EFFECTS OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT) ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND INTEREST IN BASIC ELECTRICITY

The study investigated the effect of information and communications technology (ICT) on students’ achievement and interest on basic electricity in technical colleges in Rivers State. The achievement of students’ taught with ICT was compared with that of those taught with the conventional teaching method (CTM). Six research questions guided the study while six hypotheses were tested for the study. A quasi-experimental design, specifically, the non- randomized control group design involving four intact classes were used. The population was 212 National Technical Certificate (NTC) II electrical trades students of two technical colleges in  Rivers State.  These students in their  intact  classes were assigned either to experimental group  (ICT)  or  control group  (CTM).  Basic  electricity  achievement  test (BEAT) and basic electricity interest inventory (BEll) instruments were developed, validated and used for data collection. Reliability of the BEAT was 0.77 while that of BEll was 0.94. Means and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while ANCOVA was used to test the hypotheses. Findings of the study revealed that ICT has significant effect on students’ achievement and interest in basic electricity. Gender is a significant factor in students’ achievement and interest towards basic electricity. The effect of ICT and gender combined in students’ achievement and interest in basic electricity was significant. It implied from the findings that there is need for basic electricity teachers to employ the use of ICT in teaching as it proved more effective in improving students’ achievement and interest in basic electricity.  It  is  recommended that  states and  federal ministries of education including professional bodies like NATT and examination bodies like NABTEB should organize workshops, seminars and conferences to train and encourage teachers on the use of this innovative technique.

x

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Today,  new  theories  and  approaches  (e.g.  constructivism,  multiple  intelligence, active learning, and inquiry-based learning) are put forward to eliminate the limitation of the traditional way of teaching and to improve the quality of instruction. Various theoretical and practical studies are carried out to come up with different and efficient ways of teaching. One  of  the  ways  is  the  use  of  information and  communications technology (ICT)  in education.

Information and communications technology, according to Tinio (2002), is a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store and manage information. These technologies include radio and television (broadcasting technologies), computer and the internet (digital technologies) and telephony. These arrays of technologies have been touted as potentially powerful enabling tools for educational changes and reform. Different ICTs when appropriately used help to expand access to education, strengthen the relevance of education to the increasingly digital workplace, and raise educational quality by, among others, helping to make teaching and learning into an engaging active process connected to real life (Hernes, 2002).

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching apparently facilitates both the effort of the teacher as well as that of the learner, as the entire world is said to have been globally connected, it then follows that connectivity has no exception. The information and  communications technology tools  required  in  education  among  others include computers and the internet. Computers are used to present instruction by the means of a modern teaching method known as computer assisted instruction (CAI).

Computer assisted instruction (CAI) is an automated instructional technique in which a  computer (electronic  machine)  is  used to  present  an  instructional programme to  the learners through an interactive process on the computer (Ajelabi, 2000). Computer assisted instruction moves at the students’ pace and usually does not move ahead until they have mastered the skill. It is learner centered and activity oriented. According to Rasmussen and Davidson ailed in Bontempi and Hazelwood (2003), one of the most powerful features of

1

CAI is its capacity to individualize instruction to meet the specific needs of the learner. Self paced instruction the ability to, present content in a variety of ways (i.e. text, audio, video, and graphics) and features such as hypertext, make CAI an effective learning medium.

Computer assisted instruction according to Cotton (2001) could be of great help because of the drill-and-practice- tutorial or simulation activities they offer. Cotton found in her study that computer software provides many instructional benefits and CAI can have a much greater impact on student learning. Williams and Brown (1990) stated that effectiveness of CAI has been demonstrated through improved test scores, reduced learning time, higher course completion rate, and increased retention duration.

Computer  assisted  instruction  consists  of  the  five  modes  of  course  which  are: tutorial, drill, problem solving, game and simulation (Sims 1988).Tutorial mode of computer assisted instruction is the noise of any computer-application to present material to a student working alone or in a small group independent of time and space constraints (Hardback, Schweitzer & Pienkopwski, 2007). There are two type of CAI tutorial. One is the ready made, off the shelf package and the other is the customized, self developed application. The former means commercially produced educational packaged which has been prepared with all the possible user queries in mind. These are stored in compact disc read-only-memory (CD ROM).  The  other one  is  to  develop the  package in  line  with the  prevailing and immediate environment that  makes possible students queries as obtained in  day-to-day classroom interaction. The package is also stored in a compact disc read-only memory (CD-

ROM)

Compact disc read-only-memory or compact disc read-only-media is a computer storage medium similar to the audio CD which stores more than 600 megabyte of read-only digital information (Kaplan-Leiserson, 2006). The CD-ROM is based on the same technologies as the  compact  disc  used  for  storing and  replaying  music.  The  use  of a computer assisted instruction tutorial in a CD-ROM is ideal to improve the conventional teaching methods.

Conventional teaching methods are instructional strategies which make the teacher more active and the learner passive participants in the teaching learning environment (Awotua-Efebo,  1999).  Teaching  methods  like  lecture,  discussion,  role-playing  among others are classified as conventional or traditional teaching  methods (Brown & Atkins,

1998). Nwizu and Nwobi (2006)  maintained that  lecture method makes the  instruction boring and the facilitator cannot guarantee carrying the audience along. The discussion method  is  time  consuming and  is  characterized with the  problem of how  to  start  the discussion. In role-playing more often the learners are more interested in the entrainment aspect than the education aspect of it. The field trip method of teaching requires follow up with a discussion group to ensure that the aim of trip is achieved. This consumes more time and makes the entire exercise boring.

Conventional teaching methods have made teachers lack the required modern skills to impart knowledge to their students mainly in electrical trades. Students in this regard, lack the employable skills required of them which according to Ogwo and Oranu (2006) is the ultimate candour in using any method/teaching of instruction for technical vocational education. Conventional teaching method is employed in technical college to deliver instruction.

Aina (2000) posited that high failure rates in main trade subjects in technical college have  been associated with two  factors: quality and quantity of teachers and quality of teaching facilities and methods. Aina asserted that over the years, records have shown that there is a sharp decline in the level of students’ academic performances in the National Technical Certificate (NTC) examination. Aina further stressed that a close examination of the factors responsible for this poor performance indicates that technical education is no longer attractive to  youths because of poor teaching, poor instructional techniques and scanty infrastructural facilities.

Technical education refers to those aspects of educational process involving,  in addition to general education, the study of technologies and related sciences and acquisition of practical skills, attitudes, understanding and knowledge relating to occupations in various sectors of economic and social life (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004).   The goal of technical education is to give training and impart necessary skills leading to the production of craftsmen, technicians, and other skilled personnel who will be enterprising and self- reliant. Technical education is one such educational programmes that provides the youth opportunity to acquire skills and knowledge for effective nation building, it is acquired in technical colleges.

The range of courses in technical colleges includes mechanical trades, wood trades, building  trades  and  electrical  installation  and  maintenance  work,  radio,  television and electronic work and appliances repair (FRN, 2004). According to the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE, 2003), electrical installation and maintenance work consists of electrical installation, industrial installation, cable-jointing and battery charging and repairs, winding of electrical motors and basic electricity. The components of radio, television and electronic work are electronic devices and circuits, radios and audio frequency amplifiers, radio system, television I and television II.

These courses are designed to produce a knowledge based and practically skilled individuals who will be self reliant. Students of electrical trades are to learn basic electrical circuit maintenance and repair skills and demonstrate the ability to use electrical meters to check circuit values and to make basic electrical installations. Electrical trades’ students in technical colleges on graduation provide middle-level manpower in the society in areas of radio mechanics and domestic and industrial electricians. They carryout the maintenance and repairs of electronic gadgets like radio and television sets, and embark on the wiring and maintenance of domestic installations of building. They also effect minor electrical repairs when such needs arises.

Basic electricity as contained in the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) syllabus is a compulsory core subject. Contents of basic electricity dwell on a principle of electricity which involves calculations mainly. Students of electrical trades performed  poorly  in  basic  electricity  in  the   National  Technical  Certificate  (NTC) examination mainly on questions that  need calculations.  According to  NABTEB Chief Examiner’s reports (2006, 2005, 2004) credit pass of students in basic electricity was very low and quite unimpressive.

In the same vein, according to Asim, Bassey and Essien (2005) the West African Examinations Council report on students’ academic achievement in basic electricity at credit level showed 27.46% in 1999, 56.45%in 2000, 7.97% in 2001, and 25.14% in 2002 and

38.54% in 2003. This implies that there is poor academic achievement in the total credit passes of students in basic electricity.

Achievement is measure of what a person has learned within or up to a given time. It is a measure of the accomplished skills and indicates what a person can do at the present

(Atkinson, 1995).  Academic achievement is all about what students can actually do when they have finished a course of study. Wikipedia (2010) stated that academic achievement is something an individual does or achieves at school, college or university-in class, in a laboratory, library or field work. The problem of poor academic achievement in science and technical subjects like basic electricity in technical colleges has been a recurring event. This according to Njoku (2003) has been major sources of anxiety for the student. Experience has shown that sciences are often referred to as subject that are so difficult that only the very brilliant ones can study and do well.      Some factors have been identified to account for students’ low academic achievement in basic electricity as gender and interest.

Gender is an ascribed attribute that differentiates feminine from masculine socially (Lee, 2001). The difference in academic achievement due to gender difference is a crucial matter to the educationist. There is a general belief that boys are superior to girls in terms of cognition and logical reasoning and even superior in academic reasoning (Anigbogu, 2002). On the differences in  male and  female academic achievement  in mainly technical and science subjects some factors have been identified. Prominent among them as identified by Okeke (1990) are sex role stereo-type, masculine image of science, inability to withstand stress, and female socialization process. Sex-role stereo-typing seems to be the origin of the difference between males and females in technical and science education (Njoku, 1997). These stereotypes tend to place female students at a disadvantage relative to male students in technical and  science  activities.  Consequently,  the  findings of Nworgu (1986); Okeke, (1990); Ugwu (1993) show that males tend to perform better than females in science and technical activities.

Some research works had shown contradictory evidences in students academic achievement in science and technical subjects due to gender. Anakwe (1997) and Olikeze (1999) for instance, found out that there was no statistical difference in the achievement of males  and  females  in chemistry and  biology respectively. This trend  of differences  in academic achievement of males and females in these subjects has shown that teaching methods  and  other  factors  apart  from  sex  role  stereo-typing  can  influence  students’ academic achievement by gender (Ifeakor, 2005).

Okpara (1995) posited that although students’ poor performance in some subjects may be related to lack of interest and commitment to their studies and inadequate support

from parents and even the government, all that teachers are used to is the conventional talk or lecture method rather than strategies that involve students’ participation. Consequently, students loose interest in learning and hence low academic achievement.

Interest is believed to be an important variable in learning because when one is interested in an activity, the individual is likely to achieve highly in that activity. Interest has been an important determinant of success, second to intelligence (Super cited in Chukwu,

2001). Interest can be defined as a more or less permanently enduring state of readiness of mental organization which predisposes an individual to react in a characteristic manner to any situation with which it is related (Robert, 1981). Njoku (1997) contended that interest in any activity or object can be sustained depending on what the individual whose interest is engaged stands to gain or lose by so doing. According to Hilary, Atkinson and Atkinson cited in Olikeze (1999), interest is referred to as persisting tendency to pay attention and enjoy some activities or content of interest if  it is pleasing and engaging ones attention.

Interest can be expressed through simple statement made by individuals of their likes and dislikes. It can be observed through overt actions or activities being performed by the subjects. Chauchan (1983) described interest as an activity that drives or motivates the individual for action. It then implies that interest in a particular subject can enhance achievement of the subject matter.

There  is  need  to  investigate  the  effects  of  information  and  communication technology in students achievement and  interest in basic electricity.  Hence, a study of academic achievement and interest of students in this area appears desirable.

Statement of the Problem

Students’ learning is the primary purpose of teaching. It is expected that students have  been taught  when they go  in for public  examination like the  National Technical Certificate and West African Senior School Certificate Examinations will perform creditably well.   Unfortunately the reverse is the case. According to NABTEB (2006) summarized NTC May /June results for the past five years, in 2001 out of the 346 students that sat for basic electricity in Rivers State only 25 students made a good pass of A3 grade while 196 students representing 56 percent had F9 grade. In the year 2002 over 50 percent of the candidates had F9. In the year 2002 over 50 percent of the candidates had F9. In the year

2003 the failure rate was 54.24 percent. The trend remained the same in 2004 and 2005

which rerecorded 42.72 percent and 47.25 percent failures and 3.5 percent and 4.1 percent good grade passes respectively.

It is expected that with the effort of the Federal Ministry of Education in the training and re-training of technical teachers in the country, the level of instruction would improve which invariably would enhance better academic performance of the students. Besides, governments at federal and some state levels have established vocational/technical education boards to enhance teaching and learning in technical collages. It is sad to note that despite these efforts, the result from the students does not give the impression that all is well with respect to the teaching methods employed by their teachers. Okebukola (1987) posited that poor teaching  methods  like  those  of traditional or  conventional methods are  the  most contributing factors to students’ academic under-achievement.

It  becomes apparent that there is an astronomical decline in students’ academic achievement in basic electricity in technical colleges in Rivers State. Lack of success can lead to in appropriate behavior and frustration on the part of students (Igbo in Umunadi,

2009). Dararmola and Emmanuel (2000) pointed out that this unsatisfactory situation could lead to breakdown in the economic, industrial, technological and educational growth of a nation since the  main goal of technical education is to achieve self-reliance.   Besides, technical education is also geared towards skill acquisition. It is sad to note that technical education graduates no longer possess the needed employable skills expected of them. This makes it difficult for the graduates to secure jobs in companies and industries, on completion of their courses of study thereby contributing to an increase in the unemployment rate of the society.

In order to improve the academic achievement of students there is the need to turn from the conventional teaching methods to the modern teaching method like the information and communications technology (ICT) computer assisted instruction. The ICT computer assisted instruction is space and time independent making it convenient for students to go through the program either at home or on a school computer. The information and communication technology-computer assisted instruction encourages, interactivity which would individualize content for each learner need. Besides, it  would provide formative feedback to multiple choice questions. CAI enhances learning rate, that is, students learn the same amount of material in less time than the traditionally instructed students or learn more

materials given the same amount of time. Moreover, students receiving information and communication technology computer assisted instruction also retain learning, better (Cotton,

2001).  Many  educators  and  non  education  believe  that  the  use  of  computer  assisted instruction as part of the curriculum is superior to other pedagogies (Kulik, 1994).

Therefore, the problem of this study, posed as a question is how does information and communication technology affect the academic achievement and interest of electrical trades’ students in basic electricity as compared to classes using only conventional teaching method?

Purpose of the Study

The major purpose of the study was to determine the effect of information and communications technology on students’ achievement and interest in basic electricity. Specifically, the study sets out to:

i)      compare the mean achievement score of students exposed to information and communications technology (ICT) and conventional teaching method (CTM) as measured by Basic Electricity Achievement Test (BEAT).

ii)     ascertain whether differences exist in the overall mean scores of female and male students exposed to ICT.

iii)   determine the extent to which treatment gender interaction would affect students’

academic achievement in basic electricity.

iv)     compare the mean interest scores of students exposed to ICT and the CTM.

v)     ascertain whether there are differences in the overall interest scores of female and male students exposed to ICT.

vi)    determine the extent to which treatment gender interaction would affect students’

interest in basic electricity.

Significance of the Study

The  classroom  or  laboratory  is  the  centre-stage  of  every  formal  education programme. The instructional activities that take place in the classroom or laboratory under the teacher’s leadership have the greatest power to make or mar the best built or equipped school programme. Therefore as the problem of effective study of basic electricity subject in

technical colleges increase, teacher inefficiency and ineffectiveness in the classroom became the main suspected factor in view of the government efforts in controlling all other factors such as funding, provision of instructional materials and infrastructural facilities.     As a result in search for the solution to the instructional problems, this study seeks to find out the effects of information and communications technology on students’ academic achievement and interest in basic electricity.

Findings of this study when published would provide empirical evidence to policy makers  like  those  of the  Federal Ministry of  Education (FME),  educators, curriculum planners,  educators  and  researchers  on  students’  academic  achievement,  interest  and retention in  basic electricity.  If the  findings confirm that  computer assisted instruction boosted  students  interest  and  retention,  it  will  then  connote  that  computer  assisted instruction is a better instructional method than the conventional teaching methods that are prevalent in the basic electricity classes. Then, the electricity/electronic educators and policy makers may wish to adopt computer assisted instruction strategy as policy initiative in Nigeria as it is done in most developed nations of the world.

The study will reveal the effects of information and communications technology ICT on  students’  interest  in  electrical  trades.  The  study  will  reveal  if  computer  assisted instruction enhances or inhibits students’ interest in electrical trades. Based on that, the study would  be  significant  in  deciding  whether  to  adopt  or  abandon  ICT  as  a  model  of instructional method for electrical trades in technical colleges.

When the recommendations of this study based on its findings are accepted and approved for implementation by the appropriate authorities, its full benefits will be realized because teachers at the technical colleges will be mandatorily trained in the theory and practical applications of computer in the classroom for dynamic, efficient and effective teaching of electrical trade subjects, particularly basic electricity. The teachers will then boost the interest of their students and motivate them to achieve maximally and retain concepts learnt. Also the professionally efficient performing technical teachers will love and embrace their job and will no longer be exiting at random so that scarcity of teachers will be a thing of the past.

As information and communications technology computer assisted instruction emphasizes the effective use of the computer in every lesson, the teacher will strive to obtain

instructional materials from the appropriate authority and where need be improvise. This will demystify electricity/electronics lesson, remove all abstract and vague notions about electricity and electronics leading to real-life learning experiences to the students. This will arouse students’ interest  and  retention  maximally and  also  ensure  maximum academic achievement and acquisition of practical technical skills; and eventually bring a break- through in the fields of electricity and electronics technology.

The result of this study will be of use to government at different levels for it will enable them recommend the use of   ICT computer assisted instruction for teaching and learning in their various schools to enhance students achievement. Besides, the National Business and Technical Examination Board will from the result of the study recommend the use of computer assisted instruction for the teaching of technical trades in all technical colleges. This will motivate teachers who are not computer literate to strive and equip themselves with the knowledge of computer usage in education.

The findings of this study will make the curriculum planners and developers to appreciate the usefulness of ICT computer assisted instruction thereby incorporating it in the curriculum as a teaching strategy. This will go a long way to encourage the government to purchase and supply computers and their accessories for technical colleges. The inclusion of this instructional approach in the curriculum will further, stimulate basic electricity text book authors to revise their textbooks to incorporate the use of computers in their textbooks.

Furthermore, it is hoped that the findings of this study will be beneficial to technical colleges and administrators and policy makers. The school administrators and policy makers can articulate programmes specifically suited for basic electricity teachers to equip them with strategies for improving achievement of male and female students in the subject. This package can be in the form of seminars, workshops and or conferences for the training and retraining to enhance the professional competence of the basic electricity teachers.

The findings of this study, it  is  hoped will stimulate the government and other stakeholders like the Parent Teachers Association (PTA), Nigerian Association of Teachers of Technology (NATT) to do more in equipping technical colleges with competent teachers, facilities and instructional materials for effective teaching and learning with an aim to improving academic achievement in basic electricity and other technical subjects.

Finally, there will be no more problems of low enrolment, drop-out from schools and programmes, general apathy, closure of some technical colleges or departments when the programme objectives are generally achieved. With all these electrical trade students will then graduate with the expected knowledge, technical skills and appropriate work habit necessary for success in the world of work so that Nigeria can join the rest of the world in technological development in the electronic age.   This is because they will become self reliant, enterprising and possess salable skills that will contribute to the technological and economic growth of the nation.

Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study.

i.      What difference exists in the mean achievement scores of students taught with ICT and

CTM in basic electricity achievement test (BEAT)?

ii.    What difference exists in the mean achievement scores of female and male students taught with ICT?

iii.   To  what  extent  would  treatment  gender  interaction  affect  students’  academic achievement in basic electricity?

iv.    What difference exists in the mean interest scores of students taught with ICT and

CTM in Basic Electricity Interest Inventory (BEII)?

v.     To what extent will the interest mean scores of male and female students taught with

ICT differ?

vi.    To what extent would treatment – gender interaction affect the interest of students in basic electricity?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were tested in the study at .05 level of significance.

i.      There is no significant difference in the mean BEAT scores of students taught with information and communications technology (ICT) and those taught using the Conventional Teaching Method (CTM).

ii.    There is  no  significant difference in the  mean BEAT scores of female  and  male students taught with ICT.

iii.  There is significant difference in the treatment – gender effect on the academic achievement of students in basic electricity as measured by their mean achievement scores in BEAT.

iv.    There is no significant difference in the mean interest scores of students taught with

ICT and CTM.

v.     There is no significant difference in the mean interest scores of female and male students taught using the ICT.

vi.    There is no significant difference in the treatment gender interaction effect on students’ interest in basic electricity as measured by BEII.

Scope of the Study

The study focused on investigating the effects of information and communications technology (ICT) on students’ academic achievement and interest in basic electricity. The study sought to ascertain the effects of ICT on students’ academic achievement and interest by gender in basic electricity. The contents for the study included electrical circuits: difference between series circuit and parallel circuit, total resistance in series d.c. circuit, voltage drop across series connected resistors, total resistance in parallel circuits, current in each arm of a parallel circuit and calculation of current and voltage in a series-parallel circuit. Others are current and  voltage relationship in an  inductive circuit, current and voltage  relationship  in  a  capacitive  circuit,  current  and  voltage  relationship  in  the combination of capacitor and inductor in series, impedance in an alternating current and circuit symbols used in schematic diagram, resonance in the RLC series circuit, resonance in the RLC parallel circuit, Q-factor and bandwidth. The choice of these topics is because they are aspects of the National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) basic electricity curriculum taught in National Technical College (NTC) II basic electricity in technical colleges during the period the experiment was carried out. The study was delimited to NTC II electrical trades students in technical colleges in Rivers State.

₦5,000.00 – DOWNLOAD FULL PROJECT DOWNLOAD FULL PROJECT Added to cart

---

---

---

---

---

Related Project Topics :