CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The word ‘instruction’ is the act of teaching or passing information unto others while ‘media’ is any material or equipment that conveys information from a source to a receiver or vice-versa. However, the concept of instructional media, because of its numerous definitions, has been defined in different ways by several authorities and authors.
Each author describes the concept from his or her own perception of it. In the past, instructional media was called teaching aids, but because of the important roles it plays in the development of education, scholars and authorities in the field of education have re-examined its significance and changed the nomenclature. It was observed that they are not mere aids to teaching but also good sources of knowledge and motivation to learners, sources of generating new ideas, and sources of in-depth thought in different fields as well as organizers of learning.
The new perception of the concept necessitates carving a new and more suitable nomenclature known as educational media, instructional materials or instructional media. Instruction media also means both human and material resources which make teaching and learning to be more explicit, though provoking, interesting, efficient and more effective.
Examples of human resources include resource person such as lawyers, doctors, engineers, social workers, religious leaders and so on. While material resources include prints, electronic and real objects.
Examples of these are pictures, diagrams, maps, radio, television, projectors and so on. As important as these media are, it has been realized that the shortage in their provision has caused a lot of hazard in the performance of students in our schools, most especially at Senior Secondary level. Not withstanding, their availability must not make them a master to the teacher, but a good servant that is used most effectively and efficiently to ensure that adequate learning takes place in the classroom.
Historical Development of Instructional media
The history of instructional media can be traced back to the development of technology, which can not be credited to any single individual but a gradual process that started from the Stone Age, through the book and chalk age and finally, the mass communication age.
The Stone Age:
According to Adewoyin (2004), the period of Stone Age marked the beginning of visual aids such as stones, pebbles, sticks and cowries which were used to enhance effective learning and communication. Also some educators like Socrates (497-399BC), Plato (428-349BC) and St. Thomas Aquinas (a theologian/philosopher) also made their marks in dealing with issues relating to the right methods of instruction to employ, the sequence to be followed and the type of evaluation to be adopted.
The Book and Chalk Age
The year 1450 AD marked a significant turning point in the history of the evolution of educational media. This is because John Guttenberg, a German, invented a printing press that year. His invention gave access to books with the production of the Holy Bible in 1456.
Consequently, several others contributed immensely to the development of educational technology and instructional media.
Prominent among them were individuals like Pythagoras, Propikos and Hippas (all Greek teachers). They developed new techniques of teaching and encouraged the use of apparatus in the teaching/learning process.
In addition, individuals like Joseph Lancaster Pestalozzi (1746 – 1872) and Fredric Froebel (1882 – 1852) also made their useful contributions. While Pestalozzi introduced the use of bold letters in writing and the use of different colours on charts (visuals), he also recommended that learning should commence from the concrete (known) to the abstract (unknown). Rabelis (1483 – 1553 AD) and Amos Cornelius (1592 – 1670 A.D) also made their marks. Rabelis advocated for the use of real objects to clarify words and remarked that pictures were second best to real objects. Cornelius however advocated for the use of many textbooks with illustrations and pictures. He published his first Visual Aid Textbook for children in Latin and called it “Orbits pictures” meaning “the world In pictures.” Adewoyin (2004)
The Mass Communication Age
The advent of science and technology in communication ushered in the mass communication age. The development in telecommunication led to the invention of radio, television, telephone, internet and other modern telecommunication systems which made education accessible to millions of listeners.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
This study is aimed at identifying some of the problems associated with the impact of instructional media on students’ academic performance in senior secondary schools.
Some of the Problems Include:
Teachers’ inability to select appropriate instructional media for different subjects, which means that the instructional media selected for subjects taught are either irrelevant or outdated. Such instructional media make lessons boring, uninteresting and dull. Another problem is teachers’ inability to use the media selected, such as slides, microscope, chemicals etc appropriately. There should be pre-test of media before being used in the classroom.
Teaching in abstract is another problem. Many teachers teach without the use of instructional media. Their belief is that some topics can’t be taught with the use of instructional media. Such topics include reproduction in Biology, nouns in English, to mention but a few.
Teachers’ inability to improvise. Teachers sometimes unreal on commercially produced media like films, posters, ready made charts and so on but are unable to produce local instructional media for teaching.