ABSTRACT
Integrated science plays a vital role
in Nigerian Science Education programme because it prepares pupils at the
Junior Secondary School level for a study of core science subjects at Senior
Secondary School level which in turns brings about students’ interest in
science oriented courses at the tertiary institutions. The purpose of the study
was to verify the impact of Sheltered Instruction on ELL’s performance in some
concepts in integrated science, performance of male and female ELLS, their
attitude to science and students perception of Sheltered Instruction as an
instructional strategy. As an experimental research design, the study
population comprised all junior secondary school two students in Lagos. Out of
this population, two intact classes were drawn from Educational District 1, in
Lagos State.
The instrument used for collection of
data included Achievement test, Students attitude Scale on Science and an oral
interview on Students’ perception on the use of Sheltered Instruction. The data
collected were analyzed using descriptive Statistics .It was found that there
is significant different in performance between students exposed to Sheltered Instruction
in some concepts in integrated science and those not exposed. Based on this
finding, the researcher recommends that Sheltered Instruction should be use a
mode of instruction for science at all levels.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page i
Certification ii
Abstract iii
Acknowledgements iv
Dedication v
Table of content vi-vii
CHAPTER
ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACHGROUND TO THE STUDY 1
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 9
1.3 PURPOSE OF STUDY 11
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 11
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 12
1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES 12
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 12
1.8 USE OF ACRONYMS 13
CHAPTER TWO:
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 INTRODUCTION 14
2.1 STUDIES ON METHODS OF TEACHING INTEGRATED SCIENCE
IN NIGERIA 14
2.2 STUDIES ON STUDENTS PERFORMANCE IN INTEGRATED
SCIENCE IN NIGERIA 19
2.3 STUDIES ON ATTITUDE OF STUDENTS TO SCIENCE
TEACHING IN NIGERIA 23
2.4 STUDIES ON THE USE OF SHELTERED INSTRUCTION TO
IMPROVE STUDENTS 26
PERFORMANCE IN SCIENCE
CHAPTER
THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION 30
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 30
3.3 POPULATION OF THE STUDY 31
3.4 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE 31
3.5 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT 31
3.6 VALIDATION OF INSRUMENT 31
3.7 RELIABILITY OF INSRTUMENT 32
3.8 DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUE 32
3.9 DATA ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE 33
CHAPTER
FOUR: PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
4.1 TABLE 1:
PRE-TEST AND POST –TEST TEST SCORES 34
4.2 TABLE 2 :MALE AND FEMALE EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS 36
4.3 TABLE 3 :MALE CONTROL VS MALE EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS 37
4.4 TABLE 4: FEMALE CONROL VS FEMALE EXPERIMENTAL 37
4.5 TABLE 5: PRE-STUDENTS ATTITUDE SCALE IN SCIENCE 39
4.6 TABLE 6: POST-STUDENTS ATTITUDE SCALE IN SCIENCE 40
CHAPTER
FIVE DISCUSSIONS,
CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
AND SUMMARY
5.1
DISCUSSIONS 42
5.2
CONCLUSIONS 47
5.3
IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 47
5.4 SUMMARY 49
REFERENCES
CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
The acquisition of English language
skills and proficiency has been implicated in the performance of students in
the other school subjects. The importance of English language as a medium of
communication in schools in Nigeria derived mainly from its utilitarian value
to the larger Nigerian society. English is the official language of
administration and commerce. Salami (2002).
An English language learner (ELLS) is a person who is learning the
English language after acquisition of his/her native language (mother tongue).
Hence the term is used to refer to learners of English as a second language (ESL)
in schools where English is the language of instruction (Wikipedia, 2011).
Although, English language learners
(ELL) students come from diverse backgrounds and they have several common
needs. Certainly, they need to enhance their proficiency in English. They also
need to acquire reading and writing skills in English as well as maintain a
learning continuum in the content areas (E.g. mathematics, science etc).
Researchers agree that mastering
academic English language skills is essential for ELL students’ academic
achievement and educational attainment (Ballantyne et al, 2008: Gersten & Baker,
2000: Slavin & Chueng, 2005) Also, point out that poverty, language and in
particular proficiency in the medium of instruction is the largest single
factor that affects learners’ performance at school. For ELL in the science
classroom they are confronted with learning the subject matter as well as cope
with language comprehension too. Taylor
and Prinsloo (2005). Therefore, Teachers are therefore faced with double
challenges of teaching a particular content area using English language as a
medium of instruction to ELL while learners are still grappling with English
language.
Language is an integral part of
science and science learning .Scientists and students used language to make
sense of new information and develop new ideas. Reading, speaking , writing and
listening are fundamental components of scientific literacy(Norris and
Philips,2003).One of the major difficulties experienced by learners when
learning science is learning the language of science(Wellington and
Osborne,2001). The need to pay attention to language used in the classroom is
very important to improve the quality of science education and every lesson
should by implication be a language lesson. (Shaffer 2007,Jaipal, 2001;Wellington&
Osborne,2001).To do well learners should
be able to extend their knowledge of concepts beyond basic vocabulary and be
able to engage in, and manipulate the appropriate discourse (Shaffer,2007).
The peculiar language demands of
science represent serious challenges for students (Lemke, 2002), especially ELLS.
Science uses language in specialized
ways, different from the everyday language of many students. According to De Oliveira
(2010) these language demands in science may include:
1. Technical terms and their
definitions: Technical terms occur through science textbooks and typically some
are set in bold and defined, but some may appear without definition or the
definition may be difficult to find. Moreover, definitions may contain complex
language that ELLS may not understand.
2. Conjunctions with specific roles:
Conjunction (e.g. or) may have multiple, targeted roles in science and all may
occur within a few paragraphs: The conjunction or, for instance, can introduce
an explanation or paraphrase and a more abstract or technical term.
3. Everyday questions and words with
specialized meanings: Paragraphs in science text often begins with colloquial, informal
questions but continue to provide answer with highly technical language. Words
with specialized meaning in science may appear repeatedly and confuse ELLS who
may know only the everyday meaning of the word.
4 .Noun groups presented in a Zigzag
structure: Several noun group structures tends to appear in science text head
only, pronouns, nouns with pre or post modifiers and nouns with both pre and
post modifiers. Zigzag structuring involves the introduction of a nominal group
in one sentence and the tracking of these nominal groups in other sentences, creating
a Zigzag movement lexical content is accumulated through these complex and
expanded noun groups, creating high lexical density. (De Oliveira &
Kathryn, 2010)
For English language learners to
succeed, they must master not only English vocabulary and grammar, but also the
way English is used in core content classes. Students must be able to read and
understand expository prose such as that found in textbooks, write persuasively,
argue points of view, and take notes from teacher lecture. They must also
articulate their thinking skills in English make hypotheses and prediction, express
analyses, and draw conclusions. They must, however, also learn how to do these
tasks-generate the format of an outline, negotiate roles in cooperative
learning groups, interpret charts and maps, and such. The combination of these
three knowledge bases-knowledge of English, Knowledge of content topic, and
knowledge of how the tasks are to be accomplished constitutes the major
components of academic literacy (Short, 2004).
PHILOSOPHY
OF INTEGRATED SCIENCE
Eriba (2004) defined integrated
science as a discipline designed to allow the learner possess a holistic view
of science. In this regard, they are to gain an understanding of the
fundamental unity of science through effective lesson delivered by the teacher.
Ango (1999) describes integrated
science as undifferentiated course designed to show the unity, wholeness and
interrelationship of separate disciplines that made up science. There is no
doubt that integrated science is the foundation of learning science in Nigeria.
Integrated science may also be referred to as a first course that exposed
students to sciences. This is in line with the assumption of the National
curriculum for integrated science which stated that “A large number of school
children entering junior secondary schools may not have been exposed to primary
science core curriculum which has been nationally adopted; therefore integrated
science teacher should assume little”. The Nigeria integrated science
curriculum for JSS is meant for the current 6-3-3-4(now 9-3-4) system of
education in Nigeria. It is intended to provide modern integrated science
course for three years to all junior secondary school students.
The objectives of the curriculum were
derived from the National policy of Education (NPE, 2004). The cardinal
objectives of the curriculum are to prepare pupils to acquire:
1. Adequate laboratory and field
skills in integrated science;
2. Meaningful and relevant knowledge
in integrated science;
3. Ability to apply scientific
knowledge to everyday life in matters of personal and community health and agriculture;
and
4. Reasonable and functional
scientific attitudes.
These cardinal objectives are
appropriate and meaningful because they emphasize:
1. Enquiry and experimentation as
vehicle for science learning/teaching.
2. Relevance of knowledge and skills
taught and
3. Functionality
These ideals are the pillars of
modern science teaching today. Secondly, they cover satisfactorily the
cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains of learning.
LANGUAGE AND SCIENCE LEARNING
Majority of language minority
students do not have access to rigorous subject matter instruction or the
opportunity to develop academic language-the specialized cognitively demanding
language functions and structures that are needed to understand, conceptualize ,
symbolize, discuss, read, and write about topics in academic
subjects(Lacelle-Peterson and Rivera, 1994)
English language learners acquire basic
social communication skill but less readily acquire the complex-subject-specific
language skills require for academic success. Science, have a linguistic
register-norms and patterns of language use essential to the practice of the
discipline. The science register uses academic language features that include
formulating hypotheses, proposing alternative solutions, describing, classifying,
use time and spatial relations, inferring, interpreting data, predicting, generalizing,
and communicating findings(National Science Teachers Association,1991).The use
of these language functions is fundamental to the process of inquiry science(National
Research Council(NRC),1996).
National Association for Education
progress report (National Center for Education Statistic, 2000) shows that in
core academic subject’s .Mathematics, science and reading, the scores of
language minority student is significantly behind that of their native English
speaking peers. The development and use of language functions such as describing,
predicting, hypothesizing, reasoning, explaining, and reflecting, parallel the
process used in the learning of science.
Research on second language immersion
programmes find that contextualized, content-based instruction in student’s
second language can enhance the language proficiency of English language
learners with no detriment to their academic learning (Mckeon, 1994; Met, 1994).The
subject matter content provides a meaningful context for the learning of
language structure and functions, and the language processes provide the medium
for analysis and communication of subject matter knowledge.
The context of language use refers to
the degree to which language provides learners with meaningful cues that help
them interpret the content being communicated-visual cues, concrete objects, and
hands-on activities. The contextualized use of language in science instruction
also promotes the understanding of science concepts (Rosebery et al; 1992).In
science, language tends to structure the way concepts are developed, organized,
and communicated.
The relationship between science
learning and language learning is reciprocal and synergistic. Through the contextualized
use of language in science inquiry, students develop and practice complex
language forms and functions such as description, explanation, and discussion
in inquiry science, students enhance their conceptual understanding.
SHELTERED INSTRUCTION
One approach found useful by content
teachers to assisting their ELL students is known as sheltered Instruction.
Sheltered Instruction provides ELL
students with the support and time needed to work on improving language
proficiency as well as providing the students necessary information in content
areas that will be mandatory for graduation(Echevarria et al;2004,2006).
Echevarria et al (2004) explain that
enrolling ELL students in sheltered instruction content area classes provides
them with opportunities to develop knowledge of English, knowledge of content
topic, and knowledge of how the tasks are to be accomplished.
Sheltered instruction is an approach
to teaching learners which integrates language and content
instruction.(Wikipedia,2011).The purpose of sheltered instruction is to deliver
subject matter content in a manner that is accessible to all
learners.(Wikipedia,2011)
In a sheltered instruction classes, delivered
by a core teacher, students receive comprehensible core content instruction throughout
the day. Sheltered instruction uses a communicative approach-emphasizing
communication and functions over grammar and form to teach language and
content. The approach highlights use of language functions such as negotiating,
explaining, describing and defining when discussing content concepts.
The content is taught using
instructional strategies that scaffold the content learning by building
background knowledge and through use of visuals, gestures ,manipulative, paraphras-ing
etc. Each lesson has clear content and language objectives. Higher-order
language especially within questioning (Echevarria et al; 2008), and use of
critical thinking are also important components of sheltered instruction.
Researchers have found improvement
among ELL student who have had teachers implement the sheltered instruction
observation protocol (SIOP components).During 1998 to 2000, a study compared
two large groups of ELL middle students from the east and west coasts who were
taught by trained ESL teachers. One group of students was taught by teachers
who received training on the SIOP model. The other group of students had
instructors who were unfamiliar with the SIOP model. The two groups of students
were given prompts in the fall and spring that required expository writing
using the Illinois measure of Annual Growth in English(IMAGE) assessment
rubic,results showed that the teachers using the SIOP model out-performed their
ELL peers who had not(Echevarria et al;2006).
Another study conducted by Honigsfeld
and Cohan(2008) investigated a group of teachers from a New York public school
district who collaborated to learn more about and implement the SIOP model.
These teachers noticed the effectiveness of the model by analyzing ELL student artifacts.
The students’ writing samples improved and so did their use of graphic
organizers. The teachers also noticed an increase in their ELL students’
creativity, engagement and understand-ing (Honisfeld and Cohan, 2008).As
demonstrated by these studies, sheltered instruction can lead to positive
results for ELL students’ language abilities if implemented correctly.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
One of the current educational
problems of public interest is that of poor level of achievement especially in
public examinations (Kolawole and Dele, 2002).This poor level achievement in
many subjects area may be due to poor foundation in English language at primary
school level .There are several research reports, which view that language
inefficiency invariably leads to poor academic performance (Onukaogu, 2002)
Reports from the senior secondary certificate
examination (SSCE) support the language related factors to students weakness in
the areas of reading and writing such as inability to follow instructions, make
observations and to make correct inference WAEC Chief Examiners report (2002).
Dale and cuevas (2002) observed that
students learning English language as a second language have difficulty in
interpreting the meaning of logical connectors in science language. As Maleki
and Zangani (2007) observe having difficulties in grasping fully the contents
and concepts of various subjects of the curriculum taught in the target
language (English language) seems to be one of the most serious problems that
ELL students face in their particular course of study. This might be due to
their weakness in English language, the medium of instruction, which may have
negative consequences on their overall academic achievement. Therefore, the
overall performance of Nigerian ESL students depends to a very large extent on
their English language proficiency.
Based on the chief examiner’s report
(2000) the following problems are associated with science subjects.
-Inability of students to express
themselves well in English language on scientific concepts
-Lack of in depth knowledge in the
content areas
-Inability of students to record
observations during experiments.
-Lack of equipment and facilities to
teach some topic in the curriculum
-Students have the notion that
science subjects must be memorized, thus they are unable to transfer the knowledge
of basic concepts learnt in their lower classes
-Students are weak in written English
(spelling mistakes)
-Failure to adhere to instructions on
the question paper
-Lack of self confidence resulting in
copying and repeated cancellations in presenting work.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this study is
to investigate the impact of an intervention programme (the use of sheltered
instruction) on enhancing English language learners’ performance in integrated
science. Specifically, the study attempts to:
1. Verifying the impact of sheltered
instruction on ELL’S performance in some concepts in integrated science.
2. Verifying the impact of sheltered
instruction on the performance of male and female ELLS
3. Verifying the impact of sheltered
instruction on students attitude to science
4. Verifying students’ perception of
sheltered instruction as an instructional strategy.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will be useful in
verifying the impact of sheltered instruction on English language learners’
performance in some concepts in integrated science.
However, this study will verify the performance of male and female
English language learners exposed to sheltered instruction and the impact of
sheltered instruction on students’ attitude to science. It will also verify students’
perception of sheltered.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.
Is
there any significant impact of
sheltered instruction on English language learners performance in some concepts
in integrated science
2.
Is
there any significant impact of sheltered instruction on the performance of
male and female English language learners?
3.
Is
there any significant impact of sheltered instruction on students’ attitude to
science?
1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
1.
There
will be no significant different in the performance between students exposed to
sheltered instruction in some concepts in integrated science and those not
exposed.
2.
There
is significant different in achievement test scores between male and female English
language learners.
3.
There
is significant difference in students’ attitude to science when exposed to
sheltered instruction.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study will be delimited to
Education District 1 in Lagos state. Similarly, junior secondary school three (JSS
2) students will be involved in this study.
1.8 USE
OF ACRONYMS
ELL- English Language Learners
ESL- English as a Second Language
S I Sheltered Instruction
SIOP Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol
ELP
English
Language Proficiency
LEP
Limited
English Proficiency
SDAIE Specially Designed Academic Instruction in
English
STAN Science Teacher Association of
Nigeria
WAEC
West African Examination
Council
CESAC Comparative
Education Study and Adaptation Centre.
NERDC Nigeria Education Research and
Development Council
NISP Nigeria Integrated Science
Project
NSSSP Nigerian Secondary School Science Project
NPSMP National Project Science and Mathematics
Project
NPE National Policy on Education
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