CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

When instructional material is use properly, it influences student’s performance positively and when it is not used or poorly used it influence student’s performance negatively. The researcher in this chapter will treat background of the study, statement to the problem, research objectives, research questions, and research hypotheses, significant of the study, justification of the study, the scope of the study and definition of terms.

Background of the study.

Instructional materials are used to describe the resources teachers use to deliver lesson in teaching and learning process in order to improve student’s performance, the importance of quality and adequate instructional materials in teaching and learning can occur through their effective utilization during classroom teaching .Instructional materials here includes all the tools that the teachers can use to make the learning more interesting and memorable like; textbooks, power point,

kits, pictures, real objects, videos and many more. For retentive learning to take place, the teacher has to make use of instructional materials that would enable him to teach effectively. Schools combine classroom science teaching with laboratory experiments to ensure that their students grasp each and every concept well. It is also believed that laboratory teaching and experiments are conducted to encourage deep understanding in students. Students are able to retain the knowledge for longer period when experiments are performed in their presence (Bajaj, 2017). Other instructional materials and equipment determine the method a teacher uses in teaching. The method adopted could be, demonstration, experimental, discussion and many more (Effiong, Ekpo, & Igiri, 2015).

The background of the study will include: historical background, theoretical background, conceptual and Contextual background.

Contextual background.

In some schools in Cameroon, some teachers do not use instructional materials in most of their teaching topics; while they try to do all they could during their practical teaching in their course of study; even though some of these materials are not usually available in the schools for teachers us. The effectiveness of utilizing appropriate instructional materials in teaching and learning of science is not void of quality instructor. In order to give quality education to the younger generation, there is need for employment of more competent, experienced. The teaching of Geology in Cameroon schools needs to be properly handled. Geology contributes to the Nation’s economic development, hence, the need to be taught thoroughly if it is to meet the educational and economic development.

The frequent use of instructional materials in teaching and learning process especially offers students and teachers exciting and motivating means for involvement, active participationandeventimelyfeedback.Duringtheperiodofteachingpractice, Inoticedthatthere was inadequate useofinstructionalmaterialinthe teaching ofgeography. It is common forteachers in theclassroomrushing throughexplanationofcomplicated conceptsexpecting studentsto grasp theconcept withinafewminutesofthelessontime.

Historical background of the study.

Here, I shall look at the historical background of my independent variable that is historical background of Instructional materials. The teaching /learning process needs different type of instructional materials such as: Print, Audio, Visual, Audiovisual etc. According to Oni (1992), Instructional resources are teachers’ strategic factor in organizing and providing education. This is so because they help to elaborate a concept that the teacher could not without an instructional material. This allows students to learn more comfortably therefore influencing positively their academic performance. Writing on the role of instructional material in teaching and learning. Balogun (1982) commented that science education programs cannot be taught effectively without the existence of equipment for teaching. This is because instructional materials help those who learn to develop solving skills and scientific attitudes. Elaborating further on the same point, Ajayi and Ogunyemi (1990) emphasize that when instructional materials are provided to meet relative needs of teaching process, students will have access to the reference materials mentioned by the teacher, and also each student will be able to learn at his or her own space. The overall result is that students will perform much better. According to Adeogun (2016), schools, whose teachers use more instructional resources perform better than those that do not use instructional materials.

Theoretical background of the study.

According to Kerlinger (1973) a theory is a set of interrelated construct, definition and preposition that present a systematic view of phenomena, by specifying relationship between variables. The various theories i will use in my work will be; Cognitive Theory of Multimedia learning (1947), Jerome Bruner Theory of Cognitive development (1915-2016), Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (1952)

Richard Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia learning (CTML) is centers on the idea that people learn more deeply from words and pictures than words alone (Mayer, 2009). For example, using multimedia tools for learning makes learning more meaningful. One of the principles aims of Multimedia instruction is to enable the learner to build a coherent mental representation from the presented material. The relevant of this theory in this study is because students learn better when visual instructional materials are combined in the teaching and learning process.

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (1952)

According to Piaget theory of development (1952), an organism tries to establish an equilibrium or balance between itself and the entire environment in which it operates. In his opinion, for an individual to associate and accommodate any learning, he must have developed physiologically into certain stages or levels such as; the sensory motor stage (0-2), the operational stage (2-7), concrete operational stage (7-11) and formal (11 years and above).

Skinner’s theory (march 20,1904-august 18, 1990)

Skinner was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. Considered the father of behaviorism, he was the Edgar pierce professor of psychology at Harvard university from 1958 until his retirement in 1974.Considering free will to be an illusion, Skinner saw human actions, a theory he would articulate as the principle of reinforcement; if the consequences to an action are bad, there is a high chance the action will not be repeated becomes stronger. Skinner developed behavior analysis, especially the philosophy of radical behaviorism, and founded the experimental analysis of behavior. He also used operant conditioning to strengthen behavior, considering the rate of response to be the most effective measure of response strength

Jerome Bruner Theory of Cognitive development (19915_2016).

According to Jerome Bruner the most effective way to develop a coding system is to discover it rather than being told by the teacher which implies that students construct their own knowledge for themselves. Teachers should encourage students to discover principles by themselves with the help of instructional materials. This theory is important in this study because teachers can use instructional materials to help students to be active and discover their own learning.

Conceptual background of the study

The conceptual framework shows that the independent variables are teachers’ use of different types of instructional materials and the dependent variable is students’ performance. The independent variables are visual, print, audio and audio visuals materials which teachers use in the classroom during the teaching and learning process. The dependent variables include meeting the needs of student, improved students’ understanding, prompt reasoning, make students to participate well and improved performance.

The concepts that will be use in this study are:

• geography Instructional material
• Academic

 Students’ Performance

This is achievement or attainment of high or low academic score and standard.

Narad and Abdullah (2016) opined that the performance of students determines the success or failure of any academic institution. According to Narad and Abdullah (2016) student performance is the knowledge gained which is assessed by marks by a teacher and or educational goals set by students and teachers to be achieved over a specific period of time; measured through examinations or continuous assessments but there is no general agreement on how it is best evaluated.

Student’s performance refers to how well a student is accomplishing his/her tasks and studies. In educational institutions, success is measured by academic performance or how well a student meets standards set out by curriculum planners or policy makers and the institution itself.

Statement of the problem.

There is need to introduce and use teaching or instructional materials that can help students to enhance their understanding of what they are been taught in the classrooms.There are a lot of instructional materials that are available for secondary school learners. Despite the availability of these materials, both teachers and learners make little or no use of it as far as learning is concerned. They are either ignorant of their usage or inexperienced. So therefore,this research work is geared at bring to a limelight the appropriate utilization of these instructional materials as far as teachers and learners are concerned in other to influence student’s academic performance positively. Instructional materials provide opportunities for students to broaden and deepen their knowledge by providing a variety of first hand appropriate experiences and by helping students acquire symbolic knowledge through their experiences (Gustiani, Widodo, & Suwarma, 2017). Instructional materials are important in teaching and learning and inadequate in many schools (Kerr,2003). Instructional materials are tools used by teachers to facilitate curriculum implementation. To respond to the above problem, this research will be guided by the following.The following research objectives guided the study.

General objectives

• To find out the influence of the use of instructional materials on the teaching and learning of geography student’s academic performance

Specific objectives.

• To find out the use of print instructional material on student’s academic performance
• To find out the use of audio material on student’s academic performance
• To find out the use of visual material on student’s academic performance
• To find out the use of audio-visual material students’ academic performance

Research questions. General research question.

• What is the use of instructional materials on student’s academic performance?

Specific research questions.

• What is the influence of print instructional materials on student’s academic performance?
• What is the influence of audio instructional materials on student’s academic performance?
• What is the influence of visual instructional materials on student’s academic performance?
• What is the influence of audio-visual instructional materials on student’s academic performance?

Research hypotheses.

The following research hypothesis guided the study.

General hypothesis

HO: Instructional materials do not influence student’s academic performance in the secondary schools.

Specific hypothesis.

H0: Print instructional materials do not influence student’s academic performance in the secondary schools.

H0: Audio instructional materials do not influence student’s academic performance in the secondary schools.

H0: Visual instructional materials do not influence student’s academic performance in the secondary schools.

H0: Audiovisual instructional materials do not influence student’s academic performance in the secondary schools.

Scope of the study

Nwanna (2014) defined scope as “range of things that an activity deal with”. The scope of this research will be limited to thematic scope and geographical scope.