STUDENT’S INDEX NUMBER

5171040249

NAME

Gyasi-Yamoah Emmanuel

PROJECT TOPIC
BUILDING PRACTICAL INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

TECHNOLOGY COMPETENCE THROUGH PROJECT-BASED

LEARNINGN IN EDUCATION: A CASE OF PRESBYTERIAN SENIOR

HIGH SCHOOL, BOMPATA.

CHAPTERS

Chapter 1 to 5

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

This chapter opens up the research and expands the following sub-headings: background of the

study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research questions, significance of the

study, limitations and delimitations, definition of terms and organization of the study.

1.1 Background of the Study

It is a major trend for educational institutions today to make teaching and learning meet the

growing demands that are placed by worldwide as well as local developments. In order to meet

the needs, aspirations and desires of the learners, to educate themselves, capable of facing the

challenges of tomorrow's world, schools are making intensive efforts to provide an education

based on new ideas and perspectives of theoretical developments as well as new research

findings in learning and best educational practices. (Allen et al., 2012)

Another significant trend in today's educational institutions is the increasing use of information

and communication technologies (ICT). With the rapid development of computer and Internet

connections, newly advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) and new

media of electronic communications are becoming widely available in institutions. These two

trends the potential and imperative use of ICT and new media, and the educational strategy and

practice with newly-developed learning and educational concepts — give rise to a big challenge

to the present-day learning in schools(Buabeng-Andoh & Issifu, 2015). As an intern, I realize

that the students of Bompata Presbyterian SHS lack the skills required to execute basic ICT task.

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In my quest to help students to overcome this challenge, the researcher conducted a research to

determine how practical competence can be built in students.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The problem under investigation as far as this research is concerned is the fact that, SHS 2

students of Bompata Presbyterian SHS lack the practical ICT competence to confront ICT

related issues in their studies. In order words, the students are not able to use computers and the

Internet facilities at their disposal to the best of their abilities. The students sometimes hired the

services of people at the cafés and business centres to submit assignments through people’s e-

mail accounts and browse the Internet and download information for them.

These are basic ICT skills that students at this level of the education should confidently perform

without seeking for any assistance. However, the case is different among Bompata Presbyterian

SHS 2 students. It is against this background that the researcher attempts to employ measures to

develop practical ICT competence among the students of the school.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this research is to put in place the interventions that would help develop

practical ICT competence in Bompata Presbyterian SHS 2 students.

Specific Objectives

The objectives of the research were to:

1. Use demonstration to enables the students develop and improve their ICT manipulative

skills in searching and downloading of specific information from the Internet.

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 2. Enable students work in groups to acquire and improve upon their practical competence

in using application software in peer tutoring.

3. Use project-based learning to build students’ capacity in using application software to

create electronic worksheets.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide the study:

1. To what extent would demonstrations expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the

students for searching and downloading of information on the Internet?

2. To what extent would group work (peer tutoring) boost the practical ICT competence of

the students in MS-Office applications?

3. What degrees can project-based learning would develop student’s practical ICT

competence?

1.5 Significance of the Study

Project-based learning is a learner centred and as a research intervention, it would be of

tremendous benefit first and foremost to all students studying ICT which would:

 Develop twenty-first-century skills that would aid them in becoming productive members

of a global society.

 Make them become active problem solvers and conduct research in the near future.

 Encourage collaboration and cooperative learning.

 Allow students to make incremental and continual improvement in their studies.

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  Make the students to be actively engaged in "doing" things rather than in "learning about"

something. This would develop the human capacity needed in developing communities

and the nations as a whole, since the students are from different parts of the country.

In addition to the students’ benefits enumerated above, this research would be of immense

benefits to all the teaching staff of the school. Thus, enabling teachers improve upon their

teaching strategies, which would cultivate and develop in students the processes of thinking,

learning how to learn, problem solving and team-working, within a context of self-directed

learning.

Finally, the outcome of the research would help Curriculum Research and Development Division

of the Ghana Education Service to make the necessary changes in the content and methods of

teaching ICT at all levels of education in the country.

1.6 Limitations of the Study

Due to financial and time constraints the researcher was not able to reach out to all the students

with the questionnaires for data collection and analysis. Besides, the researcher was a final year

student on internship and has to fulfil her teaching and academic obligations.

1.7 Delimitations of the Study

Since the intervention was designed and implemented within a semester, the researcher outlined

only three specific objectives that were attainable within the period.

1.8 Definition of Terms

ICT - Information and Communication Technology

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MS-Office - Microsoft-Office

PBL - Project-Based Learning

SHS - Senior High School

1.9 Organization of the Study

This research work is made up of five chapters. Chapter one opens up the research with the

introduction, the background of the study, the statement of the problem, the purpose of the study,

the research questions, the significance of the study, limitations and delimitations and the

organization of the study. Chapter two deals with the literature reviews and provided the

theoretical frame work and the empirical basis of the research. Chapter three on the other hand,

touches on the methodology and describes the research design, population and sampling

techniques, data collection instruments, intervention design and implementation and data

analysis. To compare and contrast results, chapter four analyses and discusses the pre-

intervention and post-intervention results of the research. Finally, chapter five covers the

summary, conclusion and recommendations of the research.

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

The main purpose of this research is to put in place interventions that would help develop

practical ICT competence in SHS 2 students of Bompata Presbyterian SHS. This chapter reviews

related literature on the topic by providing theoretical frame work and empirical basis of the

research under the following sub- headings:

 The Concept of Project-Based Learning - effectiveness and challenges

 Demonstration

 Group Work

2.1 Theoretical Frame Work of the Study

This section covers review of articles, literatures, journals and researches conducted by

renowned educationist and researchers in the field of information technology as well found in the

educational discipline. The theories and concepts held by enormous scholars about the sub-topics

pertaining to this study in addition to commentaries run by researcher have been presented

below.

2.1.1 Project-Based Learning

Project Based Learning is a teaching and learning model (curriculum development and

instructional approach) that emphasizes pupil-centered instruction by assigning projects. It

allows students to work more autonomously to construct their own learning, and culminates in

realistic, pupil-generated products. More specifically, project-based learning can be defined as

follows:

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  Focuses on the central concepts of a discipline

 Engaging learning experiences that involve students in complex, real-world projects

through which they develop and apply skills and knowledge

 Learning that requires students to draw from many information sources and disciplines in

order to solve problems

 Learning in which curricular outcomes can be identified up-front, but in which the

outcomes of the pupil's learning process are neither predetermined nor fully predictable

 Experiences through which students learn to manage and allocate resources such as time

and materials (D. Moursund, 1999)

Rooted (at least its design of the curriculum, instruction and assessment) in various constructivist

schools of thought (Vygotsky, 2000), constructionism(Harel, I., & Papert, 2001; Kafai, Y., &

Resnick, 2010), cooperative or collaborative learning and generally active learning, has strong

theoretical support for successful achievement. Still, one has to note that project-based learning

is not a pure constructivist model but uses also multiple methods of instruction, among them

direct, explicit, (didactic) instruction (D. Moursund, 1999). Project-Based Learning can be found

under the name of project method, project approach, knowledge in action, learning or education

by project, intentional learning(Allen et al., 2012) (), learning by doing, design experiments

(Brown, 1998) , to name a few.

The notion of project is central to socio-constructivism and other related activity-based

approaches. A project allows learners to identify and formulate their own problems. The goals

they set as well as the unexpected discoveries they would make during their interaction with the

environment serve as guides (Collins, A., 2000). It is therefore important to divide scenarios into

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sequences and to divide problems into sub-problems so that learners perform only one task at a

time and that these tasks are flexible enough in order for learners to be able achieve them

whatever their basic level. Project-based learning is a model which distinguishes from traditional

teaching since the focus is put on the learner and his project.

Historical research has made great progress in answering the question of when and where the

term "project"-"progetto" in Italian, "projet" in French, "projekt" in German, and "proekt" in

Russian-was used in the past to denote an educational and learning device. According to recent

studies, the "project" as a method of institutionalized instruction is not a child of the industrial

and progressive education movement that arose in the United States at the end of the 19th

century. Rather it grew out of the architectural and engineering education movement that began

in Italy during the late 16th century (Knoll, 2003).

Project Based Learning is synonymous with learning in depth. A well-designed project provokes

learners to encounter (and struggle with) the central concepts and principles of a discipline. It

teaches students 21rst century skills as well as content. These skills include communication and

presentation skills, organization and time management skills, research and inquiry skills, self-

assessment and reflection skills, and group participation and leadership skills. Project-Based

Learning is generally done by groups of students working together toward a common goal.

Performance is assessed on an individual basis, and considers the quality of the product

produced, the depth of content understanding demonstrated, and the contributions made to the

ongoing process of project realization.

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Again, Project Based Learning allows students to reflect upon their own ideas and opinions,

exercise voice and choice, and make decisions that affect project outcomes and the learning

process in general.

Combining these considerations, one could define Project Based Learning as:

a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning essential

knowledge and life-enhancing skills through an extended, pupil-influenced inquiry

process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed

products and tasks.

2.1.1.1 Effectiveness of Project-Based Learning

Researchers have investigated the impact of project-based learning (and related instructional

approaches) in a wide variety of educational contexts ranging from early childhood education to

medical and legal education. They have generally been shown to be effective in increasing pupil

motivation by engaging them in their own learning, in improving pupil problem-solving and

higher order thinking skills (Synteta, 2001). It promotes meta-cognition and self-regulated

learning by asking students to generate their own strategies for problem definition, information

gathering, data-analysis, and hypothesis-building and testing, comparing these strategies against

and sharing them with other students' and mentors' strategies. Teaching with the project-based

method enables students to work cooperatively with peers and mentors in a pupil-centered

environment where learners are encouraged to explore various topics of interest. "The

collaborative nature of the investigation enhances all of these valuable experiences as well as

promotes a greater appreciation for social responsibility (Barrimi et al., 2013). Hence, it also

provides opportunities for interdisciplinary learning by engaging students in applying the content

of different subject areas during the various phases of the project. Project-Based Learning helps

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students develop real world skills like the ability to collaborate well with others, make decisions

and take initiative, and face complex problems. After completing a project, if students are asked

to create a self-evaluation of the project, like writing a meta-report, this enables the students to

focus on their learning process and allows them to see their progress.

2.1.1.2 Challenges of Project-Based Learning

Although Project-Based Learning is considered to be a profitable learning strategy, its

implementation faces several challenges (Synteta, 2001; Thomas, J. W., Mergendoller, J. R., &

Michaelson, 2009)as projects are complex endeavours involving many different activities. In

particular, students have difficulty to:

 initiate inquiry; have coherent research questions,

 define a research project; good research design and appropriate methodology,

 direct investigations; find resources,

 manage complexity and time; keep deadlines, estimate time needed to do a task,

 collaborate and give feedback; articulating the work of others and give regular feedback.

Known problems concern planning, operationalization and monitoring (Collins, A., 2000;

Prabhakar, 2005)

 follow-up the project; revise products, thing that requires critical thinking skills and

cognitive self-awareness (Knoll, 2003)

In addition to the difficulty of setting clear goals for various phases, students have trouble

relating data, concept and theory. A teacher should orchestrate a project into several more or less

sequential scenarios, which in turn could be broken down to smaller phases. This would insure

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that learners would focus on smaller sub-problems, would do things in the right order (e.g. define

research goals in the beginning of the project and not in the middle).

On the other hand, teachers have difficulty to:

 design a Project-Based Learning course; design projects that support learning of specific

concepts and skills and sustain such highly demanding pedagogical approaches like

Project-Based Learning,

 follow-up several projects; monitor progress, give feedback and support where and when

is needed and generally classroom management,

 use technology especially as a cognitive tool; incorporating technology is challenging,

 design assessment; assessment that require students to demonstrate their understanding.

2.1.2 Demonstration

(Allen et al., 2012)defines demonstration as the presentation of a pre-arranged series of events or

equipment to a group of students for their observation. This is accompanied by explanatory

remarks and could be used in giving information, knowledge and training.

Also, cited that demonstration lessons help to arouse and maintain attention and motivate

students. Demonstration has been described as an audio-visual explanation emphasizing the

important point of a product, a process or an idea.

(Brown, 1998) also explained that, it is basically an activity which combines telling, showing

and doing for the benefit of audience, be it a person or a group of persons. In teaching,

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demonstration is generally used as a method but it is also frequently used in relation with other

approaches to teaching as a special technique (Boaler, 1999)

(Geier, R., P. C. Blumenfeld, R.W.Marx, J. S. Krajcik, E. Soloway, 2008)also believes that one

of the effective means of presenting new skills to students is by demonstration, backed up by

explanation and questions and answers. The demonstration is carried out by the teacher while the

students closely observe the techniques and the procedures. He added that, an effective

demonstration must be accompanied by clear explanations by teacher of how skills are being

demonstrated and students should be allowed to ask questions to clarify points he or she has not

understood as the demonstration goes on.

Demonstration secures the attention of learners and motivates them so they watch the techniques

of the teacher. Students see exactly what is been performed by the teacher practically and

sometimes do the demonstration by themselves (Synteta, 2001) He again said, the demonstration

lessons compliment theory lessons taught and this helps students to register facts and principles.

While the teacher is carrying out the demonstration, learners watch the teacher’s action and they

listen to his or her explanations. Learners are later told to perform the same demonstration either

individually or in small groups. The outcome from pupil’s work will prove whether they have

grasped the concept or not. In using demonstration, it has numerous advantages that could not be

ruled out. In the hands of a resourceful, efficient and competent teacher, the demonstration

method of teaching can be very effective and trains the students to be good observers. Also, it

stimulates thinking and the formation of concepts and generalizations, has high interest value

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since it often involves the use of gadget and equipment which may be new to the students. (D. G.

Moursund, 2002)

(D. Moursund, 1999) adds that demonstration enables students acquire knowledge in the first-

hand form, brings about a close relationship between theory and practical, it helps in fixing facts

and principles and fosters creative thinking. In order to make a demonstration lesson more

effective and also evaluative, there is the need for practical after the demonstration lesson.

He further argued that demonstration as a method despite its advantages has its own

disadvantages. The passive observation of the teachers’ demonstration by students is waste of

time and does not take care of individual differences. He also admitted that where large numbers

of students are involved some of them may find it difficult to see the details of the teacher’s

demonstration.

After a demonstration lesson has been done, it is followed by a practical work or laboratory

experience. The essence is that students also practice what they learnt during the demonstration

lesson and also exhibit their skills acquired. Practical lessons help the teacher to evaluate what

was demonstrated. Students have the practical in groups of three or four in order to practice and

exhibit the skills being demonstrated by the researcher. (Ornstein, 2002)

2.1.3 Group Work

Group work is a learner

-centered method of teaching. (Ornstein, 2002) holds the view that small group with members

between four to eight when carefully prepared for group wok could achieve several things.

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Dividing students into groups seems to provide an opportunity for students to become more

actively engaged in learning and for teachers to monitor students’ progress better.

Students’ ability level is very important in grouping them for a group work. This helps to have a

mixed ability group for effective and efficient work to be done. When students work in groups, it

helps the teacher to monitor work and assess progress through questioning, discussions and

checking work books, exercises and quizzes presentation geared for the particular group.

Through group work teachers, re-structure a heterogeneously grouped class into several

homogeneous subgroups for effective class work.(Amabile., 2000)

Group work could be successful and effective if well and carefully planned. (Amabile., 2000)

suggested that all activities need careful planning and preparation so that they relate to the

learning objectives of the lesson. The teacher must give clear and simple instruction before work

commends and makes sure that each group knows what to find out and how long the activity

should take.

Group work should be monitored by the teacher, the teacher must go round, spend few minutes

observing each group and act as a facilitator during practical and class group discussions. The

advantages of group work are, it enhances pupil co-operation and social skill, it fosters,

development of democratic values, cultural pluralism and appreciation for differences among

students and it provides interesting challenges, permit students to progress at their own pace,

provide psychological safe situation in which to master the material and encourage students to

contribute to class activities (Ornstein, 2002).

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Finally, group work is adoptable and powerful teaching strategies where by students discover

things for themselves through the use of innovative and creative means. Also, the use of group

work improves rapport between students giving all your classes a more trusting and supportive

atmosphere. (Amabile., 2000).

2.2 Empirical Basis of the Study

This chapter spans on the various findings published by researchers in the field where this study

is conducted. Thus, the findings of empirically tested works and recommendations by top-level

educationists and researchers have been reviewed and presented below in support of this study.

2.2.1 Project-Based Learning

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." (Confucius) The Japanese

have a highly centralized school system. The following quote is from the Education Week

[online] published in the year 2002 on http://www.edweek.com/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=

43japan.h21. Japan's revised national course of study, which went into effect for elementary and

junior high school students and kicked off for those in the higher institutions in the following

years. This has reduced to 30% the traditional classroom teaching and learning practices and

make room for more hands-on learning and pupil- guided projects (project-based learning)

constituting 70%.

Education officials here hope the new approach to learning would better equip students with the

problem-solving skills many educators say are essential in a knowledge-based economy. This

brief quote suggests that the Japanese have decided that substantial use of project-based learning

would improve the education of their students. Notice the emphasis on "hands-on learning and

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pupil-guided projects" and the emphasis on better equipping students with problem-solving

skills.

The means of evaluating students’ academic competence is through as standardized testing. Each

standardized test only measures the specific content knowledge it is designed to test. In

measuring basic academic subject proficiency, standardized testing shows that students engaged

in PBL outscore their traditionally educated peers (Geier, R., P. C. Blumenfeld, R.W.Marx, J. S.

Krajcik, E. Soloway, 2008). However, standardized testing does not measure critical twenty-

first-century skills that are integral for pupil success. In one British study, over the course of

three years, students were taught using traditional math programs at one school and PBL at

another school. Three times as many PBL students achieved the highest possible grade on the

national exam than the students at a traditional school. Students at the PBL school were equally

able to answer procedural questions that used formulas, but they were superior in answering

applied and conceptual problems (Boaler, 1999). This researcher concluded that students

acquired a different kind of knowledge from using a PBL approach.

In another study, elementary students in three Dubuque, IOWA schools that used PBL raised

their IOWA Test of Basic Skills scores from “well below average” to the district average in two

schools and to “well above the district average” in another school. Moreover, in three years,

reading gains ‘ranged from 15% in one school to over 90% in the other two schools while the

district average remained the same” (Thomas, 2005).

At an inner city, racially diverse school in Boston that implemented a PBL program called

Expeditionary Learning, eighth graders exhibited the second highest scores in the district on the

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Stanford 9 Open Ended Reading Assessment (Thomas, 2005). Similar findings in Maine

concluded that a middle school using a PBL approach showed significant increases in all

achievement areas on the Maine Educational Assessment Battery after only one year using the

approach. The gains made by this school were three to ten times higher than the state average

(Thomas, 2005)

Authentic projects require different measures of success, however in PBL, students solve real-

world problems. For example, in one study, students were asked to apply the concepts of

geometry to architecture and submit designs for a new playhouse for a community center. Upon

evaluating these designs, 84% of the submissions were judged to be accurate enough to build.

This is an impressive measure of achievement. Moreover, students were able to revise their

designs after consulting resources, which demonstrates a high level of motivation that is

uncommon in traditional learning settings. Furthermore, these students demonstrated a solid

grasp of the concepts and were able to perform well on traditional tests (Thomas, 2005)

2.2.2 Group Work

The research findings of (Few Ng, n.d.) on improving the performance of female students in

mathematics at Swedru Senior High School using group work recorded the following

tremendous results. During the pre-intervention no female pupil scored above 60% and also at

the post-intervention stage no female pupil scored below 70% as compared to the pre-

intervention stage where one (1), female pupil scored below 50%, this indicate an improvement

in their performance. At the post –intervention stage, all the female students scored above 70%

with two (2) scoring above 90%. This explains that female students’ performance before the

intervention was not encouraging but after the students’ work in groups, where they shared

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knowledge and skills, their performance improved, interest developed and the females’

confidence level improved in the subject.

The interventions used during this study helped to develop and sustain the interest of female

students’ in Mathematics and improved their performance. This goes to confirm (harmer, n.d.),

that when students’ competence is low in the teaching and learning process, educational

effectiveness is reduced. To this effect, a teacher who varies his teaching technique is more

likely to promote greater and effective learning.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

The purpose of this research is to put in place interventions that would help develop practical

ICT competence in SHS 2 students of Bompata Presbyterian SHS. This chapter focuses on the

various steps followed in implementing the interventions, activities carried out in collecting the

relevant data pertinent to the research and the description of the various research instruments

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used. The specific areas covered include; the research design, population and sampling

technique, data collection instrument, intervention design and implementation and data analysis.

3.1 Research Design

The design for this study was action research. Action research is a method of identifying a

problem in a particular situation and finding an appropriate and lasting solution to it. According

to(Akhtar, 2016), action research is small scale intervention in the functioning of the real world

and a close examination of such intervention. The type of action research in the study was a case

study. A case study is a detailed investigation of a small group of people in a particular area. This

involved SHS 2 students of Bompata Presbyterian SHS.

3.2 Population

The target population for this research was the SHS 2 students of Bompata Presbyterian SHS

with the population of two thousand six hundred and sixty-three (2663) students for 2019/2020

academic year. The accessible population was SHS 2 French students, totalling one hundred and

thirty-four (134) who benefited from the intervention. This population was accessible because it

was one of the units the researcher taught during his internship programme and in the process

identified the problem.

3.3 Sampling Technique

The number for the study was one hundred and thirty-four (134) students. This comprised of

fifty-eight (58) females and seventy-six (76) males. In choosing the sample frame of seventy-five

(75) students, systematic sampling technique was used where the sample interval was computed.

The population fraction (Kth) is equal to N divided by n (Kth = N/n) where N is the accessible

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population (134), and n represents the sample frame (75). Therefore, the sample interval is

(134/75 = 1.78th), in approximation the sample interval was two (2). Once the sample interval of

the second (2nd) position was obtained, the seventy-five (75) questionnaires were administered to

every second person of the accessible population based on seating arrangement in the class.

3.4 Data Collection Instruments

The main instruments used for the data collection were observation guide or checklist and

questionnaire.

3.4.1 Observation Guide / Checklist

Observation is a data collection instrument in which one employs vision as the main means

where data is collected on current status of subjects (students), by watching, listening and

recoding what is being observed. Even though there were other forms of observation, the

researcher combined the structured approach and the laboratory observation. In the structured

approach, the researcher followed an organized checklist to look for a set of well-defined

observable traits among the subjects (students). On the other hand, laboratory observation refers

to the setting where the activities took place. Looking at it in the context of this research, the data

collection exercise was carried out before, during and after the intervention in the computer

laboratory of the Bompata Presbyterian SHS in two parts.

Part one consists of the attributes observed and the other part dealt with variables such as

excellent, very good, good, fair and poor. Find sample of observation guide in the appendix.

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3.4.2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is data collection instrument and it is a set of questions or statements relating to

the aim of a study, hypothesis and research questions to be verified and answered to which the

respondent is required to answer by writing or selection an option (Ghavifekr et al., 2016). The

questionnaire for this study was based on the research questions that elicited responses from the

students on the causes of the said problem under study. It was also used to assess the competence

level of the respondents after the intervention. A sample of the questionnaire could be found in

the appendix.

3.4.3 Intervention Design and Implementation

The main interventions used to curtail the problem were demonstration, group work and project-

based learning.

3.4.3.1 Demonstration

According to (Gay and Arisian, 2000) one of the effective means of presenting new skills to

students is by demonstration, backed up by explanation, questions and answers. The

demonstration used by the researcher as an intervention was in two folds. These were:

 audio – visual demonstration (tutorials created by the researcher).

 live demonstration led by students.

Audio – Visual Tutorial

In the audio-visual tutorial design, a screen capturing software call CamStudio was used in

recording all steps involved in performing a particular task on the computer with narrations from

the researcher. The steps followed in creating the tutorials were dependent on the practical topics

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to be treated in the next week’s lessons. Generally, the tutorial was named according to a topic to

enable students have ideas about the skills they would acquire through a particular tutorial.

In implementing the above intervention (audio-visual tutorial), the researcher first distributed a

copy of the tutorial created to all students on a storage medium (flash drive). Secondly, the

students were asked to play the tutorial at home using any media player software on their

computer at their convenient time. And finally, the students were asked to practice where

applicable the new skills learnt following the steps in the tutorial.

1. Live Demonstration

Live demonstration in the context of this research, refers to the practical steps and procedures

that students observed during practical lessons, in performing a particular task before an attempt

was made by the individual pupil on their own. This form of demonstration was done by

volunteers among the students.

In this approach, almost all the students were willing to be called by the researcher to come and

demonstrate the various steps in performing a particular task. The reason being that, the students

had gone through the tutorial given to them over and over again and were very confident of what

they were coming to do.

In the first place, a pupil (volunteer) selected came forward and launched the appropriate

software by stating the steps. Secondly, he or she followed step by step in performing the

required task with explanation to his or her colleagues. Finally, the rest of the students who

looked on with keen interest and enthusiasm did the same as seen on the output of the projector

in the computer lab.

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Problems Encountered

Some of the students complained about the recorded voice explanations and screen activities

were very fast for them to follow. Again, others who were practicing after using the tutorial

realized that there was a difference in the some of the software version used in the demonstration

tutorial and the one used on their computers. Also creating demonstration tutorials was time

consuming and required an environment devoid of noise and sometimes needed high speed

Internet connectivity.

3.4.3.2 Group Work

The researcher believes that “two heads are better than one” and when students work as a team,

together much is achieved. This being the philosophy of the researcher; the students were

grouped together and assigned theory topics to research on using the Internet and make

presentation during lecture periods. In this intervention, students were in the first place put into a

group of seven (7) and were given different major topics and web search engines. Secondly, the

students shared among themselves sub-topics and each individual researched on his or her own,

and at times with the help of colleagues using the search engine assigned to the group. Thirdly,

the students met as a group; discussed and summarized the information downloaded from the net

and reorganized the information in an order deemed fit using MS-Office Word. In the fourth

step, the students rehearsed in preparation towards class presentation. Finally, among each group,

the researcher selected one pupil to do the presentation. After each group has presented, the

group leaders were asked to meet and compile their notes and distribute it to each member of the

group.

24
Problems Encountered.

During group presentation, the class became noisy and resulted in difficult class control.

Moreover, during the group work, some of the lazy students hide without active participation.

3.4.3.3 Project-Based Learning

Teaching is without doubt effective for transmitting information but to develop practical skills,

problem solving abilities and lifelong learning skills a more pupil-centered approach must be

taken. This involves a change in the role of the teacher from presenting information to students

to facilitating and guiding learning. Project-based learning typically begins with an end product

or “artefact” in mind, thus the production of an electronic grade book which requires specific

content knowledge or skills and typically raises one or more problems which students must solve

together using MS-Excel application. Since the researcher’s main objective was to develop

practical ICT competence of the students, he only defined the scope and gave time frame for the

completion of the project work. The students on the other hand, carried out the task of the project

on their own and from time to time sought help when the need arose throughout the various

stages of the project namely:

 Planning

 Researching

 Create a Blue Print

 Implementation

 Project Submission and Presentation

25
3.5 Data Analysis

The researcher used SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) for the data analysis and

presented the results in frequency and percentage distribution tables to determine the level of the

problem and the outcome after the intervention.

26
 CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS OF THE STUDY

4.0 Introduction

The purpose of this research is to put in place interventions that would help develop practical

ICT competence in SHS 2 students of Bompata Presbyterian SHS. This chapter covers the pre-

intervention results, post-intervention results and the discussions of the post-intervention results

in relation to the research questions.

4.1 Pre-Intervention Results

This section encompasses the results of all the activities carried out by the researcher to gather

data before the administration of the interventions devised to aid the researcher curb or reduce

the problem in question.

4.1.1 The use of demonstrations to expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the

students for searching and downloading of information on the Internet.

The researcher in the quest to determine students’ manipulative skills as far as researching and

downloading of relevant information from the internet is concerned, a three (3) week observation

was carried out by the researcher. The results of the study are presented in table 4.1.

27
Table 4.1: Students’ browsing skills on the internet

Week poor fair good very good excellent

One 63 8 4 0 0
Two 66 4 5 0 0
Three 65 6 4 0 0

From table 4.1 during the observational activities carried out by the researcher at the pre-

intervention stage on how conversant students are when they are tasked to browse the internet

and download some relevant information, for week one, out of the seventy-five students (75) in

the class, as many as sixty-three (63) representing 84% performed very poorly when asked to

demonstrate their browsing skills, eight (8) connoting 11% also demonstrated fair performance

and with good performance, only four (4) students representing 5% were recorded. During week

two, the number of students who were recorded for poor performance increased to sixty-six (66)

which represents 88%, four (4) which represents 5% performed fairly and only five (5) of the

students representing 7% demonstrated good performance. To validate the results of the study,

the researcher did a third week observation and sixty-five (65) representing 87% performed

poorly, the performance of six (6) students which indicates 8% was fair and only four (4)

representing 5% had good performance. Throughout the entire activity, none of the students was

captured to have performed either very good or excellent.

4.1.2 The use of group work (peer tutoring) to boost the practical ICT competence of the

students in MS-Office application.

The researcher further administered questionnaire to the students to find out the extent to which

peer tutoring can help boost their competence in ICT practical skills. The results are shown in

table 4.2.

28
Table 4.2: Students’ view on two heads are better than one

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly Agree 0 0
Agree 12 16
Disagree 18 24
Strongly Disagree 45 60
Total 75 100

Table 4.2 represents the views expressed by 75 students representing 100% on the notion that

two heads are better than one. 45 views representing 60% of the respondents strongly disagree to

the notion. 18 students disagreed to the notion that two heads are better than one, forming 24%

of the total views expressed. Again, from the responses 16% agreed to the notion and this form

the views of 12 students. Finally, out of the 75 views expressed, no one strongly disagreed with

the notion and this also formed 0% of the views.

Table 4.3: Student’s Responses that group work enables students learn from one another.

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly Agree 3 4
Agree 5 6.7
Disagree 34 45
Strongly Disagree 33 44

29
Total 75 100

With reference to Table 4.3, 34 views were collated which formed majority of the responses

disagreed on the view and this represented 45% of respondents. Again, 44% out of the 75

respondents strongly disagreed that group work enables students learn from one another.

Furthermore, 5 respondents represented 6.7% agreed with the view. Finally, 4% represented 4

respondents strongly agreed to the notion that group work enables students learn from one

another.

Table 4.4: Views on mixed abilities of students put to a task can produce an effective and

efficient output (Frequency and Percentage).

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly Agree 0 0

Agree 3 4.8

Disagree 40 63

Strongly Disagree 20 31.7

Total 63 100

It was deduced from Table 4.4 that 12 respondents remained neutral and did not expressed their

views. Twenty respondents (31.7%) strongly agreed that grouping of students to execute a task

could produce an effective and efficient output. Also, out of the sixty-three views collated, forty

(63%) agreed of this view in the questionnaire. More also, three respondents represented 4.8%

disagreed to the view.

30
Table 4.5: Views on group work does not enhance student’s co-operation and social skills

(Frequency and Percentage)

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly Agree 0 0.0
Agree 4 5.6
Disagree 64 90.1
Strongly Disagree 7 4.3
Total 75 100
Table 4.5 shows as much as sixty-four (90.1%) of the respondents disagreed with this aspect of

the questionnaire. Three also strongly disagreed and this represented 4.3% of the total

respondents. Four respondents agreed to this aspect of the questionnaires and this represented

5.6%. Out of the seventy-five respondents, four were not able to express their view on this

opinion.

Table 4.6: Views of respondents on group work establish good rapport between students

(Frequency and Percentage).

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly Agree 0 0
Agree 0 0
Disagree 21 27
Strongly Disagree 54 73
Total 75 100

Table 4.6 reveals that seventy-five views collated which represented 100% of the respondents.

Fifty-four (73%) of the total respondent strongly disagreed with the opinion. A total of twenty

31
disagreed and this also represented 27% of the views collated. One respondent was not able to

indicate his view on this aspect of the questionnaire.

4.1.3 The use of project-based learning to develop student’s practical ICT competence.

During the preliminary stage of the study, the researcher noticed that students had great difficulty

in performing basic skills like typing, formatting, among others. The researcher then probed the

students to solicit for the various contributing factors to the problem in question by administering

questionnaire among the students to undergo some sort of self-evaluation on practical skills in

ICT. The table 4.7 below holds the results of the study.

Table 4.7: Student’s self-evaluation on practical ICT skills at the pre-intervention

(Frequency and Percentage).

Skill Description Frequency Percentage (%)

Helpless 60 80
Weak 10 13.3
Good 3 4
Excellent 2 2.7
Total 75 100

Table 7 is a true reflection of the problem under research where out of seventy-five (75)

respondents; sixty of them represented 80% declared their competence level as helpless because

they could not use ICT at all. Again, 13.3% of the respondents also saw themselves as weak

because they could only use word processing, Internet browser minimally for personal use.

Besides that, three of the respondents evaluated their level of competence and claimed to be

good; meaning they could use word processing, spreadsheet, e-mail and an Internet browser

satisfactorily for personal use and for educational needs. Finally, two of the respondents assessed

32
themselves and also claimed to be excellent because they could use the previous tools well, make

web-pages, can use learning management systems and also know the pedagogical principles of

using ICT.

4.2 Post-Intervention Results

After the implementation of the intervention pursuant to the problem identified, the researcher in

the quest to determine the effectiveness of the interventions, series of activities were executed by

the researcher to gather data and the results of such activities have been captured in this section

in the form of tables.

4.2.1 The use of demonstrations to expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the

students for searching and downloading of information on the Internet.

After the implementation of the intervention, the researcher employed a three (3) week

observation to determine students’ manipulative skills as far as researching and downloading of

relevant information from the internet is concerned. The results of the study are presented in

table 4.8 below.

Table 4.8: students’ browsing skills on the internet

Week poor fair good very good

excellent
One 1 4 18 43 9

Two 0 5 13 38 19

Three 0 2 15 41 17

From table 4.1 during the observational activities carried out by the researcher at the post-

intervention stage on how conversant students are when they are tasked to browse the internet

33
and download some relevant information, for week one, out of the seventy-five students (75) in

the class, one (1) representing 1% performed very poorly when asked to demonstrate their

browsing skills, four (4) connoting 6% also demonstrated fair performance and with good

performance, eighteen (18) students representing 24% were recorded, forty-three (43)

representing 57% were recorded to be very good and nine (9) connoting 12% were known to be

excellent in performance. During week two, none of the students who was recorded for poor

performance, five (5) which represents 7% performed fairly, thirteen (13) of the students

representing 17% demonstrated good performance, thirty-eight (38) representing 51% had very

good performance and nineteen (19) indicating 25% were captured to be excellent in

demonstrating the required skills. To validate the results of the study, the researcher did a third

week observation and once again, none of the students performed poorly, the performance of two

(2) students which indicates 3% was fair, fifteen (15) representing 20% had good performance,

forty-one (41) representing 55% and seventeen (17) students representing 22% excellently

executed their skill.

4.2.2 The use of group work (peer tutoring) to boost the practical ICT competence of the

students in MS-Office application.

The answer to this question is depicted in the analysis of the data presented in the various tables

bellow where the views of the students were collated after the group work was used as an

intervention to develop students’ practical ICT competence.

Table 4.9: Students’ view on two heads are better than one

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly Agree 70 93.3
34
Agree 5 6.7
Disagree 0 0
Strongly Disagree 0 0
Total 75 100

At the end of the intervention Table 4.9 recorded that 93.3% of the views expressed strongly

agreed that two heads are better than one and five respondents represented 6.7% also agreed to

the notion. None of the respondent disagreed or strongly disagreed to the notion.

Table 4.10: Frequencies and Percentages of student’s responses that group work enables

students learn from one another.

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly Agree 68 90.7
Agree 7 9.3
Disagree 0 0
Strongly Disagree 0 0
Total 75 100

With reference to Table 4.10, 68 views were collated which formed majority of the responses

strongly agreed on the view and this represented 90.7% of the respondents. Again, 9.3% out of

the 75 respondents agreed that group work enabled students learn from one another.

Table 11: Views on mixed abilities of students put to a task can produce an Effective and

Efficient Output (Frequency and Percentage).

35
Response Frequency Percentage (%)
Strongly Agree 72 96
Agree 3 4
Disagree 0 0
Strongly Disagree 0 0
Total 75 100

Table 4.11 shows that 72 views of the respondents which formed 96% strongly agreed and three

out of the seventy-five respondents also agreed to the notion that mixed abilities of students put

to a task could produce an effective and efficient output. None of the respondent showed

disagreement.

Table 4.12: Views on group work does not enhance student’s co-operation and social skills

(Frequency and Percentage)

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly Agree 69 92
Agree 6 8
Disagree 0 0
Strongly Disagree 0 0
Total 75 100

36
Table 4.12 depicts that, out of the seventy-five views collated, sixty-nine (92%) strongly agreed

with the notion that group work does not enhance student’s co-operation and social skills. Again,

8% of the total respondents also agreed with this notion. None of the respondents disagreed to

this.

Table 4.13: Views of Respondents on Group Work Establish Good Rapport Between

Students (Frequency and Percentage).

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly Agree 71 97.3
Agree 2 2.7
Disagree 0 0
Strongly Disagree 0 0
Total 73 100

Table 4.13 recorded seventy-one views collated which represented 97.3% of the respondents

strongly disagreed. And two of the respondents also disagreed. None of the respondents agreed

or strongly agreed with statement. Two of the respondents also remained neutral without

selecting any of the options.

4.1.3 The use of project-based learning to develop student’s practical ICT competence.

At the post-intervention stage of the study, the researcher after employing an intervention, find

out from the students their ability to perform basic skills like typing, formatting, among others.

The researcher then probed the students to solicit for the various contributing factors to the

problem in question by administering questionnaire among the students to undergo some sort of

self-evaluation on practical skills in ICT. The table 4.15 below holds the results of the study.

37
Table 4.14: Students’ Self-Evaluation on Practical ICT Skills at the Post-Intervention

(Frequency and Percentage).

Skill Description Frequency Percentage (%)

Helpless 0 0
Weak 1 1.3
Good 65 86.7
Excellent 9 12
Total 75 100

Table 14 depicts the practical level of respondents. One pupil admitted that she is weak. Sixty-

five out of the seventy-five assessed and placed themselves in the level of good. Nine (12%) of

the respondents also ranked themselves in the level of excellent.

4.3 Discussion of Post-Intervention Results

This section encompasses discussion of results of both the pre and post-intervention activities

executed by the researcher. Thus, the researcher compared and contrasted the data gathered for

the two stages to determine whether the interventions employed worked effectively and

efficiently. The results are depicted with aid of charts.

4.3.1 The use of demonstrations to expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the

students for searching and downloading of information on the Internet.

The figures 4.1 and 4.2 below respectively depicts the results of the three-week observational

activities carried out by the researcher at both the pre and post-intervention stage of the study on

the use of demonstrations to expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the students for

searching and downloading of information on the Internet.

38
.

Manipulative skills of the pupils for searching and

downloading of information on the Internet
70
60
50
Percentage

40
30
20
10
0
poor fair good very good excellent
Pre-Intervention Observation Guide

one two three

Figure 4.1 The use of demonstrations to expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the

students for searching and downloading of information on the Internet

39
 Manipulative skills of the pupils for searching and
downloading of information on the Internet
50
45
40
35
Percentage

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
poor fair good very good excellent
Post-Intervention observation guide

one two three

Figure 4.2 The use of demonstrations to expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the

students for searching and downloading of information on the Internet

From figure 4.1 and 4.2 above which reveal the results of the pre and post-intervention

observation respectively, the researcher noticed that in using demonstration as an intervention,

the researcher realized from the findings that it was very effective and it helped the students

acquired new knowledge and skills. At the pre-intervention stage, the skills level of the students

was nothing to write home about. However, at the post-intervention stage, their knowledge and

skills level were rated as very good and excellent on the scale. Hence, the intervention was very

useful as far as the acquisition of ICT skills by students is concern. Relating the findings to the

views expatiated by some authors on demonstration, it goes to affirm what was said by (Synteta,

2001) that demonstration is an effective means of presenting new skills to students. Students on

the other hand must practice what they learnt during the demonstration lessons in order to exhibit

the skills acquired.(Ornstein, 2002)

40
4.3.2 The use of group work (peer tutoring) to boost the practical ICT competence of the

students in MS-Office application.

The students of Bompata Presbyterian SHS were extremely deficient in ICT practical and skills

and as a matter of fact profusely developed dislike for the course/subject. From personal

experiences of the researcher, he had no doubt that using group work as an intervention could

produce significant result in boosting the competence of the students in using ICT. Therefore, the

intern and researcher, devised peer tutoring with project-based activities in that the less privilege

students in terms of ICT practical can be assisted by the fellow colleagues who have already

acquainted themselves with the requisite skills and knowledge. Specifically, the researcher used

Microsoft Office application as a pivoting application to test for the effectiveness of this

intervention. The results of whether peer-tutoring as a vessel to boost the practical ICT

competence of students in MS-Office application after the implementation of the intervention are

compared and contrasted in the figures below.

Pupils’ view on two heads are better than one

.
100
90
80
70
Percentage

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
Students' Response

pre-intervention post-intervention

Figure 4.3 The use of group work (peer tutoring) to boost the practical ICT competence of

the students in MS-Office application

41
From figure 4.3, inference can be done that, at the initial stage of the study, thus before the

employment of the intervention, when the researcher inquiries from the students their views on

the saying “two heads are better than one”, none of the students at the pre-intervention stage,

acknowledged that indeed two heads are better than one with the reason been that working with

others to solve problems for them they difficult in that each and every one has their own way of

doing things that suits them. Very few students as well agreed that ideas from different people is

quite good without any substantive reason to that assertion, just that they feel it will be good but

the largest number posited that they disagreed and in fact strongly disagreed with that ideology.

This class of students were with the view that, pairing up or teaming up to carry out a task or

solve problem as a team is sometimes abhorring when those who thinks they do not know always

leave the task as a burden on the shoulders of their fellow colleagues who will be troubled when

the task is left unexecuted. On the other side of the issue, thus after the researcher oriented the

students on the effectiveness and efficiency of peer tutoring and practically invoked such a

methodology, contrary to the displeasure shown by the students against “team work” of study,

almost everyone tends to embrace the methodology and at the end high competence

demonstrated by the students in ICT practical was a product of peer tutoring as an intervention.

42
 Pupil’s Responses that group work enables pupils learn
from one another
100
90
80
70
percentage

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
students' response

pre-intervention post-intervention

Figure 4.4 Frequencies and Percentages of student’s responses that group work enables

students learn from one another

Figure 4.4 depicts that at the pre-intervention stage, the number of students who were of the view

that it is highly impossible to learn from their fellow colleagues significantly outweighed those

who admitted but even on a “bare grounds” without any evidence of their claim of support. This

was because throughout their stay in school, they were not made to work in groups, thus they

have never tasted any of tremendous benefit that working in groups has for participants.

Nonetheless, the researcher succeeded in effecting changes in the academic life of these students

when they were exposed to group work for task that were challenging enough that it takes

students to only work in groups before they can get the task accomplished. The response of

students to the questionnaire administered to them after the intervention was evidence to the

effectiveness and efficiency of the intervention.

43
 pupils put to a task can produce an Effective and Efficient
Output
120
100
80
percentage

60
40
20
0
strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree
students response

pre- intervention post- intervention

Figure 4.5 Views on mixed abilities of students put to a task can produce an Effective and

Efficient Output (Frequency and Percentage).

To validate the results accumulated from the activities executed above, the researcher put the

students to task purposely to check how the efficiency and effectiveness of the output the groups

may generate. The results are shown by figure 4.5 above which clearly shows that, before the

intervention, students may always find it difficult to perform a task given even when they work

assiduously because they were always assessed based on theory, hence it becomes headache to

apply their knowledge acquired theoretically to perform tasks assigned which makes their output

not effective and efficient when viewed under the lens of time and purpose for the output. But

when project-based methodology was integrated into lessons by the researcher, when given task

to execute, the students easily performed the task and interesting to note that their outputs were

efficient and effective in that, they perform the task within scheduled time and always meet the

target for which the outputs will be used.

44
 group work does not enhance pupil’s co-operation and
social skills
100
80
percentage

60
40
20
0
strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree
students response

pre- intervention post- intervention

Figure 4.6 Views on group work does not enhance student’s co-operation and social skills

(Frequency and Percentage)

From figure 4.6 it was noticed that during the pre-intervention stage of the study, students were

deficient at co-operation and social skills in term of communication and other components of co-

curricular activities. As a secondary objective of group work, after the implementation of the

intervention, the cooperation and social skills of the students was uplifted tremendously and this

manifested in the results collated from the questionnaire administered to the students as depicted

by figure 4.6 above.

45
 Group Work Establish Good Rapport Between Pupils
120
100
80
percentage

60
40
20
0
strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree
students response

pre- intervention post- intervention

Figure 4.7 Views of Respondents on Group Work Establish Good Rapport Between
Students

Again, figure 4.7 explicitly affirm that the rapport among students before the intervention was

nothing to write home about and this went a long way to impede the academic success of the

students as far as practical skills in ICT was demanded as a requisite for student to be considered

competent in the field of ICT. But after the implementation of the intervention, thus, segregating

students into groups as well as assigning them tasks that require collaboration, good rapport was

established among students which on the other side of the coin, succeeded in enhancing the

academic performance of the students as well as becoming competent in the practical skill in

ICT.

4.3.3 The use of project-based learning to develop student’s practical ICT competence.

The researcher was convinced beyond doubts that adopting project-based learning can aid

curbing the problem of lack of competence of students in ICT practical skills. The figure 4.8

below depicts the results of when project-based methodology was not used and after the

implementation of project-based learning.

46
 Pupils’ Self-Evaluation on Practical ICT Skills
100
90
80
70
percentage

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Helpless weak Good Excellent
students response

pre- intervention post- intervention

Figure 4.8 Students’ Self-Evaluation on Practical ICT Skills at the Post-Intervention

Students were made to undergo some sort of self-evaluation pursuant to their ability to execute

certain practical skills before and after the employment of the intervention. From figure 4.8

above, it can be inferred that the students admitted that during the pre-intervention stage that they

are helpless, weak and not good at all in executing certain basic practical skill. But after the

researcher integrated project-based teaching and learning in all the instructional units, the

students gave very positive and encouraging responses when probed again about how they have

been acquainted with the practical skills and the results reveal that students are now good and

excellent in the demonstration of the practical skills in ICT. Hence, the interventions adopted for

in building practical ICT competence of Bompata Presbyterian SHS through project-based

learning was very successful.

47
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction

The purpose of this research is to put in place interventions that would help develop practical

ICT competence in SHS 2 students of Bompata Presbyterian SHS. This chapter deals with the

summary, conclusion, and recommendations and suggestion for further studies.

5.1 Summary

The aim of this research was to develop practical ICT competence in SHS 2 students of Bompata

Presbyterian SHS.

The specific objectives were to use demonstration, group work and project-based learning as

teaching strategies that could enable students develop their competence. This research also aimed

at assessing the effectiveness of the interventions used. The research questions sought to find out

whether the use of the demonstration, group work and project-based learning would develop the

knowledge and skills needed to make the students competent in ICT.

The sample size for the research was seventy-five drawn from SHS 2 Science students of

Bompata Presbyterian SHS. Project-based learning was the intervention used to develop the

practical ICT competence of the students.

Observation guide (check list) and questionnaire were the instruments used to collect data for

analysis. The pre – intervention results registered poor performance, indicating the students’ lack

the requisite skills and knowledge in the use of ICT. A significant improvement was recorded at

48
the implementation stage where the students’ competence level began to rise. The data was

analysed and presented using frequency and percentage tables.

The post-intervention findings revealed an incredible change in level of competence of the

students. Demonstration provided theoretical lessons for the students to follow. Group work

helped the students learnt from one another and enforced social cohesion. Project-based learning

provided a platform for the students to apply their knowledge and skills acquired in solving real-

life problems thereby developing good self-esteem and competence.

5.2 Conclusion

The instructional method used in teaching and learning has a great impact on the knowledge and

skills acquisition of learners. From the research findings, one could conclude that a teaching and

learning strategy that could help students develop real world skills like the ability to solve

complex real-world problems, collaborate well with others, make decisions, take initiative is

project-based learning.

5.3 Recommendation

Based on the findings of the research, the following recommendations are outlined as measures

to help develop practical competence of students not only in ICT but, in other course areas where

practical skills are needed:

 In recruiting a teaching staff to teach practical course like ICT, the prospective staff

must be tested practically on the course he or she would teach or must prove evidence

of his or her practical competence.(Aydoğdu et al., 2012) The appointment should

not be based only on his or her academic qualifications.

49
  ICT teaching staff should adapt project-based learning in teaching and learning as this

would build practical skills of the students to take up real world projects. The

researcher was able to design and host a website for a school (www.cte-winneba.org)

as a result of a project work undertaken in school when he was in level 300.

 ICT course contents should be of more practical base than theory, as this would

endow students with more practical skills to enable them confidently rub shoulders

with their counterparts anywhere in the world.(spiegal, 2013)

 The GPD 113 (Introduction to Information and Technology) course at the University

should be re-structured so that at least it is studied for one academic year instead of

the one semester.

 Students should be given the chance sometimes to evaluate their teachers on their

practical competence as this would help authorities know the impact they make on the

students practically.

 The Curriculum Research and Development Division of the Ghana Education Service

should make the necessary changes in the curriculum content and methods of

teaching ICT at all levels of education in the country as implemented by Japan.

To the researcher, project-based learning should be made part of every teaching and learning

situation right from the basic level to the university.

50
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 APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

Observation Checklist

Rating Scale
1 2 3 4 5
Variables Observed
Mouse navigation skills.
Ability to launch the web browser through double

clicking on the desktop.

Speed of moving the mouse pointer to the address

bar and typing site addresses.

Level of knowledge in searching for information

on the net.
Ability to switch between two or more sites

windows.
Level of understanding of the term download and

upload.
Level of understanding of the term Uniform

Resource Locator (URL)

Understanding of computer networks (LAN, WAN

and Internet)
Downloading and saving of Information on a

desired location.
KEY
1– Poor 2 – Fair 3 – Good 4 – Very Good 5 – Excellent

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 APPENDIX B

Questionnaire

Instructions

Please complete this questionnaire as honestly as possible. All responses will be treated as

confidential and will be used for research purposes only. Do not write your name on the

questionnaire. Thank you.

SECTION A

(Please tick as √ where appropriate)

Disagre

View Strongly agree Agree e Strongly disagree

1. Two heads are better than one
2. Group work enables students to learn

from one another

3. Mix abilities of students put to a

task can produce effective and

efficient output.
4. Group work does not enhance

students’ co-operation, social and

intellectual skill.
5. Group work does not improve

rapport between students.

Please indicate your views about each of these statements concerning student’s group work.

SECTION B

55
 Can you please make a self-evaluation of your own ICT competence?

(Please tick as √ where appropriate)

 ’helpless’ (I cannot use ICT at all)

 ‘weak’ (I can use word processing, Internet browser and e-mail minimally for personal

use)

 ‘good’ (I can use word processing, spreadsheet, e-mail and an Internet browser

satisfactorily for personal use and for my educational needs)

 ‘excellent’ (I can use the previous tools well, make web-pages, can use learning

management systems and also know the pedagogy

56