Abstract: The research was carried out to investigate Availability and Utilization of Instructional Materials in Teaching and Learning Biology in Secondary Schools in Onitsha South Local Government Area of Anambra State. The population of the study comprises of all the government secondary school teachers in all the secondary schools who are currently teaching biology in Onitsha Local Government Area. Out of the total population of one hundred and twenty six (126) biology teachers in all the government secondary schools in study area, four biology teachers were randomly selected from each of the ten (10) selected secondary schools for the study, making the total sample size of forty (40) as respondents used for the study. Three objectives were stated from which three research questions were stated. A questionnaire titled, “Questionnaire on Availability and Utilization of Instructional Materials in Teaching and Learning of Biology (QAUIMTLB) was used as the instrument for data collection using a survey research design. Data collected were analyzed using simple percentage. The result showed that audio-visual, model instructional materials utilization influenced teaching and learning biology in secondary schools in the study area. It also revealed that the utilization of instructional materials influenced teaching and learning effectiveness in Biology in secondary school Biology. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that, Biology teachers at all levels of education should be aware that instructional materials are important in the effective and successful teaching and learning of all lesson of this Biology.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
There has been an increasing attempt by educationists and psychologists over the years to look for ways of enhancing teaching and learning in biology in secondary schools. Many studies have been carried out to show that among other things, the availability and utilization of instructional materials enhances teaching and learning effectiveness in biology.
Ekanem (2001) has shown that the use of instructional materials assists teachers to make their lesson explicit to learners. These instructional materials can be combined with any other teaching methods to ensure effective learning, students tend to remember more of what they see than listening without seeing, hence develop good attitude for the lesson, attitude according to Ojo (2007) is defined as a relatively long lasting organization of a person; belief and behaviours towards other people, situations or objects, or negatively; an attitude has led students to admire and study a subject as positive while those that lead students to dislike it portray negative attitude (Udom, 2001).
Eneh and Nkang (2001) in postulation theory of cognitive development have shown that students in secondary schools function of the concrete operational stag of mental development, one of the characteristics of students at this stage of development is that, they hardly remember except taught.
In concrete form, it is when learning experience are made in concrete form that students can remember what they learn, one way of making learning experience concrete is by using instructional materials.
Obot (2000) showed in a separate study that when instructional materials are used in teaching, motivation of students is enhanced by generating participation in the lesson, motivation therefore through the use of suitable instructional materials play an important role in teaching and learning effectively in biology in secondary schools, it increases the attention and interest as well as little or no learning takes place.
Miller (2003) similarly in teaching science to students things that are too far can be brought nearer to them in drawing or photographs, also events and processes which cannot be observed either because they are too fast or too slow can be made clearly observed through the use of instructional materials.
Generally, students are excited and eager to learn those concept that would have been difficult for them to understand if instructional materials were not used. Ekong (2003) considered instructional materials as indispensible instructional components that improve the productivity of teachers in their instructional role performance. The role of instructional materials in the teaching/learning process according to Ekong (2003) includes:
- Making learning experience integrative and interactive
- Making instructions easy to understand
- Stimulating students and sustaining interest
- Encouraging students’ active participation rather than being passive listeners etc.
The teachers must make proper use of relevant materials that are suitable for both the learners and the lesson objective, the situation calls for devotion and commitment in planning, selection and delivery of instructions. A well-prepared instructions could be destroyed by non-availability or improper utilization of learning materials by the teachers, according to Boniface (2002) utilization of instructional materials in teaching association with the function of the teachers as the manager of the instructional process is important for the teachers to arrange the mechanics of the presentation and also plan to make the materials meaningful to the students, they outlined the utilization
procedures that the teachers should follow and summarize them as previewing the materials, preparing the environment, preparing the audience and finally, presenting the materials, regrettably, instructional materials in teaching in most cases are limited or completely lacking, which lead to effective performance on the part of the teachers.
Again, the few available ones are sometimes not utilized in biology and learning process to become effectiveness. It is on the basic of these that it becomes necessary to investigate the extent to which instructional materials are utilized by teachers in teaching and learning of Biology in secondary schools in Onitsha South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The act of teaching is fundamentally concerned with passing ideas, skills and attitude from the teacher to the learners in Nigeria for example, experience has shown that spoken words done in the communication of ideas are grossly ineffectively and inefficient in producing desired learning outcomes. According to Effiong (2014), every year, when the results of public examination are released, there has been mass failure in Biology that pose serious problem of science cannot be taught effectively without the use of relevant instructional materials to make the learning practical.
On the foregoing scholars like Ekong (2014) have emphasized the effect of instructional materials on teaching and learning according to them, we learn and remember 10% of what we learn, 40% of what we discuss with others and as high as 80$ of what we experience directly or practice. However, the question here is does the availability and utilization of instructional materials influences teaching and learning biology in secondary schools, attempt to find answer to this question and more summarizes the entire problem of these study.
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