Balarabe Yushau - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Balarabe Yushau
Pedagogical research, Mar 21, 2020
This study investigates lecturers' level of utilization of ICT facilities for teaching purposes i... more This study investigates lecturers' level of utilization of ICT facilities for teaching purposes in Nigerian universities. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. And a questionnaire with a reliability of 0.907 was used for data collection. Data was collected at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi from a sample of 433 lecturers out of a population of 928. The results show that lecturers have the knowledge of using ICT facilities in teaching, however, they rarely use them in teaching. It was also found that lecturers' age and years of teaching experiences were significant factors influencing the level of ICT utilization in teaching. However, no significant difference was found due to gender and educational qualification. It was recommended among others that there should be regular sensitization programmes on the importance of using ICT facilities as it promotes students' learning and enhance their academic achievement.
ATBU Journal of Science, Technology and Education, Jul 19, 2018
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is now part and parcel of our daily life. In parti... more Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is now part and parcel of our daily life. In particular, education has been revolutionized due to the advent of this technology. With this, teaching, learning, assessment and even research are now done differently. As a result, Nigeria promulgated an IT Policy in the year 2001. However, not much is known about the ICT facilities that are available in our schools, and how these facilities are being utilized for educational purposes. In this paper, we review studies conducted from 2004 to 2018 in Nigerian Universities that are related to the availability of ICT facilities, and how the facilities are being utilized for academic purposes. A thorough search in different online search engines resulted in sixty four (64) relevant studies. Here, we present the result of the review with a view to getting better insight on the issues, and we also proffer a way forward in the area.
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, Jul 1, 2004
The Mathematics Enthusiast, Feb 1, 2007
In this note we show how MS Excel can be used to to perform numerical Integration, specifically T... more In this note we show how MS Excel can be used to to perform numerical Integration, specifically Trapezoidal Rule and Simson's rule. Futhermore, we illustrate how to generate Lagranges Interpolation polynomial.
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, Oct 15, 2009
International Journal of Mathematics Trends and Technology, Jan 25, 2018
This paper is an attempt to get some insight on the perceptions, challenges as well as the learni... more This paper is an attempt to get some insight on the perceptions, challenges as well as the learning resources of mathematically high performing students at the university level that are handicapped with very weak background in Englishthe new language of instruction. The data of the study consist of the response of twenty three of these students to the series of an open-ended survey. As expected, lack of proficiency in English is found to be one of the major challenges of learning mathematics in English for these students. However, in line with Cummins' Developmental Interdependence Hypothesis, students' strong background in Arabic is speculated to be the major learning resources of this class of students. Although the participants believe that the language switch from Arabic to English have some negative impact on their mathematical understanding and performance, surprisingly most preferred to continue with English rather than going back to Arabic as a language of instruction.
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, Jan 15, 2008
In this note, we demonstrate with illustrations two different ways that MS Excel can be used to s... more In this note, we demonstrate with illustrations two different ways that MS Excel can be used to solve Linear Systems of Equation, Linear Programming Problems, and Matrix Inversion Problems. The advantage of using MS Excel is its availability and transparency (the user is responsible for most of the details of how a problem is solved). Further, we develop a worksheet method that is capable of solving and graphing a linear 2× 2 system. It is our hope that both teachers and students will find the approaches useful for teaching and ...
International Journal of Mathematics Trends and Technology, Apr 25, 2014
This study assessed the pedagogical competencies need for shorthand instructional delivery of lec... more This study assessed the pedagogical competencies need for shorthand instructional delivery of lecturers in tertiary institutions in Northern, Nigeria. One specific objective and research questions guided the study. Similarly, null hypothesis was formulated and tested at significance level of 0.05. The design for the study was descriptive survey and the population was 125shorthand lecturers from 60 tertiary institutions in Northern Nigeria. The researcher adopted Total Population Sample, were the entire 125 shorthand lecturers were used for the study. The data collected from pilot study was used to run Cronbach Alpha reliability test and reliability coefficient of 0.70 was obtained. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at significance level of 0.05%. The finding of the study revealed that shorthand lecturers need pedagogical competencies for effective shorthand instructional delivery in tertiary institutions in Northern, Nigeria.
The Mathematics Enthusiast, Jul 1, 2006
This study examines the influence of blended e-learning on students' attitude towards mathematics... more This study examines the influence of blended e-learning on students' attitude towards mathematics and computers. A random sample of 70 students of the preparatory year program of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran served as the sample of this study. Data were collected at the beginning (pre-program) and the end (post-program) of the semester using Aiken Mathematics Attitude Scale and Greessen and Loyd Computer Attitude Scale. The result indicates that the subjects have positive attitude towards mathematics and computer. However, analysis of variance shows no statistically significant change in students' attitudes towards mathematics and computer except for computer confidence and anxiety subscale.
Indian journal of science and technology, Jul 1, 2015
Many universities in the Arab world are gradually becoming English medium universities in place o... more Many universities in the Arab world are gradually becoming English medium universities in place of their traditional Arabic mediums. Therefore, students are now learning mathematics in English-a second language which the students are currently acquiring. Understandably, both the teachers and students usually experience some problems in teaching and learning mathematics due to these changes from their native language to English. This article investigates the relationship between language proficiency and mathematics performance among bilingual Arab university students. The finding in this study indicates that the students' proficiency levels in English are a factor affecting their performance in mathematics. However, we found a mixed response among student perceptions on whether the change of language of instruction from Arabic to English has any impact on their mathematics understanding and performance. The study confirmed the findings of many similar studies, and paves way for further investigation.
Pythagoras, Oct 20, 2005
The paper looks at interrelationships between creativity and technology in the teaching and learn... more The paper looks at interrelationships between creativity and technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics. It suggests that a proper use of various technologies especially computers in the teaching and learning of mathematics has the potential of helping learners to develop their creativity. The technologies can provide an atmosphere under which mathematical skills can be extended beyond the ability to calculate or reproduce problems and enable learners to investigate, analyse and interpret problems at hand. Furthermore, with computers learners can use an experimental approach to deal with mathematical problems, which can lead to conjecture, pattern finding, examples and counter examples. In fact, if used effectively, computational aids can help in improving learners' intellectual ability and hence mathematical achievement while fostering the requisite creativity not found in the traditional approach.
Learning and Teaching Mathematics, 2005
MS Excel was originally designed with business and financial applications in mind. However, the p... more MS Excel was originally designed with business and financial applications in mind. However, the program has now grown into powerful software that can be used by virtually all branches of science and engineering. MS Excel has been used in mathematics education by many people, and this usage ranges from lower level to advanced level courses. We shall focus our attention on some of these applications of Excel in Mathematics which are not widely known. It is worth noting that all applications presented here can be implemented using other more specialized software, sometimes even more efficiently or effectively. The reasons for choosing Excel are that the program is widely available, and knowledge of programming is not a prerequisite for most of the tasks to be handled. Additionally, since users assume more responsibility in designing the application, they are in full control of the implementation and can achieve a certain level of creativity. We shall illustrate three different applicat...
MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH, Jun 27, 2021
This study assessed the pedagogical competencies need for shorthand instructional delivery of lec... more This study assessed the pedagogical competencies need for shorthand instructional delivery of lecturers in tertiary institutions in Northern, Nigeria. One specific objective and research questions guided the study. Similarly, null hypothesis was formulated and tested at significance level of 0.05. The design for the study was descriptive survey and the population was 125shorthand lecturers from 60 tertiary institutions in Northern Nigeria. The researcher adopted Total Population Sample, were the entire 125 shorthand lecturers were used for the study. The data collected from pilot study was used to run Cronbach Alpha reliability test and reliability coefficient of 0.70 was obtained. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at significance level of 0.05%. The finding of the study revealed that shorthand lecturers need pedagogical competencies for effective shorthand instructional delivery in tertiary institutions in Northern, Nigeria.
The limit of a real valued function is a fundamental concept in calculus. However, most of math m... more The limit of a real valued function is a fundamental concept in calculus. However, most of math major and engineering students conceive the classical definition of limit as the most problematic part of calculus. They consider the eδ − definition of limit difficult to understand. In particular, finding the largest value of δ for a given 0 e > in case of simple non-linear functions like 2 () = fx x turns out challenging for them due to
Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 2015
Many universities in the Arab world are gradually becoming English medium universities in place o... more Many universities in the Arab world are gradually becoming English medium universities in place of their traditional Arabic mediums. Therefore, students are now learning mathematics in English - a second language which the students are currently acquiring. Understandably, both the teachers and students usually experience some problems in teaching and learning mathematics due to these changes from their native language to English. This article investigates the relationship between language proficiency and mathematics performance among bilingual Arab university students. The finding in this study indicates that the students’ proficiency levels in English are a factor affecting their performance in mathematics. However, we found a mixed response among student perceptions on whether the change of language of instruction from Arabic to English has any impact on their mathematics understanding and performance. The study confirmed the findings of many similar studies, and paves way for further investigation.
International Journal of Mathematics Trends and Technology, 2014
When introducing sequences to students, the first skill we teach them is how to predict the next ... more When introducing sequences to students, the first skill we teach them is how to predict the next term of a sequence given the first few terms, usually the first three, four or five terms. In this note, we intend to show that given some terms of a sequence, the next term is not uniquely determined in most cases. We will also show under which condition can the next term be determined uniquely.
This study examines the influence of study strategy on academic achievement of undergraduate stud... more This study examines the influence of study strategy on academic achievement of undergraduate students of ATBU Bauchi. A survey design was adopted. One thousand two hundred undergraduate students of ATBU Bauchi participated in the study and were selected randomly from the seven faculties of the university. A study strategy questionnaire adopted from previous studies relevant to the current research was used as an instrument for data collection, while academic achievement of the students was measured using students’ cumulative grade point average (CGPA). The study found that there was positive and significant relationship between study strategy and academic achievement of undergraduate students. The study further suggests that undergraduate students with efficient and effective study strategy perform better academically. It was, therefore, recommended that, study strategy should be emphasized at ATBU. This will help students improve their poor academic achievements which usually resul...
Pedagogical research, Mar 21, 2020
This study investigates lecturers' level of utilization of ICT facilities for teaching purposes i... more This study investigates lecturers' level of utilization of ICT facilities for teaching purposes in Nigerian universities. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. And a questionnaire with a reliability of 0.907 was used for data collection. Data was collected at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi from a sample of 433 lecturers out of a population of 928. The results show that lecturers have the knowledge of using ICT facilities in teaching, however, they rarely use them in teaching. It was also found that lecturers' age and years of teaching experiences were significant factors influencing the level of ICT utilization in teaching. However, no significant difference was found due to gender and educational qualification. It was recommended among others that there should be regular sensitization programmes on the importance of using ICT facilities as it promotes students' learning and enhance their academic achievement.
ATBU Journal of Science, Technology and Education, Jul 19, 2018
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is now part and parcel of our daily life. In parti... more Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is now part and parcel of our daily life. In particular, education has been revolutionized due to the advent of this technology. With this, teaching, learning, assessment and even research are now done differently. As a result, Nigeria promulgated an IT Policy in the year 2001. However, not much is known about the ICT facilities that are available in our schools, and how these facilities are being utilized for educational purposes. In this paper, we review studies conducted from 2004 to 2018 in Nigerian Universities that are related to the availability of ICT facilities, and how the facilities are being utilized for academic purposes. A thorough search in different online search engines resulted in sixty four (64) relevant studies. Here, we present the result of the review with a view to getting better insight on the issues, and we also proffer a way forward in the area.
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, Jul 1, 2004
The Mathematics Enthusiast, Feb 1, 2007
In this note we show how MS Excel can be used to to perform numerical Integration, specifically T... more In this note we show how MS Excel can be used to to perform numerical Integration, specifically Trapezoidal Rule and Simson's rule. Futhermore, we illustrate how to generate Lagranges Interpolation polynomial.
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, Oct 15, 2009
International Journal of Mathematics Trends and Technology, Jan 25, 2018
This paper is an attempt to get some insight on the perceptions, challenges as well as the learni... more This paper is an attempt to get some insight on the perceptions, challenges as well as the learning resources of mathematically high performing students at the university level that are handicapped with very weak background in Englishthe new language of instruction. The data of the study consist of the response of twenty three of these students to the series of an open-ended survey. As expected, lack of proficiency in English is found to be one of the major challenges of learning mathematics in English for these students. However, in line with Cummins' Developmental Interdependence Hypothesis, students' strong background in Arabic is speculated to be the major learning resources of this class of students. Although the participants believe that the language switch from Arabic to English have some negative impact on their mathematical understanding and performance, surprisingly most preferred to continue with English rather than going back to Arabic as a language of instruction.
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, Jan 15, 2008
In this note, we demonstrate with illustrations two different ways that MS Excel can be used to s... more In this note, we demonstrate with illustrations two different ways that MS Excel can be used to solve Linear Systems of Equation, Linear Programming Problems, and Matrix Inversion Problems. The advantage of using MS Excel is its availability and transparency (the user is responsible for most of the details of how a problem is solved). Further, we develop a worksheet method that is capable of solving and graphing a linear 2× 2 system. It is our hope that both teachers and students will find the approaches useful for teaching and ...
International Journal of Mathematics Trends and Technology, Apr 25, 2014
This study assessed the pedagogical competencies need for shorthand instructional delivery of lec... more This study assessed the pedagogical competencies need for shorthand instructional delivery of lecturers in tertiary institutions in Northern, Nigeria. One specific objective and research questions guided the study. Similarly, null hypothesis was formulated and tested at significance level of 0.05. The design for the study was descriptive survey and the population was 125shorthand lecturers from 60 tertiary institutions in Northern Nigeria. The researcher adopted Total Population Sample, were the entire 125 shorthand lecturers were used for the study. The data collected from pilot study was used to run Cronbach Alpha reliability test and reliability coefficient of 0.70 was obtained. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at significance level of 0.05%. The finding of the study revealed that shorthand lecturers need pedagogical competencies for effective shorthand instructional delivery in tertiary institutions in Northern, Nigeria.
The Mathematics Enthusiast, Jul 1, 2006
This study examines the influence of blended e-learning on students' attitude towards mathematics... more This study examines the influence of blended e-learning on students' attitude towards mathematics and computers. A random sample of 70 students of the preparatory year program of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran served as the sample of this study. Data were collected at the beginning (pre-program) and the end (post-program) of the semester using Aiken Mathematics Attitude Scale and Greessen and Loyd Computer Attitude Scale. The result indicates that the subjects have positive attitude towards mathematics and computer. However, analysis of variance shows no statistically significant change in students' attitudes towards mathematics and computer except for computer confidence and anxiety subscale.
Indian journal of science and technology, Jul 1, 2015
Many universities in the Arab world are gradually becoming English medium universities in place o... more Many universities in the Arab world are gradually becoming English medium universities in place of their traditional Arabic mediums. Therefore, students are now learning mathematics in English-a second language which the students are currently acquiring. Understandably, both the teachers and students usually experience some problems in teaching and learning mathematics due to these changes from their native language to English. This article investigates the relationship between language proficiency and mathematics performance among bilingual Arab university students. The finding in this study indicates that the students' proficiency levels in English are a factor affecting their performance in mathematics. However, we found a mixed response among student perceptions on whether the change of language of instruction from Arabic to English has any impact on their mathematics understanding and performance. The study confirmed the findings of many similar studies, and paves way for further investigation.
Pythagoras, Oct 20, 2005
The paper looks at interrelationships between creativity and technology in the teaching and learn... more The paper looks at interrelationships between creativity and technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics. It suggests that a proper use of various technologies especially computers in the teaching and learning of mathematics has the potential of helping learners to develop their creativity. The technologies can provide an atmosphere under which mathematical skills can be extended beyond the ability to calculate or reproduce problems and enable learners to investigate, analyse and interpret problems at hand. Furthermore, with computers learners can use an experimental approach to deal with mathematical problems, which can lead to conjecture, pattern finding, examples and counter examples. In fact, if used effectively, computational aids can help in improving learners' intellectual ability and hence mathematical achievement while fostering the requisite creativity not found in the traditional approach.
Learning and Teaching Mathematics, 2005
MS Excel was originally designed with business and financial applications in mind. However, the p... more MS Excel was originally designed with business and financial applications in mind. However, the program has now grown into powerful software that can be used by virtually all branches of science and engineering. MS Excel has been used in mathematics education by many people, and this usage ranges from lower level to advanced level courses. We shall focus our attention on some of these applications of Excel in Mathematics which are not widely known. It is worth noting that all applications presented here can be implemented using other more specialized software, sometimes even more efficiently or effectively. The reasons for choosing Excel are that the program is widely available, and knowledge of programming is not a prerequisite for most of the tasks to be handled. Additionally, since users assume more responsibility in designing the application, they are in full control of the implementation and can achieve a certain level of creativity. We shall illustrate three different applicat...
MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH, Jun 27, 2021
This study assessed the pedagogical competencies need for shorthand instructional delivery of lec... more This study assessed the pedagogical competencies need for shorthand instructional delivery of lecturers in tertiary institutions in Northern, Nigeria. One specific objective and research questions guided the study. Similarly, null hypothesis was formulated and tested at significance level of 0.05. The design for the study was descriptive survey and the population was 125shorthand lecturers from 60 tertiary institutions in Northern Nigeria. The researcher adopted Total Population Sample, were the entire 125 shorthand lecturers were used for the study. The data collected from pilot study was used to run Cronbach Alpha reliability test and reliability coefficient of 0.70 was obtained. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at significance level of 0.05%. The finding of the study revealed that shorthand lecturers need pedagogical competencies for effective shorthand instructional delivery in tertiary institutions in Northern, Nigeria.
The limit of a real valued function is a fundamental concept in calculus. However, most of math m... more The limit of a real valued function is a fundamental concept in calculus. However, most of math major and engineering students conceive the classical definition of limit as the most problematic part of calculus. They consider the eδ − definition of limit difficult to understand. In particular, finding the largest value of δ for a given 0 e > in case of simple non-linear functions like 2 () = fx x turns out challenging for them due to
Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 2015
Many universities in the Arab world are gradually becoming English medium universities in place o... more Many universities in the Arab world are gradually becoming English medium universities in place of their traditional Arabic mediums. Therefore, students are now learning mathematics in English - a second language which the students are currently acquiring. Understandably, both the teachers and students usually experience some problems in teaching and learning mathematics due to these changes from their native language to English. This article investigates the relationship between language proficiency and mathematics performance among bilingual Arab university students. The finding in this study indicates that the students’ proficiency levels in English are a factor affecting their performance in mathematics. However, we found a mixed response among student perceptions on whether the change of language of instruction from Arabic to English has any impact on their mathematics understanding and performance. The study confirmed the findings of many similar studies, and paves way for further investigation.
International Journal of Mathematics Trends and Technology, 2014
When introducing sequences to students, the first skill we teach them is how to predict the next ... more When introducing sequences to students, the first skill we teach them is how to predict the next term of a sequence given the first few terms, usually the first three, four or five terms. In this note, we intend to show that given some terms of a sequence, the next term is not uniquely determined in most cases. We will also show under which condition can the next term be determined uniquely.
This study examines the influence of study strategy on academic achievement of undergraduate stud... more This study examines the influence of study strategy on academic achievement of undergraduate students of ATBU Bauchi. A survey design was adopted. One thousand two hundred undergraduate students of ATBU Bauchi participated in the study and were selected randomly from the seven faculties of the university. A study strategy questionnaire adopted from previous studies relevant to the current research was used as an instrument for data collection, while academic achievement of the students was measured using students’ cumulative grade point average (CGPA). The study found that there was positive and significant relationship between study strategy and academic achievement of undergraduate students. The study further suggests that undergraduate students with efficient and effective study strategy perform better academically. It was, therefore, recommended that, study strategy should be emphasized at ATBU. This will help students improve their poor academic achievements which usually resul...