EFFECTIVENESS OF AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS IN TEACHING LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE IN A RURAL SECONDARY SCHOOL

The study investigates the effectiveness of audio-visual aids in teaching the topic of reproduction, a lower secondary science topic, in a rural secondary school in Miri, Sarawak. The study is a quasi-experiment with questionnaire survey to provide insight into perception of the experimental group on audio-visual aids. Study participants consisted of 30 Form 3 students of evenly distributed academic performance, with 15 in control group and 15 in experimental group. Students in control group were taught using chalk and talk method while students in experimental group were taught using audio-visual aids. Pre- and post-assessments were administered to the students in both group to monitor how the two teaching approaches affected students’ test results. A survey was conducted among students in experimental group to gauge their perceptions towards the use of audiovisual aids in teaching. The pre- and post-assessment results were analysed with ANOVA while the survey findings were analysed with Pearson correlation. SPSS was used for the statistical analyses. The study shows that audio-visual aids are effective in increasing the understanding of students as indicated in the significantly improved marks for postassessment in the experimental group. Students were observed to be more attentive when audio-visual aids were played. Majority of students in the experimental group agreed that the use of audio-visual aids increased their interest and ability to remember the contents. The students in general expressed that they were motivated to learn if audio-visual aids were incorporated in the teaching and learning process. This study contributes to teaching of lower secondary science in rural schools by suggesting that teachers in rural secondary schools could download the audio-visual aids prior to using them in lesson delivery and the aids should undergo review to ensure appropriateness. In rural schools, financial allocation and maintenance of portable hardware for display of the audio-visual aids in teaching and learning should be looked into for the betterment of teaching and learning.