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INFLUENCE OF PEER ASSESSEMENT ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH ESSAY WRITING

BY

EJIOGU, DANIEL CHIJIOKE PG/M.ED/11/61255

DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

OCTOBER, 2015.

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TITLE PAGE INFLUENCE OF PEER ASSESSEMENT ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH ESSAY WRITING

A PROJECT REPORT PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION (ENGLISH)

BY EJIOGU, DANIEL CHIJIOKE PG/M.ED/11/61255

SUPERVISOR: DR. P. N. UZOEGWU

OCTOBER, 2015. ii

CERTIFICATION

Ejiogu, Daniel Chijioke, a postgraduate student of the Department of Arts Education, with registration number PG/MED/11/61255 has satisfactorily completed the requirement for the award of masters Degree (M.ED) in language Education. The work embodied in this project is original and has not been submitted in part or full for any other diploma or degree of this or any other university.

Ejiogu, Daniel Chijioke Dr. P.N. Uzoegwu

(Student) (Supervisor)

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APPROVAL PAGE

This thesis has been approved for the Department of Arts Education, Faculty of

Education University of Nigeria Nsukka.

By

Dr. P.N. Uzoegwu Dr. P. N. Uzoegwu (Supervisor) (Head of Department)

Dr. Uche Igbokwe (Internal Examiner) (External Examiner)

Prof Uju Umo Dean Falculty of Eucation

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DEDICATION

This research work is dedicated to God Almighty that helped and sustained me while carrying out this academic work.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my profound gratitude to people who in one way or the other made the production of this project a success. First I am grateful to my supervisor Dr. Uzoegwu

P.N for her guidance and correction throughout the period of this research work. My gratitude; also goes to my lovely wife Esther Ejiogu and my little daughter Amarachi for their understanding during this period especially as I may have denied them some fatherly care. I am immensely grateful to my colleagues who may have assisted in one way or the other to see that this work is completed.

Finally, my most profound appreciation goes to the Almighty God for the life, knowledge, finance and even journey mercies he granted to me even as I shuttle between

Owerri and Nsukka.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page i Certification ii Approval Page iii Dedication iv Acknowledgements v Table of Contents vi List of Tables viii List of Appendixes ix Abstract x

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Background of the Study 1 Statement of the Problem 10 Purpose of the Study 12 Significance of the Study 12 Scope of the Study 14 Research Questions 14 Hypothesis 15

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 16 Conceptual Framework 17 Concept of Essay Writing 17 Concept of Assessment 22 Achievement in language Teaching and Learning 33 Gender in language Teaching and Learning 34 School location in language Teaching and learning 36 Theoretical Framework 38 Constructivist Learning Theory 38 Bandura’s Social Learning Theory 41 Review of Empirical Studies 43 Studies on Gender 46 vii

Studies on School Location 47 Summary of Literature Review 49

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHIOD 51 Design of the Study 51 Area of the Study 52 Population of the Study 52 Sample and Sampling Technique 52 Instrument for Data Collection 53 Experimental procedure 54 Control of Extraneous Variable 55 Experimental Bias 55 Pretesting 55 Teacher Variables 56 Inter group Variables 56 Instructional Situational Variable 56 Method of Data Collection 57 Method of Data Analysis 57

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA 58 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 65 Discussion of Findings 65 Conclusion 67 Educational Implications of Study 68 Recommendations 69 Limitations of study 70 Suggestions for further studies 71 Summary of the Study 71 References 73 Appendixes 79

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Mean achievement scores of students taught English essay writing using peer assessment 58

Table 2: Mean achievement scores of male and female students taught English essay writing using peer assessment 58

Table 3: Mean achievement scores of students of urban and rural schools taught English essay writing using peer assessment. 59

Table 4: Interaction effects of method and gender on students mean achievement scores on English essay writing. 60

Table 5: Interaction effects of method and location on students mean achievement scores in English essay writing. 60

Table 6: Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of post test achievement scores in English essay writing using peer assessment 61

Table 7: Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of male and female students taught English writing 61

Table 8: Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of urban and rural students taught English essay writing. 62

Table 9: Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of interaction effect of method and gender on students’ mean achievement scores. 62

Table 10: Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of interaction effect of method and Location on students’ mean achievement scores. 63

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LIST OF APPENDIXES

Lesson Plans 79

West African Examination Council Marking Scheme 99

List of Schools in Owerri Zone One 104

Sample Size 107

Analysis of Scores Using SPSS 108

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ABSTRACT

The poor performance of students in essay writing has raised a lot of concern to teachers of English language and other stake holders in education. Poor performance in essay writing leads to poor performance in English language and this will consequently hinder students’ ambition for higher studies and job opportunities. This study was designed to find out the influence of peer assessment on students achievement in English essay writing in Owerri Zone 1 of Imo state. The study also sought the effect of gender and location on students achievement in English essay writing. Five research questions and five hypotheses guided the study. The design was a non equivalent control group quasi-experimental design involving the use of intact classes for experimental and control groups. Four schools in Owerri Zone 1 educational zone were selected by purposive random sampling technique. The population comprised of all SS11 students. The sample for the study was 167 students drawn from one intact class of each of the four schools selected. The English Essay Achievement Test (EEAT) was adopted as the instrument for data collection. Lesson plans for the experimental and control groups were developed validated and used for the pretest and the post- test assessments. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while analysis of covariance was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level of significance. Major findings of the study was that students taught English essay writing using peer assessment performed better than students with teacher assessments. It was also found that female students had a higher mean score than their male counterparts. Based on these findings, it was recommended that stakeholders in education administration incorporate peer assessment in the curriculum to facilitate teaching and learning. Teachers of English language should be trained and retrained to enable them engage students in peer assessments activities.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Language is at the heart of human activities .Any activity carried out by human beings uses language which can be in the spoken form or in the written form. Language then can simply be defined as a complex and arbitrary system of vocal sounds used by human beings for communication in a given community (Amadi et al 2001). One of such languages is the

English language which has become an international language and also a language of wider communication. It is Nigeria’s official language as well as the language of law, business, aviation, politics, education etc.

Realizing the importance of the English language, for enhancing educational attainment as well as for improving communicative competence and ability of citizens, the

Nigerian government has made it a core and compulsory subject for all students in Nigerian schools and for any good employment. In order to facilitate its study, Nigeria government begins its project of teaching English language from primary school as stated in the National

Policy on Education: in lower primary the policy stated: “English shall be taught as a subject”, while in upper primary: “English shall be progressively used as medium of instruction” (NPE, 2004:14) . In junior and senior secondary, the policy stipulated that

English should be a “core subject” (NPE, 2004:18-21), which must be offered by all the l earners. In tertiary institutions also, English is seen as a compulsory course offered as a general study (GS). Hence, it is seen as a medium of instruction, a compulsory and core subject that must be offered and passed at all levels of education in Nigeria’s educational system. It is therefore evident that without a thorough mastery of the language, learning is inefficient in Nigeria. Despite the provision of this policy which shows clearly the central role of English in the Nigerian educational system as observed by Nwachukwu (2007), the mastery of the language has continued to be poor. This accounts for the poor performance of students in English especially in essay writing. 2

In English language, there are basic four language skills which include listening, speaking, reading and writing. While listening and speaking are the oracy skill, reading and writing are the literacy skill. These skills are to be taught properly for proper mastery of the

English language. However, among these four language skills, writing skill has an incalculable influence on humanity because it is a common instrument for the dissemination of knowledge. It is also a complex skill which is seen as difficult and hard. This is because, a learner is always judged from what he writes since he will not be there to defend himself on the course of assessing him. The learner should be able to think, form basic concept, plan and write coherently in English (Uzoegwu, 2004). Writing skill is not like speaking and listening skills which are acquired naturally and hence informally. Writing on its own must be learned through planned and guided educational programme. It is not a skill that can be acquired by chance. It must be taught. Essay writing in particular is a higher form or level of writing skill, and proficiency in this can only be achieved when the students are well grounded in composition skills.

Writing is the act of creatively and imaginatively putting down one’s ideas, feelings and opinions using the correct words. It is the use of language in its graphic form, a means of finding out what students know, of testing students and of writing examination. This is also one of the most important activities of the literate community (Uzoegwu, 2004).

Writing skill must be learned and mastered through practice. To this end, Thorton (2000) in

Egbe (2011) advises that students must be assisted to develop their writing ability and so gain competence in handling different forms of writing that they may need in their lives.

Most students feel that those who write are those naturally endowed with the art of writin g.

This is a wrong impression which makes them believe that it is difficult for one to write an essay very well. Writing an essay is a skill which requires the writer to organize and express his thoughts clearly and effectively. The ability to write a good essay should be an important goal of any language learner (Onuigbo, 2006). 3

An essay is a piece of work in which a writer discusses a given topic based on his own perspective (Nwokedi, 2003). Essay writing otherwise called continuous writing is a very important aspect in the Senior Secondary School Certificate English Language

Examination organized by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National

Examination Council (NECO). It accounts for a large proportion of the total marks allotted to

English Language as a subject. A good performance e in composition or essay writing task usually predicts an overall success in English Language (Aboderin 1996). To stress the importance of the essay, Obi-Okoye(2004) advises t hat it is important to include in any writing curriculum a range of forms of compositions and methods of teaching essay from early stages of formal education. With this in mind one would infer that a poor performance in English composition would invariably result to a poor performance in English examination as a whole , hence the need for a thorough teaching and application of a functional strategy in the teaching of written composition at all levels of secondary school.

There are basically four types of essays these are Narrative, Descriptive, Expository and

Argumentative, Narrative writing is an account of what one saw or imagined; what actually happened or could have happened; and what the facts are (Oguamanam, 2008). Hence all that one needs to write a narrative essay is either a good memory or good language ability. A descriptive essay is meant to share with the reader’s places, objects, action or processes experienced by the writer. (Oguamanam, 2008) Descriptive essay rests much on the writer’s power of observation. An expository essay is one that requires a writer to explain something fully. This explanation necessarily demands writing a great deal about what distinguishes the subject of the essay from all other things, (Ezema, 2010). An argumentative essay presupposes the existence of two sides to an issue. This kind of composition is therefore out to test one’s ability to critically access situation and to exercise judgment (Oguamanam

2008). 4

Despite the fact that all emphases are laid on how to improve essay writing, achievements of students in external examinations in English language have continued to dwindle over the years. This was solely attributed to poor writing method of the students.

This position is supported by the 2012 and 2013 West African Examination Council Chief

Examiners Report which attributed students’ poor performance among other things to factors such as students’ manner of answering questions, poor spelling, poor punctuation and faulty grammar which include wrong use of tenses and concord agreement. Specifically, in the

WAEC chief examiner’s report for November/December (2012).It was indicated that the candidates performance was “Generally disappointing, especially in the areas of expression and mechanical accuracy” despite the deliberate low standard of the paper (WAEC,

Nov/Dec.2012).

If students are to improve on their achievement in the English language, essay writing should be thoroughly taught in the schools by the language teachers and given priority attention in English language e teaching and learning process. This consequently calls for an appraisal of the different Assessment methods employed by the English language teachers in the teaching of essays I n schools. The researcher feels therefore that the conventional assessment methods used by teachers could be a contributory factor to the students’ poor achievement in English language examinations in Nigerian secondary schools.

This will consequently lead us to look at assessment and the various s forms of assessment used by language teachers. Assessment in Education refers to the wide variety of methods that educators use to evaluate measure and document the academic readiness, learning progress and skill acquisition of students from preschool through college and adulthood. Educational assessment can also be said to be the process of documenting usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs (Merriam Webster Dictionary

2005). Assessment can focus on the individual learner, the learning community, the 5 institution or the educational system as a whole. While assessments are often equated with traditional tests- especially the standardized tests developed by testing companies and administered to large populations of students, educators use a diverse array of assessment tools and methods to measure everything from a four year olds readiness for kindergarten to a twelfth grade student’s comprehension of advanced physics. Just as academic lessons have different functions, assessments are typically designed to measure specific elements of learning for example a student’s perceived ability or readiness to learn; the successful acquisition of particular skills and knowledge; the understanding and recall of facts; or the ability to analyze and comprehend various types of texts and readings. Assessments are also used to identify academic weaknesses and strengths so that educators can provide specialized academic support, educational programming or social services. While assessments come in many complex forms and they are used for a wide variety of purposes, the following descriptions provide an overview of a few major forms of educational assessment.(Cowie,

Bronwen, Bell and Beverley 1999)

Standardized assessments: are designed administered and scored in a standard and consistent manner. Standardized assessment, often use a multiple choice format though some include open ended short answer questions, true or false questions, short answer questions, essay questions or a mix of question types. In recent times, standardized are computer based which can be administered to large student population of the same age or grade level in a state, region or country, and results can be compared across individuals and group of students.

High-stakes assessments: are typically standardized test used for the purposes of accountability. In general “high stakes” means that important decisions about students, teachers, schools or districts are based on the scores student achieve on a high stakes test and either punishments ( sanctions, penalties, reduced funding negative publicity, not being 6 promoted to the next grade) or accolades ( awards, public celebration, positive publicity, bonuses, grade promotion ) result from those scores.

Standardized referenced or standardized based assessments: are designed to measure how well students have mastered specific knowledge and skills described in local state or national learning standards. Standardized test and high stakes tests may or may not be based on specific learning standards, and individual schools and teachers may develop their own standards –referenced or standards-based assessments.

Pre- assessments: are administered before students begin a lesson, unit, course, or a academic program. Students are not necessarily expected to know most or even any of the material evaluated by pre-assessments. They are generally used to establish a baseline against which educators’ measure learning progress over the duration of a program course or instructional period.

Formative assessment: this is a process of evaluation of students learning that are typically administered during a unit course or academic program. The general purpose of formative assessment is to give educators real time feedback about what students are learning or not learning so that instructional approaches, teaching materials and academic support can be modified accordingly. Formative assessments are usually not graded and they may take a variety of forms, from more formal Quizzes and assignments to informal questioning techniques and discussions with students

Summative assessments: are used to evaluate students learning at the conclusion of a specific instructional period. This could be at the end of a unit, course, semester, program, or school year. Summative assessments are graded tests, assignments, or projects that are used to determine whether students have learned what they were expected to learn during the defined instructional period. 7

Interim assessments: this is use to evaluate students learning progress and determine whether they are on track to performing well on future assessments, such as standardized tests and end of course exams. Interim assessment are usually administered periodically during a course or school year (for example every six or eight weeks) and separately from the process of instructing students (unlike formative assessments which are integrated into the instructional process).

In spite of the existence and use of this various forms of assessments procedures by different language teachers, the achievement of students in English language has continued to be poor. This might be due to the lack of immediate feedback inherent in most of these assessments techniques. Feedback helps students understand the subject being studied and gives them a clear guidance on how to improve their learning. Stressing on the importance of feedback, Bellon et al 1991 opines that academic feedback is more strongly and consistently related to achievement to any other teaching behavior. This relationship is consistent regardless of grade, socioeconomic status, race or school setting. Feedback can improve a student’s confidence, self awareness and enthusiasm for learning.

In view of this, there is need for a more practical and innovative approach to teaching/evaluation that can allow learners the opportunities to participate actively in classroom activities. This calls for peer assessment technique that could be served as a guide to a faster evaluation in the teaching of essay writing.

Peer assessment is a process whereby students or their peers grade assignments or tests based on a teachers’ benchmark. Peer assessment can also be said to be the process whereby individuals evaluate the performance of their peer. (falchikov, 2005). It is a process through which students and instructors share in the evaluation of students work. In peer assessment task, students have to communicate and collaborate and thus are able to acquire communication and collaborative skills. In fact, peer assessment is fundamentally a 8 collaborative activity that occurs between at least two peers. In a more interactive version, however peer assessment may permit or even require peers to negotiate about how to approach the given task, how to give feedback and how to use feedback during revision. Such interactive exchange may be beneficial because it may evoke cognitive and discursive processes that trigger a deeper elaboration of the material and thus lead to better learning

(king, 2007). Researchers find that peer assessment deepens students understanding of their own learning and empowers students to become more actively engaged and self directed in their learning processes (falchikov, 2005; Sivan 2000). This practice is employed to save teachers time and improve students’ understanding of course materials as well as improve their metacognitive skills( which refers to learners automatic knowledge of their own knowledge and their ability to understand, control and manipulate their own cognitive processes).

The use of peer assessment in the classroom has a lot of advantages. It allows teachers to manage their time more effectively while having students grade each other’s papers and results in a more efficient classroom setting. It also saves teachers time because the entire work of the students in a classroom can be graded together in the time that it would take a teacher to grade one paper. Moreover, rather than having a teacher rush through each paper, students are able to take their time to correct them. Students can spend more time on a particular paper because they only have to grade one and can therefore do a more thorough job. Furthermore, another advantage of peer assessment is that it gives room for faster feedback. Self and peer assessment allows assignment to be graded soon after completion.

Students then do not have to wait until they have moved on to new material and the information is no longer fresh in their mind. In order for peer assessment to be implemented effectively, the teacher has to ensure the following.(Falchikov;Sivan2000)

• Make the guidelines easy to implement. 9

• Fully train students on the implementation and importance of the guidelines.

• Require assessors to justify their guidelines

• Create a classroom environment that feels safe for interpersonal risk taking so that

students will feel more confident in evaluating their peers.

• Share the responsibility of the final grade between the instructor and the students if

concern exists about students’ bias.

• Emphasize to students that the main focus of their peer assessment should be useful

feedback and not grading.

• Use clear guidelines and monitor use of the guidelines by the students.

• Help students learn to provide effective feedback by modeling appropriate

constructive criticism and descriptive feedback.

• Use small feedback groups so that feedback can be explained and discussed with the

receiver.

• Encourage students to be supportive as possible in critiquing the work of other

students

• Stress benefits of being a peer assessor to students such as it helps them evaluate their

own work and become more self directed learners.

• Train students how to interpret feedback so that they can make appropriate

connections between the feedback received and the quality.

On pedagogical grounds, teacher’s evaluation role makes the students focus more on the grades not seeking feedback. Students can learn from grading the papers of others. Often, teachers do not go over test answers and give students the chance to learn what they did wrong. Peer assessment allows teachers to help students understand the mistakes that they have made. This will improve subsequent work and allow students time to digest information and may lead to better understanding. (Falchikov N.2007) 10

On the effect of gender as a variable in students' peer assessment, no defined consensus has been reached that is whether males or females perform better as there are varying opinions on which gender achieves better than the other in language studies. Some studies found gender difference while some others came up with no difference. Umo (2002) found that girls perform better than boys. Uzoegwu (2004) and Anizoba (2004) found that boys performed better. Other researchers like Oluikpe (2004), Akabogu (2002) and Mba

(2013) found no gender difference. It is, therefore, necessary to see what effect gender will have on peer assessment as a strategy for improving students achievement in English essay writing. More especially as the schools to be used are co-educational schools. Related to gender is also location. The location of a school is an important aspect of learning and over the years there has been a contentious controversy on the question of whether location of schools have effect on the behavior and attainment of children who attend them. School plays a vital role in the intellectual development of children who pass through them.

Secondary schools in Nigeria are either located in urban or in rural areas. The location of the school determines so many things that are vital to learning such as learning facilities, infrastructures, number of teachers and the class size among many others. Adequate provision of or lack of these facilities may improve or hamper learning by students. This might probably affect the performance of students in English language and indirectly in essay writing.

On the studies previously carried out on this, Akabogu (2002) and Chineke (2013) found that there is no difference between the rural and the urban students in their language achievement. Others like Owoeye (2002) had contrary view. It is against this background that the researcher has decided to carry out a study on peer assessment as a strategy for improving students achievement in English essay writing.

Statement of the Problem

There have been consistent reports of poor achievement in English language among

Nigerian students over the years. Students’ achievement in essay writing at Senior School 11

Certificate Examinations has been generally poor. This low level of achievement has been attributed primarily to poor teaching and assessments methods. (WAEC chief Examiners report 2009) The method of assessment often used by most English language teachers is the conventional assessment method where teachers mark and grade the essays written by their students. This method does not give room for immediate feedback which is an integral part of learning. This is because most times the students are not aware of their performance until after the end of the term.

In Owerri educational Zone 1 statistics shows that the number of candidates that pass

English language is less than 40% in the recent years (Statistics Unit Owerri zone 1 educational zone). Educators are worried especially when the poor achievement has been blamed on poorly written essays which have the highest mark allotted to English language in

Senior School Certificate Examination If English language achievements of students in SSCE remain like this; both economic and technological growth of this nation may be affected.

Findings reveal that teachers’ use of conventional method in assessing essay writing among other factors has contributed to the poor achievement of students in English language.

However, effectiveness of peer assessment has been established in most science subjects.

Evidence from foreign countries suggest that peer assessment has the potential to improve students achievement in English essay writing.(Falchikov, N.2005) How peer assessment would affect students’ achievement in English essay writing to the best of the knowledge of the researcher is yet to be determined in Nigeria.

To this end, it is therefore necessary to look at the method of assessing students essay writing which is the traditional method where a teacher marks and grades students’ essays.

After marking the essays, the teacher returns them (the essays) at a time convenient for him most times when the period for teaching the topic must have elapsed. This method makes it impossible for the students to get the necessary feedback from the teacher. The researcher, 12 therefore, wants to investigate into a system or strategy where students mark and grade other students’ work which is peer assessment.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study was to determine the influence of using peer assessment to improve students’ achievement in English essay writing. Specifically, the study sought to:

1. Highlight the influence of peer assessment on students’ achievement in English essay

writing.

2. Highlight the influence of gender on the achievement of students in English essay

writing using peer assessment.

3. Highlight the influence of location on the achievement of students in English essay

writing using peer assessment.

4. Expose the interaction effect of treatment and gender on students’ achievement scores in

essay writing using peer assessment

5. Expose the interaction effect of treatment and school location on students’ achievement

scores in essay writing using peer assessment

Significance of the Study

The result of this study will have both theoretical and practical significance. This

study is theoretically justified by the fact that meaningful learning results from active

participation of a learner in classroom activities which will lead to integration of what is

learnt with previous knowledge. Thus the result of the study might expand the

cognitivists’ belief on meaningful learning and cognitive development as well as

constructivist’ belief on integration of learnt knowledge More so, it is based on the

constructivist and social constructivist learning theory which opines that (constructivism)

the classroom is no longer a place where the teacher (expert) pours knowledge into

passive students who wait like empty vessels to be filled. (Vygotsky L. In Uroko

J.E.2010) in the constructivist model the students are urged to be actively involved in 13

their own process of learning. While in social constructivist classroom collaborative

learning is a process of peer interaction that is mediated and structured by the teacher.

The findings of this study will have immense benefits to individuals, professional bodies, the government, and the society at large. Specifically, the researcher hopes that

English language teachers, students, authors, curriculum planners, government and the society at large derive benefits from the study.

One of the major problems in the teaching and assessment of essay writing has been the conventional method of teaching and assessing students’ essays. If the result of this study shows that peer assessment enhances students’ achievement in essay writing, curriculum planners will see the need to include peer assessment in the school curriculum for vast improvement in the teaching and learning of essay writing.

The findings of this study will provide a sort of guide to English language teachers. It will reveal the efficacy of peer assessment in the teaching and learning process as assessment will be less tedious, faster and meaningful to students and teachers.

The result of the study based on the use of peer assessment is hoped to trigger more researches and innovations in English language teaching and assessment. Based on the findings, workshops and seminars on peer assessment in students essay writing will then be organized and sponsored.

The findings of the study will also equip English language learners with better and adequate knowledge on how to assess essay writing based on certain criteria, by so doing, they will become more conversant with the rudiments of essay writing. To the society, the study will generally create awareness that peer assessment can be meaningfully used to enhance educational activities. Other benefits of the study include the fact that the study would serve as empirical for future research evidence and citations.

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Scope of the Study

The study focused on the investigation of the influence of peer assessment on the achievement of students in English essay writing. Specifically, the study was delimited to only SS2 students in Owerri Educational Zone 1 of Imo State. The essay question test was drawn from narrative essay. This is because the students were already familiar with this type of essay even though that sometimes it poses difficulties to them as deduced from the personal observation of the researcher. The narrative essay questions was culled from

Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) past questions. Teacher assessment was used for the control group while peer assessment was used for the experimental group.

The variable of gender and location was considered along with peer assessment technique.

Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

1. What are the mean achievement scores of students taught English essay writing using

peer assessment

2. What is the influence of gender on the achievement of students in English essay

writing using peer assessment?

3. What is the influence of location on the achievement of students in English essay

writing using peer assessment?

4. What is the interaction effect between treatment and gender on students’ achievement

scores in English language essay writing using peer assessment?

5. What is the interaction effect between treatment and school location on students’

achievement scores in English Language essay writing using peer assessment?

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Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. They were tested

at 0.05% level of significance.

HO1: There is no statistically significant difference between the mean achievement scores

of students and assessed with the conventional method (teacher assessment) and those

taught with the use of peer assessment.

HO2: There is no statistically significant difference between the mean achievement scores

of male and female students taught essay writing using peer assessment.

HO3: There is no statistically significant difference between the mean achievement scores

of urban and rural students taught essay writing using peer assessment.

HO4: There will be no significant interaction effect of treatment and gender on the

Mean achievement scores of students in English essay writing

HO5: There will be no significant interaction effect of treatment and school location on the

mean achievement scores of students in English essay writing.

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

This study will be reviewed under the following sub- headings

A. Conceptual framework

• Concept of Essay Writing

• Concept of Assessment

• Concept of Achievement

• Gender and students achievement

• School location in language Teaching and learning

B. Theoretical Framework

• Constructivist learning Theory

• Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

C. Review of Empirical Studies

Studies on Methods

Studies on Gender

Studies on school Location

D. Summary of Literature Review

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Conceptual Framework

Essay Writing

An essay has been defined in a variety of ways. One definition is a short literary composition on a single subject usually presenting the personal view of the author. It can also be said to be a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject usually in prose and generally analytic speculative or interpretative. Anumihe (2001) in Gloria. (2008) defines essay writing as the art of producing an extended prose writing of high intellectual quality in which the creative imagination is stimulated into conceiving of thoughts, ideas and feelings, developing and addressing them as central theme or subject matter, through a personal perspective, into an aesthetically integrated and logically presented literary composition.

It is a piece of writing which is often written from an author’s personal point of view.

Essays can consist of a number of elements including literary criticism, political manifestoes, and learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections and reflections of the author.

Almost all modern essays are written in prose, but works in verse have been dubbed essays(example is Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Criticism and An Essay on Man).While brevity usually defines an essay, voluminous works ,like John Locker’s An Essay Concerning

Human Understanding and Thomas Malthus’s An Essay on the Principles of Population are counter examples.

Essay writing is very important not only for English language but in the overall moulding of students. It is used in writing all other subjects in the secondary school especially during examinations. The importance of essay writing is recognized in every institution, even in primary schools where it is called composition. Essay writing ability help students to perform well in other subjects. Grayson, (2000) observes that in any examination 18 where students are required to write essays, any student who has the points to write on is sure of success.

Composition or essay writing is the arrangement of words to express thoughts either through speech or in writing in which its listeners may be listening to the speaker or reading through what has been written down. The essence of composition is to test one’s technical mastery of the language as seen in one’s expression. Secondly it is to test one’s power of thinking as seen in the content of the essay. It is also an avenue of testing one’s ability to plan as seen in the organization. Thus a good write up or essay is a product of an effective organization of its parts.

Types of Essay

The four major types of essays to be discussed in this work are Narrative essay,

Descriptive essay, Expository essay and Persuasive or Argumentative essay.

Narrative Essay: Narrative writing is an account of what you saw or imagined; what actually happened or could have happened; and what the facts are.(Oguamanam, 2008) Hence all that one needs to write a narrative essay is either a good memory or a good language ability. A narration is simply the telling of a story. Whenever someone recounts an event or tells a story, he or she is using narration. The narrative essay challenges students to think and write about themselves. When writing a narrative essay, writers should try and involve the reader by making the story as vivid as possible. The fact that narrative essays are usually written in drawing a conclusion or making a personal statement.

Features of Narrative Essay

• In narratives there must be place and scene of action.

• The narrative must be interesting. That is, a narration may not be a faithful and honest

account of what happened but an interesting account. Thus only the essentials

(colourful and important) events must be so chosen and arranged as to create tension

and suspense, thereby sustaining the interest of the reader to the end. 19

• The action of a narrative can be physical, that is seen, felt or heard or mental that is

involving reasoning and imagination.

• It involves characters that fade out with the narration.

• A narration must begin at the beginning and stop at the end. A narration of “A day I

will never forget” must not end after describing the events after midday, nor must it

extend to the next day.

• In narration, the sequence of the events must be logical if not chronological. That is ,

there has to be a meaningful organization of the various parts in such a way that a

clear picture of the whole emerges.

• In narration the past tenses (particularly past simple and past perfect tenses) are

mostly used. If however, one needs to describe for instance the setting of the story in a

narration, and then the present tense is needed since these places are supposed to

always remain the same.

Descriptive Essay: A descriptive essay is one that requires a writer to write a description of an object, a person, an animal, an incident or a scene (Ezema, 2010). A descriptive essay is meant to share with readers, places, objects, actions or processes experienced by the writer.

Descriptive essay rests much on the writer’s power of observation (Oguamanam, 2008).

A descriptive essay paints a picture with words. A writer might describe a person, place, object, or even memory of special significance. However, this type of essay is not description for description sake. The descriptive essay tries to communicate a deeper meaning through the description. In a descriptive essay the writer should show and not tell through the use of colourful words and sensory details. The best descriptive essay appeals to the readers emotions with a result that is highly evocative.

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Features of a Descriptive Essay

• It requires specific rather than general terms. For instance a massive compact, solid

and expensive photocopying machine is more specific than a big machine.

• It requires fuller details than the other type of essays. Since descriptive writing

conveys information or impression or images rather than ideas fuller details are

essential, for without them, there will be no “picture” or information at all.

• It must involve only important details. That is what details to include is important.

• It involves imagination. That is one’s ideas have to travel to the exact thing in order to

produce the exact thing in one’s writing.

• It requires the right choice of words to make one’s description vivid.

• The description must be lively orderly and logical

Expository Essay: The expository essay is an informatory piece of writing that presents a balanced analysis of a topic. In an expository essay, the writer explains or defines a topic using facts, statistics and examples.(Nwokedi, 2003) Expository writing encompasses a wide range of essay variations such as the comparison and contrast essay, the cause and effect essay, and the ‘how to” and process essay. Since expository essays are based on facts and not personal feelings the writers do not reveal their emotions or write in the first person

Features of Expository Essay

• It is information.

• It involves definition and classification

• It involves some amount of description and narration.

• It is technical in nature. That is, it requires special language and skills no matter how

simple and ordinary it appears.

• It requires good analytical thinking, reasonable deductions and logical conclusion. 21

Argumentative Essay: An argumentative essay presupposes the existence of two sides to an issue. This kind of composition is therefore out to test one’s ability to critically access situation and to exercise judgment (Oguamanam 2008). The goal of the persuasive essay is to convince the reader to accept the writer’s point of view or recommendation the writer must build a case using facts and logic as well as examples, expert opinions and sound reasoning.

The writer should present all sides of the argument, but must be able to communicate clearly and without equivocation why a certain position is correct.

Features of Argumentative Essays

• It is informative and persuasive.

• It is full of facts and evidence.

• It is usually one sided unless otherwise instructed.

• It is audience centred.

Steps to Effective Argumentation

a) Establish what the argument is about at the initial stage.

b) Make up your mind as to which side to support. In supporting a proposition, you will

have to show the weakness of the points of those attacking the proposition that is,

having presented your supporting evidence.

c) Present your ideas, facts and figures in an analytical way.

d) Give adequate examples.

e) Avoid ambiguous statements, that is be simple, clear and straight forward.

f) Be logical rather than emotional in your presentation.

g) Convince your reader rather than bulling him into agreeing with you.

h) Argue from your own conviction rather than from popular opinion or what you think

might interest your reader.

i) Make your presentations interesting. 22

j) Your generalization must be fair, reasonable, reliable and not farfetched.

In order for students to acquire the skills effectively, teachers are expected to be in a better position of teaching the students they need to understand the composition, its principles and forms in order to teach students how to overcome their writing problems. He identified paragraph development, sentence formation and appropriateness of words as one of the linguistic principles that must be developed.

Essay writing has not been well taught in most of our secondary schools and this is because teachers do avoid it as a result of the numerous scripts they need to assess when they give assignments. To them, essay writing is like a problem since it involves reading through what the student had written and scoring especially where the students are in large numbers.

This will not assist the students for they will not know where their mistakes lie. Hence the researcher has decided to investigate the influence of peer assessment on students’ achievement in English essay writing.

The Concept of Assessment

Meaning of Assessment as a General Concept

Assessment may refer to educational assessment, health assessment, nursing assessment, political assessment, and assessment of office holders, psychiatric assessment, psychological assessment, risk assessment, vulnerability assessment and Tax assessment .But for the sake of this paper the researcher will concentrate on educational assessment.

Educational assessment is the process of documenting usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs (John Oglive, 2005) .Assessment can focus on the individual learner, the learning community, the institution or the educational system as a whole. Palomba and Banta (2003) defines assessment as the systematic collection, review and use of information about educational programmes undertaken to improve students’ learning and development. 23

Assessment can also be said to be the process of gathering, analyzing, interpreting and using information about students’ progress and achievement to improve teaching and learning. It is an ongoing process aimed at undertaking and improving student learning. It involves making expectations explicit and public, setting appropriate criteria and high standard for learning quality. Systematically gathering, analyzing and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards and using the resulting information to document, explain and improve performance.

Types of Assessment

The term assessment is generally used to refer to all activities teachers use to help students learn and gauge students’ progress. Cowie and Bell (1999) divided Assessment for the sake of convenience using the following distinctions

• Initial, formative and summative.

• Objective and subjective

• Referencing (criterion-referenced, norm referenced and ipsative)

• Informal and formal

Initial formative and summative

Initial Assessment

Initial assessment is conducted prior to instruction or intervention to establish a baseline from which student growth can be measured. It can also be referred to as pre initial assessment or diagnostic assessment.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment as defined by Cowie and Bell (1999) is the process used by teachers and students to recognize and respond to students learning in order to enhance that learning. Formative assessment is generally carried out throughout a course or project. It is used to aid learning in educational setting. Formative assessment might be a teacher (or peer) or the teacher providing feedback on a students’ work and would not necessarily be used for 24 grading purposes. Nicol and Macfariane-Dick (2005) who emphasizes the role students can play in producing formative assessment states that formative assessment aids learning by generating feedback information that is often of benefits to students and teachers. Feedback on performance in class or on assignments enables students to restructure their understanding/skills and build more powerful ideas and capabilities. Formative assessment can take the form of diagnostic standardized test.

For assessment to be effective it should perform the following.

Promote deep learning in which the learner engages with (a) the learning materials and resources (b) other learners and (C) tutor/facilitator Contribute to the development of skill is cost effective and sustainable.

Summative assessment

Summative assessment is generally carried out at the end of a course or project. In an educational setting, summative assessment is usually used to assign students a course grade.

Summative assessment is evaluative.

Summative and formative assessments are often referred to in a learning context as assessment of learning and assessment for learning respectively. Assessment of learning is generally summative in nature and is intended to measure learning outcomes and report those outcomes to students, parents and administrators. Assessment of learning generally occurs at the conclusion of a class, course, semester or academic year. Assessment for learning is generally formative in nature and is used by teachers to consider approaches to teaching and next step for individual learners and the class.

Performance based assessment is similar to summative assessment as it focuses on achievement. Performance assessment call upon the examinee to demonstrate specific skills and competencies that is to apply the skills and competencies they have mastered (Stiggins,

1987).Performance assessment is often aligned with the standard based education reform and outcome based education movement, which is significantly different from a traditional 25 multiple choice text. They are most commonly associated with standard based assessment which uses free form responses to standard questions scored by human scorers on a standard based scale, meeting, falling below or exceeding a performance standard rather than being ranked on a curve. A well defined task is identified and students are asked to create, produce or do something often in setting that involved real world application of knowledge or skills.

Proficiency is demonstrated by providing an extended response

Objective and Subjective

Assessment (either summative or formative) is often categorized as either objective or subjective. Objective assessment is a form of questioning which has a single correct answer.

Subjective assessment is a form of questioning which may have more than one correct answer

(or more than one way of expressing the correct answer).There is various types of objective and subjective questions. Objective question types include true/false answers, multiple choice, multiple response and matching questions. Subjective questions include extended response questions and essays. Objective assessment is well suited to the increasingly popular computerized or online assessment format.

Criterion Referenced Assessment

Linn and Gronlund (2000)defines criterion referenced assessment as a test designed to provide a measure of performance that is interpretable in terms of a clearly defined and delimited domain of learning tasks. Typically using a criterion referenced test as the name implies occurs when candidates are measured against defined (and objective) criteria.

Criterion referenced assessment is often but not always used to establish a person’s competence(whether he can do something).The best known example of criterion –referenced assessment is the driving test when learner drivers are measured against a range of explicit criteria(such as Not endangering other road users)

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Norm Referenced Assessment

This is a test or other type of assessment designed to provide a measure of performance that is interpretable in terms of an individual relative standing in some known group, Linn and Gronlund (2000).Norm referenced assessment (colloquially known as grading on the curve)is not measured against defined criteria. This type of assessment is relative to the student body undertaking the assessment. It is effectively a way of comparing students. The

IQ test is a well known example of norm referenced assessment. Many entrance test (to prestigious schools or universities)are norm referenced permitting a fixed proportion of students to pass.(passing in this context means being accepted into the school or university rather than an explicit level of ability).This means that standards may vary from year to year depending on the quality of the cohort.

Ipsative Assessment

In this mode of assessment, a person’s performance is compared with his/her own earlier performance, with a view to determining whether any improvement has been made, or any added value brought about. Such assessment might involve setting a learner the same test prior to and after undertaking a course or unit thereof.

Assessment can either be formal or informal. Formal assessment usually implies a written document, such as a test, quiz or paper .A formal assessment is given a numerical score or grade based on students’ performance whereas an informal assessment does not contribute to a student’s final grade. An informal assessment usually occurs in a more casual manner and may include observation, inventories, checklists, rating scales, rubrics, performance and portfolio assessments, participation, peer and self evaluation and discussion

Internal assessment

This type of assessment is set and marked by the school (teachers) students get the mark and feedback regarding the assessment.

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External assessment

External assessment is set by a governing body and is marked by non biased personnel. Some external assessment gives much more limited feedback in their markings.

Other forms of assessment as identified by “The Glossary for Educational Reform” are Standardized assessment, High- stakes assessments, standardized referenced and standardized based assessment, Pre-assessment, Interim assessment, Common assessment,

Performance assessments, Portfolio based assessment, screening assessment and placement assessments.

Standardized Assessment

This is designed administered and scored in a standard and consistent manner. They often use a multiple choice format though some include open ended short answer questions, true or false questions, short answer questions, essay questions or a mix of question types . In recent times, standardized are computer based which can be administered to large student population of the same age or grade level in a state, region or country, and results can be compared across individuals and group of students.

High- stakes assessments are typically standardized test used for the purposes of accountability. In general “high stakes” means that important decisions about students, teachers, schools or districts are based on the scores student achieve on a high stakes test and either punishments ( sanctions, penalties, reduced funding negative publicity, not being promoted to the next grade) or accolades (awards, public celebration, positive publicity, bonuses, grade promotion) result from those scores.

Standardized referenced or standardized based assessments: are designed to measure how well students have mastered specific knowledge and skills described in local state or national learning standards. Standardized test and high stakes tests may or may not be based on specific learning standards, and individual schools and teachers may develop their own standards –referenced or standards-based assessments. 28

Pre- assessments: are administered before students begin a lesson, unit, course, or academic program. Students are not necessarily expected to know most or even any of the material evaluated by pre-assessments. They are generally used to establish a baseline against which educators’ measure learning progress over the duration of a program course or instructional period.

Interim assessments: are used to evaluate where students are in their learning progress and determine whether they are on track to performing well on future assessments, such as standardized tests and end of course exams. Interim assessment are usually administered periodically during a course or school year (for example every six or eight weeks) and separately from the process of instructing students (unlike formative assessments which are integrated into the instructional process).

Common assessment: are collaboratively developed by group of educators who agree on a common format and purpose for the assessments, and who administer them in consistent ways-e.g, by giving students consistent instructions or by using the same scoring guides to interpret results. The general goal of a common assessment which may be formative or summative is to ensure that all teachers in a department or content area are evaluating student performance in a more consistent reliable and effective manner. Common assessments are used to encourage greater consistency in teaching from course to course, and they allow educators to compare performance results across multiple courses and learning experiences

(which is not possible when educators teach different material and develop their own assessments individually).

Performance assessments: typically require students to complete a complex task, such as a writing assignment, science experiment, speech, presentation, performance, or long term project, for example educators will often use collaboratively developed common assessments, scoring guides, rubrics and other methods to evaluate whether the work produced by students 29 shows that they have learned what they were expected to learn. Performance assessments may also be called “authentic assessments” since they are considered by some educators to be more accurate and meaningful evaluations of learning than traditional tests.

Portfolio-based assessments: are collections of academic work, assignments, lab results, writing samples, speeches, art projects, websites, etc that are compiled by students and assessed by teachers in consistent ways. Portfolio- based assessments are often used to evaluate a “body of knowledge and skills over a period of time. Portfolio materials can be collected in physical or digital formats, and they often evaluated to determine whether students have met required learning standards.

Screening assessments: are used to determine whether students may need specialized assistance or services or whether they are ready to begin a course, grade level or academic program. Screening assessments may take a wide variety of forms in educational settings, and they may be developmental, physical, cognitive, or academic. A preschool screening test for example, may be used to determine whether a young child is physically, emotionally, socially, and intellectually ready to begin preschool, while other screening tests may be used to evaluate health, learning disabilities and other things.

Placement assessments: are used to “place” students into a course, course level, or academic program. For example an assessment may be used to determine whether a student is ready for algebra 1 or a higher level algebra course, such as an honours- level course. For this reason placement assessment are administered before a course or program begins, and the basic intent is to match students with appropriate learning experiences that address their distinct learning needs

Peer Assessment:

Peer assessment is an interactive and dynamic process that involves learners in assessing critiquing and making value judgment on the quality and standard of work of other 30 learners and providing feedback on peers to enable them enhance performance. (Topping

2000).

Peer assessment can also be said to be the assessment of students’ work by other students. This might be used for formative feedback or summative grading purposes. in learning and teaching. Peer assessment involves students taking responsibility for assessing the work of their peers against set assessment criteria. They can therefore be engaged in providing feedback to their peers (sometimes referred to as peer review summative grade

(moderated by you or your colleagues) or a combination of the two. It is a powerful way for your students to act as the assessor ’and to gain an opportunity to better understand assessment criteria. It can also transfer the ownership of the assessment process to them, thereby potentially increasing the motivation and engagement. in doing so your students might be encouraged to learn more deeply building up their understanding rather than just knowledge of the facts, as well as gaining an insight into their own approach to an assessment task in comparison to their peers. This makes peer assessment an important component of

Assessment for Learning, rather than simply means of measuring performance

(www.reading.ac.uk/.../peer assessment).

Advantages/Importance of peer assessment

One of the desirable outcomes of education should be an increased ability in the learner to make independent judgment of their own and others work. Exercises are seen as a means by which these general skills can be developed and practiced. A peer rating format can encourage a greater sense of involvement and responsibility, establish a clearer framework and promote excellence, direct attention to skills and learning and provide increased feedback

(Weaver and Corell, 1986)

Other advantages of peer assessment are summarized under the following headings.

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Logistics:

It allows teachers to manage their time more effectively while having students grade each other’s papers results in a more efficient classroom setting.

Saves Teachers’ Time

The assignment graded by the student can save the time of the teacher because the entire work of a particular classroom can be graded together in the time that it will take a teacher to grade one paper.

Faster feedback: Having students grade papers in class decrease the time taken for students to get back their assignments, instead of them having to wait for feedback on their work, peer assessment allows assignment to be graded soon after completion.

Pedagogical: Teachers’ evaluation role makes the students focus more on the grades not seeking feedback. Students can learn by grading the papers of others.

Meta cognitive: Through self and peer assessment students are able to see mistakes and can correct any problems in future assignments. By grading papers, students are better able to understand the grading process and recognize their own strengths and weakness while learning to think while completing assignments, students also learn better strategies for taking tests. By grading assignments, students may learn how to complete assignments more accurately and how to improve their test results.

The main factors for using peer assessment were highlighted by Race (2001) as follows

• Students are doing it already in different ways; it is easier for a student to assess the

work of his peer than a teacher because the students spends more time and is more

relaxed with their peers than with the teacher

• Students will get the chance to find out more about assessment culture: The students

will always find it easy to ask a peer on the process he followed to assess his work

than with a teacher. 32

• Lecturers have less time to assess than before: The surge in the enrolment of students

in our school has apparently made it cumbersome for a teacher to assess all works of

his students hence less time is given to assess each students work:

• Learning is enhanced when students have contributed to their marking criteria: If

students participate in their assessing themselves learning is made easier.

• Assessing is a good way to achieve good learning.

• Students can learn from the successes and mistakes of others when they participate in

peer assessment.

Disadvantages of Using Peer Assessment

In spite of the numerous advantages enumerated above when using peer assessment there are still some disadvantages inherent from using it. Many of the associated problems may occur because it is more complex assessment procedure (compared to tutor marked assessments) and the tutor has to manage a group of inexperienced assessors. Some tutors are reluctant to introduce peer assessment due to concerns about their reliability and validity, leading to the problem of inaccuracy/low precision of naïve makers and variability of marking standards of groups of peer assessors (Swason et al, 1991).However there is considerable evidence that students can peer assess effectively (Topping 2000).Other disadvantages of peer assessment are summarized as follows:

Students may not take it serious by allowing friendship, entertainment value, etc to influence their marking.

• Students may not like peer marking because of the possibility of being discriminated

against.

• Without the teacher’s intervention, students may misinform each other.

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Ways of Implementing Peer Assessment in the classroom

The teacher should identify learning activities for which peer feedback would be helpful to students. The degree to which the students are to be involved should be considered.

The advantage of having students actively involved in developing scoring guidelines is increased accuracy when students implement the guidelines during peer assessment.

Therefore an instructor that wants to use peer assessment strategy should:

• Make it very clear to students why you are involving them on peer assessment and

how it will benefit their learning. Clarify this in terms of the learning outcomes that

will be achieved.

• Ensure that peer assessment activities are supported by detailed and explicit criteria

and standards in the form of a rubric.

• Prepare model answers and guidelines for the feedback which students use to assess

the work of peers.

• Divide the class into small groups with three or more members.

• Have students present their work to date

• Ask the group to give informal feedback to their peers on their progress

• Know that peer assessment grades are recommendations only and the teacher makes

the final grading decisions.

• Ensure that students participate and any student unhappy with the peer assessment

grade should seek an independent assessment by the teacher.

Achievement in Language Teaching and learning

Academic achievement of a student could be attributed to mean the learning outcome observed on the learner. This embraces all the knowledge, skills and ideas gained on the course of academic process. It is important to know that striving for achievement is innate, that is it is inborn, it is a part of life and an individual must struggle for existence and 34 achievement.(Dec and Ryan2000). The conceptualization definition of achievement is the realizations of one’s potentials in an activity or task. (Cholinard and Roy, 2008) refer to achievement as a tendency to strive for success and to participate in activities in which success is dependent which lies on personal efforts and ability. Achievement could be regarded as individual attainment in a given task (George, 2000). It is the ability to obtain a set of objectives successfully at the end product of a course. It is generally a pedagogical terminology used while determining learners’ success in a formal education which is measured through reports, examinations, researches and ratings with numerous factors of variables exerting influences (Okeghile, 2007).

In education, it is termed academic achievement or performance, which according to

Deci and Ryan,(2002) is the extent to which a learner is benefiting from a given instruction in a given area of study, which is reflected by the extent to which a skill or knowledge has been acquired by the learner from the training given to him/her. George (2008) goes further to explain that it is the measure of students learning acquisition of certain skills at the end of teaching and learning activities evidenced in high result in examination written or taken by the student which is a reflection of learning. But, at times students experience poor academic achievement which is described by him as poor or under achievers which mean students art of performing below average consistently. This can be attributed to a number of environmental factors such as condition of home, peer group influence, relationship with teachers and social interaction with other people. Each of the above factors can cause stress and strain on the child of which the consequences is poor academic achievement.

Gender in Language Teaching and learning

Gender refers to the sum total of cultural values attitudes roles practices and characteristics based on sex. It is the state of being male or female. This line of thought is equally supported by Action Health Incorporated (2003) which defines gender as a condition 35 of being masculine or feminine through ones behavior. An individual is categorized as belonging to the male or female gender on the basis of single unchangeable physical characteristics; he or she is judged as male or female while masculine and feminine in terms of a large set of cultural stereotype and standard (Oraifo, 2000).

Naturally, there are some inherent different training for male and female. Girls are expected to play with dolls and other toys thus develop verbal social skills. While boys play with hard objects like blocks, video games and other toys that encourage quick decision making and strength. Offorma (2005) opines that gender roles are different and unequal.

Masculine roles and attributes include being aggressive, physically active and strong, logical and dominant in social relationship, while feminine refers to attributes like docility, fragility, emotional and subordinate in social relationship. And these attributes are traditionally defined and determines the roles of males and females in the community which in turn influences their academic work as well as their choice of career in school.

Some social scientist agrees that differences in abilities between men and women arise from society different expectations of them and from their different experiences. This usually results to gender stereotyping which is in line with Aksu (2000) who opines that the differences occurs when generic attributes, opinions or roles are assigned to either of the sexes in the society. Males and females have certain cultural differences which are largely due to the expectations of them, the roles assigned to each gender is therefore as a result of stereotyping. According to Umo (2002), the society to a certain extent still influences the choice of subjects in line with sex roles expectation which is as old as man himself.

The feeling is usually that some subjects that need high mental and much strength is for boys while the easier and the softer ones is for the girls. So due to gender stereotyping, the effort of the girls to achieve excellence in subjects perceived as male subjects is discouraged and reduced even when they can perform better with good teaching strategies their interest in 36 the subject will be greatly reduced if not extinguished. In Nigeria and perhaps the whole of

Africa, gender is still very prevalent, in fact it is somewhat rigid in Africa particularly in

Nigeria where gender differences is manifested in the type of vocation and profession which male and female are involved.

A different field of thought emerged in a study by David (2001) which points out the differences in nature, behaviour and attitudes of boys/girls towards certain subjects is as a result of differences in their psychologies. One of the areas of bias study that correlate have been particular dynamic in recent times is scoring difference that correlates with gender

(David, 2001).Though test of general intelligence suggest overall difference between male and female. Therefore, gender might be a factor in students’ achievement in essay writing.

Though there are two groups of thought with regards to the influence of gender on academic achievement. One is of the opinion that the differences in academics arises from biological differences while the other believes it is from socialization (Azikiwe, 2005). Although studies abounds on students achievement using gender as a factor but some researches claim that females are out performed by males, while others uphold that females achieve better than males (Offorma 2005). This implies that there is a polemic on ones gender being a determinant of his or her academic achievement.

School Location in Language Teaching and Learning

The location of school is an important variable that affects students’ performance in language learning. Location is a place or a geographical area. By school location it means a place or an area where a school is situated. This includes schools located in urban and rural areas and the classification has an influence on students’ achievement and educational development. Okoro (1990) as quoted by Uwalaka (2012) opines that students in urban schools perform better than those in rural schools in certain skills. This may be explained by availability of more competent teachers in urban areas. In support, Ezeugwu (2011) notes that 37 schools in different locations(urban semi urban and rural), adopt different methods of teaching, and experience differences in number and quality of teachers which arise to the differences in achievement of students in various subject areas including English.

Abidogun (2006) emphasized rural areas as having greater challenges concerning educational development than the urban centres, due to the peculiar socioeconomic and instructional structures of the rural areas .Some of these challenges according to

Anyaegbu(2003) are: lack of zeal and interest by teachers due to poor and delayed salaries and poor condition of work by the teachers.

Based on these (Abidogun, 2006) reports that many teachers therefore reject posting to rural areas while those that do, treat their presence in such areas as part time assignment.

Edho, (2009) notes that some of the constraints that affect the success rates of the universal basic education programme in the rural communities is teachers inadequacy and their unwillingness to be posted to rural communities. (Arubayi, 2005) complains also about the walking distance of pupils to school, which affects their performance and overall success of the universal basic education in the state. He added that the distance travelled has some relationship to school attendance, punctuality and absenteeism to school and that some schools in the state are located so far from pupils as they travel more than five kilometers to get to school.

Researchers have been conducted to determine the influence of school location on academic achievements of students. The study of Umo, (2001) Offorma, (2005) proves that the learner’s environment as derived from this socio-cultural background, economic and physical circumstances, socio-environmental activities and traditional beliefs and choices influence options which affect a child’s intellectual stimulations.

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Theoretical Framework

There are many linguistic theories that underline language learning. In other words, there are different theories of learning in the field of language. The following are some of the theories that will be considered in this study. These are constructivists’ theory of language learning and Bandura’s social learning theory. Excessive quest for making students learn how to write effectively in any occasion has urged many educators to search for ways of achieving meaningful strategy that might enhance learning to write. This as well will strike the zeal to make learning meaningful and achieve demand for competency-based learning as stated by

Sluijsmans and Prins. According to Cakir (2008), meaningful learning does not occur by throwing more facts and principles at the students or increasing the number of students’ activities but by carrying out cognitive processes that construct relations among the elements of information in the concept. This construction of relation could be achieved by engaging the students in assessing the work of their colleagues and by so doing lead them to identify for themselves, the weaknesses and strengths in their own writings and passing judgments on the work of their colleagues. As a result, peer assessment strategy did not emerge from a vacuum but has its basis upon some theories. Thus, the origin of peer assessment could therefore be traced to constructivists learning theory especially on the work of the cognitive psychologists Vygostky in his social cognitive theory (Eksi, 2010), and that of the social learning theory with particular reference to the work of Bandura. Basically, it arose due to quest for quick feedbacks that will assist the learners have fast view of their progress in any work.

Constructivist’s Learning Theory.

John Dewey (1933-1998) is often cited as the philosophical founder of this approach.

Piaget (1972) is considered the chief theorist among the cognitive constructivists, while

Vygotsky(1978) is the major theorist among the social constructivists. Constructivism 39 emphasizes the importance of active involvement of the learner in constructing knowledge for themselves. Constructivism emphasizes top-down processing: beginning with complex problems, teaching basic skills while solving these problems. Constructivism explains why students do not learn deeply by listening to a teacher, or reading from a textbook. Its main assumption is that learning is actively built from within by the learner and not passively received for it is basically achieved through integration with prior knowledge. In describing constructivism view point, Walker (2002) opines that knowledge does not exist "out there" in an objective reality but is actively constructed from within by the learner. He maintains that facts become facts because it is knowledge that is agreed upon by communities of learners.

The learner comes into any new situation with prior knowledge based on past experiences and so new knowledge is learned through integration with prior knowledge.

This is basically the stand of the psychologist Vygostky. Vygostky is often associated with social constructivism approach where he believes on construction of information via mutual interaction (Eksi, 2010). His basic idea as highlighted by Uroko (2010) is that human behavior is too complex to isolate, dissect and study in a vacuum and so should be studied in social and historical context in which it occurs.

Vygostky emphasizes the importance of culture and social context in his work. His theory is basically based on three concepts – internalization, semiotic mediation and zone of proximal development (ZDP) (Cakir, 2008). However, peer assessment is related only to two of the concepts as described below. Describing the internalization concept, Uroko (2010) expresses that Vygostky’s theory maintains that any function in the child’s cultural development appears in two planes – the social (external) and the psychological (internal) planes. For Vygostky, the processes are influenced by social experiences. Cakir (2008) explains that mental function of a child begins on the social plane and then moves to the inner plane and this according to him is what Vygostky calls internalization. Hence, internalization 40 involves transforming social phenomena into psychological phenomena which means, making meaning through both external and internal interactions (Cakir, 2008). He maintains that internalization transforms the external processes into the internal thereby changing both the structure and functions of the process.

Vygostky’s major point is described in his view of “zone of proximal development”

(Vygostky 1978) as quoted in Cakir (2008). According to Cakir (2008), Vygosky described zone of proximal development as the distance between the actual developmental level which is determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as expressed through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers. The assertions emphasizes that each child has an actual development level and a potential development level. The actual development level according to Uroko (2010) is all the functions and activities a child can perform on his own and assesses himself right without help from adult or peers while the potential development level is all the functions that a child can perform only with the assistance of someone else. Hence the difference between the two is the ZDP.

Emphasizing more the meaning of ZDP Vygostky (1978) quoted in Cakir (2008) explains that the ZDP are those functions that have not yet matured but are in the process of maturation, functions that will mature tomorrow but are currently in embryonic state. To him these functions will be termed ‘bud’ or ‘flowers’ of development rather than the ‘fruit’ of development. Therefore, a child’s actual developmental level identifies a child’s level of mental development at a particular time. So, a child’s ZDP defines those functions that have not matured which are at the pupa stage and can outline the child’s immediate future and his overall continuous state of development.\

In all, Vygostky emphasizes the significance of social and cultural context in the process of learning with focus on guidance and assistance from more knowledgeable others 41 through their feedbacks on an assessment. As they students take turn in assessing themselves, it is expected that they would assist each other in developing the ZDP to achieve meaningful learning advocated by constructivism.

The relationship therefore between ZDP and this study is that since a child’s ZDP defines those functions that have not matured which are at the pupa stage and can outline the child’s immediate future and his overall continuous state of development, peer assessment will therefore help the child to develop this ZDP that has not matured through social interaction which is achieved by students assessing themselves.

In view of the above assertion, peer assessment could effectively stand. Peer assessment enables the learner to construct their understanding of a concept through problem solving and evaluate judiciously the work done by others. These assessment approaches based on constructivism consider the student as an active individual who shares responsibility, who cooperates, who is always in dialogue with the teacher and it provides for a more unified approach to education (Eksi, 2010). This will enable the teacher to determine their actual developmental level based on the judgment passed on a work, hence, the stand of

Vygotsky.

Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

This theory was propounded by Albert Bandura. Bandura’s social learning Theory posits that people learn from one another via observation imitation and modeling. The theory has often been called a bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories because it encompasses attention, memory and motivation. People learn through observing others behaviours, attitudes and outcomes of those behaviour. Bandura’s social learning theory explains human behaviour in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioural and environmental influences. 42

The social learning theory proposed by Albert Bandura believes that direct reinforcement could not account for all types of learning. His theory added a social element arguing that people can learn new information and behavior by watching other people known as observational learning. There are three core concepts at the heart of the social learning theory. First is the idea that people can learn through observation. Next is the idea that an internal mental state is essential part of this process. Finally this theory recognizes that just because something has been learned it does not mean that it will result in change in behaviour.

People can learn through observation; in his famous Bobo doll experiment. Bandura demonstrated that children learn and imitate behaviours they have observed in other people.

The children in Bandura’s studies observed an adult acting violently toward a Bobo doll.

When the children were later allowed to play in the room with the Bobo doll they began to imitate the aggressive actions they had previously observed.

Mental states are important to learning; Bandura noted that external environmental reinforcement was not the only factor to influence learning and behaviour. He described intrinsic reinforcement as a form of internal reward such as pride, satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.

Learning does not necessarily lead to a change in behavior: While the behaviourist believed that learning led to a permanent change in behavior, observational learning demonstrate that people can learn new information without demonstrating new behaviours.

Retention: The ability to store information is also an important part of the learning process.

Retention can be affected by a number of factors but the ability to pull up information and act on it is vital to observational learning. 43

Reproduction: Once you have paid attention to the model and retained the information, it is time to actually perform the behavior you observed. Further practice of the learned behavior leads to improvement and skill advancement.

The key tenets of the social learning Theory is as follows

1. Learning is not purely behavioral; rather it is a cognitive process that takes place in a

social context.

2. Learning can occur by observing a behavior and by observing the consequences of the

behaviour.(vicarious reinforcement)

3. Learning involves observation, extraction of information from those observations and

making decisions about the performance of the behaviour.

4. The learner is not a passive recipient of information. Cognition, environment and

behaviour mutually influence each other.

In all it could be seen that Bandura’s social learning theory advocates meaningful learning through observation, modeling and attention. Attention in the sense that the student must pay adequate attention for him to peer assess effectively Observation on the other hand in the sense that students must observe closely the teacher and even a classmate that has shown understanding of the concept or the strategy being taught before learning should take place. This the teacher should do by creating conducive social learning environments that will enable the student participate effectively in the class activities. The students’ mental state should also be alert. Finally, the theory advocates imitation. The teacher should therefore, encourage the student to imitate correctly good learning habits that will be exhibited or manifested by their peers in class activities.

Review of Empirical Studies

Many research works have been carried out on the use of peer assessment technique in various school subjects. The researcher reviewed the related studies in this present study. 44

Adeola and Olafare, (2010) investigated the effect of peer tutoring-assisted instruction on students’ speed and accuracy achievement in Typewriting using quasi-experimental research design. A total of 100 students selected through purposive sampling technique from two secondary schools in Ondo West Local Government participated in the study. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested. The typewriting speed and accuracy achievement test

(TSPAAT) was the major instrument used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using t-test which was tested at 0.5% level of significant. Findings revealed that students exposed to peer tutoring – assisted instruction performed significantly better than those exposed to conventional method. It was recommended among others that secretarial subject teachers should incorporate the use of peer tutoring in teaching typewriting with a view to enhancing students’ achievement and stimulating their interest in the subject.

Adeola and Olafare’s work is related to the present study because both of them share the same technique of teaching; both of them are experimental studies, they use the same sampling technique; However, the studies are different in terms of population, method of data analysis, data collection and subject areas.

Mohammed, (2012) investigated the impact of peer feedback on improving the writing skills among Hebron University students in Palestine. The sample of the study consisted of one hundred and five (105) male and female students from five sections of an undergraduate writing course offered by the English Department at Hebron University in the academic year 2010/2011. A pretest, posttest as well as a pre-questionnaire and post- questionnaire consisting of twenty statements follow a five point likert scale. The result of this study indicated the positive effects of the use of peer feedback in writing classes to enhance students’ motivation and improve their writing skill. Based on the result of this study, the researcher offers the following recommendations; peer feedback in process writing classes should be an integrated component of every writing course offered by English 45

Department at Hebron university; peer review should be made a regular activity and part of language instruction; students should be intensively trained on how to carry peer feedback in the process of writing including receiving and giving feedback. Mohammed’s work is similar to the present study because both of them are in English language. Both studies treat

English essay writing. Both studies also use the same teaching technique. The two studies are experimental. However, the study is different from the present study in some areas. The study is different in terms of location. Mohammed’s work was carried out in Hebron University,

Palestine, among undergraduate students while the present study is carried out in Owerri

Education Zone 1 of Imo state among secondary school students. Also, the study is different in terms of population. Mohammed’s work used 105 undergraduate students while the present study used 443 secondary school students. The former work used two instruments for data collection while the present study used one instrument for data collection.

Torty (2010) investigated the effect of collaborative learning method on students’ achievement and interest in English tenses. Eight research questions were posed and eight null-hypotheses formulated to guide the study. The design of the study was the non- equivalent, pre-test – posttest control group, quasi-experimental research design. Stratified simple random sampling technique was used to draw the schools for the study. Simple random sampling was used to draw two hundred and seventeen (217) SS2 students for the study. The experimental groups were taught using the collaborative learning method while the control groups were taught using the lecture method. The instruments which were validated by experts and used for data collection were English Language Achievement Test

(ELAT) and English Language Interest Inventory (ELII), Mean Standard Deviation and

Analysis of Covariance were used to analyze the data collected. The major finding of the study was: Students taught English language tenses using the collaborative learning method recorded significantly greater achievement than those taught with the lecture method. Torty’s 46 work is related to the present study because both of them are in English language. Both studies share the same method/technique of teaching. Both studies are similar in the areas of sampling technique, population. However, the study is different from the present study in terms of concept investigated. The former study investigated English tenses while the present work investigated English essay writing. The former work used two instruments to collect his data while the present study used only one instrument. The former study was carried out in

Enugu, Enugu state while the present study will be carried out in Owerri Education zone 1of

Imo state. Also, both studies are different in terms of method of data analysis.

Studies on Gender

Controversy over which sex achieves better in academic performance is evident.

While some research studies showed no gender difference some revealed superiority of one gender over the other in language as well as over the use of peer assessment.

Uzoegwu, (2004) carried out a study on the effects of cooperative method on students’ achievement in English essay writing in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State.

The influence of gender was explored. A quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design was used. Eight intact classes consisting of two hundred and ninety nine (299) students were sampled. The data were analyzed using analysis of conversance (ANOVA).

The result showed that gender had a significant effect on the achievement of students in essay writing. Male students achieved higher than female students in essay writing. The study is similar to the present study because both studies explored the influence of gender in English essay writing but different locations were used by the researchers.

Akabogu (2002) on the other hand found no gender difference in the studies on the effects of secondary school student’s exposure to language registers, contextual clues on students’ achievement in English reading comprehension and the effect of cloze instructional approach on senior secondary school students’ achievement in English reading 47 comprehension. The researcher used quasi-experimental and the pretest non- equivalent control group design. Eight schools were used and they were selected through stratified random sampling technique. These schools were both rural and urban areas. In each school, two intact classes of SSII students were randomly selected and assigned to experimental and control group. A total number of two hundred and sixty (260) students, both male and female were used. The treatment group comprises one hundred and thirty three (133) male and female students from schools in rural and urban areas while the control group had one hundred and twenty seven (127) students, male and female from rural and urban schools respectively. The data collected were analyzed using ANCOVA for the analysis with a result that showed gender as having no significant effects on students’ achievement. The study shares similarity with the present one in the area of context which is English language and the use of gender as variable. However, the study is different in terms of teaching method, location and topic. As well Agada (2007) revealed no gender difference in the study effect of cloze procedure on secondary schools students’ achievement in English language essay writing. Therefore no consensus has been reached on which gender is superior to the other in academic achievement especially in relation to language studies and in using peer assessment for instruction, as there are divergent opinions from the results of the researchers. In view of the noted inconsistency in the result of the researchers in relation to gender, there is need to determine gender influence in relation to achievement using peer assessment in English essay writing.

Studies on School Location as a Factor in achievement

School location could be a factor of students’ achievement in writing. No two school environment is the same. Location of schools determines learning facilities, infrastructure, number and quality of teachers and class size etc (Uzoegwu, 2005). 48

Anizoba (2004) carried out a study in Awka Education Zone of Anambra State to investigate the effects of writing process method on secondary school students’ achievement in English composition. The work employed a non-equivalent control group quasi experimental design. Four schools used for the study were chosen through stratified and purposive random sampling techniques. The schools were both in the urban and rural areas.

In each of the schools, two intact classes of SS2 students were randomly selected and assigned to experimental and control groups. Two hundred and twenty five students,(225) comprising both females and males were used. The treatment group had one hundred and fourteen (114) students made up of males and females from the urban and rural schools.

These were taught using writing process method while the control group made up of one hundred and eleven (111) students, both male and female, from schools in urban and rural areas was taught using the conventional method. The study was guided by seven research questions and five hypotheses. The data were collected by the use of two topics for essay writing. The collected data were analysed using mean, standard deviation and ANCOVA.

The study revealed that there was significant interaction effect of location and method. This study is related to the present study in terms of variable considered; location and the area of context which is English language essay writing while the point of departure is on the method used by the researcher.

Okolo, (2003), conducted a study on the achievement of urban and rural students taught spelling using drills in Oshimili South and North Local Government Areas of Delta

State. 2,100 SS2 students consists the population. Purposive sampling technique was used to select two co-educational schools. Both schools represent the urban and rural setting. The researcher through balloting in each school chose two arms. One of the arms was labeled experimental while the other was labeled control. The researcher administrated pre-test to the treatment group and control groups, these groups were taught twice a week separately for two 49 weeks. At the end of the teaching, the researcher administered pre-test to the treatment group and control groups, these groups were taught twice a week separately for two weeks. At the end of the teaching, the researcher administered the same test as the pre-test known as the post test to the treatment control, urban and rural. The test was marked and recorded and the result showed that the difference in the mean score of the urban and rural students after teaching is 3:2 showing a great difference. Therefore, the urban students performed better than the rural students. This study is similar to the present study in terms of purpose. The purpose of the study is to ascertain whether location affects learning of the English language or not. It also shares similarity in terms of design used by the researchers. Also, both studies have experimental and control groups respectively but different teaching methods.

Owoeye, (2011) carried out a research on the location of schools as it relates to academic performance of students in Ekiti State of Nigeria. The population of the study was results of the West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) conducted in fifty (50) secondary schools in both rural and urban areas of the State. One validated instrument

“Student location questionnaire (SLQ)” was used for data collection. One hypothesis was formulated and tested at 0.05% level of significance. Data were analyzed using mean and t- test. The results showed that there was a significant difference between students’ academic achievement of rural and urban students in senior school certificate examinations (t=2.73, p=0.05). The study has proven that students in urban area had better academic achievement than their rural counterparts. The study is similar to this study in terms of location but different in terms of method used.

Summary of Literature Review

In this chapter, effort has been made to review as much as possible literature related to this study. This was done by considering the conceptual and theoretical framework. The most relevant theories used in this work were constructivist learning theory and Bandura’s social 50 learning theory. The constructivist assumption is based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in the process of learning and knowledge construction as opposed to passively receiving information. The literature also opined that constructivist teaching fosters critical thinking and creates motivated and independent learners who shares responsibilities and cooperates in the classroom environment. While the social learning theory as proposed by Bandura states that behavior is learnt by the environment through the process of observational learning. The proponents also believe that humans are active information processors and think about the relationship between their behavior and its consequences.

The conceptual framework emphasized on the various concepts that are relevant to the study. They include the concept of essay writing features and types, the meaning of assessment, types of assessment and peer assessment. The review also covered some empirical research findings on gender and location as factors that affect academic achievement.

Literature also considered the empirical findings that have been done on peer assessment. The findings of all the studies indicated that students taught with the various methods performed better than the students taught with the conventional methods.

Finally in spite of the fact that many studies have actually been carried out on peer assessment, none of these works was carried out on English language particularly on essay writing to the best of the knowledge of the researcher. In addition, there had been inconsistency over the years on which gender performs better than the other in language as well as whether rural or urban students achieve better in languages. Therefore the study intends to investigate the influence of peer assessment on students achievement in English essay writing.

51

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter presents the method and procedures to be used for the study. It specifically describes the design, area of the study, population of the study, sample and sampling technique, instrument for data collection, validation and reliability of the instrument, control of extraneous variables, experimental procedures and method of data analysis.

Design of the Study

The design used this study was quasi experimental research design. Specifically it employed pretest post-test non equivalent control group design. This design suited the study because there was no randomization of subject rather intact classes were used as experimental and control groups (Ali 2006)

Group pretest treatment post test

E 01 X1 O1

C 01 X2 O2

Where

E= Experimental group (peer assessment)

C=Control group (teacher assessment)

X1 =Treatment with peer assessment

X2=Treatment with conventional Method (teacher assessment)

01=Pretest (Achievement) for experimental group and control group

02post-test (Achievement) for experimental and control groups.

52

Area of the Study

The area of the study is Owerri Education Zone1 of Imo State. This Zone has five local government areas namely Owerri Municipal, Owerri North, Owerri West, Mbaitolu and

Ikeduru. Fifty three public co-educational schools 4 in Owerri Municipal,11 in Owerri

North,12 in Owerri West, 12 in Ikeduru 14 in Mbaitolu and 13 public single sex schools 5 in

Owerri Municipal 3 in Owerri North,4 in Mbaitolu and 1 in Ikeduru.(Statistic Unit Zonal

Board Owerri zone 1). However, the single sexed schools are not in all the LGAS of the zone.

The chosen schools are therefore co-educational and use the same curriculum and scheme of work in English Language. The rationale for this zone is due to the poor performance of students in English essay writing in the zone.

Population of the Study

The population of this study consist of the entire 2014/2015 SS2 students in Owerri

Education Zone1 numbering 10,183 comprising 5075 males and 5108 females (Statistics Unit

Zonal Board Owerri Zone 1 2014).The choice of SS2 students is due to the fact that, they are in their penultimate class in the senior secondary and has been exposed to adequate English language teaching and learning. More so, since they are not preparing for any external examination it is assumed that they have not done much revision of work in English language.

Sample and Sampling Technique

The sample used for this study consists of 167 SS2 students (90 boys and 77 girls) drawn from 4 co-educational schools in Owerri Education Zone1of Imo State. The use of co- educational school took care of the gender variable in the study. Two of the four schools are located in the town while two are situated in the village this took care of the location variable in the study. For the experimental group, 83 subjects were used was made up of 45 boys and

38 girls. The control group consist of 84 subjects comprising of 45 boys and 39 girls. The 53 schools selected are Comprehensive Development Secondary School Owerri (49) and

Ogbeke Obibi Secondary School Obibiezena (34), for the experimental group while Egbu

Comprehensive Secondary School (46) and Afara Secondary Technical School Mbaitolu(38) for the control group.

The sampling technique used for this study is purposive random sampling technique.

Purposive sampling relies on the judgment of the researcher when it comes to selecting the units that are to be studied. Its main goal is to focus on a particular characteristic of a population that is of interest which will enable the researcher to answer his/her research questions. This technique (purposive random sampling technique) will be used to select four co-educational schools one school each from Owerri Municipal and Owerri North to represent the township schools while one school each from Mbaitolu and Ikeduru to represent the village schools. Two schools will be assigned to experimental group (peer assessment strategy of instruction) and the other two will be assigned to control group (conventional assessment method).

Instrument for Data Collection

The instrument for data collection is English Essay Achievement Test (EEAT) adopted from past WAEC essay writing question. Essay Writing Achievement Test only covered narrative essay. The past question was chosen because the question was standardized (it had already been initially validated by test developers in English Language.

The EEAT has two sections; section A and B. Section A contains the students personal data while section B contains one narrative essay question- Write a story ending with the statement “All that glitters is not gold”

The students’ were required to write about 450 words within the period of the 50 minutes in line with WAEC English language essay examination practice. The achievement test consists of the same items. The pre-test and the post- test were scored over 50 marks 54 based on the criteria used by WAEC for scoring essay writing in English language. These include content- 10 marks, organization-10 marks, expression- 10 marks and mechanical accuracy

- 10 marks given a total of 50 marks.

Experimental Procedure

Before the treatment the research subjects were given a pretest which will be administered by the regular English Language teachers in the sampled schools who have undergone training. The aim of the training is to acquaint the regular teachers with the purpose of the study and a rehearsal on how to conduct the study for the control and experimental groups, as well as the procedure to administer the instrument. Before the commencement of the experiment, the researcher will have a two –day training session with the English language teachers. The training will last for one hour each day. The training involved the English language teachers from the four schools for the study.

The students in the experimental group also underwent some training. The aim was to acquaint them with the concept of peer assessment. Issue addressed include the “who”,

‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘why’ peer assessment. The students were given guidance sheet for assessing essays. The students underwent series of writing during this training, and were asked to draft the final write-up and submit to the researcher.

After the pretest, the scripts were be marked by the researcher. The pretest were used to

1. Determine the students’ initial knowledge of the topics they will learn later.

2. Determine the comparability of the two groups (experimental and control groups)

with respect to their achievement in the pretest.

The treatment for the study was the teaching of the selected topics to SS2 students.

The experimental groups were taught using peer assessment while teacher assessment was used for the control groups. The teaching lasted four weeks of three Lesson periods. The 55 experimental groups were subjected to peer assessment; the objectives of the lesson were spelt out in each topic. The teacher taught the lesson and also taught the students on the assessment procedures in order for them to be able to assess their peers. The teacher asked students question to ascertain if what has been taught was assimilated, he corrected and reinforced the students where and when necessary.

The control groups were taught also like the experimental group but the teacher did not hint the students on the guidelines or the criteria for assessing the essays. .After the teaching, the scripts were collected by the teacher and returned at a time convenient for him.

Both groups were taught during the normal periods using the lesson note prepared by the researcher.

At the end of the treatment a post EEAT were administered to the same subjects. The scores for both experimental and control groups were recorded accordingly. The essay was scored out of 50. The components were as follows: content 10, organization 10, expression

20, and mechanical accuracy 10.

Control of Extraneous Variable

The researcher adopted the following strategies to ensure that extraneous variables which might affect the result of the study were controlled; thereby making sure that the changes in the behaviour of the subjects was as a result of treatment.

Experimental Bias

The regular English language teacher of each school were used in teaching the students so that the researcher will not be personally involved in administering the research conditions to avoid the students being biased with the presence of a strange teacher.

Pretesting

To reduce the effect of pretesting on subsequent testing, the students were not pre informed before the subsequent test. 56

Teacher Variables

The researcher alone was not able to carry out the experiment. As a result three research assistants who are invariably English language teachers in their respective schools would be used. To control the error that may arise as a result of teacher differences a 2- day pre-experimental training was organized for the research assistants. They were tactfully exposed to the guidelines and modalities in which students will use to assess their peers work.

The aim of this was to establish a uniform instructional standard among the teachers. The researcher will also ensure a uniform lesson plan for the two groups by providing the lesson plans to be used by the research assistants.

Inter group variables

Intact classes were used for this study. There may be initial differences of the research subjects in the two groups. The researcher used analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to test the hypothesis to control for any differences between the intact groups. It is hoped that this may correct for the initial non-equivalence among the research subjects.

Instructional Situational Variables

To make sure that there is homogeneity of instruction among groups; the researcher trained all the research assistants and provided uniform lesson plans for each group. The training included the purpose of the study, a rehearsal on how to conduct the study by the regular teachers of the schools in handing both the control and experimental groups, and the procedure to administer the instrument. Before the commencement of the experiment, the researcher had a one –day training session with the English language teachers. The training lasted for two hours.

The training involved the English language teachers from the four schools for the study. The purpose of the training was to 57

• Enable the teachers acquire the necessary competence for implementing experimental

conditions.

• Enable the teachers to enhance minimum standard in the implementation of the

experimental condition.

• Familiarize the teachers with the content of narrative essay writing

• Educate the teachers on how to regulate the students’ activities during the instruction

• Enable the teachers to evaluate the students before, during and after the instruction.

Educate the teachers on the procedure needed to administer the Instrument before and after treatment.

Method of Data Collection

The data for this study was collected through the administration of pre-testing EEAT before the commencement of the experiment and post test administered at the end of four weeks intensive teaching. It was done with the help of English language teachers who served as research assistants.

Method of Data Analysis

The researcher used mean and standard deviation to provide answers to the research questions because mean is the most reliable measure of central tendency in a normal distribution. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses formulated for the study at 0.05% level of significance.

58

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS

The chapter presents the result of data analysis for the study. The presentation is done according to the research questions and hypotheses that guided the study.

Research Question one: What are the mean achievement scores of students taught English essay writing using peer assessment.

Table 1: Mean achievement scores of students taught English essay writing using peer assessment.

Method N Mean SD

Experimental Group 83 16.08 5.36

Control Group 84 13.14 4.55

Total 167 14.61 9.91

Table 1 shows that the mean achievement scores of students taught English essay writing using peer assessment is 16.08 with a standard deviation of 5.36. While the mean achievement scores of those taught using teacher assessment is 13.14 with a standard deviation of 4.55. This suggests that those taught using peer assessment performed better than those taught using teacher assessment. Hence peer assessment seems to have more influence on students overall assessment than teacher assessment.

Research Question 2: What is the influence of gender on students mean achievement scores of in English essay writing?

Table 2: Mean achievement scores of male and female students taught English essay writing using peer assessment.

59

Gender N Mean SD Mean diff.

Males 85 13.74 4.70

Females 82 15.50 5.50

Total 167 14.61 1.75

The result of data analysis that answered research question 2 showed that male students mean achievement scores in English essay wriing was 13.74 (SD=4.70) while female students mean achievement scores was 15.50 (SD=5.50). It had the mean difference of 1.75. This appears to indicate that female and male students scored unequally when taught using peer assessment.

This reveals that the female students performed better than the male students.

Research Question Three: What is the influence of location on students mean achievement scores in English essay writing?

Table 3: Mean achievement scores of students of urban and rural schools taught using peer assessment.

Location N Mean SD Mean diff.

Urban 95 16.28 4.79

Rural 72 12.39 4.84

Total 167 14.35 4.82 3.89

The result in table 3 shows that students in urban schools had a mean score of 16.28 with a standard deviation of 4.79 while students in rural schools had a mean score of 12.39 with an

SD value of 4.84. The mean difference from the table (3.89) reveals that the urban students performed better than the rural students in English essay writing when taught using peer assessment.

Research Question four: What is the interaction effect of method and gender on students means achievement scores in English essay writing. 60

Table 4: Interaction effects of method and gender on students’ mean achievement scores in

English essay writing.

Method N Mean SD Th2

Peer Assessment 83 16.08 5.37

Teacher 84 13.14 4.54

Assessment

Total 167 14.60 5.17 .0230

Gender

Male 85 13.74 4.70

Female 82 15.50 5.51 .230

Total 167 14.60 5.17

The result of data analysis shows that there is no interaction effect of method (M=14.60, SD=

5.17) and gender (14.60, SD=5.17) th2= .230 on students mean achievement scores in

English essay writing,

Research Question five: What is the interaction effect of method and location on students’ mean achievement scores in English essay writing?

Table 5: Interaction effects of method and location on students’ mean achievement scores in

English essay writing.

Method N Mean SD Th2

Peer Assessment 83 16.08 5.37

Teacher 84 13.14 4.54 .077

Assessment

Total 167 14.60 5.17

Location 61

Urban 95 16.28 4.79 .077

Rural 72 12.39 4.83

Total 167 14.60 5.17

The result of data analysis shows that there is no interaction effect of method (M=14.60, SD=

5.17) and location (14.60, SD=5.17) th2= .077 on students mean achievement scores in

English essay writing,

HYPOTHESES: The data in tables 6 to 10 answers the hypotheses questions formulated for the study.

Table 6: Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) of posttest achievement scores in English essay writing using peer assessment.

Group N X SD df F Sig (2tailed) Remarks

Experimental 83 16.08 5.37

Control 84 13.14 4.55

Total 167 14.60 5.17 165 1.74 .000 S

NS = Not Significant

S = Significant

Hypothesis 1: There will be no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students taught English essay writing using peer assessment and those taught using teacher assessment.

The table 6 above shows that there is a significant difference in the mean scores of those students taught English essay writing using peer assessment( M=16.08,SD=5.37) and those taught using teacher assessment (M=13.14,SD=4. 55),F(1.74), P=.000.Therefore the hypothesis of no significant difference is rejected. 62

Table 7: Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of male and female students taught English essay writing

Gender N X SD df F Sig(2tailed) Remarks

Male 85 13.74 4.70

Female 82 15. 5.51

Total 167 14.60 5.17 165 2.999 .028 S

Hypothesis 2: There will be no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students taught English essay writing.

The table 7 above shows that there is a significant difference in the mean scores of male (M=13.74, SD=4.70) and female (M=15.5, SD=5.51) F (2.999) P=.028. This shows that female students had better mean achievement scores in English essay writing than the male students when taught using peer assessment. Therefore the hypothesis of no significant difference is rejected.

Table 8: Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of urban and rural students taught English essay writing

Location N X SD df F Sig (2tailed) Remarks

Urban 95 16.28 4.79

Rural 72 12.39 3.89

Total 167 14.60 5.17 165 .019 0.000 S

Hypothesis 3: There will be no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of urban and rural students taught essay writing.

The table 8 above shows that there is a significant difference in the mean scores of urban (M=16.28, SD=4.79) and rural (M=12.39 SD=3.89.) F (.019) P=.000. This shows that 63 urban students had better mean achievement scores in English essay writing than the rural students when taught using peer assessment. Therefore the hypothesis of no significant difference is rejected.

Table 9: Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of interaction effects of method and gender on students’ mean achievement scores.

Source N X SD df F Sig Remarks

Method 83 14.61 5.17 1 9.774 .197 NS

Gender 167 12.39 3.89 1 3.069 .330 NS

Method*Gender 1 1.452 .230 NIE

NIE = No Interaction effect

Hypothesis 4: There will be no significant interaction effect of method and gender on students’ mean achievement scores in English essay writing.

The table 9 above showed that there is no interaction effect in the mean scores of peer assessment. (M=16.08, SD=5.37) and teacher assessment (M=13.14 SD=4.54.) and males

(M=13.74, SD=4.70), females (M=15.50,SD=5.51) F(1.452) P=.0230. Therefore the hypothesis of no significant interaction effect is accepted.

Table 10: Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of interaction effect of method and

Location on students’ mean achievement scores.

Source N X SD df F Sig Remarks

Method 83 16.08 5.37 1 4.149 .291 NS

Location 167 14.60 5.17 1 8.831 .207 NS

Method*Location 1 3.168 .077 NIE

Hypothesis 5: There will be no significant interaction effect of method and location on students’ mean achievement scores in English essay writing. 64

The table 10 above showed that there is no interaction effect in the mean scores of peer assessment. (M=16.08, SD=5.37) and location (M=14.60 SD=5.17) on students’ mean achievement scores in English essay writing F (3.168) P=.077. Therefore the hypothesis of no significant interaction effect is accepted.

Summary of Findings

The following are the summary of the findings of the study;

1. Peer assessment seems to have more influence on students overall achievement in

English essay writing than teacher assessment.

2. Female students performed better than male students when exposed to the use of peer

assessment in teaching English essay writing.

3. The use of peer assessment in teaching English essay writing favours both males and

females.

4. Students in the urban area performed better than students in the rural.

5. There is significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students taught

using peer assessment and those taught using teacher assessment. This suggests that

students performed better in English essay writing when taught using peer assessment.

6. There is a significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female

students taught English essay writing using peer assessment.

7. There is a significant difference in the mean achievement scores of urban and rural

students taught English essay writing using peer assessment.

8. There is no interaction effect between method and gender.

9. There is no interaction effect between method and location

65

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS, CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTHER RESEARCH

This chapter presented the discussion of results, implications of the findings, recommendations, limitations, of study, suggestion for further studies and conclusion of the study.

Discussion of Findings

The discussion of findings was organized under the specific purposes of the study as follows:

• Influence of peer assessment on students’ achievement in English essay writing.

• Influence of gender on the achievement of students English essay writing.

• Influence of location on the achievement of students English essay writing.

• Interaction effects of method and gender on students’ achievement in English essay

writing.

• Interaction effects of method and location on students’ achievement in English essay

writing.

Influence of Peer Assessment on students’ Achievement in English Essay Writing

The findings of the study revealed that students mean gain score in English essay writing when taught using Teacher assessment was 13.14 while those taught English essay writing using peer assessment was 16.08. This shows that students taught English essay writing using peer assessment had a higher gain score than those groups of students taught

English Essay writing using the teacher assessment .The findings therefore shows that teaching English essay writing using peer assessment produced higher mean achievement than the teacher assessment.

The findings of this study are in line with the findings of Uzoegwu (2004) according to the result of the study by Uzoegwu, there was a significant effect of co-operative learning 66 method on students’ achievement in essay writing in English language. Although the study was on co-operative learning method, but it is of great interest to this work because co- operative learning is one aspect of peer assessment teaching method. The result of the present study is also in line with the previous study report that indicates that peer assessment improves students’ achievement; moreover the result showed that at 0.05% level of significance, peer assessment method has a significant effect on students’ achievement in essay writing.

Effect of Gender on Achievement in English Essay Writing

The result of this study showed that female students had a higher mean scores (15.50) than the male students mean scores (13.74) when taught using peer assessment method. This shows that male and female students scored unequally. This result is in line with the findings of Umoh (2002) who revealed that there is a significant difference between the mean scores of male and female students in secondary schools. This result differs from the studies carried out by Akabogu (2002), Oluikpe(2004) and Mba 2013 who revealed that gender had no significant influence on students academic achievement in schools.

Effect of Location on the Achievement of students in English Essay Writing

The results of the study show that students in urban schools performed better than their counterparts in rural schools when taught with the peer assessment method. The mean achievement scores of students in urban schools were found to be higher (16.28) than the mean scores of students in rural schools (12.39). This study is in line with the findings of

Eneh (2002) and Akabogu (2002) who revealed that urban students performed better than rural students. However, this study differs from the study of Torty (2010) who stressed that students from rural schools achieved more than those from urban schools.

67

Interaction Effect of Method and Gender on Students’ Achievement in English Essay

Writing

The findings of this study showed that there is no significant interaction effect of method and gender on students’ achievement in essay writing. These findings discovered that peer assessment enhances the achievement of both male and female students. This is in line with Owudunmi (2011) who discovered that there was no significant difference in the mean scores of students taught using the reflective inquiry method.

Interaction Effect of Method and Location on Students’ Achievement in English Essay

Writing

The findings of this showed that there is no interaction effect of method and location on students’ achievement in essay writing. The findings of the study suggest that the use of peer assessment in teaching essay writing enhances the achievement of students in both urban and rural schools.

The result of no interaction effect of method and school location on students’ achievement is in line with the findings of Bamidele (2014) and Eze (2015) who reported that no significant interaction effect existed between instructional approach and school location on students’ achievement. This is evidence that peer assessment is superior to teacher assessment.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions are drawn:

This study has shown that students that are exposed to peer assessment are found in this study to have higher achievement than those teacher assessments were used on. This may be probably because peer assessment as a participatory and collaborative method of teaching which gives room for immediate feedback promotes better academic achievement scores of students exposed to peer assessment and those that were assessed by the teacher in favour of 68 the peer assessment method. This suggests that peer assessment facilitates students’ academic achievement more than the teacher assessment method.

Findings of this study also identified that male and female students exposed to peer assessment achieved unequally in English essay writing in senior secondary schools. This indicates that females performed better than males in schools especially in English essay writing. The study in related manner finds out that there is a significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students exposed to peer assessment in

English essay writing. It equally revealed that there is no significant interaction effect between the instructional treatment and gender and location in students’ academic achievement in peer assessment in English essay writing in senior secondary schools.

Finally the findings of this study reveal that urban and rural students exposed to peer assessment in English essay writing in secondary schools achieved unequally. The urban students performed better than the rural students in English essay writing. It is hoped that when properly used it can enhance learning.

Educational Implications of the Study

The findings of this study have further provided empirical evidence for the efficacy of peer assessment in enhancing the achievement of students in school subjects, and English essay writing in particular. These findings have immensely, educational implications for teachers and students, policy makers, teacher educators, curriculum planners and the society at large.

One implication of this study in the teaching and learning of English language essay writing is based on the confirmed fact that peer assessment is superior to teacher assessment in enhancing achievement of students. The peer assessment method of teaching has numerous activities embedded in it that will encourage and enable both male and female students from different school location to learn essay writing effectively. The findings further suggest that 69 involving learners in classroom activities where they play active part and interact with one another will help to achieve meaningful learning that is permanent.

Another implication of the findings is that peer assessment will help the teacher provide learning environment y that will be beneficial to all the students, irrespective of gender and school location. This is based on the fact that peer assessment had no significant interaction with neither school location nor gender on achievement of students.

Furthermore, the result of the study revealed that peer assessment can be effectively utilized within the normal class period to the benefit of the students. This should carefully appraise the curriculum contents and implication strategies and ensure that adequate provision is made for the use of collaborative based method like peer assessment. There is therefore a need for a paradigm shift from paper to the actual implementation of the curriculum.

Finally, another implication of the findings of the study is that the educational institutions charged with the responsibilities of training teachers should incorporate the use of peer assessment in teaching school subjects like English essay writing. There is an obvious need for teachers and students to have appropriate orientation so as to take the initiative towards the teaching and learning of English essay writing by peer assessment. This exposure will in turn encourage studying English essay writing in senior secondary schools.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study the following recommendations were made;

1. Peer assessment should be adopted by the curriculum designers as a participatory

method of teaching and learning of English essay writing in senior secondary schools.

2. Teachers should be trained and retrained by the government on the appropriate use of

peer assessment in the teaching of English essay writing for a better academic

achievement. 70

3. The curriculum planners should ensure that the teacher training institutions restructure

their programme to include peer assessment in the teaching of essay writing. This will

ensure that English language teachers are adequately trained on how to use peer

assessment in teaching at the secondary schools.

4. The secondary school management board should provide avenue for monitoring of

teachers for effective implementation of the English language curriculum.

5. Textbooks writers especially in English language should include instructions and

illustrations on the use of peer assessment in their textbooks to enable teachers use them

in teaching.

Limitations of the Study

The generalization made in respect to this study is however, subject to the following limitations:

1. The training sessions organized for teachers involved in this study may not have been

sufficient for the expected level of mastery.

2. The use of intact classes for the study did not give room for random assignment of

subjects to experimental and control groups and this might have affected the findings

of the study.

3. The researcher sampled only few schools and this may affect the generalization of the

study.

4. The researcher did not also find it easy in determining the statistical tools for

analysis, hence the choice of mean, standard deviation and the analysis of covariance

(ANCOVA) for the analysis.

5. In carrying out this study, the regular English language teachers were used. The

attributes of these teachers in respect to experience, attitude, gender may affect the

result of the study. 71

Suggestions for Further Studies

Having been limited in this study by the above mentioned limitations, the researcher suggests the following for further studies;

1. That the study on the influence of peer assessment on students’ achievement in English

essay writing be replicated in other Education zones in Imo State and also be replicated

in private schools.

2. That similar research should be extended in other languages.

3. That further studies be carried out on the influence of ability level an interest on

students’ achievement and retention in English language using peer assessment.

4. The influence of peer assessment on junior secondary school students’ achievement in

English essay writing.

5. A determination of the influence of peer assessment on students’ attitudes and

performance in a particular aspect of English language essay writing.

Summary of the Study

The study investigated the influence of peer assessment on students’ achievement in

English essay writing in Imo state. Achievement was seen as an important aspect of education it determines the extent to which the curriculum has been effectively implemented for purposes of decision making or innovation towards improving the educational system The reports on the students’ poor achievement in English language West African Examination council informed the decision of the researcher to carry out this study to ascertain the influence of peer assessment on students’ achievement in English language essay writing in senior secondary schools. Against this background, the study also examined the effect of gender, school location and the interaction effect between treatment and gender and location of students’ achievement in English language essay writing in senior secondary schools.

Five research questions guided the study and were answered using mean and standard 72 deviation. On the other hand, five null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

Review of related literature was done under the following sub- headings; conceptual framework, theoretical framework, review of empirical studies and the summary of review of literature. The study employed quasi experimental design. Specifically it employed the pretest post-test non equivalent control group design. The target population of the study was the entire senior secondary 11 English students in Owerri Education zone one of Imo state.

One hundred and sixty seven research subjects were purposely sampled from four intact classes from four purposively selected co-educational secondary schools in Owerri Education zone one were used for the study. Instrument called English Essay Achievement Test (EEAT) was used for data collection. In addition with the instrument, experimental and control group lesson plan were used for teaching the experimental and control groups respectively. Before the teaching, pretest was administered on the research subjects to find out the initial achievement level and post-test was administered after the treatment for analysis.

Data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. Mean and standard deviations were used to answer the research questions while analysis of covariance was used to test the null hypotheses. The analysis indicated among others that students taught English essay writing with the Peer assessment method achieved better than the teacher assessment counterparts. Following the discussion of the findings, the educational implications of the study were highlighted. Based on the implication of the study, It was recommended among others that teachers of English language should adopt peer assessment in order to enhance students’ achievement in the subject matter.

The limitations of the study were highlighted and suggestions for further studies were made. Based on the findings of the study, It was concluded among many others that the curriculum planners should make peer assessment one of the practical methods of teaching English language in senior secondary schools for better students achievement. 73

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79

APPENDIX A

LESSON NOTE FOR CONTRL GROUP BASED ON TEACHER ASSESSMENT METHOD

1ST WEEK

Subject: English Language

Class: Senior Secondary School 2

Average Age: 16 yrs

Duration: 70minutes (double period)

Topic: Write a story that ends with the expression “I wish I had listened to my

Parents”

SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES: By the end of the lesson the students should be able to

1. Explain the meaning of a narrative essay 2. Mention qualities of a good narrative essay. 3. Generate topics which are narrative in nature. 4. Write a good narrative essay.

Set Induction: The teacher asks the students to mention some composition topics they have written

Entry Behaviour: The students have been introduced to composition writing and they have been telling and listening to stories.

Test of Entry Behaviour: To test the prerequisite knowledge, the teacher asks the students to mention what will guide them in writing a composition on how they spent their last holiday. The students will mention points like where they spent the holiday? When they went for the holiday? Major events that took place during the visit? And what they enjoyed most during the visit?

Instructional Materials: Intensive English and chalkboard

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE:

Step Content Teacher’s Activity Students’ Strategies Activity 1 Introduction Introduces the lesson of the day as Listen to the Examples and narrative essay defines and explains it teacher’s explanation. as a story about an event experienced explanation, by the narrator of the essay. The story note 80

is expected to challenge the students important to think and write about themselves. points and ask their questions if any. 2 Qualities The teacher tells the students that a Listen to the Examples and good narrative essay should possess teacher’s explanation these qualities explanation, 1 There must be the use of the simple note past tense e.g. wrote, worked, slept, important ate etc. points and 2 There is the dominant use of the ask their adverb of time e.g. later, yesterday, questions if often, yearly, last year etc. any 3 It must teach a moral lesson.

3 Examples Gives examples of narrative essay Listen to the Stimulus topics like the most memorable day teacher, variation, of my life, A stitch in time saves nine, give their examples and All that glitters is not gold etc. The own explanation teacher then ask the students to examples, mention some instances in which they answer the wished they listened to their parents questions but did not and regretted it. The posed by the students will tell brief stories like how teacher and they refused to read their books and ask their failed and how they refused to do own some household chores and the questions punishment they received for that where which finally made them to regret. necessary.

4 Stages Gives an oral account of a narrative Listen to the Examples essay identifying the stages of a teacher’s questioning, narrative like the introduction, which explanation discussion and must be brief and captivating, the and ask reinforcement body that has the story itself and the questions conclusion which has the summary of where in the whole story. The teacher also in doubt. his account identifies the use of the simple past and the adverbial of time in his account. 5 Selection of The teacher further explains that when Students appropriate writing this type of essay, the students listen. words and should choose appropriate words and sentences sentences that will help them to write their narrative essay well. These words and sentences have to reflect life experiences of what one has passed through in life. Example “I wept bitterly and regretted every thing 81

that has happened between me and Nnanna. In fact, When I remember the past I think of rewinding the hand of the clock…but unfortunately the oil is spilt already.” 6 Writing of the The teacher then ask the students to The students essay. write on the topic how “I wished I respond by listened to my parents” using the writing the excerpt given by the teacher as a essay topic guide. 7 The teacher asks the students to The students submit their scripts. He collects their respond by scripts for marking to be returned at a submitting later time convenient for the teacher. their scripts 8 Evaluation Evaluates the lesson by asking the The students Questioning students these questions. attempt to and 1 What is a narrative essay? answer the reinforcement. 2 what are the qualities of a good questions. narrative essay 3. Give three examples of narrative essay topic” 9 Closure The teacher writes the note on the The students Questioning copy their and writing board and asks the students to copy it. note and Assignment Write not less than 450 words. On their “All that glitters is not gold”. assignment respectively

82

2nd WEEK

Subject: English Language

Class: Senior Secondary School 2

Average Age: 16 yrs

Duration: 70minutes (double period)

Topic: The most Memorable day of my life

SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES: By the end of the lesson the students should be able to

1 Mention examples of topics which are narrative in nature. 2 Identify the components of a narrative essay. 3 Write a suitable introduction to a narrative essay topic. 4 Identify situations in which some specific things which were memorable happened in their lives. 5 Write a story on the most memorable day of their lives.

Entry Behaviour: The students have written essays on how they wished they listened to their parents.

Set Induction: The teacher ask the students to tell brief story on how they wished they listened to their parents.

Test of Entry Behaviour: To test the prerequisite knowledge, the teacher asks the students to mention what will guide them to write a story on how the wished they listened to their parents. They will mention points on how they refused to read probably because of bad friends and how they regretted at last.

Instructional Materials: Intensive English and chalkboard.

Instructional Techniques: Stimulus variation, use of examples, questioning, reinforcement, explanation, discussion and application.

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE:

Step Content Teacher’s Activity Students’ Strategies Activity 1 Introduction The teacher asks the students to generate The students Explanation topics which are narrative in nature. listen to the and discussion Thereafter, he discusses the topics with teacher’s them. He tells the students how to write a explanation good narrative essay. “A good narrative essay must have a title, body, and conclusion” 2 The teacher identifies the three major Listen to the 83

components of a narrative essay which teacher’s include introduction, which must be brief explanation and captivating, the body that has the and ask story itself and the conclusion which has questions the summary of the whole story where in doubt. 3 Selection of The teacher further explains that when The students Explanation appropriate writing this type of essay, the students listen to the and discussion words and should choose appropriate words and teacher and sentences sentences that will help them to write their copy the narrative essay well. These words and introduction sentences have to reflect life experiences on the of what one has passed through in life. He chalkboard. then writes a suitable introduction to the students on the topic “The most memorable day of my life.”Example M y heart was filled with joy as I looked outside to see the ash Toyota Camri my husband showed me, alongside a check of 100,000 naira enclosed in an envelope for its maintenance, my eyes could not hold back tears as I recollected what has transpired in the past…… 4 Writing of The teacher asks the students to submit The students the essay their scripts. He collects their scripts for respond by marking to be returned at a later time writing the convenient for the teacher. essay topic 5 The teacher asks the students to submit The students their scripts. He collects their scripts and respond by marks them and returns them to the submitting students. their scripts 6 Evaluation Evaluates the lesson by asking the The students Questioning and closure students these questions. attempt to and 1 Give 4 examples of narrative essay topic answer the reinforcement. 2 What are the components of a narrative questions. essay?

7 Closure The teacher writes the note on the board The students Questioning copy their and writing and asks the students to copy it. note and Assignment Write not less than 450 words. On their . “It was a bitter experience but I learnt assignment my Lesson”. respectively

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3rdD WEEK

Subject: English Language

Class: Senior Secondary School 2

Average Age: 16 yrs

Duration: 70minutes (double period)

Topic: Write a story that ends with the saying “Thank God it was only a dream”.

Specific Objectives: By the end of the lesson the students should be able to:

1 Select appropriate words for writing this type of narrative essay. 2 Write well punctuated sentences for the narrative essay. 3 Generate enough topic sentences and use appropriate tense form. 4 Write a narrative essay on ‘Thank God it was only a dream”

Entry Behaviour: The students have written essays on the most Memorable Day of their lives.

Set Induction: The teacher ask the students to mention some specific things that happened in their lives that made it memorable.

Instructional Materials: Intensive English and chalkboard.

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE:

Step Content Teacher’s Activities Students’ Strategies Activity 1 Introduction The teacher arouses the students’ The students Set induction. interest with the following respond to the questions: (a) Have you ever teacher’s dreamt before?(b) How do you feel questions and whenever you realized you have respond had a terrifying dream?(c) What do accordingly. you think that normally causes people to dream. 85

2 Selection of The teacher further explains that Students listen Use of example. appropriate when writing this type of essay, the attentively and words and students should choose appropriate take down. sentences words and sentences that will help them to write their narrative essay well. These words and sentences have to reflect life experiences of what one has passed through in life. He then writes a suitable introduction to the students on the topic Thank God It was only a dream. “The pathway that led to our little hut at the outskirts of the village seemed quite deserted; I walked and walked but seemed not to be making any progress. After sometime I got worried and decided to run. Tired and hungry e things slumped to the ground and wish I could have some food and water to renew my strength…..” 3 Features of The teacher says that while writing Student listen Listening and narrative narrative essay there are things to explanation. writing look out. These include contents, organization, expression and mechanical accuracy. He explains them one after another. 4 Writing of The teacher then asks the students The students Questioning and the essay to Write a story that ends with the respond by writing saying “Thank God it was only a writing the dream” . essay topic 5 Evaluation The teacher evaluates the students Students with the following questions. answer the (1) Generate 10 appropriate questions words for use on this essay. (2) Generate 5 topic sentences for the essay. 6 Closure The teacher writes the note on the The students Questioning and copy their note writing . board and asks the students to copy and their it. assignment Assignment respectively Write not less than 450 words. On If I had known I wouldn’t have gone out with him”

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4TH WEEK

Subject: English Language

Class: Senior Secondary School 2

Average Age: 16 yrs

Duration: 70minutes (double period)

Topic: “A Stitch in time saves nine”

SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES: By the end of the lesson the students should be able to:

1 Select appropriate words for writing this type of narrative essay. 2 Write well punctuated sentences for the narrative essay. 3 Generate enough topic sentences and use appropriate tense form. 4 Write a narrative essay on “A Stitch in time saves nine”

Entry Behaviour: The students have been telling stories orally.

Set Induction: The teacher ask the students to mention some specific things that happened in their lives that made it memorable.

Instructional Materials: Intensive English and chalkboard.

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE:

Step Content Teachers Activity Students Activity Strategy 1 Introduction The teacher arouses the students’ Students listen and Questioning interest with the following answer the questions skills. questions: (a What would you like in preparation for the to be in future? (b) Is it good to be new lesson lazy in life? (c) Mention three characteristics of lazy people. Selection of The teacher further explains that Students listen Use of example. appropriate when writing this type of essay, attentively and take words and the students should choose down. sentences appropriate words and sentences that will help them to write their narrative essay well. These words and sentences have to reflect life experiences of what one has passed through in life. He then writes a suitable introduction to the students on the topic A Stitch in time saves nine” Mr. Okafor lived in Umuafor village. He goes to bed by 8. 00pm and wakes up by 9. 00am the next day. While his 87

friend Nkemji goes to farm as early as 6.00 am, he stays back to drink and go after women. Then came the day of reckoning….. “ 3 Features of The teacher says that while writing Students listen Listening and narrative narrative essay there are things to explanation. writing. look out. These include contents, organization, expression and mechanical accuracy. He explains them one after another. 4 Writing of the The teacher then asks the students The students respond Questioning and essay to write the essay on the topic “A by writing the essay writing. stitch in time saves nine”, using topic. the excerpt given by the teacher as a guide. 5 Evaluation The teacher evaluates the students Students answer the with the following questions questions. 1 Generate 10 appropriate words for this essay. 2 Generate 5 topic sentences for this essay 6 Closure The teacher writes the note on the The students copy Questioning and their notes and their writing board and asks the students to assignments copy it. respectively

Write not less than 450 words. On Assignment “Where there is a will there is a way ”

4 Writing of The teacher then asks the students to The students Questioning and the essay write the essay on the topic “A stitch respond by writing writing. in time saves nine”, using the excerpt the essay topic. given by the teacher as a guide. 5 Evaluation The teacher evaluates the students Students answer the with the following questions questions. 1 Generate 10 appropriate words for this essay. 2 Generate 5 topic sentences for this essay 6 Closure The teacher writes the note on the The students copy Questioning and their notes and their writing board and asks the students to copy it. assignments Write not less than 450 words. On respectively “Where there is a will there is a way Assignment ”

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LESSON PLAN FOR EXPERI MENTAL GROUP ON NARRATIVE ESSAY USING PEER ASSESSMENT

1ST WEEK

Subject: English

Class: SS2

Average Age: 16 Yrs

Topic: Write a story that ends with the “How I Wished I Listened to My Parents”

Duration: 80 minutes (double period)

Specific Instructional objectives: By the end of the lesson the students should be able to:

1. Explain the meaning of a narrative essay 2. Mention qualities of a good narrative essay. 3. Generate topics which are narrative in nature. 4. Write a story that illustrates the saying “I wished I had listened to my parents” 5. Assess the essay of their peers effectively.

SET INDUCTION: The teacher creates a favourable environment by asking the students to mention some composition topics they have written.

ENTRY BEHAVIOUR: The students have been introduced to composition writing.

TEST OF ENTRY BEHAVIOUR: The teacher determines the prior knowledge of the students by asking them to mention the points they will use to write a composition on “how I spent my last holyday.”The students will mention points like where they spent the holyday? When they went for the holiday? Major events that took place during the visit and what they enjoyed most during the visit?

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: Intensive English. Chalkboard and chalk

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE:

Step Content Teacher’s Activity Students’ Activity Strategy 1 Introduction Tells the students the lesson of the day, as The students listen Examples narrative essay, defines it as and explains to the teachers’ and it as a story about an event experienced by explanation, note explanation the narrator of the essay. He then important points introduces the topic of the day as a story and ask questions. ending with the statement “I wished I had listened to my father” the teacher writes the topic on the chalkboard. 89

2 Qualities The teacher tells the students that a good Listen to the Listening narrative essay should possess these teacher’s and qualities explanation, note explanation 1 There must be the use of the simple past important points tense e.g. wrote, worked, slept, ate etc. and ask their 2 There is the dominant use of the adverb questions if any of time e.g. later, yesterday, often, yearly, last year etc. 3 It must teach a moral lesson.

3 Examples Gives examples of narrative essay topics Listen to the Examples, like The most memorable day of my life, teacher, ask their questioning A stitch in time saves nine, All that question and write and glitters is not gold etc The teacher then down notes where reinforcem ask the students to mention some necessary. ent. instances in which they wished they listened to their parents but did not and regretted it. The students will tell brief stories like how they refused to read their books and failed and how they refused to do some household chores and the punishment they received for that which finally made them to regret. . 4 Features of The teacher presents and engages the Students listen and Explanatio narrative students in discussion on the concept of ask questions n and writing. content, organization, expression and where necessary. discussion mechanical accuracy (a) content- it has to do with points and ideas developed in an essay and their relevance to the subject matter or topic on which a student is writing. (b) Organization-this is the arrangement of ideas in logical order making use of well punctuated sentences and paragraphs. (c) expression- This has to do with the use vocabulary that reflects the atmosphere appropriate to the events. There should also be a variety of sentence types (d) Mechanical accuracy- this has to do with errors in grammatical structure, punctuation errors and spelling errors. 5 Stages Identifies the stages of a narrative like the Listen to the Examples introduction, which must be brief and teacher’s questioning captivating, the body that has the story explanation and , discussion itself and the conclusion which has the ask questions and summary of the whole story. where in doubt reinforcem ent 6 Selection of The teacher further explains that when Students listen. appropriate writing this type of essay, the students 90

words and should choose appropriate words and sentences sentences that will help them to write their narrative essay well. These words and sentences have to reflect life experiences of what one has passed through in life. Example “I wept bitterly and regretted everything that has happened between me and Nnanna. In fact, When I remember the past I think of rewinding the hand of the clock…but unfortunately the oil is spilt already.” 7 Grouping the The teacher divides the students in groups The students examples, students of five/six as the case may be through respond to the questioning stratified and simple random sampling grouping and technique. The teacher gives note cards to arrangement and reinforcem one person in the group identifying pick their unique ent him/her as the group leader. roles as it concerns them. 8 Practicing The teacher then asks the students to write Write the essay in Peer the peer an essay on “How I wished I listened to groups as directed assessment assessment my parents” In groups using the excerpt by the teacher and process. given by the teacher as a guide. The exchange their students will list out the points they will papers among the use to write the essay in groups, after groups for which they will then write the essays assessment of their individually. After the exercise, the peers work. teacher will tell the students to exchange their work across the various groups. The teacher monitors the exchange of scripts and later asks the students to bring out their pencils. He tells the students how to assess their peers’ scripts. Each error should be circled, especially spelling errors, punctuation errors, content error, and expression errors etc. He later asks one student to read out the paper he holds. The students respond to the write-up and suggest the correct way of writing it. 9 The teacher asks the students to return The students take Peer their scripts and later asks them to rewrite note of their peers’ assessment. the essay and submit. corrections and re – write the essay topic 10 Evaluation Evaluates by asking these questions. The students Questionin 1. What is a narrative essay? attempt to answer g and 2. Give example of a narrative essay topic. the questions. reinforcem 3. What are the qualities of a good ent. narrative essay? 4. Mention three topics that are narrative in nature. 91

The teacher asks the students to take note of the mistakes they committed during their first drafts and avoid it in the one they are writing. 11 Closure The teacher writes the note on the board The students copy Question their note and their and and asks the students to copy it. assignment writing. Assignment Write not less than 450 words. On “All respectively that glitters is not gold”.

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2ND WEEK

Subject: English Language

Class: Senior Secondary School 2

Average Age: 16 yrs

Duration: 80minutes (double period)

Topic: “The most Memorable day of my life”

Specific Instructional Objectives: By the end of the lesson the students should be able to

1. Mention examples of topics which are narrative in nature. 2. 1dentify the components of a narrative essay. 3. Write a suitable introduction to a narrative essay topic. 4. Write a story on the most memorable day of their lives. 5. Assess the essay of their peers effectively

Entry Behaviour: The students have written essays on how they wished they listened to their parents.

Set Induction: The teacher ask the students to tell brief story on how they wished they listened to their parents.

Test of Entry Behaviour: To test the prerequisite knowledge, the teacher asks the students to mention what will guide them to write a story on how they wished they listened to their parents. They will mention points on how they refused to read probably because of bad friends and how they regretted at last.

Instructional Materials: Intensive English and chalkboard.

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE:

Step Content Teacher’s Activity Students Activities Strategies 1 Introduction The teacher asks the students to generate The students listen Explanation topics which are narrative in nature. to the teacher’s and Thereafter, he discusses the topics with explanation discussion them. He tells the students how to write a good narrative essay. “A good narrative essay must have a title, body, and conclusion” 2 Components The teacher identifies the three major Listen to the components of a narrative essay which teacher’s include introduction, which must be brief explanation and ask and captivating, the body that has the story questions where in itself and the conclusion which has the doubt. 93

summary of the whole story 3 Features of The teacher presents and engages the Students listen and narrative students in discussion on the concept of ask questions where writing. content, organization, expression and necessary mechanical accuracy.(a)content- it has to do with points and ideas developed in an essay and their relevance to the subject matter or topic on which a student is writing.(b) organization-this is the arrangement of ideas in logical order making use of well punctuated sentences and paragraphs.(c) expression- This has to do with the use vocabulary that reflects the atmosphere appropriate to the events. There should also be a variety of sentence types.(d) mechanical accuracy- this has to do with errors in grammatical structure, punctuation errors and spelling errors.

4 Selection of The teacher further explains that when The students listen Explanation appropriate writing this type of essay, the students to the teacher and and words and should choose appropriate words and copy the discussion sentences sentences that will help them to write their introduction on the narrative essay well. These words and chalkboard sentences have to reflect life experiences of what one has passed through in life. He then writes a suitable introduction to the students on the topic “The most memorable day of my life.”Example “ My heart was filled with joy as I looked outside to see the ash Toyota Camri my husband showed me, alongside a check of 100,000 naira enclosed in an envelope for its maintenance, my eyes could not hold back tears as I recollected what has transpired in the past” 5 Grouping The teacher divides the students in groups The students examples, the students of five/six as the case may be through respond to the questioning stratified and simple random sampling grouping and technique. The teacher gives note cards to arrangement and reinforcement one person in the group identifying him/her pick their unique as the group leader. roles as it concerns them

6 Practicing The teacher then asks the students to write Write the essay in Questioning 94

the peer an essay on “The most memorable day of groups as directed and assessment my life” In groups using the excerpt given by the teacher, reinforcement. process by the teacher as a guide. The students will exchanges their list out the points they will use to write the papers among the essay in groups, after which they will then groups for write the essays individually. After the assessment and exercise the teacher will tell the students to hand in the marked exchange their work across the various work to the teacher groups. for cross checking The teacher monitors the exchange of and final comment. scripts and later asks the students to bring out their pencils. He tells the students how to assess their peers’ scripts. Each error should be circled, especially spelling errors, punctuation errors, content error, and expression errors etc. He later asks one student to read out the paper he holds. The students respond to the write-up and suggest the correct way of writing it. 7 Submission The teacher asks the students to return their The students take Peer of scripts scripts and later asks them to rewrite the note of their peers’ assessment. essay and submit. corrections and re – write the essay topic. 8 Evaluation Evaluates by asking these questions. The students Questioning 1. Give 3 examples of a narrative essay attempt to answer and topic. the questions. reinforcement. 2. What are the qualities of a good narrative essay? 3.Write a suitable introduction for this topic “It was a bitter experience but I learnt my lesson” The teacher asks the students to take note of the mistakes they committed during their first drafts and avoid it in the one they are writing. 9 Closure The teacher writes the note on the board The students copy Questioning their note and their and writing. and asks the students to copy it. assignment Assignment Write not less than 450 words. On “It was respectively a bitter experience but I learnt my Lesson”. \\\

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3RD WEEK

Subject: English Language

Class: Senior Secondary School 2

Average Age: 16 yrs

Duration: 80minutes (double period)

Topic: “Thank God it was only a dream”

Specific Instructional Objectives: By the end of the lesson the students should be able to:

1. Select appropriate words for writing this type of narrative essay. 2. Write well punctuated sentences for the narrative essay. 3. Generate enough topic sentences and use appropriate tense form. 5 Write a narrative essay on ‘Thank God it was only a dream” 6 Assess the essay of their peers effectively

Entry Behaviour: The students have written essays on the most Memorable Day of their lives.

Set Induction: The teacher ask the students to mention some specific things that happened in their lives that made it memorable.

Instructional Materials: Intensive English and chalkboard.

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE:

Step Content Teacher’s Activity Students Strategies Activity 1 Introduction The teacher arouses the students’ interest with The students the following questions: (a) Have you ever respond to the dreamt before) How do you feel whenever teacher’s you realized you have had a terrifying dream? questions and (c) What do you think that normally causes answer people to dream? accordingly. 2 Features of The teacher says that while writing narrative Students listen Listening and a narrative essay there are things to look out. These explanation. writing include contents, organization, expression and mechanical accuracy. He explains them one after another. 3 Selection of The teacher further explains that when writing Students listen Use of appropriate this type of essay, the students should choose attentively and examples. words and appropriate words and sentences that will help take down. sentences them to write their narrative essay well. These words and sentences have to reflect life experiences of what one has passed through in life. He then writes a suitable introduction to 96

the students on the topic Thank God It was only a dream. “The pathway that led to our little hut at the outskirts of the village seemed quite deserted; I walked and walked but seemed not to be making any progress. After sometime I got worried and decided to run. Tired and hungry e things slumped to the ground and wish I could have some food and water to renew my strength…..” 4 Practicing The teacher then asks the students to write an Write the essay in Peer the peer essay on “The most memorable day of my groups as directed assessment assessment life” In groups using the excerpt given by by the teacher, the teacher as a guide. The students will list exchange their out the points they will use to write the essay papers among the in groups, after which they will then write the groups for essays individually. After the exercise the assessment and teacher will tell the students to exchange their hand in the work across the various groups. marked work to The teacher monitors the exchange of scripts the teacher for and later asks the students to bring out their cross checking pencils. He tells the students how to assess and final their peers’ scripts. Each error should be comment. circled, especially spelling errors, punctuation errors, content error, and expression errors etc. He later asks one student to read out the paper he holds. The students respond to the write-up and suggest the correct way of writing it. 5 Submission The teacher asks the students to return their The students take Peer of scripts scripts and later asks them to rewrite the essay note of their assessment and submit. peers’ corrections and re – write the essay topic. 6 Evaluation Evaluates by asking these questions. The students Questioning 1. Generate 10 appropriate words you will use attempt to answer and to write this essay topic. the questions reinforcement 2. Generate 5 topic sentences for the essay. 3.Write a suitable introduction for this topic “If I had known I wouldn’t have gone out with him” The teacher asks the students to take note of the mistakes they committed during their first drafts and avoid it in the one they are writing. 7 Closure The teacher writes the note on the board and The students copy Questioning Assignment their note and and writing. asks the students to copy it. their assignment Write not less than 450 words. On “If I had respectively known I wouldn’t have gone out with him”

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4TH WEEK

Subject: English Language

Class: Senior Secondary School 2

Average Age: 16 yrs

Duration: 80minutes (double period)

Topic: “A Stitch in time saves nine”

Specific Instructional Objectives: By the end of the lesson the students should be able to:

1 Select appropriate words for writing this type of narrative essay. 2 Write well punctuated sentences for the narrative essay. 3 Generate enough topic sentences and use appropriate tense form. 4 Write a narrative essay on “A Stitch in time saves nine” 5 Assess the essay of their peers effectively

Entry Behaviour: The students have been telling stories orally.

Instructional Materials: Intensive English and chalkboard.

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE:

Content Teacher’s Activities Students’ Activities Strategy Step 1 Introduction The teacher arouses the students’ Students listen and Questioning interest with the following questions: (a answer the questions skills What would you like to be in future? in preparation for the (b) Is it good to be lazy in life? (c) new lesson Mention three characteristics of lazy people. 2 Features of The teacher says that while writing Students listen Listening and narrative narrative essay there are things to look explanation. writing. out. These include contents, organization, expression and mechanical accuracy. He explains them one after another. 3 Selection of The teacher further explains that when Students listen Use of appropriate writing this type of essay, the students attentively and take example words and should choose appropriate words and down. sentences sentences that will help them to write their narrative essay well. These words and sentences have to reflect life experiences of what one has passed through in life. He then writes a suitable introduction to the students on the topic “A Stitch in time saves nine” “Mr. Okafor lived in Umuafor village. 98

He goes to bed by 8. 00pm and wakes up by 9. 00am the next day. While his friend Nkemji goes to farm as early as 6.00 am, he stays back to drink and go after women. Then came the day of reckoning….. “ 4 Practicing The teacher then asks the students to Write the essay in Peer the peer write an essay on “A Stitch in time groups as directed assessment assessment saves nine” In groups using the by the teacher, excerpt given by the teacher as a guide. exchange their The students will list out the points papers among the they will use to write the essay in groups for groups, after which they will then write assessment and hand the essays individually. After the in the marked work exercise the teacher will tell the to the teacher for students to exchange their work across cross checking and the various groups. final comment. The teacher monitors the exchange of scripts and later asks the students to bring out their pencils. He tells the students how to assess their peers’ scripts. Each error should be circled, especially spelling errors, punctuation errors, content error, and expression errors etc. He later asks one student to read out the paper he holds. The students respond to the write-up and suggest the correct way of writing it. 5 Submission The teacher asks the students to return The students take Peer of scripts their scripts and later asks them to note of their peers’ assessment rewrite the essay and submit. corrections and re – write the essay topic. 6 Evaluation Evaluates by asking these questions. The students copy Questioning 1. Generate 10 appropriate words you their note and their and writing. will use to write this essay topic. assignment 2. Generate 5 topic sentences for the respectively essay. 3.Write a suitable introduction for this topic “Where there is a will there is away ” The teacher asks the students to take note of the mistakes they committed during their first drafts and avoid it in the one they are writing. 7 Closure The teacher writes the note on the The students copy Questioning their note and their and writing board and asks the students to copy it. assignment Write not less than 40 words. On respectively “Where there is a will there is a way ” Assignment 99

APPENDIX B THE WEST AFRICAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL MAY/JUNE 2012 WASSCE FINAL MARKING SCHEME ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1 General Notes on the Marking of Composition Part I 1. Purpose: The paper is designed to test the candidate’s ability to use English as an effective means of communication in a given situation, i.e. the candidate’s ability to express himself clearly and coherently in a manner appropriate to the audience, purpose, topic and situation. The paper aims at presenting topics covering a wide variety of writing skills, such as argument, narrating, exposition, description and imagination. Topics are carefully selected to fall within the candidate’s experience or knowledge acquired either firsthand or through reading. 2. Relevance: The nature of each test is clear argument and narration. Any deliberate distortion of the nature of the test must be penalized. However, an unusual or unexpected approach must not be rejected without careful thought. 3. Assessment: The merit of a piece of writing should be judged in terms of the writer’s success in achieving the purpose, be it to entertain instruct, inform, admonish or persuade. The judgment will be based, in varying degrees, on factors such as (a) Adequacy of treatment of subject matter (b) Originally of approach (c) Appropriateness of language (d) Clarity of exposition or narration or argument, etc (e) Balance (f) Mechanical Accuracy 4. Marking: in general, examiners should work in the principle of positive marking, i.e, they should give credit for what the candidate has done right and then penalize for errors or blemishes. These penalities are not, in all cases, numerical deductions but often the award of a lower mark than would have been earned if there were no blemishes. The qualities mentioned in paragraph 3 have been grouped into a number of well-defined aspects with a maximum mark of each aspect These aspects are: (1) Content (2) Organization (3) Expression (4) Mechanical Accuracy (1) Content: The ideas presented must be relevant to the central theme (2) Organization: The writing must be judged as whatever it is intended to be an article, a speech, a letter, an argument or a debate, etc. The qualities to look for are a suitable opening, adequate development, good paragraphing, balance, coherence and a suitable conclusion. 100

(3) Expression: The positive qualities to be looked for under Expression include the following

(a) Clarity and general appropriateness of style (b) Variation of sentence structure and style (c) Judicious use of figurative language (d) Skilful and sophisticate use of punctuation Note: In arriving at this mark of Expression, the examiner must not be unduly influenced by the mechanical errors. 5 Mechanical Accuracy: The main categories of error which the examiner may indicate with rings are (a) Undeniable errors in grammar (b) Punctuation errors (c) Spelling errors

Half mark (1/2) should be deducted for each ringed error up to the maximum allowed for the aspect ie 10 marks. The examiner before imposing a ring must be sure that the error is in grammar or spelling or punctuation otherwise the errors must be underlined and penalized under Expression. (a) Errors in Grammar -The omission of an essential sentence element (eg subject predicate complement)

-Wrong tense -Misuse of modal operators (may/might can/could etc) -confusion or ambiguity in the use of pronouns -misuse of countable and uncountable nouns -wrong preposition -misuse of relatives subordinators and conjunctions -misrelated participles -Intransitive verbs for the transitive verbs and vice versa -Active for passive and vice versa -Errors in comparative constructions THIS LIST IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE its purpose is merely to indicate the undeniable grammatical errors to be penalized under this heading. (b) Punctuation Errors: The following errors should be ringed. I. Each full stop, question mark or exclamation mark omitted or wrongly used. The misuse or omission of quotation marks (errors at the beginning and end of a quotation 101

are to count as one error only) both single and double quotation are to be accepted but consistency is to be demanded. II. The insertion of a comma between subject and verb, subject and object, verb and complement in simple structures only, ie where no phrases or clauses intervene. Where phrases and clauses intervene the omission should be underlined and penalized under expression. III. The insertion of a comma between adjective and noun or verb and adverb. The omission of a comma used to separate item in a list of words, phrases or clauses. IV. The use of small letter for the personal pronoun “I”, the use of a small letter at the beginning of a proper noun or a sentence. Where a proper noun consist of more than one element, each of which is expected to begin with capital letter e.g. Central Bank of Nigeria, there should be only one penalty for the group .Punctuation errors in the formal features of a letter must be penalized. V. Abbreviations; (a) Initial letters: in conformity with modern practice, initial with or without the full stop should be accepted, e.g. O.A.U or OAU W.A.E.C or WAEC (b) First and last letter: both forms should be accepted e.g Dr and Dr Mrs and Mrs, Ltd and Ltd (c)Spelling Errors: Each spelling mistake must be ringed A repetition of the same spelling if consistent should be accepted. (5) Length of composition: The required length is 450 words. The examiner should before beginning to mark estimate the required length and indicate this point with double lines rule d across the page. No errors are to count for deduction of marks under Mechanical Accuracy after the point but such errors should be underlined and taken into account in the award of marks for Expression. (a)Short Composition: When the composition falls appreciably short of the required length, the maximum mark for M.A must be proportionately reduced. Where the maximum for mechanical accuracy has been reduced this should be indicated by the examiner. For example a length candidate whose composition is half the required length should have his mechanical accuracy rewarded out of 5 (b)Long Composition: There is no penalty for long composition. The whole must be taken into account for reward or penalty under Content, Organization and Expression. (c) Assessment of length (450 words) 13 words per line - (35 lines) 12 words per line - (38 lines) 11 words per line - (41 lines) 10 words per line - (45 lines) 9 words per line - (50 lines) 8 words per line - (56 lines) 7 words per line - (64 lines) 6 words per line - (75 lines) 5 words line - (90 lines) 4 words per line - (112 lines) 102

Composition (50 Marks) Preamble 1 Follow the instructions in part 1 which discuss the general guidelines for the compositions detailed instructions are provided below for the marking of specific questions. 2 The candidate is expected to answer one question in section A, if the candidate attempts more than one question, mark the first only. Clear instructions have been given in the rubrics and the requirements have been clearly stated. 3 The minimum length expected in section A is 450 words 4 Marks Allocation: Content - 10marks

Organization - 10marks Expression - 20marks Mechanical Accuracy - 10marks Total - 50marks 5 If a candidate writes on a topic irrelevant to the question set award zero for content and organization and not more than 8 marks for expression treat mechanical accuracy as usual. 6 For Mechanical Accuracy, deduct half a mark for each error of grammar, spelling and punctuation up to a maximum of 10 marks, that is twenty (20) errors.

However, only the following errors of punctuation are to be ringed. (1) All the wrong uses of the comma set down in part 1 (2) The omission or the wrong use of (a) The Full Stop (b) The Question Mark (c) The Exclamation Mark (3) The use of small letter at the beginning of a sentence, a proper noun, or For the personal pronoun” I” (4) The splitting of a word that is normally written as one word and the wrong syllabification of a word. All other errors of punctuation such as the omission of the hyphen and the misuse of capital letters should be underlined. However, where the hyphenated word is an adjective, the hyphen is mandatory. Punctuation errors in the formal features of letters must be penalized.

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7 ASSESSMENT GUIDE

Excellent Very Good Average Below Very Illiterate Good Average Weak/Weak Content 8-10 7 6 5 4 2-3 0-1 Organization 8-10 7 6 5 4 2-3 0-1 Expression 16-20 14-15 11-13 9-10 7-8 5-6 0-4

QUESTION 1

CONTENT 10 MARKS

The student is expected to write a story that that illustrates “All that glitters is not gold”. He is expected to give an account of events that illustrate this saying which means that everything that is attractive may not really be good as they appear to be. The story may be real or imaginary. Zero will be awarded where a student does not show a clear understanding of the question.

ORGANIZATION – 10 MARKS

A well organized story has a beginning, a climax and a conclusion. In addition to a good plot, paragraphs should be well developed and ideas properly linked.

EXPRESSION - 20 MARKS

The student is expected to use vocabulary that reflects the atmosphere appropriate to the events. There should be a variety of sentence types.

MECHANICAL ACCURACY -10 MARKS

The main categories of error which the examiner may indicate with rings are:

• Undeniable errors in grammar • Punctuation errors • Spelling errors

Half a mark is deducted for each error of grammar, spelling and punctuation up to a maximum of 10 marks that is twenty (20).

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APPENDIX C

GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OWERRI ZONE 1 AND THEIR NUMBER OF

SS2 STUDENTS FOR 2014/2015 SESSION

OWERRI MUNICIPAL

S/N NAME OF SCHOOL NUMBER OF NUMBER OF TOTAL MALES FEMALES

1 Urban Development Secondary school New Owerri 63 220

2 Government Technical college Owerri 440 -

3 Young scientist college owerri 67 87

4 Boys Model Secondary school New Owerri 195 -

5 Ikenegbu Girls Secondary school Owerri - 637

6 Emmanuel College Owerri 170 -

7 Comprehensive Development Secondary School Owerri 292 310

8 Owerri City School - -

9 Governmet Secondary school Owerri 650 -

OWERI NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

10 Comprehensive Secondary school Emekuku 47 29

11 Emekuku High School 53 -

12 Development Secondary school Mbaoma 36 24

13 Comprehensive Secondary school Amakohia 138 104

14 Orji Comprehensive Secondary school 128 113

15 Naze Secondary School 84 86

16 Community Secondary School Emekuku 43 44

17 Community Comprehensive Secondary school Egbu 106 129

18 Girls Secondary School Akwakuma - 395

19 Casita Maria Girls Emekuku - 112

20 Ogbeke Obibi Secondary School Obibiezena 14 7

21 Comprehensive Secondary school Agbala 108 79 105

22 John F. Kennedy International Secondary School Obibiezena 50 53

23 Uratta Secondary School 65 73

24 Emii Secondary Technical School 49 44

OWERI WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT

25 Ndegwu Secondary School 74 80

26 Ihiagwa Secondary school 73 59

27 Amakohia Ubi Secondary school 52 33

28 Community Secondary School Orogwe 214 183

29 Oforola Community Secondary School 18 25

30 Ara Community Secondary School 75 85

31 Nekede Secondary School 98 132

32 Comprehensive Secondary school Emeabiam 61 75

33 Army Day Secondary school Obinze 176 93

34 Comprehensive Secondary school Avu 45 55

35 Irete Secondary Technical school 20 33

36 Eziobodo Secondary Technical school 26 30

IKEDURU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

37 Inyishi Community school 37 26

38 Comprehensive Secondary school Ngugo 60 40

39 Comprehensive Secondary school Avuvu 35 30

40 Atta co-Educational Secondary school 86 59

41 Secondary Commercial Secondary school Eziama 50 46

42 Umudim Secondary school 31 38

43 Umuoziri Secondary Technical school 46 34

44 Amatta Community Secondary School 57 35

45 Uzoagba Secondary School 85 75

46 Amaimo Community Secondary School 16 59

47 Ugirike Community Secondary School 36 7

48 Iho-Dimeze Comprehensive Secondary school 78 83 106

49 Owu Amakohia Secondary School 26 40

MBAITOLU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

50 Obazu Girls Secondary school - 198

51 Comprehensive Secondary school Umuobom 30 24

52 Umueze Ogwa Secondary school 22 24

53 Community Secondary School Mbieri 68 29

54 Imo State Secondary School for the Deaf 26 30

55 Comprehensive Secondary school Ogbaku 76 112

56 Ubomiri Girls Secondary school - 150

57 Girls Secondary school Ifeakala - 75

58 Secondary Technical school Mbieri 44 16

59 Afara Secondary school 45 44

60 Secondary Technical school Orodo 73 74

61 Umuonyeali Community Secondary School 48 54

62 Community Secondary School Eziama Obiato 44 46

63 Comprehensive Secondary school Ogwa 53 44

64 Ifeakala Community Secondary School 103 43

65 Comprehensive Secondary school Ubomiri - 65

66 Umunoha Secondary school 22 23

67 Umunoha High school 48 41

TOATAL POPULATION 5075 5108 10,183

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APPENDIX D

SAMPLE SIZE

S/No School Location School Males Females Total Group Type 1 Urban CO- 26 23 49 Experimental Comprehensive Edu. group Development Secondary School Owerri 2 Ogbeke Obibi Rural CO-Edu 19 15 34 Experimental Secondary group School Obibiezena 3 Community Urban CO-Edu 24 22 46 CONTROL Comprehensive Group Secondary school Egbu 4 Afara Rural CO-Edu 21 17 38 CONTROL Secondary Group school 90 77 167

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APPENDIX E

ANALYSIS OF SCORES USING SPSS

T-Test Research Question 1 AND Ho1

RQ1

Group Statistics

TREATMENT GROUP N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

PRETESTSCORE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 83 12.7590 4.71528 .51757

CONTROL GROUP 84 12.3571 4.55923 .49745

POSTTESTSCORE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 83 16.0843 5.36975 .58941

CONTROL GROUP 84 13.1429 4.54997 .49644

Ho1

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig. T df

PRETESTSCORE Equal variances assumed .020 .887 .560 165

Equal variances not assumed .560 164.656

POSTTESTSCORE Equal variances assumed 1.736 .189 3.821 165

Equal variances not assumed 3.817 160.040

109

Independent Samples Test

t-test for Equality of Means

Std. Error Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference Difference

PRETESTSCORE Equal variances assumed .576 .40189 .71772

Equal variances not assumed .576 .40189 .71787

POSTTESTSCORE Equal variances assumed .000 2.94148 .76986

Equal variances not assumed .000 2.94148 .77062

Independent Samples Test

t-test for Equality of Means

95% Confidence Interval of the Difference

Lower Upper

PRETESTSCORE Equal variances assumed -1.01522 1.81900

Equal variances not assumed -1.01552 1.81931

POSTTESTSCORE Equal variances assumed 1.42144 4.46152

Equal variances not assumed 1.41958 4.46338

110

T-Test Research Question 2 AND Ho2

RQ2

Group Statistics

GENDER N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

PRETESTSCORE MALE 85 12.0000 4.47480 .48536

FEMALE 82 13.1341 4.73954 .52339

POSTTESTSCORE MALE 85 13.7412 4.70348 .51016

FEMALE 82 15.5000 5.50701 .60815

Ho2

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig. T df

PRETESTSCORE Equal variances assumed .539 .464 -1.591 165

Equal variances not assumed -1.589 163.570

POSTTESTSCORE Equal variances assumed 2.999 .085 -2.222 165

Equal variances not assumed -2.216 159.127

111

Independent Samples Test

t-test for Equality of Means

Std. Error Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference Difference

PRETESTSCORE Equal variances assumed .114 -1.13415 .71306

Equal variances not assumed .114 -1.13415 .71380

POSTTESTSCORE Equal variances assumed .028 -1.75882 .79155

Equal variances not assumed .028 -1.75882 .79379

Independent Samples Test

t-test for Equality of Means

95% Confidence Interval of the Difference

Lower Upper

PRETESTSCORE Equal variances assumed -2.54205 .27376

Equal variances not assumed -2.54361 .27531

POSTTESTSCORE Equal variances assumed -3.32170 -.19594

Equal variances not assumed -3.32656 -.19109

112

T-Test Research Question 3 AND Ho3

RQ3

Group Statistics

LOCATION N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

PRETESTSCORE URBAN 95 13.7895 4.28976 .44012

RURAL 72 10.9306 4.58204 .54000

POSTTESTSCORE URBAN 95 16.2842 4.79287 .49174

RURAL 72 12.3889 4.83985 .57038

Ho3

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig. T Df

PRETESTSCORE Equal variances assumed .140 .709 4.141 165

Equal variances not assumed 4.104 147.498

POSTTESTSCORE Equal variances assumed .019 .892 5.179 165

Equal variances not assumed 5.172 152.241

113

Independent Samples Test

t-test for Equality of Means

Std. Error Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference Difference

PRETESTSCORE Equal variances assumed .000 2.85892 .69031

Equal variances not assumed .000 2.85892 .69664

POSTTESTSCORE Equal variances assumed .000 3.89532 .75207

Equal variances not assumed .000 3.89532 .75309

Independent Samples Test

t-test for Equality of Means

95% Confidence Interval of the Difference

Lower Upper

PRETESTSCORE Equal variances assumed 1.49593 4.22190

Equal variances not assumed 1.48224 4.23560

POSTTESTSCORE Equal variances assumed 2.41040 5.38024

Equal variances not assumed 2.40747 5.38317

DATASET ACTIVATE DataSet2. T-TEST GROUPS=LOCATTION(1 2) /MISSING=ANALYSIS /VARIABLES=PRETESTSCORE POSTTESTSCORE /CRITERIA=CI(.95).

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Univariate Analysis of Variance ANCOVA FOR RQ4 AND Ho4

Between-Subjects Factors

Value Label N

TREATMENT GROUP 1.00 EXPERIMENTAL 83 GROUP

2.00 CONTROL 84 GROUP

GENDER 1.00 MALE 85

2.00 FEMALE 82

RQ 4

Descriptive Statistics

Dependent Variable:POSTTESTSCORE

TREATMENT GROUP GENDER Mean Std. Deviation N

EXPERIMENTAL GROUP MALE 14.7750 4.46346 40

FEMALE 17.3023 5.88596 43

Total 16.0843 5.36975 83

CONTROL GROUP MALE 12.8222 4.76869 45

FEMALE 13.5128 4.31565 39

Total 13.1429 4.54997 84

Total MALE 13.7412 4.70348 85

FEMALE 15.5000 5.50701 82

Total 14.6048 5.17403 167 115

Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variancesa

Dependent Variable:POSTTESTSCORE

F df1 df2 Sig.

2.437 3 163 .067

Tests the null hypothesis that the error variance of the dependent variable is equal across groups. a. Design: Intercept + GROUP + GENDER + GROUP * GENDER

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects

Dependent Variable:POSTTESTSCORE

Type III Sum of Source Squares df Mean Square F

Intercept Hypothesis 35497.691 1 35497.691 329.502

Error 107.731 1 107.731a

GROUP Hypothesis 343.052 1 343.052 9.774

Error 35.098 1 35.098b

GENDER Hypothesis 107.731 1 107.731 3.069

Error 35.098 1 35.098b

GROUP * GENDER Hypothesis 35.098 1 35.098 1.452

Error 3940.366 163 24.174c a. MS(GENDER) b. MS(GROUP * GENDER) 116

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects

Dependent Variable:POSTTESTSCORE

Type III Sum of Source Squares df Mean Square F

Intercept Hypothesis 35497.691 1 35497.691 329.502

Error 107.731 1 107.731a

GROUP Hypothesis 343.052 1 343.052 9.774

Error 35.098 1 35.098b

GENDER Hypothesis 107.731 1 107.731 3.069

Error 35.098 1 35.098b

GROUP * GENDER Hypothesis 35.098 1 35.098 1.452

Error 3940.366 163 24.174c a. MS(GENDER) b. MS(GROUP * GENDER) c. MS(Error)

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects

Dependent Variable:POSTTESTSCORE

Partial Eta Source Sig. Squared

Intercept Hypothesis .035 .997

GROUP Hypothesis .197 .907

GENDER Hypothesis .330 .754

GROUP * GENDER Hypothesis .230 .009

FOR Ho4

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Univariate Analysis of Variance ANCOVA FOR RQ 5 and Ho5

Between-Subjects Factors

Value Label N

TREATMENT GROUP 1.00 EXPERIMENTAL 83 GROUP

2.00 CONTROL 84 GROUP

LOCATION 1.00 URBAN 95

2.00 RURAL 72

RQ5

Descriptive Statistics

Dependent Variable:POSTTESTSCORE

TREATMENT GROUP LOCATION Mean Std. Deviation N

EXPERIMENTAL GROUP URBAN 18.1633 4.23943 49

RURAL 13.0882 5.46264 34

Total 16.0843 5.36975 83

CONTROL GROUP URBAN 14.2826 4.56880 46

RURAL 11.7632 4.18126 38

Total 13.1429 4.54997 84

Total URBAN 16.2842 4.79287 95

RURAL 12.3889 4.83985 72

Total 14.6048 5.17403 167 118

Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variancesa

Dependent Variable:POSTTESTSCORE

F df1 df2 Sig.

1.915 3 163 .129

Tests the null hypothesis that the error variance of the dependent variable is equal across groups. a. Design: Intercept + GROUP + LOCATTION + GROUP * LOCATTION

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects

Dependent Variable:POSTTESTSCORE

Type III Sum of Source Squares df Mean Square F

Intercept Hypothesis 33542.600 1 33542.600 56.921

Error 589.285 1 589.285a

GROUP Hypothesis 276.881 1 276.881 4.149

Error 66.728 1 66.728b

LOCATTION Hypothesis 589.285 1 589.285 8.831

Error 66.728 1 66.728b

GROUP * LOCATTION Hypothesis 66.728 1 66.728 3.168

Error 3433.624 163 21.065c a. MS(LOCATTION) b. MS(GROUP * LOCATTION) c. MS(Error) 119

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects

Dependent Variable:POSTTESTSCORE

Partial Eta Source Sig. Squared

Intercept Hypothesis .084 .983

GROUP Hypothesis .291 .806

LOCATTION Hypothesis .207 .898

GROUP * LOCATTION Hypothesis .077 .019

FOR Ho5