The Effects of Incorporating Hands-on Activities in Improving the Teaching of Soil Water Holding Capacity in Junior High School One: A Case Study of Kofiase Upper Basic School in the Ashanti Region of Ghana
Chapter One
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to enhance the performance of students in the teaching of soil water holding capacity in the Senior High School using the Activity-Based teaching method. Students would be engaged in activities particularly the soil science aspect both in the field and in the laboratory.
Objectives of the Study
The concern of the study is to improve the performance of agricultural science among senior high school students through an Activity-Based teaching approach. Specifically, the objectives of the study are to:
- Assess the effectiveness of the Activity-Based teaching approach on students‘ academic achievement in Agriculture
- Raise the level of students‘ performance in the teaching of soil water holding capacity.
- Examine the extent to which the Activity-Based teaching method would enhance students‘ retention of the teaching of soil water holding capacity
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Conceptual Analysis
The study adopts Mitzel‘s (1969) model concepts: Presage, context, process, and product variables. Presage variable relates teacher experiences and preparedness toward lesson delivery.
Context variables are independent variables that show learners’ attitudes and motivation as well as school and classroom environments.
Process variables are dependent variables teaching activities in the classroom, and interaction between the teachers and learners. Smith, Kistler, Williams & Baker (2004) reported that all activities within the classrooms are considered process variables.
Product variables are also dependent variables that involve students‘ knowledge and skills gained and attitudes modified. They are variables associated with the effect of instruction (Mitzel 1969). This study was intended to adopt Mitzel‘s model and used the process variables which are the activities done to enhance students‘ performance in the teaching of soil water holding capacity.
Theoretical Framework of the Study
This chapter makes use of the ideas from different sources to inform the decision regarding the area under investigation. With that, corrections between the study and the existing theories can be made which would enhance a better understanding of the issues surrounding the study, thus, making it necessary to work towards the improvement of the students‘ performance at the secondary school level. Theories that provide the framework of the write-up as understood and employed by various scholars as well as the concepts relevant to the subject matter were looked at.
Literature under the following sub-headings were therefore reviewed:
- Meaning and Scope of Agricultural Education
- The role of Agricultural Education
- Curriculum of Agricultural Education
- Instructional Strategies of Agricultural Education Teaching
- Agricultural Facilities and Equipment in the Classroom and Laboratories
- Techniques and Forms of Assessment Used in the teaching of soil water holding capacity Education
- Implications of the reviewed literature to the present study
Meaning and Scope of Agricultural Education
Agriculture education is instruction about crop production, livestock management, soil and water conservation, and various other aspects of agriculture (Schuttzz, Wiekert, Howard, and Dickson 2008). Agriculture education also includes instruction in food education, such as nutrition which improves the quality of life for all people by helping farmers increase production, conserve resources, and provide nutritious food. It is an aspect of general education that applies the principles and practices of agriculture to prepare the youth for farming and related occupations (Ministry of Education, 1993). Agricultural education is the teaching of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Land management through hands-on experience and guidance to prepare students for entry-level jobs or further education to prepare them for advanced agricultural jobs.
Agricultural education covers four main areas: General Agricultural Education, Vocational Agricultural Education, Certificate Agricultural Education, and Professional Agricultural Education.
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
Research Design
The research design that was adopted for the study was an action research. According to Cohen and Manion (2007), action research is a small- scale intervention in functioning of the real world and a close examination of the effects of such an intervention. Ortrun, (2009) also define Action Research as a critical collaborative enquiry by reflective practitioners, being accountable and making the results of their enquiry public, self-evaluating their practice through engagement in participative problem solving and continuing with professional development. This is a type of
research which focuses on a specific problem and resulting in an action plan to solve or address the problem. Action research was chosen because of its flexibility. The cyclical nature of Action Research makes it possible to introduce change, refine the next cycle of the research based on experience and reflection (Norton, 2009). The problem that was identified by the researcher was the poor performance of students in agricultural science particularly soil physical and chemical properties. The research was based on two main research questions which were about the effects of Activity- Based teaching approach on students‘ academic performance in Agriculture and students interest in agricultural science when they are taught with Activity-Based method in agricultural science.
In carrying out this procedure, letter was sent to the school selected for the study to ask for permission to carry out the research work. Lesson notes and activity procedures were developed for the students. The subjects of the study were assessed using pre-test and post-tests results after a number of lessons in the class, field and laboratory activities had been done. The pre-test administered by the researcher was used to measure the performance of the students with regards to their initial knowledge in soil physical and chemical properties. After the pre-test, the students were taught using activity-based method for six weeks. After the six weeks, Post-test 1 was conducted to ascertain their achievement levels based on the learning outcomes and one month later, Post-test 11 was administered to determine their retention level.
The topics that were taught under the study were: Determination of the soil texture by Mechanical Analysis Particle Size Distribution (Soil Sedimentation) and Field methods, Determining Soil pH using Colorimetric method, Determining Water pH., Chemical
movement in Soils, Experiment to determine that Soil has a Charge, Soil Permeability and Capillarity of different types of Soils and determining the Moisture content of soils. Questionnaire consisting of four items were developed for both teachers and students after the activities. After these, there was data collection, collation and analysis.
Population of the Study
The study targeted the the teaching of soil water holding capacity Students and teachers in the Kofiase Upper Basic School in the Ashanti Region in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. This school was selected because that is where the researcher teaches. The particular class that was used for the study was form two Agricultural class. The average age of the students was 17 years.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Introduction
This chapter presents the demographic characteristics of respondents, the pre- intervention, intervention and the post-intervention strategy and discussion of the results.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Introduction
This chapter presents the summary of the findings and conclusion of the study. Also the chapter looks at recommendations for stakeholders and suggestions for further research for agricultural science educators.
Summary of Findings
This section presents the summary of the findings of the study per the objectives and research questions of the study.
The effects of Activity-Based teaching on Students’ academic performance
The study revealed that using Activity-Based teaching strategy enhanced the academic performance of the students in the teaching of soil water holding capacity greatly. The major reason was that the students were involved in all the activities that were done and were able to put theory into practice. The results of the post-test showed this outstanding improvements in the student‘s performances in the subject. The improvement in the students‘ performances was also due to the fact that the activities done with the students introduced some elements of joy, team spirit, and reduced abstractness in concepts that were taught in Agricultural science. The Activity-Based teaching strategy was therefore effective in enhancing the academic performance of students in the teaching of soil water holding capacity.
Rate of Retention in Agricultural science when students are taught using Activity-Based teaching method.
The students were able to retain the learned concepts in the teaching of soil water holding capacity when they were engaged in Activity-Based teaching Strategy .The Post-test II organized after one month of the Post-test I also showed good performances in the test as all the ninety four
(94) students got the pass mark of fifteen (15) and above. The high retention rate was due to the fact that the students were able to relate and solve problems outside the reams of textbooks. The Activity-Based teaching strategy was therefore meaningful to the students.
Conclusion
Teaching method adopted by a teacher has a significant effect on students‘ achievement, retention and interest of a subject. The study revealed that the activity method of teaching enhanced the performance of students remarkably. Every member of the study population was able to improve his or her performance in Agricultural science subject. The improvement in their performances in the subject was not due to chance but is because of the effectiveness of the Activity-Based teaching strategy used. Activity-Based method facilitates effective learning of basic scientific concepts in Agricultural science particularly soil science aspect, raises students‘ interest and also enhanced their skill of holding field and laboratory equipment. Their ability to interact with learning materials was also enhanced as they actively got involved in all the activities during the teaching learning process.
Recommendations
On the basis of the findings and conclusions drawn in this study, the following recommendations are made:
- the teaching of soil water holding capacity teachers should use Activity-Based strategy of teaching tohelp enhance students‘ academic performance and raise their level of retention in the
- Agricultural learning activities should be introduced to the teaching of soil water holding capacitystudents early so that students‘ interest in the course would be aroused and sustained throughout their period of study in schools.
- Heads of schools and departments in agriculture should assist in acquiring materials that could help teachers to engage students in activities both in classrooms and on the
Suggestions for Further research
- The study should be conducted in all the schools in Ashanti Region and otherparts of the country to find out how Activity-Based method of teaching in Agriculture affects students‘ performance.
- Astudy should be conducted to investigate how Activity-Based method of teaching facilitates the development of students thinking.
- For any further research, it is suggested that other aspects of agriculture such asanimal science aspects that demands activities should also be done with students to know whether it would yield similar
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