AN EXAMINATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF BUSINESS STUDIES IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The project discusses how secondary school teachers can enhance their classroom performance through the identification and effective utilization of appropriate instructional materials. The ability of the teacher to educate does not depend only on the possession of the relevant knowledge at a given time but the use of good instructional materials appropriate to the needs of t he students. The idea of using instructional materials to enhance teaching and learning is not new, as Greek geometers draw diagrams on sand, Jesus Christ used parable which were story illustration that helped his listeners to understand his message (Obujes Obudu Journal of Education Studies Vol. No 1 July 1992).
Instructional materials can be seen as those materials, which aids the teacher in teaching his/her lesson in the class. Instructional materials of curriculum materials were succinctly defined by Oyejemezi (1981) as all the available materials, which appeal to all the sense and feeling and aid learning. Instructional materials are tools ranging from most elementary and home made device to highly complex machines designed to help teachers cope with specific teaching needs and proffer solutions to them for a teacher to administer instructional materials in teaching, there must be the presence of students who are ready to learn.
The use of instructional materials is very essential and school lacking the necessary materials, for teaching, do not reasonably achieve its objective. What the effectiveness of teaching possible is not only the quality of teacher but also equipment and materials that will aid the teacher and students performance. Some instructional materials can be drawn and module by the students, hence it promotes fast learning. Studies on teacher education and use of instructional materials have been out and reported by several investigators including those of Lynne (1982) Agun and Okunrotifa (1977), Agun (1999) and Agun (1986) pointed out the need for development of skills by teachers undergoing their training so that they could be able to use a wide variety of instructional materials sufficiently well.
Learning aids are instructional materials and devices through which teaching and learning are done in school examples of learning aids include visual aids, audio-visual aids, real objects and many others. The visual aids are designed materials that may be locally made or commercially produced. They come in form of wall chart, illustrated pictures, pictorial materials and other two dimensional objects. It is interesting to note that a large percentage of trained teachers and those undergoing professional training course can teach with some of the learning aids they do so consciously because they known that the use have positive effect on learning out comes as their cognate experience during teaching practice supervision reveals.
Some investigators claim that whenever they taught with some of the learning aids their students gets more stimulated because the learning aids help them (students) to become more attentive. In addition, students positive attitude generate more interest for the lesson they teach as a result students participate better in class activity.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF EGOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Egor Local Government was formerly a part of Oredo Local Government until 1996 when it was carried out by the Sanni Abacha Administration. It has its head quarters at Uselu. The communities in Egor include Uselu, Egor, Uwelu, Ugbowo, Iguosa, Osakwe, Egor and Ogunwenyi.
Tourism attractions include the university of Benin and its Teaching Hospitals, Grown Status, Bronze, Brass work and Terro Coffees.
Natural resources/Industrial Raw Materials include Cassava, Yam, Pepper, Tomatoes, Vegetables, Pineapple, rubber, Clary, Kaolin and Timber.
The infrastructure in the local government include electricity good network of roads, potable water, telephone and other tele communications facilities.
Health services are provided by public and primary health centres public and private hospital clinics and maternity homes. The university of Benin Teaching Hospital, the best. In the state is located in the local government.
The local government has one of the highest concentrations of educational institution in Edo State. Public and private institutions of learning abound in the local government. The university of Benin, a federal university, the first in Nigeria is located in the Local Government Area.
1.2 HISTORY OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
Much of the foundation of the field of instructional design was laid in World War II, when the US military faced the need to rapidly train large number of people to perform complex technical task, from fieldstripping a carbine to navigating across the ocean to building a bomber. After the (World War II) the success of the wartime training model was replicated in business and industrial training and to a lesson extent in the secondary classroom. Benjamin Bloom (1955) published an influential taxonomy of what he termed the three domains of learning. Cognitive (what we know or think), Psychomotor (what we do, physically) and Affective (What we feel, or what attitude we have). This taxonomy still influences the design of instructional materials.
Instructional materials as defined in education code section 60010(L) provide instruction designed to ensure that students master all the business studies contents standards for the installed grade level.
1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The researcher intends to examine the following areas:
1. Importance of instructional materials to the academic.
2. Performance of secondary school students
3. Identification and selection of appropriate instructional materials.
4. Guidelines for effective use of instructional materials.
1.4 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
For the purpose of this study, the researcher will
1. Analyze the needs or importance of teaching aids/instructional materials in the teaching learning process.
2. Find out if the schools are properly equipped with various instructional materials.
3. Find out if the teacher uses available teaching aids/instructional materials when teaching their subjects.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is significant because it will enable teachers to realize and appreciate the importance of instructional materials and guide them in the selection of appropriate and suitable materials for effective teaching/learning process.
It is also aimed at helping the teachers to know that instructional materials stimulates children’s interest in learning and helps them to recollect what they have been taught.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study will be carried out in six secondary schools in Egor Local Government area of Edo State which have been selected randomly those are:
1. Uselu Secondary School
2. Use Secondary School
3. Egor Secondary School
4. Uwelu Secondary School
5. Evbareke Secondary School
6. Federal Grils College
7. Adolor Secondary Schools.
8. Iyoba Girls College.