ABSTRACT

Of the three secondary schools‟ science subjects taught in Kenya, physics has the lowest enrolment of about 30% compared to chemistry and biology which have an average of about 95% and 90% respectively. This has been caused by poor performance in the subject at the lower classes leading to few students opting for the subject in the upper classes. This study explored the use of physics video as an additional media resource in teaching and learning of the subject as a way of improving students‟ performance. It is a resource that has not been in use due to its unavailability but today quite elaborate physics video are available from the internet and the equipment required are now affordable to many schools. In an attempt to improve the performance in the subject, most researchers devoted their work on teaching modalities review of the syllabus, utilization of resources in the laboratory but no research so far has been carried out on use of video as they were not readily available. The study was quasi-experimental in design and carried out in two schools in Kiambu county, Githunguri district which had a sample size of

52 students in the control group and 61 students in the experimental group. Instruments used to collect data were achievement tests and an observation schedule. Results were analyzed by using both descriptive and inferential statistics which showed that there was a higher performance for the experimental class especially in process skills and concept development, being significant at 0.05 level. On motivational orientation, it was observed that the experimental class exhibited more frequent motivational behaviours than the control class. These results are an improvement and a demonstration that integrating video can bring about an improvement in the teaching and learning process of physics at secondary school level and therefore strongly recommended for schools that offer the subject. It is also an important resource that practicing teachers and learning institutions can use to document physics related information rather than mainly relying on textbooks.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.             Introduction

This study focused on the use of physics videos as an additional resource in classroom instruction of the subject at secondary school level. In this chapter the problem and its key components are explained; the background to the study, highlighting the rationale for the study, purpose, objectives of the study and specific research questions. It ends with significance, assumptions, limitations, scope of the study and definition of terms.

            Background to the study.

Over the years the physics curriculum in Kenya has undergone numerous reviews in an attempt to make it more stimulating, so that learners use their scientific knowledge rather than just memorize it to discover knowledge and learn from their own observations. The most recent was in 2000 and implemented in 2002 which gave an extremely high improvement in KCSE results in the year 2005 as indicated in table 1.1. However, the changes have been slow with a number of content areas in the syllabus being entirely eliminated. This has been characterized by poor performance at the end of the course as stated in the Kenya national examinations report, (KNEC report, 2007).

Table 1.1 shows that physics has extremely low enrolment which can be attributed to poor performance in schools mainly in the upcoming schools due to inadequate teaching resources. With the use of instructional videos, visualization can enhance

conceptualization which in effect would improve performance. As a result, the problem of low enrolment in physics would be minimized. Other measures aimed at improving the results were to specify the topics to be examined which is not the case in the other science subjects. From year 2005 when the new syllabus was first examined, the physics paper I examination consisted of 80 marks with questions drawn from topics related to heat and mechanics. Paper II has equivalent marks and questions are set from the rest of the topics in the syllabus and both papers take 2 hours. The practical examination is paper III having 40 marks and takes 2½hrs, while chemistry and biology take 2hrs and 1½ hrs respectively.

Table 1.1 Enrolment and mean scores of science subjects.

KNEC report, 2008

Table 1.2 National percentages of physics students in KCSE examinations

KNEC report, 2011

It can be noted from the enrolment that slightly over a quarter of the candidates register for physics in the KCSE examinations creating the erroneous conclusion that physics is done better than other science subjects when the means are worked out. If the three sciences had comparable enrolment, the average marks for physics would be far below that of chemistry and biology. It is for this reason that the research targeted the students in form two when they are doing all the three science subjects rather than form three and four when physics has been offered to a few students. The district performance in appendix A for the selected location shows that 47 schools out of 67 schools offered physics and the subject is only done in well performing schools. When the research was being undertaken, the sampled schools had 20 students out of 89 candidates and 19 students out of 70 candidates for the experimental and control group schools respectively showing that many students did not choose physics though the KCSE average scores may be high. Only the few bright students sit for the physics exams giving the wrong impression that the subject is done better than the other science subjects. The true picture could only be found at the form two level where the groups were homogeneous in terms of performance and enrolment These two captions from different local newspapers emphasized this, both from the Ministry of Education when releasing KCSE results.

“The poor performance in these subjects (Maths and Sciences) remains a matter of concern to the Ministry and intervention measures should be urgently taken.” (East African Standard newspaper No 270028 of 1^st March,2004, pg. 3).

The following year, physics was singled out of the Sciences.

“The government admitted yesterday that students in secondary schools were avoiding Physics. Education Minister said low enrollment in Physics was a cause of concern at the Ministry owing to its importance in career progress for students” (Daily Nation newspaper 28^th Feb, 2005 pg.4)

            Statement of the Problem.

The content in secondary school physics shows that there are many topics where resources to teach the subject are not available and the students are left to imagine the physical items being taught. For example, topics such as X-rays, radioactivity, electronics and all the topics that include some form of motion yet represented as two dimensional diagrams in books or on the board have to be imagined by the learners. It is with the use of videos that this research sought to fill the gap of imaginative learning so that the students can visualize the ideas and hence have a better understanding of the subject. Being a practical subject, the performance can highly be improved if the research shows that videos can supplement areas where resources for demonstrations and practical work are inadequate or entirely lacking. Waititu,(2004) working on difficult topics in physics attributes poor performance to poor general school instructional methods and recommended further studies on finding possible solutions to better the instructional methods for topics that teachers and students perceived to be difficult. In another research by Amadalo,

(1998) on instruction in physics, he observed that most of the researches were

devoted to the issues of school factors teaching modalities and innate students‟ predisposition, availability and utilization of resources. Despite the input of these research findings, there seems to be little change in the conventional methods of instructions and the performance in physics has remained poor.

This study looked at the effect of incorporating instructional videos to supplement the other resources available to the teachers at secondary school level. The factors that had hindered exploration of using videos such as lack of electricity, unavailability of video equipment and software have now been overcome by modern technology.

            Purpose of the study.

The purpose of this study was to address the problem of poor performance which leads to low enrolment and seek the effect of intervention of physics videos as an instructional material to supplement the other available resources being used currently. Their effect in teaching and learning of the subject was analyzed to determine if there was any improvement in performance. This study‟s findings will mainly be of great benefit to students who wish to pursue courses related to physics by making the subject more interesting and therefore improving their performance.

            Objectives of the study.

The following were the two specific objectives of the study:

1. To determine the effect of instructional videos on performance in physics.

• To find the motivational effect on the learners by incorporating videos on the subject.

General objectives were to determine the effect of instructional physics videos on: 1 Mathematical skills.

• Theoretical concepts formation.

• Process skills.

            Research questions.

Half of Physics examinations questions are based on mathematical skills and the others are on theoretical concepts formation and process skills which include practical work. The study therefore focused on the following research questions:

1. Is there an improvement in performance between control and experimental groups in achievement test items based on process skills?
2. Is there an improvement in performance between control and experimental groups in achievement test items based on theoretical concept formation in physics?
3. Is there a difference in performance on achievement test items based on mathematical skills?
4. Is there a difference between control and experimental group in the learner‟s interest and motivation towards physics after the introduction of instructional videos?

            Significance of Study.

It is hoped that this study‟s findings and recommendations will be of benefit to students who have declined studying physics and hence missing a chance to join a

field of their choice in this fast changing industrial world. The examinations council, quality assurance officers teachers and parents have all decried the poor performance in physics. They would all benefit from this mode of instruction in that the performance will be comparable with the other subjects and thus create a balanced number of students enrolling in all the science subjects. Teachers in schools with inadequate resources, which hold the bulk of the students in our country, will be able to teach more effectively topics that were abstract for lack apparatus.

Teacher trainers in colleges and universities can show teaching skills by recording videos of their best teachers in addition to the lectures in areas where equipment are not available. Field work or demonstrations can also be recorded for future use instead of always repeating the same work to be used by students at their own time.

            Conceptual Framework

In developing a conceptual framework for this study the teacher‟s role in selecting what the learner should watch and what to look for in the physics videos was given exceptional attention because not all the videos were relevant to the Kenyan syllabus. Bassey,(1963) observed that people are not simply reactors to external influences; they select, organize and transform the stimuli that impinge upon them. Sense of sight is the strongest of all in creating a more accurate cognitive representation to reproduce the observed behavior in real life(Carroll and Bandura,1985) and this is why the researcher choose video as a resource that required an in depth study.

The  teacher  would  play  an  important  role  in  bringing  about  a  change  in

performance and enrolment, which has ever so remained an issue of concern to the

ministry of education. This clearly shows reciprocal determinism as no improvement in the subject‟s performance is being registered unless the subject is fully overhauled. The teacher‟s role was to use the physics videos as a new resource that would reshape the learners environment hence alter the student- environment interaction for a different outcome and this is what the study sought to establish. Reciprocal determinism advocated by Bandura, best explains the persistent situation in physic‟s poor performance in that the learner is influenced by the environment but the learner also chooses and shapes the environment which in turn shapes the person who in return shapes the environment. The relationship between control and choice is a reciprocal, or a “back and forth” one. By introducing physics videos, we use observational learning (acquiring a new behaviour, or learning, by watching someone else) to change or reshape the existing environmental influence, which in turn will influence the learner. This would alter the joint function of behavioral, cognitive and the environment that determines what is learnt.