ABSTRACT
This study was designed to determine the effect of task instruction sheets on foundry students’ academic performance, interest, retention and skill performance in polytechnics of North Central, Nigeria. This study adopted a quasi-experimental research design. Specifically, the pre-test post-test non-equivalent control group design which involved groups of students in their intact classes assigned to experimental and control group. The sample size for this study was 271 and comprised 236 males and 35 female students in all the intact classes in the participating schools. The experimental group had a population of
138 subjects made up of 116 male and 22 female students while control group had a population of 133 subjects comprising 120 male and 13 female students. Eight research questions were formulated and twelve null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. The instruments used for data collection for this study were Metal Casting Technology Achievement and Retention Test (MCTART), Metal Casting Technology Psychomotor Test (MCTPT) and Metal Casting Technology Interest Inventory (MCTII). To ensure content validity of the MCTART and MCTPT, tables of specification were built. The MCTART, MCTPT, MCTII, lesson plans as well as the training manual were subjected to face validation by the thesis supervisors and three experts. The MCTART, MCTPT,MCTII were trial-tested to determine their suitability and reliability coefficient which was found to be 0.89 for MCTART using Kuder-Richardson formular 20 (KR-20) approach, 0.76 for MCTPT using Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance, 0.87 for MCTII using Cronbach Alpha method. To collect data, students in both groups were subjected to pre-test before experiment, posttest after the experiment as well as administering of MCTART, MCTPT and MCTII to participants.Mean was used to answer the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses that guided the study at .05 level of significant. The study found out that task instruction sheet is effective for improving students’ academic performance, retention, interest and skill performance in sand casting. There was a positive effect of gender on students’ academic performance, retention, interest and skill performance in sand casting favoring boys. The study found out that there were significant interaction effects of treatments and gender on Foundry students’ academic performance, retention, interest and skill performance in sand casting. It was therefore, recommended among others that Foundry lecturers/ teachers should adopt the use of task instruction sheet in teaching sand casting, The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) should support instructional effectiveness by training teachers on the use of task instruction sheet as well as in design of task instruction sheet lesson plans for use in polytechnics.
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Technological advancement has brought about numerous changes in manufacturing and production processes in industries. Effort to reduce production cost on metallic objects has necessitated the use of more cost effective manufacturing process such as sand casting which is a cost effective manufacturing process (Jain, 2010). Foundry according to Beeley (2001), is a factory where molten metal is poured into moulds to make desired objects of various shapes. It can also be referred to as a place equipped for carrying out metal casting. Casting is a manufacturing process that involves pouring a liquid content into a hollow mould until the content cools and solidifies to form the desired shape (Kumar, 2008). Therefore metal casting is a manufacturing process in which hot liquid metal is poured or forced into a mould after which the liquid metal cools and solidifies to form a piece of metal. This implies that a casting is the object or product produced when hot liquid metal poured into a mould cools and solidifies.
In a foundry, metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mould, and removing the mould material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. Kumar (2008) revealed that the most common metals processed are aluminium and cast iron. However, other metals, such as bronze, brass, steel, magnesium, and zinc, are also used to produce castings in foundries. Gregory (2011) enumerated the types of casting techniques or processes as centrifugal casting, die casting, vacuum casting and sand casting. Even though there are various types of casting techniques, sand casting is the focus of this study because it is the most commonly used technique for metal casting in
foundry industry. Sand casting according to Gregory (2011) is a metal casting process or
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technique that involves pouring a molten metal into a sand mould after which the molten metal cools and solidifies to form a casting of desired shape.
Sand casting is therefore distinguished from other casting technique because it is characterized by the use of sand as the mould material. Srinivasan (2010) highlighted six basic steps involved in sand casting operation, these include: obtaining the casting geometry, patternmaking, core making, moulding, melting and pouring as well as cleaning and other required finishing operations. Obtaining the casting geometry involves getting design dimensional measurement for the desired casting; patternmaking is production of the pattern or a physical model of the casting used to make the mould; core making is the production of core usually made of sand which are placed into a mould cavity to form the interior cavities of castings.
Moulding consists of all operations necessary to prepare a mould for receiving molten metal; melting and pouring is the preparation of molten metal for casting and transfer of the molten metal into the mould cavity; while cleaning refers to all operations necessary for the removal of sand, scale, and excess metal from the casting. Example of engineering products that can be produced through sand casting technique include engine block, pump, crank shaft, cam shaft, engine bracket, cylinder head, door handles, locks, the outer casing or housing for electric motors, wheels of many cars, planes and valve housing among others (Jain, 2009).
Obtaining adequate technical knowledge and skills in sand casting has become an issue of great necessity because of the large extent to which sand casting is used in foundry industries all over the world. Benga and Agarwal (2009) affirmed that sand casting technique is relatively cheap and as a result over 70 percent of all metal castings are produced through sand casting process. Nagendra and Mittal (2002) also revealed that
sand casting is the predominantly used metal casting process because it offers greater advantages over other casting processes as follows: (a) the most complex or intricate shapes, both external and internal, may be cast, as a result, many other operations, such as machining, forging, and welding, can be minimized or eliminated, (b) due to their physical properties, some metals can only be cast to shape since they cannot be hot-worked into bars, rods, plates, or other shapes by other processes, (c) objects can be cast in a single piece which would have otherwise required assembly of several pieces if made by other methods, (d) Sand casting as a process is highly adaptable to the requirements of mass production; large number of a given casting may be produced very rapidly. For example, in the automotive industry, hundreds of thousands of cast engine blocks and transmission cases are produced each year. (e) Extremely large and heavy metal objects may be cast when they would have be difficult or economically impossible to produce otherwise (f) Some engineering properties are obtained more favourably in cast metals.
From the foregoing, it implies that sand casting is very important for the technological growth of any country. Apart from providing employment for its citizens, especially the youths, sand casting activities can serve as a major avenue for generating revenue for the government of a country. However, maximizing the benefits of sand casting in foundry practice in Nigeria demand effective education and training of middle and high level manpower for efficient performance in the modern foundry industry. In Nigeria, the education and training of middle and high levels manpower for the foundry industry is the responsibility of the Polytechnics. The Polytechnic education in Nigeria is a post secondary school education designed to train technicians through a two-year National Diploma (ND) programme and technologists through a two-year Higher National Diploma (HND) programme which usually comes after the National Diploma programme. National Board for Technical Education (NBTE)(2001a) stated that the Polytechnics and Colleges
of Technology programme in Mechanical Engineering is aimed at producing mechanical engineering technicians and technologists for the nations’ industries, construction firms, public utilities and services.
At the polytechnic, foundry is offered as a course at ND 2, HND 1 and HND 2 levels under the Department of Mechanical Engineering. According to the NBTE (2001a) and NBTE (2001b), the content and general objective of the curriculum and course specification for foundry technology courses at the Polytechnic level is designed to prepare technicians (ND holders) and technologists (HND holders) to solve practical foundry related problems, become self reliant and employable in industries.
This research work however focuses on ND 2 level. This is because ND 2 is the first level at which all the mechanical engineering students offer the course as Foundry and forging operations (MEC 215), thereby exposing a large population of engineering students to the fundamentals of foundry technology and practice needed for self reliance and employment upon graduation from the ND programme. At this level, the course needs to be handled with great care in other to build students interest and improve their performance. A good understanding and academic performance in Foundry Technology at ND 2 level would encourage students to practice foundry trade as a means of self employment, gaining employment as well as to further their education in Foundry option thereby promoting technological development in Nigeria. Therefore a good first impression of the course among a large number of students will go a long way to enhance students’ academic achievement in the course. This is because an earlier understanding of the rudiments of the course will motivate students to progress in the field of Foundry Technology.
Student’s academic performance refers to students’ performance in test and measurement. It is a measure of the extent to which instructional objectives are achieved. In other words, Students’ academic performance connotes academic performance in school subject as symbolized by a score or mark on an achievement test. According to Anene (2005), students’ academic performance is quantified by a measure of the students’ academic standing in relation to those of other students of his age. Yakubu (2014) affirmed that student’s academic performance in Metalwork Technology in Nigerian technical colleges have been consistently poor over the years. The poor academic performance according to Yakubu could be a major reason while a lot of foundry graduates roam the streets and find it difficult to practice the foundry trade or secure employment. The low academic performance might be due to poor retention of learning in foundry courses.
Retention of learning according to Anene (2005) is the ability of a learner to recall what has been learned after a period of time. Therefore retention of learning in sand casting connotes the ability of foundry students’ to efficiently recall concepts, principles, processes and operational procedures for carrying out effective sand casting operation learned over a period of time. Momoh-Olle (1997) defined retention of learning as the repeat performance of a learner’s behaviour earlier acquired after an interval of time. Retention is the preservative factor of the mind (Kundu and Totoo, 2007). According to Kundu and Totoo (2007), whatever touches consciousness leaves trace or impression and is retained in the mind in form of images. Boyle, Duffy and Dunleavy (2003) posited that students’ retention in learning is influenced by factors such as teachers’ pedagogical ability, teachers’ knowledge of subject matter, motivation, students’ interest in learning the course, meaningfulness of subject matter, methods of instruction, memory capacity of
the learner among others. The poor academic achievement of foundry students could also have an impact on students’ interest in sand casting.
Student interest reflects input into the subject, such as attention level in class, interest in learning the material, perception of a subject’s intellectual challenge, and acquired competence in the field (Ainley, Hidi & Berndorf, 2002). Interest has been recognized by researchers as a motivational factor that can influence learning and performance. Interest is also a significant factor in students overall academic performance. It implies that the interest of the students’ or trainees needs to be considered by educators in the field of teaching as this will create a more favourable learning environment for learners. The poor academic achievement and retention in foundry technology may be as a result of the use of inadequate teaching technique adopted which has consequential effect on the students’ skill performance.
Skill refers to the ability to perform expertly in a particular vocation. Okorie and Ezeji (1988) defined skill as manual dexterity through the reflective performance of an operation. To possess a skill is to demonstrate the habit of acting, thinking or behaving in a specific activity which has become so natural and automatic to the individual through repetitive practice. According to Gagne and Briggs (2001) skill performance involves the use of senses, the brain as well as the muscles. Foundry lecturers are expected to equip foundry students with the requisite degree of technical knowledge, manual skills and higher thinking in order to be productive in the workplace. Kuppuswamy (2007) emphasized that motivation is very necessary for acquisition of any skill. An optimum level of intrinsic motivation must be established and maintained in order to ensure effective acquisition of psychomotor skill in any trade.
However, the poor academic achievement, retention and interest of foundry students arising from the use of inappropriate teaching technique called for the need to adopt more appropriate teaching technique such as task instructional sheets which Scanlon (1997) revealed has enhanced students performance in horticulture. A task according to Hornby (2014) is a physically observable component of an activity that forms part of an operation. Himberg, Hutchinson and Roussell (2003) defined Task Instructional Sheet (TIS) as a teaching technique that involves the use of sheets containing instructions on how series of tasks are performed to complete a major operation in an occupation.
TIS can be operationally defined as an instructional technique that provides series of step by step information on how to carry out series of tasks needed to complete one or more operation to attain stated instructional objectives in a lesson. Metzler (2011) described TIS as task-based sheets designed by the instructor to be used by the individual trainee when needed for executing several tasks involved in an operation or series of operations necessary for completing a job or to achieve pre-planned objectives in a work environment. TIS is designed to suit the requirements of the teacher in terms of the scope of the lesson, class size, facilities and his/her own occupational experience. According to Ogwo and Oranu (2006), the instructional value of the TIS lies in the fact that it is time saving for both the teacher and students. That is, it is very useful when the teacher cannot spend much time with each student because of large class size.
Ogwo and Oranu (2006) revealed the advantages of using TIS as follows: (i) the student does not need to copy material from the chalk or white board, (ii) the teacher has the opportunity to discuss topics, give directions, or present activities while all members are looking at same materials, (iii) the instructional sheet assists students to follow written instructions and permits them to progress at their own individual rates,(iv) the instructional sheet enables a student who is new to a class or who has been absent during a lesson to
pick up the work that has already been taught, (v) instructional sheets may be modified
,improved, and replaced at will, (vi) instructional sheets eliminate the need for too much reading in a textbook in order to obtain few facts or procedures, (vii) when properly prepared, TIS are more concise and accurate than oral explanations, and (viii) TIS develop in students the ability and habit of using written instructions of all types; and help in the maintenance of discipline in the classroom.
Advantages of TIS cannot be automatically realized; as a poorly written instruction will mislead the students and pre-planned instructional objective will not be attained. In this regards, Ogwo and Oranu (2006) outlined some rules in developing or designing of TIS to obtain maximum value from the instructional sheets: (a) including only relevant information or materials such as the title of the main task or operation or job, basic task content description (introduction),the tools ,equipment and materials required, safety precautions (at the point where they are pertinent), steps of procedure for specific tasks or operation, check points, evaluation guide and other pertinent related instructional information, (b) the TIS should be attractive, clear and straight forward, (c) sketches should be used to clearly illustrate an instruction to assist in communicating the concepts, new ideas or skill procedures, (d) they should be free from ambiguities and written in simple language so that the students can easily follow the steps, (e) it should be designed to promote thinking and creativity on the part of the students, (f) they should have appropriate headings and subheadings to enhance orderly presentation of content as well as storing or filling for future usage, and (g) the instructions should be sequenced such that they are limited to achieving a single major task or operation.
Several research studies confirm the effectiveness of TIS in enhancing students’ achievement, interest, retention and psychomotor performance in several subjects. Scanlon (1997), Anyichie and Onyedike (2012) and Roy (2010), in separate studies on other
science subjects revealed that relative to students taught traditionally, students taught with task instructional sheets tend to exhibit higher academic achievement, better retention, better high-level reasoning and critical thinking skills, deeper understanding of learned material, greater intrinsic motivation to learn and achieve as well as more positive attitudes toward subject areas. It is however not certain as to the effect TIS would have on the gender disparity that exists in technical education and mechanical engineering subjects especially Foundry technology. This is because gender is a major issue that affect female enrolment and performance in Foundry. The Foundry class in Polytechnics in North central Nigeria is dominated by male students. The high ratio of male to female students in Foundry class appears as if the course is meant only for the male gender (Yakubu, 2014).
Gender refers to sex deference and the status of being male or female. Gender factor has assumed prominence in engineering, science, vocational and technical education subjects. In Nigeria technical educational system, gender is important as it tends to influence the pattern of school enrolment and academic performance of students. Raymond (2013) opined that the general societal belief that technical trades and engineering related tasks belong to the male students could be responsible for the high ratio of males to females in technical colleges in Nigeria. This according to Owodunni (2009) is partly because gender roles affect familiarity with academic content, career aspirations, attitude toward subjects, teacher expectations and preferred approaches which also affect academic performance. It has been documented that disparity exists between male and female students performance in engineering, science, vocational and technical subjects.
In this regard, Diraso, Manabete, Amalo, Mbudai, Arabi and Jaoji (2013) affirmed that research works by several scholars showed measureable differences in favor of boys in academic performance, retention and interest in Foundry, Technical and Engineering
Drawing as well as other mechanical related courses in tertiary institutions in northern Nigeria. However, the researcher is not sure of the effect task instructional sheets technique would have on students’ academic performance, retention and interest in sand casting in the Polytechnics. Perhaps, adoption of task instructional sheets technique which allows active students’ participation in specific instructional tasks may help improve students’ academic performance, retention and interest in sand casting and other areas of Foundry technology and practice as a course in polytechnics in North central, Nigeria. It is on the basis of the unpredictability of the effect of TIS on foundry students’ academic performance, retention and interest in sand casting that it becomes necessary to carry out this study to determine the effect of task instructional sheets on foundry students’ academic performance, interest and retention in polytechnics of North central, Nigeria.
Statement of the Problem
Foundry students graduating from Polytechnics at National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) levels are expected to be able to have acquired adequate technical knowledge and skills in sand casting and other areas of Foundry technology needed to further education, secure employment, practice foundry trade, become self reliant economically and be able to employ others (FRN,2013).Unfortunately Foundry graduates from Polytechnics in North Central Nigeria appears not to have fully achieved these objectives, as they roam about the streets without the needed practical skills for employment. This is obvious from the high rate at which the graduates abandon their trades for commercial motor cycling (Okada) and other unskilled areas of human endeavor for daily survival. According to Adetokunbo (2009), the rising rate of unemployment among mechanical engineering students from Polytechnics who have been taught Foundry courses is alarming and has generated numerous questions on the functionality
and relevance of the conventional teaching method used in teaching Foundry courses at the Nigerian polytechnics.
This according to the Diraso, Manabete, Amalo, Mbudai., Arabi and Jaoji (2013), is due to the fact that their lessons are mostly through theoretical demonstration method and students virtually do not have opportunity to apply what they learnt in solving new or unfamiliar problems. Yakubu (2014), affirmed that the conventional demonstration method deprive students the full opportunity to participate in practical tasks at every stage of learning a foundry operation and the skill inherent. Perhaps, the use of task instructional sheets technique which allows active students’ participation in specific instructional tasks may help improve students’ academic performance, retention and interest in sand casting.
Empirical evidence by Udoetuk (2007) revealed that task instructional sheets have great potentials of enhancing students academic performance, interest and retention of learning in some other subjects; it is not certain as to the effect task instructional sheets would have in foundry as a subject or course. Hence the need to carry out this study to establish the gap in the existing body of knowledge regarding the effect of task instructional sheets on foundry students’ academic performance, retention ,interest and skill performance in polytechnics of north central, Nigeria.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of task instructional sheets on foundry students’ academic performance, interest and retention in Polytechnics of North central, Nigeria.
Specifically, the study determined the effect of:
1. task instructional sheets on students’ academic performance in sand casting.
2. task instructional sheets on students’ retention of learning in sand casting.
3. task instructional sheets on students’ interest in sand casting.
4. task instructional sheets on students’ skill performance in sand casting.
5. gender (male and female) on students’ academic performance in sand casting when taught with task instructional sheets.
6. gender (male and female) on students’ retention of learning in sand casting when taught with task instructional sheets.
7. gender (male and female) on students’ interest in sand casting when taught with task instructional sheets.
8. gender (male and female) on students’ skill performance in sand casting when taught with task instructional sheets.
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will be beneficial to all the stake holders in the educational sector, especially those concerned with the improvement of teaching and learning of technical education. These include National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), teachers and students of foundry technology, parents, curriculum planners, polytechnic administrators and the general public. The findings will support the existing approaches of learning practical skills as well as facilitate the realization of some of the goals of technical education. The findings of this study will be beneficial to National Board Technical Education as the study could provide information on the relative effectiveness of teaching sand casting in tertiary institutions offering foundry technology and related courses (especially mechanical engineering students at ND level).
The results of this study could be of immense benefit to metal work technology teachers and lecturers for improving their instructional technique. The study may identify some innovations available in sand casting which would help the teachers in adapting the instructional technique and diversity in lesson method and provide a learning guide that may promotes students’ interest as well as encourage cooperation and competition among
the learners. This in effect would result in producing a pool of competent skills and casting personnel (technicians, technologists) and more qualitative teachers that would be capable of facing the challenges of the workplace and instructors that Nigeria is in dear need today.
The problem of not having enough time for practical or not finishing all the necessary activities during the lesson will be addressed by the task instructional sheets since the students can continue with practical work as indicated in the sheets at their own pace. Technical educators/instructors would be afforded the opportunity of using the task instructional sheets on sand casting to effectively determine its effect on the learners’ participation visaviz the expected improvement on mean achievement, interest and retention of knowledge acquired. In effect, the findings would create awareness in the minds of technical teachers, industrial workers and researchers on how to apply different teaching / learning techniques to bridge the gap between students’ achievement, interest and retention capabilities in foundry technology.
Furthermore, technical teachers stand to benefit from the findings of this study by providing them with information on the use of MCTART, MCTII and MCTPT as testing items, that may transform the present isolated teacher- centred and text-bound classroom, into rich student centred interactive practical knowledge environment that would lead to the acquisition of the needed workplace skills in sand casting.
Metal casting industries nationwide would equally benefit from the findings of this study by providing them with a new technique for training metal workers in sand casting who would acquire skills of positive thinking, take appropriate decision to simplify sand casting process and solve complex problems in the foundry workplace. With this study, the production rate in these industries would be highly increased due to improved speed in
the production process which translates into high production rate and leading to employ more skilled casting personnel in the industries.
Findings of the study would provide curriculum planners with the needed information that would enrich curriculum which would in return provide conducive learning process. The contributions of this work to the development of vocational technical education particularly foundry technology are numerous, when the TIS is adopted for teaching in polytechnics, it will serve as a new technique which lecturers/teachers could use for teaching students the necessary skills as against the conventional method of teaching this course. This will improve the quality of teaching/learning processes and thereby reducing training time and cost on the part of the government, parents and other relevant training centres/institutes.
The findings of the study will also be beneficial to teachers of foundry technology as they could adopt this task instructional sheets if found to be significantly effective in instructional process. By providing teachers with a tested task instructional sheets will promote systematic planning and execution of instructional activities in polytechnics for foundry technology programme. Another importance of this study to the foundry technology teachers is that its findings will reveal new ways of stimulating and sustaining students’ interest in sand casting courses. Furthermore, a good task instructional sheet could assist the instructors/teachers to understand fully the content to be taught to their students which may lead to improved students’ achievement mean score. The findings of this study will benefit foundry technology students as they will be actively engaged in practical skills learning which will motivate them to learn and acquire skills when task instructional sheet is put to use by teachers.
Parents will also benefit from findings of the study as they will find compensation for the financial expenses they have incurred in the payment of school fees for their
children/wards. This will be realized if students are able to acquire skills as a result of the use of the task instructional sheet if for instruction which will make them happier and more encouraged to support the training and re-training of their children in sand casting.
The findings of the study could yield convincing empirical evidence on the efficacy of the task instructional sheets in teaching sand casting. Findings of the study will provide information to the curriculum planners on effectiveness of the technique in the provision of work-related skills, which is necessary for the periodical review of foundry technology curriculum. Findings will also provide information on the need for service and re-service training of foundry technology instructors on the use of task instructional sheets to improve teaching and learning. Furthermore, if this task instructional sheet is found to be very effective, it will make students acquire practical skills and be self-reliant which will lead to the realization of the goals of technical education.
Members of the society will benefit from the study as the use of the task instructional sheet for instruction will equip students/learners of foundry technology with adequate practical skills to be able to cast various metal products efficiently which will consequently increase and improve local production which will in effect boost our economic base through reduction in importation of cast metal products.
The findings of the study will help in the reduction of social vices in the society as those graduates that receive more practical skills training from this task instructional sheet will be better equipped with skills that will enable them to be fully engaged, almost, all the times such that they will have no time to be idle let alone engaging in any form of social vices. This in effect, will reduce the insecurity problem that is bedeviling the country in recent times.
The findings of this study shall benefit the foundry technology teachers for improving their instructional techniques. The study would identify some innovations
available in sand casting which would help the teachers adapt the instructional techniques that would in effect enable them acquire high-level of thinking in skills acquisition at the work place. The findings of the study may result in producing a pool of competent skill sand casting personnel (technicians, technologists, etc) and more qualified teachers that would be capable of facing the challenges of the workplace and instructors that Nigeria is in dear need today.
Technical educators/instructors would be afforded the opportunity of using the Metal casting Achievement Interest and Retention Tests items (MCAIRT) to effectively determine their effect on the learners’ participation that will contribute to enhanced standard of technical education in Nigeria.
Metal casting industries nationwide would equally benefit from findings of this study by providing them with sheets (booklet) for training metal workers in sand casting who would acquire skills of positive thinking, take appropriate decision to simplify sand casting process and solve complex problems in the foundry workplaces. This is possible because the findings of the study will provide activity sequence which will expedites actions on sand casting process. With this study’s findings and the adoption of task instructional sheet, the industrial workers and researches on sand casting would be of benefit because the production rate in these industries would be highly increased due to improved speed and precision in the production process which translates into high production rate. The study would aid in the establishment of proper/adequate linkages between Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) institutions and industry.
Research Questions
The following research questions were answered by this study:
1. What is the effect of task instructional sheets on students’ academic performance in sand casting?
2. What is the effect of task instructional sheets on students’ retention of learning in sand casting?
3. What is the effect of task instructional sheets on students’ interest in sand casting?
4. What is the effect of task instructional sheets on students’ skill performance in sand casting?
5. What is the effect of gender (male and female) on students’ academic performance in sand casting when taught with task instructional sheets?
6. What is the effect of gender (male and female) on students’ retention of learning in sand casting when taught with task instructional sheets?
7. What is the effect of gender (male and female) on students’ interest in sand casting when taught with task instructional sheets?
8. What is the effect of gender (male and female) on students’ skill performance in sand casting when taught with task instructional sheets?
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance:
1: There is no significant difference between the academic performances mean scores of students taught sand casting using task instructional sheets and those taught with conventional teaching method.
2: There is no significant difference between the male and female students taught sand casting using task instructional sheets and those taught with conventional teaching method with respect to their academic performances.
3: There is no significant interaction effect of treatments given to students and their gender with respect to their mean performance scores in sand casting.
4: There is no significant difference between the retention mean scores of students taught sand casting using task instructional sheets and those taught with conventional teaching method.
5: There is no significant difference between the male and female students taught sand casting using task instructional sheets and those taught with conventional teaching method with respect to their retention in sand casting.
6: There is no significant interaction effect of treatment given to students and their gender with respect to their retention ability in sand casting.
7: There is no significant difference between the mean interest scores of students taught sand casting using task instructional sheets and those taught with conventional teaching method.
8: There is no significant difference between the male and female students taught sand casting using task instructional sheets and those taught with conventional teaching method with respect to their interest in sand casting.
9: There is no significant interaction effect of treatments given to students and their gender with respect to their interest mean scores in sand casting.
10: There is no significant difference between the mean skill performance scores of students taught sand casting using task instructional sheets and those taught with conventional teaching method.
11: There is no significant difference between the male and female students taught sand casting using task instructional sheets and those taught with conventional teaching method with respect to their performance skill.
12: There is no significant interaction effect of treatments given to students and their gender with respect to their skill performance in sand casting.
Delimitations of the Study
This study is delimited to the practical course contents of sand casting for ND II students’ in polytechnics in North central, Nigeria. The practical topics covered casting of different shapes of products aimed at stimulating or causing students’ rapt attention and thereby leading to determination of their various levels of achievement, interest and retention accordingly. The study is delimited to six basic operational areas involved in sand casting operation which are: obtaining the casting geometry; patternmaking, core making, moulding; melting and pouring as well as cleaning and other required finishing operation.
The study is further delimited to practical skills required to carry out proper handling of casting equipment, tools, among others, as well as precautionary measures necessary to observe before, during and after castings to ensure safety of lives and properties at work place. Metal casting, particularly, sand casting is quite complex and requires high level of skillfulness and precision application for any qualitative products’ result. Therefore, attention is mainly given to both the theoretical and practical aspects in this study.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
EFFECT OF TASK INSTRUCTIONAL SHEETS ON FOUNDRY STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE INTEREST AND RETENTION IN POLYTECHNICS IN NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA>
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