EFFECTS OF COLLABORATIVE AND COMPETITIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES ON UPPER BASIC II STUDENTS? INTEREST AND ACHIEVEMENT IN BASIC SCIENCE
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EFFECTS OF
COLLABORATIVE AND COMPETITIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES ON UPPER BASIC II STUDENTS?
INTEREST AND ACHIEVEMENT IN BASIC SCIENCE
ABSTRACT
The various
ways of approaching learning are generally termed learning strategies. Students
adopt different types of learning strategies during the process of learning in
other to attain the objectives of learning. Learning strategy has a
considerable effect when explaining science achievement; this study
investigated the effects of collaborative and competitive learning strategies
on students? interest and achievement in Basic Science. It was guided by six
research questions and six hypotheses. The study adopted quasi-experimental
design; it was specifically a non-equivalent control group design. The
population of the study comprised all upper basic II students in all the
government junior secondary schools in Takum and Wukari Local Government Areas
of Taraba state. The sample comprised of students from eight intact classes
from four schools in the study area. Out of these schools, two schools were
exposed to collaborative learning strategy while the remaining two were exposed
to competitive learning strategy. Two instruments were used for data collection
namely Students? Interest in Basic Science (SIIBS) and Basic Science
Achievement Test (BSAT) which were developed by the researcher. The validity
and reliability of these instruments were established. For the validity of
SIIBS, construct validity was established using factor analysis while the
validity of BSAT was established using face and content validity. The
reliability of the instruments was established using Cronbach Alpha for SIIBS
and Kudder Richardson formula 20(K-R20) for BSAT. Mean and standard deviation
were used to provide answers for the research questions while analysis of
covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of
significance. The result of the study among others revealed that collaborative
learning strategy enhanced students? interest and achievement in Basic Science
as well as reduced the gender gap that existed between male and female students
in Basic Science interest and achievement. Finally, the result of the study
also showed that the interaction effect of learning strategy and gender was
statistically insignificant for students? interest and achievement in Basic
Science. Based on these findings, the researcher among others recommended that
Basic Science students should be encouraged to develop and adopt the use of
collaborative learning strategy in learning basic science. Also government
should endeavor to organize regular workshops to train Basic Science teachers
on the development and use of collaborative learning strategy. This research
will enable teachers to acquire innovative pedagogical capability with respect
to handling issues concerning students? interest and achievement in Basic
Science.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Science
Education in Nigeria dates back to the pre-independent days. It is the training
given to individuals in order to enable them appreciates their environment and
how to become useful to themselves and the society at large. According to
Anegbe and Adeoye (2006) the Nigerian child is introduced to science right from
the primary school. The essence is to enable the learner to develop interest in
science, learn science, ?do? science and contribute effectively to the
scientific and technological development of the nation. The foundation of
science is presented to the learner at the basic level of education.
The name
Basic level of education was introduced into the Nigerian educational system
under the Universal Basic Education (UBE) program. UBE is a reformed program in
Nigeria?s basic education delivery system, (from primary one to junior
secondary 3) designed to reinforce the implementation of the National Policy on
Education (NPE) in order to provide greater access and ensure quality learning
throughout the federation as it is free and compulsory (Adomeh, Arhedo &
Omoike, 2007). The structure of the UBE program is made up of three levels in
the following sequence; lower basic education (primary 1-3), middle basic
education (primary 4-6) and upper basic education (junior secondary school
(JSS) 1-3).
Following
the declaration by the Federal Government of Nigeria for the introduction of
9-year free and compulsory basic education structure which cover the primary
and junior secondary school, strategies have been put in place by the Nigerian
Education Research and Development Council (NERDC) to re-structure and re-align
the school curricula for the 9-year basic education
1
(Obioma,
2006). A total of 19 curricula have been produced to cover the Lower basic
(years 1-3)middle basic (years 4-6) and upper basic or Junior Secondary School
(JSS) (years 7-9).One of the core and compulsory subjects in the new curriculum
is Basic Science and Technology.The subject is presented to the learner at the
lower basic level as Basic Science and Technologywhile it is taught at the
middle basic level as Basic Science. However, at the upper basic level,
thesubject is presented to learners as separate entities in the form of Basic
Science, and BasicTechnology. The aim of separating the two concepts, according
to Obioma, Adeniyi, Lawal,Odumuh, Ikegulu, Nwabueze, and Chijioke (2008) is to
specially emphasize and strengthentechnology and entrepreneurship. However,
these science concepts cannot be fully achieved withoutlearners having adequate
knowledge of Basic Science.
According to
NERDC (2007), the overall objectives of the Basic Science and Technology
curriculum are to enable learners to:
-Develop
interest in science;
-Acquire
basic knowledge and skills in science;
-Apply
scientific knowledge and skills to meet societal needs;
-Take
advantage of the numerous career opportunities offered by science;
-Become
prepared for further studies;
The
enumerated objectives, among other reasons, are supposed to prepare upper basic
students for
the study of science at the senior secondary school level. This could be one of
the
reasons why
the contents of the Basic Science and Technology curriculum are sequenced in
spiral
form
beginning with the simplest to the most complex. According to Hamza &
Mohammed
(2011), it
was aimed at sustaining the interest of the learner. This assertion is however
yet to be realized considering the fact that research reports revealed
students? achievement in secondary school science to be low.
Science
educators have identified some of the factors responsible for students? low
achievement and lack of interest in science. According to Dajal & Rinmark
(2002) and Danjuma (2009), solutions have been proffered but the problem is yet
to be solved. The issue could probably be related to the inability of the
students to develop interest in the learning of basic science which is the
foundation of science in Nigeria. This is because it is likely that without
developing and sustaining the learners? interest, the objectives of Basic
Science might not be achieved. If that is the case, then it may be difficult to
achieve the objectives of senior secondary school science whose pre-requisite
is Basic Science. Developing and sustaining students? interest in science is
necessary for meaningful achievement to occur.
Interest, as
defined by Obodo (2002), is the attraction which forces or compels a child to
respond to a particular stimulus. It could also be considered as the feeling of
an individual towards a particular object or an activity. It means that a child
will develop interest in any object or activity that is found to be attractive
or stimulating to him. Therefore, in a classroom situation, the learner will be
attentive during a lesson only if the instruction is of interest to the
learner. According to Trumper (2006), interest is a term that refers to
preference to engage in some types of activities rather than others. It is a
fact that a child usually performs classroom activities in order of preference.
The child takes pleasure in doing what he/she is interested in. The learning
that occurs after indulging in such activities is, in most cases, permanent.
Interest is an important aspect in the learning process because the learners?
interest is a fundamental factor in inculcating the right knowledge, skills, values
and attitudes that the curriculum seeks to attain. It helps in sustaining
concentration, purpose and commitment to learn and co-operation with the
teacher in the learning process. It is therefore the duty of the teacher to
identify and use the appropriate learning strategies
that will
make students develop interest in learning. In the opinion of Alao &
Adeniyi (2009), the
teacher can
motivate children to develop interest to learn in the following ways:–By
identifying and catering for the needs of the students.
-acknowledging
their success no matter how little. -Making the classroom student-friendly, the
students will always be eager to participate in classroom activities thereby
finding learning interesting and fun. -recognizing and respecting students?
views thereby boosting and developing confidence.
When
students are motivated, they participate actively in the learning process. The
curiosity and interest of the students, according to Aydin & Coskun (2011)
manifest itself in the performance of the students. The authors reiterated that
students whose interests have not been developed, do not attend class
regularly. Such students do not listen to the lesson carefully neither do they
do their homework. For the learner to be interested in class activities,
appropriate learning strategies should be in place because such type of
learning strategies have the tendency of developing students? interest to learn
thereby enhancing achievement.
Achievement
has been defined by different authors in different ways. To Usman (2000), it is
the measure of students? acquisition of certain skills at the end of teaching
and learning activities. In this instance, achievement is the result of an
examination written by students which is often a reflection of learning. The
concept could also be regarded as the ability to perform a given role
effectively. It is regarded as something very good and difficult which was
carried out successfully (Eze, 2009). According to Anekwe (2006), achievement
is something which has been accomplished successfully, especially by means of
exertion, skill, practice or perseverance. Anekwe views achievement as a test
for the measurement and comparison of skills in various fields of academic
studies. It involves the determination of the degree of attainment on individual
tasks, courses or programs to which the individuals were sufficiently exposed.
Students? interest and cognitive achievement in science may be influenced by
gender.
Gender is a
socio-cultural construct that assigns roles, attitudes and values considered
appropriate for each sex (Ekeh, 2000). Ekeh maintains further that gender
implies the character of being male or female, man or woman, boy or girl. From
another point of view, the role an individual plays in the society determines
his or her gender. Some of the roles played by individuals in the society are
imposed on them by the society. This being the case, members of the society,
children inclusive believe that there are certain roles that are not for them
to play. One of such roles is active participation in some of the affairs of
the society, for example school activities. These activities include the
performance of males and females in science subjects.
The
disparity in the performance of males and females in the sciences has been
studied over the years. Some of the studies show that girls perform poorly when
compared to boys at all levels of science education in Nigeria. In a study by
Nwagbo & Obiekwe (2010) observed that the achievement and the result of
learning efficiency of male and female students may be different. However, the
writers submitted that this is because some schools, out of omission or
commission, provide a platform for channeling children into prescribed gender
activities. Such activities, according to Nwagbo & Obiekwe include the
grouping of subjects in schools, in such away as to encourage stereotypical
choice of subjects. For instance, the grouping of subjects in schools
encourages stereotypical choice of subjects, like Food and Nutrition grouped
with Technical Drawing, Physics grouped with Home Management, among others.
Such grouping of subjects will encourage the females to choose Food and
Nutrition whereas their male counterparts are more likely to choose Physics and
Technical Drawing. This action is viewed by the authors as an action that
encourages stereotypical choice of subjects.
In a study
carried out by Busola (2011), boys were found to perform better than girls in
science. This finding enables the researcher to conclude that boys have higher
affinity and interest in Chemistry than the girls. The key recommendation put
forth by the researcher was that measures are needed to be taken as early as
possible in Primary education aimed at suppressing socialization factors known
to lead to the establishment of gender difference in science. Trumper (2006)
identifies gender as one of the factors affecting students? interest towards
science. The author states that females lose interest in science even when they
perform well or even when they are better in science than their male counterparts.
This issue has become a thing of concern, because if gender affects interest in
science, it is likely to affect achievement in science because the two concepts
complement each other (interest leads to achievement and achievement can also
lead to interest).
Although
gender has been identified as one of the issues influencing interest and
achievement in science education, the problem might be linked to the type of
learning strategy learners are exposed to during Basic Science lessons. As
earlier stated, Basic Science is considered the foundation of science;
therefore the learning strategy students adopt in learning the subject may
determine their rate of achievement in the subject and subsequently, their
achievement in senior secondary school science. If learners are well grounded
in basic science at the upper basic level of education, their performance in
Biology, Chemistry and Physics could be high at the senior secondary school
level. To achieve the objectives of Basic Science learning, good pedagogy of
science teaching must be adhered to. The pedagogy of science teaching demands
that learners be made to view science as an activity which exists in the
immediate environment as well as an articulated structure of knowledge not only
to be acquired but to be subjected to transfer and constant exploration,
application and critique. Learning or instructional strategies determine the
approach for achieving the learning objectives and are included in the
pre-instructional activities, information presentation, learner activities,
testing and follow through. The strategies are usually tied to the needs and
interests of students to enhance learning and are based on many types of
learning styles (Ekwensi, Moranski, &Townsend-Sweet, 2006).
Thus, the
learning objectives point towards the instructional strategies while the
instructional strategies will points to the medium that will actually deliver
the instruction.
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