Effect of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) on Students’ Performance in Economics in Senior Secondary Schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria
CHAPTER ONE
Objectives of the Study
This study was set out to achieve the following objectives:
- to determine the effects of CAI on students‘ performance in Economics as compared to the traditional method of instruction in senior secondary schools in Ekiti
- to determine the performance of male and female Economics students when exposed to computer assisted instruction in senior secondary schools in Ekiti State.
- to determine the effects of computer aided instruction (CAI) on the pre-test and post-test mean performance scores of the experimental group of students in senior secondary schools in Ekiti State.
- to determine the relationship between students‘ performance in Economics and CAI drill and practice in senior secondary schools in Ekiti.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
Computer-assisted instruction can be a great asset to the classroom and curriculum as long as they are not overused. Too much of any mode of teaching can lead to boredom and frustration in the students (Kim, and Axelrod, 2005). An attempt will be made in this chapter to review related literature on aspects of Computer application in education. Thus, the review was presented under the following sub headings: Theoretical Framework, Conceptual framework: Nature of Computer Assisted Instruction, Mechanism of CAI Drill and Practice, Characteristics of Computer-Assisted Instruction, Economics as a Subject, Computer Assisted Instruction and Senior Secondary School Male and Female, Students‘ Performance in Economics, Rationale for CAI in Teacher Education, Classroom Trainer Resistance to CAI (E-Learning), Work roles, Practice and Beliefs about Teaching, Beliefs about Quality of E- learning, Personality Factors, Visions into the future by Teachers, Types of Technology and their Educational Applications, Obstacles to the use of CAI in Nigerian School, Cost of computer hardware and software, Weak Infrastructure, Lack of skills, Lack of relevant Software, Limited access to the internet, Empirical Studies, and Summary.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework that informs this study is the Engagement theory, this is because it is a theory which has relevance with application of technology and development of skills and knowledge of learners. This was first propounded by Kearsley, and Shneiderman, (1999) stating that:
Engagement theory is a schema for building learning activities that evoke engaged learning. Engaged learning occurs when active cognitive processes, such as problem-solving, decision- making and evaluating, are involved. Engagement theory’s focus on the learner as constructor allies with those in the
Constructivist domain; and by championing experiential learning and self-direction (pg5).
The fundamental idea underlying engagement theory is that students must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks. While in principle, such engagement could occur without the use of technology, we believe that technology can facilitate engagement in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise. So engagement theory is intended to be a framework for technology-based learning and teaching. Shneiderman, (1994) asserted that:
Although not directly derived from other theoretical frameworks for learning, it has much in common with many such frameworks. For example, with its emphasis on meaningful learning, it is very consistent with constructivist approaches. Because it emphasizes collaboration among peers and a community of learners, it can be aligned with situated learning theories. Because its focuses on experiential and self- directed learning, it is similar in nature to theories of adult learning (pg8).
By engaged learning, we mean that all students activities involve active cognitive processes such as creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation. In addition, students are intrinsically motivated to learn due to the meaningful nature of the learning environment and activities. Engagement theory is based upon the idea of creating successful collaborative teams that work on ambitious projects that are meaningful to someone outside the classroom.
The three components, of the engagement theory according to Shneiderman, (1994) as summarized by Relate-Create-Donate, imply that learning activities: occur in a group context (that is, collaborative teams); are project-based; have an outside (authentic) focus.
The first principle (the “Relate” component) emphasizes team efforts that involve communication, planning, management and social skills. The modern workplace demands proficiency in these skills, yet historically students has been taught to work and learn on their own. Research on collaborative learning suggests that in the process of collaboration, students are forced to clarify and verbalize their problems, thereby facilitating solutions. Collaboration also increases the motivation of students to learn, a significant consideration in settings with high drop-out rates (for example, teen-agers, distance learners). Furthermore, when students work in teams, they often have the opportunity to work with others from quite different backgrounds and this facilitates an understanding of diversity and multiple perspectives (Shneiderman, 1994).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter explains the research design and methodology used for the study under the following sub-headings: Research Design, Population of the study, Sample and sampling techniques, Research Instrument, Validity of the Instrument, Pilot Study, Reliability of the Instrument, Procedure for data collection, and Procedure for data analysis.
Research Design
This study employed the use of quasi-experimental design. Quasi-experimental design according to Dinardo (2008) is a research design used to estimate the causal impact of an intervention on its target population. It allows the researcher to control the assignment to the treatment condition, but using some criterion other than random assignment (e.g., an eligibility cutoff mark). Quasi-experimental design does not use random assignment of subjects, rather, intact class are usually used. For instance, a researcher may which to conduct experiments involving secondary school students. Under normal circumstances, he would randomly select the subjects and also randomly assign them to experimental or control conditions. However, a practical difficulty often experienced by researchers in this respect is the reluctance of the school authorities to permit the researcher to disorganize their classes as would be required by randomization. Faced with this situation, the researcher may not have any option but to use the classes as they are (intact or non-randomized classes); thereby settling for a quasi-experiment.
This design is a 2×2 paradigm. This paradigm represents two groups: the Computer Assisted Instruction (experimental group), and Conventional Instruction (Control group); and two levels of gender (Male and female). The methodology involved using one or more elements of different teaching, learning, and assessment tools (both Computer Assisted Instruction and Conventional Instruction) and in-class activities to engage the students in active learning.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
Introduction
The main purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) on students‘ performance in economics in senior secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. To achieve this, 195 participants participated in the study. 100 students formed the treatment group while 95 students formed the control group. Pretest and posttest was administered to each group and the test were subjected to statistical analysis using the appropriate tools and procedure in SPSS ver. 22 and result presented in tabular form in the following paragraph.
Demographic Characteristics of Respondents
A total of 195 SS II students of Economics from the four (4) selected senior secondary schools from both urban and rural area in the three (3) senatorial district of Ekiti State were involved in the study. The demographic variables used for the study were: group, and gender.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
This study was carried out in order to determine the effect of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) on students‘ performance in Economics in Ekiti State senior secondary schools, Nigeria. To attain the objectives of this study, four objectives, four research questions and four null hypotheses were postulated to guide the conduct of the study. The quasi-experimental design was used for the study. The population of the study was made up of all the Senior Secondary School (SSSII) Economics students in public Senior Secondary Schools in Ekiti state. Out of the entire ten thousand five hundred and eighty-four (10584) students, the total of one hundred and ninety-five (195) SSII students was sampled for the study. The experimental group was made up of 100 students and 95 students constituted the students in the control group.
After the development of the instrument titled: Economics Performance Test (ECOPET) to be used for the study. This instrument was given to two experts for the purpose of content/face validity, while to establish the reliability of the instrument, pilot study was carried out with the use of ECOPET which is a 20 items of short answer and multiple-choice objective test with five options each which were drawn from the past Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Economics questions covering Economics units on (1) Measures of Central Tendency (2) Theory of Cost (3) Demand and demand schedule, and (4) Theory of Supply. The test content is based on a table of specification covering the six levels of cognitive domain of learning.
Related literature was reviewed as well as theoretical framework that supports the use of CAI in teaching of Economics in secondary schools was discussed; the impact of CAI on students‘ performances in Economics was inclusive. Also, the importance of CAI to teacher training, types of technology and their Educational applications and the problems which are hindering the proper use of CAI in Nigerian schools have been highlighted. The need for effective use of CAI in teaching of Economics was reviewed, as well as empirical studies which are relevant to the present study were reviewed and the major gap which was realized in the review of related literatures was that, few of the authors carried out experiments to examine the effects of CAI on students‘ performances in Economics and some other courses of study of which this present study applied in order to bridge the existing gap.
The data collected for the study was presented in tables and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (t-test was applied). Also frequencies and percentages were used. The four null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.005 percent level of significance. The statistical techniques used for analysis was independent sample, paired sample and one sample t-test.
Conclusions
Findings from the research provided the bases for the researcher to draw the conclusion that the use of CAI in teaching of Economics in senior secondary schools enhances students‘ performances and they tend to score higher in test administered to them using CAI teaching method than those students taught using traditional method of teaching Economics. With this improved performances in Economics by students using the CAI method of instructions, adequate provision of good CAI programme like Test maker, Lecture maker, Excel, power point, efficient and competent human resource and adequate provision of material resources, like finance, infrastructure, and power supply will further catapult an effective implementation of ICT for enhanced teaching of Economics in the senior secondary schools in Ekiti State and in Nigeria as a whole.
Since the use of computer packages is clearly a strategy that reflects modern business and industry practices and provides students with a learnable tool for creative thinking and problem solving abilities, it is hoped that if Computer Assisted Instruction is employed as one of the methods for teaching Economics to students in the secondary schools in Ekiti State; the students will improve on their learning and passing the senior secondary school certificate (SSC) Examinations with better grade. They will also be able to contribute their quota to maintain peace and order in the nation as a result of CAI collaborative learning.
Recommendations
Based on the major findings of this study, the following measures were recommended
- Since students taught with Computer Assisted Instruction method perform better than those taught using traditional method of teaching, the use of CAI method in teaching of Economics should be encouraged and imbibed by teachers of Economics in secondary schools in Ekiti State. Emphasis should be placed on the pedagogy behind the use of CAI by teachers of Economics for teaching of Economics and other subjects in the educational system.
- Material resources are very crucial for an effective implementation of CAI in teaching of Economics in secondary schools. The Federal, State and Local governments and private organizations and other stakeholders in education should provide computers, and other CAI infrastructures in all the secondary schools in Ekiti State so as to encourage teachers and students to apply them in their teaching. Adequate fund should be provided by government both at the Federal and State levels for secondary schools for proper management of available CAI accessories. There should also be alternative power supply like solar power and stand-by generators provided by the school authorities through purchases of power plant to supplement electricity source from the Power Holding Company, since electricity is a very crucial factor for the proper execution of teaching of Economics using CAI enhanced method.
- Thirdly, Curriculum planners such as Nigerian Education Research and Development Council (NERDC) should consider review of curriculum for Economics in the senior secondary schools with a view to incorporating the Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) techniques as against the current practice of out-lining the components of information technology in teaching the subject for more
- CAI drill and practice is appropriate software to use in teaching of Economics. Hence, more of the software should be made available and handy to students and teachers of Economics by the school authority, respective Ministries of Education, Parent Teachers Association, Petroleum Trust Fund as well as the Alumni of the schools, so that they can be conversant with its application in teaching of
Implications of the Findings
The findings of the study have implication for Economics teachers, government and administrators of secondary schools and the curriculum planners.
The findings of this study revealed that Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) improved students‘ academic performance in Economics than the use of conventional teaching methods only. The implication of these findings is that students studying Economics will learn better, develop more interest and retain their learning better when Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) is used as one of the teaching methods for teaching Economics. Also, teaching and learning of Economics is simplified and made interesting, to the extent that students are always keen and willing to attend Economics classes to improve their academic performance.
Also Economics teachers have to adopt the use of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) to encourage student-centred learning in Economics classrooms in senior secondary schools in Ekiti State. The teachers should be encouraged to be computer literate and have computers for themselves.
The adoption of the Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) in teaching Economics requires the development of software and well-equipped computer laboratory for its effective implementation. This implies that school administrators and the government need to constantly make provision for employment of computer programmers who will be working with the teachers who teach Economics in secondary schools in Ekiti State.
The findings of the study will also help the planners of secondary school curriculum by giving them information relating to the teaching and learning of Economics, such as indicating appropriate strategies in modification and revision in Economics curriculum. The study will help curriculum planners to have knowledge of interaction between gender and instructional approach in Economics.
Limitations of the Study
One major limitation faced by the study was constant power outages which delayed the experiment and completion of the results for the experimental group and this prolonged the period of data collection.
Another limitation is distance, the researcher had to travel from one geo-political zone to another to access the respondents, and this meant that a lot of money was involved. There was also the risk of travelling from one extreme end of the country to the other.
Suggestions for Further Studies
Future research should continue to investigate:
- The impact of blending CAI and co-operative learning approaches in specific content areas, with students of different ages and social groups. It is crucial to identify the factors that encourage or discourage co-operation in a CAI
- There is need to also compare the utilization and impact of CAI and conventional approach in Government and Private own schools.
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