Effect of Project-Based Instructional Method on Se...

Effect of Project-Based Instructional Method on Senior Secondary Students’ Academic Performance in Narrative Essay Writing in Calabar Education Zone, Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of project-based instructional method on senior secondary students’ academic performance in English language narrative essay writing in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State. Two research questions guided the study, while two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 95% confidence level. The study adopted a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design. Simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used for the study. The sample size comprised 259 respondents from the population of 6,216. Narrative Essay Writing Performance Test (NEWPT) was used to elicit data from the respondents. The reliability of the instrument was estimated using Kendall’s coefficient of concordance, which yielded a reliability coefficient of .80. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation, while Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. Results of the study revealed that project-based instructional method had effect on students’ academic performance in English language narrative essay writing.

Introduction

Instructional method involves designing what to teach, the content and skills the teacher wants the learners to learn and how the content should be delivered to them. Arvind and Kusuma (2017), sees instructional method as a style of presentation of content in the classroom. It entails the principle, strategies, techniques and activities used by teachers to enable learners learn. The instructional method a teacher chooses reflects the type and depth of learning that the teacher wants the learner to achieve. Instructional method according to Arvind and Kusuma (2017) can be classified into teacher-centered instructional method and learner-centered instructional method. According to the author, Example of a learner-centered instructional method is the lecture method. Nwalado (2014) asserts that lecture method is a traditional method of teaching, where the teacher acts as the authority, doing all the talking while the students are passive. Ernest (2021) reiterates that passive instructional method like the lecture method may hinder learning, while active instructional method may facilitate learning. Example of teacher-centered type of instructional method is the Project-based instructional method. Project-based instructional method is a learner-centred instructional method which has activities like collaboration, research, communication and presentation. These activities help to make learners creative and active in teaching and learning. The Project-based instructional method is considered an alternative to rote memorization or teacher-centred method. It is a type of method where students work together to solve a challenging problem. This method confers on the learners the benefits of greater depth of understanding of concepts, broader knowledge, improved reading and writing skills. Okoye (2016) defines project-based learning as a systematic instructional method that engages students in learning knowledge and skills through an extended inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions