Student'S Index Number: Chapter 1 To 5
Student'S Index Number: Chapter 1 To 5
Student'S Index Number: Chapter 1 To 5
5171040249
NAME
Gyasi-Yamoah Emmanuel
PROJECT TOPIC
BUILDING PRACTICAL INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
CHAPTERS
Chapter 1 to 5
1
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.
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
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
that the students of Bompata Presbyterian SHS lack the skills required to execute basic ICT task.
2
In my quest to help students to overcome this challenge, the researcher conducted a research to
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
The main purpose of this research is to put in place the interventions that would help develop
Specific Objectives
1. Use demonstration to enables the students develop and improve their ICT manipulative
3
2. Enable students work in groups to acquire and improve upon their practical competence
1. To what extent would demonstrations expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the
2. To what extent would group work (peer tutoring) boost the practical ICT competence of
3. What degrees can project-based learning would develop student’s practical ICT
competence?
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.
4
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
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.
Since the intervention was designed and implemented within a semester, the researcher outlined
only three specific objectives that were attainable within the period.
5
MS-Office - Microsoft-Office
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
6
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
Demonstration
Group Work
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.
Project Based Learning is a teaching and learning model (curriculum development and
allows students to work more autonomously to construct their own learning, and culminates in
follows:
7
Focuses on the central concepts of a discipline
Learning that requires students to draw from many information sources and disciplines in
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
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
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
8
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
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
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
9
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:
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
10
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.
implementation faces several challenges (Synteta, 2001; Thomas, J. W., Mergendoller, J. R., &
Michaelson, 2009)as projects are complex endeavours involving many different activities. In
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
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
11
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).
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
2.1.2 Demonstration
Also, cited that demonstration lessons help to arouse and maintain attention and motivate
(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,
12
demonstration is generally used as a method but it is also frequently used in relation with other
(Geier, R., P. C. Blumenfeld, R.W.Marx, J. S. Krajcik, E. Soloway, 2008)also believes that one
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
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
13
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
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
-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.
14
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
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
15
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
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.
“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
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
16
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
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
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
17
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
grasp of the concepts and were able to perform well on traditional tests (Thomas, 2005)
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
18
knowledge and skills, their performance improved, interest developed and the females’
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
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
19
used. The specific areas covered include; the research design, population and sampling
technique, data collection instrument, intervention design and implementation and data analysis.
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
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
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
20
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.
The main instruments used for the data collection were observation guide or checklist and
questionnaire.
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
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.
21
3.4.2 Questionnaire
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.
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
demonstration used by the researcher as an intervention was in two folds. These were:
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
22
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
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
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
23
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.
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.
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
Planning
Researching
Implementation
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
26
CHAPTER FOUR
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
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
4.1.1 The use of demonstrations to expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the
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
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
4.1.2 The use of group work (peer tutoring) to boost the practical ICT competence of the
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
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
Table 4.3: Student’s Responses that group work enables students learn from one another.
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
Strongly Agree 0 0
Agree 3 4.8
Disagree 40 63
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%
30
Table 4.5: Views on group work does not enhance student’s co-operation and social skills
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
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
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 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.
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
4.2.1 The use of demonstrations to expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the
After the implementation of the intervention, the researcher employed a three (3) week
relevant information from the internet is concerned. The results of the study are presented in
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
4.2.2 The use of group work (peer tutoring) to boost the practical ICT competence of the
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
Table 4.9: Students’ view on two heads are better than one
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
4.3.1 The use of demonstrations to expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the
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
38
.
40
30
20
10
0
poor fair good very good excellent
Pre-Intervention Observation Guide
Figure 4.1 The use of demonstrations to expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the
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
Figure 4.2 The use of demonstrations to expand and perk up the manipulative skills of the
From figure 4.1 and 4.2 above which reveal the results of the pre and post-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
40
4.3.2 The use of group work (peer tutoring) to boost the practical ICT competence of the
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
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
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
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
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
Figure 4.5 Views on mixed abilities of students put to a task can produce an Effective and
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
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
Figure 4.6 Views on group work does not enhance student’s co-operation and social skills
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
45
Group Work Establish Good Rapport Between Pupils
120
100
80
percentage
60
40
20
0
strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree
students response
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
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
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
47
CHAPTER FIVE
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
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
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
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
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-
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
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
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)
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
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
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
To the researcher, project-based learning should be made part of every teaching and learning
50
REFERENCES
Allen, S. J., Wareham, K., Bradley, C., Harris, W., Dhar, A., Brown, H., Foden, A., Cheung, W.
Y., Gravenor, M. B., Plummer, S., Phillips, C. J., & Mack, D. (2012). A multicentre
Amabile. (2000). Motivation, self-confidence, and group cohesion in the foreign language
Aydoğdu, S., Doymuş, K., & Şimşek, U. (2012). Instructors’ practice level of Chickering and
Gamson learning principles. Mevlana International Journal of Education (MIJE), 2(2), 11–
24.
Barrimi, M., Aalouane, R., Aarab, C., Hafidi, H., Baybay, H., Soughi, M., Tachfouti, N., Nejjari,
C., Mernissi, F. Z., Rammouz, I., & McKenzie, R. B. (2013). 済無 No Title No Title. In
Boaler, J. (1999). Mathematics for the moment, or the millennium? Education Week 17(29): 30–
34.
creating complex interventions in classroom settings. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 2,.
Students in Ghanaian Secondary Schools. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191,
1282–1287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.555
51
reading, writing, and mathematics, in L.B. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing, Learning, and
Few Ng, C. et all. 2. (n.d.). A Review of Instrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations of ESL Learners. A
Gay and Arisian. (2000). Educational Research: competences for analysis and application.
Standardized test outcomes for students engaged in inquiry-based curricula in the context
of urban reform. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 45(8): 922–39. Harel, I., &
Ghavifekr, S., Kunjappan, T., & Ramasamy, L. (2016). Teaching and Learning with ICT Tools
Harel, I., & Papert, S. (Eds. . (2001). Constructionism. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
harmer. (n.d.). Basic needs and the development of interest and intrinsic
Kafai, Y., & Resnick, M. (1996). (Eds. . (2010). Constructionism in practice designing:
Knoll, M. (2003). ). The Project Method: Its Vocational Education Origin and International
52
Ornstein. (2002). There are many reasons for teaching to the whole group in the classroom. This
synthesis of research explores these reasons and the research reports upon which they are
based.
P. (2003). Project-Based e-Learning in higher education: The model and the method, the
practice an.
handbook for middle and high school teachers. Novato, CA: The Buck Institute for
Education.
Thomas, J. W. (2005). A review of research on PBL. Retrieved on December 16, 2010, from
http://www.bobpearlman.org/BestPractices/PBL Research.pdf.
Vygotsky, L. (2000). Mind in society: The development of the higher psychological processes.
53
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
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
and Internet)
Downloading and saving of Information on a
desired location.
KEY
1– Poor 2 – Fair 3 – Good 4 – Very Good 5 – Excellent
54
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
SECTION A
Disagre
efficient output.
4. Group work does not enhance
intellectual skill.
5. Group work does not improve
SECTION B
55
Can you please make a self-evaluation of your own ICT competence?
‘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
‘excellent’ (I can use the previous tools well, make web-pages, can use learning
56