CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the study

Social studies aim at preparing the individual to influence and be influenced by the society in which he/she lives.  It equips the individual with the requisite knowledge, skills and right values needed in life.  Generally, most basic school teachers hardly use the discussion technique in teaching social studies.  This in my view accounts for the downward performance of students in the subject.  For example in the 2009 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), out of 30 candidates presented by the Otareso D/A Junior High School only five (5) students representing 16.7% had grade 4 and below in social studies.

After teaching for some months, the researcher realized that most of the students were not able to ask questions and struggle to absorb some key concepts.  The perceived problem is that the JHS 2 students of Otareso D/A JHS were unable to understand certain key concepts and also were not asking questions during lessons.   This, the researcher realized has resulted in the decline in their performance in the subject.  It was also noted that most of the students scored low marks in class work and examinations.  

Majority of the students do not participate actively in class discussions and some students cannot make their own notes from chalkboard summaries and discussions.  Based on these facts the researcher decided to use discussion method in teaching the subject so as to increase students’ participation in the study of social studies.

Statement of the problem

Social studies is a subject that is best studied using child-centered approach and discussion technique in teaching.  Others include, pre-learning, individual and whole class approach. However, many teachers of social studies use the lecture method of teaching.  The result is that students do not perform well in social studies and do not have civic competences inculcated in them.  

The problem uncovered here is that the students of Otareso D/A JHS 2 lack interaction and participation during social studies lessons.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study is to assist the JHS 2 students at Otareso D/A Primary School to improve their performance in social studies through interacting and participating approach to the teaching and learning of the subject.

Research Questions

The study is based on the following research questions.

1. What are participatory methods of teaching?
2. Can the use of group discussion technique help revise the decline in social studies?
3. To what extent can group discussion approach increase the participation and interaction in social studies lessons?
4. What are some measures in ensuring full participation of pupils when teaching?

Significance of the study

It is expected that the action research outcome would benefit the JHS 2 students by increasing their understanding of various topics/concepts in social studies.   The study also aims at guiding teachers in adopting new approaches and methods to the teaching of social studies.

Delimitation of the Study

The problem of pupils’ poor performance in social studies has been a major concern for stakeholder of education, educators and parents of which it would be very necessary for the study to cover schools in the district.   Due to limited time and resources, the researcher decided to delimit the study to that of the intensive nature of Junior High School two students’ of Otareso D/A Junior High School in the Akuapem North District of the Eastern Region.

Limitations of the Study

Absenteeism on the part of students during the interventional process is likely to affect the results of the study. Since the intervention was mostly organized after classes, tiredness is likely to militate against the outcome of the result.

Organization of the study

The study has been divided into five chapters. Chapter one is the introduction of the study which comprises the background of the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research questions, significances of the study, delimitation and limitations.

Chapter two is literature review and it talks about what other writers have said about the topic under research. Chapter three is the methodology and it talks about how the researcher undertook the study stating the research design, the population, sample and sampling procedure, the instrument used, pre-intervention, intervention, post intervention activities and data collection methods.

Chapter four deals with analysis of data based on the research questions as well as discussions on the findings. Chapter five is the last chapter of the study. It talks about summary, conclusion and recommendations.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

This chapter looks at the various ways in which different researchers view the discussion technique.  The views of other researchers in this area will cover the following sub-headings:

1. Participatory methods of teaching
2. Meaning of discussion technique
3. Types of discussion technique
4. Educational objectives of discussion technique
5. Advantages of the discussion method
6. Disadvantages of the discussion method
7. Measures to ensure full participation of pupil

Participatory methods of teaching

Effective teaching and learning takes place when the learner is able to apply positively the knowledge gained and the skills acquired to practical life situations.  This in effect means that, more participatory or experimental teaching methods should be used instead of traditional didactic methods (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, 2005).

1. Participatory methods of teaching are activity centered and they assist the learner to develop critical thinking, assertiveness and decision making skills.  They also develop desirable attitudes and behavior (Ghana Education Services, CRDD, 2001).  They include: -

1. Values clarification
2. Futures’ wheel
3. Brainstorming
4. Case study
5. Role – play
6. Dramatisation
7. Discussion ( Small group, Class or panel discussion)
8. Games
9. Field Trip
10. Story Telling
11. Question and Answer/ Quiz
12. Exhibitions

The Meaning of Discussion Technique

This is the oldest technique used in the teaching and learning process and its effective use has brought about considerable changes in class activities. According to Brohm (1990), discussion technique is a method of instruction that uses the multiple channel system of communication. It encourages learners to participate in the teaching and learning process and provides opportunity for them to interact and express their views whilst the teacher acts as a group leader.

Aggarwal, (2004) states that discussion can be described as a learning situation where themes are debated. According to him, discussion encourages the students to direct their thinking process towards the solution of a problem and uses their experiences for further classification and consolidation of learning materials.  It is very essential in stimulating mental activity and developing fluency.

Parrot (1997), asserts that discussion consists of questions and answers and comments by both the teacher and students. This implies that discussion involves feedback and students participation.  Discussion therefore shows a pattern of intervention between the teachers and students, as well as students and students.  Furthermore, according to Parrot (1997), although the teacher is a planner responsible for setting objectives, preparing teaching and learning materials, carrying out of activities, asking questions and evaluating the teaching learning process, what actually occurs in the classroom may be totally different since the students have so much to say in the teaching learning process.

Mckeachie (1998), notes that discussion is probably not effective for presenting new information, which the students are already, motivated to learn.  According to him, asking few students to think and speak out aloud encourages all students to think more carefully about content.  However, discussion is useful for emphasizing the connection between new and old knowledge.

Types of discussion techniques

Discussion technique can be grouped into small group and whole class group. The small group discussion involves breaking the class into smaller groups to enable each person contribute effectively to a selected topic, an issue, a problem or a question.  According to Quartey (1984), small group discussion gives every pupil the opportunity to play an active part in working towards a given task.  The whole class /group involves the entire class, which meets as a unit.

Arends (1991) observed that for the whole class discussion to be successful there should be communication and interaction skills required by both the teacher and the students.  According to him the teacher is the leader of the discussion.  He is expected to clearly focus the discussion, keep it on track by focusing students’ digressions.  He is also expected to keep records of the discussion by listening carefully to all ideas and points of views.  On the parts of the students, they are expected to be calm and listen attentively while others are making their points.

Educational Objectives of Discussion Technique

Lawman (1987) gives 5 educational objectives for discussion and states that if they are met, will stand for the advantages of using discussion in the teaching and learning process.  According to him the first objective is about course content which encourages mastering actively what they learn as they sit in class.  The second objective deals with the thinking skills.  Discussion is most useful in the process of learning and that a question may stimulate students to think for a few seconds.
Lawman’s next objective is the involvement of students.  To clarify content and rational thinking for effective judgment, discussion is effective at increasing the student involvement in class.

He also speaks about attitudes and says discussion is particularly good in revealing students attitudes.  The question presented by the teacher as a stimulus for discussion focuses on the students emotional values.  

The last objective is interpersonal objectives and here according to Lowman discussion can promote student independence and motivation in ways which cannot be attained by lectures alone.  Motivation to learn is increased because students will want to work for a teacher who values their ideas and encourages them to do independent work.

Advantage of Discussion Method

Antwi (1998) gives some advantages of discussion.  According to him discussion helps in clarifying issues. This means some facts are revealed and made clear to students through discussions. Again discussion helps children to develop their thinking skills.  Thus when issues become clear students tend to have them print in their minds.

Furthermore, Aggarwal (1998) is of the view that discussion helps students to discover what they do not know and what they have overlooked and that discussion represents a type of knowledge, ideas and feelings of several persons.

Disadvantages of Discussion Technique

Aggarwal (1998) also came out with some demerits of discussion.  According to him discussion is not suitable for all topics.  Certain topics need no discussion.  He is of the view that some discussion may involve unnecessary arguments and students will tend to pop in with irrelevant arguments and discussions are likely to be dominated by few students.  The brilliant ones will gain control in the discussion to the detriment of others.  He concluded that discussion may create emotional tensions which may lead to bad feelings.

Measures to ensure full participation of pupil

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (2005), in their HIV/AIDS manual identified the following measurers to ensure full participation of pupils/students when teaching

• Use good questions to stimulate a response.
• Address questions to the whole group, rather than to an individual
• Avoid giving the impression that you are in a hurry; or show no sign of impatience.
• Use eye contact when talking to the pupils/ students.
• Call individuals by name when speaking to them.
• Listen attentively to ensure you hear what students say so that you can react appropriately.
• Praise each contribution – nodding head, ‘yes,’ ‘good’, ‘thanks’, etc.
• Encourage shy ones to speak out.
• Remain sensitive to the experiences and perceptions of everyone in the group.
• Ensure that students listen to each other.  Repeats comments were necessary.
• Be positive, enthusiastic, focused and show interest.
• Challenge a viewpoint in a diplomatic way, so as not to ridicule or ‘pu down’ the person expressing the view.
• Try to keep the process moving – don’t let it get bogged down – make sure everyone is following what is happening.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This chapter explains how the action research was conducted.  The first section discusses the research design.  The second section looks at the population and sample selection and gives the rational for the sampling size.  The last section also discusses the research instruments, intervention processes and lastly the data collection procedure.

Research Design

The research design used for this research is the action research design.  In this type of research, the researcher identifies a problem situation, makes an intervention, and monitors results.  It also designs an instrument to assess the changes or improvement in the situation.  In short, values are assigned to performance at the time of identifying the problem, which is followed by an intervention, and monitoring and assessing the result and comparing the previous performance with the previous one.

Population and sample selection

The entire JHS two class of Otareso D/A Junior High School was involved in the study.  The total population of the class was thirty-five (35).  A sample size consisting of twenty (20) girls and fifteen (15) boys was selected for the study purposively since all the students have problems in understanding social studies concepts.

Research instrument(s)

Data was collected during the period using unstructured interviews and observations.  The documentations on students and other relevant materials were also analysed during the period to collect data and these included records of class work, project work and terminal examinations.

Pre-intervention

The researcher used class exercises; class tests sand observations to measure the performance of students.  The researcher-constructed test items based on topics taught and administrated them to students who provided responses to them.

Observation was also used to evaluate students’ performance when they were asked to provide oral answers to questions posed by the researcher engaged in class and group discussion to measure the intended objective

Intervention

The intervention used was the group discussion technique.  This is where students were put into groups of five during the lesson to discuss issues and made reports afterwards.  In this regard, topics were given to the groups to discuss with a leader presenting reports prepared by the groups during the instructional period.   The research supervises the work of each group ensuring that each pupil participates in the discussion.

Post-intervention

After the intervention, three sets of test items were administered to the students to find out their understanding of the topics discussed.  The first test items conducted were on the ‘Identification of the main ethnic groups in Ghana’.  Hence, the students were asked to list the main ethnic groups in Ghana after the class discussion on the major ethnic                                         groupings as well as the language spoken.

The second test items conducted were on the location and settlement of the main ethnic groups.  After the class discussion with the use of a wall map of Ghana the students were made to draw a map of Ghana showing the location of the main ethnic groups.

Lastly, the test item administered was on the topic ‘natural wealth from the land’.  Students were made to mention and list the major minerals obtained from the land.  Refer to Appendix A, B, and C.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

This chapter deals with the presentation and analysis of data collected and it is based on the study questions. It is been analyzed using percentages and represented on tables.

Table 1

Scores obtained by students in Pre - Test

Table 1 indicates that when the 50% pass mark was used (41-50) only five (5) out of 35 students representing 10% performed above average whilst 30 students representing 90% performed below average when the discussion method was not used.

After the intervention the researcher conducted a post intervention test for the students to see whether they have understood the lesson.  This is represented in Tables 2, 3 and 4.

Figure 1

Table 2

Scores Obtained by Students in Post- Test 1

The data in Table 2 shows that after implementing the intervention, 4 students representing 12% performed below average whilst 31 students representing 88% performed above average.

Table 3

Scores Obtained by students in Post- Test 2

In Table 3 when the pass marks of 50% was used, only one pupil representing 5% performed below average and 34 students representing 95% performed above average of a total of 35 students.  From the Table 4, it can be seen that after the introduction of the intervention, in the 4th class test administered, none of the 35 students performed below average when the 50% pass mark was used.  An indication that general performance is above average

Table 4

Scores Obtained by students in Post- Test 3

Figure 2

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Summary

The objectives of the study were to find out if the use of group discussion technique could help revise the decline in Social Studies and to the extent to which group discussion approach increased the participation and interaction in social studies lessons. The sample size was all the 35 students of JHS 2.  The whole class was chosen as the sample since the problem affected all members of the class.

The instrument for collection of data included observation and class test.  Observation was carried out during the subject-teaching period.  Secondly, class tests were used.  In this students were asked questions which they answered and their performance evaluated.

Conclusion

The findings have established that the use of group discussion do not only enhance the interest of attending social studies class but also improves the performance of students in social studies.  It is therefore, important to as much as possible adopt this method of teaching in our basic schools.

Recommendations

Based on the findings that emerge from the study the following are recommended:

1. Social studies teachers have to vary their teaching techniques with the use of group discussion and whole class discussion as much as possible.
2. All teachers must discourage lecture method at the basic level.
3. The Ghana Education Service should make teaching and learning materials available in the schools to enhance effective teaching and learning of social studies.
4. Social studies teachers should try to put the learners at the centre of the learning process.

REFERENCES

Aggarwal, J. C. (2004).  Teaching of Social Studies – A Practical Approach. New Delhi:

        Vikas Publishing House Limited.

Antwi, K. (1997). Principles of teaching social studies. Accra: Asempa Publishing

        Coorperation.

Arends, J. T. (1991). Discussion-a tool for effective lessons. Journal for education.

        8(22). 16-17.

Brohm, J.Y. (1970). Group Communication, Its Effective and Usage. New Jersey:

Prentice – Hall Inc.

Cohen, L & Manion, L. (1989) A Guide To Teaching  Practice: Accra. City Publishers  

Mckeachie, H. (2006). Introduction to education. Singapore: McGraw Hill inc.

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (2005). HIV/AIDS Manual for Pre and Basic Schools.

Parrot. M. (1997). The Teachers Handbook for Social Studies. London: Macmillan

Publishers.

Quartey, S. M. (1984). A method book for social studies teachers. Lagos: Oril, Egaw

Publishers

APPENDICES

Appendix A

TEST 1

        Complete the table by showing the languages spoken by the main ethnic groups.

Appendix B

TEST 2

Draw an outline map of Ghana showing the location of the main ethnic groups.

Appendix C

TEST 3

1. Which of the following towns in Ghana is gold mined?

A) Navorongo

        B) Nsuta

        C) Aboso

        D) Obuasi

        2.   In which town is bauxite mined?

                A) Awaso

                B) Tarkwa

                C) Bibiani

                D) Obuasi

        3. Nsuta is noted for ……………

                A) Aluminium

                B) Iron

                C) Manganese

                D) Steel

        4. Where do we get diamond in Ghana?

                A) Prestea

                B) Saltpond

                C) Akwatia

                D) Dunkwa

        5. Which mineral is used in making aluminium?

                A) Manganese

                B) Bauxite

                C) Diamond

                D) Gold