The effectiveness of using instructional objectives with less able secondary school pupils

Abstract

This study examines the effects of providing less able lower secondary geography pupils with written instructional objectives prior to instruction. Since 1983, teachers in Singapore schools have been writing instructional objectives to guide themselves in their teaching. This study goes one step further to try to answer the question To utilise fully the instructional objectives which teachers have written, can they make use of them to help pupils improve their learning? This study specifically addresses the Normal stream pupils who are academically less able and who require the most guidance and assistance. The results indicated that (i) the use of instructional objectives as an instructional strategy does seem to enhance learning for less able secondary school pupils, (ii) when presented with instructional objectives as an aid to learning, boys appear to benefit more than girls. The implications of these findings are discussed.