used to collect the data in this study. The data obtained for the study were analyzed using means and standard deviations to answer the research questions while analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA) were used to test the formulated hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study  revealed  that: collaborative method of concept mapping  significantly enhanced   students’   academic   achievement   in   English   grammar   when compared with individualistic method; gender was a significant factor on students’ interest in English grammar; there is an interaction effect of two modes of concept mapping and gender on students’ achievement in English grammar; collaborative method of concept mapping was also found to significantly    enhance  students’  retention in  English grammar;  there  is no significant difference between the mean retention scores of male and female students in English grammar; interaction effect of two modes of concept mapping and gender on students’ retention in English grammar is significant. Based  on  the  findings,  it  was  recommended  among  others  that  English teachers should adopt the use of collaborative method in their lessons in order to enhance the students’ academic achievement and retention in English grammar.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Grammar  is a basic tool of English  language  since  it unites all the skills of  the language.  Hence, no skill could function effectively without it. However,  grammar  is an aspect of language where scholars have different opinions. Describing the parts of speech, traditional grammarian such as Curme (2010) is very interested in finding out or learning grammatical rules and doing lots of grammar exercises.  Contrary to this view, structural grammarians  like Curme (2010)  dislike  grammar  and  feel it is the most boring part of learning a new language.  Whatever  opinion  one has, therefore,  one cannot escape from grammar;  it  is  in  every  sentence  one  reads  or  writes,  speaks  or  hears.  What  then  is grammar? Grammar  is simply the word for the rules that people follow when they use a language (Nordsquit,  2014).  Similarly,  Vappingo  (2011) defines grammar as a linguistic tool that determines the  rules for presenting sentences correctly. It involves a number of related subfields  including syntax, phonology,  morphology,  and semantics.  According  to American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA 2003:4),

Phonology is the sound system of a language and the rules  that govern the sound combinations.  Morphology  is the  system that governs  the  structure  of  words  and  the  construction  of  word forms. Syntax is the system governing the order and combination of  words  to  form  sentences  and   the  relationship  among  the elements within a sentence. Semantics is the system that governs the meaning of words and sentences.

There   is   no   aspect   of  English   language   that   is   as   important   as   grammar

(Chowdhurymoin,  2010). Its usefulness can be extolled  on its place on both written  and

spoken  communications  since  all of them  are  grammatically  oriented.  Good  grammar  is determined  on the correct use of connections  based  on certain rules (grammar).  So,  one cannot escape from grammar. As well, the teaching and learning of other subjects are done through communication in correct grammatical sentences before meaning could be realized. This led to grammar technology (effectiveness in application of grammar rules) as stated by Mulroy (2003). As a result, good knowledge of grammar grants effectiveness in the skills of language especially,  writing and speaking. This  shows that there is need for teaching and learning of grammar especially the English grammar since it will pave way for increase of students’ achievement in English language in general. Some researchers like Ene (2004) and Agada  (2007)  attributed  the  poor  achievement  of students  to  lack of interest  among  the students in learning English language as well as non-usage of varied methods and techniques in teaching the subject.

The aspects of grammar  studied  in secondary schools  include the seven parts  of speech namely: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions and prepositions. Their  definitions,  types,  characteristics   and  grammatical  functions  are   taught  in  the secondary schools. Other concepts such as phrases, clauses, sentences, concord, direct and reported speeches, tenses, etc are equally learned at this level. In teaching and learning of adjectives  and adverbs  in junior  secondary  schools,  the focus is usually on definitions, types and comparisons  of adjectives  and adverbs  while  in senior  secondary  school,  the grammatical functions and order of adjectives and adverbs are usually emphasized. These are the building blocks for further studies in adjectives and adverbs in the junior secondary schools.

Hence, the teaching and learning of grammar at the junior level is the building block or a foundation  for the learning  of grammar  at the senior  level.  When  students  do not understand  or learn  grammar  well,  at the junior  level (i.e.  learning  the basics,  such  as

adjective and adverbs). It becomes problematic, tedious and challenging when the students encounter it at the senior secondary level. It can be said that grammar learned and used well at the Junior level, is grammar that is successful and stress free at the  senior secondary level.

In spite of all the benefits of grammar to the learner, it seems that learners find it as a boring and uninteresting aspect of English language, therefore, marring the performance of the students in examinations. Some researchers such as Ene (2004)  and Agada (2007) attributed  the  poor  achievement  of  students  to  lack  of  interest  among  the  students  in learning  English  language  as  well  as  non-usage  of  varied  methods  and  techniques  in teaching the subject.

Irrespective of these, the desired result in the use of English grammar has not been found.  Some  researchers  like  Torty (2010)  who  investigated  the  effect  of  collaborative learning method on students’ achievement and interest in English language tense and Agada (2007) who researched on the effect of close procedure on students’ achievement in English grammar discovered that students’ poor performances in internal and external examinations in English language are based on use of ungrammatical written discourse. This is based on the fact that students effectiveness in any examination is based on what they could present in writing.

In Nigerian schools, grammar is one of the most problematic subjects. One reason for this may be that most schools place an artificial burden on students by an early introduction of grammatical definitions and rules in mother tongue education (Anita, 2011). The objective is not mainly for meaningful learning to be created but to ensure that the intended scheme is covered.  This  is basically carried  out by the  use of  traditional  method  of teaching.  The traditional teaching method adopted in most Nigerian secondary schools is lecture method. This is a method of instruction that  adopts a unidirectional mode of imparting knowledge

from teacher to learners. In this method, learning is teacher centered and most of the activities are  done  by the  teacher  while  the  learners  remain  passive  listeners  taking  down  notes (Nworgu, 2009). This method of teaching and learning creates rote memorization as it does not give room  for effective  and meaningful  learning.  The  National Examination  Council (NECO) Chief Examiners’ report 2012 and 2013 show that Nigerian students are relatively weak in using meaningful learning strategies like  mnemonics, peer tutorial assessment that aid  their  conceptual  understanding  (NECO  M/J  2012,  2013).  These  results  indicate  that students have a preference  for using  memorizing  strategies,  that is, a process of learning without doing concrete exercise; which is mostly introduced by conventional lecture method. However, in the long run, rote learning does not lead to recallable knowledge. Although rote learning can be useful for some learning purposes mostly in pre-primary and primary levels, the range of its possible applications is fairly limited (Cakir, 2008).

This  could  be  testified  in  West  African  Examinations  Council  (WAEC)  Chief Examiners’   reports   in  recent   years  2011-2014.   These   reports   show   that   students’ achievement  in English  language  were consistently  poor.  In 2011,  it was  reported  that candidates achieved poorly in English language when compared with the standard of the paper  despite  the  deliberate  attempt  to  test  the  students  within  their  experiences  and capabilities  (WAEC,  M/J,  2011).  The  report  on  May/June  2012  examinations  results indicated that “performance of the candidates became worse than those of previous years” (WAEC M/J 2012) notwithstanding that the questions were not ambiguous. In the WAEC Chief  Examiners’  Report  for  May/June  (2013),  it  was  indicated  that  the  candidates’ performance  was  generally  disappointing,  especially  in  the  areas  of  Expression  and Mechanical Accuracy despite the deliberate low standard of the paper (WAEC, M/J 2013). The  worst  of  the  reports  on  results  was  seen  on  his  (Chief  Examiner)  comment  on May/June  2014  WAEC  examinations  were  only  few  of  the  candidates  that  took  the

examination were able to make a credit in the English language irrespective of the fact that the students were tested within their experiences and capabilities (WAEC M/J, 2014).

The problem arises when students use rote learning too frequently, and  memorize information  without  seeking  to  establish  connections  between  concepts  (Anita,  2011). Therefore, rote learning should be replaced by meaningful learning,  which helps foster a deeper understanding of concepts. The need for meaningful learning serves as the basis for this study which may be accomplished via the use of concept mapping strategy in English grammar classes.

A  concept  map  is  a  graphic  organizer,   which  uses  schematic   representation, hierarchically to organize a set of concepts, connected by means of words in order to build meaningful statements. It shows meaningful relationship  between concepts in the shape of propositions,  and it reveals each student’s  comprehension  and knowledge  structure (Jena,

2012). It is a schematic representation of ideas or concepts, showing their relationship in the form of flow chart.  It is a diagram  with  hierarchical  nodes,  labeled  with  concepts.  It is divided into two: a. nodes (circle) and b. links (lines) (Mba, 2013).  Nodes often represent various  concepts  while  links  represent  the  relationship  (propositions)  between  concepts (Walker, 2002). The nodes are linked together with directional lines and are arranged from general  to  specific;  with  words  used  to  label  the  links  in  order  to  depict  relationship explicitly.  Concept mapping is a visual  organizer that helps students represents a topic or concept by showing its relationships (Novak, 2008) (See appendix D, pg 92).

The mode of construction of concept map could be collaborative or  individualistic. Collaborative Concept Mapping constructive mode is a mode of constructing concept map which  involves  group  of students working together  to solve  a particular  task in a small heterogeneous ability groups (Gerlach, 2012).  Collaborative  concept mapping therefore, is mode of constructing concept maps where the learners are grouped and guided to construct

their learnt task together. On the other hand, individualistic  approach to learning  involves assigning students to learning task separately. This approach to learning assists the learners to organize their cognitive frame works into more powerful integrated patterns. By so doing, the learner becomes aware of and takes control of his own learning (Kinchin, 2005). Therefore, individualistic mode of constructing concept involves a process where each learner is guided as an independent learner to construct what he learnt from a concept without another learner’s help.  Hence,  while the  collaborative  mode of construction  learning  involves  the students working in small  heterogeneous  ability groups, the individualistic  mode involves students working separately on an assigned task (Okebukola & Ogunniyi, 1994). Comparative study therefore, is a study that intends to compare the two modes in question and determine  the better mode to be adopted in teaching and learning process especially in English grammar classes.

The use of concept mapping in learning has made it apparent to many educational researchers that representing knowledge in a visual format allows one to better recognize and understand incoming information. Since the investigations on use of concept mapping, many researchers  have  employed  its  use  on  either  collaborative  mode  of  construction  or  on individualistic  mode. For instance, Okebukola  &  Ogunniyi  (1994)  adopted  individualistic mode of construction in learning physics. Nekang (2004) used collaborative construction of concept map in learning probability; Imoko (2005) used collaborative construction of concept map in learning trigonometry;  Eneasato  (2010) used collaborative  construction of concept map in learning geography. Shaul (2011) used individualistic construction of concept map in learning reading comprehension. Mba (2012) used collaborative construction of concept map in learning English grammar. However, Though, each of the modes proved that concept map is an effective strategy in teaching and learning process, there is need to ascertain a better

mode  to  be  employed  for  teaching  grammar  in  English  language  based  on  students’

achievement, hence the essence of the present study.

Academic  achievement  refers  to  the  degree  of  success  reached  in  a  general  or specified career (Enyi, 2004). Therefore, it is the extent of success attained by the learners on a task he/she has earlier been exposed to. The attainment might be high or low depending on the effort put and the outcome realized. This goes a long way to realizing the learner’s ability on the learnt task. Academic achievement is dependent on several factors including teaching methods and strategies, intelligence, background, gender, motivation and other environmental factors  (Antherson,  2003).  Therefore,  academic  achievement  may be enhanced  using the modes of concept mapping if properly utilized.

Retention is very important to students’ achievement in the pedagical process, for if nothing is retained from previous learning nothing could be learnt. Chauhan (1998) states that retention is direct correlate of positive transfer of learning. This positive  transfer helps the students to achieve better. Onyeneto (2000) states that learning can be effective if one can employ  all  the  techniques  that  facilitate  acquisition,  retention  and  recall  of  knowledge retention, therefore, is the ability to keep or retain the knowledge of what was learnt and be able  to  recall  it  when  required.  Achievement  cannot  be  effectively  addressed  without retention. Iji (2003) noted that poor  achievement and low retention are as a result of non- utilization of appropriate teaching approach in the subject. Thus, there is need to investigate how to improve students’ retention. Collaborative and individualistic concept mapping might increase retention and achievement.

Gender is very important in the study because there is an educational controversial issue which varies from one research to another. When it comes to  language use, some researchers  believe  with  reason  that  the  female  students  do  perform  better  than  male students, while some are on the contrary. Gender is a parallel and socially unequal division

into masculinity and feminity (Enyi, 2004). It is the different socially constructed roles and responsibilities expected of women or men in a society. Gender is a factor that dominated many educational research efforts in these later years. For instance, Azikiwe (1994) posits that  females  are  superior  to  males  in  language  use.  According  to  the  researcher,  the superiority of females over males in language could be because of their closeness to their mothers  who  is always  around  them.  On the  contrary  Otagburuagu,  Obah,  Onuigbo  & Okorji  (2007)  stated  that  gender  influence  on  language  study is in favour  of the male students,  hence the male students  do better  in language  study and use than the  female students  in language  study.  Some  researchers  like Oluikpe  (2004),  and Offorma  (2002) found no gender difference in their studies on the Effect of English for academic purpose (EAP)  methods  on  students’  performance  in expository  writing  and  factors  influencing language  learning  respectively.  As well, Uzoegwu (2004) and Umo (2001) found gender difference in their studies. Gender is an important factor in educational setting and could be a militating factor to high achievement of learners in English grammar. There is therefore the need to ascertain if it could have any effect in English grammar learning process via concept mapping strategy through both modes.

It is against these backgrounds that the researcher decides to carry out a study on the effect  of two  modes  of concept  mapping  on secondary  school students’  achievement  in English grammar.

Statement of the Problem

Identification of adjectives and adverbs is a prerequisite knowledge for teaching and learning of order of adjectives and adverbs, comparism of adjectives and adverbs and their grammatical  functions.  These aspects are usually tested at the Senior  School Certificate Examinations (SSCE). It therefore implies that students who can not identify adjective and adverbs may not perform well in the application of adjectives and adverbs in their senior

secondary school examination. In as much as good knowledge of adjective and adverb is of great benefit to the learner, evidence abound of the poor performance of students in English grammar. Research findings have proved that students find the identification of adverbs and adjectives  challenging  as seen in WAEC results of chief external  examiner’s  comments over  the  years.  This  has  led  to  their  poor  achievement  in the  senior  secondary  school certificate  examination  (SSCE)  because  it  is this  aspect  that  is tested  most.  The  most important factor that has been found to account for  this state of grammar learning is the method which the teachers employ in teaching grammar in class. Thus, the problem of the study  is  to  determine  the  effect  of  the  two  modes  of  concept  mapping  on  students’ achievement and retention in English grammar and also to determine whether gender would have any influence on the two modes. Hence, the need for the study.

Purpose of the Study

The main  purpose  of this  study was to  investigate  the  effects  of two  modes  of concept mapping on students’ achievement in English grammar The study intend to:

1.  determine the effects of two modes of concept mapping on students’ achievement in

English grammar.

2.  determine the effects of two modes concepts of mapping on students’ retention  in

English grammar.

3.  determine the influence of gender on students’ achievement in English grammar.

4.  determine the influence of gender on students’ retention in English language.

5.  determine  the  interaction  effect  of  two  modes  of  concept  mapping  on  students achievement in English grammar.

6.  determine  the interaction effect of two modes of concept mapping and gender  on students’ retention in English grammar.

Significance of the Study

The findings  of the study would have both theoretical  and practical  significance. The study was theoretically justified based on the fact that meaningful learning will result from active participation  of   learners in classroom activities  which  led to integration of what is learnt with previous  knowledge.  Thus, the result  of the study might expand  the constructivists’  belief which is a situation wherein students are taught to use background knowledge   and   concepts   to   assist   them   in   their   acquisition   of   new   information. Constructivism transform the students from a passive recipient of information to an active participant in a learning process. By so  doing, it would encourage meaningful learning in classes  and  integration  of  learnt   knowledge  with  concept  mapping  as  proposed  by constructivists.  It  would  also  help  the  students  to  retain  the  concepts  to  be  used  in application of concepts in situations that need problem solving

Practically, the effect of two modes of concept mapping on students’  achievement on English grammar was ascertained through this study. The findings could be of benefit to the learners, teachers of the English language, students’ instructional designers, curriculum planners and stake holders. Specifically,  the findings could  show a better mode of using concept  mapping  strategy  in  the  teaching  and  learning  process  which  would  enhance secondary school students’  achievement  in English  grammar  whether  in collaborative  or individualistic form. It could therefore, assist  students’ instructional designers to develop packages to help students in learning the grammar of the English language. It might assist the  learners  to  construct  their  knowledge  and  understanding  on a particular  concept  in grammar both as group and  individual.  It could also assist the students to accommodate individual differences in a group or help them to develop independent learning mind-set.

Moreover,  the findings  could also assist English language teachers  organize  effective teaching-learning process and environment in the light of implementing concept mapping. This could be done by initiating and creating avenue for students to  map the knowledge gained either individually or in group while teaching. This  may assist in minimizing rote learning  among  students  in  English  grammar  classes.  The  findings  could  also  be  of immense benefits to the curriculum planners as it helps them to integrate concept mapping in English grammar  in the curriculum  when  are they are reviewing the curriculum.  The students may be formerly disposed to the different modes and this helps the teacher to know the category of learners to use each time depending on the content.

Finally,  it  could  as  well  stimulate  specialists,  supervisors,  Ministry  of  Education (Officials) and other stake-holders’ interest in organising workshops, seminars, conferences and conducting training courses for teachers on how to use  concept mapping strategy in teaching English grammar, thereby, adding valuable literature to the area of new methods of teaching grammar, a useful information and  immense benefit to future researchers and research centres in Nigeria.

Scope of the Study

The study focused on determining the effect of collaborative and individualistic concept mapping on secondary school students’ achievement, gender and retention in grammar. The study is delimited to only JSSII students in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. These categories  of  students   have  attained   individual  mastery  of   some  concepts  that  aid integration which is the basis of Novak’s concept mapping  strategy. The investigation is restricted to two content areas: Adjective and Adverbs.  This is because these areas have been identified to be posing difficulties to the  students in JSSCE as reported by WAEC Chief Examiner in 2014.

Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study.

1.  What  are  the  effects  of  two  modes  of  concept  mapping  on  students’   mean achievement scores in English grammar?

2.  What are the effects of two modes of concept mapping on students’ retention mean scores in English grammar?

3.  What is the influence of gender on students mean achievement  scores in  English grammar?

4.  What  is  the  influence  of  gender  on  students’  mean  retention  scores  in  English grammar?

5.  What are the interaction effects of two modes of concept mapping and gender  on students’ mean achievement scores in English grammar?

6.  What are the interaction effects of two modes of concept mapping and gender  on students’ retention mean scores in English grammar?

Hypotheses

The following formulated hypotheses guided the study at 0.05 level of significant.

1.  There is no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of students in English grammar exposed to two mode of concept mapping.

2.  There is no significant difference between the mean retention scores of students in

English grammar exposed to two modes concept mapping.

3.  There is no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of male and female students in English grammar.

4.  There is no significant difference between the mean retention scores of male  and female students in English grammar.

5.  There  is no significant  interaction  effect  of two modes and gender on the  mean achievement scores of students in English grammar.

6.  There  is no significant  interaction  effect  of two modes and gender on the  mean retention scores of students in English grammar.

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