Effect of ict mediated teaching and learning materials on secondary school students’ physics learning in morogoro municipality

This study investigated the effect of ICT mediated teaching and learning materials in promoting inquiry learning with intention to improve students’ performance in physics tests and examinations. The study was guided by three objectives: to design ICT mediated teaching and learning materials for teaching and learning Physics in secondary schools at ordinary level; to try out the designed ICT mediated teaching and learning materials in selected ordinary level secondary schools; and to conduct a formative evaluation of the implementation of materials on students’ Physics learning. The study employed Quasi-experimental design involving two study groups, experimental and control group, with assignment question and physics achievement test being used in comparing competencies of the students gained through inquiry learning. Eighty students and six teachers were involved in the study and the study was conducted in two secondary schools in Morogoro Municipality.The study found that the designed ICT mediated materials; motivated students in learning Physics, encouraged collaboration and communication improvement, enabled students develop inquiry learning skills and improve significantly in Physics performance. Moreover it was uncovered that majority of the teachers in the two schools were not using ICT in teaching due to lack of training and non availability of computers in the schools. On the basis of the findings of this study the conclusions made were: the designed ICT mediated materials enabled students to improve in performance in physics and acquired inquiry learning and critical thinking skills in learning physics. Students were able to actively participate in identifying problems, analyzing information, developing hypotheses and devising tests to verify or refute the hypotheses developed, a scientific way of learning. These findings allow the study to recommend that; similar studies should be done in other science and arts subjects to see if the ICT mediated materials have the same effects for all subjects. An immediate plan by the Ministry of Education and Vocation Training should be enacted to provide in-service training to teachers on the proper utilization of the potential of ICT mediated teaching materials in learning various subjects. The Ministry of Education and Vocation Training should also budget for its schools and encourage all secondary schools owners in the country to have and use ICT facilities in educational provision.