Exploring the science professionals' (SPs) perceptions about the effective instructional material (IMs)
Date of Award
8-1-2009
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Education (M. Ed.)
Department
Institute for Educational Development, Karachi
Abstract
Teachers need to have Instructional Materials (IMs) to understand the curriculum and to translate the curriculum into students' learning outcomes. In the absence of IMs textbook remain the only source of support for the teachers and the purpose and goals of learning science is not achieved completely. Hence, it was important to explore the qualities of effective IMs to understand and recommend aspects that may enhance the quality and development of IMs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the science professionals' perceptions of effective IMs. Qualitative case study design was used to explore the topic. Ten participants including teachers, teacher educators and material developers were taken as research participants based on their experience of teaching, developing instructional materials, conducting courses for teachers and involvement in the process of IMs. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews from six science teachers, two teacher educators and two instructional material developers. Roberts's curriculum emphasis with a little modification based on the purpose and context of the study was used as a framework to guide the study with regard to data collection and analysis. The modified framework included the Roberts curriculum emphasis, and the nature of science, attitude of science and the organization of the material. Findings of the study revealed that the IMs will be effective if they contain the nature of science, solid foundation and structure of science. Moreover, effective IMs were found to be those which allowed teachers and students to present their personal experiences and explanations without confining them to certain pre-determined contents. It was also found that the IM may contain the elements of science and technology and everyday life application, in order to develop students' curiosity and attitude towards science. Such attitudes could be developed through interactive ways of teaching where students are actively involved in classroom activities. When the students get involved in the classroom activities, they can also relate science to their daily life and the events in the society. The study implied that teachers and teacher educators need to incorporate curriculum emphasis and nature of science to develop a positive attitude towards science. Moreover, this study is significant for the policy reforms as it highlights the qualities of effective IMs and its need in the context of Pakistan. Through this study, I have also developed a tool and a quantitative study is recommended to be conducted using these tools which contain various components of IMs as they have emerged from this study.
Recommended Citation
Ali, A. (2009). Exploring the science professionals' (SPs) perceptions about the effective instructional material (IMs) (Unpublished master's dissertation). Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.