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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

1

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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