HANDS ON ACTIVITIES AND FIELD TRIP ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN BASIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page i
Certification ii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
Lists of Table ix
Lists of Appendices x
Abstract xi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background to the study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 6
1.3 Purpose of the study 7
1.4 Research Questions 8
1.5 Hypotheses 8
1.6 Significance of the study 9
1.7 Scope of the study 10
1.8 Definition of Terms 10
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 11
2.1 Theoretical Framework 11
2.1.2 John Dewey Constructivist Theory (1938) 13
2.1.3 Cognitive Theory of Learning (Jean Piaget, 1980) 14
2.2 Conceptual Review 17
2.2.1 Concept of Hands on Activities Strategy of Teaching 17
2.2.2 Concept of Field Trip Method of Teaching 23
2.3 Review of Empirical Studies 26
2.3.1 Hands on Activities on Academic Performance of Students in Basic and Technology 26
2.3.2 Field Trip and Academic Performance of Students in Basic and Technology 31
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD 40
3.1 Research Design 40
3.2 Area of the study 40
3.3 Population of the study 41
3.4 Sample and Sampling Technique 41
3.5 Instrumentation 42
3.5.1 Validity of the Instrument 42
3.5.2 Reliability of the Instrument 42
3.6 Procedure for Data Collection 43
3.7 Method of Data Analysis 43
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 45
4.1 Answering of Research Questions 45
4.2 Testing of Hypotheses 48
4.3 Discussion of Findings 52
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 55
5.1 Summary of the Study 55
5.2 Educational implication of the findings 56
5.3 Conclusion 57
5.4 Recommendations 57
5.5 Limitations of the study 58
5.6 Suggestions for further Study 58
References 59
Appendices 67


LISTS OF TABLE
Title Page
Table 1: Mean and standard deviation of the difference in the academic performance of students taught Basic Science and Technology with hands on activities and those exposed to field trip 46
Table 2: Mean and standard deviation of the difference in the academic performance of male and female students taught Basic Science and Technology using field trip 47
Table 3: Mean and standard deviation of the difference in the academic performance of male and female students taught Basic Science and Technology using hands-on activities 48
Table 4: Independent t-test analysis of the difference in the academic performance of students taught Basic Science and Technology with hands on activities and those exposed to field trip 49
Table 5: Independent t-test analysis of the difference in the academic performance of male and female students taught Basic Science and Technology using field trip 50Table 6: Independent t-test analysis of the difference in the academic performance of male and female students taught Basic Science and Technology using hands-on activities 51

LISTS OF APPENDICES
Appendix A: Letter osf Introduction 67
Appendix B: Lesson Note 68
Appendix C: Lesson Note 76
Appendix D: Basic Technology Achievement Test 83
Appendix E: Marking Scheme 85
Appendix F: Raw Scores 86

ABSTRACT
The study investigated the effects of hands on activities and field trip on students’ academic performance in Basic Science and Technology in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Quasi – experimental design was used for the study. The population of the study comprised of one thousand eight hundred and fifty one (1851) Junior Secondary One Students (JS1) in the sixteen (16) public secondary schools. Two schools were selected through simple random sampling technique. A sample size of 150 students was selected for the study which made up of two intact classes from the two schools. The students were subjected to “Basic Technology achievement Test” (BTAT). Mean and standard deviation was used to answer the research questions while t- test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.5 significance. The reliability of the instrument was 0.65 as calculated using K-R-20 formula. The study revealed that Basic Science and Technology students exposed to field trip performed significantly better than their counterparts who were taught using hands on activities strategy. Similarly, there was no significant difference in the academic performance of male and female students exposed on field trip and that of hands on activities. The study recommended that basic teachers should expose students to practical works through field trip and hands on activities for proper retention of knowledge. The study further recommended that teachers should give equal attention to male and female students so as to ensure individual differences in learning ability.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study
Basic science and Technology is the bedrock on which modern day technological breakthrough is hinged. (Igwe,2013) defined Basic science and Technology as a systematic study of the nature of the behavior of the material and physical universe through observation, experimentation, measurement and recording. In addition, (Esu. 2014) defined Basic science and Technology as a systematic, precise, objective way to study the natural world. Basic science and technology is an exciting and satisfying enterprise that requires creativity, skill and insight.
The relevance of Basic Science and Technology education in this country according to (Maduekwe 2006) include the need to prepare students to observe and explore the environment, explain simple natural phenomena, develop scientific attitudes including curiosity, critical reflection and objectivity, apply the skills and knowledge gained through Basic science technology to solve everyday problems in the environment, develop self-confidence and self-reliance through problem solving activities. Since the world is turning scientific and all proper functioning of life depends greatly on science and technology, countries all over the world especially the developing ones like Nigeria is strong hard to develop technological and scientifically.
The Basic Science and Technology curriculum in Nigeria was as a product of the restructuring and integration of four primary and junior secondary school science curricula namely; Basic Science, Basic technology, Physical and health education and computer studies and information communication technology (ICT). The overall objectives of the curriculum according to Nigerian Education Research Development council (NERDC, 2012), among others were to enable the learners to;
– Develop interest in science and technology,
Acquire basic knowledge and skills in science and technology,
Apply their scientific and technological knowledge and skills to meet societal needs,
Take advantage of the numerous career opportunities offered by science and technology,

Become prepared for further studies in science and technology
To achieve the above objectives, it becomes absolutely necessary for instructors and teachers to employ suitable pedagogy to enhanced effective realization of the stated objectives in order to sustain the interest of learners and promote meaningful learning and skill development.
The term teaching method refers to the general principles, pedagogy and management strategies used for classroom instruction. The teacher is the key factor in curriculum implementation and the method which is applied in teaching is another very important factor. In addition, the Basic Science and Technology curriculum advocate for teachers to use guided inquiry and activity – based teaching and learning approach using locally sourced materials. It has been observed that our students perform poorly in Basic Science and Technology and one of the factors for the poor performance is the method used in teaching Basic Science and Technology. (Balaraba,2016) and (Adelewale 2016).
The success of a learner in understanding a learning material cannot be separated from the learning method he or she uses. Learning outcomes are all effects that become value indicators from using learning methods under different conditions (Reigeluth, 2013) and this learning outcome depends on the applied learning method (Moore, 2015). A teacher plays a central role in implementing learning activities in class, the lecturer is still dominant in learning process because the lecture or chalk and talk method of teaching is used; thus, there are many boring situations in class because this method does not empower students in learning activities the students are tired, the students only have limited knowledge to the things given by the lecturer, therefore, the students’ critical comprehension cannot be brought into reality.
Teaching methods vary depending on classroom demography and subject area. Apart from the usual teaching methods like lecture, the discussion, the demonstration method, laboratory, and role play, hands-on activities and field trip can be used to teach in order to retain what was learnt in the classroom. Hands-on-activities is a method of instruction where students are guided to gain knowledge by experience. It is when an opportunity is given to students to manipulate objects, they are studying. For instance, giving students plants, insects, rocks, water, magnets and the students are allowed to manipulate these items and other scientific instruments, with this, students become active participants in the classroom. Haury and Rillero (2015) posit that hands-on learning approach involves the child in total learning experience which enhanced the child’s ability to think critically. It is obvious therefore, that any teaching strategy that is tilted towards this direction can be seen as an activity-oriented teaching method (hands-on-approached).

Hands-on-approach has been proposed as a means to increase students’ academic achievement and understanding of scientific concepts by manipulating objects which may make abstract knowledge more concrete and clearer. Through hand-on-activities, students are able to engage in real life illustrations and observe the effect of changes in different variables. Obanya (2012) stated that the average retention rate of learning by lecture is 5% while that of practice by doing (activity oriented) is about 75%. It can be seen that retention increases progressively with the use of interactive and activity oriented approach.
Field trip on the other hand has to do with a trip by students to gain firsthand knowledge away from the classroom, such as to a museum, factory, geographical area or environment of certain plants and animals. Exposure of students to real life situation away from the classroom will retain the knowledge. Carolyn Fry (2009) admits that taking pupils outside the comfort of the classroom can be a dounting step for some teachers, but admits strongly that field trips provides opportunities to apply learning to real world. To this end, offset, (2008) reported that when planned and implemented well, learning outside the classroom contributed significantly to raising standards in and improving pupils personal, social and emotional development.
Field trip by students are expected to enhance student learning experiences through interaction with persons and the environment, such places were supposed to provide better resources than the school for first hand information, especially as learning outside the classroom aims at ensuring that students had chances to participate in high quality outdoor learning experiences. Hands-on-activities and field trip if strictly adhered to will improve the student’s academic performance.
Globally, promoting gender equality in science is currently used as a developmental strategy for socio economic development of any nation. Some studies observe gender disparity in favour of males (Ezeadu and Obi 2013), Achor, Kurumeh and Orokpo (2012),had earlier reported female superiority, while Atomatofa (2014), Akpan and Akpan (2017) reported no disparity in the achievement of male and female students in Basic Science and Technology. This research work seeks to investigate the impact of hands-on-activities and field trip on students academic performance in Basic science and Technology in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area.

1.2 Statement of the Problem
Science and Technological advancement being the 21st century vision of Nigeria will be a mirage if the poor academic performance of students in basic science and technology is not addressed.
The current practice where most teachers teach Basic Science and technology as a body of abstract ideas with little or no regards to practical work is disheartening. Teachers’ dependency on “chalk talk” method of teaching which depends on excessive words to express and convey ideas or facts in the teaching learning process has been the experience over the years. Achievement of students at their full potentials can be sustained based on the method of teaching employed. Apart from the usual teaching methods like lecture, discussion, demonstration, laboratory and role play, hands-on activities and field trip can be used to teach in order to retain what was learnt in the class room. Poor academic performance of students in Basic Science and Technology has been attributed to the method of teaching which is the reason for this research. This study therefore, sought to investigate the effects of hand-on-activities and field trip on students’ academic performance in Basic Science and Technology in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area.

1.3 Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hands-on-activities and field trip on students’ academic performance in Basic Science and Technology in Mkpat Enin Local government Area. Specifically, the study sought to;
Determine the academic performance of students taught measurement in Basic Science and Technology with hands-on-activities and those exposed on field trip.
Determine the academic performance of male and female students taught measurement in Basic Science and Technology with hands-on-activities.
How do male and female students differ on their performance when taught using field trip.