The Influence of Visual Materials Utilization on Teaching of Primary Science Primary Schools
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Education according to Archibong (216); cited from Combs (1970), consists of two components. These two components are classified into inputs and outputs. By his classification inputs consist of human and material resources while outputs are the achievement goals and outcomes of the educational process. Both the inputs and outputs form a dynamic organic whole and if one wants to investigate and assess the educational system in order to improve its performance, the use of one component or the other must be examined.
Visual materials which educational input are of vital importance to the teaching of any subject in the school curriculum, Wales (2016) was of the opinion that the use of instructional materials will make one discovered facts glades firmly to the memory of pupils. A well planned and imaginative use of visual materials in lessons should do much to banish apathy, supplement inadequate of books as well as arouse pupils’ interest by giving them something practically to see and do.
Selection of materials which are related to the basic concepts of a course or a lesson helps in-depth understanding of such a lesson by the pupils in that, they make the lesson attractive to them, thereby arresting their attention to them, motivating them to learn (Walter, 2014). He suggested a catalogue of aids which could be used to teach Primary Science. He advocated the use of realia which will help children grounding their thought and feelings. By so doing realia are use as alternative to real objects and materials where it is impossible to show pupils the real objects, they do serve effectively in teaching and learning. Therefore, teacher is seen as the implementing factor for the goal of education to be achieved.
In order to obtain a just and egalitarian society as clearly spell out in Nigerian National Policy on Education (2004), schools should be properly and uniformly equipped with visual materials to promote sound and effective teaching. Scarcity of suitable textbooks, teachers and libraries constraint educational system from responding to new demands, quoted from the educational researchers like; Oluyori (2012), Balogun (2013). Fayemi (2014) stated that Primary Science is a natural and pure science that deals with the study of life and the existence of nature and living things in it.
Primary Science is one of the subjects taught at Primary school level. It aims at introducing pupils to their environments, explaining natural phenomena and other things about the environment they are living in, for the purpose of creating awareness to the pupils as well as enhancing their creativity and understanding The need for visual materials is very indispensable for teaching pupils at the primary school level because pupils at this age (3-12) can hardly learn in abstraction in enumerating such factors.
Eshiet (2014) observed that the use of visual materials have become very popular in science teaching thereby creating impact on the academic performance of pupils. Based on the findings of the author mentioned above it becomes justifiable to examine the use of visual materials on the teaching of Primary Science in Primary Schools in Uyo Local Government Area.
The Influence of Visual Materials Utilization on Teaching of Primary Science Primary Schools
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The act of teaching is fundamentally concerned with passing ideas, skills, and attitudes from teachers to the learners. In Nigeria, spoken language in the communication of ideas are grossly ineffective in producing desired learning outcomes, this has been the major concern to parents especially in Uyo Local Government Area.
The failure in the sciences and in particular Primary Science examination has been of great concern to the parents, teachers, and even the pupils in general. This poor learning outcome of pupils is as a result of non-utilization of visual materials in teaching Primary Science , the use of non-realia visual materials and gender disparity on the use of visual materials ( Wales, 2016).
Therefore, this study is an attempt to determine the influence of visual materials utilization on teaching of Primary Science Primary schools in Uyo Local Government Area.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study was to determine the influence of visual materials utilization on teaching of Primary Science Primary schools in Uyo Local Government Area.
Specifically, the study sought to;
- Determine the influence of realia materials utilization on the teaching of primary Science in Primary schools in Uyo Local Government Area.
- Investigate the influence of Textbook materials utilization on the teaching of Primary Science in Primary schools in Uyo Local Government Area.
1.4 Significance of the Study
The study was designed to determine the use of visual materials on the teaching of Primary Science in Primary Schools in Uyo Local Government Area. . Consequently, knowledge passed onto the pupils at different levels of educational instructions should be well planned and properly allied with relevant visual materials for clarity and comprehensibility .
To the pupils, the effective use of visual material will enable them to effectively learn and retain what they learnt thereby advancing their performance in the subject in question.
To the teachers, it will help teachers to teach effectively in the class.
To the researchers, it will serve as resource materials for further studies on related field.
Finally, the use of visual materials in this study will enhance and have high values in importing information to the learners and the teachers at large.
1.5 Research Questions
For proper facilitation of this investigation, the following research questions were addressed to guide the study.
- To what extent does the utilization of realia materials influence the teaching of Primary Science in Primary Schools?
- To what extent does the utilization of textbook materials influence the teaching of Primary Science in Primary Schools?
1.6 Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance:
- There is no significant influence of realia materials utilization on the teaching of Primary Science in Primary Schools.
- There is no significant influence of textbook materials utilization on the teaching of Primary Science in Primary Schools.