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AN ASSESSMENT OF THE USAGE OF COMPUTER APPLICATION IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF MATHEMATICS

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AN ASSESSMENT OF THE USAGE OF COMPUTER APPLICATION IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF MATHEMATICS

Abstract

The study assesses of the Usage of Computer Application in secondary schools of Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Previous empirical studies have underscored the important roles of instructional materials in the classroom setup. Studies the world over have also highlighted the roles of computer as an instructional material in the classroom particularly in regard to assisting in enriching the teaching-learning experience of perceived difficult subjects such as Mathematics.

It is therefore surprising that most schools in the country are yet to integrate its use in teaching and learning of such subjects even though the Government and its development partners have invested colossal amounts of scarce resource in stocking schools with computer hardware and software. A descriptive survey study was employed to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data on factors that affect the use of computers in teaching and learning of Mathematics in the district. Stratified random sampling was used to select 323 form three students and 32 Mathematics teachers.

All the Principals of the participating schools were also requested to participate in the study. Data was collected using interview schedule for principals (Appendix A), questionnaires; one for mathematics teachers (Appendix B) and one for students (Appendix C)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

A catchphrase in education today is Information Communication and Technologies (ICT) use. The rapid growth in ICT has brought remarkable changes in the twenty-first century, as well as affected the demands of modern societies.

The call to integrate ICT in education has become a major concern to many countries all over the world. Until recently, the primary teaching resources available to teachers were the books in libraries. However, ICT has provided a new kind of support for instruction through the development of facilities that supports the teaching and learning process.

Integrating technology in classroom instruction ensures greater motivation, increases self-esteem and confidence, enhances good questioning skills, promotes initiative and independent learning, improves the presentation of information/outputs, develops problem-solving capabilities, promotes better information handling skills, increasing focus time on task, and improves social and communication skills.

Several studies have revealed that ICT plays an important role in teaching and learning mathematics. For instance, Becta (2003) asserts that the use of technology in mathematics classroom allows the students to focus on strategies and interpretation of answers rather than spend time on tedious computational calculations.

ICT use in mathematics instruction assists the learner in visualizing the process and concept role of symbols, which reaches great heights in calculus (Tall & Ramos, 2004)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

Statement of the Problem

Education stakeholders and policymakers must make a remarkable step towards the introduction of ICT in all secondary schools in Nigeria that will contribute to knowledge production, communication and information sharing among students and teachers in the school system.

Recently in Nigeria, there has been a sudden increase in computer laboratories at all levels of the school system and this testifies to the potency of the use of ICT in education delivery… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

Research Objectives

The general objective or main objective of this study is to examine the factors that influence tax compliance on small and medium scale enterprises in Kumasi metropolis. The specific objectives are:

  1. i) To find out the current status of computer models and mathematics computer software resources… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

Significance of the Study

The study will be useful and will make a major contribution in providing information on the factors that affect the use of computers in teaching and learning mathematics in secondary schools.

First and foremost, as the implementers of all research inputs related to academic excellence in schools, Mathematics teachers will find much assistance in the findings. The findings will provide the teachers with appropriate information on using computers in teaching and learning Mathematics in secondary schools in order to enhance the performance of their students in the subject.

Secondly, students of Mathematics have the responsibility of responding to the learning activities and utilization of time for proper guidance… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

Computer technology has been in use since 1970s and many countries have adopted this technology as a medium of instruction in primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and universities. In Nigeria, many private and public schools have adopted this computer technology as a medium of instruction in computer science.

However, computer technology has not been integrated in the mathematics classrooms in secondary schools. For the purpose of this study, the literature was viewed under the factors affecting the use of computers in teaching and learning mathematics in secondary schools in Nigeria under the following subheadings;

Computer Application use in teaching and learning mathematics in secondary schools

According to Dwyer and Margot (1975) in a report about ‘project solo’ – a project about people involved in computer learning carried out between 1970 and 1977, elaborate experimentation with various modes of using computers in high schools was carried out and computer-related curriculum modules for secondary schools developed.

The project which was jointly supported by the National Science Foundation and the University of Pittsburgh focused upon computer-augmented learning in secondary schools, engineering and other fields. The primary objective of the project was to stimulate students to analyse, synthesize, evaluate and apply Mathematics on their own by using algorithmic problem solving and student-controlled computing as catalysts (Scardamalia, 2004).

The more than 100 computer augmented, curriculum modules produced by the project are designed to help high school students use a computer as a tool in exploring concepts and principles from topics in high school Mathematics (Hung and Khine, 2006)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The main purpose of this study was to find out the factors affecting the use of computers as a medium of teaching and learning of Mathematics in secondary schools in Ibadan, Oyo state. A descriptive survey design was adopted for this study.

A survey study gathers data at a particular point in time with the intention of describing the nature of the existing conditions, identifying the standards against which existing conditions can be compared as well as determining the relationship between specific events (Orodho, 2004)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

DATA FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Introduction

The chapter presents an analysis of the data collected from a sample of 323 form three students, 32 Mathematics teachers and 16 principals of selected secondary schools of Ibadan with computers. Data analysis and report of findings was done using descriptive statistics in the form of tables, frequencies and percentages. The findings of the study were discussed under the following research objectives:… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

Background information of respondents

Respondents to the items used in this analysis included form 3 students, Mathematics teachers and school principals. A number of items that include gender, age, and educational background were used to provide information on their background characteristics.

Students’ background information

Students were required to indicate their gender and age as a source of information on their background information.

The results of their responses were tabulated and represented in Figure 4.1 and Figure 4.2 respectively.

Figure 4.1 which contains a summary of students’ responses to items on their background information shows that 164 (50.8%) of the respondents were females, and 159(49.2%) were males depicting a near gender parity for sampled population of the respondents.

Figure 4.2 contains a summary of students’ responses… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

Teachers background information

Teachers were required to indicate their gender, level of education and computer literacy among other issues as a source of information on their background information.

A summary of their responses is represented in Figure 4.3, Table 4.1, Figure 4.4, Figure 4.5, and Figure 4.6 respectively.

Results of the analysis on teachers’ background information in Figure 4.3 shows that 10 (31.2 %) of the teachers were females, and 22(68.8%) were males indicating that most mathematics teachers were males… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions

Conclusions of the study findings were made based on the relationships that were established for each of the different objectives. From the foregoing summary of findings, it can be concluded that:

Recommendations 

Education stakeholders in the country should finance the provision of computers, power generators, mathematics computer software, and expand computer laboratories in all secondary schools. This will enhance the use of computers in the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Due to the varied types of computer models, it is recommended that schools should use

HP models due to their durability… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

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 (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

(Get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)

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