Abstract

Teaching methods are standard procedures of presenting subject matter and organizing teacher-student interaction during a lesson. Each teaching strategy is associated with a method. Teaching methods can be general and specific. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of teaching methods on student’s academic performance in the University of Buea.

Specifically, the research sought to examine how the lecture illustration method of teaching influences the academic performance of students, how the lecture-demonstration method of teaching influences student’s academic performance, and how the interactive method of teaching influences student’s academic performance in the University of Buea.

Data was collected purposively, with the use of a questionnaire, from a sample population of 70 students. The study employed a descriptive study design. Data were descriptively analysed from the questionnaire by calculating frequencies and percentages. Findings revealed that lecture illustration, lecture-demonstration, and interactive teaching methods have a great influence on the academic performance of students.

It was recommended that teachers should do everything possible to use the various teaching methods. This is because learners have different ways of learning and comprehending the subject matter taught. A method might work for one and not the other. So, it is advisable to use different teaching methods so as to favour the three types of learners found in the learning arena that is; auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners. It was further recommended that teachers should also make use of film slides in class.

Film slides help learners to retain concepts fast especially for visual learners. The involvement of film slides when making use of lecture illustration method of teaching will help boost students understanding of simple and complex concepts thus increasing their academic performance.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Teaching methods are standard procedures of presenting subject matter and organizing teacher-student interaction during a lesson. Each teaching strategy is associated with a method. Teaching methods can be general and specific. General teaching methods are the procedure that is common in the teaching of different subjects.

On the other hand, specific teaching methods may be applicable mainly to specific teaching subjects, thus this research is aimed at determining the teaching methods and the effect on students’ academic performance like lecture illustration, lecture-demonstration, and the interactive (cooperative method), on students in the University of Buea.

This chapter focuses on the background study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, justification of the study, significance of the study, the scope of the study, and operational definition of terms.

Background of the study

Historically, Educators have noted the benefits of teaching methods since classical times. In central Europe, the seventeenth-century scientist and educator John Amos Comenius promulgated a reformed system of universal education that was widely used in Europe. Its growth resulted in increased government interest in education. In the 1760s, for instance, Ivan Betskoy was appointed by the Russian Tsarina, Catherine II, as an educational advisor. He proposed to educate young Russians of both sexes in state boarding schools. By the eighteenth century, universities published academic journals.

The German and French 78university models were established. Increasing academic interest in education led to the analysis of teaching methods and in the 1770s the establishment of the first chair of pedagogy at the University of Halle in Germany.

According to Hunter (1984) and Reinhartz (1980), teaching is a constant stream of professional decisions that affects the probability of learning decisions that are made and implemented before, during, and after interactions with the students explaining, defining, giving examples, stressing critical attributes and demonstrations. A teacher has to set a test to find out if students have learned well and the students should show whether they have understood the lesson by their academic achievement.

According to Tambo (2003), teaching methods are important components for the curriculum for they determine how effective the objectives would be attained. The teaching methods are chosen based on the objectives to be attained. Learning outcomes according to Tambo (2003) are of many types. There are many higher-order learning outcomes and lower-order learning outcomes. While lower learning outcomes only help an individual to remember information higher-order learning outcomes help an individual to solve problems which is the goal of education.

Conceptually, education is important in Cameroon and in every country for it contributes to the political, social, and economic development of every community. More so, education is a basic human right and it is a basic instruction for achieving the goal of national unity, political stability, equality, and mobilizing all the potentials of a nation.

In addition, education is the process of facilitating learning, knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits assumed to a group of people which are transfer to other people through storytelling, discussion, teaching, and training or through research. Successful teaching and learning emanate to a large extent from careful planning, preparation, and the methods used in giving out the materials. Before this can be done the teacher must be fully aware of the subject matter and various teaching methods of teaching (Okpala, 1980).

Education today is geared towards student-centeredness which means that the teacher must be trained in order for them to use the appropriate teaching methods well; this is because they need to direct the students on how these methods are used for the students to perform well and also become active in the teaching and learning process. Thus, a well-trained teacher will be able to teach well and create a love for the subject into the minds of the students but a teacher who is not trained will rather create discouragement and hate rate of the subject in the minds of the students

Statement of the problem

Despite the teaching methods in some schools, teachers still find it challenging to match each learning resource to a specific teaching method, for example, the teaching method used by a teacher in the University of Douala will be different from a teacher in the University of Buea to facilitate his or her teaching. Newly employed teachers face difficulties in using good teaching techniques in the classroom.

A prepared lesson might not be well assimilated due to lack of or misappropriation of teaching methods. This approach abounds on the teacher-student ratio but lacks a consensual explanation of how the teacher-student ratio as one aspect of the effect of teachers’ teaching method on students’ academic performance.

The existing research on teacher-student ratio as one of the effects of teaching methods on students’ academic performance does not take into account this aspect of the analysis. It is against this backdrop that: the researcher will be going out to investigate the teacher-student ratio as one of the aspects of the effect of teaching methods on students’ academic performance in the University of Buea.

Research Objective.

General Objectives

To investigate the effects of teaching methods on students’ academic performance in the University of Buea

Specific Research Objectives

1. To find out the influence of lecture illustration methods on students’ academic performance in the university of Buea
2. To investigate the use of the lecture-demonstration method on students’ academic performance in the University of Buea.
3. To find out the influence of the interactive method on students’ academic performance in the University of Buea.

Further Readings

THE EFFECTS OF TEACHING METHODS ON STUDENT’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE BUEA MUNICIPALITY