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 INTRODUCTION

STEM which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics was introduced in the United States of
America in the early 90s and was firstly implemented in Malaysia’s curriculum in 2017. With that in mind, the Ministry
of Education (MOE), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Society of Engineering Education Malaysia have taken
initiatives to organize the International Conference on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education.
This is the 2nd International Conference on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education 2018
(ICSTEM 2018) with the theme “Towards Developing a Synergistic STEM Community”.

This conference is held at Sunway Putra Hotel, Kuala Lumpur on 2-4 October 2018. The objectives of this conference
are to create a platform for interaction and to share research results and teaching practices conducted in STEM
education. The conference focus on the challenges of learning and teaching of STEM in schools and universities, as
well as on innovative and emergent practices that are informed by scholarly research.

This conference is also held in conjunction with the 5th International Innovative Practices in Higher Education Expo
2018 (I-PHEX 2018) and the 1st Innovative Practices in Education Expo (I-PEX 2018), as well as the Post-Conference
Workshop on STEM Education which focuses on approaches in STEM education. We hope that all participants will
enjoy attending the programs held within the conference and gain new knowledge from them.
 FOREWORD BY VICE CHANCELLOR OF UTM

Assalamualaikum wbt and Sincere Greetings to All,

All praise to Allah SWT, the Creator and Sustainer, for his guidance we are here today at the
Second International Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Conference 2018 (ICSTEM 2018). In line with the conference theme ‘Towards Developing a
Synergistic STEM Community’, ICSTEM 2018 provides an opportunity for researchers to work
together effectively so that the knowledge gained in STEM can further stimulate the
country’s development.

STEM is a major focus in the Malaysian Education, as we require more workforce in the
science and technical field. Much effort has been made in order to achieve this objective and ICSTEM 2018 is
increasingly notable for its contribution towards the development of STEM in education. This two-day conference is
a platform for all STEM practitioners and researchers to spark ideas on the development of STEM education for all
levels. I hope that the sessions will inspire cohesive collaboration between institutions and industries to further inject
STEM in schools and universities.

This conference is organized in collaboration between the Ministry of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and
Society for Engineering Education Malaysia. I sincerely thank the staff, students and all parties who have worked hard
to organize this conference. I am also proud that the committee members have been able to gather talented,
enthusiastic and skilful individuals under one roof to contribute their expertise in the conference.

Last but not least, I would like to congratulate each individual involved in this conference including keynote speakers,
presenters and sponsors for without their commitment, this conference would not be a success.

Best wishes,
 FOREWORD BY DIRECTOR GENERAL OF EDUCATION, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,

Selamat Sejahtera and Salam Sayangi Malaysiaku.

It is indeed a pleasure to welcome you to the 2nd International Conference on Science,

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education 2018 (ICSTEM 2018), yet another
example of how good collaborative practices among educators can result in meaningful
outcomes.

I would like to congratulate members of the Ministry of Education Malaysia, Universiti

Teknologi Malaysia, and the Society of Engineering Education Malaysia for their dedication in organizing this
conference. It is my sincere hope that the conference would serve as a platform for STEM researchers to engage and
explore ways in which STEM can nurture and equip our younger generation with a balanced academia and knowledge
basis.

Impactful research requires thorough planning, collaboration and sharing of ideas, and is essential for the
advancement of STEM in the field of education. This conference is a great opportunity for participants to share the
most recent research in STEM, the challenges of implementing STEM in classroom and efforts to promote STEM to
the community at large. Participation in this conference may also help to eradicate the boundaries between STEM
research and practice in schools where all parties concerned can work together seamlessly to cultivate STEM literacy
within the society as a whole.

Finally, I hope that all of you would be able to leave this conference with stimulating knowledge and experiences that
you will be able to share with your own communities. Let this conference mark the beginning of more exciting and
inspiring developments in the field of STEM education.

Sincerely,

DATUK DR AMIN SENIN

 FOREWORD BY CHAIR OF ICSTEM 2018

Greetings to all participants! Assalamualaikum wbt,

Praise be to Allah SWT for he is the Creator and the Originator. With His Blessings we are all
here in good health at this auspicious event, the International Conference on Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics 2018 (ICSTEM 2018) in Kuala Lumpur. I would like
to extend a very warm welcome to all participants – I truly hope that you will gain the benefit
of being part of the conference.

Systematic research is the heart of advancement in knowledge. However, if knowledge gained

from research is not shared or simply stored away, it hinders further development in any field
of study. A conference such as ICSTEM 2018 is a way for researchers to share their efforts, practices and discoveries
in STEM education, which others can refer to.

The theme of this conference, “Towards Developing a Synergistic STEM Community”, was purposely chosen to bring
together STEM education communities, practitioners and policy makers. ICSTEM is designed to foster a conducive
environment for collaboration within the field of STEM education to allow the sharing of research findings and current
practices. Ultimately, it takes concerted efforts from everyone in the community to enhance the quality of STEM
education in our nations.

ICSTEM 2018 is distinct in that the sessions include many distinguished and talented speakers who are experts in
their work or field of study. I implore all attendees to actively participate in the special sessions and be engaged
during the poster and parallel sessions, as well as exhibitions so that each participant can learn from these experts
and bring home new knowledge and skills to be shared with their own community, and form connections to the
larger national and international communities in STEM Education.

Finally, I would like to congratulate the organizing committee, sponsors, speakers and the attendees for their
commitment in making this conference a success. My heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the committee members
in the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, the Malaysian Ministry of Education and the Society of Engineering Education
Malaysia who have worked very hard to make ICSTEM 2018 a reality. It is hoped that this effort can contribute
towards bringing together the myriad of STEM initiatives to put a concerted, synergistic effort to help our students
excel in STEM education.

Yours sincerely,

PROF. DR. KHAIRIYAH MOHD YUSOF

Director of Centre for Engineering Education,
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING
AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (ICSTEM2018)

TABLE OF CONTENT

Page
Title
Number

1 “Jelajah Sains” Program To Enhance Science Learning 1

Through Informal Science Learning

2 A Conceptual Framework for Enhancing Problem Solving Skills in 7

Chemistry

3 A Study on Awareness Among Students, Teachers, School 15

Administrator and Parents on the Importance of STEM

4 Applying Multiple Representations In Physics Problem Solving 26

5 Case-Based Learning And Metacognitive Scaffolding On Social 32

Media: The Student’s Problem Solving Process

6 Collaborative Lesson Research On Area Of Trapezium 41

7 Conceptual And Theoretical Framework For Learning Molecular 48

Geometry Using Metacognitive Strategies

8 Crafting STEM Problems For Problem-Based Learning Classes 66

9 Data Processing Flow For Winsteps 73

10 Developing Curriculum Modules For An Interdisciplinary Social 80

Design Course To Cultivate Engineering Students’ Creativity

11 Developing Metacognitive Skills Using Cpbl: Crucial Elements In 89

Developing 21st Century Skills

12 Developing The 21st Century Skills Through STEM Education 99

Using Cooperative Problem-Based Learning Among School
Students

13 Differentiated Instruction Through Content – A Lesson Plan On 104

Alternate Segment Theorem Mathematics Form 4

14 Effect Of Augmented Reality And Virtual Reality As Teaching 112

Tools To Increase Spatial Knowledge For Students In STEM
Education-Literature Review
15 Effect Of Pro-Ico Module Towards Students’ Achievements On 116
Chemical Bonding

16 Engage At Risk Dyscalculic Pupil To Make Sense Of Number 1 130

To 10: A Single Case Study In Numeracy Remedial Class In
Sandakan, Sabah

17 Ethical Decision-Making Among Engineering Students In A 136

Malaysian Private Engineering School: A Qualitative Study

18 Evaluation Of Undergraduate Students On Self-Directed Learning 145

Readiness

19 Flipped Classroom Implementation: Any Significant Impact On 157

Students’ Performance With The Technological Applications?

20 Form 5 Mathematics Performance: Self-Assessment By Teachers 163

And Students

21 Gambaran Laporan Dan Polisi Dalam Pembangunan Bakat dan 169

Pendidikan STEM Negara

22 Influence Of Parents’ Authority Towards The Development Of 173

STEM Career Interest Among Form Four Science Students In
Selangor

23 Instrumentation Of Early Dyscalculia Screener 185

24 Integration Of Interactive Whiteboard Technology (IWBT) 195

In Teaching Primary Science

25 Introducing “Personalised Medicine” Concept As Enrichment To 208

Form 5 Biology Syllabus By Using An Easy To Operate Mobile
Genetic Detector

26 Kefahaman Konsep Haba Di Kalangan Murid Sekolah Berasrama 212

Penuh

27 Kepentingan Metakognitif Untuk Kecemerlangan Pelajar Di Abad 217

Ke-21

28 Kualiti Guru Dalam Pendidikan STEM Di Malaysia 221

29 Learning Study: Sharpening Skills And Abilities Of Mathematics 231

Teachers In STEM Initiative

30 Making Sense Of My Reflective Practice: A Journey From 236

Practice To Praxis

31 Maklumbalas Pelajar Terhadap Penggunaan Peta Konsep Sebagai 239

Alat Pentaksiran Alternatif Dalam Aktiviti Pembelajaran Makmal
32 Mapping Social Cognitive Theory Criteria Towards Teachers 246
Digital Technology Training Framework

33 Memperkasakan Pelaksanaan Pembelajaran STEM Abad Ke 21: 254

Panduan Sistematik Dan Mudah

34 Modeling Educational Background And Teaching Experienced Of 258

Physics Teachers With The Nature Of Science (Nos)
Understanding

35 Modul Chem-A Berasaskan Pendekatan STEM Dalam Topik 264

Ikatan Kimia Tingkatan Empat

36 Module Of Efficacy Enhancement In English Teaching For Early 277

Childhood Education Teacher (Meet-Ecet) Through Pilot Study

37 Penerapan Kemahiran Proses Sains Menggunakan Augmented 282

Reality

38 Pengaruh Kecerdasan Pelbagai Terhadap Pencapaian Akademik 289

Pelajar Tingkatan Enam Bagi Subjek Pengajian Perniagaan Di
Larut Matang Dan Selama, Perak

39 Persepsi Pelajar Sekolah Terhadap Subjek Matematik 297

Tambahan

40 Proses Penyelesaian Masalah Matematik Melalui Pendekatan 302

STEM Bersepadu

41 Reasons For Students To Continue Study Physics 313

42 Research On Pre-Service Teachers In Integrated STEM Education 318

From 2000-2018: A Systematic Review

43 Research Programme In Form Six Education 327

44 Robotic Education Impact Towards Science And Technology 331

Learning In Higher Education

45 STEM Outreach Program: An Evaluation On Students’ 341

Perspective Towards STEM Engagement

46 Strategies To Solve Mathematical Non-Routine Problems 351

47 Student-Centered Learning Increase Student Engagement And 357

Help Student Develop 21st Century Skills

48 Students’ Interest In Learning Science 368

49 Tahap Penguasaan Asas Kemahiran Aras Tinggi Guru Dalam 373

 Proses Pengajaran Dan Pembelajaran

50 Teachers’ Conceptions Of Assessment And Assessment Practices 382

In Mathematics At Secondary Schools

51 Teknik ‘Biru Hijau Putih’ – Satu Kaedah Meningkatkan 389

Kemahiran Murid Melukis Formula Struktur Dan Menamakan
Isomer Sebatian Alkana, Alkena Dan Alkohol

52 The Framework Of Mobile Computer-Based Physics Laboratory 401

(MCPL) In Teaching And Learning Forces And Motion For
Secondary Schools

53 The Implementation Of A Flipped Classroom Methodology To 411

The Subject “Numerical Methods And Optimization” Of Chemical
Engineering Degree At The Universiti Malaysia

54 Using Kahoot! In The Classroom 417

55 UTM Engineering Service Learning Program To Address 21st 422

Century Curriculum For Enhancing Collaborative Skills Among
Multidiscipline Undergraduates
 “Jelajah Sains” Program to Enhance Science Learning
through Informal Science Learning
Husein N Aa, Kasim Na, Phang F Ab, Abd Rahman N Fc, Kor W Ya, Muslan F
N Aa, Abu Bakar N S Ac, Chandren Sa, Sapingi H H Ja, Duralim Ma,
Abu Bakar A Ha, Rusli M H Sa, Andianwar A Aa, Tamuri A Ra, and Arifin Ra
a
Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
b
Centre of Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
c
School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Abstract. “Jelajah Science” or directly translated to “Science Exploration” is a program designed for students to learn
science using Informal Science Learning approach to increase students’ understanding of science concepts and interest in
science. The students went through five different stations in one day to experience and explore five different concepts in
science assisted by facilitators who are undergraduate students from the Faculty of Science. Before they started the
exploration, they answered a quiz to measure the students’ understanding of science concepts before the program. After the
program, they took the quiz again as a post test. The quiz was designed and piloted to ensure good validity and reliability.
The post test result shows that the students’ understanding has increased after the program. The significance of the
differences between the tests’ results were determined using t-test which shows a significant difference at p = 0.05.
Therefore, Informal Science Learning is an effective way to help students to learn science concepts in a fun, motivating and
meaningful manner.

Keywords: Informal science learning, science concept understanding

INTRODUCTION
Approaching the era of Industrie Revolution 4.0 or better known as IR4.0, conventional teaching and learning
approaches are no longer suitable. The traditional methods of teaching and learning that are closer to the teacher-
centred approach are seen to be unable to develop the 21 st century skills [1] required by the youths to survive in this
new era. To develop scientific literacy among students, more student-centred learning approach should be adopted
such as inquiry-based learning, argumentation and dialogic learning [2]. Other than classroom teaching and learning
methods to learn science, there are other methods such as Informal Science Learning where science is explored and
learned in an environment outside of the usual classroom [3]. This paper presents a study of how an educational
program called “Jelajah Sains” or “Science Exploration” is designed to improve the learning of a few science
concepts among school students under the Informal Science Learning environment.

BACKGROUND & LITERATURE

The acquisition of science concepts among students is often measured by their understanding about the
fundamental concepts behind every theories, laws or principles that explain the phenomenon under observations. The
mastery of science concepts has been discussed among educators on the plausible ways to deliver the authentic science
experience to students. The instructional methods are discussed as the tool that is beneficial to enrich students’
mastery levels about the science concepts. Thus, many interventions focus at retrieving students’ prior misconception
or guide the learning process to obtain the actual concepts in a formal learning environment. The declining trend of
students’ enrolment in science stream however has caused anxiety among educators when the formal education is
unable to retain students’ interest to pursue science. This is evident when the analysis showed that students’ enrolment
in pure science stream in Malaysia has never exceeded 31.22% [4].
In this case, the complex interplay between instructional methods and students’ mastery level has invited many
studies which focus on affective domains to help with the enrolment. Lay and Chandrasegaran [5] reported that
Malaysian students, on average, like and value science more than Singaporean students by analyzing the Trend in
Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS) data. Regardless of this, Saleh [6] has shown that despite of high

1
motivation in learning, students always find that the science subject is not appealing to them. With the high hope to
extend students motivation or interest towards science with the formal science taught in schools, this study argues that
the formal education alone is insufficient.
The leverage to understand how students learnt science provided by informal science learning is different when it
is compared to formal science learning. Informal science learning (ISL) is defined as learning in free choice situation
[7]. According to National Research Council (NRC), the characteristic of informal learning consist of six strands as
below [8]:
Strand 1: Students experience excitement, interest, and motivation to learn about phenomena in the natural and
physical world.
Strand 2: Students learn to generate, understand, remember, and use concepts, explanations, arguments, models,
and facts related to science.
Strand 3: Students are given the chances to manipulate, test, explore, predict, question, observe, and make sense
of the natural and physical world.
Strand 4: Students are allowed to reflect on science as a way of knowing; on processes, concepts, and institutions
of science; and on their own process of learning about phenomena.
Strand 5: Students’ participation in scientific activities and learning practices with others, are using scientific
language and tools.
Strand 6: Through the activities, students perceive themselves as science learners and develop an identity as
someone who knows about, uses, and sometimes contributes to science.
The flexibility in ISL is to ensure a meaningful learning experience where students are self-motivated, voluntarily
and guided by their interest to learn. Most studies in ISL focus at learning by visitation such as visiting science
museums, science centre or science festivals. This shows the scope has limitation on how the visitation is potential to
help students’ knowledge development. Dawson [3] studied the equity of informal science education and has
consistently promotes the idea about the importance to also look into the accessibility and inclusivity of ISL might
provide to the learners. Following Dawson’s [3] argument, the movement is necessary because it helps to provide
further evidence on how ISL provides social disadvantages for students to develop their own understanding. Hence, in
this study, “Jelajah Sains” is recognized as a program that can provide informal science learning environment for
school students. “Jelajah Sains” fulfills all the strands recommended by Bell et al. [8]. The informal learning is
supported with teaching and learning modules to create the accessibility for students to develop their own
understanding within their own context of learning.

JELAJAH SAINS
“Jelajah Sains” was conducted in 28th of April, 2018 among 160 Form 2 students from 4 schools in Johor. The
objectives of the program are to increase the interest and tendency of high school students towards science through a
science-based community service, to increase the understanding of chosen science topics through informal science
learning by the university students, to disclose to high school students about career opportunities in Science and to
challenge and improve communication and leadership skills among university and high school students.
The students were invited to attend the one day science exploration program at a university not far from the
schools. The schools were selected based on their moderate academic performance, suggested by Jabatan Pendidikan
Negeri Johor. They were also participating in “Jelajah Sains” 2017 since May to October 2017. This program was led
by undergraduate students from the Faculty of Science of the university. They designed, organized and acted as
facilitators to the students under the supervision of their lecturers. There were five topics chosen for the students to
explore. They are optics, sounds, gravity, electronics and astronomy. The students went around the different stations in
groups. The section below explains how each stations was conducted.

Station A: Gravity
In the first 15 minutes, a facilitator demonstrated the concept of gravity by using an eraser that was tied to a string.
The demonstration was named ‘The Spinning Eraser’. For the next 30 minutes, the students joined a competition was
named the ‘Egg Drop Project’. They were divided into groups of 8 students. Each group were given an egg, some
plastic straws, a black garbage bag, masking tape, scissors and one sample module as a guide. The competition
required the students to build a parachute and drop it at certain height. The competition was evaluated based on the

2
time taken for it to drop to the floor, the condition of the egg and the creativity of making the parachute. The students
learned that gravity of earth cannot be changed, but air resistance can be manipulated by knowing and controlling
factors affecting it during the construction of the parachute, such as the area and mass of the parachute.

Station B: Sound
This station has 2 activities conducted in groups of eight and assisted by two facilitators. In the first activity, which
is 'The Screaming Balloon', the students were provided with a balloon and hex nut. Meanwhile in the second activity,
which is 'The Little Gong' they are provided with a spoon, a pencil, a steel ruler and a string. The Screaming Balloon
demonstrated the concept of sound generation and The Little Gong is designed to help the students understand to the
concept of medium for sound to travel. After 25 minutes spent for both activities including the explanation by the
facilitator, the activity 'Look That Sound’ was demonstrated for 10 minutes. It used a laser pointer that is shot towards
a small mirror glued on a balloon. The air-filled balloon was attached to the mouth of a plastic cup. The bottom of the
cup was removed and put close to a speaker. The mirror reflects the laser beam to a wall or screen. Different musical
genres from the speakers caused the mirror to vibrate differently, hence affecting the reflected laser beam observed.
For example, as the music goes louder, larger amplitude of sound was translated to the bigger pattern of the laser light.
This is due to the stronger air vibration inside the balloon. While a fast pace music played make the air vibration, then
the changes of laser light patterns more frequent, as the frequency of sound is higher. This activity helped the students
to understand the concept of vibration in sound generation, including the parameters of volume and pitch which
represent amplitude and frequency.

Station C: Astronomy
For the first 15 minutes, one of the facilitators gave an introduction on the topics of astronomy and optics. The
students were briefed on a few phenomena in space. For the next 50 minutes, the facilitator presented and simulated
the ‘Phases of the Moon’, including how to use the Stellarium software to observe space. In the ‘Phases of the Moon’,
the facilitator provided a lamp and ball that acted as the sun and moon, then asked the student to act as the earth. The
students rotated the ball using their hands to simulate the phenomena of moon phases. They also learned the
phenomena of light that cause the moon phases. Following that, the students got to learn the ways to use Stellarium
software before getting to explore the software under the supervision of facilitators, in order to observe constellations
and eclipses.

Station D: Optics
The facilitator explained briefly about the behaviors of light such as reflection, refraction and diffraction to the
students before they proceeded to the hologram activity. Each group were given glues and transparent acrylic sheet.
They were asked to build a pyramid shape with its top cut off from the items given. The device is used to view a
hologram video that is stored in a smartphone. It creates a 3D-like illusion for the viewer and makes an image or video
appear as if it were in midair. The facilitator is then explained to the students on the concept of hologram based on the
light phenomena discussed earlier. For the final 15 minutes, ‘Laser Dancing’ were demonstrated by using laser
pointer, mirrors and powder in a dark room. Firstly, mirrors were arranged according to various shapes such as star,
triangle and zigzag and different angles. To observe the laser beam, powder was sparkled between the mirrors. This
demonstration showed that light travels in straight lines and demonstrated the reflection of light.

Station E: Electronics
In this station, groups of four students and a facilitator were provided with a 7-segment LED display, breadboard,
wire jumper, laptop and Arduino module. Three stages were were held at this station. The first stage was on the wiring
and circuit connection, followed by 7-segment LED display using M-Block software. In the final stage, a 7- segment
LED display was carried out using Arduino Integrated Development Environment or Arduino software (IDE) as shown
in Figure 1. These activities were successfully completed in 1 hour, with the help of the facilitators by following the
manuals provided. After finishing building the devices, in the last 30 minutes, the students competed in groups by
solving a list of mathematical problems by using their devices and the Arduino software. The winning group was

3
chosen based on the group that managed to answer the most number of questions in the given time.

Figure 1. Circuit connection to light on the 7-segment display using Arduino.

RESEARCH METHOD
To investigate the impact of the program, a set of quiz to test the students’ understanding were designed prior to
the program. A total of 28 multiple choice items were constructed by the facilitators. The items were validated by
lecturers in Physics and Physics Education. For the reliability of the items, the quiz were pilot tested to 52 students (14
years old) who were not involved in the program. The pilot test data were analyzed for the items’ index of difficulty
and discrimination. The result of the analysis and the decision are as shown in Table 1.

TABLE (1). Pilot test data and decision

Index of Difficulty Index of Number Decision Discrimination

1 0.29 0.10 Accepted
2 0.35 0.40 Accepted
Electronics 3 0.44 0 Accepted
4 0.23 -0.30 Rejected
5 0.35 0 Rejected
6 0.23 -0.30 Rejected
7 0.48 0.70 Accepted
8 0.71 0.60 Accepted
Gravity 9 0.48 0.60 Accepted
10 0.17 0 Rejected
11 0.19 0.10 Rejected
12 0.15 0.10 Rejected
13 0.40 0.60 Accepted
14 0.50 0.60 Accepted
Sound 15 0.10 0.20 Rejected
16 0.62 0.60 Accepted
17 0.29 0.50 Rejected
18 0.40 0.30 Rejected
19 0.60 0.70 Accepted
Astronomy 20 0.62 0.70 Accepted
21 0.38 0.20 Rejected
22 0.56 0.50 Rejected
23 0.54 0.70 Accepted
24 0.58 0.60 Accepted
25 0.73 0.50 Rejected
Optics 26 0.46 0.90 Accepted
27 0.35 -0.10 Rejected
28 0.54 0.60 Accepted

4
 The index of difficulty, p is calculated based on the total correct answers over the total responses [9]. According to
Wright [9], the ideal index of difficulty of a multiple choice item with four choices should be 0.625. However,
according to Ghafar [10], a range between 0.3 and 0.7 is acceptable. For this research, items that are below 0.4 and
above 0.7 were eliminated.
On the other hand, item discrimination refers to the ability of an item to differentiate among students on the basis
of how well they know the material being tested [11]. The index of discrimination or discriminating power, D can be
obtained by subtracting the fraction of students in the lower group who get the item correct from the fraction of
students in the upper group who get the item correct. An item discriminates positively if more students in the upper
group get the item right than the lower group. This means that the item is able to differentiate the students who
understand the topic from those who do not. The acceptable D is 0.4 and above [9]. From the analysis, only 15 items
remained for the final set of quiz as the accepted decision as shown in Table 1. There were three items for each
science topic. There were also items maintained even the acceptable p and D were not fulfilled, due to the learning
outcomes targeted for the activities planned.
The quiz was administered before and after the program using a paper-and-pencil test. When the students were
answering the quiz, they were not allowed to discuss or seek help from their teachers or facilitators. The quiz was
marked by the facilitators following the marking scheme and analyzed to understand the level of mastery of each
topics and the difference between the pre-test and the post-test.

RESULTS AND DICUSSION

Table 2 shows the result of each items of the quiz before, after and the difference. The result shows that item 6 has
the highest improvement in understanding while item 5 shows a reverse pattern. Overall, the quiz shows improvement
in understanding for all concepts. On average, the topic of gravity has the highest gain while the topic of sound has the
lowest gain. The differences are tested using t-test to determine if the differences are significant or not. At p = 0.05, all
the topics show significant differences. This means that the increase is significant.

TABLE (2). The results of the quiz before and after the program

No. of correct answer % of correct answer Average

Item Difference
Topics difference by
Number (%)
Before After Before After topic (%)
1 62 72 39 46 6
Electronics 2 88 115 56 73 17 14.3
3 91 122 58 77 20
4 109 139 69 88 19
Gravity 5 110 107 70 68 -2 27.7
6 30 134 19 85 66
7 82 92 52 58 6
Sound 8 11 42 7 27 20 10.3
9 141 149 89 94 5
10 86 106 54 67 13
Astronomy 11 109 124 69 78 9 11.3
12 118 137 75 87 12
13 105 143 66 91 24
Optics 14 135 142 85 90 4 12.3
15 94 108 59 68 9

Comparing how each stations was conducted, it can be seen that the Gravity station was conducted in a
competition method while other station involved lecturing, demonstration and some hands-on activities. Learning
through games and competitions [12] can help to increase attention of the students because they are motivated and
more involved in the learning process. Looking at the increase of their understanding after the program, Informal
Science Learning seems to be a way forward to help students to learn science concepts in a more meaningful,
motivating, fun manner and at the same time it helps to improve their understanding as proposed by Bell et al. [8].
From the findings, for the context of Malaysian schools, learning science informally through competition seems
like a more successful technique to improve the students’ learning and understanding in science. To bring “Jelajah
Sains” to schools, funding is needed. Besides funding from governmental agencies, corporate social responsibility

5
(CSR) of private companies and industries are also important to bring Informal Science Learning like “Jelajah Sains”
to many more schools in Malaysia, especially schools in rural areas. This enables university students who are the
facilitators to travel to rural schools to help propagate science knowledge as well.

CONCLUSION
“Jelajah Sains” is a learning program specially designed following the strands of Informal Science Learning to
attract students to learn science in a meaningful and fun method with the help of undergraduate students as their
facilitators. Informal Science Learning couples with mentoring [13] can produce positive effect on students’ learning,
motivation and interest in science. It is hoped that “Jelajah Sains” can be continued in the future to help more students
in learning science and mastering the concepts in a more meaningful way.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the Centre for Co-curriculum and Service Learning (CCSL),
UTM, UTM International and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) through UTMSHINE Flagship Grant vot no.
Q.J130000.2431.03G77.

REFERENCES
1. World Economic Forum (2015). New Vision for Education: Unlocking the Potential of Technology, Switzerland: WEF.
2. Sandoval, W. A. (2005). Understanding Students’ Practical Epistemologies and Their Influence on Learning through Inquiry.
Science Education, 89(4), pp. 634-656.
3. Dawson, E. (2014). Equity in informal science education: developing an access and equity framework for science museums and
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6
 A Conceptual Framework for Enhancing Problem Solving
Skills in Chemistry
Salina Abdullah Sangguroa and Johari Surifa
a
Fakulti Pendidikan, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor

Abstract.This article tries to highlight aspects of problem solving in chemistry education that often cause difficulties
among students. This literature review also focuses on three key areas of metacognitive knowledge, namely conceptual
knowledge, procedural knowledge and conditional knowledge which is the basis for the conceptual framework for this
study. In the context of this study, conceptual knowledge is based on three levels of knowledge namely the macroscopic
level, the microscopic level and the symbolic level, while the procedural knowledge takes into account Wheatley’s problem
solving model (1984) views on the problem solving steps. Conditional knowledge involves the application of both
knowledge with regard to 'when' and 'where' it is used when solving chemical problems. Thus, in order to ensure students'
success in solving chemical problems, it is necessary for them to integrate all these aspects. At the end of this article, we
suggest a conceptual framework that can be used as references and guidance to teachers and students.

Keywords: Problem solving in chemistry, conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, conditional knowledge,
macroscopic level, microscopic level, symbolic level.

INTRODUCTION
Problem solving is one of the components that is emphasized in the forming of the Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics Education (STEM) curriculum, whether in schools or at university level. This is
important because the curriculum is an important platform for training and thus providing skilled workforce in solving
problems and being able to compete globally (Jonassen, 2011). The current education assessment system is also
impressed with this change, whereby drafting of questions also leads to the formation of students as problem solvers
(Martin et al. 2016 and OECD, 2014). However, students are often faced with difficulties in solving problems as they
are less capable of linking their experiences with problems especially in terms of determining the right steps when
solving the problem (Sweller, 1988). This has a direct connection to the formation of schemes in the cognitive
structure that existed in the student's thinking. Hence, the ability of students to solve problems, is critical because they
depend on the formation of schemes in their cognitive structure.

PROBLEM
Jonassen (2004) categorizes problems into well-structured and ill-structured. Table 1 shows the comparison
between these two types of problems.
TABLE 1). Problem Classification
Source: Johari Surif, Nor Hasniza Ibrahim & Siti Fairuz Dalim (2014)

Well-structured
The solution is known and all the required
information is provided.
The concepts used are limited in number and are
organised in a step-by-step manner.
Normally has one preferred method; different
methods will give the same correct answer.
The solutions are either correct or incorrect.
Ill-structured
Many solutions exist, sometimes there is no solution.
Do not have all the required information.
Has many alternative paths to the solutions.
Involves various concepts with limited information
about the concepts.
The evaluation of the solution is slightly difficult;
many decisions and judgements about the situation are
necessary.

7
 According to Jonassen (2004), well-structured questions are commonly used at schools, universities and training
centers as they involve the use of very limited concepts, rules, and principles. In addition, the form of well- structured
questioning is clear and more direct and for the solutions they involve the use of logical operations that always follow
procedures in troubleshooting. This is in contrast with the ill-structured problem which involves interdisciplinary
issues involving everyday life as well as professional practice. Therefore, it is doubtful that the ill- structured problem
requires the application of concepts and principles in various domains to enable them to be resolved. Hence, it is not
surprising that if ill-structured problems can provide more than one solution and as a problem solver, they need to take
reasonable precaution in determining the best possible steps to resolve them.
Johnstone (1993) has given a contradictory view of Jonassen (2004) in classifying the problem. Johnstone (1993)
categorises the problem into algorithmic exercise and open problem. The problem is classified as an algorithmic
exercise when all the information and solutions are known. However, if data, methods and goals for a problem are
unknown then it is classified as open problem. According to Johnstone (1993), classification of problems can be
determined based on three predefined variables which are: (i) data supplied; (ii) the method used; and (iii) the goal to
achieve. Based on these three variables Johnstone has identified eight different types of problems. Table 2 shows the
types of problem.

TABLE 2). Type of Problem Source: Jonhstone (1993a)

Type Data Methods Goals/outcomes
1 Given Familiar Given
2 Given Unfamiliar Given
3 Incomplete Familiar Given
4 Incomplete Unfamiliar Given
5 Given Familiar Open
6 Given Unfamiliar Open
7 Incomplete Familiar Open
8 Incomplete Unfamiliar Open

Based on Table 2, Johnstone (1993) named the type 1 problem as an algorithmic exercise. Problem with types 1
and 2 are often found in textbooks as well as examinations. Problem with types 3 and 4 are more complex as they
involve data searching and also reasoning. As for problem with types 5 to 8, they are open problems which can lead to
real problems in human life. Based on the views of Johnstone (1993) and Jonassen (2004) in problem classification,
researchers have taken into account both the views to be guided in forming a chemical stoichiometric problem solving
instrument. The focus of the instrument is directed to ill-structured (Jonassen, 2004) and open ended (Johnstone,
1993a). This is in line with the current assessment trend towards a generation of skills solver (Martin et al., 2016, and
OECD, 2014).

PROBLEM SOLVING IN CHEMISTRY

Hayes (1989) has defined problem solving as “whenever there is a gap between where you are now and where you
want to be, and you do not know how to find a way to cross that gap, you have a problem”. Based on this statement,
Hayes (1989) explains the difference between training and a problem – when someone knows what to do after reading
a question, then the problem is training and not a problem (Reid & Yang, 2002). This view differs from Metallidou
(2009) which defines it as a directed behavior in solving problems through mental representation with appropriate
method or strategy applications to achieve the desired goal. Jonassen (2004) defines problem solving as one's active
involvement in manipulating their mental representation based on the context of a problem where someone needs to
generate ideas and try to solve them before they can be released it in the real world. Metallido (2009) and Jonassen
(2004) each has the same views in defining problem solving, which is, someone needs to be skillful in making mental
representation before the problem can be solved. However, mental representation itself involves the process of
building and transforming someone's cognitive structure to develop effective action in solving the problem (Ouasri,
2017).
According to Broman and Parchmann (2014), problem-solving questions are intended to provide learning
situations that can shape students as problem solvers and assist them in explaining a more structured and effective
chemical phenomenon. This is in line with the views of Palumbo (1990) which states that problem solving is a process
of linking context and situation and it relies entirely on the structure of knowledge and a person's deep experience.

8
However, contextual knowledge is critical to solve (Beyer, 1984) as it involves knowledge in complex domains
comprising of a combination of several principles, such as technical details, generalizations, heuristics and some
information that is relevant to the problem (Stevens & Palacio-Cayetano, 2003). Hence, it is not surprising that the
findings of Ouasri (2017); Overton et al. (2013); Cartrette & Bodner (2010); and Salta & Tzougraki (2010) shown
students had difficulties in solving chemical-related problems.
The findings of the previous study (Ouasri, 2017, Overton et al. 2013, Cartrette & Bodner, 2010 and Salta &
Tzougraki, 2010) found that students had difficulties in solving chemical problems from well structured forms to ill
structured forms. This statement is also supported by Ouasari (2017) who has identified five sources regarding the
difficulties of novice students in chemical problem solving. First, students are less mastered in concept, semantics
(meaning based on meaning) and linguistic skills in chemistry knowledge. Second, students lack control of logical
strategies and reflections so as to fail to explain the procedure in relation to the chemical solving process. Third, the
problematic students in making mental representation of the three levels of chemical knowledge. It causes the failure
of students to develop the scheme for solving chemical problems. Fourth, students are less knowledgeable about
calculations in chemical reactions, spontaneous transformations in chemical cells and other things that are
prerequisites in controlling chemistry. Fifth, students are less motivated in studying chemistry. In conclusion, the
failure of students in solving the chemical problems is due to their lack of control over conceptual, procedural and
conditional knowledge as well as skills in solving problems.

KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN
Ontology knowledge plays an important role in describing the content or domain of a knowledge (De Jong &
Ferguson-Hessler, 1996). Based on literature review, ontology knowledge often discussed on declarative knowledge,
structural knowledge and conceptual knowledge. However, in the context of this study, conceptual knowledge has
been selected because of its existence at the highest position in ontology knowledge where it integrates declarative
knowledge into meaningful storage forms (Tennyson & Cocchiarella, 1986). Procedural knowledge and conditional
knowledge are among the components in the epistemology knowledge. These knowledges react in terms of application
and the action of declarative knowledge (Jonassen, 2009). The epistemology of knowledge differs from the ontology of
knowledge in which it functions in explaining the task of procedural knowledge. It is in line with Gott's (1989) view,
the classification of the scheme is different according to the assignment given. Procedural knowledge emphasizes on
how declarative knowledge is used while conditional knowledge involves understanding when and where procedural
knowledge is applied in problem solving. Hence, this study takes into consideration the domain of conceptual
knowledge, procedural knowledge and conditional knowledge for solving chemical problems

Conceptual Knowledge

De Jong & Ferguson-Hessler (1996) define conceptual knowledge as a static knowledge of facts, concepts,
principles that can be applied in a particular domain and it functions as an enhancement of information to help
problem solvers get solutions to the problem. This view is in line with Jonassen (2009) which explains that conceptual
knowledge is an understanding of the structure of the operation concept in knowledge itself as well as its integration
with other concepts. According to Jonassen (2009), conceptual changes occur when the adaptation and
reestablishment process are in line with the increased experience and reflection of a person on a concept. This leads to
the addition of complex values to their theoretical concepts and models.
Students who have mastered conceptual knowledge are closely related to the education process that they have gone
through (She, 2004). It involves the ability of students in implementing existing concepts to new concepts, linking
existing concepts to new concepts and formulating existing concepts with new concepts (She, 2004 and Barak et al.,
2007) which ultimately lead to their ability to solve the problem. According to Chwee & Murcia (2013), problem
solving plays a major role in the development of conceptual knowledge because it involves a learning strategy that can
give students a sense of uncertainty over their naive theoretical holdings with real scientific theories. Therefore, the
problem solving method is often used as an intervention by previous researchers to stimulate the development of
conceptual knowledge amongst students (Nersessian, 2008 and Chwee & Murcia, 2013).
Problem solving plays a major role in stimulating changes to a student's conceptual knowledge. This is so because
during the problem solving process, students' cognitive structures are disturbed to create mindfulness and stimulate
thinking in order to develop a scientifically conceptual framework. Here, a high level of cognitive understanding is

9
needed to reject any disorder in thought (Biemans & Simons, 1999). For solving problems in the form of ill-
structured and complex, a student should formulate his own hypothesis and then test it through a series of tests and
improvements to the cycle until the problem can be solved (Lesh & Harel, 2003). Indeed, the existence of a change in
conceptual knowledge is due to the restructuring of concepts involving the reasoning process closely related to
problem solving.
In chemistry, the formation of conceptual knowledge should be based on three levels of chemical representation
(Ried & Yang, 2002; Thadison, 2011; Talanquer, 2011; Taber, 2013; Sim & Mohammad Yusof, 2014). This statement
was also supported by Nieves, Barreto and Medina (2012) who found that students' skills in problem- solving were
increased as they learned and mastered chemical scientific concepts at three levels of representation. However,
without the integration of conceptual knowledge at three levels of chemical representation, it can invite various
misconceptions among students (Sim & Mohammad Yusof, 2014; Helsy et al. 2017). The study of Johari Surif et al.
(2012) also found that students' achievement in conceptual knowledge was weak due to the misconception of students
at three levels of representation involving terms, scientific concepts and problem solving. Hence, it is a requirement
for this study to incorporate three levels of representation in the study of problem solving involving conceptual
knowledge. Figure 1 shows the relationship of the three levels of representation.
Macroscopic Level

Microscopic level Symbolic level

FIGURE 1. Three Level of Chemistry Representation Source: Johnstone (1991)

The macroscopic level is a real phenomenon that can be seen clearly either in laboratories or in the daily life
(Gabel, 1999; and Treagust, Chittleborough, & Mamiala, 2003) where by it describes something in the form of
representation of concepts and ideas (Johnstone, 1982, 1991, 2000; Hinton & Nakhleh, 1999; Dori & Hameiri, 2003;
Chandrasegaran, Treagust, & Mocerino, 2007; and Gilbert & Treagust, 2009). The microscopic level involves
knowledge that unobservable world and it is unlikely to be touched (Barak & Hussein-Farraj, 2013) but only to be
accessed through imagination (Bucat & Mocerino, 2009). The symbolic level is a representation that can represent
real-world chemical phenomenon through the use of various forms of media such as the use of models, pictures,
algebra, mathematical problem solving (Johnstone, 1982; 1993) using coefficients, subscripts, chemical charges and
the use of algebraic representations (Thadison, 2011). In addition, Bradley (2014) defines the symbolic level as a
representation of substances and chemical reactions that can describe the macroscopic and microscopic level.
According to Gabel (1999) students are faced with difficulties in linking phenomena acquired through experience
or real-world with an intellectual explanation, through the use of chemical concepts. The study of Drivers, Squires,
Rushword, & Wood-Robinson, (1994) also found that students had difficulty to distinguish concepts involving
macroscopic level such as temperature and heat, density and weight. Besides, Nakhleh (1993) and Garnett & Hacking
(1995) reveal that majority of students faced difficulty in mastering the microscopic level and they formed a lot of
misconceptions at this level. The students also faced difficulty to link the knowledge from one level to another
(Sanger, 2005). The ability of students to apply the symbolic level was also not a guarantee for them to master
conceptual knowledge at three levels of representation (Thadison, 2011). Therefore, the emphasis on the mastery of
the students’ knowledge on the three levels of representation are very important to avoid the rote learning among the
students (Reid & Yang, 2002).

10
 Procedural Knowledge

According to Rief (2008), procedural knowledge focuses on methods or procedures that describe the sequence of
actions in relation to the implementation of a task. This view is made entirely but still in the context of procedural
procedures that emphasize on systematic work. De Jong & Ferguson-Hessler (1996) define procedural knowledge as
an act or manipulation of actions that can only be used in certain domains. They also emphasize a student as a problem
solver to solve problems from one level to another level of problem solving. However, procedural knowledge cannot
stand alone without being supported by other knowledge. In the context of chemistry learning, a person's control over
conceptual knowledge and procedural knowledge is essential (Johari et al., 2012) to facilitate students in solving
chemical problems (Cracolice et al., 2008). Wheatley problem solving model (1984) consists of 16 steps:
1) Read the problem
2) Read the problem again
3) Writing relevant information
4) Describe the diagram, create lists, write equations or formulas that can help in understanding the problem
5) Try something
6) Try something else
7) These techniques can help
8) Read the problem again
9) To try something else
10) Tests on any technique that can help
11) Test the results obtained to determine whether there is progress in obtaining answers
12) Read the problem again
13) Only fit the head and say 'son of a .... '
14) Write an answer (not necessarily an answer)
15) Tests the answer to see the suitability
16) Repeat the above steps if necessary, celebrate if not

This model implements some of the key components of problem solving that is cyclic, has a reflective element,
and sometimes it is irrational in nature as this approach differs from the methods used by subject experts (Bodner &
Domin, 2000). In the context of this study, researchers tend to choose the Wheatley model (1984) as it implements
concepts in problem solving. This view was also supported by (Bodner & Domin, 2000) when they were also using
the model during chemistry teaching in the classroom.

Conditional Knowledge

Jonassen (2009) defines conditional knowledge as a knowledge that involves an understanding of 'when' and
'where' one is accessing procedural knowledge. Mthethwa-Kunene, Onwu & Villiers (2015) state that conditional
knowledge is a combination of application from two types of knowledge which are conceptual knowledge and
procedural knowledge. The views of Mthethwa-Kunene, Onwu & Villiers (2015) are slightly different from the views
of Jonassen (2009) when they use conceptual knowledge in defining conditional knowledge. However, this does not
affect the meaning of conditional knowledge because conceptual knowledge itself is a derivative of declarative
knowledge (Tennyson & Cocchiarella, 1986; Reif, 2008). Conditional knowledge serves to help students in organizing
the problem-solving process so that the work steps are made to address the actual problem solving (de Jong &
Ferguson-Hessler, 1996). This is in line with its position at the highest level of knowledge. Consequently, the use of
conditional knowledge applies in solving a problem as it brings together various types of problems in the same domain
(Polya, 1957). Problem solving for conditional knowledge emphasizes the forms of questioning in the context of real
life. According to Reid & Yang (2002), questions that involve everyday life often apply open-ended questions and this
has a positive impact on the development of problem solving skills among students. Robinson (2003), also supports
this statement as it also helps to increase students' interest and motivation in learning chemistry. In fact, the forms of
questioning that apply in real life are practical because they link theory to learning and they can continue to be used in
everyday life.

11
 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF PROBLEM SOLVING IN CHEMISTRY
Constructivism emphasizes the concept that students are responsible to build their own knowledge by linking the
new knowledge with existing experience or knowledge (Noriati, Boon & Sharifah Fakhriah, 2009; Woolfolk, 2010;
and Ormrod, 2011). It also emphasizes on the development of cognitive knowledge which is an important aspect in
determining the effectiveness of a student's learning (Wolfolk, 2010). This paper discussed the three types of cognitive
knowledge which are conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge and conditional knowledge. Conditional
knowledge is the most complex cognitive knowledge compared with conceptual knowledge and procedural
knowledge (Becker et al. 2015). This is because the conditional problem-solving problem requires students to identify
and choose 'when' and 'why' the conceptual or procedural knowledge is applied (Thomas, 2017; and Kamariah &
Daniel, 2017). Thus, this study attempts to connect all three types of knowledge to maximize students’ skills in
solving chemical problems.
In addition, problem solving involves the cognitive thinking process that leads to solve the problem without the
students knowingly completing the solution (Mayer & Wittrock, 1996). The ability of students to solve chemical
problems is closely related to the level of understanding on conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge (Dahsah,
Coll, Yutakom & Sanguanruang, 2008) and conditional knowledge (Aljaberi & Gheith, 2015). Each of this knowledge
has certain components that act in complementing the need of chemical knowledge. In the context of conceptual
knowledge, it needs to be based on the three levels of representation namely macroscopic level, microscopic level and
also symbolic level. Scientific concepts need to be based on these three levels to enable students to master the
conceptual knowledge of chemistry, likewise with chemical procedural knowledge, students need to know the right
steps to enable them to solve chemical problems. For conditional knowledge, it involves knowledge application
processes involving conceptual knowledge or procedural knowledge in solving problems. Indeed, the components of
the three knowledges play an important role to support the students' skills in solving chemical problems.
Based on the three knowledge and components in it, the researcher intends to study the formation of student
thought patterns to propose a chemical problem solving scheme. This coincides with the view by Salkind (2004) who
said that the cognitive development needs to involve successive steps as well as transition from one level to another.
Therefore, this study focuses on the process in each of the knowledge level before it can be linked in the form of
cognitive development structures that are manifested in the form of a scheme.
Figure 2 shows the conceptual framework of this study. Dotted arrows indicate that the process takes place in
student’s thought, while the black arrow is a process that can be seen clearly in the form of work steps until the answer
is obtained. During the process of solving the chemical problems (cognitive), the student identifies the problem
whether it involves a problem of conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge or conditional knowledge.
Furthermore, knowledge is generated based on the context of the given problem. For example, if the problem involves
the problem of calculating the number of mole, the student uses the concept of mole (conceptual knowledge) and it is
automatically linked to the procedural knowledge which involves the calculating process of mole number by using
certain formulas. Here, the researcher will study the formation of a pattern of thought that involves conceptual
knowledge and procedural knowledge. The patterns formed from the next study are combined to form the scheme for
the solution of the chemical problem which is the final result of this study. It is hoped that the schema will be a guide
for students in catalyzing their success in solving chemical problems (stoichiometry).

12
 FIGURE 2. Conceptual Framework of Problem Solving in Chemistry

CONCLUSION
The schemes which will be produced in this study consist of the combination from the three types of knowledge
(conceptual, procedural, conditional) and also their components in one diagram. Therefore, it will be useful to guide
the stakeholders such as policy makers and educators in their chemistry teaching. For educators, this scheme will help
them in planning appropriate teaching and learning activities by emphasizing specific parts to improve the skills of
problem solving in chemistry among students. In addition, it can also give a clear picture to educators about the
constraints faced by students as they solve chemical problems.

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15
 A Study on Awareness among Students, Teachers, School
Administrators and Parents on the Importance of STEM
Ahmad Syarizal Mohd Yusoff

Ministry of Education Malaysia

Abstract: The objectives of this study are to identify awareness among students, teachers, school administrators and parents on
the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The study uses quantitative research by
distributing questionnaires from 3204 secondary school students, 1457 primary school students, 1928 teachers, 1297 school
administrators and 1225 parents. The Five-level Likert scale is chosen to measure the awareness level among respondents. The
awareness level among these respondents is found to be at a moderate level. Among secondary school students, those studying in
urban area are found to have a significantly higher level of awareness than their friends in rural area. Those who have the
academic potential to pursue Pure Science stream at upper secondary have a significantly higher level of awareness compared to
those who do not have such potential. Primary school students studying in rural areas are found to have a significantly higher
level of awareness than those studying in urban area. Male primary school students are found to have a significantly higher level
of awareness than female students. Similar to the situation in secondary school, those who have the academic potential to pursue
Pure Science stream at upper secondary have a significantly higher level of awareness compared to those who do not have such
potential. Among STEM teachers, those who teach STEM subjects as their option were found to have a significantly higher
awareness compared to those teaching the subjects as not their option. Also, STEM teachers who undergo training on their
subjects are found to have a significantly higher awareness than those who do not have such training. School administrators
whose options are STEM subjects are found to have a significantly higher awareness compared to other administrators whose
options are not STEM subjects. Several recommendations have been made to address this awareness level.
Keyword: STEM, Awareness, Students, Teachers, School Administrators, Parents

INTRODUCTION
In the last four decades, Malaysia embarked on various efforts to achieve the target laid in 60:40 Policy that is 60%
of upper secondary school students (Grade 10-11) to pursue STEM (then known as Science/Technical) stream and 40%
of students to pursue Arts/Humanities/Social Science stream. The Malaysian Higher Education Planning Committee in
1967 reported that, out of 4% of Malaysian secondary school students who transitioned to the tertiary level, a significant
percentage enrolled for Arts and Humanities fields. Consequently, that 60:40 Policy was recommended in order to
provide the country with adequate human resources in Science and Technology (S&T). Implemented in 1970 throughout
the country for both schools and higher education, its primary objective was to increase the participation of students in
Science and Technology education in order to build the nation with more scientists, engineers, doctors and highly skilled
technicians. Despite the fact that Malaysia is yet to achieve the target ratio of 60:40, the policy provided a significant
threshold and remains to be used as a standard for the formulation and development of related policies and programmes
in the field of S&T.

The year 1986 saw Malaysia achieving another milestone through the formulation of the first National Science and
Technology Policy. Aimed at promoting self-reliance among Malaysians and eventually enhancing economic
development through S&T, the policy focused on enabling scientific inventions and improving infrastructure in science,
education and related areas. It was in 2011 when the Ministry of Education embarked on reforms through systemic
planning and execution of the Malaysia Education Blueprint that a set of priority areas for improvement was reviewed
and identified including the need to improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education
with the introduction of Strengthening of the STEM Education initiative.

Apart from encouraging more students to pursue STEM education at the upper secondary and tertiary levels, the
initiative was also seen as a critical step toward preparing Malaysia to become a high income economy. In addition to that,
a solid foundation in STEM education enables students to think critically, solve problems and prepares students to be
future high-skilled workers, required by industries. Defined as an integrated learning discipline of Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics, STEM education applies real life context to students’ learning by connecting learning
institution with the community and industries in order to produce STEM-literate talents who can spearhead economic
growth for the country.

16
 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Despite numerous efforts by the government to address the decline in students’ enrolment for the Pure Science
stream, the current situation is still far from what is actually desired. The inability to achieve the target of 60% students
pursuing Science/Technical stream raises questions among policy makers and implementers especially on possible
factors and causes.

A study by Azlina (2015) pointed to factors contributing to the decline in Pure Science enrolment. The main factor
found in the study is the lack of awareness on the importance of STEM among students, parents and teachers and on the
purpose of STEM subjects and its relationship to daily life. Without awareness at a desirable level, efforts toward
improving skills in science and technology as the enabler to create competitiveness for the country will not be effective.

Promotion of awareness among stakeholders is crucial for any economy that desires to be relevant in today’s world.
This study therefore aims to identify the level of awareness among students, parents, STEM teachers and school
administrators on the importance of STEM so that necessary measures and intervention can be recommended which will
eventually contribute to an increase in Pure Science enrolment among students.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of this study is to identify the level of awareness among students, parents, STEM teachers and school
administrators on the importance of STEM.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Findings from the study can be used as a reference in providing scientific evidence to policy formulators and
implementers on the level of awareness among key stakeholders on the importance of STEM. These findings are also
expected to assist policy planners with informed decision-making processes.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This research used quantitative methodology by undertaking a survey to collect data from representative samples.
The samples in this study were Year 6 Primary School students (Grade 6), Form 2 and 3 Secondary School Students
(Grade 8 and 9). The questionnaire was divided into a few sections, namely: 1) demographic data; 2) Knowledge about
STEM field; 3) Perspective on the importance of STEM field; 4) Perspective on the importance of STEM subjects in
school

17
 FIGURE 1: Conceptual Framework of the Study

Students

Parents
Increase in
Awareness on Students’
the Importance Enrolment in
of STEM Pure Science
STEM Teachers
Stream

School
Administrator
s

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Government’s Effort in Strengthening STEM Education
For the past four decades, the government has embarked on various efforts to achieve the 60 (Pure
Science/Technical): 40 (Arts/Humanities) ratio. One of the earlier ones was the establishment of 10 Science Secondary
Schools under the Ministry of Education (IBE, 2016). Until today, there are altogether 69 of such school. Since 1970,
many exceptional individuals in the field of science and technology have been produced from these schools. The year
2011 saw the second phase of the preparation of the Malaysia Education Blueprint identifying the need to improve
STEM education in school. The Blueprint launched two years later included planning on the use of variety of approaches
to increase students’ interest in STEM via latest teaching and learning approaches that incorporate and encourage higher
order thinking skills, innovative and engineering design thinking. The Blueprint also emphasized STEM teachers’
competency and skills as well as awareness on the importance of STEM among students, teachers, parents and the
community.

The importance of STEM

Malaysia aims to produce one million STEM experts in 2020. This aim is testament to governments’ commitment to
align the STEM Initiative that was introduced in 2013 in the Malaysia Education Blueprint to objectives laid in
Government Transformation Plan, New Economic Model and Economic Transformation Plan. STEM as a career is very
much associated to the economic development of a country (Ministry of Education, 2012). Sneideman (2013) posited
that STEM is a philosophy of the way of thinking in which all the four subjects namely Science, Mathematics,
Technology and Engineering are integrated as a field of study that is more suitable and relevant to be taught to students
in school since it emphasizes the practicality and reality aspects. Through this approach, students learn Science and
Mathematics using the real-life context which is more realistic and meaningful via the application of technology. Such a
learning is seen as more exciting, involving hands-on activities and open exploration which stimulates students to think
and solve problems. Mazlini et.al (2016) pointed that STEM is very effective in increasing students’ toward Science and
Mathematics and an eventual success in STEM career.

Awareness on the importance of STEM

Countries endowed with economic prosperity today are not those blessed with natural resources, but thosewhich
have been successful at developing their human capital in creating innovation in the fields of science and technology. In
a highly competitive world, competition has changed from physical resources to scientific and technological skills. As a
result, awareness on the importance of STEM among its society has become the main agenda for any country which
desires to remain relevant and competitive.

Therefore, for Malaysia to become a developed nation spearheaded by knowledge-based economy, the number of its
people working in the fields of STEM has to be at an encouraging percentage (MASTIC, 1998). This simply means that
a large segment of the society needs to be aware and appreciate the importance of STEM for the country’s development
thus choose to pursue career in STEM field.
The previous decades saw Malaysia putting efforts seen in the increase in research and development activities as well
as improving Science and Technology infrastructure and at the same time working toward improving awareness and

18
interest among public toward STEM. Without awareness, knowledge and interest, all efforts toward increasing science and
technological skills will be meaningless and futile (MASTIC, 2008). Government’s commitment and concern are
realized in the responsibilities given to relevant agencies to increase science and technological activities. In addition,
science and technological development has become the concern of every segment of the society, not only the government
but also the private sector, research communities and the general public. The main thrust in this endeavour is to develop
STEM to a level, deemed important and necessary by the whole segment of the society and as the prerequisite to the
improvement to quality in life (MASTIC, 1998)

Past Studies

A number of studies related to public awareness on STEM have been undertaken. As early as 1994, Malaysian
Science and Technology Information Centre (MASTIC) undertook such a study and found that the level of science and
technology knowledge among public was low. The findings however pointed to the positive outlook toward science and
technology held by the public. Majority of the respondents had an interest in science and technology and believed that
science and technology improved their work environment. Further findings showed that the youth had a higher level of
understanding of science and technology compared to children and adults. Individuals with higher academic background
and those with science background had higher level of understanding of science and technology.

In the 2000 series of the study, it was found that public knowledge on science and technology continued to dip
despite numerous interventions implemented to engage public in science and technology activities. It was also
discovered in the study that interest toward science and technology had decreased compared to interest toward business
and economics. Males and respondents from urban areas had higher interest toward science and technology as opposed
to female and respondents from the rural areas respectively. In 2004, MASTIC found out that public interest toward
science and technology was at a moderate level indicating that efforts by relevant agencies with regard to science and
technology promotional activities were insufficient and more efforts were needed toward improving public interest.
Knowledge of science and technology level was also found to be low. Such information necessitated further work to
improve the situation. Among key aspects identified were the effectiveness of school curriculum and the means of
spreading information on science and technology. This 2004 edition of the study also discovered that public
understanding of basic scientific issues was good. That was encouraging since the public were acceptant toward projects
aimed at promoting science and technology and other efforts toward improving their understanding toward science and
technology.

In the 2008 study, it was found that students’ interest toward science and technology remained at a moderate level. In
addition to that, respondents in urban areas had a higher interest than those in the rural areas but the gap was closer than
it was as captured in the previous series indicating efforts had been taken to address the gap. The previous series of study
pointed to low level of public knowledge on science and technology issue and in 2008, it still remained at that level.
Education level remained as an influential factor for knowledge among public with respondents with tertiary education
having a higher knowledge level.

The final series of the study was the one undertaken in 2014 which discovered that public had interest toward
science, technology and innovation (STI). Nevertheless, only half of the respondents were discovered to have knowledge
about STI. With regard to attitude, more than half of the respondents had a positive attitude and indicated that scientific
research caused more good than harm.

Omar (1999) in his study that aimed to identify secondary school students’ awareness on science and technology,
measured awareness through knowledge and understanding apart from students’ attitude and interest toward science and
technology. The study found that, generally, students’ knowledge on science and technology was high. Students were
found to have knowledge on aspects that had significance to them and had effect on them, such as the importance of
oxygen on breathing. Students’ understanding on science and technology was at a moderate level. Their understanding
was influenced by situations happening around them. Items in the survey explaining on situations they underwent in
everyday life were at a higher percentage than were items on what they had not experienced or seen, such as “the father’s
gene deciding on the gender of a baby”. Students’ attitude toward science and technology was at a moderate level. It was
found that students at the secondary school age paid less attention to the outside life as members of the public who were
concerned with science and technology. Percentage was higher for items in the survey such as “the need to improve the
quality of science and technology education” compared to items such as “rapid development is the cause for flash
flood”. On students’ interest toward science and technology, generally, it was at a very low level. One possible cause
was the lack of exposure to science and technology field at their age. Such exposure included approaches to attract
students’ interest toward science and technology

Studies undertaken outside Malaysia on STEM also provided information with regard to awareness, interest and
attitude. Such an instance is a study in Kenya which was implemented to identify the effect of students’ attitude toward
Mathematics subject and their performance in that subject. Findings from the study showed that students had interest in
Mathematics. To them, the subject could be learned, performed and was important to them. Nonetheless, the interest did
19
not translate into better grades for them. The study proposed the use of other strategies by teachers that could stimulate
students’ interest.

A study carried out by UMass Donahue Institute in Massachusets (2011) among students in government schools
found that students studying in high performing schools had less tendency to choose STEM field at tertiary level
compared to their friends who studied in relatively lower performing schools. The former were termed as “STEM-
capable” but chose not to pursue STEM field at universities. Another study implemented among primary and secondary
school students in the USA found that students’ performance in Science subject was correlated to their attitude toward
that subject. The study also discovered that positive perception toward that subject was lower among secondary school
students compared to primary school students. From the study, it was inferred that secondary school students who did
not consider pursuing STEM at tertiary level or choosing STEM as a career or at least maintained positive attitude
toward STEM subjects in school would not pay attention to classroom assignments for subjects which would prepare
them to pursue STEM at the tertiary level.
With all the above studies, the current study therefore attempted to identify the level of awareness among the key
respondents with regard to the importance of students pursuing STEM stream at upper secondary level and choosing
STEM career in order to help the country realise its vision of becoming a high-income developed nation.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study used quantitative approaches to research. Eliyahu (2014) argued that the quantitative methodology tends to
estimate a phenomenon from a large group of numbers, therefore the data is collected using questionnaires. The
questionnaires, administered among students, parents, STEM teachers and school administrators were divided into two
parts:

Part 1: Demographic data

Part 2: Awareness on the importance of STEM field

Part 1 was measured using a nominal and ordinal scale. Part 2 was measured using five-level Likert scale.

Sampling Method

The population in the study is comprised of all Form 2 and 3 students (Grade 8 and 9), Year 6 students (Grade 6), all
STEM teachers and all parents throughout the country. Sample selection for the study was employed using simple
random sampling.

Reliability test

In the pilot study, 120 secondary school students, 100 primary school students, 55 STEM teachers, 44 school
administrators and 42 parents were involved. Analysis of the pilot study showed that Cronbach’s Alpha value for
secondary school students’ questionnaire ranged from 0.746 to 0.802.

20
 Reliability of Secondary School Students’ Questionnaire

Construct Cronbach’s Alpha Value

Knowledge about STEM field 0.746
Positive perception on the value of STEM field 0.792
Positive perception on the importance of STEM 0.802
subjects

Cronbach’s Alpha value for primary school students’ questionnaire ranged from 0.726 to 0.783. Reliability of
Primary School Students’ Questionnaire
Construct Cronbach’s Alpha Value
Knowledge about STEM field 0.726
Positive perception on the value of STEM field 0.762
Positive perception on the importance of STEM 0.783
subjects

Cronbach’s Alpha value for parents’ questionnaire ranged from 0.722 to 0.785 Reliability of Parents’ Questionnaire
Construct Cronbach’s Alpha Value
Knowledge about STEM field 0.722
Positive perception on the value of STEM field 0.767
Positive perception on the importance of STEM 0.785
subjects

Cronbach’s Alpha value for STEM teachers’ questionnaire ranged from 0.728 to 0.745 Reliability of STEM
teachers’ Questionnaire
Construct Cronbach’s Alpha Value
Knowledge about STEM field 0.745
Positive perception on the value of STEM field 0.737
Positive perception on the importance of STEM 0.728
subjects

Cronbach’s Alpha value for school administrators’ questionnaire ranged from 0.728 to 0.745 Reliability of School
Administrators’ Questionnaire
From the results in all the tables above, every segment of the questionnaire gained the value of Cronbach’s Alpha
of more than 0.7 indicating the questionnaires could be accepted for administration.

Construct Cronbach’s Alpha Value

Knowledge about STEM field 0.745
Positive perception on the value of STEM field 0.737
Positive perception on the importance of STEM 0.728
subjects

RESULTS
The demographic data of the respondents were analysed using descriptive statistics presenting their number and
percentage. They were altogether 1773 students from secondary schools in urban areas and 1431 students from schools
in rural areas. Among the secondary schools students, they were 1356 males and 1848 females. From primary schools,
they were altogether 1457 students of which 835 were from schools in urban areas and 622 were from schools in rural
areas. 681 were male students and 776 were female students.

Next, out of 1225 parents, 730 of them had an academic qualification up to secondary level and 495 had post
secondary level academic qualification. Among 1928 STEM teachers who were involved in the study, 1323 were
teaching STEM subjects as their option and the other 605 were teaching the subjects as not their option. 1118 of these
teachers underwent training on the STEM subjects that they were teaching and the other 810 did not undergo such
training.

From 1297 school administrators, 494 of them had STEM subjects as their option while the other 803 had subjects
other than STEM as their option.

21
 AWARENESS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF STEM AMONG RESPONDENTS
Awareness among students, parents, STEM teachers and school administrators is found to be at a moderate level
(mean scores from 3.00-4.00). Among secondary school students, those studying in urban areas are found to have a
significantly higher level of awareness than their friends in rural areas. In addition, those who have the academic potential
to pursue Pure Science stream at upper secondary¹ have a significantly higher level of awareness compared to those who
do not have such potential. Primary school students studying in rural areas are found to have a significantly higher level
of awareness than those studying in urban areas. Male primary school students are found to have a significantly higher
level of awareness than female students. Similar to the situation in secondary school, those who have the academic
potential to pursue Pure Science stream at upper secondary have a significantly higher level of awareness compared to
those who do not have such potential. Among STEM teachers, those who teach STEM subject as their option are found
to have a significantly higher awareness compared to those teaching STEM subject as not their option. Also, STEM
teachers who undergo training on their subjects are found to have a significantly higher awareness than those who do not
undergo such training. School administrators whose option is a STEM subject are found to have a significantly higher
awareness compared to other administrators whose options are not STEM subjects.

KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE FIELD OF STEM

The first aspect of awareness on the importance of STEM is Knowledge about STEM Field which is at a high level
among all respondents. With regard to this, among secondary school students, 72.2% say that they know about
jobs/professions related to STEM field, 87% know there are a lot of job opportunities in STEM field and 68.3% know
that STEM is one of the streams that they could pursue at upper secondary level. Secondary school students in urban
areas have a higher knowledge about the STEM field compared to their friends in rural areas. In addition, knowledge
about STEM field is higher among secondary school students who have the potential to pursue Pure Science Stream at
Upper Secondary Level. Among primary school students, 82.4% know there are a lot of job opportunities in STEM field
and 61.7% knew about jobs/professions related to STEM field. Primary school students who have the potential to pursue
Pure Science Stream at Upper Secondary Level have a higher level of knowledge on STEM field than those who do not
have such potential. Further, among parents, 80.2% know about jobs/ profession related to STEM field and 81.4 % know
that STEM is one of the streams that their children could pursue at upper secondary level. Parents who have post
secondary level academic certificate are found to have a higher level of knowledge about STEM field than parents who
have an academic certificate up to secondary level. Among school administrators, 80% said that they know about
available jobs in STEM for their students and 93.3 know that STEM is one of the streams that their students could pursue
at upper secondary level. School administrators with STEM subject as their option are found to have a higher level of
knowledge on STEM field compared to their counterparts whose subject option is not a STEM subject. Finally, with
regard to Knowledge About STEM Field, 79.8& said there are many jobs available in the STEM field and 90.6% know
that STEM is one of the streams that their students could pursue at upper secondary level. STEM teachers who are
teaching STEM subjects as their option are found to have a higher level of knowledge on STEM field compared to other
professionals who are teaching STEM subjects not as their option. In addition to that, STEM teachers who have
undergone training for the past two years on the subjects they teach also are found to have a higher level of knowledge on
STEM subjects compared to other STEM teachers who do not undergo such training for the past two years.
¹ students who obtained a minimum of grade C for both Mathematics and Science for their latest examination

22
 PERCEPTION ON THE VALUE OF STEM FIELD
The second aspect of awareness on the importance of STEM is Perception on the Value of STEM Field which is at a
moderate level among all respondents. With regard to this, among secondary school students, 43.7% saythat television
programmes related to STEM are more favoured by them than programmes related to other elements, 43.4% say that
reading materials related to STEM are more favoured by them than materials related to other elements and 46.1% said
that knowledge acquired from STEM subjects will help them in life than knowledge acquired from non-STEM subjects.
Secondary school students who have the potential to pursue Pure Science Stream at Upper Secondary Level are found to
have a higher level of positive perception on the value of STEM field than those who do not have such potential. Among
primary school students, 43.1% say that what they learn from STEM subjects is what they need more after they finished
schooling, compared to non-STEM subjects, 47% said that topics learnt in STEM subjects will help them in life,
compared to non STEM subjects and 48.6 said that what they learn in STEM subjects is what they need more for their
later career compared to non-STEM subjects. Secondary school students from urban areas, male secondary students and
secondary school students who have the potential to pursue Pure Science Stream at upper secondary level are found to
have a higher positive perception on the value of STEM field than secondary school students from rural areas, female
students and students who do not have the potential to pursue Pure Science stream at upper secondary level respectively.

Further, 46.5% parents say that the knowledge their children acquire from STEM subjects will help them more in life
compared to knowledge from non-STEM subjects. 57% parents say that their children will need the knowledge and skills
acquired from STEM subjects for their career compared to knowledge and skills from non-STEM subjects and 52.7%
parents say that they buy reading materials related to STEM for their children. Parent who have academic certificate
higher than secondary school level have a lower positive perception on the value of STEM field than parents who have
academic certificate up to only secondary school level.

50.1% school administrators say that their students need the knowledge acquired from STEM subjects after they
finished school compared to knowledge from non-STEM subjects. 53.9% school administrators say that knowledge that
their students acquired from STEM subjects is more important for their future compared to knowledge from non-STEM
subjects and 54.2% say that knowledge acquired from STEM subjects helps them in life compared to knowledge from
non-STEM subjects. School administrators with a STEM subject as their teaching background have a higher positive
perception level than administrators with a non-STEM subject as their teaching background.

Next, 45.7% of STEM teachers say that their students need the knowledge acquired from STEM subjects in life
compared to knowledge from non-STEM subjects. 47.5% say that their students need knowledge acquired from STEM
subjects after they finished schooling compared to knowledge from non-STEM subjects and 51.4% of STEM teachers
say that knowledge acquired from STEM subjects will help their students in life compared to knowledge from non-
STEM subjects. Teachers who teach STEM subjects as their option are found to have a higher level of positive
perception toward the value of STEM field than teachers teaching STEM subjects not as their option. In addition,
teachers who undergo training with regard to STEM subjects that they teach for the past two years have a higher level of
positive perception toward the value of STEM field.

PERCEPTION ON THE BENEFITS OF STEM SUBJECTS

The final aspect of awareness on the importance of STEM is Perception on the Benefits of STEM Subjects which is
also at a moderate level among all respondents. With regard to this, among secondary school students, 34.5% say that
understanding topics in STEM subjects is more worthwhile than non-STEM subjects. 36.1% of secondary school students
say that topics that they learn in STEM subjects are more meaningful for life than topics learnt in non-STEM subjects.
Also, 39.2% of secondary school students say that topics that they learn in STEM subjects have more values for their life
than topics learnt in non-STEM subjects. Secondary school students who have the potential to pursue Pure Science
stream at upper secondary level have a higher level of positive perception on the benefits of STEM subjects than
students who do not have such potential.

Among primary school students, 36.3% say that understanding topics in STEM subjects is more worthwhile than
non-STEM subjects. 41.1% of primary school students say that STEM subjects are more important for them to learn
than non-STEM subjects and 39.2% of primary school students say that STEM subjects have more benefits for them
than non-STEM subjects. Primary school students who have the potential to pursue Pure Science stream at upper
secondary level have a higher level of positive perception on the benefits of STEM subjects than students who do not
have such potential.

40.2% of parents say that topics that their children learn in STEM subjects are more meaningful for life than topics in
non-STEM subjects. 43.2% of them say that knowledge acquired from STEM subjects are more important for their
children’s future than knowledge in non-STEM subjects. 44.4% of parents say that topics that their children learn in
STEM subjects have more value for life than topic in non-STEM subjects. Parents who possess academic qualifications

23
higher than secondary school level have lower positive perception on the benefit of STEM subjects than parents who
only have academic qualifications up to secondary school level only.

Among school administrators, 49.4% say that what their students learn in STEM subjects are more meaningful for
their life compared to what they learn in non-STEM subject, 48.5 % say that their students need more knowledge
acquired from STEM subjects in their life compared to non-STEM subjects and 52.9% say that the knowledge that their
students acquired from STEM subjects is more important in their daily life than knowledge from non-STEM subjects.
School administrators having any of the STEM subjects as their option have a higher level of positive perception on the
benefit of STEM subjects than do school administrators with non-STEM subject as their option.

Finally, among STEM teachers, 44.9% say that knowledge acquired by their students from STEM subjects is more
worthwhile than knowledge from non-STEM subjects, 44.9% say that what their students learn in STEM subjects is more
meaningful for their life compared to what they learn in non-STEM subjects and 49.7% say that the knowledge acquired
from STEM subject is more important for their future compared to non-STEM subjects. STEM teachers who are
teaching STEM subjects as their option have a higher level of positive perception on the benefits of STEM subjects than
teachers not teaching STEM subjects not as their option

RECOMMENDATIONS
From the findings, awareness on the importance of STEM field among STEM teachers is still at a moderate level,
Although, their knowledge about STEM field is high, their positive perception on the value of STEM field and the
benefits of STEM subjects are still at a moderate level. Therefore, it is recommended that STEM teachers be made
STEM Role Model in their respective schools. Indirectly, when these STEM teachers are made Role Model, their
perception on the value of STEM field and the benefits of STEM subjects will hopefully improve. Among the main traits
of this Role Model are being creative, always implementing innovation, carrying out experiments and other hands-on
elements in their teaching as well as sharing their scientific experiences and ideas. These traits can further be improved
with assistance from STEM Subject Excellent Teachers and the STEM Subject School Improvement
Specialists/Coaches. With all these traits in the Role Model, they can be an inspiration not only to students but also to
novice teachers. It is hoped that these Role Models can also produce more students who are more creative and
innovative, capable of higher order thinking skills, problem solving, communicating and collaborating.

Findings from the study also shows that STEM teachers who are teaching the subject not as their option and have not
received training on the subjects that they teach have a lower level of positive perception on the value of STEM field
and the benefits of STEM subjects. It is recommended that deployment or redeployment of STEM teachers be given the
priority to ensure the success of the STEM agenda in Malaysia. In addition, the Intervention Programme for Additional
Option (PITO) should be offered to teachers currently teaching STEM subjects not as their option. Next, Professional
Learning Committee (PLC) for STEM teachers needs to be relooked to ensure that these teachers are involved in at least
three of this PLC in one year. STEM Subject Panels in school should also be more proactive and be more of a problem-
solver in ensuring that its panel members have a high level of awareness on the importance of STEM and in turn become
competent.

School administrators are also found to have a moderate level of awareness on the importance of STEM field. In
addition, STEM teachers with non-STEM subjects as their option have a lower level of such awareness. They also are
found to hold a lower level of positive perception on the value of STEM field and on the benefits of STEM subjects.
Therefore, it is a desirable move that the Institute for School Leaders (IAB) provide exposure for this group of school
administrators on the STEM agenda and that it is incumbent upon them as leaders in their respective schools to bring the
school in the right direction with regard to achieving outcomes that the STEM agenda has set. Ideally, these school
administrators should be appointed as STEM ambassadors. In order to create the enculturation of STEM activities in
school, these STEM Ambassadors will promote the STEM Agenda to the entire school as well as the local community.
Such promotion can be carried out via STEM Carnival or large-scale programmes at school or community level.

Parents in this study are also found to have only a moderate level of awareness on the importance of STEM field and
although parents who possess academic certificate higher than secondary school level have a high level of knowledge
about STEM field, surprisingly they have a lower level of positive perception on the value of STEM field and the
benefits of STEM subjects. Therefore it is recommended that the STEM Agenda be communicated directly to the
parents via effective platforms so that these parents have a clear understanding on the outcomes desired of their children
and this understanding will in turn be translated into support from them that will ensure successful implementation of the
STEM agenda. For parents with higher academic qualifications who are found to have a lower positive perception on
STEM field and benefits of STEM subjects, it is recommended that they be given opportunity to partner with the MoE in
implementing STEM-related programmes like STEM Carnival, STEM Colloquium, among others. Involvement from
parents from this higher academic background especially in giving ideas on the better implementation of programmes will
probably give a bigger and more meaningful impact toward creating better awareness level and a higher positive
perception on STEM field among them. A gap- bridging programme can also be considered to bridge the needs of parents
24
from this group and the aspiration from MoE with regard to the STEM Initiative. It is desired that parents should be
brought aboard since parents are the individuals that influence students in their decision to choose the STEM stream at
upper secondary school. In addition, parents should also be given the awareness and understanding of the curriculum for
STEM subjects for them to give full support to MoE’s policy and aspiration. Further, it is also recommended that
schools to implement a programme that involve students and their parents such as STEM Career Exhibition. This
exhibition can ideally begin with a sharing session on students’ psychometric test with the parents, especially whose
children have the tendency to and interest in STEM in order to get their full buy-ins. Exhibition as such is seen as a
platform to create awareness on STEM career that should begin with their children enrolling in STEM stream, especially
in Pure Science, among parents who have all these while been deciding on their children’s behalf with regard to the
stream that their children should enrol in in order for them to give full trust to their children with regard to their chosen
stream at upper secondary school.

Similarly, primary and secondary students in this study are found to have a moderate level of awareness on the
importance of STEM field. It is therefore recommended that STEM club be introduced as early as at Upper Primary
Level. Activities in this club ideally should be an extension from formal Science and Mathematics lessons with focus on
further experiments and hands-on activities. The club activities can also involve design, innovation which will in turn
enforce students’ understanding of their formal lessons. A five-minute STEM programme can also be considered to be
held during weekly assembly. Different classes take turn to research information on STEM and have it presented before
their friends and teachers. Sharing of knowledge and experience session can also be seen as an avenue to nurture student
awareness on the importance of STEM field. This session can focus on STEM at upper secondary and tertiary levels and
STEM career. Experts for this session can comprise STEM professionals such as doctors, engineers, as well as STEM
subject excellent teachers and STEM Icon Teachers. From this avenues, it is hoped that students will have more interest
in STEM subjects, especially Mathematics and Science and will perceive that STEM subjects are exciting and
worthwhile. Potential students can also be appointed STEM agents. These agents will act as facilitators at every STEM
corner in school. For example, STEM agents will carry out simple demonstration or experiment related to STEM during
morning assembly, or recess or during co-curricular activities. These agents can also invite other students to be involved
in carrying out the demonstration or experiment which can also be seen as an initial step toward inculcating awareness
and interest in STEM.

As a conclusion, awareness on the importance of STEM field among students, teachers, school administrators and
parents is at a moderate level. It is hoped that this study has managed to provide relevant information to MoE so that
necessary measures can be planned to further improve this awareness level. It is also desired that a satisfactory level of
awareness will be further translated into an improved enrolment for STEM, especially the Pure Science stream.

25
 Applying Multiple Representations
in Physics Problem Solving
Mazlena Binti Mursheda, Fatin Aliah Phangb and Muhammad Abd Hadi
Bunyaminb
a
Bahagian Tajaan Pendidikan, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM) Blok E8, Kompleks E, Pusat
Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,62604 Putrajaya,Malaysia.
b
Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities,Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.

Abstract. This article tries to highlight aspects of applying multiple representation (MR) in physics problem solving. This
literature emphasizes on how the MR benefits and helps students in solving physics problem. Studies in physics education
found that using MR makes achievement of student problem solving increased, when more emphasis was placed on
qualitative representation. However, students often fail to exploit the advantages of MR or difficult to transform between
MR. Even though problem-solving skills can be learned, enhanced, studied and mastered, these skills are still not sufficiently
exposed and trained to students these days. Realizing the huge potential of multiple representations (MR) that may serve as a
promising learning tools, this paper discusses the potential how it functions as an alternative learning tool to enhance
problem solving skills among school students. The benefits and advantages of MR may attract students to manipulate MR as
a tool in understanding the problem given and finding solution; hence, helping to improve students’ problem solving skill.
Keywords: Multiple Representation, Representation, Learning, Problem Solving, Transformation.

INTRODUCTION
Multiple representation (MR) refers to the use of more than one way of representing ideas, concepts and processes
including oral, graphical and numerical forms (Ainsworth, 1999; Dahlan & Juandi, 2011; Waldrip, Prain, & Sellings,
2013). MR has two types which is internal and external representation. In this study, MR is referring to the external
representation use in learning and problem solving. Various studies have shown that MR has the potential to facilitate
learning (Ainsworth, 1999; Hikmat, Liliasari, & Rusdiana, 2015; Rau & Matthews, 2017; Won, Yoon, & Treagust,
2014). The use of MR can facilitate understanding of concepts, processes or relationships more and more quickly
without the use of verbal explanations or experimental demonstrations (Opfermann, Schmeck, & Fischer, 2017).
This study focuses on the use of MR and how they connect to physics problem solving. The interrelationship of
these variables is still unclear because many studies, at large, did not connect these variables explicitly Thus, this
review will discuss their connections to inform directions to future studies regarding problem solving in physics.

PHYSICS PROBLEM SOLVING AND REPRESENTATIONS

Problem solving is a critical aspect of learning physics (Gök & Sılay, 2010; Jonassen, 2004; Singh, 2009) to address
complex and global problem challenges in line with the rapid development of technology in the 21st century (Spector,
Lockee, Smaldino, & Herring, 2013). Students should be able to use science knowledge and scientific skills, critically
and creatively, in solving problems and making decisions (Curriculum Development Division, 2012). (Docktor &
Mestre, 2014) and (Gerace, 2001) state that problem solving skills are considered as a gauge of mastery of the concept
of physics. (Reif & Heller, 1982) explained that students should understand certain concepts and principles of physics
to determine “when” and “how” they are needed to solve the problem. Furthermore, Reif and Heller (1982) also
emphasized the importance of determining how the knowledge of the concept is managed and represented by symbols
to facilitate efficient retrieving information and solving problems. Hence, students who master the concept of physics
should be able to manage conceptual knowledge and representation to solve physics problems.

26
 Typically, teachers teach problem solving is based on specific physics concepts and principles (Docktor, Strand,
Mestre, & Ross, 2015), but students are more likely to manipulate the formula involving physics quantities to solve the
problem (Dufresne, Gerace, & Leonard, 1997; Gerace & Beatty, 2005). The reason for this is that students fail to
construct the meaning of the problem statement and cannot relate it (Vijaya, Reddy, & Panacharoensawad, 2017).
According to (Docktor et al., 2015), this approach is only effective in obtaining accurate answers, but students do not
necessarily understand the concept behind the problem-solving process. Thus, some students only successfully solve
textbooks problems, but the majority of them in this circle have limited problem solving skills (Dufresne et al., 1997).
As a result, students are less in control of problem solving skills and are unable to solve real world problems. This is
due to the more complex daily problem solving requiring a strong understanding of the physics concept to enable the
problem to be solved quickly and accurately (Leonard, Gerace, & Dufresne, 1999).
Problem solving is also a repetition process of representing and finding solutions (Docktor & Mestre, 2014).
Representations are used repeatedly to achieve the expected solution in an assignment. When representation is used in a
problem, it will facilitate the solution of the problem (Dufresne et al., 1997;Heller & Reif, 1984). For example, a study
by Moreno, Ozogul, & Reisslein (2011) shows a simple positive correlation between problem representation and
problem-solving scores. However, the finding only focuses on the concreteness of the visual representation used.
Hence, students need to understand the problems raised by using appropriate representations and planning problem
solving to achieve the desired solution.
Studies in cognitive science and physics education show that expert problem solvers often use qualitative
representations such as pictures, graphs and diagrams to help them understand the problem before they use equations to
solve them quantitatively (Van Heuvelen, & Zou, 2001). Studies in physics education further found that the
achievement of student problem solving increased when more emphasis was placed on qualitative representation
(Heller & Reif, 1984; Hestenes, 1987; Van Heuvelen, 1991). Qualitative representations can facilitate understanding of
the problem or task and so the problem can be solved properly. Hence, it is important for students to know and
understand the use of representations to understand a problem before finding a solution.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In the context of problem solving, Piaget's theory is applied to form the meaning of the given problem. According
to Ormrod (2008), giving authentic problems or problems that are closely related to everyday life can increase
interaction between students and problems, thus forming meaningful relationships. Interactions and relationships with
these issues can improve understanding of problems and troubleshooting steps. In addition, "real- world" issues play a
similar role in giving meaning to problems and receiving new knowledge and skills.
Piaget's theory is fundamental to cognitive and constructivist. The main idea is that knowledge is built on a
continuous basis and is not obtained directly in experience (Woolfolk, 2010). Woolfolk (2010) added that Piaget's
theory suggests that learning mechanisms are equilibrations, in which cognitive structures assimilate and accommodate
new possibilities when they are disrupted based on the tendency of human self-organization.
Constructivists emphasize the perspective that all learning is an active internal (mental) process to build knowledge.
The construction of this knowledge is assisted by communication (Gilbert, 2010). This communication also involves
representations. For example, the representations are linguistic, abstract, symbolic, pictorial, or concrete. The use of
several different representations for the same knowledge helps students to connect between the kinds of knowledge and
connect knowledge with physical experience (Gerace, 1992). In other words, the knowledge is converted to other
representations to facilitate clarification and understanding or reduce cognitive load (Ainsworth, 1999, 2006; Cox,
1999; Kohl & Finkelstein, 2008; Maries, 2013).
Human memory contains two parts, namely working memory and long-term memory (Simon & Newell, 1971).
Working memory refers to information processing resources that enable someone to hold information in a temporary
mind when solving tasks or solving problems and solving work problems (thinking, language understanding, etc.)
(Singer et al., 2012). After some processing in working memory or short-term memory (STM), information can be
entered in long-term memory (LTM). All learning requires information stored in long-term memory. If nothing is
stored in long-term memory, nothing has been learned (Isabel, Johannes, & Matthias, 2012). All learning depends on
these LTM properties. In addition, STM capacity can be increased by associating information in it with knowledge
stored in LTM (Reif, 2008).
Temporary information retention by the mind while performing cognitive tasks is known as work memory load.
This load is burdensome because the work memory system has limited capacity to store information and engage in
cognitive tasks (Baddeley, 2009). If the cognitive load required for learning becomes excessive, little or no learning can
occur (Reif, 2008) and the tendency to forget is high. Therefore, cognitive loads at any stage of problem solving or

27
learning process must be at a reasonable level (Reif, 2008). As (Sweller, 1988) stated, when using the means-ends
analysis, the solver uses work memory to store problem statements, problem goals and goals relationships with
simultaneous problems. It burdens one's work memory. However, if solving problems does not focus on the target, the
cognitive burden can be reduced. Sweller (1988) mentioned that this is because there is no need to store some things
like problem targets and sub-targets of the problem in working memory. Hence, cognitive loads need to be reduced by
setting tasks or providing affordable resources.
Cognitive loads can be significantly reduced through the enhancement of the student's internal knowledge
resources. This can be done with previous learning, which provides useful knowledge or prerequisite knowledge to
students. Students also can be assisted by outside resources when they learn or solve problems. Such aids can provide
students with useful tools such as charts (Reif, 2008). External representations such as diagram, sketch, graphs, tables
and graphs can also help reduce cognitive burden (Ainsworth, 1999, 2006).
Specifically, the realistic translation of an object in the representation enables students to access problems in long-
term memory (LTM) (Mclaren, Lim, & Koedinger, 2008; Moreno et al., 2011). The physical context usually requires a
lot of information processing. It leads to increased cognitive loads (Sweller, 1988) and impairment of performance
(Moreno et al., 2011). Hence, it is critically important that physical information is represented by external
representation as it reduces student cognitive burden rather than internal representation using short-term memory space
(STM) (Zhang, 2006).
The information processing theory approach (Simon & Newell, 1971) is used to identify how students interpret,
organize, and retrieve information from verbal and visual representations as Wu & Puntambekar (2012) suggested, to
change them to external representation. Although the representations have the same function, there also have
advantages and limitations. For example, verbal representation tends to be lengthy and less clear. For pictorial or visual
representation (such as graphs, diagrams) it is more useful as it can describe situations (such as temporal behavior) in a
glimpse and are understood quickly. The same situation can sometimes be illustrated from a different point of view.

MULTIPLE REPRESENTATION IN PROBLEM SOLVING

Representations are tools for reasoning, learning and communication (Megowan-Romanowicz, 2011). Kohl &
Finkelstein (2008) state that "representation" is categorized into external and internal representation. Internal
representation is information from external representations stored in mental thoughts. Contrary to external
representation in a sequence of words used to describe information in a person's mind such as sketches, graphs or
equations (Bodner & Domin, 2000; Waldrip, Prain, & Carolan, 2006). When students visualize or manipulate
information in their mind, internal representation is used in the process. Internal representation forms a mental model
block, which forms the student's content knowledge on a topic or domain (Rau, 2017).
Nitz, Prechtl, & Nerdel (2014) emphasize that students need to distinguish between scientific concepts, how these
concepts are represented, and the phenomenon (objects) referred to. It is important to note that the meaning of the
representation is not tied to the representation itself, but the function of representation is determined by its practical
use. Students who use progressive representation in learning and problem solving will make the process as a tool for
meaning making. Subsequently, representation is a useful tool for building and delivering students understanding.
Therefore, learning about new concepts cannot be separated from learning how to represent these concepts.
A deeper understanding of science can be built through learning using MR. This can be achieved only when the
student can make a connection and transformation between MR (Ainsworth, 1999, 2006; Hubber, Tytler, & Haslam,
2010). The skills to interpret, construct, link and transform between MR have been referred to as representation
competencies (Kozma, 2003; Kozma, Chin, Russell, & Marx, 2000). A good conceptual understanding implies a good
representation of understanding (Ainsworth, 2008) and Kohl & Finkelstein (2005), proving that expert problem solver
are more flexible in selecting early representation and transforming MR faster in solving physics problems, compared
to novice. De Cock (2012), Kohl & Finkelstein (2005), Maries (2013) and Meltzer (2005) even found that the
representation of physics problems can trigger a problem solving strategy.
In general, the use of MR is widely accepted as an effective teaching approach to enhance students' understanding
of specific concepts or operations (Dufresne et al., 1997; Etkina et al., 2006; Heller & Reif, 1984; Van Heuvelen, 1991;
Van Heuvelen & Zou, 2001). In addition, the ability to interpret MR and transformation between MR is critically
important in solving problems (Rosengrant, Etkina, & Van Heuvelen, 2007). However, most students often fail to
exploit the advantages of MR (Ainsworth, 1999, 2008) or difficult to transform between MR (Wagner, Manogue, &
Thompson, 2012).

28
 CONCLUSION
Problem solving is a very important aspect of physical learning (Gok, 2010; Jonassen, 2004; Singh, 2009). (Docktor
& Mestre (2014), Ormrod (2011), Reif (2008) and Singh (2009) argued that problem solving is a process that needs to
be carried out to achieve the goals in the order of action or specific steps (Reif, 2008) and the transfer of knowledge
and existing skills to address the problem (Ormrod, 2011). However, many high school students and higher levels have
only poor and improper problem solving skills (Reif, 2008). To solve physics problems effectively, students must
understand the concept of representation and can translate it to one another (Ainsworth, 2006; Hubber et al., 2010).
Additionally, problems involving MR can improve the ability to solve similar problems in other representations and
also increase the competence of student representation (Nguyen and Rebello, 2011). MR is the tools to improve
problem understanding and provide the way to solve it.

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 Case-Based Learning and Metacognitive Scaffolding on
Social Media: The Student’s Problem Solving Process
Diyana Jamaria, Hasnah Mohamedb, Zaleha Abdullahc and Norasykin Mohd Zaidd
a
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Rawang, Bandar Tasik Puteri, 48020 Rawang, Selangor Darul Ehsan,
Malaysia.
b,c,d
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia.

Abstract. Metacognitive scaffolding (MS henceforth) is a stimulus that activates cognitive reflection action. With
appropriate learning strategies and preferred engagement platform, MS can potentially enhance learning especially with
regards to problem-solving skills (PS henceforth). There is, however, a lack of research on the combination of case-based
learning (CBL henceforth) and MS focusing on school students’ PS. Therefore, this study aims to identify the PS process
during CBL and MS interventions on social media and to identify the type of MS that affects the PS process, particularly in
the Biology subject. This pre-experimental study involved thirty male and female Form Four Science students from a
secondary school in Selangor. Eight CBL Biology cases uploaded for a period of eight weeks were used to initiate
discussion. Students’ and moderators’ comments were analysed using content analysis method based on the work of Bixler
(2007) and Reingold et al. (2009). The coding process comprises four encoders with Krippendorff alpha coefficient index of
0.83. The percentage of PS process and MS were calculated prior to the correlation analysis to determine the type of MS
affecting each type of PS process. The findings showed the interaction between the moderator and student is inversely
proportional. PS process and MS vary in each case but MS tendencies are seen in MS5 followed by MS1 and MS6. Students
showed weakness in PS3 and PS4 as compared to PS2 and PS1 for each process of PS is correlated with the different types of
MS. This study supports the idea that the combination of CBL and MS in an informal online medium helps improve
students' PS skills. This strategy can be developed as a continuous effort to enhance PS skills by practicing divergent and
convergent thinking, thus developing a deeper understanding of Biology topics.
Keywords: problem-solving, social media, metacognitive scaffolding, case-based learning

INTRODUCTION
Encouraging students' PS skills is an objective in science education (American Association for the Advancement of
Science, 2011). PS skills need to exist as core skills as the combination of both PS and curricula helps in motivating
students and stimulating creativity. Mastery of PS skills is demonstrated through the ability to comprehend and apply
the knowledge learned to situations beyond the academic context (Yu et al., 2015; Ge & Land, 2004). However, doubts
about the level of local students’ PS skills arise when the results of international PS skill assessment, namely Program
for International Student Assessment (PISA), are atrociously poor. This poor performance implies that students (i) have
difficulty understanding problems, (ii) lack the required skills to extract information from a given problem, (iii) are less
skillful in drawing inferences and hypotheses based on a given situation, (iv) are inflexible in recommending quality
solutions, and (v) lack planning in attempting a problem (Yu et al., 2015; De Bortoli & Macaskill, 2014; Nik Nur
Fadhlillah et al., 2014). These factors also explain why students still provide low-quality answers in exams (Malaysian
Examination Board, 2015). Students are found to be too spontaneous in answering questions, more comfortable with
routine questions or common problems, and fail to think of alternatives despite facing dead end during the PS process.

Problem-Solving
The combination of non-understanding of the content of the subject, the practice of memorisation techniques, and
routine problem-solving exercises that exclude high-level thinking always results in a decline in PS (Mona &
Mahmoud, 2017; Kulak & Newton, 2014; Hanapi & Nordin, 2014). However, PS skills can be nurtured (Greiff et al.,
2014) if given early exposure and continuous support for improvement. Reflecting on the aspirations of the country's
education to create a balanced human capital in thinking skills well as improving Malaysia's position in the
forthcoming PISA assessment (Sharifah Norul Akmar, 2016), there is a need for improvement in students’ PS skills
from a pedagogical view (An, 2010). The choice of appropriate learning approach, strategies and tools is important to
maintain students’ interest and engagement. Less-challenging tasks and uniformity in learning will affect students'

32
interest thus indirectly limit the intellectual evolution of the students. This issue can be overcome with activities
featuring active student-centred learning such as case-based learning (CBL). Past researchers are in favour of inquiry
approach due to its potential in fostering communication, collaboration, creativity, and enumeration in thinking (Kulak &
Newton, 2014 & Carlgren, 2013). This is fundamental because PS skills are assessed based on the quality of reasoning
and the individual's ability to apply information to the problem situation. This is supported by Herreid (2012) and
Kulak and Newton (2014), who agree that nurturing and training traits associated with PS require maximum student
engagement so as to ensure a meaningful learning process.

Pedagogical Approach in Problem-Solving

Case-based learning (CBL) is a guided inquiry focusing on the use of problem-solving cases, i.e. story or dilemma
that resembles the real-world problem that is a non-routine problem to shape the student's experience and function as
the key in learning (Rule, 2015; Tan, 2015). The elements of guidance and teacher engagement function as a
complement to the growing cognitive level of students, which is crucial for students especially at the school level.
Students who have been exposed to the topic content will be guided in solving the case by triggering and stimulating
the students’ mind to continue exploring and implementing their knowledge during the process of discussion (Setia et
al., 2011; Mona & Mahmoud, 2017). Unlike structural routine problems commonly practiced in schools (Johari et al.,
2014), the CBL case differs in that it combines multiple domains resulting in problems with various solutions and
alternatives. However, what distinguishes one solution from another is the justification provided for the proposed
solution. To provide a good justification, students need to undergo critical thinking process such as identifying the
goals to be achieved, understanding factors related to the problem, making comparisons and reviewing the solution
proposals, and planning strategies from the beginning (Yu et al., 2015; & Cao, 2014; Carlgren, 2013). Non-routine
problems may potentially provide insights into student’s understanding and relevance of learning by demonstrating
how information learned at school is transferred to real-world situations. These problems require critical thinking and
more complex cognitive processes than the usual problems trained in school (Grieff et al., 2014; Johari et al., 2014). It
is, therefore, crucial to provide guidance and to use teaching strategies that can help achieve the objectives.
The review of literature found that non-routine PS skills are parallel with metacognitive scaffolding (MS) as PS
skills were directly proportional to their metacognitive skills. Past research shows that metacognitive scaffolding
improves students’ ability to monitor and question their own thoughts which in turn increases their ability to solve
problems (Chen, 2014; Byun et al., 2014; An & Cao, 2014). MS contributes to the improvement of self-efficacy closely
related to the academic achievement of a student (Aurah et al., 2014b; Britner & Pajares; 2006). Therefore, MS serves
as a stimulus that activates cognitive reflection action and appropriate strategies for improving PS and learning skills
(Aurah et al., 2014). Previous studies, however, were done mostly using formal online learning platforms and other
types of inquiry strategies. There is still a lack of research that specifically examines the combination of CBL and MS
strategies to enhance the ability of students’ PS to solve non-structured problems, especially at school level through a
social media platform. In addition, the diversity in CBL delivery methodology has created the need to identify the most
suitable method of delivery to ensure understanding in learning (Herreid, 2012) and its parallel in nurturing PS skills.
Therefore, this study aims to identify the PS process involved during CBL and MS interventions on Facebook and
identify the type of MS that affects the PS process during case discussions.

METHOD
In this paper, the term ‘process’ and ‘steps’ of PS are used interchangeably. This study involved thirty Form Four
students (16 years old) from a science stream class in a school in Selangor. This quantitative study analysed qualitative
data gained from the discussions on eight CBL cases. Two cases were adapted from the National Center for Case Study
Teaching in Science (NSF) and another six cases were developed by the researcher. One case was uploaded and analysed
on Facebook weekly for a period of eight weeks. The design and validity of CBL cases used were based on the criteria
described by Herreid (2012). These Facebook discussions were then documented prior to content analysis (Elo &
Kyngäs, 2008). The coding for content analysis is based on PS Ge & Land model (Bixler, 2007) (TABLE 1). The
percentage of each PS step for each case is summed up (Vaismoradi et al., 2013). Next, each MS comment made by the
moderator (seven types, MS1 to MS7) (Reingold et al., 2008) (TABLE 2) was matched with students’ PS comments
(four steps, PS1 to PS4). The number of MS-PS was calculated. Correlation analysis was carried out to identify
specific MS that affects each type of the PS process. The quality and credibility of the coding process of the case
discussions are ensured as the process went through a crosscheck involving four encoders. After taking into account

33
language factors during coding for content analysis, the encoders include not only senior Biology teachers but also
language specialists. The alpha Krippendorff coefficient of 0.83 shows that the coding agreement is appropriate and the
analysis unit coded by the researcher is in line with the reference used (Krippendorff, (2004, 2011)). Research ethics
were practised throughout the study.

TABLE (1). Problem-Solving Coding For Content Analysis

Problem-Solving Processes
Code Theme Sub code Sub theme
M1 Define the problem
Representing M2 Generate subgoals
PS1 Problems M3 Identify available information / constraint
M4 Seek other needed information / constraint
Developing Selecting / developing solutions with explicit
P1
PS2 Solutions explanations
P2 Quality of the solution
Making J1 Constructing arguments
PS3 Justifications J2 Providing evidence
Monitoring and R1 Evaluating solutions
PS4
Evaluation R2 Assessing alternative solutions

TABLE (2). Metacognitive Scaffolding

Code Description
MS1 Presenting rational for task and activities
MS2 Presenting the relationship between reading items, course objectives and tasks
MS3 Supporting reflective writing
MS4 Discriminating between conclusion/fact/ opinion/hypothesis
MS5 Supervising text comprehension
MS6 Focusing on the process of learning
MS7 Encourage relationships among participants.

FINDINGS
A total of 1170 student and teacher (moderator) interactions were recorded and analysed as a whole. The summary of
interaction percentage indicates that 77.3% are comments from student and 22.7% are moderator’s comments.
Although the number of comments fluctuated every week, comparisons done show that the percentage of students’
comments increased in each case while moderator’s comments showed a non-uniform pattern of decline during the
intervening period. Both parties (moderators and students) used emoticons and stickers to describe their affective
features at the time. The type of emoticons / stickers used could convey their feelings or symbolically signify their
actions during the discussions.

Student’s Comment
From the students’ side, the opposite occurs when the pattern indicated an increase in the percentage of students’
interaction in each case. Some students stood out as they commented actively in the discussion. Yet there was a small
group of students who preferred to be passive readers; only reading or ‘liking’ the comments that they agreed with.
About 50% of students sought and shared information while online but this number was low. These students were
actually those who were also active in commenting during the sessions. Detailed analysis showed that PS1 (29.6%) and
PS2 (19.9%) process were more often posed as compared to PS3 (11.9%) and PS4 (5.5%). The PS4, which refers to the
reflection process, shows the lowest percentage in all cases. This contrasted with the number of steps of PS1, PS2, and
PS3 that continued to fluctuate throughout the intervention. In order to observe the overall pattern of the PS process
during online discussions, the students’ comments on each PS step were then segregated based on the sub- steps of
each PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4 (FIGURE 1).

34
 FIGURE 1. PS step based on the sub-steps of each PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4

PS2 comments dominated students’ comments even though its percentage varied throughout the cases. Looking at
the sub-section of PS2, comments related 'Choosing and producing solutions with explanations' (P1) were better
highlighted by students than 'Evaluating holistic solution quality' (P2) while online. The same features are seen on all
PS2, PS3, and PS4 when students were more likely to be sub-specific. For the 'Problem representation' (PS1), students
were more likely to give comments that can be characterised as 'Looking for other information needed’ (M1) followed by
'Identifying given information’ (M3) than the other two types of MS (M2 and M4). The 'Monitoring and Evaluation'
(PS4) measure has the lowest percentage (8%). The contributing factors to this value are 'Evaluating solutions' (R1)
rather than 'Alternative solution evaluation' (R2). These percentages reflect the tendency and frequency of each sub-
step on students’ comments.
In addition, student-sharing was also observed in PS discussion sessions. Because the intervention happened online,
most of the sharing came from the Internet. Additionally, with a relaxed social media environment, conversations
outside the academic context and the use of emoticons by students and moderators were expected. There was a comment
in which the student expressed his/her awareness of the importance of the topic being discussed with life in the real
world. Prior to the intervention, students did not realise that the serious case used in the discussion was actually
pertinent to the topic ‘Cell Division’ learned in the classroom. It was furthermore an eye-opener to the students as they
were not familiar with the Biological contextual questions apart from questions they were previously accustomed to.

Moderator’s Comment
The moderator’s comments were categorised based on the seven types of MS (Reingold et al., 2008), non-MS
comment (TB), information sharing, and emoticon/sticker usage. Overall, MS5 recorded the highest percentage (13%)
followed by MS1 (12.8%) and MS6 (12.2%). MS3 (6.1%) and MS6 (6%) are the lowest types of learning scaffolding
observed. A higher percentage of non-MS comments (19.0%) was expected due to the social media intervention
medium. However, MS dominance varied in each case. MS4 was the most frequently utilised followed by MS1 and
MS5. MS3 and MS7 did not show significant dominance in any case along the intervention.
Descriptive data shows all MS types, except MS1, help the students to comment on the features of PS2. MS1 is seen
as more dominant in producing students’ PS1 comments. However, the Spearman correlation coefficient (FIGURE 2)
shows MS3 has a significant positive relationship with PS1 (ρ = 0.950, p <0.05) and PS2 (ρ = 0.832, p
<0.05). In addition to MS3, MS5 is also positively associated with PS2 (ρ = 0.778, p <0.05) while PS3 is positively
correlated with MS6 (ρ = 0.805, p <0.05). Only MS7 shows the highest positive association with PS4 (ρ = 0.574, p>
0.05) and this is the least observed in students’ comments.

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 FIGURE 2. MS-PS Correlations

DISCUSSIONS
One of the features of effective online learning and cooperative active learning is the presence of guidance elements in
its structure; that is the presence of a steady teacher as a source of guidance (Dixson, 2012; Sharif & Magrill, 2015). In
this study, CBL fosters meaningful learning activities when students are actively involved in different learning
materials (cases) in a more relaxed and flexible Facebook environment. The interaction between moderators (MKO)
and fellow students guide students to connect the concepts they are learning with real-world problems. Regardless of
students’ passive or active participation, the knowledge discussed is shared to enhance understanding. As a member of
the discussion group, the students get all the benefits of the question and answer sessions even though they themselves
do not contribute to the activity. This is confirmed through post-test scores (discussed elsewhere) whereby all students
recorded an improvement from the overall aspect of the score or PS scores separately. Initiatives to enhance the
confidence, motivation, and engagement of the students is the key to ensure continuous attempt at and dedication
towards learning. Positive vibes build students’ readiness in terms of cognitive, physical, and affective aspects, which
aid in avoiding frustration and disappointment when their efforts are unsuccessful (Abdul Hamid et al., 2016; Abdullah
et al., 2014). A moderator should make students feel at ease in discussion so as to ensure that learning objectives can be
achieved, and students are motivated to continue learning. Teacher-student relationships play an important role and the
quality of teaching and learning as a positive relationship is associated with improved learning outcomes and students’
interest (Pennings et al., 2017). In the context of this study, MS5 refers to a relaxing comment related to the learning
context. MS5 promotes a good relationship between the moderator-student and fellow students. The moderator
displayed positive reinforcement in MS5 when a student delivered sensible comments or met the moderator’s
expectation in terms of the learning objectives. As learning incentives, the moderator praised and mentioned the names
of the students involved thus ensuring friendlier yet regulated academic discussions.
Metacognitive scaffolding (MS) addresses students’ confusion by questioning and reflecting. This makes MS
superior in building understanding because the basis for understanding comes from the process of submitting to self-
misconception (An & Cao, 2014). Taking into account this opinion, the moderator interacted with students based on the
metacognitive guidance mechanisms to support the case-based learning (CBL) conducted. The moderator provided some
examples of questions and prompts but their use was dependent on what the students said and needed at that moment.
Students are less exposed to non-routine questions in their daily learning (Gotwals & Songer, 2013). Acknowledging
this, the moderator thoroughly explained the importance of the case so as to avoid confusion. This corresponds to the
MS type 'Delivering the rationale for tasks and activities' (MS1). However, there are some cases where students who
have explained the importance of the topic given prior moderator’s guidance as they seem to have familiarized
themselves with the cases discussed earlier. The given case involves real-world events thus linking things learned with
real situations not only promotes understanding but also helps create mental images that can be stored as long-term
memory (Jaeger et al., 2017).

36
 'Distinguishing between conclusions / facts / opinions / hypotheses' (MS6) is the third type of guidance used
frequently by moderators in the discussions. This type of guidance is also listed by Reingold et al. (2008) as a subset of
metacognitive guidance although it appears that its function to improve student's conceptual knowledge in a topic is
more likely to be conceptual and factual guidance. A high percentage of MS6 indicates that non-routine case
implications can be quite difficult for respected members who are still unclear about the topics discussed. Students still
needed help in understanding the concept of Cell Division topics. Various intelligence factors might affect the pace at
which students are able to grasp the concept being discussed. It is likely that some students will be able to develop their
understanding faster as the case provides examples of what applications are learned more clearly in the real-world
situations. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that there may be some students struggling to understand this topic,
particularly when the examples provided differ from those routinely featured in textbooks and training books. In this
case, MS6 should be provided to assist these students.
This study focuses on developing PS skills where one of the steps involved is reflection or review. In the early
stages, it is expected that moderators will often use 'Reflective Writing' (MS3) and 'Supervise Understanding' (MS7) as
the PS measures studied include students’ ability to make descriptions and justifications for the selected solutions and
monitoring, and evaluation measures. Researchers believe that MS7 use is consistent with the efforts to develop student
reasoning skills while MS3 is appropriate to guide students towards making assessment and reflection. However, at the
end of the intervention, it was found that these two sub-directives showed a low percentage in almost all cases as
compared to other guidance. The findings of this study are in line with In'am (2014) findings detailing that only a small
portion of moderators practice reflection and review. Opposite findings, however, are reported in the Barwell study
(2011) which shows students do implement the process of reflecting after being exposed to the PS process during the
intervention. Minimal developments in revision and reflection activities may occur as exposure time is still insufficient
to inculcate re-practice (Calgren, 2013) or students lack the necessary cognitive skills as well as metacognitive skills
(Olaniyan et al., 2015).
Different group members offer different perceptions and solutions to the issue. This is an early indicator that social
media can be used for academic purposes in a conditional and planned manner. The study found that cognitive aspects
(PS1, PS2) showed a promising improvement but differentiated with more metacognitive skills (PS3 and PS4). The
'Rating and monitoring' (PS4) step shows the lowest percentage not only in weekly case discussions but overall too.
Students were more likely to respond with 'Build a solution' (PS2) instead of other PS steps. Based on Facebook
discussions, students did not show difficulty in displaying their ability in PS2 steps but the responses were frequent and
varied. Students are able to suggest solutions based on the given situations and can relate them to their own
understanding, knowledge or experience. This is because PS2 involves selecting components or producing quality
solutions with explicit explanations (Reeff et al., 2006). The evaluation component of the solution on PS2 is different
from the valuation of the solution that takes place in PS4. On PS2, evaluations are limited to the proposed solutions in
terms of suitability and the need for issues while in PS4 the assessment is more comprehensive once the solution is
presented in detail. In this study, the correlation analysis between the moderator and students’ comments found that
PS2 was associated more with MS3 and MS5 than other MS.
For the 'Problem representation' (PS1) step, students are seen to be capable and able to express PS1 steps well.
Students were able to identify and choose information related to the issues discussed, explain the environment that
forms the problem, and recognise the obstacles that need to be eliminated to achieve the solution. This might be due to
the fact that students have been taught since the beginning of the school year to identify the needs of the questions
despite the problems given in a structured problem training, i.e. questions with clear information and goals (Hanapi &
Nordin, 2014; Johari et al., 2014). Therefore, despite dealing with non-routine questions during the intervention,
students demonstrated the effort to understand the case, and are actively exploring their case and quizzes about their
information and issues. Correlation analysis found that PS1 only correlated with MS3.
The weaknesses identified in this PS process are that students are less likely to formulate statements using their own
words. When the earliest learner commented, the other students would use the same words or sentences in their own
comments with or without minimal processing. This was observed repeatedly in almost all cases. Researchers believe
the questions raised during coaching are easy to understand without the need for students to rearrange the question by
using their own sentences. The situation seen in this study differs from what is being reported in the PISA international
assessment; that the students have difficulty in understanding the problems and extracting the information from the
problems given (De Bortoli & Macaskill, 2014, Nik Nur Fadhlillah et al., 2014).
During the intervening period, students were less likely to show 'Justification' (PS3) and 'Assessment and
monitoring' (PS4) steps even though PS3 and PS4 each showed positive relationships with MS6 and MS7. In the PS3,
the aspect involved is to present the argument relevant to the reasoning and to debate the proposed solution. Students
need to identify a variety of alternative perspectives, views, and opinions; producing and selecting the most desirable
solutions together with further evidence supporting the information with data, examples or evidence. In other words,

37
the assumptions made based on the justification indicate that students are doing a scientific guess that leads to quality
solutions (Manz, 2015). Therefore, reasoning can help teachers predict students’ performance in PS especially in
unstructured problems (Bixler 2007; An, 2010; Johnny et al., 2016).
Additionally, the majority of students often ignored the support provided by the evidence on the proposed solution. It
cannot be ascertained whether this is due to the lack of knowledge and conceptualism or because of laziness and lack of
effort in learning (Olaniyan et al., 2015). Students always rushed to give a more speculative rationale and assumptions
without taking into account the whole information in the case discussed. Although the percentage obtained is lower
than other PS steps, the average increment of 28% for PS3 on post-test (described elsewhere) is a positive starting
point. Researchers expect students are in the process of non-routine PS training and are internalising what is being
learned in stages (Carlgren, 2013). Therefore, the eight-week period is still insufficient for students to highlight PS3
criteria higher. Although the increase is minimal, the PS3 retention effect can still be seen at the end of the review
period. This proves time is a factor that contributes to the development of PS skills.
The components involved in PS4 are rationalising the evaluated solutions and providing alternative solutions.
Nevertheless, the number of students who commented with PS4 is very small. Students who were less exposed to non-
routine questions needed some time to adjust in order to understand the question. Often, students were too dependent
on the teachers to evaluate their answer, but PS4's steps led students to evaluate the answers they made based on their
own PS skills. Hence, the concepts and facts related to the topic also play a role if students are to respond well to the
PS4 steps. If at the early stage of the discussion the students are already confused and lack the knowledge level
required, the difficulty of the students to express PS4 is to be expected. The less effective guidance is not the main
contributing factor in the ZPD. This is because both MKO and students need to collaborate in order to ensure that the
knowledge they want to deliver is acceptable. In addition, time is a factor. As each individual has a different ZPD
(Daniels, 2016), more than eight-week intervention period might be required (Greiff et al., 2014).
Evaluation and revaluation process takes place not only specifically in PS4 because when it comes to submissions,
the student realised that the issue could not be resolved. Therefore, the re-evaluation process had to be done by
restarting either from the beginning or at the point of the mistake identified. The cause of failure should be scrutinized
and new strategies should be designed to avoid mistakes. Yu et al. (2015), using a context-based teaching strategy in
the PS process study, also found that students would be aware of the process of reviewing the results of the mistakes
that arise during the assignment of the given project. In this study, the awareness was evident when students started
asking questions about the information provided in the issue discussed (PS1). It was a way of reviewing whether to
accept or reject the argument (PS3) given by another student as a process cycle in evaluating a solution. At present,
students begin to understand the importance of knowing and choosing the right information related to the issues
discussed as a key factor in the effective PS process. This is because in unstructured questions, the information
provided is diverse and it is the problem solver’s task to evaluate and filter all the information given since not all the
instructions given are related to the matter or issue to be resolved (Whitten & Graesser, 2003).

CONCLUSION
The students’ PS ability is one of the indicators in predicting the success of the Biology learning process. Weakness in
PS skills indirectly affects the student’s capability to understand this subject. Students struggled less with the
understanding of the problem (PS1) and suggesting solutions related to it (PS2) but still demonstrated limited ability in
justifying (PS3). This eliminates the need for the moderator to require the students to make a submission or explicitly
mention it. It also explains why MS3 and MS7 are less used as compared to other types of MS in this study. It was also
found that they engaged less in practicing the process of evaluation or reflection (PS4) after they thought that they had
managed to solve a problem. The presence of teachers who serve as moderators is essential to ensure that the planned
academic discussions did not deviate into social chit-chatting. Therefore, the application of MS helps in delivering
effective questioning techniques, which include provocative and reinforcing elements that can motivate students’
engagement in online learning activities. Overall, the findings show that the CBL and MS strategies are potentially
useful in expanding students’ confidence and ability in dealing with, analysing, and clarifying a novel situation by
encountering it with logical and critical thinking style in order to achieve quality solutions.

38
 LIMITATION AND FUTURE STUDY

This study does not take into account the differences between the samples in terms of gender, cognitive style,
socioeconomic background, and previous academic background. As this research focused on improving students' PS
skills, time is a factor too. The process of transferring and acceptance of the skills, as well as the internalisation, vary
temporally for each individual. The visible effects, therefore, differ from one individual to another. Adding to that, the
main objective is specifically on the four PS processes mentioned previously thus, the type and measurement of
interactions that are beyond the scope of PS were not reviewed in this study. As the sample size of this study is limited,
the result needs to be interpreted with caution. Although the findings of this study cannot be generalised to the entire
population, it will give valuable insights for groups with characteristics similar to the sample of this study.
The intervention involves only one type of scaffolding element that is MS that was complemented with CBL. For
further studies, CBL interventions can be replicated by using different guidance elements or co-guidance including
expanding the characteristics of the study sample and the scope of teaching. Different Biology topics may show
different representation and domination of the different PS processes. Aspects such as gender differences and cognitive
styles that may influence the way students think in performing the PS process can also be examined as the factors
affecting the interaction of PS in a social media platform.

39
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40
 Collaborative Lesson Research on Area of Trapezium

Mak Wai Fong

Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Kuala Muda Yan, 08000 Sungai Petani, Kedah.

Abstract. This Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR) is to study learning problems of students’ to formulate area of trapezium
and application of different methods to find area of trapezium. This CRL takes into consideration of students’ prior knowledge
and variation in learning. This CLR involves 46 Form One moderate mathematics achievers, two mathematics teachers and a
mathematics coach. A pretest and posttest was conducted for these students. The teachers and coach get together to plan a
lesson based on the learning objective and critical features diagnose in the pretest. The planned lesson was implemented and
observed in Class C1. Reflection and review of the lesson was carried out based on the lesson observation and diagnosis on the
posttest. The review lesson was implemented in Class C2. Further reflection and review of the lesson was carried out and
documented for sharing. Analysis of students’ results by using Independent–samples t-Test (SPSS) shows that there is a
significance difference in students’ posttest result in Class C1 and Class C2. This indicates an improvement in students’
mathematics achievement in the CLR refined lesson. Collaborative of teachers to study the pedagogical content of the CLR
also bring impact on teachers classroom instruction.

Keywords: Collaborative Lesson Research, Pretest, Posttest, Lesson Observation

INTRODUCTION
The conventional-based of teaching mathematics by drilling, memorization of formulae and computation of answer
from numbers and symbol have resulted in students that substitute numbers and symbols without understanding the
formula. This is in contrast with the KSSM Mathematics Curriculum in Malaysia that takes into consideration the
needs of developing the country, and factors that contribute to the development of individuals who can think logically,
critically, analytically, creatively and innovatively (MOE, 2016). Good mathematics classroom instruction requires
teachers to carefully plan activities and integrate diversified strategies that enable pupils to understand the content in
depth and challenges them to think at a higher level. This is in consistent with the need to provide adequate
mathematical knowledge and skills to ensure that Malaysian students are able to compete internationally and to meet
the challenges of the 21st century. Thus, there is urgent need to transform the teaching and learning of mathematics that
emphasizes active pupil participation, through inquiry-based learning, investigation and exploration of mathematics,
problem-based learning and the use of technology.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS
Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR) is an on-site classroom research, carried out by a group of teachers with a
knowledgeable others (MKO) to study students’ learning and teachers’ professional development to improve their
classroom instruction. CLR promotes high quality lesson study classroom practices. Teachers working collaboratively
within and across schools with shared ownership and responsibilities on research knowledge and outside expertise.
Studies have also shown that students achievement is very dependent on teachers’ effective classroom management
strategies and teachers’ high quality instructional strategies (Hill, Rowan, & Ball, 2005; MacNeil, Prater & Busch,
2009). It is believed that good learning culture would facilitate effective and enhancing students’ learning. Dimensions
that enhance student learning as identified by OECD are the student as a learner, the teacher as a learning professional,
the resources and facilities needed for learning, and the content of the learning (Dumont & Istance, 2010). Studies have
shown (Barron & Darling-Hammond, 2010; Mayer, 2010)) that implementation of 21st century classroom instruction to
create an authentic learning environment could scaffold our students for higher levels of development.

THE STUDY

This study involves two classes of form one students (C1 and C2). They are of moderate mathematics achievers.
The participants of the study consist of 46 students (C1=22, C2=24) and two mathematics teachers(T1 and T2), and
a mathematics coach as MKO, that is the School Improvement Specialist Coaches+ (SISC+). The teacher participants
identified the topic of their research. They met in one session to identify students’ problems in facing the topic and plan

41
together the teaching of the lesson for two sessions. The role of the MKO (SISC+) was to support and coach the
pedagogical, content and knowledge of the research topic.

This study looks at the learning of students in the following standard learning contents in KSSM Form 1
mathematics in the aspects of:
 Calculate the areas of trapeziums using various methods.
 Derive the formulae of the area of trapezium.
 Solve problems involving areas of trapeziums and the combinations of different shapes

This study is to answer the following research questions:

1. Is there any difference in CLR students’ achievement in the pretest and posttest?
2. Is there any difference in CLR students’ achievement in Class C1 (planned lesson) and Class C2 (the
refine lesson)?
3. Is there any difference in teachers’ teaching plan in Class C1 (planned lesson) and Class C2 (the refine
lesson)?

This study looks at the learning of students in the following standard learning contents in KSSM Form 1
mathematics:
 Calculate area of trapezium using various methods.
 Derive the formulae of the area of trapezium.
 Solve problems involving areas of trapeziums and the combinations of different shapes

This study involves two classes of form one students (C1 and C2). They are of moderate mathematics achievement.
The participants of this study consist of 46 students (C1=22, C2=24) and two mathematics teachers and a mathematics
coach as MKO.

The process of CLR was carried out as steps shown in Figure 1. The teachers together with the MKO planned the
research proposal and the pretest. The pretest consists of ten questions to find areas of trapeziums in various
approaches. With the findings of the pretest, the researchers planned the research lesson. Then they carried out the
lesson in class C1 by T1. The posttest 1 was evaluated and with the reflection and reviewed of the lesson, a refined
lesson was carried out in class C2 by T2. Findings of the class observation in C2 and evaluation of students’ learning in
posttest 2 were documented for sharing. Reflections were carried out at all stages of the lesson to counter check on
students’ learning and intervention taken to improve on the lesson.

The inquiry and activities-based learning planned by the researchers guided the students to formulae the area of
trapezium with understanding and not merely memorizing the formulae. More challenging questions were also planned
to enable the students to have deeper understanding of the usage of formulae to find the area of trapezium and master
the conceptual understanding of this topic.

Prepare a Diagnostic Plan the Implementation &

Select topic lesson
research test research
of study observation in
proposal (Pretest) lesson
class C1

Re-implementation
Re-evaluate Reflection & Evaluate
& lesson
Documentation students’ learning review the students’
for sharing observation
(Posttest) lesson learning
in class C2
(Posttest))

FIGURE 1.Steps in carrying out the CRL

42
 FINDINGS AND RESULTS
Reflections of teachers were carried out from the pretest to identify students’ prior knowledge are shown in below.

1. Students are unable to find 2. Students were able to find 3. Students were able to find the area
area of trapezium area with shapes in grid of trapezium with combinations of
squares right-angle triangle and right-
P 2cm
Q
angle quadrilateral
A B

2cm
2cm A B

D 2cm
C
S R
3cm
D C
3cm

Findings from the reflection on students’ pretest, we identified the object of learning is to formulate area of
trapezium with critical features of learning that we have to emphasis on are:
1. Identify properties of different shapes of quadrilateral
2. Identify the height of trapezium
3. Identify parallel sides of trapezium
4. Derive formula to calculate area of trapezium
5. Rational to take half the height of trapezium ( h)
6. Rational to add the sum of parallel sides of tra pezium (a+b)

Based on the prior knowledge of the students, the following exploratory activities were carried out with class C1 to
derive formula of area of trapezium

1a. Students cut out the two trapeziums below 1b. Students rotate one of the trapeziums 180 °clockwise.
Then, combine the two to form a figure
2cm

a. What is the figure form?

2. What happen if we join the two trapeziums below? b. What is the length of the base?
c. State the area of the figure?

a. What is the length of the base?

b. State the area of the figure in terms of h, a and b
c. Thus, state the area trapezium
d. Discuss with members of the group, conclusion of the activities above

Reflections: Students were able to follow

the procedures to get the correct answers
(Procedural Fluency)

43
 Reflections: students
faced difficulties to identify the length of base a after the rotation.
obtained wrong concept of addition of algebra, identified the length of base as ab instead of a+b
not dividing by 2 the area of the shape
derived formula of area of trapezium wrongly due to wrong understanding of the concept of algebra

Reflections from the posttest of Class C1 were studied and data collected for review of lesson in Class C2:

 Students find difficulties to differentiate shapes of quadrilateral of parallel sides; trapezium, rhombus and
parallelogram as diagrams below.
 Students calculate area of rhombus and parallelogram using formula of trapezium. Misuse formula of area of
trapezium to find area of rhombus and area of parallelogram
 Not aware of perpendicular heights. Mistaken the sides of shapes as height
 Unable to use formula to find area of trapezium. Just merely substitute of numbers and symbols.
P 2cm
Q
6cm 5cm
P Q
P Q

2cm

4cm 3cm
5cm
5cm
S
3cm R
S S R
R

 Unable to find area of trapezium by dividing into the shapes of rectangle and triangles. No conceptual
understanding of mid-point
A
Q
P
2cm
P Q
4cm

3cm
5cm 4cm
3cm 3cm C B

4cm

S 8cm R

T S R
E D
4cm

 Students faced difficulties in problems solving involving trapezium as lack of proficiency on conceptual
understanding and productive disposition in mathematics in the problems below.

 PQRS is a parallelogram with area  Rhombus PQTU and trapezium QRST. PQR and
of 100 . Stude nts encountered UTS are straight lines. Given the area of the diagram
difficu lties to find area of triangle is 46cm.
TQR as they were unable to make  Students could not find the height of rhombus PQTU
use of equal distant PT and TQ as they were confused with the shape of combination
with equal height to find the of rhombus and trapezium, and thus they could not
number of triangles formed. find the perimeter of the whole diagram.

S
R
T
U 5cm

P Q
T

5cm 8cm R
P Q

44
 Three activity-based learnings were planned to review the previous lesson to intervene weaknesses in students’
learning as diagnose in the classroom instruction observed in C1. Students explored the sequenced activities carefully
(Procedural Fluency)

1. Inquiry activities below were carried out to cultivate conceptual understanding of students. Whereby students
work collaboratively in groups of fours, they created shapes with height of one square grid and sum of parallel sides (in
red line) of four square grids as diagrams below.

a b c d

e f g h

Learning outcomes observed in these activities were:

Students were able to label the right angle for perpendicular lines and arrows for parallel lines.
Students were able to make the following conclusions:
 The area of quadrilateral of equal height and equal sum of parallel sides are equal
 A trapezium is with both the parallel lines of a quadrilateral of different lengths
 The shapes of rectangle, parallelogram and rhombus are with both the parallel lines of a quadrilateral of
equal lengths as in diagrams e,f,g .
 They could find area of trapezium by dividing the shape into combination of triangles and rectangles. Thus
students are not memorizing the formula.
 They could acquire adaptive reasoning whereby they encounter multi-step tasks and gain experiences in
finding their own way of resolving the tasks.

2. Students explore areas of trapeziums with equal sum of parallel lines, but increase heights of trapeziums
Results of the activities are shown as Diagram 1. Students were able to make conclusion area of trapezium is
proportion to the height of the trapezium

h=3

h=2
h=1

2 square grid 2x2 square grid 3x2 square grid

area :

Diagram 1.Area of trapezium

3. The activities below are to cultivate productive disposition of students to derive area of trapezium. Students
divide the height of the trapezium into two trapeziums and cut them out. Rotate one of the trapeziums 180° to form the
figure below.

a.What is the figure form?

b.What is the height of the figure? h=………..
c.What is the length of the base? ………….+………….
d.Calculate the area of the figure by counting the squares grids
e.Calculate the area of the figure (use answer from b and c)

45
 a

a. What is the height of the trapezium? h=………..

b. What is the length of the base? ………….+………….
c. Find area of the trapezium

Learning outcomes from these activities are; students are able to derive the formula of trapezium with the guided
activities. Students encountered multi-step tasks and gain experiences in finding their own way of resolving the tasks
(Adaptive Reasoning). Students form an overview from the activities they have carried out and form a new domain of
thoughts (Productive Disposition) and thus forming the formula themselves.

DATA COLLECTION and ANALYSIS

Table (1). Descriptive statistics and the Paired–samples t-Test for Form One students’ mathematics achievement
Class N Mean SD t-value df p-value
Pretest Postte Prete Posttes
st st t
C1 22 29.00 59.32 3.38 6.58 21.05 21 .00
C2 24 28.83 68.83 3.42 8.24 22.41 23 .00
Significant value at p< .05

A paired-samples t-test was conducted to compare the results of the pretest and posttest of Class C1 and C2 (Table
1). For Class C1, there is a significant difference in the scores for pretest (M=29.00, SD=3.38) and posttest (M=59.32,
SD=6.58); t(21)=21.05, p = .00. For Class C2, there is also a significant difference in the scores for pretest (M=28.83,
SD=3.42) and posttest (M=68.83, SD=8.24); t (23) =22.41, p =.00. These results show that mathematics instruction in
both Class C1 and C2 do have impact on students’ mathematics achievement but the mean score in Class C2 (the refine
lesson) is higher.

Table (2). Descriptive statistics and the Independent–samples t-Test for Form One students’ mathematics pretest achievement

Class N Mean SD Mean Difference

t-value df p-value
C1 22 29.00 3.38
.17 .17 44 .87
C2 24 28.83 3.42
Significant value at p< .05

Table 2 compares the mean of the pretest of Class C1 and C2. The independent samples t-test reveals that there is
no significant difference between pretest of the Class C1 and C2 (t=.17, df=44, p=.87). The pretest achievement of
Form One students who learned mathematics through planned lesson of CLR (M=29.00, SD=3.38) shows no
significant difference from pretest achievement of Form One students who learned mathematics through the refined
lesson of CLR (M=28.83, SD=3.42).

Table (3). Descriptive Statistic and the Independent-samples t-Test for Form One Students’ Mathematics Posttest Achievement
Class N Mean SD Mean t-value df p-value
Difference
C1 22 59.32 6.58
9.51 4.30 44 .000**
C2 24 68.83 8.24
**Significant value at p< .05

Table 3 compares the mean of the posttest achievement of the Class C1 and C2. The independent-samples t-test
reveals that there is a significant difference between posttest achievement of Class C1 and C2 (t=4.30, df=44, p=.000).
The posttest achievement of Form One students who learned mathematics through planned lesson of CL R(M=59.32,
SD=6.58) reported significant lower achievement than students who learned mathematics through the refined lesson of
CLR (M=68.83, SD=8.24).

46
 CONCLUSION

CLR provides insights for teachers to collaborate lesson planning, lesson observation and evaluation of students’
learning. This CLR integrated the factors of student as a learner, teacher as a learning professional, and application of
available resources to intervene on students’ learning content. Malaysia has been reviewing educational policies to
achieve a higher educational standard, therefore CLR is vital in teachers’ professional development in the KSSR and
KSSM as this is the main challenges of teachers. Developing students’ abilities in this new school curriculum; 21 st
century education requires a different approach to the classroom instruction than is commonly seen in the present
Malaysian classrooms. Schools’ Senior Leader Team and MKO play important roles in creating a secure and good
learning culture for teachers by providing appropriate support and feedback for improvement in pedagogical practice,
opportunities to learn and access to learning resources whereby teachers collaborate and trust one another in a safe
school circle. Effective schools leaders lead the entire process of CLR that contributes to long-term effects of
professional development of teachers.

This CLR has indicated improvement of students’ posttest achievement. This CLR also brought teachers together to
look into the problems faced by the variation in students’ understanding and the prior knowledge of the students is used
to tackle individual differences in learning. In this CLR, the participant teachers and MKO collaborate to share their
experience and knowledge in the real classroom practice. Thus CLR has enhanced professional competence of teachers
and thus improve effectiveness of students’ learning. An authentic learning environment is created in this CLR through
inquiry and authentic learning by the teachers and students’ prior knowledge in the lesson planning

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12. Mayer, R. (2010). "Learning with technology", in The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire Practice, OECD
Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264086487-en.
13. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2014). Principles to actions: ensuring mathematical success for all. Reston.

47
 Conceptual and Theoretical Framework for Learning
Molecular Geometry using Metacognitive Strategies
Cheong Boon Yau and Rose Amnah Abdul Rauf

Department of Mathematical and Science Education, Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya Jalan
Universiti, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Abstract. Academically successful students definitely possess extensive knowledge base and well-planned strategies to self-
assess their knowledge, as well as enrich and adapt their cognitive structures through an active acquisition of knowledge and
learning process. However, students tend to lack the spatial intelligence to understand molecular geometry at the
submicroscopic level, perceive irrelevance of chemistry learning to real-life situations and lack conceptual understanding on
electron group geometry and molecular geometry, resulting in learning through rote memorization. Mastery of knowledge
related to molecular geometry is significant as it serves as the “core” to properties of covalent compounds, which then serves
as the foundation to other general chemistry knowledge. This paper shed light on the role of metacognition in learning
chemistry, a pathway to foster a group of self-directed learners and creative problem solvers. The problems faced by students
in learning chemistry, especially in molecular structures and molecular geometry such as the as the gaps were first identified
by reviewing some past studies carried out by chemistry education researchers. The conceptual and theoretical framework
are proposed in this study for implementation of metacognitive strategies as a form of scaffolding approach in learning
molecular geometry. The metacognition is conceptualised as “meta-level thinking” to oversee the “object-level thinking”,
provided with an example illustrating the problem-solving related to molecular geometry and the arguments from the
cognitive perspective. Vygotsky‟s sociocultural theory as the precursor to foster metacognition constitutes the theoretical
framework to underpin this conceptual framework proposed to emphasize the role of teachers in scaffolding students to
develop metacognition in learning. This piece of work is significant to serve as the reference for chemistry education
practitioners in developing curriculums and pedagogies, as well as instructional strategies to scaffold the students towards
independent self-monitoring and planning learners in chemistry.

Keywords. Metacognition, Scaffolding, Molecular Geometry

INTRODUCTION

What are the attributes of students who can academically perform? Academically successful students definitely
have constructed the extensive knowledge base. Nonetheless, they are well- equipped with strategies to self-assess
their knowledge and enrich their knowledge base through active acquisition and learning process. Along the process
of learning, monitoring process enables them to identify when they do not understand and they perform effectual
modus operandi to improve their understanding at the right time. Besides that, they establish sound planning and
organization skills in completing the project or solving the problems in the timely fashion. All the characteristics
mentioned describe the characteristics of students which possess high metacognitive skills and knowledge.
Fostering sound development of metacognition becomes one of the significant approaches to scaffold the academic
learning of students, especially in chemistry education, to equip students with self- directed learning capabilities
supplemented with critical thinking and creative problem solving strategies (Dike et al.,2017 ; Amutha et al., 2016;
Locatelli & Arrorio, 2013) . However, incorporating metacognitive ability within students is not an easy task, which
is contemplated by many science education practitioners. This paper is intended to propose the conceptual and
theoretical framework of metacognition in learning as well as solving problems related to molecular geometry. This
paper is significant because it will explore the role of metacognition in learning molecular geometry and how
metacognition can be fostered through the framework proposed in this paper. This paper will examine all the
relevant researches and make recommendations for future research.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Chemistry is the branch of physical science dealing with the study of matter as well as its interactions in terms
of structure, properties, composition and change at macroscopic, submicroscopic and symbolic levels
(Chittleborough, 2014; Gilbert, 2010). In other words, the gist of learning chemistry is all the phenomena and
perception in this macroscopic world or surrounding can be reasoned by understanding their interactions at
molecular and atomic level (American Chemical Society, 2012). As recommended by American Chemical Society

48
(2012), key topics in learning chemistry can be divided into four main categories: conservation of matter and
energy, behavior and properties of matter, particulate nature of matter and equilibrium and driving force. Molecular
geometry based on Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) model is one of the subtopics in chemical
bonding which is essential in understanding the properties and nature of covalent molecules and organic chemistry.
Mastery of this conceptual knowledge requires the student to be equipped with high submicroscopic level
imagination skills on spatial intellectual capacity such as spatial visualization and orientation besides knowing
trends of electronegativity in Periodic Table of Element (Gilbert, 2010; Makarious, 2017; Ogawa et al., 2009). In
other words, students need to visualize three- dimensional (3D) molecular models from two-dimensional (2D)
chemical formulae and imagine what a molecule will look like from different perspective, which proves that this
chemistry knowledge shows the degree of abstraction (Dike, 2017).
Nonetheless, chemistry is a conundrum, rite of challenging passage for students. Students lack mental
manipulation skills to understand molecular geometry at the submicroscopic level as molecules should be visualized
in three-dimensional (3D) structure. The lack of spatial intelligence by students makes them less likely to visualize
the molecular models from different facets (Broman et al., 2011). Most of the molecular structures are represented
in two-dimensional (2D) figure in most of the lectures and drawing. The lack of spatial intelligence might be due to
inappropriate learning methods adopted by students in school during the learning of chemistry (Saiedipour & Safari,
2014). Many students resort to rote learning, i.e. memorizing facts and formula rather than building firm conceptual
networks and developing systematic and comprehensive problem-solving skills in learning chemistry (Cook et al.,
2013). Also, there is lack of connectivity between learning chemistry and everyday life application,
i.e. lack of relevance in learning (Butle et al., 2006). The atom, molecular structure, as well as interactions
among them are seemingly abstract to our students (Levy et al., 2010). Most of the students deal with the matter at
the macroscopic level in the surrounding, however, they could not relate them to the microscopic level of matter
which is chemical bonding as this concept is abstract in nature.
Metacognition, as developed from the Piagetian developmental framework, is defined as the awareness and
understanding, as well as able to self-monitor and regulate one's own thought process (Thomas & Barksdale-ladd,
2000). Metacognition in learning chemistry, the central science of various scientific disciplines, is given exceptional
attention as it refers to knowledge about when and how to deploy strategies during problem-solving processes in
real life situations (White et al., 2009). A number of researches shown that metacognitive knowledge is required to
scaffold students to learn chemistry in a more effective and efficient manner (Dike et al., 2017; Amutha & Sudha,
2016; Locatelli & Arorio, 2013; Haidar & Naqabi, 2008). The implementation of metacognitive strategy in teaching
molecular geometry can assist students to learn this topic more independently and cultivate creative and critical
thinking skills. Students who exposed to metacognitive strategies in learning are able to perform better
academically in chemistry subject than those without metacognitive knowledge (Cook et al., 2003). Metacognitive
knowledge aid students in refining their scientific knowledge and ideas which leads to the development of problem-
solving skills (Ricky & Stacy, 2000). Students equipped with metacognitive strategies academically performed in
learning chemistry than the low metacognitive aware student. This form of support works effectively when
cognitive, metacognitive and affective components interact with each other to assure the success in chemistry
learning are recognized (Amutha & Sudha, 2016). Students in Nigeria who used think-aloud metacognitive
strategies in learning chemistry showed better academic result than conventional learning (Dike et al., 2017). On the
other hand, students who are equipped with metacognitive skills and awareness are expected to exhibit academic
self-efficacy, perceiving one as a capable learner to organize and execute the course of actions necessitated to
manage prospective circumstances. (Hermita & Thamrin, 2015). The purpose of this paper intends to propose
conceptual and theoretical frameworks for chemistry educators to foster metacognition in students in the learning of
chemistry, specifically molecular geometry. The development of the conceptual and theoretical frameworks begins
with delineation on metacognition proposed by various researchers, followed by integration of theory and practice
into our frameworks. This paper shows the standpoint that chemistry educators need to understand the different
cognitive processes reside in the students’ minds, as well as scaffolding students in fostering metacognition through
systematically designed teaching strategies, aligning with espousing of constructivism.

49
 METACOGNITION

Metacognition is simply “thinking about thinking”, “cognition about cognition” which shows the more
sophisticated level of thinking as denoted by John Flavell, a notable American developmental psychologist (Flavell,
1976). In other words, it can be explained as what we know about our cognitive processes like conceptual
understanding, thinking, problem solving and knowledge transfer. Even though the definition of metacognition
looks simple and intuitive, however different researchers and science education practitioner work with different
operational definitions of metacognition prior to their different theoretical facets. Brown (1987) argued that two
major components constitute metacognition, namely metacognitive knowledge and regulation. Jacob and Paris
(1987) claimed that metacognitive knowledge consists of declarative, procedural and conditional knowledge. Even
though different researchers advocate different working definitions of metacognition, yet they stated two
indispensable elements in developing metacognition in learner: (1) knowledge about cognition and (2) control over
cognition (self-regulation). Knowledge about cognition comprises of declarative, procedural and conditional
knowledge; control over cognition involves planning, monitoring and evaluating. It can be understood as self-
understanding components in learning science. Students first identify what they know and what they do not know
about the content knowledge and appropriate selection of learning strategies to enhance the understanding of
scientific knowledge. Meanwhile, self- regulated learning refers to managing and improving one‟s cognition. This
expertise involves planning, monitoring and evaluating which take place in sequential and recursive form, as well as
reflective thinking on how to move forward with the current condition.

META-LEVEL AND OBJECT LEVEL THINKING

Nelson (1996) differentiated cognition and metacognition using the term “meta-level” and “object-level”
thinking as shown in Figure 1. Object-level thinking of students refers to cognitive functions dealing with external
objects such as performing mathematical equations and recalling facts. In other words, object-level thinking
requires students to deal with metacognitive knowledge, which consists of declarative, procedural and conditional
knowledge. Meanwhile, meta-level thinking can be viewed as a „process‟ involved in constructing metacognitive
knowledge. Hence, at meta-level thinking students are required to decide on the use of learning strategies and
managing techniques to optimize their learning conditions and boost their academic performance, which involves
the executive processes in the regulation of cognitive processes such as planning, monitoring and evaluating.
According to Nelson (1996), students need to monitor for evaluating their learning conditions and use controlling to
adjust the learning strategies, to bring them from where they are (present state of learning conditions) to where they
supposed to be (intended state of learning conditions).

FIGURE 1.Graphic for Meta Level and Object Level Thinking (Adapted from Nelson, 1996)

Nonetheless, no two learners possess the same way of thinking. It means that the different learning conditions of
learners will result in different types of monitoring and controlling processes. As learning “metacognitively”
requires students to plan a course of actions in order to accomplish the learning goals, this would be one of the
challenges for science educators to infuse metacognitive strategies during the teaching and learning process. Thus,
we argued that different ways of cognitive processes reside in people‟s minds need to be unveiled and depicted in
order to know how students internalize and externalize during learning process. The findings of this study will
provide the information to science educators to design the appropriate lessons to foster metacognitive strategies in
the students.

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 COMPLEXITY OF MOLECULAR GEOMETRY
In chemistry, molecular geometry is the three-dimensional representation or shape that a covalent molecule
occupies in a space. Individual determine the shapes of molecules based on electron pairs (or electron groups)
contributed by lone pair electrons or bonding pair electrons from surrounding atoms that surrounds the central atom.
It can be predicted by Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) Theory. Figure 2 shows the tables of various
molecular geometries of covalent molecules based on VSEPR Theory.

FIGURE 2. Molecular shapes based on VSEPR Theory.

Makarious (2017) listed the several steps that require learners or students to produce valid structure of covalent
molecules prior to determination of molecular geometry based on VSEPR Theory as shown in Table 3.

Table 3 Steps in producing valid structure of covalent molecules (Adapted from Makarious, 2017)
Step Explanation
Step 1 Identify the central atom which is the least electronegative one
Step 2 Distribute the terminal atoms around the central one, as far apart from each other as possible in three
dimensional spaces.
Step 3 Calculate the total number of valence electrons.

Step 4 Create single covalent bonds between the central atom and the terminal ones

Step 5 Distribute valence electrons to satisfy the octet rule for terminal atoms.

Step 6 Revise bond order and create double or triple bonds between the central atom and the terminal ones to satisfy
the octet rule for terminal atoms.
Step 7 Assign any leftover electrons to the central atom where in most cases the octet rule could be violated for
elements on the third period or below in the periodic table.
Step 8 Calculate the formal charges for each atom and revise the structure accordingly to reduce the formal charge of
each atom to fall between -1, 0, +1.
Step 9 Explain why specific molecules violate the octet rule.

Step 10 Position the most electronegative atom in a way that minimizes electrons‟ cloud repulsion (axial or equatorial).

Students would be required to draw the Lewis structure / dot-cross diagram / electron dot diagrams of the
structure. After producing a valid structure of covalent molecules, students are required to determine the shape of
molecules based on VSEPR Theory. In this study, researcher introduces the notions of electron group geometry and
molecular geometry in aiding students to build mental representations and develop spatial intelligence to predict the
shapes of molecules as shown in Table 4. Students are required to retrieve, organise and combine information to
generalise the task or problems regarding the molecular geometry:

51
 Table 4 Steps in determining the molecular geometry based on VSEPR Theory
Step Explanation
Step 1 Determine the number of bonding pair and lone pair electrons, sum them up to obtain number of electron
Groups
Step 2 Derive the electron group geometry from number of electron groups

Step 3 Determine the hybridisation from electron group geometry

Step 4 The number of lone pair electrons indicate the molecular geometry

Step 5 Draw the actual representation of molecular shapes from Lewis structure / dot-cross diagram / electron dot
diagrams

Students need to apply the concepts of formal charges and existence of any resonance structures to structure the
molecular geometry as additional steps after producing the valid structure of covalent molecules as shown in Figure
5. Then, students need to validate the structure (dominant structure) by understanding electronegativities, bond
angles, formal charges, axial and equatorial positions of atoms and bond steric energy. The ultimate step of
structuring the molecular geometry of covalent molecules is predicting their polarities.

FIGURE 5. The resonance structure and formal charge of carbonate ion, CO3 2-.

Makarious (2017) emphasised the use of model to assist students to develop sophisticated level of three-
dimensional mental representations of nano-scaled covelent molecules and high order thinking to predict the
polarity of covalent molecules with high validity. The utilisation of model is vital as it visualises the entities and
causal-effect relationship of a phenomenon take place in nature due to physical properties of covalent molecules
(Gilbert, 2005). In particular, "this process of simplification and representation within the scope of human senses
with the aid of models becomes of greater importance as, later in a sequence of inquiries, explanations for exemplar
phenomenon are sought at the sub-micro level" (Gilbert, 2005, p.11). The spatial thinking and intelligence of
students in learning molecular geometry could be developed using molecular visualisation model, i.e. model aids
students to externally visualise the too complex phenomenon which is hardly to visualise internally (Hegarty,
2010). For example, students who have difficulties in visualising the phosphorus pentachloride, PCl 5 with the bond
plane angles of 120o and perpendicular angle of 90o could be improved with the usage of model or computer
simulation programme as shown in Figure 6.

FIGURE 6. Molecular geometry of phosphorus pentachloride, PCl5.

At the secondary school level, the use of periodic table to study the relative properties and periodicity of the
elements based on the valence electrons is the extension of the utilisation of models in teaching molecular
structures. Students must first determine the type of element and its electronegativity before deciding the types of
bonds exist and structuring the geometrical shapes of molecules. In upper secondary chemistry, students are
required to learn the concept of intermolecular forces such as permanent dipole-dipole interaction, permanent
dipole-induced dipole interaction, instantaneous dipoles and hydrogen bonding that exists between molecules, as
well as applying this knowledge to explain the physical properties of covalent substances at the bulk scale.

52
 TOWARDS A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

A conceptual framework is “the systems of concepts, assumptions, expectations, beliefs, and theories that
support and inform your research" (Maxwell, 2005). According to Maxwell (2005), it depicts how a researcher
“conceptualize” the research from his theoretical perspective and in the literature based on the context of research.
It is a conceptual representation of research built for informing purpose based on systematic descriptive and critical
review of relevant works of literature and it is not readymade (Maxwell, 2005). The conceptual framework for
metacognitive strategies in learning molecular geometry is developed based on the assumption as delineated. This
development of conceptual framework serves as the foundation of the construction for the theoretical framework for
implementation of metacognitive strategies in learning molecular geometry. The conceptual framework begins with
the review of the literature to pinpoint the problems faced by students in learning chemistry (either general,
chemical bonding or molecular geometry), followed by the articulation of metacognition as an intervention for
students in learning molecular geometry.
Many researchers, educators, and students are inquiring to know why learning molecular geometry is crucial in
chemistry. Molecular geometry is inseparable with the precedential learning of molecular structure (Uyulgan &
Akkuzu, 2016). According to Levy Nahum and co-researchers (2010), learning molecular structure, the key to
understanding molecular geometry serves as the foundation to explore other areas in chemistry such as the structure
of matter, phase change, chemical reactions, thermodynamics and chemical reactivity. Learning molecular
geometry involves the extensive network of prior knowledge such as types of chemical bonding, the valency of
atoms and drawing Lewis dot diagrams. Based on the Lewis dot diagrams, students will predict the molecular
geometry (shapes of molecules, bond angles, bond length and etc.) based on VSEPR theory. Based on the molecular
geometry predicted, students can predict the polarity of molecules based on the attractive and repulsive forces due
to electronegative differences, hybridizations and lastly intermolecular forces such as van der Waals forces (given
the molecules are comparable in molecular size and similar surface area). In other words, knowledge of molecular
geometry can be designated as a „core‟ to understand the nature of covalent molecules, requiring numerous
fundamental chemistry knowledge before studying this and expecting students to extend the learning to in-depth
understanding of molecular interactions at submicroscopic level, as well as using the knowledge to construct
explanation for properties and interactions of substances in daily life (Cooper et al., 2012). The development of
conceptual framework begins by first identified the problems or difficulty faced by students in learning chemistry as
the knowledge gaps for future study. The problems in learning chemistry, chemical bonding or molecular geometry
are summarised in Table 7.

TABLE 7 Problems faced by students in learning chemistry, chemical bonding and molecular geometry
Year Author Content
1995 Copolo & Learning molecular geometry involves mental manipulation of
Hounshell molecular
structures. Molecules should be perceived as three-dimensional
structure.
2003 Robinson Students tend to misinterpret the microscopic properties of matter based
on their macroscopic experience.
2006 Butle et al. Students perceived learning molecular geometry is not meaningful due
to
lack of relevance in daily life.
2008 Chittleborough & Understanding molecular structure and chemical bonding usually
Treagust associated with the submicroscopic level of matter which is abstract
in nature.
2009 Dhindha & Treagust Students have alternative conceptions on bond polarity of molecular
structures, molecular shape, lattices, the polarity of molecules,
intermolecular forces, and the octet rule.
2013 Wang and Borrow Performed diagnostic test and found that students have problems in
understanding Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR Theory)
2015 Burrows & Mooring Students have misconceptions on electronegativity, bond polarity, and
covalent bonding.

However, why students tend to face difficulties in learning molecular geometry? The first problem identified
faced by students in learning molecular geometry is the lack of mental manipulation skills to understand molecular
geometry at submicroscopic level. Molecules should be visualized in three-dimensional (3D) structure. In learning
chemistry, students construct their mental models through macroscopic experience, interpretation, and explanations
(Abdul Halim et al., 2013). Spatial

53
 intelligence is one of the meta-visual capability which includes three complementary skills: spatial visualization,
spatial orientation, and spatial relation (Gilbert, 2010). Students are lack of spatial intelligence to visualize the
molecular models from different facets (Broman et al., 2011). Most of the molecular structures are represented in
two-dimensional (2D) figure in most lecture and drawing. The lack of spatial intelligence might be due to
inappropriate learning styles adopted by students in school during the learning of chemistry as supported by
research carried out by Saiedipour and Safari (2014). Many students tend to practice rote learning, i.e. memorizing
facts and formula rather than building concepts and developing sound problem-solving skills in learning chemistry
(Cook et al., 2013).
Also, there is lack of connectivity between learning chemistry and everyday life application, lack of relevance in
learning (Butle et al., 2006). The atom, molecular structure, as well as interactions among them are seemingly
abstract to our students (Tan & Treagust, 1999; Levy et al., 2007). Most of the students deal with the matter at the
macroscopic level in the surrounding, however, they could not relate them to the microscopic level of matter which
is chemical bonding as this concept is abstract in nature (Chittleborough & Treagust, 2008). Some researchers
articulated the role of metacognition in helping students to increase their understanding and effectiveness of learning
chemistry concept (Ricky & Stacy, 2000). Table 8 shows some related researches on metacognition in chemistry and
science education.

TABLE 8 Research on metacognition in chemistry and chemical bonding

Year Author Content
2000 Ricky et al. Metacognitive knowledge aid students in refining their scientific
knowledge and ideas which leads to the development of problem-solving
skills
2003 Cook et al. Students can be successful if they are taught how to shift their efforts
from low-level to higher-order thinking.
2008 Haidar and Naqabi Emiratii high school students‟ understandings of stoichiometry and the
influence of metacognition on their understanding
2013 Locatelli and Metacognition in Teaching Geometrical isomerism
Arrorio
2016 Amutha and Sudha Students equipped with metacognitive strategies academically
performed
in learning chemistry than the low metacognitive aware student.
2017 Dike et al. Students in Nigeria who used think-aloud metacognitive strategies in
learning chemistry showed better academic result

Secondary school students who adopted metacognitive strategies such as think-aloud and self- assessment could
significantly improve their learning and academic performance in chemistry as compared to conventional learning
method (Dike et al., 2017). They argued that teacher should be well-trained effectively utilize the metacognitive
teaching strategies in teaching chemistry to assist students to learn chemistry better. Metacognitive skills serve as
effective support for students which help them to recognize cognitive, metacognitive and affective components in
learning chemistry. Student can better manage their cognitive skills and ability to identify their weaknesses which
allows corrections to be made by constructing new knowledge (Amutha and Sudha, 2016). Besides that, students
who are able to perform self-monitoring and self-regulation will learn chemistry more effectively. Students who
equipped with sound metacognitive knowledge and skills (regulation) could foster the better understanding of
chemistry as they continuously reorganize and refine their knowledge (Ricky & Stacy, 2000). Haidar and Naqbi
(2008) emphasized the five metacognitive strategies awareness of cognition, planning, monitoring and
self‐checking, self‐appraisal and engagement in task in learning chemistry. Planning was the most crucial used
approach to evaluate student‟s success in showing how much they could understand the chemistry knowledge. They
argued that students need to be taught metacognitive knowledge and skills in order to learn chemistry effectively
(Haidar & Naqbi, 2008).
Learning and problem-solving pertaining to molecular geometry requires students' cognition develop to reach
formal operation stage, i.e. abstract thinking. However, most of the students in secondary level are still at the
concrete operational stage. Abstract thinking and meta-visual capability are important in both learning and problem-
solving in molecular geometry (Gilbert, 2010). Based on the literature reviewed, the first research gap identified is
students have difficulties in understanding molecular geometry in macroscopic, submicroscopic and symbolic level;
while second research gap is lack of mental manipulation skills in learning chemistry; and lastly lack of relevance to
daily life in learning chemistry.

54
 Fostering metacognition could be challenging rite of passage for all the educators. There is no single path
forward and it depends on the context of learning. According to constructivist approach of learning, no two students
learn and master the knowledge in the same way, as they possess different prior knowledge and construct the new
knowledge on their own basis even though they are situated in the same learning environment with same
pedagogical approach. We posited that each level of students (academically high, moderate or low achieving)
perform differently on the tasks given. Academically performed students possess sound metacognitive strategies to
aid them learn effectively and efficiently, but it is never an easy task to grow and consolidate metacognition in
moderate and low achieving students. Nelson (2014) stated that most of the metacognitive instructions paid focus
on surface level of concepts and skills, showing little or no real understanding of metacognition in learning. In other
words, the metacognitive strategies should be transmitted to students from “concepts” to “skills” and “applications”,
rather treated as memorisable information by students. Thus, we believe that students need to gain support from
teachers to foster metacognition in learning. Besides that, educators need to overcome the major cognitive
challenges of moving from concrete to formal reasoning stage, i.e. complete mastery of right-answer reasoning
strategies as explained in Piaget‟s theory of cognitive development (Nelson, 2014). Hence, in this framework, the
core of fostering metacognition begins with understanding the process of thinking of students. We suggested that
the cognitive functions and processes need to be first elicited out and depicted by educators through metacognitive
teaching strategies to understand the cognitive challenges faced by different level of learners. The “visible” thinking
process of students will thus serve as the significant data and references for various educational purposes, such as
taking them into account of designing metacognitive interventions, curriculum development and etc. Figure 9 shows
the conceptual framework for this study.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The theoretical insights of metacognition were depicted by James, Piaget, and Vygotsky (Fox & Riconscente,
2008). Research in metacognition informs chemistry teacher to determine the best practices as well as realizing the
potential of fostering the metacognition in students to develop problem-solving skills. Developing a theoretical
framework pertaining implementation of metacognitive strategies in learning molecular geometry requires the deep
understanding of teaching and learning process, i.e. how teacher teaches and how students learn the knowledge.
Instead of merely learning the teaching content and knowledge, students are expected to locate the connections
between content knowledge and problem-solving in daily life or real-life applications.
The proposed theoretical framework in this study is designed for secondary Chemistry education, especially
upper secondary school chemistry educators, and learners. Figure 10 shows the theoretical framework for
implementation of metacognitive strategies for learning molecular geometry and to serve as the frame of the central
idea of this paper. We will delineate the key concepts and conceptualize them into the teaching and learning of
molecular geometry, showing connections these two components based on the graphics throughout the paper. This
framework is underpinned by educational theories from teaching and learning perspectives. The teaching
perspective is based on the notions of scaffolding; while the learning standpoint originated from metacognition.
Figure 10 depicts the theoretical framework for fostering metacognition in students in learning molecular geometry
via metacognitive teaching strategies. The image presents recursive roles played by teachers to scaffold students in
teaching and learning process, in this context, learning molecular geometry. The concept displayed in the role of
teacher is teaching for metacognition, which means teachers think about how their teaching strategies will activate
and develop students metacognition in the learning process. This illustration shows a form of reciprocity between
teacher and students in pedagogical activities, i.e. mutual benefits gained by students in the form of developing the
metacognition and by teachers in the form of feedback provided by students to improve metacognitive teaching
strategies. Like any framework, there are some limits to looking at the implementation of metacognitive teaching
strategies in learning molecular geometry using this approach. We will seek to explain this framework with
supports while acknowledging the limits simultaneously. Each part of the theoretical framework will be illustrated
in detailed with reference to Figure 10.

55
 GAP 4
The infusion of metacognition based on
understanding of cognitive processes of students

FIGURE 9.Conceptual Framework for this paper

FIGURE 10.Graphic for Theoretical Framework for Fostering Metacognition in Students in Learning
Molecular Geometry via Metacognitive Teaching Strategies
(Adapted from Kelley, M. & Clausen-Grace, N. 2007)

56
 Educational Theories Underpinning the Framework

The authors show advocate most content in this theoretical framework underpinned by Vygotsky’s sociocultural
theory as the precursor to develop the metacognition in students. Vygotsky (1978) argued that social interaction
contributes to the development of higher cognitive functions, in this case, metacognition. An important concept in
relation to this concept is scaffolding, which refers to the gradual withdrawal of adult control and support as a
function of children‟s increasing mastery of task. Another aspect of Vygotsky‟s idea is the zone of proximal
development, which refers to" gap between what a given child can achieve alone, their „potential development as
determined by independent problem solving‟, and what they can achieve „through problem-solving under adult
guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”. (Wood, et al 1976.). In time, children become more mature
thinker through the process of internalization. They are capable of providing support for themselves. They learned
not only how to get the task done but try to learn new problems. However, we need to understand that
metacognition is not equated to learning or development, but it is associated with the conscious and deliberate
regulation of learning and development process in an individual.
In the context of this research, a theoretical framework is built to interrelate the learning theories and teaching
practices, incorporation of metacognition element in teaching and learning molecular geometry as well as
answering all the research questions interrogated as shown in Figure 5. According to Brown, there are two vital
components in metacognition: metacognitive knowledge and regulation (McCormick et al., 2013). There are three
constituent elements in metacognitive knowledge: declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and conditional
knowledge. Declarative knowledge is personal or propositional knowledge about oneself as a learner. Procedural
knowledge includes knowledge about strategies while conditional knowledge involves learner to know why and
when to use the strategies. Another component in metacognition is self-regulation and monitoring, which involves
goal setting, self-interrogating, paraphrasing, activating and recalling relevant prior knowledge, interconnecting
new and previously learned knowledge, and summarizing to increase understanding during reading. Teacher
implements the metacognitive teaching strategies as the "scaffolding" for students to develop their metacognitive
abilities in learning chemistry. The metacognitive teaching strategies begin with the explanation and modelling.
During the implementation, teacher continually observes and evaluate to make the adjustment on strategies
implemented as well as based on the feedback from students. In other words, teacher refines the strategy used until
it becomes fluent. This cycle of metacognitive teaching serves as the “scaffolding” to help students to learn to plan,
monitor and evaluate as well as developing metacognition in learning.

Metacognitive Teaching Strategies

There are two concepts involved in metacognitive teaching strategies: teaching with metacognition and teaching
for metacognition (Hartman, 2001b). We explicate the role of teachers and students in developing metacognitive
skills and knowledge through the concept of teaching for metacognition, i.e. teacher think about how their teaching
methodologies or instructions will initiate and develop their students. In this part of framework, the role of teacher
in fostering the metacognitive development in students is to teach them through cyclical four stages including (1)
explanation and modelling, (2) refining of strategy use, (3) fluent strategy use, and (4) self-assessment and goal
setting (Kelley, M. & Clausen-Grace, N. 2007).
Students need to be taught how to model and use metacognitive strategies in explicit ways to enhance their
learning and academic performance (Haidar and Naqabi, 2008). In this framework, the teacher uses explicit
teaching strategies to develop the metacognitive skills in students. Teaching students explicitly include direct
instruction, modeling, explaining the advantages of using strategies and providing repeated opportunities for using
the strategy in guided and independent practice (Scharlach, 2008). The modeling here can be discussed from two
perspectives: (1) how teacher model his or her teaching strategies to develop the metacognitive capabilities in
students and (2) how student model his or her skills to develop metacognition with the teaching strategies
implemented. We would like to discuss the first perspective in this section.
In this framework, we expect the teacher to model their instructional strategies to support the metacognitive
development of students and make the students‟ thinking “visible”. Teaching for metacognition in this framework
usually requires teacher plan, scaffold, reflectively question, provide timely feedback, model, explicitly explaining
the strategy to help students to develop metacognition (Hartman, 2001a; Bransford et al., 2000). According to
Bransford and co-researchers, the metacognitive teaching strategies modeled are student-centered which aim to
elevate the engagement of learning to produce self-directed and regulated learners. Students are challenged with
tasks with

57
 increasing level of complexity that build on prior knowledge, which require them to deploy metacognitive skills
in modeling their learning strategies and devising problem-solving approaches. Teacher can support the
metacognitive development of students by providing students with instructions such as goal settings, strategic
learning, error analysis, effective questioning, ideas organizations, graphic organizers and evaluating strategies
(Zimmerman & Moylan, 2009). Besides that, metacognitive instructions can also make the students verbalize their
thinking, i.e. “making their thought visible”. Sitko (1998) suggested the use of introspection, on-line thinking aloud
protocols and retrospective interviews and questionnaires should be elicited in the classroom learning to realize this
effort. Making students‟ thinking to be visible helps them to monitor their understandings, which hence improve
their comprehension. As student think aloud, they internalize what they are saying, which ease the learning process
to take place.
Definitely, we could not affirm that the teaching strategies applied would effectively assist students in
developing metacognition because each student has different preferences towards the choice of strategies, as well as
the different cognitive structures, reside in the mind of students would require different types of strategies in
helping them to foster metacognition effectively. Hence, teacher needs to adapt the teaching strategies accordingly
in correspondence to the feedbacks and academic performance of students. In refining of strategy use, teacher
makes minor changes so as to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching strategies will benefit their
students. Anyhow, both teachers and students are responsible for the refinery of strategies for teaching and learning.
We posited that role of metacognitive teaching strategies in helping students to refine their learning strategies to
learn molecular geometry better. During the refining process, students begin to reflect on their ways of learning and
start identifying the missing criteria in order to move to the next level. Successive refinery of strategies will result in
the use of strategy on a superficial level. The continuous and untiring practices of the refined strategies will
eventually lead to “gelation” of strategy, or fluent strategy use. The aim of implementing metacognitive teaching
strategies is to assist students to move towards the purposeful and automatic application of strategies in solving
complex problems. Teacher is required to give time and more structured instructions and support the students to
move towards the end of more fuller and richer understanding of strategies used. After several weeks of
implementation of teaching strategies, students are now ready to reflect on the use of various strategy components.
On the self- assessment and goal setting, teacher is required to minimally scaffold the students as compared to
previous stages. In this stage, teacher structurally guides students to identify their own goals by choosing one area
to enhance. Then, students can write a workable, multistep plan to improve the area identified.

Scaffolding

Scaffolding is a pedagogical approach that enables students to complete a task or accomplish goals assisted by
more knowledgeable others such as teachers (Vygotsky, 1978). In the context of learning molecular geometry,
scaffolding refers to the assistance and support provided by teachers in assisting students to construct the extensive
knowledge base and developing skills necessary for learning, as well as monitoring one's learning conditions prior
to improvement. In the context of problem-solving, this notion involves how students structure the process of
devising and executing strategies in dealing with tasks assigned with guidance. Throughout the scaffolding process,
students are able to internalize the guidance and support given until reaching fluent strategies used in regulating
their own cognitive processes. In this framework, we suggested teachers model scaffolded instructions to assist
students to become independent learners. This instruction includes directing students' attention towards learning
goals, simplifying the tasks, modeling and demonstrating, actively ongoing diagnosis and assessment, and lastly the
transfer of responsibility to deal with the tasks independently (Reiser, 2004; Puntambekar and Hubscher, 2005;
Zydney, 2012). In other words, teacher can first show the process of problem-solving to students, and then step
back to offer students guidance and support as needed. Students pay attention to important process in learning and
problem-solving strategies (Reiser, 2004), as well as improving their understanding by engaging them in reflection
(Davis, 2000). In this framework, we argued that the process of scaffolding should prompt students to “visualize”
their thinking, before “thinking about thinking”. Scaffolding process enables teacher to understand the different
processes of thinking reside in the minds of students, and teachers can facilitate and dynamically adjust the
scaffolding to foster the metacognition within the students based on the difficulties exhibited (Hannafin et al.,
1999). However, we argued that the scaffolding provided by teachers should be in correspondence to the cognitive
challenges faced by students. Teachers are suggested to carefully design and distinguish the ways of scaffolding
students to develop sophisticated level of right-answer reasoning, which includes self-monitoring, paying attention
to problem-focused reasoning and devising right-answer reasoning strategies (Nelson, 2015).

58
 Metacognitive Knowledge: Declarative, Procedural and Conditional Knowledge (Object-Level)

Jacob and Paris (1987) claimed that there are three types of metacognitive knowledge: declarative, procedural
and conditional knowledge. Declarative knowledge is a form of factual knowledge stored in memory or the
knowledge gained by students through simple or complex cognitive processes such as conceptualizations and
contextualizations. Procedural knowledge is about the “deployment of strategies”, i.e. the knowledge of designing
and executing procedures or strategies, or action sequences to solve problems or “know-how”. As compared to
declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge shows longer retention time, foster creative, reflective thought,
promotes critical thinking and independent decision making in solving problems. Nonetheless, possessing requisite
declarative and procedural knowledge does not guarantee the academic success of students. Hence, conditional
knowledge is considered the essential component in the cognitive learning process, which refers to when and why
to employ declarative and procedural knowledge. Sound conditional knowledge allows students to be flexibly select
and apply the knowledge to achieve the goals. Schunk and Zimmerman (1998) denoted conditional knowledge as
an integral part of self-directed learning.
Our framework intends to identify, model and teach students to develop the metacognitive knowledge and skills
to enable them to learn molecular geometry in a self-directed manner. In this paper, we emphasise three types of
knowledge that must be possessed by students: (1) knowledge about the content-specific domain, in this case,
molecular geometry needed for learning and problem solving, (2) knowledge about the management and
organisation of knowledge in the course of learning and (3) knowledge of when, why and how to apply the
knowledge in solving problem pertinent to molecular geometry, as well as how to improve the metacognitive
capabilities on cognitive skills in enhancing the learning of molecular geometry more effectively. We will argue
that students need to develop the cognitive models explicitly to actively add-in, modify, and restructure the
knowledge network needed to learn molecular geometry resides in the mind aided with metacognitive teaching
strategies applied. For example, in accordance to this model, we allow students to verbalize their thinking about
what they do and do not understand about the knowledge of molecular geometry during the metacognitive teaching
process, allowing them to explain how they understand the concepts taught in the lesson. Strong engagement to in
this type of metacognitive thinking enables students to properly manage and actively constructing their knowledge.
Moreover, students require this skill to perform self-reflection which allow them to improve the current learning
conditions.
In this theoretical framework, students first must be able to recognize the gaps and inconsistencies in learning,
i.e. knowing what they know and what they do not know in the conceptual framework of the understanding of
molecular geometries. The conceptual framework of knowledge of molecular geometry is built based on some
fundamental concepts and propositional knowledge such as chemical bonding, the valency of atoms and
electronegativity to propose the Lewis dot diagram of the molecules. Based on the Lewis dot diagrams, students
will predict the molecular geometry (shapes of molecules, bond angles, bond length and etc.) based on VSEPR
theory, hence which will hence move them forward to learn other fundamental knowledge of chemistry such as
periodic variations in physical properties (effective nuclear charge, atomic/ionic radius, ionisation energy, electron
affinity and etc.) as well properties of matter (phase change, deviation in non-ideal solutions, thermochemistry and
etc.) (Wang and Barrow, 2013). In this paper, we would like to put forward our argument that each student
possesses different structures of the network of concepts and prior knowledge formed throughout their learning
processes and experience, as well as the difference in understanding and interpretation during the delivery of
knowledge. It follows the notion of constructivism in learning, which no two students understand the knowledge in
the same way. Undeniably, students; network of knowledge could undergo conceptual change and restructuring
facilitated by various models and strategies such as argumentations and discussion with more knowledgeable others
or teachers (Zhou, 2010). We hope to promote active construction, restructuring and modifications of knowledge
framework reside in the minds of students through this theoretical framework proposed. This process requires
students to equip themselves with sound metacognitive skills to develop these three types of knowledge.

Metacognitive control and regulation: Plan, Monitor and Evaluate (Meta-Level)

Planning the way to approach the learning task, monitoring the comprehension and evaluating progress towards
the comprehension towards the completion of a task are three essential components in metacognitive control
(Chauhan and Singh, 2014).

59
According to Brown (1987), there are three processes of regulation of cognition involved: planning activities,
monitoring activities and checking outcomes. Planning activities prior to the undertaking of problems involve
predicting outcomes, scheduling strategies and trials and errors. Monitoring activities include testing, revising and
rescheduling's one strategy or approach for learning while checking outcomes involves evaluation of effectiveness
and efficiency of an action or strategy prior to the outcome. Regulation of cognition is usually unstable, not always
statable and relatively age-independent (task and situation dependent) (Brown, 1987).

Macroscopic, microscopic, symbolic thinking (Object-Level)

Johnstone (1982, 1983) proposed that learner should be able to distinguish three levels of representation of
matters in the learning of chemistry namely macroscopic, submicroscopic and symbolic. Macroscopic level of
representation refers to tangible and visible chemicals, which may or may not be part of the students‟ experiences;
microscopic level refers to particulate level which can be used to describe the interactions at atomic, molecular and
subatomic level; while symbolic level refers to pictorial, algebraic and computational representation of chemical
reactions. Metaphors such as analogies, models, equations, graphs, diagrams, pictures, and simulations assist
students to depict the scientific ideas, even though they are not literal interpretations nor real thing. This notion is in
line with the constructivist approach in teaching chemistry, which the new scientific concepts which are unfamiliar
to novice learner are linked to their prior knowledge through the metaphorical representations, which serves as the
fundamental to further construction of new knowledge in future. Research shows that many secondary school
students are facing the conundrum in transferring different types of representations at each level and transferring
from one level to another (Treagust and Chittleborough, 2001). Hinton and Nakleh (1999) suggested the use of
multiple representations simultaneously in learning chemistry, and the teaching of chemistry should show
connectedness between three levels at the same time to develop the understanding different level of understanding
of chemical representations as shown in Figure 11.

FIGURE 11. Different level of understanding of chemical representation

Schraw and co-researchers (2006) identified the role of developing mental models and awareness of conceptual
change in minds will promote the development of metacognition in science learning. In this framework, we hope to
foster students‟ ability to show the interplay between the macroscopic, submicroscopic and symbolic level of
cognitive functions in learning chemistry, with paying less focus on them to distinction between reality and
representations. We argued the essential functions of three levels of thinking, a mental model, governed by
metacognition in aiding students to solve the problems related to chemistry and, in this case, molecular geometry.
Chittleborough and Treagust (2008) posited the difficulty faced by students in associating macroscopic nature of
matter with the sub-microscopic level of representation which appears to be explanatory. Broman and co-
researchers argued that students are less capable of using spatial intelligence to visualize the molecular models from
different facets, which is considered as the sub-microscopic level of knowledge. To fill this gap, metacognitive
teaching strategies proposed in this paper suggested the teaching strategies adopted should also aid students in
developing students‟ capability in visualizing the molecular model to construct explanation to explain the physical
properties of matter, as well as relating them to life experience and prior to problem-solving in real life conditions.
Teacher can use metaphors such as analogy, simulations, and ball and stick models to aid students in accomplishing
this goal. Nonetheless, besides supporting the development of three levels thinking in this framework, we argued
that the functions of metacognitive skills and knowledge in supporting and governing the students‟ cognitive
enterprise in helping them to solve problems pertaining to molecular geometry. In this metacognitive teaching
framework, students are expected to use declarative, procedural and conditional knowledge to plan or devise
strategies prior to problem-solving, monitor the progress and lastly evaluate the solutions as devised. We also wish
to explicate the relationships between three levels of representations to metacognitive knowledge which will be
explained in the problem-solving model later.

60
 Problem Solving Model in Molecular Geometry
Students usually face difficulties in problem-solving are due to lack of knowledge of subject matter (Gulacar et
al. 2013) and poor problem-solving strategies (Yuriev et al., 2017). The model of problem-solving in molecular
geometry proposed in this paper is adapted based on the model of Dewey (1910) and Lee & Fensham (1996).
Basically, this problem solving model consists of five stages: (1) understand the problem, (2) goal setting and
awareness, (3) interpret the problem, (4) problem solving and (5) checking, which next stage is reversible to
previous stage and vice versa as shown in Figure 12.
Before we forward the discussion, we would like to argue the nature of the term “problem” in this context,
which will hence define the “problem solving” in our further delineation of the model. According to Smith (1988),
there is no consensus on the meaning of “problem” and “problem-solving”. Hayes (1980) defined the problem as
“whenever there is a gap between where you are now and where you want to be, and you don't know how to find a
way to cross that gap, you have a problem.”. Meanwhile, problem-solving was coined by Wheatley (1984) as “what
to do, when you don‟t know what to do.” These two researchers try to interrelate the problem and problem solving,
yet it admittedly implies two fundamental differences between two related concepts of routine exercises and novel
problems (Bodner, 1991). To illustrate these differences, we routinely encounter tasks for which there is a gap to be
filled using strategies devised. We would like to argue the difference between routine exercises and novel problems
by the illustrating the level of confidence faced by people in dealing with the tasks. If one feels confident that he is
able to know the way(s) to cross the gap, he is considered taking a routine exercise, not a novel problem. Bodner
(1987) posited there is no distinct characteristic to clarify the task to be a problem, this is because the status of a
problem is the subtle interaction between the nature of task and degree of individual who struggles to devise the
solution for the task given. In this paper, we conceptualize the problem-solving strategies as “the ability of students
to plan and devise appropriate answers and solutions to the tasks given”, regardless the tasks designed by teachers
are routine exercises and novel problems. We argued that once the novel problem is solved, it will soon become the
routine exercises for students to deal with similar or familiar tasks and it serves as the foundation to solve another
novel problem. In a nutshell, in this paper, we focus on the development of “capability to solve the tasks” rather
than “nature of the tasks designed”. The model of problem-solving pertaining to molecular geometry proposed is
adapted from Dewey (1910) and Lee & Fensham (1996) because process flow of problem-solving is applicable to
the nature of both routine exercises and novel problems related to molecular geometry.
Based on Figure 7, students first need to understand the problem as a whole. The problem can be simple or
complex, depending on the nature of the problem itself. Then, students can rephrase or simplify the problem
statements to a more comprehensible form, or use symbols or diagrams to visualize the problem so that they could
understand them better. Students can use think-aloud techniques to make their reading and understanding visible,
record them down using words, diagram or symbols and internalize all the information to get the picture of problem
clearer. Next, students need to set goals or subgoals prior to the problems to be solved, with the state or doubt of
awareness of the difficulty of the tasks and attempt to solve the problems given. This step involves the self-
regulated learning, which learner need to start to devise plan prior to goal-setting in problem-solving as well as
having self-efficacy and motivation to solve the problems given (planning). Then, student needs to interpret the
problem by assigning meanings to extracted information (declarative knowledge). After that, students can start the
problem solving by retrieving rules and facts from memory(declarative knowledge), selecting appropriate strategies
based on the relevant and important information (procedural knowledge and conditional knowledge) selected from
first three processes and achieve goals and subgoals by implicitly and explicitly linking with information. Students
need to monitor the progress of problem-solving by checking the comprehension of tasks and production of
solutions (monitoring). Lastly, students need to check the solution produced is whether appropriate and cater the
needs of tasks, which requires them to assess how well they have accomplished the tasks by using strategies
selected and any corrections to be made to improve the solutions given. On the other hand, they can perform self-
evaluation by identifying changes to be made to do better next time. (evaluation).
Nevertheless, problem-solving is a complex process that involves many variables. There is no single model
captures all the nuances of problem-solving. Hence, we suggested that students can model and adapt this problem-
solving model in accordance with the nature of the problem

61
 Metacognition in Solving Problem Related to Molecular Geometry: An Example

Metacognition in learning chemistry, the central science of various scientific disciplines, is given exceptional
attention as it refers to knowledge about when and how to deploy strategies during problem-solving processes in
real life situations (White et al., 2009). In this section, we illustrate how students deploy the knowledge of
molecular geometry to answer the phenomenon of the effect of molecular structure on the solubility of molecular
compounds, scaffolded by metacognitive strategies implemented.
For example, a student would like to construct the explanation for the phenomenon of solubility of ethene glycol
(HO-CH2-CH2-OH) and benzene (C6H6) in water and hexane. First, the student will first drop these two chemical
substances into water and hexane to observe their solubility, which becomes the macroscopic level of representation
in students‟ minds, i.e. the experience of the student. In this stage, the inquiry of student is stimulated which hence
activate the metacognitive thinking of student to construct the explanation for this phenomenon. Then, the student
needs to attempt to solve the problems by setting the goals to construct explanation to explain the solubility of
ethene glycol and benzene in water and organic solvent and create the awareness of the level of difficulty to explain
this phenomenon prior to his or her knowledge. First, student recorded all the observations such as “ethene glycol
dissolves in water but not in organic solvent” and “hexane dissolves in organic solvent but not in water”. Then, he
relates all the observations to knowledge and facts retrieved from his or her memory, starting from the keyword
“solubility” and eventually the

FIGURE 12. Graphic for Proposed Problem-Solving Model for Molecular Geometry (adapted from
Dewey(1910) and Lee & Fensham (1996))
.
concept of “polarity” and “molecular geometry” retrieved from memory. To explain this phenomenon, students
start interpreting and explicating the relationship between these three components. Based on the interpretation of
relationships, students will figure out the strategies needed to construct explanation by studying the polarity of
water, ethene glycol, benzene, and hexane by using the concept of molecular geometry. Along the process of
drawing the molecular structures, he monitors the comprehension of the problem-solving strategies of the tasks until
the polarity of each molecule is determined from the drawing. Hence, student constructs the explanation of
phenomenon using the “like dissolves like” rule. Throughout the problem-solving process, the role of the teacher is
to provide scaffolded instruction to elicit the process of thinking reside in the mind of students and offering support
and assistance to students to improve the problem-solving strategies as needed based on the “visible” thinking
verbalized by students.

62
 CONCLUSION

We proposed the conceptual framework and theoretical framework for chemistry teachers to implement
metacognitive teaching strategies to foster metacognition in students to learn molecular geometry based on the
literature reviews. It could prove helpful if chemistry educator could adapt this framework and integrate it into
classroom teaching and learning process of chemistry in context. We believe that students who frequently reflect on
their own thinking and learning progress will lead them to become self-directed learners. If a student can develop
the metacognitive skills within himself or herself, it signifies the success of educator to assist the student to become
an independent, creative and self-directed learner. Finally, further research and discussion are needed on fostering
metacognition in learning molecular geometry by illustrating the process of thinking resides in students‟ minds, so
that effective methodologies can be designed and executed by teachers in the classroom and further assess the
strategies this overall framework proposes here. The findings of the future study can serve as the reference for the
curriculum and lesson design of molecular geometry based on the understanding of high, moderate and low-
achieving students.

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 Crafting STEM Problems for Problem-Based Learning
Classes
Nor Suhailah Mohd-Nora, Khamawiyah Suradia, Siti Hajar Ramzana, Nor Asidah
Alia, Fatin Aliah Phangb and Khairiyah Mohd-Yusofb
a
SMK Sultanah Engku Tun Aminah, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
b
Centre for Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia

Abstract. Problem-based Learning (PBL) has been a very popular method in STEM education because of the benefits it
can give to the students. However, to implement PBL classes is not an easy task especially that training, proper
implementation, monitoring and support are needed to ensure its success. This paper describes how PBL was
implemented at a secondary school under the STEM education initiative using low carbon as a theme. The experience of
the teachers who went through the training, problem crafting and implementation of PBL classes is captured in this
paper with the teachers’ reflection at the end of the paper. In conclusion, PBL should be implemented in STEM
education as it can shape the students into gaining the 21st century skills crucial to excel in STEM careers in th e future.
Keywords: 21st Century Skills, Problem Based Learning, Problem Crafting

INTRODUCTION

In 2016, two secondary schools in Johor were selected to become pioneer schools for implementing Problem-Based
Learning (PBL). The project is sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), headed by the Kyoto
Environmental Activities Association (KEAA) in collaboration with the Jabatan Pendidikan Negeri Johor (JPNJ) and
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). This PBL project aims to incorporate low carbon awareness among secondary school
students in the Iskandar region to develop human capital that can achieve the objectives of Low Carbon Society Blueprint for
Iskandar Malaysia 2025. In line with the Malaysia Education Blueprint [1], PBL can promote 21st century learning,
higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and improve the quality of STEM education in Malaysia, especially in Johor. As the
project continues into 2018, 12 secondary schools with 54 STEM teachers and about 400 Form 2 students are currently
involved. This paper describes how the teachers from a pioneer school crafted the problems for the PBL classes and
implemented the classes for 3 years.
Problem Based Learning (PBL) is a student-centered teaching and learning methodology which uses problems to
construct new knowledge on the foundation of prior knowledge [2]. Moving towards world-class education, Malaysia needs
to make impactful changes to the international world. In 2014, MOE introduced the 21st Century Learning, which is a
learning approach that focuses on a student-centered learning based on elements of communication, collaboration,
critical thinking, creativity, as well as values and ethical applications. While applying PBL method, the five elements of the
21st Century Learning can be achieved. There are many PBL models which make it necessary to identify the suitable
model to be used in a typical classroom [3]. Usually a PBL cycle consists of three phases which are [4]:
 Phase 1 : Problem restatement and identification (PR & PI)
 Phase 2 : Peer teaching, synthesis of information, and solution formulation
 Phase 3 : generalization, closure and reflection

The teachers were chosen to attend a series of PBL training workshop at UTM. During the workshop, the teachers
were guided on active learning techniques which are needed to design scaffolding for students, cooperative learning for
developing learning teams, crafting problems for PBL and planning an effective learning environment through How
People Learn (HPL) framework, Constructive Alignment (CA) and the method of facilitation to support development of
learning in PBL classrooms. Three modules were used in the training, namely Effective Implementation of Student
Centred Learning, Part 1: Engaging Learners through Active Learning and Effective Implementation of Student Centred
Learning, Part 2: Developing & Supporting Team Based Learning using

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 Cooperative Learning, and PBL training on Problem Crafting and Facilitation. The problem crafting sessions are
hands-on, where the teachers went through a PBL cycle to initially learn to craft the problem they will use in their
schools. This approach not only helped the teachers learn about problem crafting and experience the PBL cycle, they also
get to experience the feelings of going through the different phases of PBL and learn to empathize with students as they
guide them through PBL for the first time. The teachers were also observed and guided by UTM mentors during
implementation the method in the school. They came to the PBL class and discuss among PBL teachers for improvement.

PROBLEM CRAFTING

A problem is the anchor in Problem Based Learning (PBL). Being able to craft effective problems becomes a critical
skill for educators in PBL and there is no one formula for writing a good problem. There are some guidelines suggested by
experts on how to craft problems. There are also various academic journals and articles discussed about the problem-
crafting for PBL [3, 5-9]. Problems crafted should motivate students to learn and related to the real world while ensuring
that the intended learning outcomes are achieved upon solving the problems. An effective PBL problem can be a powerful
trigger and motivation for students’ learning process and relates to the reality of the student’s world and interest. The
problem designed for students should mirror those that the students will encounter in the workplaces to make them real work
ready [8].

In general, problems can be classified into three different types which are fictional, authentic and real. There are five
principles of effective problems [2]:
1. Authentic and realistic - Students can be motivated when they realize that the problems they are working on are
authentic and realistic
2. Constructive and integrated – The intended learning outcomes should be embedded into the problem, connected to
students’ prior and if possible connected to the knowledge from other courses and/or disciplines.
3. Suitable complexity – The size and complexity of the problem should be suitable for students to solve
cooperatively as a team.
4. Promote self-directed learning and lifelong learning – A problem that is authentic and provocative can create
interest and motivate students to become self-directed and lifelong learners.
5. Stimulate critical thinking and metacognitive skills – Student have to use critical thinking to interpret the problem’s
different perspectives, identify the existing and new knowledge, seek and learn new knowledge cooperatively to
reach deep understanding, identify and evaluate possible solution, making decision and apply the correct
concepts of knowledge to synthesis solution for the problem.

There are seven steps in crafting problems [2]:

1. Identify learning outcomes (LO) and the time frame - The gap in knowledge and skills in a problem should not be
too big, otherwise, students may just resist and give up.
2. Identify actual problem/solution and context of the problem and identify demand at the workplace.
3. Infuse LO into the problem, identify and prepare resources needed - The problems must contain objective rather
than interpretive data and require students to make response instead of answering a series of questions
4. Write solution guidelines and prepare grading rubric - To show the outcomes and expectations of the problem to aid
engagement and immersion
5. Package the problem for presentation - Data and calculation sheets with mock company headings can lead to a
more realistic feel. Choose suitable mode of delivery such as memo, letter, e-mail, phone call, bulletin, dialogue,
video clip, newspaper, article, advertisement, poster etc.
6. Review, revise and refine - To ensure that is solvable and can be solved by the students in a the given timeframe
7. Delivery - Getting feedback from colleagues teaching the same course is necessary before the problem to be
distributed.

In this case, learning issues related to the low carbon theme were determined through discussions among the teachers.
They were included into the PBL problems as new knowledge for the students to learn. The PBL class related to four Form
2 subjects are Science, Mathematics, English and Living Skills. The teachers referred to the details of the curriculum to
adapt into the PBL class. The lesson plans for the year comply with the principle of Constructive Alignment (CA). Table
1 shows the example of the planning based on CA.

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 In this school, the students in each form were usually grouped based on the level of achievement. Other than for the
planning of appropriate teaching and learning method used in classes, it also makes it easier for the teachers in crafting PBL
problems. The experiences the teachers underwent in crafting the problems were different each year.
In 2016, the initial problem crafted was in the form of a memo. After being reviewed by UTM lecturers, they found
that the memo too wordy and unsuitable for Form 2 students. The problem was modified to a brochure to suit the level of
14-year-old students (see Fig.1). The real pictures, simple and attractive terms, help students to do problem restatement
(PR) and problem identification (PI). The learning in the PBL class is encouraging despite the lack of experience among
teachers because it was the first time in implementing the method.

Table 1: An example of the lesson plan of PBL class based on Constructive Alignment (CA)

Stage Learning Outcomes Teaching & Learning Assessment School Curriculum

Activities
To identify what we PHASE 1 Individually, in SCIENCE
know, what we need Teacher shows slide of team and in class 1.1.2 Justify the needs to
STAGE 1 to know and the sample problem and (notes, manage biodiversity
( 6 weeks ) learning issues from how to do PR, PI and presentation) effectively2.2.1 Elaborate
the bulletin given. KNL table and communicate about the
Familiarization role of living things in the
Concept of To form KNL table Students read and oxygen and carbon cycles of
Low Carbon prepare individual PR an ecosystem
To enhance students and PI based on the 2.2.3 Solve problems when
in soft skills main problem there are interferences to the
development (team given.(bulletin) cycles caused by human
work, problem activities
solving, Student propose PR 2.3.5 Predict how the changes
communication and and PI individually and in ecosystem affect the
etc.) share with other existing resources and
members balance of the population
2.4.1 Justify and
Each team present their communicate that man needs
PR and PI a stable and productive
ecosystem to sustain life

Fig. 1: PBL problem crafted in 2016

In 2017, after attending the training for a second time and experience gained in 2016, the teachers chose a class of
students from a moderate level in term of achievement. The main problem created was in the form of a poster (see Fig.2).
The poster contains pictures and limited words. During the PBL class in Stage 1, the students faced some difficulties to
do PR and PI. The students were not able to find the learning issues individually without guidance from the teachers and
individual research on learning issues were not adequate which caused the peer teaching session in the classroom to be
time consuming.

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 In 2018, before choosing the students for PBL class, the teachers decided to perform some research based on HPL and
ILS among the Form 2 students to choose the PBL students. The problem in 2018 was created in the form of a bulletin
adapted from The Iskandarian newspaper (see Fig.3). The six pages of newspaper contains an article, the posters, the
competition information and advertisement related to low carbon issue. Most of the students encountered difficulty to do PR
and PI because there was too much information in the newspaper. During the discussion among the PBL teachers, they
realized that the main problem should be highlighted if the newspapers will be used to present the problem the next time.
It can help the students to restate and identify the problems much easier.

Fig. 2: PBL problem crafted in 2017 Fig. 3: PBL problem crafted in 2018

IMPLEMENTATION OF PBL CLASSES

The PBL model used as scaffolding for the implementation is Cooperative Problem Based Learning (CPBL) shown
in Fig. 4, which is the infusion of Cooperative Learning principles into the PBL cycle [4, 10]. The students entered the
first-time class for ice breaking in groups. There are some activities conducted during the session such as creating group
identity through group name, logo, motto and rules. In this way, they can build strong relationship between team
members.

There are three phases in the CPBL cycle, as illustrated in Fig. 4. Since the problem was divided into three stages, the
students went through three CPBL cycles during the whole duration of the implementation of around eight months. In
the first stage of the problem, Phase 1 was implemented when the students received the first problem. The teachers
showed the students how to do PR and PI for the first time. The members in each team read the problem given
individually and wrote down the problem restatement (PR) individually in about 2 – 5 minutes. After that, they restated
their PR in their own words and shared with a partner and in a group. Finally, each team came out with the group PR and
shared to the whole class. This is a very important step so that each member of the team had the same understanding of
the problem. For example, the following is a PR for problem presented in Fig.3 from a group of students:

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 “Based on email received, the content is about the task we are going to do during Stage 2(b). We have to analyze all
the data of research collected in Stage 2(a) in by using appropriate statistical analysis such as graph, pie chart, bar chart
and other form. We also have to explain the main problem based on analysis and the awareness about low carbon in our
community. The task should be ready for presentation on 1st August 2018.”

Individual meet
the problem,
restatement &
identification
Cooperative Problem-Based Learning
(CPBL) Model
Team discussion
& consensus in Self-directed
Phase 1 problem learning
restatement &
identification
*
Overall class Individual notes, Team synthesis Team Presentation,
problem team peer teach & application consensus on reflection &
identification & -ing & overall for solutions final solution team feedback
analysis class discussion formulation generation
Phase 3

**
Phase 2 Closure
* Insufficient understanding of learning issues to solve problem

Fig. 4. The Cooperative Problem-Based Learning (CPBL) Model [11].

Next, each student filled in a KNL table to identify the problem in detail. The KNL table is on What we Know (K),
What we Need to know (N) and the Learning Issues / what we have to learn (L) [11]. They completed the KNL table
individually, shared to a partner, to the group and then the whole class. That is Problem Identification (PI). The first
cycle ended with learning issues for the students to study and research outside of the class. Most students faced
difficulties during the first stage since the learning process is new to them and is a significant change from the normal
spoon-fed learning environment that they were used to. They perceived the process of learning is a waste of time since
they used to get all the information from their teachers. They think that the PBL method pushes them to learn some
knowledge that they might have known but in reality, their understanding about the topic is just at a surface level. At this
point, the teachers as facilitators provided scaffolding by motivating them to lift up their spirit in the learning process.

In Phase 2, the students conduct peer teaching on the learning issues. In this phase, the students developed the skills
in finding out all the learning issues from various sources such as media, magazine, community, books, articles and so
on. The facilitators could give some guideline for the students undergoing PBL for the first time to find out the
information for example by giving suggestions related to the trusted sources for their reference. All the information
obtained was share during the overall class peer teaching in PBL class around 2 hours. The students should be able to
prepare well for the discussion to be successfully run in the class. The teachers monitored the whole discussion. At the
end of Phase 2, all information is synthesized and the students formulated the solution for the problem.

In Phase 3, the students generalized the concepts and skills learned. The teachers conducted individual reflection,
rated the team members and provided written feedback on good actions to keep up and things to improve on. Each team
members are rated based on their commitment in team work. During the closure session, the teachers summarized all the
new ideas learned throughout the CPBL cycle. The students rechecked their understanding of the topics. The teachers
assessed the students by checking students’ individual notes and their presentations.

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 TEACHERS’ REFLECTIONS

Throughout the PBL project, the teachers gained a lot of precious experiences. Initially, the teachers were
apprehensive as the project seemed to be additional workload for the teachers. The teachers had to undergo several
training courses at UTM as instructed by the Johor State Education Department (JPNJ). The training conducted by
UTM lecturers are usually two-way communications with discussions between participants and speakers. The
teachers had to be alert and gave their responses on the issues discussed. After the training, the teachers were given a
task such as journal review, article review and reflections writing.

While at the school, other non-PBL teachers were not supportive of the PBL implementation. This is because, the
PBL teachers and students were not allowed to engage in other programs which overlapped the PBL activities or
classes. Therefore, the excellent PBL students had to drop out and disappoint the school team in various
competitions. PBL teachers as a team always provided support for each other to face the challenges throughout the
PBL project. The teachers sat together and devised the best solutions.

After a few months, the PBL students started to show positive changes in terms of their attitude towards
knowledge and self-confidence in classes. One of reflection written by a PBL student as follows:

“This PBL class is more beneficial than learning in classroom. I really love this learning ways and I have learned
a bunch of new knowledges. As a PBL student, I felt massive changes in my character after joined in PBL class. I
begin to apply this PBL method in my other subjects too”

These changes increased the spirit of teachers in conducting the PBL classes. The PBL students have their own
identity. Other teachers could see the differences between the PBL students compared to other students and they
started to give support to this implementation method in school. At the end of each year, PBL teachers get feedback
related to this method among the teachers. Some of their opinions about the PBL students are:

“PBL students show their interest and creativity during the learning activities in class. They come out with a good
convincing presentation and be brave while do the presentation in front of the class”

“The ideas that come out from the PBL students are different compared to other students. Because they put their
own effort to gain or gather knowledges without teachers help. Students started to work independently and teacher’s
role as a facilitator only”

In addition, the PBL teachers also felt the changes in themselves. They are more open in accepting other people’s
opinions and are constantly looking for new knowledge to be shared with students indirectly improving the quality of
professionalism as educators.

CONCLUSION

The PBL project in STEM education is not an easy approach to be implemented because it requires extensive
training, trial, long term implementation and monitoring, as well as constantly motivating the teachers and students to
keep going on using PBL until positive changes happen to them. This usually happens after 3 to 6 months. With
proper support from the trainers, school principals and the education authorities, PBL can be a powerful teaching
method to improve STEM education and more importantly prepare the students with the 21st century skills to face
the challenges of Industrial Revolution 4.0.

REFERENCES

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7. Renne E. Weiss (2003). Designing Problem to Promote Higher-Order Thinking.New Directions For Teaching and
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Education, 12 – 13 December 2005, Johor, Malaysia.
9. J. Mohd-Zamry, M.Y Khairiyah, H. Nor Farida and S.H Ahmad Helmi (2012) A Guide to the Art of Crafting Engineering
Problems for Problem-Based Learning. Outcome-Based Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education:
Innovative Practices, p. 62 – 83.
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Develop 21st Century Skills among Secondary School Students through STEM Education, presented at the 7th World
Engineering Education Forum (WEEF) 2017 on 13-16 November 2017, Kuala Lumpur.
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(Ed), Elsevier, Kidlington, UK, pp. 67-93, 2015
12. M.Y Khairiyah, S. H. Syed Ahmad Helmi, S. AziatulNiza and M. AzizulAzri.Effective Implementation of Student Centred
Learning, Part 1: Engaging Learners through Active Learning, CEE Book Series, UTM, Johor Bahru, 2016.
13. M.Y Khairiyah, S. H. Syed Ahmad Helmi and Z. Zaki Yamani.Effective Implementation of Student Centred Learning, Part
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 Data Processing Flow for WINSTEPS
Lohgheswary, N.a, Nopiah, Z. M.b, Aziz, A. A.c, Zakaria, E.d, Othman, H.e and
Hussain, A. H.f
a
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, SEGi University, Kota Damansara, 47810,
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
a,b,e, f
Centre of Engineering Education, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia, Bangi, 43600 Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
d
Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, 43600 Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
c
Faculty of Computing and IT, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 802000 Saudi Arabia

Abstract. Final examination questions which are based on the course outcome of the module and the programme outcome
will assess the understanding of the students towards the subject. Rasch model gives an insight view on the performance of
the students towards the exam questions. This paper gives a step by step method on how to transfer exam marks into EXCEL
worksheet and later into WINSTEPS. Raw marks will be entered in the Excel. This will be followed by normalizing the
marks and changing them according to the Likert scale. Then the data is saved as formatted text and will be run in
WINSTEPS. Among the output of WINSTEPS is summary statistics, fit statistics, item dimensionality and person-item
distribution map. This step-by step data processing method will help the new users to learn the Rasch model. A new user who
follows these procedures will be able to obtain the analysis of the Rasch model.
Keywords: Data processing, Rasch Model, EXCEL, WINSTEPS, exam questions

INTRODUCTION
Rasch model gives a powerful analysis on determining the performance of students who sit for any examinations. It
can give details on the level of difficulty of the exam questions. It can show how the students answered each question in
an examination.
The ability of 888 students from 28 high schools in Sardina, Italy was evaluated using Rasch model [1]. The
evaluation based on 2 set of questionnaire. First part of the questionnaire evaluates the level of ability in procedural
fluency with 20 items while the later to evaluate strategic competence using 25 items. Some Italian undergraduates who
are lack in generic skills and wrongly choose the program will withdraw from university in the first year of study. These
students are 18% of the total enrolled students in the year. Reliable measure of students’ performance is needed to find
the risk factors, predictors of success and to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the curriculum. The study support
that the item’s questionnaire can discriminate students with different Mathematics proficiency levels.
Students’ performance in Computing II subject was evaluated using Rasch model [2]. Every final examination
question is mapped to the number of students who answered correctly. Based on the findings of 75 students from the
Foundation of Engineering, students can answer fairly question from various level of difficulty of final examination
questions.
The procedures to adopt in validating Mathematics test items were addresses using Rasch model [3]. The validation
of content was based on experts’ judgment on the development of the test questions or the items. The analysis of 100
test questions with a sample of 200 students was extracted from WINSTEPS analysis. Prior to this data collection, a trial
test was conducted with 100 items to 50 students. This study aimed to examine the extent to which a set of test to
measure Mathematics achievements meets Rasch model expectation and to provide evidence of adequate psychometric
properties of the Mathematics test item. The study concludes that 86 questions of the Mathematics test fit the Rasch
model with the indication of unidimensionality.
The Rasch analysis has been used widely to examine the reliability of exam questions and the impact on students’
performance [4]. Students’ performance is not only dependent on the ability of answering the exam questions but also
the relevance of the questions. Exam questions need to be arranged from the easiest to the most difficult in order for the
students to have more time to answer the difficult questions [5].
Rasch model has been used to measure students’ performance in the examination and it is found that if students’
performance is higher than the mean item (question), it means that the students could answer the questions within the

73
scope of the subject [6]. Otherwise, a necessary action needs to be taken to improve students’ understanding on the
subject [7].
Individual (person) reliability is determined by the summary statistics of individual, whereby it shows the
inconsistency of the individual answering the exam questions. The item which does not fit the whole exam questions
can be determined by the analysis of Rasch model [8].
This paper is an introductory for the beginners to use Rasch model. This paper shows the detailed steps on how to
transfer raw data (marks) to WINSTEPS.

METHODOLOGY
Raw data which is the exam marks obtained from the test will be entered into EXCEL worksheet and then
transferred to the notepad and lastly will be entered into WINSTEP to get the Rasch analysis.
This data is in Polytomous Rasch model. Polytomous Rasch model is appropriate to the use of Likert scales, rating
scales, and to educational assessment items for which successively higher integer scores are intended to indicate
increasing levels of competence or attainment.
The pilot test has a detailed analysis results for the pilot test. The detailed results such as the reliability of the test
questions and the performance of students are obtained from the Rasch model. Since this paper is aimed to show the
detailed step for the data processing, the results of the pilot test are not discussed in this paper.
Below are the steps needed to process the data. The data taken is from a pilot test conducted to 35 students from
Engineering Faculty of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Twelve students were from the Chemical Engineering
Department, 10 students were from Civil Engineering Department while 13 students were from Electrical Engineering
Department. Table 1 shows the profile of the students. Table 2 shows the distribution of marks for the pilot test
questions.
TABLE 1. Students’ profile

Department Number of students

Chemical Engineering 12
Civil Engineering 10
Electrical Engineering 13
TOTAL 35

TABLE 2. Distribution of marks for pilot test questions

Question Marks
1 6
2 6
3 6
4 9
5 12
6 16

Step 1:
Students’ marks are entered into the EXCEL sheet as shown in Figure 1. CH01 represents the first student from the
chemical engineering list, CV01 represents the first civil engineering student and EE01 represents the first electrical
engineering student from the respective list. Data ‘1’(yellow) shows that the chemical engineering students obtained 1
mark for question 3. The total number of students are 35 (n = 35). But only the first 8 students (CH01 to CH08) results
are shown in Figure 1.

74
 FIGURE 1. Entering data in EXCEL

Step 2:

This step is to normalize all the marks ‘over 100’ using the given formula:

Student's mark
Total marks for the question

For example, data ‘1’ (yellow) is normalized to 17 using the following method:

1
100 17
6

Figure 2 shows the normalized data.

FIGURE 2. Normalizing data

Step 3:

Normalized data is changed to the Likert scale using the following mathematical formula:

75
 =IF(K3="","",IF(K3="xx","x",IF(K3>=70,5,IF(K3>=60,4,IF(K3>=50,3,IF(K3>=40,2,IF(K3<39,1)))))))
Table 2 shows the range of marks for the Likert scale. For example, data’17’ (yellow) was given Likert scale 1.
Figure 3 shows the data transformed into Likert scale.

TABLE 2. Range of data for Likert scale

Likert Scale Range of Marks

1 0 – 39
2 40 – 49
3 50 – 59
4 60 – 69
5 70 - 100

FIGURE 3. Changing of data to Likert scale

Step 4:

Delete the data from column B to column O. Delete row 1 and row 2. Next at column A, right click and choose
‘column width’ and type 4. For the data from column B to column G, right click and choose ‘column width’ and type 1.
Figure 4 shows the adjustment of the column width.

FIGURE 4. Adjustment of column width

76
 Step 5:

‘Save as’ the file as Formatted Text (Space delimited).

Step 6:
Open the file. Add the following information.

&INST
TITLE = "Pilot Test"
PERSON = Person ; persons are ... ITEM =
Item ; items are ...
ITEM1 = 5 ; column of response to first item in data record NI = 6 ;
number of items
NAME1 = 1 ; column of first character of person label NAMELEN
= 4 ; length of person identifying label XWIDE = 1 ; number of columns
per item response CODES = 12345 ; valid codes in data file
UIMEAN = 0 ; item mean for local origin USCALE =
1 ; user scaling for logits
UDECIM = 2 ; reported decimal places for user scaling
MISSCORE = -1 ;
LINELENGTH = 50 ; &END
1
2
3
4
5
6
END LABELS

TITLE is the name of the file. ITEM1=5 means the first item (data) placed at column 5. NI = 6 means number of
item (questions). NAME1 = 4 means the length of CV01 is 4. XWIDE = 1 means the number of column for one piece of
data. CODES = 12345 means that the Likert scale has been used. Then, we save the fail as shown in Figure 6.

FIGURE 6. Save the file as Formatted Text

77
 Step 7:

Close the fail. Run the file in WINSTEPS

DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Figure 7 shows the process flow chart for the data processing. Once raw marks (data) was obtained, the data is keyed
in EXCEL. Then the data is normalized. If there is any value keyed in wrongly in EXCEL, then the data will have error
in normalizing. Therefore need to check the EXCEL sheet for any ‘wrong’ keyed in data. The next step is, normalized
data will have to change to Likert scale. Next, the column width will be adjusted. Once this process is done, save as the
file as Formatted Text. Next, open the file and the info beginning from &INST to END LABELS. Then save the file
again as Formatted Text. Run the file in WINSTEPS. If the file is not running, check on the adjustment of column width
or check on the additional info. The output of the data is the Rasch model analysis.

FIGURE 7. Process flow chart

Start

Raw marks (data)

Enter data in EXCEL

No
Normalize
data

Yes
Change to Likert scale

Adjustment of column width

Save as Formatted Text

Open File

Add info &INST …END

LABELS

Save as Formatted Text

Run in No
WINSTEPS

Yes

Rasch model analysis

End

Rasch model is able to classify the exam questions based on the difficulties of the questions. This is not able to get from
the traditional method of processing scores. The traditional method could only group the students based on the grades
obtained. In Rasch model, the performance of each student against each question can be obtained from the person item
distribution map.

78
 Rasch model has great impact in education. Rasch model can identify relevant question that match students’ ability.
Rasch model also can identify the quality of questions. For instance, Rasch model can produce association of students
and performance in each course outcome [9]. Rasch model also give the analysis of pre-post training [11] or pre-test
[10]. Rasch model identifies students who need extra attention in any study.
Every teacher can use the Rasch model to look at the detailed performance of the students. Teachers can also
identify whether there is any ‘misfit’ question in the exam [12]. This misfit question is actually question which is not
suppose to be tested in the exam. Misfit question either need to be deleted or restructured. Thus, Rasch model is also an
efficient tool for every teacher to validate their exam questions.

CONCLUSION
Rasch model is a powerful tool that examines the performance of students in the examination by providing the
details on how each student attempts to answer the exam questions. This paper provides the detailed steps on how to
process the raw data of the exam questions. The data was transferred to EXCEL and then normalized. Furthermore, the
Likert scale is given to the normalized data. Then, the data is saved as formatted text. Next some information is added
and then the file in formatted text is run into WINSTEPS to obtain the Rasch model analysis. The details of the steps
will ensure that one will get the clear picture on how to analyze the data via the Rasch model. This procedure will be
very helpful for a beginner who is starting to use the Rasch model to analyze the data.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors wish to express gratitude towards Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for supporting the research.

REFERENCES
1. Pansavalle, C. A. and Solinas, G. (2013). The Rasch model analysis for understanding Mathematics proficiency. A case study:
Senior High School Sardian students. Creative Education, 4(12), pp. 767-773.
2. Said, R. F. M. (2014). Application of Rasch measurement model in evaluating student performance for Foundation of
Computing II. 7th International Conference on University Learning and Teaching Proceedings, pp. 251-259.
3. Aliyu, R. T. (2015). Construct validity of Mathematics test items using the Rasch model. International Journal of Social
Science and Humanities Research, 3(2), pp. 22-28.
4. Othman, H., Ariff, N. A., Ismail, N. A., Asshaari, N and Nopiah, Z. M. (2010). Engineering Students’ Performance in
Mathematical Courses: The Case Study of Faculty of Engineering and Build Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
Proceeding of the 1st Regional Conference on Applied and Engineering Proceedings, pp. 512-516 .
5. Nopiah, Z. M., Jamalluddin, M. H., Ismail, N. A., Othman, H., Asshaari, I. & Osman, M. H. (2012). Reliability Analysis on
Examination Course Using Rasch Measurement Model, Sains Malaysiana, 41(9), pp. 1171-1176.
6. Osman, S. A., Naam, S. I., Omar, M. Z., Jamaluddin, N., Kofli, N. T., Ayob, A. and Johar, S. (2012). Assesing Student
Perception on the Industrial Training Program Through Rasch Analysis, Seminar Pendidikan Kejuruteraan dan Alam Bina.
7. Aziz, A. A., Zaharim, A., Fuaad, N. F. A. and Nopiah, Z. M. (2013). Students’ performance on Engineering Mathematics
applying Rasch measurement model. Information Technology Based Higher Education and Training (ITHET), pp. 1-4.
8. Said, R. F. M. (2014). Application of Rasch Measurement Model in Evaluating Student Performance for Foundation of
Computing II, 7th International Conference on University Learning and Teaching Proceedings, pp. 251-259.
9. Lohgheswary, N., Nopiah, Z. M., Aziz, A. A. and Zakaria, E. (2017). Evaluation of pre-assessment method on improving
students performance in Linear Algebra course, Global and Stochastic Analysis, Special Issue, pp. 1-10.
10. Lohgheswary, N., Nopiah, Z. M. and Zakaria, E. (2016). Evaluating the reliability of pre-test of Differential Equations using
Rasch measurement model. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, Special Issue, pp. 31-39.
11. Aziz, A. A., Khatimin, N., Mohd, Z. O. and Zaharim, A. (2012). Industrial training assessment of engineering students using
Rasch measurement model. International conference on Statistics in Science, Business and Engineering.
12. Lohgheswary, N., Nopiah, Z. M., Aziz, A. A. and Zakaria, E. (2017). Using Rasch analysis to identify difficult course
outcome in Linear Algebra. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 10(12), pp. 1-5.

79
 Developing Curriculum Modules for an Interdisciplinary
Social Design Course to Cultivate Engineering Students’
Creativity
Mei-Di Chena, Shang-Hsien Hsieha, Shih-Yao Laib, Mei-Mei Songc, and Te-Sheng
Changd
a
Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
b
Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
c
Graduate Institute of Futures Studies, Tamkang University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
d
Department of Education and Human Potentials Development, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien City,
Taiwan

Abstract. This paper reports the goals and activities of an ongoing three-year project: “Interdisciplinary Engineering
Education for Creativity.” This project aims to develop effective curricula and learning environments to cultivate
Interdisciplinary creativity in engineering education. It operates based on interdisciplinary collaboration among educators
from the fields of engineering, futures studies, design, and education. Three curriculum modules—interdisciplinary
communication, participatory design, and futures thinking—were developed and applied in an interdisciplinary social design
course. The curriculum module development process has two stages, and this paper primarily describes the project’s conceptual
framework and the first stage of curriculum model development. It also narrates how these curriculum modules were
implemented at the Stanley Wang D-School@NTU in the fall of 2017.
Keywords: Engineering Education, Creativity, Interdisciplinary Communication, Participatory Design, Futures
Thinking.

INTRODUCTION
With the rapid development of science and technology, knowledge generation is constantly accelerating the pace at
which older knowledge is replaced. Many research institutes and researchers prefer to build students’ learning ability
rather than directly teach the specialized knowledge of an academic subject (Mayer, 1998). Most countries’ education
policies have shifted to emphasize essential 21st-century skills for students: the four Cs—critical thinking,
communication, collaboration, and creativity. These skills replace the three Rs of traditional learning: reading, writing, and
arithmetic (National Education Association, 2012). The National Academy of Engineering (2004) published a report on
engineering in 2020, which stated that creativity (i.e., invention, innovation, thinking outside the box, artistry) is an
indispensable quality for future engineers. In the face of variable and complex problems, future engineers must be able to
communicate with experts from different fields, deconstruct and restate problems from different perspectives, and use
creativity to plan innovative solutions. Therefore, the importance of creative teaching in engineering education has
resulted in changes to current course design.
Guilford (1956) believes that creativity is a combination of human traits and that everyone is creative to some extent.
It is not a special gift endowed only upon a lucky few. Michael Kirton (1976), known for his Adaption- Innovation
Theory (A-I Theory), demonstrated that all humans are intelligent and creative, but at different levels and with different
styles. Therefore, all humans are capable of problem-solving, as long as they have the motivation and opportunity.
However, creative learning is different from knowledge teaching, where information is passed directly from educators to
students. Teachers must set up learning environments that inspire students’ creativity, and where students can use
knowledge from their specific fields in interdisciplinary team collaboration and learning to address real-world issues.
According to Stember (1991), interdisciplinary requires“integration of the contributors of several disciplines to a
problem or issue” and “interdisciplinary integration brings interdependent parts of knowledge into harmonious
relationships through strategies such as relating part and whole or the particular and the general.” When creativity is
motivated by stimulating the perspective of a student’s original field, difficult practical problems may be solved.
This paper is organized as follows: As background, we introduce the findings of our previous three-year research
project on interdisciplinary teaching at the National Taiwan University (NTU). Then, the conceptual framework and

80
executive timeline of a new project, “Interdisciplinary Engineering Education for Creativity” (IEEC), are described.
This project was developed to address the issues identified in the previous study. The final section describes the IEEC
project’s activities, including the development of curriculum modules on interdisciplinary communication, participatory
design, and futures thinking, and their implementation in six two-day workshops. The ongoing Interdisciplinary Social
Design Course is also discussed.

ISSUES FOUND IN INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSES

In the previous three-year research project, instructors from the fields of civil engineering, architecture, mechanical
engineering, and futures studies designed and developed interdisciplinary design courses for engineering students.
During the first year of the project (in spring 2014), the team ran the Building Information Modeling (BIM)
Implementation practice course in the Department of Civil Engineering. The major course activity was a team project on
how to make buildings on campus more sustainable (Chen et al. 2014). Professors from different fields worked together,
invited to teach, and requested to help develop course content. Students were divided into several groups by department
or profession and asked to improve the energy and water efficiency of an existing NTU building according to their vision
of a sustainable future campus. In the second year, four courses—one each from the Department of Civil Engineering,
the Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and the Graduate Instittue
of Futures Studies—were combined to create an interdisciplinary Capstone Design course (Chen et al. 2015). The
Nanjichang (Southern Airport) Housing Community was chosen as the case study. The buildings of this community
were constructed over fifty years ago and were in poor condition. An urban regeneration project was therefore
desperately needed. In addition, several social issues common in Taiwan—such as an aging population, underprivileged
families, low birth rates, and new immigrants—were also pervasive in this community. The cross- domain team started
by conducting interviews with community residents and establishing investigations in the community. Then, following
course discussions, students came up with items that needed reform and identified their corresponding solutions. In the
final year, the courses were modified from the previous year (Chen et al. 2016). The topic was an old building
revitalization plan for the Nanjichang Housing Community. After considering urban regeneration policies and the future
of community development, each team of students selected an existing building to redesign and proposed a retrofit plan
that included future visions.
Based on the teachers’ reflections and students’ feedback, some issues from the courses were identified that merit
further discussion. These include:
 Interdisciplinary teaching and learning
Effective interdisciplinary cooperation depends on the liberation of knowledge trapped in disciplinary silos. The
field of professional knowledge needs to relax its own knowledge boundaries before the same can happen in other fields,
and also before the field of professional knowledge can influence other fields (see Figure 1). The course teachers
discovered that knowledge from their original field overlapped with that of other fields, and developed a coordinated
way to communicate and cooperate with each other. However, the students were mostly from the Department of Civil
Engineering and the Graduate Institute of Building and Planning. A small number of students were from the Department
of Mechanical Engineering and the Graduate Institute of Futures Studies. Most of the students had an engineering
background. It was found that there still needs to be more interdisciplinary cooperation between engineering and non-
engineering students. It is important for engineering students to build their capacity for learning and cooperating across
domains, and their methods for communicating with non-engineering students.
 Creative learning environment
Creativity brings new, imaginative, and effective solutions to existing problems. Single-discipline or homogeneous
teams tend to see problems from a single point of view. Cross-domain participation can help construct a creative
learning environment that allows us to observe problems from multi-perspectives and discover new questions. By using
heterogeneous participation and cross-domain cooperation, individuals or groups can avoid being trapped in their own
knowledge domains, perspectives and ideologies (see Figure 2).
 Integrated creative teaching materials
Team communication, participatory design, and futures thinking were consistently used by teachers and students in
the process of project development. This led us to ask what influence do these three approaches have on creative
learning, and how can they increase mutual understanding between teachers and students, and even with the community
inhabitants? Finally, it is necessary to explore how the intersections and synergies between each of these three methods
can be used to further develop them as integrative cross-domain teaching approaches.

81
  Development of the creativity assessment scale
Researchers used qualitative data from videos, observational records, and semi-structured interviews to interpret the
results. A scale to measure the creativity of the cross-domain courses would be very useful, but as of yet, has not been
developed.

FIGURE 1. Cross-domain cooperation can liberate creativity limited by the siloed knowledge of a single profession.

FIGURE 2. A creative learning environment creates space to get multi-dimensional perspectives by cross-domain collaboration.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
To address the issues raised above, a three-year research project named “Interdisciplinary Engineering Education for
Creativity” (IEEC) was developed. This project aims to develop effective curricula and learning environments to
facilitate interdisciplinary creativity in engineering education. It employs interdisciplinary collaboration among
educators from the fields of engineering, futures studies, design, and education. During the project’s first phase, the
following curriculum modules were developed for use in an Interdisciplinary Social Design Course: interdisciplinary
communication, participatory design, and futures thinking. Throughout the learning process of the course, the teaching
strategies of team cooperation, communication skills, design thinking, and future thinking will be used (see Figure 3). In
order to assess the impact of a creative learning environment on student performance, quantitative and qualitative data
will be collected and assessments will be carried out.
The development of learning materials during the first stage of the IEEC project was gradual. First, the
interdisciplinary communication, participatory design, and futures thinking modules were developed and each was
implemented in a first round of three workshops. Then, the modules were modified and applied in three deuterogenic
workshops that focused on the possibilities of combining the three approaches: “futures thinking enhancing participatory
design,” “interdisciplinary communication enhancing participatory design,” and “interdisciplinary communication
enhancing futures thinking.” Finally, all the curriculum modules were used in an Interdisciplinary Social Design Course.
During the project’s first stage, curriculum module development focuses on intra-teamwork, and in the second stage the
focus will be on inter-teamwork. In the third stage, after the curriculum modules have been modified based on the results
of our analyses, promotional workshops will be held to disseminate the project’s research achievements (see Figure 4).

82
FIGURE 3. The research methodology of the IEEC project.

FIGURE 4. The timeline of the IEEC project.

83
 INTERDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING EDUCATION FOR CREATIVITY (IEEC)
The main project comprised three curriculum development subprojects that focused on: 1) interdisciplinary
communication, 2) participatory design, and 3) futures thinking. A fourth subproject focused on the assessment of
creativity in engineering. The IEEC project is novel in that it focuses on how the synergy among its three curricular
modules (interdisciplinary communication, participatory design, and futures thinking) can form a learning environment
that enhances interdisciplinary creativity.
Subproject 1 aims to develop visualization-enhanced communication learning modules to enhance the efficacy of
internal and external interactions. In an interdisciplinary learning environment, students from different fields need
effective communication tools to interact with their team members, the clients who look for solutions to their issues or
problems, and even the public for seeking their supports. The engineering problems of the future will be increasingly
difficult and diverse. Engineering education must therefore be based on real social issues and applied to current society so
that engineers can play a role in improving social welfare. Subproject 2 explores participatory design. From a planning
perspective, more crossdisciplinary participation and consideration should be integrated into planning and design to
achieve a more thorough design result. Engineers, planning designers, and experts from other disciplines must
understanding and see problems in a way that differs from the linear thought of the past. They must deconstruct and
restate problems in a different way. Based on this, subproject 3 uses futures thinking in interdisciplinary course
development. Using systematic futures tools and guidance in the learning process allows students to have broader
perspectives, more long-term future planning, and deeper reflections. The process of cross-domain brainstorming in the
process of futures thinking tolerates diverse opinions, focuses on the core of problems, and stimulates creativity.
Subproject 4 develops a set of engineering creativity assessments to evaluate students' creative development and the
project’s processes of change and reconstruction.

WORKSHOPS FOR CURRICULUM MODULES DEVELOPMENT

In the fall of 2017, six two-day workshops were carried out at the Stanley Wang D-School that aimed to inspire
creativity using visualization-enhanced communication, participatory design, and futures thinking. In total, 148 students
participated in the six workshops.
The visualization-enhanced communication workshop was designed and instructed according to the five phases of
design thinking: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Each of these phases contributes to interdisciplinary
communication. This workshop employed teaching materials on observation/listening/questioning, persona, ideation
strategy, story DNA, data visualization, screenwriting, and stakeholder role play (see Figure 5). It focused on the
phenomenon of Taiwan's annual energy consumption. Students from different fields were teamed up and used the design
thinking process to create a proposal on the topic of energy conservation. In preparation for the workshop, the students
had interviewed different types of users to understand their daily behaviors and patterns of electricity use. Students had
also investigated all the information on an electricity bill. In the classroom, students identified key problems based on the
information they had collected, developed inductive electricity saving strategies, and then made prototypes of a
redesigned electricity bill. Finally, they modified their designs based on user experience feedback (see Figure 6).
Participatory design is a design methodology originally used for creating technology products. In the field of urban
planning, participatory design emphasizes public participation and attempts to involve all stakeholders in discussions
during the design process. Participatory design can enhance effective communication between participants and
consensus-based decision making. The participatory design process can also stimulate the creativity of non- professional
participants. The participatory design workshop considered the case of the Nanjichang (Southern Airport) Housing
Community in Taipei city. Students from different fields identified and discussed the community’s issues using
professional and cross-domain expertise. Then, students tried to address the issues identified using several participatory
design methods. Finally, they presented proposals for enhancing the effectiveness of the team's internal participation
(see Figure 7).
The futures thinking workshop involved sketching pictures of students' preferred future for campus life. Students
took NTU as a case, envisioned issues and lifestyles on campus in 2030, and then ideated possible directions for
improvement. A set of systematic and logical tools and methods in futures thinking, such as time machine, futures
wheel, emergent issue, and causal layered analysis (CLA), were introduced to broaden students' visions. Students
considered the future of university in terms of its technology, economy, politics, society, environment, education, and
values (TEPSEEV) (see Figure 8). The students were required to assess the current status of campus life, interview
campus users, and subsequently develop a preferred scenario using CLA. In the end, students built and presented objects
from the scenarios that represented education in the future.

84
 Three deuterogenic workshops were then held with the aim of enhancing cooperation and synergies between the
subproject topics. In the “futures thinking enhancing participatory design” workshop, students rethought the positioning
of NTU’s First Student Activities Center, and then replanned and redesigned the space according to what it would
ideally look like in 20 years. Students learned about the needs of various users using interviews and analysis, and then,
from a user’s perspective, made a prototype of NTU's first student activities center in the future (see Figure 9). In the
“interdisciplinary communication enhancing participatory design” workshop, student teams proposed a perspective for a
new concept and design of a logistics unit with an area of 3.306 m3 and a height of 2.4 meters. The unit was to be used
for possible services and designed physical facilities in the future. The “interdisciplinary communication enhancing
futures thinking” workshop combined visualization-enhanced communication learning materials with futures thinking to
describe new logistics scenarios in 2038.

FIGURE 5. The visualization-enhanced communication workshop was designed according to design thinking processes.

85
FIGURE 6. Students redesigned the electricity bill and the interface of the energy saving game app using materials from the
visualization-enhanced communication workshop.

FIGURE 7. The participatory-design learning materials were developed to build intra-team consensus. Top left: Persona cards
used in the empathy game. Bottom left: Imagine. Right: The exquisite corpse.

86
FIGURE 8. Left: The students analyzed past, present, and future campus life using TEPSEEV methods. Right: Students made a
prototype of their preferred future for campus life.

FIGURE 9. Top left & bottom left: Students envisioned NTU’s First Student Activities Center in 20 years using future triangles
and future wheels. Top right & bottom right: Students drew a plan and developed a model to present their design.

87
 CLOSURE
In subproject 4, the fifth author developed a scale with versions A and B, named the “Engineering Creativity Scale”, to
measure the quality and pattern of engineering creativity in university students. Version A was created using two sub-
tests: Design in Generating Sound and Design a Car. The version A scale results showed satisfactory test-retest stability,
internal consistency, and content validity. Version B was operated in parallel with version A, was reviewed by
professors, and used the following sub-tests: Design for Convenient Communication and Design of a Bus Stop.
Currently, all researchers involved in all subprojects (the IEEC team of researchers) are working together to design a
Spring 2018 Interdisciplinary Social Design Course in the Stanley Wang D-School@NTU. The villages of Nanfu and
Longfu in the Zhongzheng District of Taipei City will be the case study sites. These villages were prosperous during the
Japanese colonial period before the end of World War II and many historical buildings, coin and stamp collection stores,
old bookstores, and furniture stores flourished there. The history and industry of this area are very important to the
residents of Taipei. For this upcoming course, the previously-tested curriculum modules will be modified to meet the
design thinking process needs of empathy, definition, ideation, prototype, and test. Students will be grouped into
interdisciplinary teams to propose creative solutions to the problems they find in the case study sites. The Engineering
Creativity Scale, classroom activity observation records, and teachers’ reflection and interviews with students will be
used to understand learning performance, with the goal of helping teachers develop better interdisciplinary design
courses. So far, we have completed the first stage of the curriculum module development process. In the second stage,
we will redesign these teaching materials based on our research data and learning results. Three more integrated
workshops will be held in the fall of 2018. These workshops’ curriculum framework will be developed according to the
requirements of five phases of design thinking: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Another Interdisciplinary
Social Design Course will be held in spring 2019 to review these curriculum modules.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology, Executive Yuan, Taiwan for their financial
support under Project No. NSC 105-2511-S-002 -015 -MY3.

REFERENCES
1. Chen, M.D., Lai, S.Y., Song, M.M. and Hsieh, S.H., (2014). Developing an Engineering Course for Fostering Future-Oriented
Interdisciplinary Team Design Skills. Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Design in Civil and Environmental
Engineering, August 22-23. Copenhagen, Denmark, pp. 64-68.
2. Chen, M.D., Lai, S.Y., Song, M.M. and Hsieh, S.H., (2015). Development of an Interdisciplinary Participatory Design Course
with Futures Thinking for Engineering Students. Proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on Design in Civil and
Environment Engineering, October 30-31. Taipei, Taiwan, pp. 41-48.
3. Chen, M.D., Hsieh, S.H., Song, M.M. and Lai, S.Y., (2016). Pedagogical Learning from a Future-Oriented Interdisciplinary
Design Course. Paper presented at the 5th International Workshop on design in Civil and Environmental Engineering, October 6-
8. Rome, Italy.
4. Guilford, J. P. (1956). The structure of intellect. Psychological bulletin, 53(4), 267
5. Kirton, M. J. (1976). Adaptors and innovators: A description and measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 61(5), pp. 622-629.
6. Mayer, R. (1998). Fifty Years of Creativity Research. In R. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of Creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, pp. 449-460.
7. National Academy of Engineering. (2004). The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century, Washington, D.C:
National Academies Press.
8. National Education Association. (2012). Preparing 21st century students for a global society: An educator's guide to "the four
Cs." Washington, DC: Author. Available: http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/A-Guide-to-Four-Cs.pdf
9. Stember, M. (1991). Advancing the social sciences through the interdisciplinary enterprise. The Social Science Journal, 28(1),
pp. 1-14

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 Developing Metacognitive Skills Using CPBL: Crucial
Elements in Developing 21st Century Skills
Nur Fazirah Jumari, Khairiyah Mohd Yusof and Fatin Aliah Phang

Centre for Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 81310, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Abstract. The 21st century is challenging for engineers where they are entering into a world marked by rapid and global
change, exponential advancement in information and computer technologies, complex ethical issues, borderless global
competition, changing demographics, sustainability, and a multitude of problems that only emerged in the new millennium.
Metacognitive skills are the skill set that has been identified to aid in enhancing every single skill needed as future engineers
in the 21st century. Metacognitive skills do not occur naturally and cannot be taught, instead they need to be trained through
appropriate learning activities. Constructivist learning approaches have been shown to be effective in fostering engineering
students’ metacognitive skills development. Cooperative Problem Based Learning (CPBL) is a constructivist learning
approach which integrates the principles of cooperative learning (CL) into problem based learning (PBL). The purpose of this
research is to investigate engineering students’ metacognitive skills development as they go through CPBL. Interview with an
engineering student were analyzed using thematic analysis approach about how metacognitive skills is developed. Analysis of
transcripts identified and cluster units of meaning into themes by the researcher.
Keywords: Metacognitive skills, 21st century competencies, cooperative problem based learning

INTRODUCTION
The 21st century is a challenging time for engineers from various aspects. The work done by people is gradually
exchanged as the capabilities of computers and telecommunications are expanded to accomplish human task. The
routine cognitive works and routine manual labors are declining where these kinds of tasks are easiest for program
computers to do. Increasing the needs for labor force that computers cannot do is a must. Nurturing an engineer to
become an expert thinker or complex communicator is an important task for educators. Future engineers are required to
have high competitiveness on the quality of knowledge and skills as globalization come across in all industry. Because
of these challenges, educators must plan to teach skills in the context of particular content knowledge and to treat both
as equally important.
The World Economic Forum report (WEF, 2016) predicted that complex problem solving, critical thinking, and
creativity as the top three skills needed in 2020. Looking at particular skills and attributes, there is strong evidence that
the top priorities in terms of future skills will be practical application, theoretical understanding, and creativity and
innovation. Therefore, future engineering graduates must be able to take the holistic approach to possess in- depth
knowledge and skills as the globalization comes across in all industries (Samaka and Ally, 2016; Sticker, 2016; Dumas
et al., 2016).
Metacognitive skills are identified as a set of skills that aid in enhancing the skills needed as future engineers. It has
been known that metacognitive skills can help in problem solving for example, planning, monitoring, evaluating, and
revising are required for complex problem solving (Tan, 2004; An and Cao, 2014; Cunningham et al., 2016).
Metacognitive skills can be used to improve the academic achievement: content knowledge and understanding, and the
ability to handle both routine and unfamiliar problems. In learning, metacognitive skills enable individuals to monitor
their current knowledge and skill levels, plan and allocate limited learning resources with optimal efficiency, and
evaluate their current learning state (Mytkowicz et al., 2014; Shraw, 2006).
Metacognitive skills do not occur naturally and cannot be taught, instead need to be trained through appropriate
learning activities. In other words, metacognitive skills need time to develop. Poh et al. (2016) suggest engineering
students should cultivate and master metacognitive skills as early as possible so that when they graduate, they already
have the metacognitive skills. The importance of developing metacognitive skills among engineering students has been
stated in various engineering education research globally (Lawanto 2009; Litzinger et al. 2010; Davdovitz and Rollnick
2003; Downing et al. 2009). For example, Lawanto (2009) exposed mechanical engineering students with ill-defined
problems, Davidovitz and Rollnick (2003) explored the Competency Tripod model and flow diagrams as the resources

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for enabling students’ metacognition in a chemistry laboratory, and Downing et al. (2009) conducted problem based
learning in their study. These efforts are in line with the suggestion by Prince and Felder (2007), which mentioned that
constructivist approaches are best implemented to achieve metacognition in learning.
Constructivist approach have been recommended in developing metacognitive skills. Among them are cooperative
learning (CL) and problem based learning (PBL) (Dolmans and Schmidt, 2006; Prince 2004; Woods 2012). CL provides
effective team working platform where students support each member in learning and produce high quality works
(Johnson et al. 2006; Felder and Brent 2007). CPBL on the other hand is the combination of CL and PBL (Mohd-Yusof
et al. 2014).
The CPBL model facilitates the teaching and learning of a big group up to 60 students with one floating facilitator
(Mohd-Yusof et al. 2016; Helmi et al. 2016; Mohd-Yusof et al. 2012). Similar to PBL, the CPBL model requires the
problems to be realistic and ill-structured. The CPBL learning environment is underpinned by the principles of
constructive alignment (Biggs 1996; Biggs and Tang 2010), How People Learn (HPL) framework (Bransford et al.
1999), PBL as the philosophy, and CL to develop learning team (Johnson et al. 2006). The implementation of CPBL is
divided into three phases:
1. Phase 1 consists of problem restatement and identification.
2. Phase 2 consists of peer teaching (which includes individual peer teaching notes, team peer teaching, and
overall class discussions), synthesis, and solution formulation.
3. Phase 3 consists of generalization, closure, and internalization.
Based on the highlighted issues and definitions, this research investigates how CPBL develops metacognitive skills
when it is applied to a typical classroom setting. The research question for this study is “What are the metacognitive
skills developed in each phase of CPBL?” The significance of this research is important to understand how
metacognitive skills can positively impact students’ learning. Since this study was conducted among first-year students
taking an engineering course, the output of this study represents the entry level metacognition for engineering students.
The “Introduction to Engineering” (ITE) course is a three-credit hour course offered to first year chemical
engineering students in a Malaysian university. The objective of the course is to bridge students’ learning experience at
school and learning to be an engineer in the university. Every semester students learn about engineering processes
through problems with a theme in sustainable. In semester 1, year 2015/2016 session, the students were given a nine-
week project about zero waste challenge. Students were divided into teams of three or four across genders, races and
academic achievements. The overall project to solve the problem was divided into three main stages as follows:
Stage A: Familiarization of Sustainability, Zero Waste and Benchmarking
Stage B: Audit of Solid Waste
Stage C: Propose Engineering Solution and Economic Analysis
Details on the course can be seen in Mohd-Yusof et al. (2016).

METACOGNITIVE SKILLS FOR DEVELOPING 21ST CENTURY SKILLS

The purpose of this section is to evaluate the relation between the 21st century competencies and metacognitive
skills. 21st century skills for education consist a set of 16 crucial proficiencies. Those skills include six “foundational
literacies”, such as literacy, numeracy and scientific literacy, and 10 skills that labelled “competencies” and “character
qualities”. Competencies are the means by which students approach complex challenges; they include collaboration,
communication and critical thinking and problem-solving. Character qualities are the ways in which students approach
their changing environment; they include curiosity, adaptability and social and cultural awareness (World Economic
Forum, 2016). Within the 21st century skills framework, competencies move beyond simple content area knowledge or
skills to encompass the abilities needed to meet the complex demands within any particular context (Wolters, 2010).
Hence, a competence includes a broader understanding that comprises the skills, attitudes, knowledge and students will
need to successful in school, in the workplace, and in life more generally (Wolters, 2010).
Metacognition is about taking ownership of one’s learning and maximizing it. It is the knowledge and awareness of
the process and the monitoring and control of such knowledge and process (Efklides 2001; Flavell et al. 1993; Schraw
and Moshman 1995). The definitions of metacognition are the compilation of knowledge of one’s own and others’
cognitive processes; planning prior to performing a task; monitoring one’s own thinking, learning and understanding
while performing a task; regulating one’s thinking by making the proper adjustments; evaluating one’s own thinking by

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judging the progress and controlling thinking to optimize performance. There is a general agreement that metacognition
can be divided into two general constructs, termed as metacognitive knowledge, and metacognitive control and
regulation which is also known as metacognitive skills (Kluwe, 1982; Brown, 1987; Pintrich et al., 2000).
Metacognitive knowledge includes an individual's knowledge and beliefs about himself as a thinker or learner, and what
he believes about other people's thinking processes. The task category of metacognitive knowledge encompassed all the
information about a proposed task that is available to a person. This knowledge guides the individual in the management
of a task, and provides information about the degree of success that he is likely to attain. Task knowledge informs the
person of the range of possible acceptable outcomes of the cognitive enterprise and the goals related to its completion.
Knowledge about task difficulty and mental or tangible resources necessary for its completion also belong in this
category. The strategy category of metacognitive knowledge involved identifying goals and sub-goals and selection of
cognitive processes to use in their achievement. Metacognitive skills is a secondary process of metacognition that
involves metacognitive processes that facilitate and support the evaluation and control of the learning process. These
processes include planning, monitoring, and evaluating the learning process.
On their surface, both metacognitive skills and 21 st century competencies can be described as incorporating
important skills, abilities, or competencies that are necessary for students to be effective learners within academic
contexts. As well, the critical aspects of both metacognitive skills and the 21 st century competencies are stressed as
essential for effective learning as a necessary basis for productive functioning in contexts beyond academics.
Within the 21st century competencies, problem solving and critical thinking together reflect the need for individuals
to be able to use various forms of reasoning, engage in analysis and evaluation, and make effective judgments or
decisions (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2009a). Especially within the context of authentic novel or significant
questions, these abilities allow the individual to be cognitively sophisticated (Wolter, 2010). These two competencies,
can be viewed generally as more focused on how students apply or use their knowledge, skills, and abilities when
engaged in reasoning, decision making, or problem solving. In other words, they are about accessing, manipulating, and
utilizing existing abilities or knowledge. In contrast, metacognitive skills is concerned more with explaining the
processes through which students engage in learning, acquiring knowledge, or coming to understand core content.
Metacognitive skills focus more on explaining how students’ undertake and manage their own learning, not how they
apply what they have learned.
When viewed from some perspectives some underlying processes necessary to problem solving or critical thinking
are likely to depend on effective metacognitive skills. As learners, they must make decisions about where and when to
study, must judge their own abilities, and must reason about which strategies will be most effective within a given
context. Hence, some forms of effective reasoning and problem solving is being underlain by the metacognitive skills.
Engaging in higher order thinking is an effective or even necessary step within some learning activities. Students who
are effective at metacognitive skills should also have the capacity to engage in these processes. Setting goals, monitoring
progress, and reflecting on the process may be as effective when applied to solving problems or thinking critically as
they are for studying. In sum, metacognitive skills and the 21 st century competencies of problem solving and critical
thinking are likely to be closely associated with one another.
Metacognitive skills can also be linked to the 21st century competencies of collaboration and communication. These
two competencies stress the need for individuals’ to be able to communicate effectively with others and to work well as
part of a group or team including respecting the abilities of others and cooperating to achieve common goals (Jerald,
2009). Communication also means that individuals must be able to attend and understand the messages that others are
providing through these various channels. In addition, individuals must be able to articulate their thoughts and ideas
effectively using various forms of communication. From a theoretical perspective, metacognition fit well with cognitive
constructivist and social constructivist views of learning (Carr and Biddlecomb, 1998). When the learner work with
peers to solve problems, metacognitive awareness may be enhanced through process of explanation their reasoning to
peers, critiquing a suggestion made by a peer (Shraw et al., 2006).

METHODOLOGY
This study employs phenomenological research design. It focuses on in-depth explanation of metacognitive skills
development through interviews. A semi-structured interview protocol was used. The interviews were conducted twice
for the whole stage and ranged from 20 to 30 minutes for each session. Progression through the interview was guided by
the participants’ response. Recordings of the interviews were transformed into transcripts that were then served as the
main data sets. The transcripts were reviewed while listening to the audio recording by the researcher to create
familiarity with the voice and to ensure accuracy of transcription prior to analysis.
The thematic analysis was used to interpret and analyze the data. First the researcher immersed herself with the data
and come out with preliminary interpretation to facilitate coding. The next step is understands the data by identifying the
participant construct, followed by abstraction where the researcher identify her own construct and the constructs is
categorized into sub-themes. Then the following step is synthesizing and theme development where the sub-themes
were grouping into themes and further elaboration of the themes. The final step is illumination and illustration of
phenomena where the themes is linking to the literature and reconstructing interpretations into stories. To maintain
closeness to the participants construct the interpretations were constantly cross-checking with the original transcripts.

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 Thirteen students were selected as participants in this interview because they are the first-year engineering student in
the ITE course which used the CPBL approach. The participants were followed in one semester to understand the
development of metacognitive skills. However, this paper will show the result on one participant named Timothy.
Timothy was chosen because he follows every step in CPBL approach enthusiastically. Therefore, this paper will
portray what happened to the student’s metacognition if they closely follow each activity in CPBL approach.

FINDING AND DISCUSSION

To understand and investigate the metacognitive development of the student, it is important to present the students
experiences when they undergo CPBL phase by phase. The problem given consist of different stages and each stage
have different objective. Each stage will develop different pattern of metacognitive skills. Due to the limitation of pages
in this papers, the finding presents Timothy’s experience during the development of metacognitive skills in Stage 1
only. Table 1 shows the metacognitive skills developed in Stage 1.
In Stage 1 for zero waste sustainable, the students are required to perform a preliminary study on the current status of
overall sustainable development in Malaysia and at the global level. The students also required to analyze solid waste
management in Malaysia, compared to those at the international level, with emphasis on the current community
practices. Information must be gathered from reliable sources and analyzed to determine accepted definitions of
sustainable development, current status of efforts towards sustainability, source and quantity of waste, economy and
environmental impact that can be used for benchmarking.

Phase 1
The expectation from Phase 1 activities was students will be able to produce their own problem statement and to
analyze what they already know, what are the information missing, and come out with their knowledge gap, or the
learning issues. Requiring learners to individually prepare and submit problem identification is to invoke construction of
the students understanding before coming to the class (Mohd-Yusof et al. 2011a; 2011b). According to Brown (1981),
knowing what you know and do not know relies upon awareness and the checking of understanding, meanwhile
knowing what you need to know involves knowing what type of knowledge and information is needed to meet the task
demands.
The metacognitive skills can be develop in phase 1 are monitoring. By following the steps in problem identification
and problem restatement, Timothy manage to identify the actual objective in this problem. He successfully described the
objective of Stage 1. At Phase 1, Timothy was able to come up with monitoring skills when he managed to ask few
questions on his own to reach for the objective. He had high curiosity until he motivated to increase his understanding.
He was able to identify what he know and what he do not know. He said that benchmarking is something new for him.
However, he know about the zero waste concept. Then he asked questions to structure his understanding. Finally he
managed to relate all the concept associated with Stage 1: sustainability development, zero waste and benchmarking.

“Stage 1 problem is about familiarization of sustainable development, zero waste management, and also bench
marking….bench marking is something new for me. For SD, actually we do this research. I think stage 1 is important
because it help us to link SD, benchmarking and zero waste together. Like we need to create zero waste environment but
we must to understand what is zero waste concept is. Problem arrived when there is solid waste management problem
issues occur. Then the problem in development is become unsustainable. Then how we solve this problem by
benchmarking? Benchmarking with other country. This is how these three things link together. Then we can..after
solving that actually it a cycle that it can back to us, which is zero waste concept.

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 Phase 2
In Phase 2, self-directed learning will take place to fill their knowledge gaps in peer teaching session, to synthesize
and apply them to formulate the solution. The concept of peer teaching was implemented in this phase to make sure the
student is able to learn the new knowledge correctly (Mohd-Yusof et al. 2011a; 2011b). Each member in the group was
asked to prepare peer-teaching notes for his or her teammates. The students have a potential to develop planning skill
which is considered as one of self-regulation and control skills. Planning activities consist of setting goals for learning,
time use, and performance. The information gathered by the students was shared and critically reviewed so that the
suitable ones can be applied to solve the problem. Next, the peer-teaching class was conducted to solve the critical or
misunderstanding concept. In overall peer-teaching class, the students were able to monitor their learning and
comprehension of learning. The students were also able to construct their own knowledge by extracting the important
information and concept (Mohd-Yusof et al. 2011a; 2011b). This is a platform where all the misunderstanding and can
be cleared out. They can explain their understanding, inquiring about what they do not fully understand and learning
through questioning (Mohd-Yusof et al. 2011a).
For preparing the individual peer teaching note, Timothy knew his task where he was looking for information to do
literature review and extract the gist associate to the topic. It was not an easy task. He need to do researches from
various sources. From his reading, he started planning to get the correct information by draw out the problems that occur
in Malaysia and doing comparison. Timothy listed the common problems related to zero waste in Malaysia such as the
bins provided for recycle did not being used properly, all types of waste being dumped in one place and less public
awareness and education about recycle. A long the way looking for information, he kept asking himself why actually in
Malaysia did not focus in giving awareness about zero waste and why the developed country excel on it. From his
curiosity, he finally found out the differences between Malaysia and Japan on implementing the public awareness
regarding zero waste. Timothy showed his ability in doing analysis. He kept monitoring his knowledge and
understanding by doing comparison from the sources that he got.

“The only things I think maybe we need to encourage public. Encourage public is more important because our
current community practices is not strong about zero waste about. Mostly about the classification of garbage, about the
3R, because we already have 3R bins105. But most of the bin have all sort of rubbish inside. That the problem I think ”.

“I don’t understand till now why Malaysia didn’t have come to public awareness about the important of 3R. So, I
wonder how other country can be so excel in 3R. So I plan to start study and discover that japan is one of the modern
country that successfully used 3R in Japan.”

“There is something different from public awareness campaign between in Japan and Malaysia is, public awareness
in japan about 3R is about a face to face between city official and public. Which mean public actually they can have
their comment, they can give a feedback to the city official. However in Malaysia we rarely have this chance. I think this
is the different. I need to make this different and come out with better solution.”

He said that in order to do the bench marking, he need to plan what he want to benchmark, and why he chose that
country. Based on his planning, Timothy listed down the characteristics that he need to choose a country as a
benchmark.

“I think the hardest is in benchmarking. Because before we need to do the benchmarking there are few steps.
Planning phase, in planning phase we need to first what we want to benchmark. This is the most difficult because we
can benchmark in term of waste management, evaluation and then public current practices. And we also need to choose
a country which best as the benchmark34. And then why we choose the country? We have to think about it. Like maybe
we choose from the same population size, besides same ecology, same economy resources.”
He able to explain clearly why he chose Nepal and Japan as the benchmarking country based on his study,
understanding and knowledge. This is where his ability to monitor his understanding is used. He admitted that along the
way he preparing peer teaching notes he kept asking himself why and how Japan and Nepal can do more in managing
their waste.

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 “Because if you compare to country like Japan and Nepal, they did very well. Their public are very encourage to
have a 3R habit. So, I think for me the problem is start from here ”
“
I pick Nepal and japan because Nepal is developing country. Even they are developing country, they did very well
in solid waste management. I took japan because it’s a modern country. We need to take a look, for me la.. I prefer to
compare with the same level rather than compare it with higher level”

“We just focus on how, then why, and then the effect.”

In team peer teaching, Timothy need to convince his teammates about his selected country as the benchmark. He
provided them with the information and justifications. He knew that his ideas were need to be discussed again in his
team. He need to correct his ideas by communicate it with his team. He need to gain acceptance from everyone in his
team. This was kind of verification and checking whether his ideas are good or not. In his team, monitoring process
about his understanding was occurred. Discussion is platform where there were interactions among team members,
brainstorming for better answer, giving ad accepting opinions and justifications. During doing peer teaching, he always
check what he got to make sure he was on the right track. In addition as an engineering students he need to make sure
anything is being verified.

“We need to correct and communicate our finding with teammates. Of course we when doing peer teaching notes we
come out with a lot of different kind of finding. So we need to communicate with my teammates on our finding to gain
acceptance from everyone”

“Because I need to confirm how they do because of course I’m not saying I never have Japanese member in my
team. So I need some verification”

“Because we are engineering students. I prefer to be like I need to confirm anything if other thing is right. ”

When he reflected about overall class peer teaching, Timothy admitted that the activity not only help him to gain
knowledge and share something new, but also help him to develop planning skills.

“We gain something new from the others especially during the class peer teaching where we doing a mind map, is
compile from 4 groups. Actually this also one of the hardest part because there are 4 teams. 4 teams to become one
group. In this 4 teams actually we are doing the same things the literature review. But maybe we have same points in
different elaboration. In the insufficient time maybe in 10 minutes we need to prepare the mind map and I’m the
moderator in the group. I need to arrange like distribute like this group for this point. So what should I do is I started
to asking which learning issues are you familiar with to that group.”

Phase 3
Phase 3 consists of the presentation, reflection, and closure. Students were asked to present their solution in terms of
oral presentation and report. Students were also asked to write a reflection journal in the process of internalizing the new
knowledge and skills acquired. The closure was conducted in overall discussion on materials and skills learned (Mohd-
Yusof et al. 2011a; 2011b). In Phase 3, the students have the opportunity to improvise their knowledge. This phase
provided the platform for the students to look back, monitoring and evaluate their understanding of their knowledge of
person, task and strategies. The reflection journals and the feedback from the facilitator are powerful tools where the
metacognitive concepts of self-awareness and self-assessment are being highlighted (Turns et al. 2014).
Timothy recalled back his experience and evaluated that the most difficulty thing to do is benchmarking. He said that
in order to do the bench marking, he need to plan what he want to benchmark, and why he chose that country. The
struggling thing was during convincing his teammates about the selected country as the benchmark. He also realized that
he did not like to write a report. He knew that he not doing well in writing a report. For him, writing report was
struggling. However, because of his positive attitude, he try his best to face it.

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 “I’m not good in writing. I don’t like wordy things. I’m more focus on visualize. So for me writing report is also
another struggle for me. But I also try my best la ”

When come to presentation, Timothy and his team done a very well preparation. That mean his team planned well to
make sure the presentation is smooth. They learned from their previous mistake during engineering overview
presentation. At that time they were a little bit rushed to do the presentation. But this Stage 1 presentation, he and his
team was prepared in term of time management, script, and talk according to the slide presentation. This time his team
made sure everyone have enough time to deliver their part.

“..This time we are very well prepare. Because last time about engineering overview we actually a bit rush in
presentation slide and also we don’t have time for rehearsal. But this time we are manage to finish the presentation
slide”

“So, what the different is I try to make improvement from the comment last time presentation. Last time presentation
I found that we are down in time management even though the preparation or during the presentation we also failed”

“So this time I made some improvement we have a time like estimated time for each team member to speak about
their points. And then we also prepare our script. Just from this script we have points, the main points then we
elaborated”

Overall he felt happy with his work in Stage 1. He gained skills and knowledge. He also appreciated the CPBL
method. He felt being trained as an engineer especially in term of team working and communication. He emphasized the
benefits of doing discussions. He learnt about managing his task properly. He added that he need to more organized to
face the Stage 2 problem.

“I get to understand about benchmarking, about how to do PR and PI. This, we have undergo first part of Stage 2 ”

“The most important thing that I gained from the overall stage 1 is I think maybe is about the CPBL. Before this I
don’t know about CPBL. But after this I think is a process. This process is actually help me to increase the efficiency of
my work especially in team work. If you follow the CPBL actually everyone is sharing their knowledge. Because there
are discussion part and sharing session, we actually share our knowledge and we gain a lot of new knowledge from the
others. Not only share our knowledge we also gain something new. We gain something new from the others especially
during the class peer teaching.”

“In the aspect of team, actually I get something very good is communication and teamwork. In this project we start
getting well with each other, getting better with each other, so we know the weaknesses and strengthen the weak one for
everyone. Because not everyone, maybe some people don’t very excel in doing the power point slide, but some people,
myself and my teammates is very excel with that. So actually we can make some pros and cons then the weaknesses and
strengths then we can modify. We can lower down the weaknesses and then we maximize the strength.”

Timothy confess that after Stage 1, he recognized that he was changed in the way he solving a problem. Before
undergo CPBL, he skips the literature review part and did not get justification to support for the solution. The solution
provided was just only hypothesis. But after going through CPBL, literature review is important to understand the
background of the problem.

“Usually we solve a problem, we just try to find source of problem. And then after the source of problem, we skip all
the parts. All the parts I mean is literature review. We don’t get some justification. Yes maybe our solution is just our
hypothesis.”

“So I think solving a problem now, we need to do some research and we did literature review”

However at the end of stage 1, Timothy still confuse between sustainability development and zero waste. In doing
benchmarking, if he compare about zero waste it was still same with sustainability development. He thought that

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because if a country have a well solid waste management and sustainable development, of course they can achieve zero
waste. His confusion finally led him to better conclusion. Even at Phase 3 Timothy still monitoring his understanding.

TABLE (1). Metacognitive skills developed in Stage 1

Codes Themes Example of excerpts
Phase 1 Ask question Monitoring Problem arrived when there is solid waste management problem
to own self issues occur. Then the problem in development is become
unsustainable. Then how we solve this problem by benchmarking?
Benchmarking with other country. This is how these three things
link together. Then after solving that actually it a cycle that it can
back to us, which is zero waste concept

Phase 2 Plan the Planning Because before we need to do the benchmarking there are few steps.
strategies Planning phase, in planning phase we need to first what we want to
benchmark. This is the most difficult because we can benchmark in
term of waste management, evaluation and then public current
practices. And we also need to choose a country which best as the
benchmark. And then why we choose the country? We have to think
about it. Like maybe we choose from the same population size,
besides same ecology, same economy resources.

Need Monitoring Because we are engineering students. I prefer to be like I need to

confirmation confirm anything if other thing is right.

We need to correct and communicate our finding with teammates.

Discussion Of course we when doing peer teaching notes we come out with a
in a team lot of different kind of finding. So we need to communicate with my
teammates on our finding to gain
acceptance from everyone
Phase 3 Make Planning So, what the different is I try to make improvement from the
improvement comment last time presentation. Last time presentation I found that
from previous we are down in time management even though the preparation or
experience during the presentation we also failed

Discussion
Monitoring If you follow the CPBL actually everyone is sharing their
and sharing
knowledge. Because there are discussion part and sharing session,
we actually share our knowledge and we gain a lot of new
knowledge from the others. Not only share our knowledge we also
gain something new.

Evaluation I think the hardest is in benchmarking. Because before we need

to do the benchmarking there are few steps.

CONCLUSION
In this research, it can be concluded that CPBL is an approach that provides greater opportunity for the development
of metacognitive skills. This research provides the insights into the understanding of higher order cognitions among
undergraduate students. One of the implications of this research is for the lecturers or facilitators to realize the need to
optimize the CPBL process. For example, facilitators must support the students in terms of motivation, improving their
communication and teamwork skills and give appropriate facilitation so that the learners could construct new
engineering knowledge and refine their metacognitive skills. Acquiring such new knowledge and skills would help
students to anticipate the ways that they could apply what they have learned throughout their studies when practicing in
the real world, and as to prepare them in becoming competent and competitive professionals upon graduation

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work is supported by the Ministry of Education Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia under Project
Number Q.J13000.2426.03G99.

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 Developing the 21st Century Skills through STEM
Education using Cooperative Problem-Based Learning
among School Students
Nina Diana Nawia, Fatin Aliah Phangb, Khairiyah Mohd-Yusofb, Nor
Farahwahidah Abdul-Rahmanb,c, Syed Ahmad Helmib,d and Azmahani Abdul-Azize
a
Pejabat Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Hal Ehwal Agama Islam dan Pendidikan Negeri Johor, Johor, Malaysia
b
Centre for Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia
c
School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia
d
School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia eSchool
of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia

Abstract. In this millennium, it is a necessity to have human talent with 21st century skills and positive attitude. Previous
studies suggested the ability of STEM education to bring out such quality for the future workforce. However, solely
empowering STEM education is not sufficient. STEM concepts must be taught in the context of real-world scenarios and
problems for students to have deep understanding and 21 st century skills. One of the ways to achieve this is through
Cooperative Problem Based Learning (CPBL), which is an inductive, inquiry-based approach that has been shown to equip and
enrich students with deep understanding of STEM and 21st Century Skills by encouraging them to explore real-world
situations and device potential solutions. CPBL studies were conducted in 3 schools in Johor, where the reflective journals
from the students were collected for analysis. This study shows that CPBL provide challenging but fun active learning
environment, deep learning engagement, practical skills development and enhance critical thinking for the future workforce.
Keywords: 21st Century Skills, Cooperative Problem Based Learning, STEM Education, Reflective Journal .

INTRODUCTION
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education is important to produce competent and
capable Malaysians to participate in the advancement of technology in this globalized world. However, STEM education
alone is insufficient to enable and support innovation that requires collaborative efforts and interdisciplinary knowledge
[1, 2]. Stephen [3] asserts that interdisciplinary education can increase learning gains among low achieving minority
students while increasing engagement and problem-solving skills for all levels of students. Interdisciplinary education
has the potential to increase STEM literacy among all students. Hence, to face the challenges of the 21st Century and to
increase STEM literacy levels among all students, there is an urgency to transform our teaching and learning approach
[4]. The new teaching and learning shall focus on developing students’ higher order thinking skills and embed 21st
Century Skills such as critical and creative thinking, as well as encourage holistic, professional, well- rounded personal
growth [5-9]. Problem-based learning, PBL is recognized as one of the effective teaching and learning methodology that
covers a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary educational aspect where students get rapidly involved in the session and
acquire several practical and transversal abilities while developing a solid knowledge[10]. For small groups in a medium
or large class implementation of PBL, it is vital ensure a functioning team to support a harmonious learning
environment. Thus, cooperative learning aspects are integrated in the model to encourage cooperation and peer-based
learning as well as monitoring and support, thus becoming Cooperative Problem Based Learning, CPBL [11-13].
The CPBL model was developed by integrating Cooperative Learning (CL) principles into the typical small group
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) cycle using constructive alignment. The five principles of CL embedded throughout the
CPBL cycle are positive interdependent, individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, appropriate personal skills
and regular group function assessment. [12, 13]

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 COOPERATIVE PROBLEM BASED LEARNING IMPLEMENTATION
Six secondary schools in Johor implemented CPBL in teaching and learning about Low Carbon Society (LCS) in
2017. Low Carbon issues such as global warming, climate change are used as the context for learning, in accordance to
the 21st century theme [9] of Global Awareness and Civic Literacy. In this study, the core subjects of 21 st century were
integrated with STEM. The participants are Form 2 students (around 14 years of age) and four to six teachers
(facilitators) from different disciplines such as Mathematics, Sciences, Living Skills and English. All the 30 teachers
have undergone the training required for them before implementing CPBL. The training was carried out in phases for the
teachers to adapt to the change from their normal practice of teacher-centred approach to student-centred approach using
CPBL. The series of training are Active Learning followed by Cooperative Learning and finally CPBL.
CPBL class was conducted between one to two hours twice a week during or after school. CPBL consists of 3 phases
and must begin with a problem to drive learning. For the LCS problem in this program, the problem was divided into 3
parts, to spread the learning issues so that they are manageable for the students to learn and would not be too
overwhelming. The problem is thus carefully crafted to include all the learning issue in progressively challenging
complexity and expectation [11]. The context of the problem are delivered as creative packages to manoeuvre the
students to identify, learn, analyse and evaluate until they reach the intended learning outcomes. Through CPBL, the
students are given the opportunity to conduct peer teaching within their group to enrich effective and in depth
discussions. At the end of each learning session, the students presented and shared their findings and understanding
during whole classroom discussions. Table 1 shows the three parts of the problem implemented in three stages, each with
a full CPBL cycle, and the corresponding 21 st century skills developed.

TABLE (1). 21st Century Skill and STEM Education are enrich through the three stages of CPBL
Stage Process Learning Process Related subjects Skills
1 Familiarizing,  Identify, extract and acquire the  Science  Information
Analysing, central of the problem  Technology literacy
Discussing Peer  Find the information and learning  Engineering  ICT Literacy
Teaching, issues using various medium of  Mathematics  Media literacy
Benchmarking information  Geography  Initiative and
and Presentation  Apply higher order thinking to  English self-direction
tackle the problems and issues  Bahasa Malaysia  Critical thinking
 Make interactive peer teaching and  Civics  Communication
proactive discussion session skills
 Communicating effectively in a  Collaboration
wide variety of forms and contexts skills
 Study and analyse other countries  Creativity and
that practise low carbon system using Innovation skills
facts and figure  Problem solving
 Deliver the information, findings skills
and results effectively using vocal,  Flexibility and
media and technologies. adaptability
2 Data Collection, Learn the process of data collection  productivity and
Analysing and individually and as a team via accountability
Synthesizing questionnaire and interviews for  Leadership and
and Presentation analysis and synthesis responsibility
3 Solutions Using knowledge and understanding
formulation, team to create new ways of thinking in order
consensus and to find solutions to new problems and to
presentation create new products
and services

METHOD
To understand how CPBL has helped the students to develop the 21st century skills, qualitative data was collected
using a naturalistic approach. The data was collected using the students’ learning reflection that they have written at

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the end of every stage. The analysis of the reflection is aimed to know more about the benefit that students perceived
they had gained from participating in the undergoing CPBL. This direct the analysis to understand the impact each stage
has contributed to students’ personal changes [15]. According to Thorkildsen [14], self-report is preferable to allow the
students to express and report their mind, belief, opinion and feelings. During the reflection, students are expected to
engage cognitively and are encouraged to share their thoughts [16]. Previous study [13] has shown that writing
reflections have been used as an integral part of assessment to measure the students’ ability to demonstrate an increasing
awareness of their own learning towards sustainable development concept. For this study, 111 reflections were collected
from 82 students. The thematic analysis technique [17] was adopted to extract the main themes and sub themes that
explain about students’ experiences with CPBL. Table 2, shows the three phases of thematic analysis as suggested by
[17].

TABLE (2). Phases in thematic analysis for the analysis.

Phase Actions
Data Familiarization All the reflections were collected from the schools. The reflections were read and
focus on the 21st century skills and STEM Education
Theme Identification Potential sub-themes is identified based on the codes, the sub-theme were reviewed
again throughout the data
Report A report was produced at the end of analysis.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

From the thematic analysis, this study identified three themes which are (1) help-seeking from the students, (2) 21st
century skills and (3) STEM education. From Table 3, it shows the obstacles faced and actions taken by the students.
From the results, it can be seen that CPBL helped the students to develop the 21 st century skills such as accountability,
responsibility, collaboration, adaptability and critical thinking skills.

TABLE (3). Students’ help-seeking to overcome the obstacle during the implementation of CPBL
Student Obstacles Actions
Annie No internet connection to prepare him for the CPBL He seeked permission from the ICT teacher to use the
class computer lab after school.
Farah No computer to complete the presentation task given by With assistance of her father, she seeked help from her
the teachers neighbour and borrowed her neighbour’s laptop
Chai Wanted to prove that in India, people use rain harvesting Went to the library to study and did a small experiment
system to beat draught. to show the mini rain harvesting system which he built
on his own
Katty Hardly spoke to the audience due to nervousness, she Could now speak and gained confidence, especially
would stand still. after her classmate gave support
Lam Depressed with her teammates because they argued and After several counselling session by the facilitators , she
fought frequently realized the importance of working together in a team
and able to function in a team
Nadia Wanted to deliver their findings besides using Learned to make interactive video to ensure findings
Microsoft power points could be delivered effectively
Ummi Did not know how to use Microsoft to make graph and Seeked help from her Warden office to learn more about
pie chart. Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

Table 4 provides the 21st Century learning skills gained from the CPBL. Some of the 21 st century skills gained by the
students are teamworking, problem solving, communication and leadership skills. They also improved their language,
ICT and science literacy. All these skills are important for the survival of the 21 st century [18].

TABLE (4). 21st Century learning skills gained from Cooperative Problem Based Learning
Skills Evidence from the Reflective Journal
Teamworking I am so excited to learn something new. Our team need some idea, we generate the idea collobaratively in
a group. We were given freedom to choose the solution methods. It allows us to expands our thought as
the 21st century generations (Aliah)
Language Literacy & I realized that I need to improve my English language, so I seek help from my teammates Enya. She
Communication helped me a lot and I think I am getting better at it. (Sofia)

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 Problem Solving & PBL really has benefit me. I used to get help in solving the problem. However, in PBL we are taught to
Maturity try solve the problem by our own. I am become mature. (Chong)
Communication & Before this I was a shy girl but now I am brave to face the world and to ask the community to answer the
Confidence questionnaire and interview (Qaseh)
ICT Literacy I have learn to improve my Microsoft power points skills for presentation, plotted the results using graph.
Microsoft words to do reports, observation and checklist. (Nor)
I learned new skills on Microsoft power point. Previously, I am very poor in using computer, however,
after learned from the expert, now I am computer literate. I hope I can learn more on the computer. (Amy)
Science Literacy I learned to collect the data and do the obervation since observations is crucial for data collection. (Zong)
Environmental I have learned how to care for my own earth and much of environmental knowledge. I decided that I
awareness & would help our planet through some way. For example I will be a wise leader and become an
Leadership environmentalist (Tong)

Table 5 shows the evidence that CPBL led students to deep learning in STEM Education through the theme of global
awareness and civic literacy. The low carbon theme used in the CPBL classes helped the students to learn STEM
subjects in an integrated and meaningful manner. For example, Aaron can explain the differences between a few
complex scientific phenomena through CPBL because CPBL provides opportunities for the students to explore and find
new information at their own pace and interest that may go beyond the syllabus requirements. The purpose of STEM
education is to make the learning of normally isolated subjects of science, technology, engineering or mathematics
applicable to the real world so that students learn the concepts in a meaningful manner and create interest among them by
assimilating these subjects into integrated STEM education.
.
TABLE (5). STEM Education learning through CPBL.
Student Evidence from the students’ reflections
Chong I have learned a lots of new knowledge on science that I would not be able to get from the text book. As an
example, carbon footprint, domestic waste management, greenhouse effects and etc. I am so happy that i
can have a deeper understanding, especially on science. Through PBL, I have learned to think, solve the
problem
and finding the information myself.
Halim The increase in carbon emission had cause Green House effects. This happened due to the lights from the sun
can’t be reflected to the outer space since the atmosphere layer in our earth is filled with carbon monoxide,
sulphur dioxide, methane and etc. This will increase the temperature of the earth, eventually cause global
warming, melt the ice in the north pole and etc.
Sofia Since the electricity is the major contributor to the emission of carbon, and most of the community will use
electricity to charge their phone, hence, we create a product that have timer sensor to inform if the phone
is
had fully charged
Ahmad Through PBL, I have learned that high emission of carbon will lead to the Green House Effects in this
world.
So, I try to do some innovation to device that will reduce the emission of carbon
Chin In PBL class I learned that carbon dioxide gas, CO2, is a very harmful gas to the earths atmosphere. It can
cause global warming. The ways to reduce the CO2 gas is through plantations for the process of
photosynthesis and etc.
Letchumi I have learned about the importance of caring the environment. For an example, the condition of river. We
should not throw the rubbish everywhere because it can extinct the aquatic animal.
Aaron I have learned about solid waste management, landfill, the difference between incineration and combustion,
organic and inorganic, ozone layer, greenhouse and etc. With CPBL I can explore even more

CONCLUSION
The study shows that active involvement of the students in CPBL can develop them with the 21st century skills as
well as re-kindle and stimulate STEM education. CPBL empowers the students to gain new knowledge by themselves
hence more meaningful and better retention, increases their competencies in problem solving, teamworking and
communication skills, confidence, self-esteem and maturity, and enhances students’ literacy in ICT, language and
science. CPBL certainly enriched the students with their 21 st century skills that prepares them for the challenges in the
coming decades. This finding is in agreement with the findings on first year engineering students [10]. Therefore, STEM
education and learning can be further enhanced through CPBL because it provides real world problems in STEM with
proper support through the CPBL framework for the students to be able to see the application of STEM subjects in a
meaningful and integrated manner. This will ultimately increase students’ interest in STEM and help to tackle the
declining students’ enrolment in science [5].

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The project is funded by several grants from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Japan International Cooperation
Agency vot numbers Q.J130000.2531.16H50, R.J130000.7331.4B311 and Q.J130000.2431.03G77.

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 Differentiated Instruction Through Content – A Lesson Plan
On Alternate Segment Theorem
Mathematics Form 4
Law Siao Siua, Hairunnisak Bt Alimunb, Nor Hasniza Bt Ibrahimc
a
SMK Seri Pulai Perdana, Jalan Persisiran Pulai Perdana 1, Taman Sri Pulai Perdana, 81300 Skudai, Johor.
b
Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Kulai, Jalan Persiaran Indahpura 4, 81000 Kulai, Johor.
c
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor

Abstract. From previous teaching experience, most students have difficulty in identifying alternate segment angle due to lack
of clear understanding of the Alternate Segment Theorem. This topic becomes an obstacle for Form 4 students in answering
questions involving angles in circles, found in Paper 1 of Mathematics SPM. Therefore, this study was conducted to a class of
Form 4 students in SMK Seri Pulai Perdana using Differentiated Instruction (Cubing) as an approach to improve students’
understanding of Alternate Segment Theorem. Another class of Form 4 students acted as the control group. Classroom
observation was conducted and data of students’ pre and post assesments were recorded. It was found that the post test of the
experimental group showed significant improvement compared to their own pre test, as well as to the post test of the control
group. This finding implied the effectiveness of the Cubing approach in improving students’ skills in solving problems
relating to Altenate Segment Theorem and properties of angles in circles. Recommendations are also given to ensure the
lesson plan is carried out smoothly.
Keywords: Alternate Segment Theorem, Differentiated Instruction, Cubing.

INTRODUCTION
From the authors’ past teaching experience, many Form 4 students had misconceptions in identifying and using the
Alternate Segment Theorem. This topic is related to the Properties of Angles in Circles learnt in Form 3, therefore if
students did not master all the properties, they often struggle in determining the appropriate angle properties to use when
solving a problem related to Alternate Segment Theorem. Other than that, the angle and line notation used in the
questions often tricked students to calculate an angle which was not useful. Therefore students need to spend time
breaking down the problem by considering the various angle properties that may be relevant. Moreover, students often
differ in abilities in a mathematics classroom, thus they work at different speed and some may require extra time to
process information.
However, given the constraint of long syllabus and pressure of examination-oriented system1, teachers could not use
up too much time to allow students to work at their own pace. A student may have an excellent understanding of number
sense but has not mastered his basic algebraic skills. Another student may be good in logical thinking but not in spatial
visualisation. Therefore in a mixed-ability classroom, Differentied Instruction might be the solution to help students to
grow more than they thought they could 2. Differentiated Instruction encourages teachers to embrace students’ diversity
and tailor their instruction to meet various student-needs3. Teachers can differentiate their instruction either in the
content dimension, process dimension or the product dimension4. This differentiation will then create room for both
equity and excellence in Mathematics classrooms5.
The proven effectiveness of Differentiated Instruction6 suggest that it might be the solution to the difficulty in
teaching and learning process of Alternate Segment Theorem. Thus the authors designed a lesson plan which
differentiated the content, using the Cubing approach as student activity. The objective of this lesson plan is to solve
problems relating to Alternate Segment Theorem in Chapter 10 (Circle) of Form 4 Mathematics. The content is
differentiated for three groups of different abilities: the lower, medium and higher ability groups. In differentiating
content, a teacher can adapt what he or she teaches by giving students access to what he or she want them to learn 5. In
line with that, three sets of Cubes were used for each level during the learning activity. Students’ ability were assessed
before and after the learning activity.

104
 LITERATURE REVIEW
Teaching in a mixed-ability class is challenging and complex7, where the teacher’s best teaching strategy might not
even fit for the majority of students. Studies on Differentiated Instruction provide guidelines for teachers to embrace
such diversity in their endeavour to custom-made instruction for students’ needs3. Teachers can differentiate three
dimensions of the instruction, which are: the content dimension (the presentation of content differs), the process
dimension (the sequence of how the content is learned differs), or the product dimension (different response from
students towards the content). Two ways can be done to differentiate the content dimension 5, that is to adapt to different
group of students what the teacher teach, and different access to what the teacher wants them to learn. In this study, the
content dimension is differentiated where different group of students will have different access to different levels of
circle problems presented in differently colored cubes.
Various studies shed light to the how differentiated instruction can improve learning. Fine (2003) reported a
significant improvement on students’ performance when their learning style was used in classroom instruction compared
to the tradisional teaching method8. Apart from the improved performance, teachers involved in Subhan’s (2006) study
reported an increase of student motivation and enthusiasm in learning9. Furthermore, Johnsen (2003) concluded that the
undergraduate teachers implementing differentiated instruction this study had a high gratifying experience 10. Therefore,
it seemed beneficial for a teacher to differentiate instruction in class, as it not only can improve students’ performance, it
also increase both students and teachers’ motivation in class.

OBJECTIVES & RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The study is focused on the following objectives:
1. To determine the difference between the experimental group and the control group before and after the
treatment.
2. To determine the difference within the experimental group and the control group before and after the treatment.

The objectives will be examined using the following research questions:

1. Is there any difference between the experimental group and the control group before the treatment?
2. Is there any difference between the experimental group and the control group after the treatment?
3. Is there any difference within the experimental group before and after the treatment?
4. Is there any difference within the control group before and after the treatment?

METHODOLOGY - THE LESSON

This lesson was carried out after the concept of Alternate Segment Theorem was introduced to students and some
simple problems worked. Prior to this lesson, the teacher revised the angle properties of a circle with the students. This
lesson plan aims at sharpening students’ problem solving skills involving angles in a circle by differentiating the
content, in a 70-minutes lesson. Before the lesson was carried out, both experimental and control groups sit for the Pre
Test. The experimental group then followed this lesson plan whereas the control group used a workbook for enrichment
activity. Finally, both groups sat for the Post Test.

Induction Set
The Induction Set used an Entry Ticket which tested the students’ prior knowledge. Elements tested includes
identifying the tangent lines of a circle, angle properties of a circle and the definition of the Alternate Segment Theorem.
Teacher walked around the class and put colour stickers on the Entry Tickets based on the number of correct
answers. Yellow stickers are for students with the least correct answers, pink stickers for students with more correct
answers and blue stickers for students with most correct answers. The stickers will determine the students’ group
afterwards.

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 Exploration
In order to further strengthen students’ understanding of Alternate Segment Theorem, teacher used questioning
method to guide the students through a session of proving the theorem. This would indirectly remind the students of
other angle properties of a circle. According to Sullivan & Lilburn (2004), questions which encourage students to do
more than recalling known facts have the potential to stimulate higher levels of thinking 11.

Development
Students then moved into groups of Yellow, Pink and Blue. Each group consisted of five or six students, depending
on class size. A set of name tags with numbers 1 to 6 are distributed to each group. Each student wore a name tag with a
number. The odd numbered students competed with the even numbered students in the following activity.
The Cubing strategy was then used. Cubing uses Bloom’s Taxonomy to organise the complexity of activities.
Therefore, the more advanced students were to complete the higher level activities, such as analysis and evaluation
while the less capable students were to complete lower level activities, such as single-step problem solving activities.
Cubing activities may address different learning styles like auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Cubing is implemented after
specific concepts have been taught and students’ readiness levels have been assessed.
Each group were then given two cubes of the group colour. A yellow cube consists of 6 one-step questions on its 6
faces. A pink cube consists of 6 two-steps questions whereas a blue cube consists of 6 advanced questions. The format
of the questions follow the requirement of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) Paper 1 Mathematics. After all the group
members completed all faces of their cubes, the odd numbered students were to check the answer of even numbered
students and vice versa. Corrects answers will be awarded a token. Tokens were accumulated to exchange for presents at
the end of the lesson.

Assessment
To end the lesson, students are given Exit Tickets which consist of a question to test their understanding and some
emoji to represent their feeling for the lesson. The question in the Exit Ticket were discussed prior to ending of the
lesson.

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 DATA ANALYSIS

Research Question 1
In order to compare the ability of the samples before treatment, an independent-samples t-test was carried out to
determine whether the difference between the pre test of both groups were significant,. Table 1 shows the analysis
performed. Based on Levene’s Test result, it is found that the variances are not significantly different. Therefore equal
variances is assumed. Thus, Independent Samples t-test shows that pre test of both groups is not significantly different
statistially, t(52) = 0.025, p = 0.98.

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 Table 1: Independent Samples t –Test of Pre Test Experimental and Control Group

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test
for Equality of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95%
Confidence
Sig. Mean Std. Interval of the
F Sig. t df (2- Difference Error Difference
tailed Difference Lower Upper
)
Pre Equal variances
.046 .830 .025 52 .980 .014 .555 -1.099 1.127
Test assumed
Equal variances not
.025 51.715 .980 .014 .555 -1.099 1.127
assumed

Research Question 2

Furthermore, to compare the ability of the samples after treatment, a two-sample t-test was carried out to determine
whether the difference between the post test of both groups were significant,. Table 2a shows the analysis performed.
Based on Levene’s Test, it is found that the variances are significantly different. Therefore equal variances is not
assumed. Thus, Independent Samples t-test for post test of both groups shows significantly different statistially,
t(34.192) = 3.524, p <0.05. The value of Cohen’s d was estimated at 0.46, which shows a medium effect size based on
the guidelines given by Cohen (1992)8.

Table 2a: Two-Sample t-test of Post Test for both groups

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test
for Equality of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Sig. Mean Std. Difference
F Sig. t df (2- Difference Error Lower Upper
tailed Difference
)
Post Equal
Test variances 29.18 .000 3.614 52 .001 1.706 .472 .759 2.653
assumed Equal 2
variances not
assumed 3.524 34.192 .001 1.706 .484 .722 2.690

By using the descriptive statistics in Table 2b, value of Cohen’s d was estimated at 0.97, which shows a large effect
size based on the guidelines given by Cohen (1992) 12.

Table 2b: Descriptive Statistics for Post Test

Group Statistics
Group N Mean Std. Std. Error
Deviation Mean
Post Test Experimental Group 28 5.32 1.020 .193
Control Group 26 3.62 2.264 .444

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 Research Question 3

For the experimental group, the pre test was given after the teacher taught the concept by using a workbook. The
post test was given after a 70 minutes treatment. To determine whether the difference between the pre test and the post
test were significant, a paired-sample t-test was carried out. Table 3 shows the analysis performed. Based on the
findings, it is found that the difference between the pre test and post test of the experimental group is significant
statistially, t(39.738) = –6.966, p <0.05.

Table 3: Independent-Sample t-test of Pre Test and Post Test of the experimental group

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test
for Equality of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95%
Confidence
Sig. Mean Std. Interval of the
F Sig. t df (2- Difference Error Difference
tailed Difference Lower Upper
)
Score Equal variances
14.376 .000 -6.966 54 .000 -3.000 .431 -3.863 -2.137
assumed
Equal variances not
-6.966 39.738 .000 -3.000 .431 -3.871 -2.129
assumed

By using the descriptive statistics in Table 3b, value of Cohen’s d was estimated at 1.86, which shows a large effect
size based on the guidelines given by Cohen (1992) 12.

Table 3b: Descriptive Statistics for Experimental Group

Group Statistics
Experimental N Mean Std. Std. Error
Deviation Mean
Score Pre Test 28 2.32 2.038 .385
Post Test 28 5.32 1.020 .193

Research Question 4

For the control group, the pre test was also given after the teacher taught the concept by using a workbook, and the
post test given after a 70 minutes lesson discussing problems on a worksheet. To determine whether the difference
between the pre test and the post test were significant, a paired-sample t-test was carried out. Table 4 shows the analysis
performed. Based on the findings, it is found that the difference between the pre test and post test of the experimental
group is significant statistially, t(50) = –2.190, p=0.033.

Table 4: Independent-Sample t-test of Pre Test and Post Test of the control group

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test
for Equality
of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95%
Sig. Confidence
(2- Mean Std. Interval of the
F Sig. t df tailed) Difference Error Difference
Difference Lower Upper

109
 Score Equal variances
1.499 .227-2.190 50 .033 -1.308 .597 -2.507 -.109
assumed
Equal variances not
-2.190 49.442 .033 -1.308 .597 -2.507 -.108
assumed

By using the descriptive statistics in Table 4b, value of Cohen’s d was estimated at 0.60, which shows a moderate
effect size based on the guidelines given by Cohen (1992) 12.

Table 4b: Descriptive Statistics for Control Group

Group Statistics
Control N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Score Pre Test 26 2.31 2.035 .399
Post Test 26 3.62 2.264 .444

DISCUSSION

At the beginning, Pre Test for the experimental and the control group did not show any significant difference. It
implied that both group have the same ability after their teachers completed the required syllabus for the topic of
Alternate Segment Theorem. After treatment for the experimental group, both groups sat for the Post Test again. The
result indicated that the treatment had improved the ability of the experimental group significantly in solving circle
problems compared to using the workbook for enrichment by the control group. This result is parallel with that of Fine
(2003) where students receiving differentiated instruction performed better than those receiving tradisional instruction.
Within the experimental group, results of Pre and Post Tests shows significant difference with big effect size. This
shows the experimental group improve tremendously by using Differentiated Instruction. It was also observed that
during the activity, students were very motivated to solve the problems on the cubes. This finding is similar to that of
Subhan’s (2006) study. The increase of motivation is due to the content-differentiated cubing activity matched the
students’ ability, and parallel to the view that students cannot grow if what they are asked to learn is way too easy or
way too hard13. A task that’s a good match for student readiness extends that student’s knowledge, understanding, and
skills a bit beyond what the student can do independently5. A good readiness match pushes the student a little further
beyond his or her comfort zone and then provides support in bridging the gap between the known and the unknown. On
the other hand, within the control group, results of Pre and Post Tests also shows significant difference but with small
effect size. This shows that enrichment activity using workbook is also effective, but less effective compared to the
Differentiated Instruction using Cubing strategy.
Furthermore, the first author who carried out the study indicated that seeing the students displaying high motivation
and actively participating during the whole learning activity is giving the her a satisfying experience. This is in line with
Johnsen’s (2003) study where undergraduate teachers also had a gratifying experience carrying out Differentiated
Instruction.
It can be concluded that Differentiation Instruction in the content dimension, by using the Cubing strategy, is able to
improve both the students’ performance and their motivation in solving problems relating to Alternate Segment
Theorem and circle properties. It also benefits the teacher by providing positive feedback and satisfaction in handling a
mixed-ability class.

RECOMMENDATIONS

There were some strength and some weaknesses in this study. In order to improve the lesson, the researcher
recommended the following:
1. Students are highly motivated to complete the task. A few groups will work faster than other groups. Teachers
should prepare more sets of cubes for each level to cater for their demand.
2. Students’ learning styles should be analysed prior to deciding strategies for differentiating instruction. The
students in the lesson study were dominant in kinesthetic and intrapersonal intelligence. This lesson plan might
not be suitable for students who were dominant in other intelligence.
3. The number of students in a group should be between 4 to 6 persons, where 2 to 3 person per side in a group.
More than that, students will have difficulty holding the cube to study the problem. Less than that, students are
often not motivated to work alone.
4. Teachers should constantly provide support to the students during the activity, by providing hints and
encouragement to keep their motivation going.

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 Future studies can consider replicating this Content-Differentiated Cubing approach for other topics, or a
combination of a few topics on one Cube.

REFERENCES
1. Asraf Mubarak, A. (2014). Beban Tugas Guru Dalam Perlaksanaan PBS Di Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar Dan Luar Bandar Di
Daerah Muar. Unpublished Thesis, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai.
2. Tomlinson, Carol Ann (2014). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. 2nd Edition.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, USA
3. Kerri Ann Whipple (2012), Differentiated Instruction: A survey study of teacher understanding and implementation in a
Southeast Massachusets School. University Boston, Massachusetts , USA.
4. Dixon, F.A., Yssel, N., McConnell, J.M., Hardin, T. (2014). Differentiated Instruction, Professional Development, and Teacher
Efficacy, Journal for the Education of the Gifted, Vol 37(2), pp. 111-127.
5. Tomlinson, Carol A.(2001) How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms, Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development, USA
6. J.S. Etienne, (2011). A Grounded Theory Approach to Use of Differentiated Instruction to Improve Students ' Outcomes in
Mathematics. Walden University, USA.
7. Dixon, F. A., Yssel, N., McConnell, J. M., & Hardin, T. (2014). Differentiated instruction, professional development, and
teacher efficacy. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 37(2), 111-127.
8. Fine, D. (2003). A sense of learning style. Principal Leadership, 4(2), 55-60.
9. Subhan, P. (2006). Differentiated instruction: A research basis. International Education Journal, 7(7), 935-947.
10. Johnsen, S. (2003). Adapting instruction with heterogeneous groups. Gifted Child Today, 26 (3), 5-6.
11. Sullivan, Peter & Lilburn, Pat (2004). Open-Ended Maths Activities: Using ‘Good’ Questions to Enhance Learning In
Mathemathics. Oxford University Press, UK.
12. Cohen, J. (1992). A Power Primer. Psychological bulletin, 112 (1), 155.
13. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (2011). Differentiation for readiness. Alexandria,USA

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 Effect of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality as Teaching
Tools to Increase Spatial Knowledge for Students
in STEM education- Literature Review

Mohd Shah Bin Sahri 1,2 and Syed Ahmad Helmi1,2

1
Center for Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 80100 Johor Bahru, Johor
2
Faculty of Engineering School of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi, M alaysia 80100 Johor Bahru,
Johor

Abstract. The paper puts forth the integration of Virtual and Augmented Reality (VAR) in STEM education in the era of
Industrie 4.0. It starts by highlighting the importance of having spatial visualization ability to understand and solve real-world
problems, which can be enriched using VAR. At the same time increasing students’ motivation to understand STEM concepts and
theories. Other advantages of VAR were also listed. The paper ends up by addressing the challenges of bringing VAR into
classrooms – the readiness of educators with the large among of uncertainty in technologies and rapid on-going changes.

Keywords: Virtual and augmented reality, spatial visualization, Industrie 4.0, STEM education

INTRODUCTION
Virtual and Augmented Reality (VAR) is a visualization technology, which combines real-time three- dimensional
computer-generated imagery and real-life footage to create an enhanced representation of reality (Barajas et. al, 2000).
The user is immersed in an environment that is entirely computer generated. The system allows users to experience a
modified version of the real world by superimposing virtual images onto real views of the world. Thus, the VAR will
transform teaching and be embedded within education as a teaching tool to enhance and motivate learning (Sachs,
2016). Higher education institutions and professional development especially in STEM courses throughout the world are
beginning to encompass VAR within their curriculum and training practices via variety of methods (Mentzelopoulos
et.al, 2016). One of the major challenges of STEM education is to provide learning experiences that are meaningful to
students with different needs (Talanquer, 2014). Other VAR applications include in the area of industrial design as
reported by Liang et al. (2016), and in the area of architecture and construction as noted by Wang (2015).

VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY IN STEM EDUCATION

In Reality-Virtuality continuum as shown in Figure 1, the VAR is located at the center between the real and virtual
environment. The VAR closed the gap between the difficulties of getting the real environment during contextualizing
process in education, and the affordability of bringing the “high-tech” virtual environment into the classroom. Some
researchers have pointed out that VAR has potential educational affordances which are especially useful in the science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, including spatial ability, practical skills, conceptual
understanding, and scientific inquiry learning (Bujak et al., 2013; Cheng & Tsai, 2013; Dunleavy, Dede &Mitchell,
2009; Wu et al., 2013).

112
 Mixed Reality

Augmented Reality Virtual

Real Environment
Virtual Reality Environment

Figure 1. Reality–Virtuality Continuum (K. Mumtaz et. al 2017).

In STEM education, VAR has proven to offer several advantages. Some of the advantages are increasing students’
motivation to understand STEM concepts and theories, increasing students’ learning engagement and understanding of
some difficult topics (Bazarov et.al, 2017). In a study conducted by Hsu et.al, (2016) they found that embedding VAR in
authentic inquiry promotes students’ engagement and increase their motivation in developing their spatial skills and
inspired them to select STEM-related majors in university. It also increased the spatial visualization of the students,
which transform to become creative students when solving open-ended problems.Typically, important features of spatial
visualization abilities in mathematics learning are the skills required to construct mental models of mathematical objects
from teacher’s drawings or oral descriptions (David et. al, 2009). However, spatial ability is not a static trait but instead a
dynamic process which could be fostered through an interaction of real and virtual objects. This ability could be
enriched with the development of new technologies such as VAR.

THE ADVANTAGES OF VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY

IN STEM EDUCATION
In the edge of Industrie 4.0, VAR is at the forefront of the technological development. Recent advances make the
technologies more accessible, and now even the disabled students have the opportunity of participating in virtual
experiences (Liang, et al., 2010), albeit these advances also benefit regular students by creating more accessible
experiences. Some of the advantages of VAR in education include:

1. VAR can help students, even student college-aged; see the practical side of STEM. It might even plant seeds of
curiosity that could one-day lead to higher education and even a career in a STEM field. (Shumaker 2011).
2. VAR is an emerging technology that necessitates strong consideration as a learning tool in the implementation
of technology for increasing spatial abilities for students in STEM education curriculum (Thornton et.al, 2012).
3. Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies provide a rich contextual view to use as an educational resource for
modeling objects in engineering design by creating a 3-D image could become essential in design technology
and engineering. (Thornton et.al, 2012).
4. VAR also allow for movement and motion capture while learning, and Johnson-Glenberg’s (2017) research
shows that when movement is congruent, or in synchrony, with the topic, it improves learning and retention.
5. By using Virtual and Augmented Reality, students feel immersed while interacting with concepts, objects, and
processes by using headsets, tactile gloves, and motion sensors. This immersion permits to experiment
environments with real objects that could not be accessible otherwise.
6. Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies are now affordable and accessible.
7. Students will no longer view concepts and ideas in an isolated set of facts or procedures (Squire and Klopfer,
2007). Instead, they will be able to determine spatial and visual relationships. VAR will allow students to take a
more active role in their education (Villano, 2008).
8. Disabled students have easier access to virtual environments and are able to interact with virtual objects and
other students.

IMPLICATIONS AND CHALLENGES OF INTERGRATING VIRTUAL AND

AUGMENTED REALITY IN STEM EDUCATION
VAR bears a promising potential for successful implementation of virtual worlds within schools and higher
education especially in STEM. The technology shows that not only the industries but also education is already on its
way to “4.0”. The challenge lies in preparing students and educators to cope with the development of technologies,
enhanced roles of artificial intelligence, large amounts of uncertainty, and other ongoing changes (Wu et. al, 2013). Soft
skills competencies (which will gain more and more importance) will be the ability to solve problems by virtual
teamwork and to be able to work in hybrid teams consisting of human and robots, working indispensable together. The
teaching and training of qualifications within virtual scenarios and human-robot teams strengthen literacies, which will be
part of our daily professional life. Thus, the educators in the 4 th Industrial Revolution, especially in STEM education, the
educators need to become VAR technological competent before introducing the VAR technology as their teaching tools
to interact with the students. This “digital literacy” comprises the design of VAR, experience in digital coaching and
other joint problem solving in virtual worlds (Kaufmann, et. al, 2003). The new millennials in high school or in
113
universities are fond with digital media, so they have great shortcomings to learn to project an object in space. They do
not make sense to locate any point in space. They have difficulties in interpreting the teacher’s explanations, thus they
are limited to critical judgment. Therefore, they find it difficult to understand written instructions. As shown in Fig. 2, the
research of image-based AR in science learning mainly emphasizes the evaluation of users’ interactive experience, such
as their perceived usability of the AR applications. (Cheng&Tsai 2013)

Figure 2. Reality– An overview of AR research issues in science learning (Cheng&Tsai 2013)

CONCLUSIONS

The VAR in STEM education will produce trained professional for Industrie 4.0. It also offers new and promising
perspectives on educating and training groups of people, who have been difficult to address with classical courses of e.g.
vocational and further education. The realization of hands-on experience, the deployment, and integration of
competencies and experiences of the digitalized generations have the potential to lead to new successful educational
settings for those who are not used to learning and difficult to reach, due to their age, educational background, and
qualification level. Educators should use interactive multimedia in the presentation of concepts where practical,
applicable, and valid. VAR must be developed for better communication in engineering concepts to students using new
and unique technologies. The development and infusion trajectory of VAR presents current and future educational
possibilities for technology education and other STEM disciplines.

REFERENCES

1. Barajas, M. and Owen, M (2000). “Implementing virtual learning environments: looking for a holistic approach”.Educational
Technology and Society, 3, 3.
2. Bazarov, S.E, I Yu Kholodilin, A S Nesterov, A V Sokhina (2017). “Applying Augmented Reality in practical classes for
engineering students” IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science IPDME 2017.
3. Bujak, K. R., Radu, I., Catrambone, R., Macintyre, B., Zheng, R., & Golubski, G. (2013). A psychological perspective on
augmented reality in the mathematics classroom. Computers & Education, 68, 536–544.
4. Cheng, K. H., & Tsai, C. C. (2013). Affordances of augmented reality in science learning: Suggestions for future research.
Journal of Science Education and Technology, 22(4), 449–462
5. David C.Pe´ rez-Lo´ pez b, MarioOrtega (2009). “Design and validation of an augmented book for spatial abilities
development in engineering students”, Departamento de Expresio´n Gra´fica en Arquitecturae Ingenierı´a, Universidadde La
Laguna,Av.A´ ngel Guimera´,Spain.
6. Dunleavy, M., Dede, C., & Mitchell, R. (2009). Affordances and limitations of immersive participatory augmented reality
simulations for teaching and learning. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 18, 7–22.
7. Goldman Sachs. (2016). “Virtual and augmented reality: understanding the race for the next computing platform.”Accessed
January 2017.
8. Hsu, Y. S., Yuan-Hsiang Lin and Beender Yang (2017). ” Impact of augmented reality lessons on students’ STEM interest”
Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning.
9. Kaufmann, H., & Schmalstieg, D. (2003). Mathematics and geometry education with collaborative augmented
reality.Computers & Graphics, 27(3), 339–345.
10. Kerawalla, L., Luckin, R., Seljeflot, S., & Woolard, A. (2006). “Making it real”: exploring the potential of augmented reality
for teaching primary school science. Virtual Reality,10(3), 163–174.
11. Kun-Hung Cheng & Chin-Chung Tsai(2013)“Affordances of Augmented Reality in Science Learning: Suggestions for
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 Future Research” Journal of Science Education and Technology August 2013, Volume 22, Issue 4, pp 449–462
12. Liang, Yo-Wen, An-Sheng Lee, and Shuo-Fang Liu. (2016). "A study on design-oriented demands of VR via ZMETQFD
model for industrial design education and students' learning." EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology
13. Mentzelopoulos, Markos, James Parrish, Paresh Kathrani, and Daphne Economou. (2016). "REVR Law: An immersive way
for teaching criminal law using virtual reality." Immersive Learning Research Network
14. Mina, C., and Johnson-Glenberg (2018). ”Immersive VR and Education: Embodied Design Principles That Include Gesture
and Hand Controls” DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2018.00081
15. Mumtaz, K, Muhammad Munwar Iqbal., Shehzad Khalid & Tariq Rafiq (2017). ”An E-Assessment Framework forBlended
Learning with Augmented Reality to Enhance the Student Learning” EURASIA Journal of Mathematics Science and
Technology Education
16. Shumaker, R. ( 2011). “Virtual and Mixed Reality - Systems and Applications”International Conference, Virtual and Mixed
Reality 2011, Held as Part of HCI International 2011, Orlando, FL, USA, July 9-14, 2011, Proceedings, Part 2, Sciences,
16(3), 371-413.
17. Squire, K. & Klopfer, E. (2007). “Augmented reality simulations on handheld computers”. Journal of the Learning
18. Talanquer, V. (2014). “DBER and STEM education reform: are we up to the challenge?” Journal of Research in
ScienceTeaching, 51(6), 809–819
19. Thornton, T., Jeremy V. Ernst, and Aaron C. Clark, DTE (2012). “Augmented Reality as a Visual and Spatial Learning Tool
in Technology Education” technology and engineering teacher May/June 2012
20. Villano, M. (2008). “When worlds collide”. T H E Journal 35(2), 32-38.
21. Wang, R. (2015). "The virtual learning experience: learning styles, task complexity and presence in the context of emerging
or technologies." PhD diss., University of New South Wales.
22. Wu, H. K., Lee, S. W. Y., Chang, H. Y., & Liang, J. C. (2013). Current status, opportunities and challenges of augmented
reality in education. Computers & Education, 62, 41–49.
23. Wu, Hsin-Kai, Silvia Wen-Yu Lee , Hsin-Yi Chang , Jyh-Chong Liang (2013). “ Current status, opportunities and challenges
of augmented reality in education” Computers & Education 62 (2013) 41–49

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 Effect of Pro-iCo Module towards Students’ Achievements
on Chemical Bonding
Lai Foong Yipa and Nor Hasniza Ibrahimb
aMaktab Sultan Abu Bakar, Johor Bahru,Malaysia.
,b Department of Educational Sciences, Mathematics and Creative Multimedia,
Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, MALAYSIA.

Abstract. The deterioration of Malaysian students’ achievements in Science subject is an alarming issue. Malaysian students’
enrolment in STEM at upper secondary schools is gradually declining. Effective STEM teaching materials developed by using
appropriate teaching approach for improving students’ achievements in STEM field, particularly Chemistry is urgently needed.
Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the teaching module towards students’ achievements on
chemical bonding. Pro-iCo Module was designed and developed by the researcher based on STEM-5E learning cycle
constructivist approach via ADDIE model. This study used a One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design.. A total of 30 form four
Chemistry students were selected purposively from one of the secondary schools in Johor Bahru. The instruments used in this
research were (i) Pro-iCo Module Evaluation Questionnaire (Pro-iCo MEQ) (ii) Chemical Bonding Achievement Test
(CBAT). Descriptive analysis and inferential analysis (Paired Sample T- test) were used in analysing the data collected. Based
on the findings of the Pro-iCo MEQ, the teachers agreed that the Pro-iCo Module has fulfilled all the criteria of evaluation
aspects. The findings of CBAT revealed a significant difference (with the value of 22.57) between the mean of pre-test score
and the mean of post-test score. The statistical analysis of Paired Sample T-test indicated that students scored significantly
higher (p < 0.05) in the post-test than in the pre-test. It can be concluded that the implementation of Pro-iCo Module has
significant positive impact on students achievements in chemical bonding. Hence, Pro-iCo Module could be used as an
appropriate teaching module by teachers in implementing STEM approach at schools for enhancing students’ achievement in
chemistry.
Keywords: teaching module; chemical bonding concepts; STEM-5E Learning Cycle

INTRODUCTION
The deterioration of Malaysian students’ achievements in Science subject is an alarming issue [1]. Based on the
report of Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 – 2025, the results of TIMMS Science scores fell below the international
average, with the value of 471 (21st out of 48 countries), and 20% of Malaysian students did not achieve the
minimum benchmarks of Science scores in 2007, a two- to fourfold rise since 2003 [2]. The report stated that
students’ poor achievement in TIMMS Science score was due to their inability to apply the scientific knowledge in
solving problems although they seemed to understand the basic Science concepts. Students’ poor achievement in
Science affect their interests and confidence level which results in a decline in students’ enrolment in STEM at upper
secondary schools [3].
In the curriculum of Malaysia, chemistry is an elective subject of STEM field at the upper secondary level.
Chemistry which is one of the most important subjects of STEM field has been viewed by many researches as a
difficult subject for students[4]–[6]. Furthermore, research studies have proved that many chemistry concepts are very
difficult to learn and understand by most students [7]–[10]
The difficulties in learning chemistry concepts may have greatly lowered the interest and confidence of many
students. Hence, chemistry which is supposed to be a fascinating field of study is raising a serious treat to many
students today, a number of students have already developed phobia towards chemistry learning as a result of their
constant low performance on assessment or repetitive disappointment in external examinations [10].
“Chemical Bonds” is listed as the learning area four under the theme of matter around us in the Integrated
Curriculum for Secondary Schools : Curriculum Specification Chemistry Form 4 by [11]. This chemistry topic
explains about the formation of ionic and covalent compounds through chemical bonding.
[12] highlight that some of the errors often performed by students in answering the questions of Malaysian
Certificate of Education (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) (SPM) level include failure to write the electron arrangement of
ionic bonds and covalent bonds formed, unable to draw electron arrangement diagram to show the formation of ionic
bonds and covalent bonds as well as creating a mental picture about the formation of this bond. In addition, students
are still confused to differentiate ionic bonds and covalent bonds.
Effective pedagogical approach facilitates students’ conceptual understanding and improve their performance in
science learning. The successful of a science lesson requires the careful instructional design that brings about
conceptual growth in students. However, most of the teachers still prefer to use teacher-centred methods to teach
chemistry [13]. The use of traditional teaching methods may cause students in acquiring only core knowledge instead
of mastering 21st century skills that would allow them to be successful in the workforce [14]. Additionally, traditional
teaching also lack of interactive and engaging activities.

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The science lessons in a traditional classroom is dull and boring, thus declining students’ interest and curiosity in
learning the scientific concepts.
Why teachers need to integrate STEM-5E Learning Cycle in chemistry lesson? STEM-5E Learning Cycle inspires
students to develop into independent problem solvers and nurtures students’ understanding across different subject
areas because they are provided with opportunities to work in cooperative learning groups on meaningful activities
that are related to real-world problems [15][15] The research study of [16] indicates that STEM programs that involve
hands-on, active students’ engagement and relevant to the real world situations can be helpful in enhancing students’
positive interest in STEM content and careers.
Traditional teaching is difficult to develop conceptual understanding of chemical concepts. According to[15], a
well-designed STEM-5E Learning Cycle is naturally interdisciplinary and collaborative, thus it is perfectly
appropriate for developing students’ conceptual understanding since integration of different disciplines and
involvement of students in socially-interactive learning promotes conceptual understanding of concepts. Additionally,
STEM-5E Learning Cycle provides students with opportunities to collaboratively develop and use model to solve real
life problems related to the chemistry concepts. The construction of creative and innovative analogical model by
students themselves helps them to generate concrete item in macroscopic level for learning the abstract concepts. The
use of analogical models is an attractive way to visualize abstract science concepts because it stimulates the curiosity
and imagination of students and boosts their creative thinking [17].
Chemistry teachers need to apply up-to-date teaching methods that promote STEM practice in chemistry
instruction. This is an essential effort to enhance students’ skills, knowledge and values that enable them to thrive and
compete in the STEM field at global level.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Chemistry as an abstract field of study and requires students to understand its content by using their formal
operational thought. However, most students can operate only on the concrete operational level and lack of the
abilities to shift between the three levels of thought : macroscopic, microscopic and symbolic levels in chemistry and
are more prone to overload their working space memory when learning difficult chemistry topics [4].
Chemical bonding is widely known as a critical concept for chemists and is crucial for the understanding of
chemistry [18]. Nevertheless, many studies in chemistry education have explained various difficulties of students in
learning chemical bonding concepts[18]. The microscopic level and abstract nature of the chemical bonding concepts
lead to many difficulties in learning this concepts [19], [20] Students cannot see the microscopic level of chemical
entities, for instance atoms, atomic structures and the chemical interactions among atoms because chemical bonding
consists of the abstract matter and distant from everyday experience[4].
[18] point out that students’ difficulties in learning chemical bonding include the difficulty in understanding why
chemical bonding happen, the failure to explain the chemical bonding phenomena correctly and their confusion
regarding covalent bonding and ionic bonding.
Since the students’ learning difficulties in chemical bonding impede the teaching and learning process of
chemistry and result in students’ low achievement in chemistry, researchers should strive hard in helping students to
remove the roadblock of the chemistry learning. Majority of the studies only focus on the issue of students’
misconceptions of chemical bonding and their difficulties in learning chemical bonds. On the other hand, STEM
education is newly implemented in Malaysia education system in the year of 2017, there is a limited number of
researches to study the effectiveness of appropriate instructional design to enhance students’ conceptual
understanding of chemical bonding concepts. Besides, there is also a lack of research aiming on specific approaches
of integrated STEM education[21]. One of the greatest challenges for Malaysian science education is the insufficient
guidelines or models for science educators to apply STEM approaches in the classroom in a correct way [22]. Therefore,
there is a pressing need to study and design an effective teaching plan to create a STEM-5E Learning Cycle
environment that can help teachers to improve students’ performance in learning chemical bonding.
In this study, a STEM teaching module was developed based on the 5E learning cycle: engagement, exploration,
explanation, elaboration, evaluation. The study of[23] suggested that teaching materials developed via 5E learning
cycle can provide students with the opportunities to apply critical thinking skills by learning their own concepts,
enable them to link new knowledge to their cognitive structure and constructing meaningful learning process. [24]
points out that the used of teaching materials developed using STEM-5E learning cycle could improve students’
learning outcomes in chemistry. In addition, some of the previous studies [24]–[32] recommended that the 5E
learning cycle based on the constructivist approach is an appropriate instructional approach in chemistry teaching
because it is more effective in enhancing students’ learning performance in chemistry.

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 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
This study aims to determine the effects of the teaching module based on a pedagogical strategy using STEM- 5E
Learning Cycle towards students’ learning of chemical bonding concepts. The objectives of this research are as the
following :
1) To develop a teaching module for the chemical bonding topic based on STEM-5E Learning Cycle.
2) To examine the effectiveness of the teaching module on the students’ achievements of chemical bonding
before and after the implementation of the teaching module.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following are the research questions of this research :
1) How to design and develop the chemical bonding teaching module?
2) Does Pro-iCo Module has effect towards students’ achievements in chemical bonding?

METHODOLOGY

Research Design
The research design for this research includes two main methodologies: (1) methodology for the development of
Pro-iCo Module and (2) methodology for the measurement of the effectiveness of Pro-iCo Module towards students’
achievements.
The research methodology for the design and development of Pro-iCo Module was the ADDIE Instructional
Design Model. The ADDIE Instructional Design Model was proposed by Rossett in the year of 1987. This model
provides a structured and systematic process. It is a convenient model for a novice designer in developing teaching
module. ADDIE model has a framework with five phases : Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and
Evaluation.
A quantitative One Group Pretest-Posttest Design (O1 X O2), which is one of the Pre-experimental Design [33] was
used in examining the effectiveness of the Pro-iCo Module towards students’ achievements on Chemical Bonding. A
pretest and posttest design is employed to evaluate the effect of changes in an educational environment such as the
introduction of a new teaching approach by comparing the levels of performance before the introduction of a new
teaching approach to levels of performance after the introduction of the new teaching approach [34].
Based on this type of design, a pre-test and post-test were administered to the same sample before and after the
implementation of Pro-iCo Module, measuring the dependent variable (achievement) both before and after exposure
to the independent variable (module intervention). The research design used in this research is represented in the
FIGURE 1. In this research design, students were administered with a pre-test measure (O1) followed by an
intervention using Pro-iCo Module (X) and a post-test measure (O2).

FIGURE 1 : Non-equivalent (Pretest and Posttest) Control-Group Design

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 RESEARCH PROCEDURE
This research procedure consists of four stages as illustrated FIGURE 2. The description of each stage of the
research procedure is explained in this section.

FIGURE 2 : Research procedure

Research Population And Sample

The main population of this study consists of Form four Chemistry students from all secondary schools in Johor
Bahru. The research sample for answering research question 2 : Does Pro-iCo Module has effect towards students’
achievements in chemical bonding? consists of 30 form four Chemistry students. According to [35], a sample with 30
respondents will normally provide results comparable to a normal distribution. These students were selected by using
purposive sampling technique, where students were selected from the members of the population based on certain
consideration.. The purpose of purposive sampling technique is to acquire a sample of population who meet certain
predetermined criterion [36]. The sample of this research came from one of the secondary schools in Johor Bahru.
They were form four students who have selected Chemistry as their elective subject.
The other population of this research is the chemistry teachers from all secondary schools in Johor Bahru. 38
chemistry teachers who are teaching in Johor Bahru were randomly selected via random sampling technique in
answering the questionnaire for research question 1 : How to design and develop the chemical bonding teaching
module?

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 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
The research instruments used in this study are Pro-iCo Module Evaluation Questionnaires and Pre/Post Chemical
Bonding Achievement Test (CBAT).

Pro-iCo Module Evaluation Questionnaires

Pro-iCo Module Evaluation Questionnaire (Pro-iCo MEQ) is a questionnaire developed by researcher to identify
the perspective of teachers about the effectiveness and appropriateness of using Pro-iCo Module as a teaching guide
for enhancing students’ conceptual learning of chemical bonding concepts. It is important to seek the teachers’ views,
comments and suggestions to review and improve the quality of the module. Some of the questionnaire items are
adapted from[15]. The content of the instrument is checked and verified by experts. The Pro-iCo MEQ has a total of
35 closed-ended Five-Likert Scale quantitative items that are scaled 1-5 in which 1 is “strongly disagree” and 5 is
“strongly agree”. Respondents are required to answer all of the questions in the questionnaire. The questionnaires are
distributed to respondents personally or by using internet google survey form.

Pre and Post Chemical Bonding Achievement Test

Pre and Post Chemical Bonding Achievement Test (Pre and Post CBAT) were developed by the researcher for
measuring and comparing students’ achievement on chemical bonding concepts before and after the implementation
of a Pro-iCo Module intervention.
The achievement tests were developed by researcher based on the Specification Chemistry form four of Integrated
Curriculum for Secondary Schools (KBSM). The tests focus on the six levels cognitive domain of Bloom’s Revised
Taxonomy, with difficulty levels from low to high. The Chemical Bond Achievement Tests consists of four structured
questions about chemical bonding concepts. The content validity of the tests were checked and verified by chemistry
experts. Students were required to answer all the questions within 60 minutes. Both Pre-CBAT and Post-CBAT
consist of the same items but differ in number ordering to avoid recognition.

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRO-ICO MODULE

One of the main objectives of this research is to design and develop an effective teaching module on the topic of
chemical bonding. The development of a teaching module requires the use of the systematic Instructional Design
Model and implementation of an appropriate learning theory. The ADDIE Instructional Design Model developed
by[37], which involves the five phases (Analyse, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate) was used in constructing
the teaching module. Additionally, STEM-5E Learning Cycle that based on the constructivist learning theory was
implemented in the design and development of the teaching module.

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 • Analysis
• Identify the problems of Form 4 students in the topic of chemical bonding
A

• Design
• Design Pro-iCo Module based on STEM-5E Learning Cycle.
D

• Development
• Develop Pro-iCo Module based on STEM-5E Learning Cycle.
D

• Implementation
• Implement STEM-5E Learning Cycle using Pro-iCo Module among Form 4
I students in a pilot study. Analyze all the data obtained.

• Evaluation
• Evaluate all findings and identify all the strengths and weaknesses of Pro-iCo
E Modules.

FIGURE 3 : Module development via ADDIE Model [37]

ANALYSIS PHASE
Analyse phase is the initial phase of ADDIE model, which is essential for identifying the possible origins for a
performance gap [38]. According to[38], the main components of analyse phase are performance assessment, purpose
statement, list of instructional goals, learner analysis, required resources, potential delivery systems (with cost
estimations) and project management plan. The lack of knowledge and skills among the students is one of the main
possible cause of the performance gap. Furthermore, another origins of the performance gap is the lack of resources
such as teaching module. In order to close the performance gap of chemical bonding, there is a need to develop a
teaching module that provides the effective teaching and learning guidance and materials for teachers to improve
students’ performances in chemical bonding.

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 DESIGN PHASE
Design phase was an important phase to validate the desired performances and proper testing approaches by
preparing a set of functional specifications for closing the performance gap caused by a lack of knowledge and skills
[38]. In this phase, the learning objectives, instructional strategy and assessment instruments were designed according
to the instructional goals of the module. At the end of the STEM-5E Learning Cycle teaching and learning activities,
students are able to achieve the following learning objectives :
1. Relate and apply the chemical bonding concepts in real world context.
2. Solve real world problems related to chemical bonding concepts using STEM-5E Learning Cycle
3. Build analogical model of ionic and covalent compound to visualize the formation of ionic and covalent
bonds.
4. Communicate and present their conceptual understanding of chemical bonding concepts correctly. data
analysis
After determining the pedagogical approach used to overcome students’ learning difficulty, the module was
designed based on the selected pedagogical approach. Pro-iCo Module was designed according the teaching and
learning of STEM-5E Learning Cycle. The 5E Instructional Model proposed by [39] was used as the teaching and
learning cycle in designing the teaching and learning process in a more systematic and effective way. On the other
hand, testing strategies were generated to identify the appropriate assessment instruments used in implementation and
evaluation phases.
DEVELOPMENT PHASE
The intention of the Development phase is to construct and validate the instructional materials [38]. The Pro- iCo
Module was developed systematically through stages after designing the learning objectives, assessment instruments
and instructional strategy. Development phase refers to the construction and preparation all of the instructional
materials, which also include the composing of the module’s content, with the detail description of the pedagogical
approach applied and lesson plan. Content is the crucial part for engaging the student throughout the activity of
knowledge construction [38]. The content of the module developed was aligned with the syllabus of form four
chemistry and well-organized according to the pedagogical approach, which is the STEM-5E Learning Cycle
approach. The comprehensive instructional guidance for teacher and student were developed systematically according
to the flow of student learning activities in STEM-5E Learning Cycle as shown in FIGURE 4.
Pro-iCo Module was developed systematically. In addition, a pilot study was conducted in one of the secondary
school in Johor Bharu. The process of reviewing and revising the module according to the feedback given are
important steps for ensuring the achievement of the learning objectives. In the end of development phase, the final
product was produced in the form of CD-ROM and printed material.

IMPLEMENTATION PHASE
The implementation phase was carried out after the Pro-iCo Module was created in the development phase. The
effectiveness of the module in the teaching and learning of chemical bonding concepts was pilot-tested among Form 4
students in one of the secondary schools in Johor Bharu. The problems arose during the implementation of the
instructional materials were identified. All findings collected are analysed to identify the weaknesses and strengths of
the modules. Improvement would be made to ensure the validity and quality of the Pro-iCo Module.

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 7

FIGURE 4 : The flow of student learning activities in STEM-5E Learning Cycle.

Evaluation Phase

Evaluation phase is an important phase to determine the effectiveness of the instructional materials in attaining the
instructional goals and objectives. According to [38], this phase aims to evaluate the quality of the teaching resources
before and after implementation the instructional product. Summative assessment was conducted when the final
product was created and ready to be assessed through questionnaire and the expert reviews. Pro-iCo Module
developed in this research was validated by experts in the field of chemistry education, which include lecturers and
chemistry teachers.

Findings on The Evaluation of Pro-iCo Module

The data collected through the Pro-iCo Module Evaluation Questionnaire (Pro-iCo MEQ) instrument were
analysed using descriptive statistics through the application of Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)
version 22 software. A total of 70 questionnaires were distributed to teachers via google online forms. Nevertheless,
merely 38 questionnaires were returned to the researcher. Hence, the rate of response is at 54.29%. Cronbach’s alpha
value was used to measure the reliability of Pro-iCo MEQ in this study. The Cronbach’s alpha value of the 35 items in
Pro-iCo MEQ was 0.984 (value α > 0.70), which indicates a high reliability of the instrument.

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 FIGURE 5 shows the average mean values rated by teachers on the four evaluation aspects of the Pro-iCo
Module. Overall, teachers gave good ratings for the four aspects of evaluation, with the average mean values of above
4.00. Among the four aspects of evaluation, the aspect of content (mean = 4.36) has the highest average mean value,
whereas the aspect of assessment (mean = 4.27) has the lowest average mean value. As a conclusion, the findings show
that teachers very agreed that the Pro-iCo Module has fulfilled the criteria of an effective teaching and learning
module based on the four aspects of module evaluation.
MEAN VALUE

FIGURE 5 : Average mean for the evaluation aspects of the Pro-iCo Module

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

Descriptive Analysis

Measures of central tendency and dispersion were computed to summarize and compare the data for the overall
differences in the pre and post CBAT. TABLE (1) shows the summary of the detailed descriptive statistics in the pre
and post tests.

TABLE 1 : Descriptive statistics comparison for overall differences in the pre and post CBAT

Type of Test N Min Max Mean Std. Deviation

Pre-CBAT 30 5.00 75.00 38.1667 18.58639

Post CBAT 30 18.00 86.00 60.7333 15.99986

The low mean scores of Pre-CBAT (M = 38.17 ; SD = 18.59) revealed that students were weak in Chemical
Bonding topic before using Pro-iCo Module in the teaching and learning of Chemical Bonding. After the intervention,
the mean score value for students in the Post- CBAT (M = 60.73 ; SD = 16.00) was higher than that in Pre-CBAT.
Hence, there was a difference between the mean scores of Pre and Post-CBAT, with the value of 22.57. Additionally,
the data showed a difference between the minimum scores and maximum scores of Pre and Post-CBAT, with the
improvement value of 15 and 11 respectively.

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 Scores from the Pre-CBAT and Post-CBAT are recorded as shown in FIGURE 6. The data revealed that all of the
students presented a positive achievement in their post CBAT after learning Chemical Bonding using Pro- iCo
Module. Based on the comparison of students’ achievement scores in the Pre and Post-CBAT, majority of the
students managed to obtain an increment of scores with the value of more than 10 marks. S4, S11, S18, S24, S26, S28
and S30 are the 7 students who achieved an increment of scores with the value of 35 marks and above. S11 and S18
obtained the top increment of scores, with the value of 47 marks. On the other hand, there were two students (S25 and
S29) who obtained the lowest increment of scores, with the value of 4 marks. Overall, all of the students achieved a
greater performance in their Post-CBAT in learning Chemical Bonding via Pro-iCo Module and none of them
exhibited a decline in their performance. Hence, Pro-iCo module had a positive effect on students’ achievements in
learning Chemical Bonding.
Scores of CBAT

FIGURE 6: Comparison of students’ achievement scores in the pre and post CBAT

These findings are aligned with a number of previous studies [25], [26], [28]–[32], which revealed that learning
cycle model grounded on the constructivist teaching approach has a positive impact on students’ academic
achievement.

Paired Sample T-test

The Paired Samples T-Test was used to compare the scores of the two groups. This test was run with the following
hypotheses:
a) Null hypothesis, H0: There is no significant difference between the mean of Pre-CBAT scores and the mean
of Post-CBAT scores.
b) Alternative hypothesis, H1: There is a significant difference between mean of Pre-CBAT scores and the mean
of Post-CBAT scores.

TABLE (2) gives the values of the correlation between Pre-CBAT and Post-CBAT. This means that the Pre-
CBAT scores have a significant difference from the Post-CBAT scores (r = 0.753, p = 0.000).

TABLE 2 : Paired Samples Correlations for the Pre-CBAT and Post-CBAT

N Correlation Sig.
Pair 1 Pre-CBAT & Post-CBAT 30 .753 .000

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 TABLE (3) shows the mean for Paired T-test is 22.5667 and standard deviation 12.3838. The significant value,
0.000, is lower than the value of alpha, 0.05, thus rejecting the null hypothesis. This means that the mean of Pre-
CBAT scores have a significant difference from the mean of Post-CBAT scores (t (29)= -9.981, p = 0.000).
These results suggest that there is improvement in students’ Post-CBAT scores after learning by using Pro-iCo
Module. As a conclusion, there was a significant difference between the mean of Pre-CBAT scores and the mean of
Post-CBAT scores.

TABLE 3 : Paired Sample Test Statistics of the Pre-CBAT and Post-CBAT

Effect size
The effect size measured using Cohen’s d in this study was 1.31 , considered to be very large according to Cohen's
criteria. The classification of Cohen’s effect sizes are : small (d = 0.2), medium (d = 0.5), large (d = 0.8) and very
large (d = 1.3) [40]. The value of Cohen’s d indicates that there was a very significant difference between the means
of the two tests.

DISCUSSION
The students’ post-test scores (mean score=60.73) were greater than the pre-test scores (mean score=38.16). The
statistical analysis of Paired Sample T-test indicated that students scored significantly higher (t = -9.981; p < 0.05) in
the post-test than in the pre-test. There was a significant difference (with the value of 22.57) between the mean of pre-
test score and the mean of post-test score for the Chemical Bonding Achievement Test (CBAT). All of the students
demonstrated a positive improvement in their post-test scores as compared to their pre-test scores. This overall
improvement has proved that the implementation of Pro-iCo Module has significant positive effect towards students’
achievements in Chemical Bonding.
This finding is in line with the findings in the study of[24], which showed the significant effect of using teaching
materials based on STEM-5E learning cycle to enhance students’ performance in Chemistry. This is because the
application of STEM-5E learning cycle approach, which is an innovative constructivist approach that emphasizes on
student-centred learning encouraged students to construct scientific knowledge through meaningful learning. Teacher
acted as a facilitator that facilitated the development of Chemistry concepts during the lesson.
The research findings of[23] stress the need to develop teaching resources based on 5E Learning Cycle approach :
engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, evaluation. According to them, 5E Learning Cycle approach
provides chances for students to practice critical thinking skills by discovering their own concepts and allows students
to link new information with their cognitive structure as well as constructing meaningful learning process.
Additionally, the study of [24] stressed that STEM-5E learning cycle is an effective approach for enhancing students’
concept mastery, as the students learning experience are in harmony with the cognitive development stage of students
that is formal operational stage.
In addition, the implementation of Pro-iCo Module provided students the opportunity to carry out hands- on activity
for improving their achievements in Chemical Bonding. During the implementation of the STEM-5E learning cycle,
students were exposed to hands-on activities that helped them to visualise the abstract concept using concrete
Chemical Bonding models developed by themselves. The study of [41] has proved that hands-on activities enable
students to show positive attitudes towards Chemical Bonding learning and achieve better in Chemical Bonding. His
study highlights the advantages of learning through hands-on activities. Hands-on activity helped to make his lesson
more interesting, involved students to interact with others, developed their confidence, allowed them to practice
critical thinking and improved their cognitive skills, which brought about positive motivational effects.

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 Moreover, Pro-iCo Module also provided students the opportunity to solve real life problems using Chemical
Bonding concepts. One of the STEM teaching and learning activities required students to investigate and explore to
identify real-world problems The minds-on activity allowed students to practice their higher order thinking skills and
critical thinking skills. The improvement of their cognitive thinking level helped them to achieve better result in the
Chemical Bonding Achievement Test (CBAT) because CBAT was made up of 86% higher order thinking skills
questions.
Furthermore, the meta analysis study of [25] revealed that 5E Learning cycle approach is more effective in
enhancing students’ academic achievement, learning attitude and science process skills as compared to the traditional
way of teaching. According to his findings based on the analysis of 31 quantitative experimental studies between the
year of 2006 to 2016, 5E Learning Cycle approach was found to be a very efficient teaching model for enhancing
academic achievement than the traditional teaching approach.
As a conclusion, the findings obtained from the analysis result of Pre-CBAT and Post-CBAT scores supports that
Pro-iCo Module, which was designed and developed based on STEM-5E learning cycle constructivist approach,
helped to enhance students’ achievement in Chemical Bonding. Hence, Chemistry teachers are encouraged to adopt
and adapt the teaching and learning activities of Pro-iCo Module into their Chemistry teaching for creating a more
meaningful constructivist learning environment to enhance students’ achievements in Chemistry, specifically
Chemical Bonding topic.

IMPLICATIONS
The findings and discussions of this study indicate the positive effects of Pro-iCo Module towards students’
learning in chemical bonding topic. The findings of the development and implementation of Pro-iCo Module based on
STEM-5E learning cycle concerning chemical bonding topic have important implications for Education Ministry of
Malaysia, teachers and students.
Firsty, the activities provided in Pro-iCo Module can be adapted and revised to fit into the chemistry textbook
because the current chemistry text book is not up-to-date to the STEM approach. The findings of this study provide
information for the Curriculum Development Centre of Malaysia in reviewing the textbook and other curricular
materials to improve the quality of chemistry education.
Besides, the ministry of education can develop Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes in
STEM education by using the revised Pro-iCo Module to expand and deepen chemistry teachers’ pedagogical
knowledge and skills in STEM education. Pro-iCo Module provides a medium for chemistry teachers in developing a
deeper understanding of STEM teaching model in teaching and learning of chemical bonding concepts.
Additionally, teachers can use the Pro-iCo Module to integrate STEM-5E Learning Cycle in teaching and learning
of chemical bonding concepts into their classrooms. Moreover, teachers can also adapt the learning activities in the
Pro-iCo Module for the co-curricular activity of the Science Society such as Science Carnival to attract students’
interests in learning STEM subjects and enhance their STEM knowledge and skills.
The STEM-5E learning environment allows students to relate and apply the chemical bonding concepts to solve
real world problems related to chemical bonding concepts by building analogical model of ionic and covalent
compound to visualize the formation of ionic and covalent bonds. Furthermore, students are encouraged to
communicate and present their conceptual understanding of chemical bonding concepts correctly.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Some recommendations for future study are as the following :
i. The teaching module developed only comprised one of the chemistry topics, which is the chemical
bonding. Hence, future research to develop STEM teaching module containing more chemistry topics is suggested.
ii. Before conducting the intervention, researcher should provide proper training regarding the theoretical
knowledge and effective skills on the pedagogical approach used in the developed module for teachers involved in the
study. The researcher should also provide a comprehensive briefing on the implementation of the teaching model to
the students involved in the study before conducting the research.

CONCLUSION
The teaching and learning process using Pro-iCo Modules through STEM-5E learning cycle in this study helped to
create a constructivist learning environment that could enhance the students conceptual learning in Chemical Bonding.
This is in line with the study of [29], which reported that the constructivist teaching approach is more effective than the
traditional approach in improving students’ achievement in Chemistry. The findings of this study suggested that the
STEM-5E learning cycle constructivist approach could be employed in developing teaching module for other

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Chemistry topics. This is supported by the study of [24], which the researchers proved that instructional materials
developed by using STEM-5E learning cycle approach is effective and appropriate to be implemented in classroom
because the teaching model can enhance student’ concept mastery and helps to improve students’ performance in
Chemistry learning. The findings of this study revealed that the implementation of Pro-iCo Module has significant
positive impact on students achievements in chemical bonding. Hence, Pro- iCo Module is an appropriate teaching
module and could be used by teachers in implementing STEM approach at schools for enhancing students’ achievement
in chemistry.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to convey our appreciation to the lecturers of Faculty of Education for their kind efforts in
validating the research instruments and providing recommendations for the research improvements. We would like to
thank the students and teachers who participated the research voluntarily.

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 Engage At Risk Dyscalculic Pupil To Make Sense Of
Number 1 To 10: A Single Case Study In Numeracy
Remedial Class In Sandakan, Sabah
Sai Hoe Fua and Kin Eng Chinb
aFaculty of education and psychology,
Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
fikk221002@hotmail.com
bCollege of Education, Psychology & Social Work Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia
kineng.chin@flinders.edu.au

Abstract. This study aims to explore a single case of engaging at-risk Dyscalculic pupils to make sense of number using a new
idea which is known as “Reconnecting Learning”. This research incorporates David Tall’s mathematics cognitive learning
theory and Feuerstein’ Mediated Learning Experiences to derive a new teaching method. It was implemented at a primary
school in Sandakan, Sabah. This is a qualitative study involving one mathematics teacher and one at risk Dyscalculic pupil from
a national primary school. The data were collected via lesson observations. The finding revealed that this new teaching concept
was useful to scaffold the at-risk dyscalculia pupil to make sense of number.
Keywords: Reconnecting Learning, dyscalculia, primary mathematics, remedial

INTRODUCTION
Mathematics is a crucial subject in primary and secondary school and even in university (Haylock, 2007).
Numerical fluency is needed to access the numerical information processing which enables us to connect the world
and live independently in a numerate society (Corry, 2015). Somehow, some pupils still struggling in master the basic
numeracy skills (KPM,2013). In Sabah, Malaysia showed that 5.5% of the primary school students suffer from
Dyscalculia (Wong,et al. 2014). Dyscalculia is a specific mathematics learning disability (Hannell, 2013) due to a core
deficit in representing and processing numerosities (Butterworth, 2005).Dyscalculia pupils will have a tendency that
poor in number sense such as numerical quantity, performing calculations, recognize direction and so on (Hannell
,2013). It is about 6% of the population is struggling with dyscalculia regardless with gender issues
(Bird,2017).Interestingly, Emerson & Babtie (2013) indicated that dyscalculia is a genetical brain impairment and a
dyscalculic learner often has family members with similar mathematical difficulties. Dyscalculic pupils may encounter
a problem that they have no“feel” with numbers which means that if we show them a number 5, dyscalculic pupil
cannot link the numeral- number 5 to the quantity of five objects or five fingers in their mental representation (Bird,
2017). However, there is no significant research to show that which teaching method is practical to assist the at-risk
Dyscalculia pupils to make sense of number 1 - 10. Therefore, this paper is a probe into the way of engaging at risk
dyscalculia pupils to make sense of number.

LITERATURE REVIEW
The conceptual framework of this paper stands on the blending of Tall’s (2013) mathematics cognitive learning
theory and Feuerstein’ Mediated Learning Experiences (2012)to derive a new teaching method called “Reconnecting
learning”. Briefly, Tall’s (2013) mathematics cognitive learning theory proposed that there is three world of
mathematics: the embodied world of perception and action,it is about a world of sensory meaning which emphasizes
the physical senses as a fundamental cognitive foundation of mathematics, for example learning with shapes; the
symbolic world, it is a world of computation and manipulation. Statements are true because they are stated in symbols
and can be verified by calculation or manipulation. for example ,quantity can be expressed in numeral, there are 5
triangles and the formal world of formal definitions and formal proof (see figure 1).Statements are true because they
can be proved from the axioms and definitions by formal deduction.

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 Figure 1: David tall’s mathematics cognitive learning theory Source: David tall (2013)

Basically, Feuerstein’s Mediated Learning Experiences (MLE) is based on Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal
Development ideas (Tzuriel, 2013). Feuerstein & Lewin-Benham (2012) suggested that Mediated Learning
Experiences (MLE) happens when pupils are guided to “learn how to learn” by modifying learners’ thinking both
cognitively and motivationally. Feuerstein & Lewin-Benham (2012) pointed out the features of Mediated Learning
Experiences (MLE) are scaffolding pupils to be more knowledgeable and independent learner and it happens when a
mediator assists a mediatee to learn or explore something that they could not do it independently within a child’s
learning zone. After knowing the importance of making sense of number in a number system, I argue that at risk
Dyscalculic pupils should undergo the process of remediation before they can proceed to construct and consolidate
their new learning skills and knowledge to extend their learning in making sense of number. Therefore, I propose a
teaching method “Reconnecting Learning” to help the at risk Dyscalculic pupils to make sense of number.

METHODOLOGY
This study administrates a single case study research design to collect the relevant qualitative data through lesson
observation. It was carried out at one of the primary schools in Sandakan District, Sabah. One remedial teacher and one
at risk dyscalculic pupil were chosen in this study. They took part in this remedial activity on a voluntary basis. Firstly,
the researcher identified the at risk dyscalculic pupil using the UMS Dyscalculia screener (Wong,et al. 2014). Then, the
researcher purposely chose the remedial teacher who teaching experience is more than five years. The objectives of this
study are to explore how “Reconnecting Learning” help at risk Dyscalculic pupil to make sense of number from one to
ten . Hence the research questions for this study are (1)How “ Reconnecting Learning” help at risk dyscalculic pupil to
make sense of numbers has been implemented? We collected the data from a single case study and then the data were
interpreted in order to answer the above research questions.

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 FINDINGS
4.1 Participant background

Start with the researcher collected the related documents such as Rey’s analysis construct result in portal NKRA
(National Key Results Area) (see Document 1), Rey cannot master the numeracy screening construct 1: Able to
identify pre numbers and numbers and construct 2: Able to perform counting. The researcher also found that Rey
cannot recognize number and cannot perform subitizing (see the small quantity at a glance) as well.

Document 1: Analysis constructs in portal NKRA

Canny is a remedial teacher with eight years of teaching experience and she got her teaching degree in one of the
teacher training campus in Malaysia. She has four mathematics period with Rey weekly which means that she has 120
minutes teaching and learning session weekly.

The researcher found that reconnecting learning is divided into three systematic and applicable steps which
includes demonstration, mediation, active learning. Beginning with demonstration, Canny (pseudonym), the teacher
such a caring teacher that she asked Rey (pseudonym): “Are you ready for today’s lesson?” and Rey answered Canny
by his body language -adjusted his spectacle and the researcher observed that Rey was quite nervous as he put his
both hand together. Following by teaching Rey make sense of the number –one to ten verbally, Canny showed
quantity using concrete materials (manics) and matched the Arabic digits with the manics to enhance Rey’s visual
experience (see figure 2) .

Figure 2: Canny showed the quantity concept using concrete materials (manics) and matched the quantity
with numbers

Then, Canny led Rey to recognize the quantity (manics) and pointed with the corresponding numbers as well (see
figure 3). From this, the mediation of intentionality and reciprocity happened when Canny asked Rey to look at the
manics (stimuli) intentionally to link the quantity with numbers. Rey was giving good response by recognizing and
observing the manics and the numbers.

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 Figure 3: Canny lead Rey to recognise the quantity and pointed with the corresponding numbers as well

The second step about Reconnecting Learning is mediation. During this step, Canny grabbed Pupil’s dominant hand
to count the manics and match the numbers with quantity in order to make sense of numeral (see figure 4). Once again,
Canny lead Rey to read after the number -one to ten and pointed with the corresponding numeral as well. In this stage,
Canny was implementing the mediation of meaning to link the number -one to ten with the corresponding quantity
(manics).Interestingly, Rey can read after Canny in a slow pace "one, two, three …six " in the Malay language
following the number that pointed by Canny. Then, Canny asked Rey : “How many manics here?” Rey paused for a
while then he picked the number 6 and answered: “six” in the Malay language. Rey was observed to construct his own
meaning through this practical experience in this scenario.

Figure 4: Canny grabbed Rey’s right hand to to count the manics and match the numbers with quantity.

After showing and mediating Rey with the connection between number and quantity, Canny proceeded to guide
Rey to make sense of number using active learning mode in the last step of Reconnecting learning. Canny said: “ Rey,
can you find number 8?” . Then, Rey was lifting his forehead and thought for a while and he pointed to number 8 (see
figure 5). Canny continued to ask: “ can you match the number 8 to the 8 manics”. Amazingly, Rey can match the
number with the quantity (manics) on the spot which means that he can store the number 8 link with the quantity of
eight manics in his memory during the previous demonstration and mediation and he expressed by pointing the number
8 when asked by Canny during the active learning step.

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 Figure 5: Rey matched the number 8 with eight manics correctly

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

From this case, we highlighted one issue in this discussion which is Reconnecting learning is one of the innovative
remedial teaching method to scaffold at risk Dyscalculia pupil to make sense of number one to ten. The teaching
method proposed in this paper is unique because it blends Tall’s (2013) mathematics cognitive learning theory and
Feuerstein’ Mediated Learning Experiences (2012) to form Reconnecting learning. As we can notice that in the
observation excerpt: “Canny showed quantitiy using concrete materials (manics) and matched the Arabic digits with
the manics to enhance Rey’s visual experience.”. The following observation excerpt analysis “During this step, Canny
grabbed Pupil’s dominant hand to count the manics and match the numbers with quantity in order to make sense of
numeral” show that the demonstration and mediation in first step and second step happened to scaffold at risk
Dyscalculic pupil to make sense of number.As parallel with Feuerstein & Lewin- Benham (2012), Mediated Learning
Experiences occurs when a more knowledgeable person whether a teacher or peer to scaffold a learner to learn a new
concept within his learning zone.During the last step of Reconnecting learning, the observation data showed
that:Canny continued to ask: “ can you match the number 8 to the 8 manics”. Amazingly, Rey can match the number
with the quantity (manics) on the spot” which explains that learners’ active experience may cultivate their curiosity of
learning so that they can make connections between the previous knowledge and the new experiences.

As a conclusion, this case study has described how “ Reconnecting learning” has been carried out in a remedial
class providing details of the new teaching method which can impart make sense of number one to ten to the at risk
Dyscalculic pupil. Reconnecting Learning focuses on how children build their number sense with objects, explore
their mathematical world naturally and cope with the brain hierarchy of thinking in the physical world which
suggested by Tall (2013). Reconnecting learning started form demonstration which showing the pupil with at risk
dyscalculia to match quantity with numbers. The pupil was given chance to recognize the number and the quantity
during demonstration. Through mediation, teacher mediated the meaning to the pupil, in this case, the teacher tried to
impart the relationship between quantity and numbers. During active learning, pupil was given full authority and
ownership in constructing his own understanding and link the quantity with numbers. From the observation, Rey was
motivated to learn numbers actively and gave response verbally and kinesthetic, guided by Canny. At last, Rey was
able to answer the Canny’ question correctly. Therefore, it can be concluded that this remedial activity was a practical
new teaching method to assist the at risk dyscalculia pupil to make sense of numbers one to ten and strengthen their
conceptual understanding in number sense.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thanks the participants involved in this research and Sandakan district education
department.

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 REFERENCES

1. 1.Bird, R. (2017). Dyscalculia toolkit: supporting learning difficulties in maths. London: Sage Publications.
2. Butterworth, B. (2005). Developmental dyscalculia. In J. I. D. Campbell (Ed.), Handbook of mathematical cognition (pp.
455–467). Hove, UK: Psychology.
3. Corry, L. (2015). A brief history of numbers. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
4. Emerson, J., & Babtie, P. (2014). The dyscalculia solution: teaching number sense. London, UK: Bloomsbury Education.
5. Feuerstein, R., & Lewin-Benham, A. (2012). What learning looks like: Mediated learning in theory and practice, K-6.
New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
6. Hannell, G. (2013). Dyscalculia: Action plans for successful learning in mathematics (2nd ed.). Oxon, UK: Routledge
7. 7.Haylock, D. (2007). Mathematics explained for primary teachers (3th ed.) . London: SAGE Publications.
8. Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia. (2013). Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia 2013-2025. Malaysia:
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia
9. Tall, D. (2013). How Human Learn to Think Mathematically: Exploring the Three Worlds of Mathematics.
USA:Cambridge University Press.
10. Tzuriel, D. (2013). Mediated Learning Experience and Cognitive Modifiability. Journal of Cognitive Education and
Psychology. 12. 59-80. 10.1891/1945-8959.12.1.59.
11. Wong. K.K., Pang, V., Chin. K.E, Tan, C. K., Lee, K. W.,Lay, Y. F. (2014).A Preliminary Study for Dyscalculia in
Sabah,Malaysia. 7th International Conference on Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology (ICEMST 2014)
Proceedings, 462-469.

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 Ethical Decision-Making among Engineering Students in a
Malaysian Private Engineering School: A Qualitative Study
Mathana Amaris Fiona Sivaraman
a
School of Education, Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, No. 1, Jalan Taylors, 47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor.

Abstract. Ethical decision-making is an important element in engineering profession. However, the question is to what
extent the curriculum prepares the engineering students with regards to ethical decision-making capability to face
challenges. The objective of this study is to examine final year engineering students’ ethical decision-making ability and to
investigate their considerations when they go through an ethical decision-making process. Unlike past studies relying on
surveys and questionnaires, this study gathered qualitative data through written decision and interviews. Twelve
engineering students in a Malaysian private engineering school, of which 6 male, and 6 female were identified randomly.
They were requested to write down their decisions for two case studies, followed by semi-structured interviews to gauge
their moral reasoning behind their decisions. The interview transcripts were analysed for key factors and common themes
that influence the ethical judgment of students. In general, all students demonstrated a decent level of ethical awareness
emphasising professional responsibility but their ethical judgment varied according to case study. Female students
demonstrated a higher ethical sensitivity than the male students. Beyond curriculum, the respondents relied on their
internship and project-based learning experiences when relating to the ethical situations in the case studies. The findings of
this study has impact towards STEM education, as STEM is inter-connected with ethics and societal issues.

Keywords: Code of conduct, Community, Curriculum, Engineering ethics, Ethical decision-making, Professional,
Responsibility

INTRODUCTION

Ethical issues in engineering practice require engineers to make decisions concerning safety and sustainability of
projects and products. Ethical behavior is particularly important in engineering because quality of the project design
approved by engineers affect the safety of people as well as the environment (Kreiner, Flores & Krishnamurthy,
2004). A list of case studies and ethical concepts presented by Fleddermann (2000), among others, noted the
following: should defects be revealed to customers, how can an engineer ensure the product is free of defects, and how
can an engineer balance safety with cost? A case in point at global level, is the banning of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in
United States flights due to fire hazard as there were reports of overheating of devices and injuring people (CNN
Money, 2016).
At the local front in Malaysia, the investigations on 1993 Highland Towers landslide pointed towards human errors
compromising on safety aspects in designing including inadequate drainage and failure of rubble wall (Kazmi, Qasim,
Harahap & Baharom, 2017). Recently, the news of a company director remanded for alleged misappropriation in
awarding contracts for solar hybrid projects at 369 rural schools in state of Sarawak (The Sun Daily, 2018) raised
alarm regarding the safety and sustainability of projects carried out in the name of development. Tragic incidences
could be avoided if ethics and professionalism are adhered by practising engineers. That is why graduates who enter
the engineering profession need to be trained with knowledge and ability to be better informed for ethical decision-
making, besides meeting their responsibilities towards society and global community (Kreiner, Flores &
Krishnamurthy, 2004).
Ethical decision-making is an important element in engineering profession. Professional engineers are daily
exposed to various situations, which would require them to have the ethical decision-making capability, be at
workplace, laboratory, on-site field trip, or engaging in community projects. In an increasingly globalised world, with
an emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, engineers’ choice of option
or decision would carry huge impact to the society overall. According to Davis (2006), ethics education is important
to improve ethical sensitivity, improve knowledge of relevant standards of conduct, improve ethical judgement and
improve ethical willpower. The question worth asking is how successful or how robust the engineering programme is
in inculcating ethical values and ethical sensitivity among the engineering students. Is the curriculum authentic in
producing high-end ethical graduates to face the ethical challenges? Due to time constraint in a congested curriculum,
students learn the technicalities without being much exposed to the ethical issues surrounding the subject matter,
which requires ethical knowledge, ethical sensitivity, and problem solving skills. The skills acquired would assist
graduates to stay relevant to outside world.
In Malaysia, Engineering Accreditation Council Malaysia (EACM), within the Board of Engineers (BEM) (Tshai,
Ho, Yap & Ng, 2014), sets the accreditation guidelines. Since its inception in 1972, any matter concerning the
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professional conduct of registered engineers are studied by the BEM to determine whether there is a breach of
professional ethics or code of conduct (BEM, n.d.). Accordingly, if there is a breach of professional ethics or code of
conduct on the part of the engineer but such breach is not serious enough to warrant suspension or cancellation of
registration, appropriate action would be then taken by BEM. The question is whether the engineering programme has
prepared the engineering students to attain the objectives of ethical education, in line with the EACM, which require
‘students to be ethically responsible when it comes to the impact of engineering solutions in a global context’
(Balakrishnan & Visvanathan, 2013).
A study by Saat, Bakar, Rafai and Mohd Amin (2012) determined the ethical awareness of engineering students
from two Malaysian local universities by getting the students to complete a survey consisting ethical situations. The
findings show that the engineering students are inclined to compromise on safety, have high tolerance to product design
flaws, and not sensitive to workplace ethics. To the best of my knowledge, no similar study has been conducted in
Malaysian private schools.
The objective of this study is to examine final year engineering students’ ethical decision-making ability in a
private engineering school. In other words, when faced with a situation which requires professionalism and adhering
protocols in making a decision, how would the students deal. The research question posed in this study aimed to
investigate the considerations taken by engineering students when they go through an ethical decision-making process.
The rationale behind selecting final year graduating engineering students is that they have been exposed to workplace
ethics, where they have faced ethical challenges during their three months internship. In addition, these students
have also currently enrolled in the module related to ethics and professionalism, which is Professional Engineers
& Society (PES), code ENG4623/61503. One of the learning outcomes of the module is to enable students to apply
code of ethics and professional conduct of various learned societies and regulatory bodies to at least two case studies.
These students are about to enter the job market. As such, it provides the avenue to examine to what extent the
aligned curriculum has prepared the final year engineering students with regards to ethical decision-making
capability to face global challenges. Besides, this is also to examine as to whether there are transferable skills from
curriculum to real application, with specific regards to ethical decision-making ability.

METHODOLOGY
This study was conducted with the final year engineering students in a private engineering school in Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia. The private engineering school follows the Washington Accord curriculum standards, for which Malaysia
is one of the signatories. The school offers Bachelor Degrees in Chemical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic
Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. For this study, final year students from Mechanical Engineering programme
were selected.
In a paper exploring the ethics of undergraduate students, Rodzalan & Saat (2016) recommended future studies to
consider the following:
1. Follow students who have been exposed with working experience or industrial training
2. Focus studies involving students in private university
3. Method of research to include interviews

This study meant to address the above three recommendations. Past studies relied on surveys, questionnaires, tick
‘yes’ or ‘no’ and Defining Issues Test (DIT), where the engineering students were given vignettes or case studies and
were asked to indicate their agreement using seven point scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree’[1] to ‘strongly
agree’[7] (Rodzalan & Saat, 2016; Saat, Bakar, Rafai & Amin, 2012; Md. Som, Abdul Rahim, Jusoh et al., 2006). The
problems used in DIT are ‘structured’ moral problems, because it describes a particular moral situation and the
considerations for the decision are all part of the moral deliberation process (Clarkeburn, 2002).
According to Clarkeburn (2002), a suitable starting-point in measuring ethical sensitivity is to develop
unstructured problems. It is therefore impossible to measure ethical sensitivity with a ‘tick-a-box’ method. The nature
of moral sensitivity requires the test of moral sensitivity to be qualitative, to allow subjects to respond to an
unstructured problem with only minimal guidelines or pre-established thought-patterns. This type of qualitative data
can be collected either verbally in an interview or in a written form. (Clarkeburn, 2002).
Past studies have shown that ethical sensitivity differs according to gender (Cohen, Pant & Sharp, 2001; Becker &
Ulstad, 2007). To test this proposition, of the 12 final year engineering students randomly selected for this study, 6 are
male students and the remaining 6 are female students. Ten students are in the final semester, which is 8th semester,
whereas another 2 female students are respectively in semester 7. This is because there were not sufficient female
students in 8th semester.
Questionnaires or surveys were not used, as the responses may be socially desirable. Instead, a qualitative study is
employed. In this study, the 12 final year engineering students, comprising 6 males and 6 females, were asked to read
through two case studies which are ambiguous, not straight-forward and having grey areas. Moral reasoning is
measured by allowing participants to write down their decision in response to the two ethical situations, which is
followed by interviews. Semi-structured, face-to-face, and one-to-one interviews were conducted with the students to
probe and gauge their moral reasoning for their decision. The interviews are meant to capture the articulation of steps
involved in their thinking process, and seek clarification where necessary.
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 A practitioner’s guide to ethical decision-making by Forrester-Miller & Davis (1995) outlined the following steps
in ethical decision-making:
Step 1: Identify the problem Step 2:
Apply code of ethics
Steps 3: Determine the nature and dimensions of dilemma Step 4:
Generate potential courses of action
Step 5: Consider potential courses of actions for all options, and determine a course of action Step 6:
Evaluate the selected course of action (apply tests to ensure it is appropriate)
Step 7: Implement the course of action

The above was adopted and condensed into six steps toward ethical decision-making by University of Texas
Leadership and Ethics Institute (2012). I name this as the ethical decision-making model (EDM). The steps are as
follows:

Step 1: Identify and state the problem (underlying issue)

Step 2: Identify relevant factors and players (and consequences for affected parties) Step 3:
Generate potential courses of action (and possible constraints)
Step 4: Test the options
Step 5: Make a decision and implement the course of action Step 6:
Evaluate the course of action

Generally, these are universally accepted steps in ethical decision-making (EDM). For the purpose of this study,
Step 1 to Step 4 of the EDM is used as reference point to formulate the research interview questions to gauge
students’ responses. In Step 4 requiring respondents to test the options, students are free to reason out their
considerations, and may base it on various test options, but not limited to the following:
 harm test (as whether the option does less harm than the alternatives),
 publicity test (as whether the option can be publicised),
 organisational and professional test (as whether the option is accepted within organisation and among
colleagues)
 defensibility test (as whether one can defend his/her choice of option).

To examine the qualitative aspect related to moral reasoning, responses are assessed qualitatively to determine
how ethical considerations fit into decision-making (Ritter, 2006). Similarly, the focus of the interviews is on the
responses of the students and their moral reasoning behind the decision; and not on their final decision per se. The
cental emphasis of engineer’s responsibility to human welfare are the overriding values of public safety and protection
of the environment (Colby & Sullivan, 2008). This was kept in mind when selecting the case studies. The two case
studies were carefully derived from online engineering ethics resources (Markkula Centre for Applied Ethics, 2018),
which are based on true incidents. The case studies were adapted and modified to fit the purpose of study and worded
according to local context. The first case is based on a laboratory test work, and the second case is based on an
engineer’s project for community engagement.
Case Study 1:
The study illustrated a test engineer pressured by the President of a phone company, which is in partnership with
his company. The engineer was asked to falsify data and approve the Quality Control test to release the phone to
market, despite the phone failing the noise transmittance test. The President also pressured the engineer that the
livelihood of 100 employees in the phone company depends on the product release to market.
Case Study 2:
The study illustrated a mechanical engineer working for a firm designing charity-based projects to install solar
panels for a tribal community in Sarawak, but the company research shows that the community desire better lighting
and solar panels would be a high maintenance project. The local sponsor who is in partnership with the company has
an advantage over the solar panel project. The research data shows that previous projects installing solar panels led to
equipment being stolen in exchange for money.
Prior to interviews, informed consent were obtained from the students, who are the respondents of this study. The
interviews conducted between April and May 2018, were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. For the purpose of
analysis and to protect the anonymity of respondents, the six male respondents are coded as M1, M2, M3, M4, M5
and M6 and the six female respondents as F1, F2, F3, F4, F5 and F6.
Thematic analysis is employed in this study. A theme highlights a significant patterned response within the data in
relation to research questions (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The transcripts were analysed for common key phrases. The key
phrases are then grouped into conceptually similar category called theme.

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 ANALYSIS OF DATA
In this section, I report the initial findings as this study is part of an on-going research. Past studies on ethics of
undergraduate students (Rodzalan & Saat, 2016; Saat, Bakar, Rafai & Amin, 2012; Atesh, Baruah & Ward 2017),
adopted the Rest’s four component model, which are ethical awareness, ethical judgment, ethical intention, and ethical
behavior/character (Rest, 1986). This study intends to focus on the first two processes, which are, ethical awareness of
students to understand the underlying ethical issue (corresponding to Step 1 in EDM), and their ability to make ethical
judgment (corresponding to Step 2, 3, and 4 in EDM).
In general, all the respondents able to think through the problems in both Case 1 and Case 2; but their responses
may not necessarily constitute protocols of an ethical decision-making process. Mostly focused on single solution, and
were not able to reflect on multiple-pronged approaches, though the cases provided were not straight forward and
involved three or more parties. In general, all respondents regardless of gender demonstrated a decent level of ethical
awareness for both Case 1 and 2.
In this section, the written decisions as well as verbatim text from interviews are presented, as how voiced out by
respondents, for every case study. Data extracts from interviews are presented as how it was audio-recorded to retain
originality. The themes emerged from data as a result of significant patterned response allows generalisation for
discussion.

Case Study 1 – Male Respondents

The written decision of the male respondents for Case Study 1 are provided as brief statements as below:

M1: I will not falsify data to approve release of new cell phone. It is my company’s responsibility to perform
Quality Assurance test to certify that every product meets the standard

M2: I will not falsify data as it might cause serious effect. If there is failure in testing, it might cause phone
accident and people die.

M3: See how far is the result from passing standards. If result not acceptable, will insist to fail the product.
M4: I shall not falsify the statement or misrepresent the profession in approving the cell phone.
M5: Tell the president of phone company to not falsify the data and come up with info as clean as possible.
Falsifying data from test experiments is violating the code of conduct based on BEM rules and regulations. It is
responsibility for every engineer to stick to the regulation standards, especially in testing a product.

M6: Not approve the phone based on consistent failed tests. Although the livelihood of the employees is at stake,
do the right decision as the effect of not meeting the regulations outweighs the release of the phone.

The emerging theme from data is ‘conform to standard regulations and quality’ with underlying key phrases from
the moral justifications among male respondents, M1 to M6 for Case Study 1, are ‘responsibility as an engineer, ‘not to
falsify data’, and ‘prioritise safety of consumers’.
For instance, M1 said, “As an engineer, we need to perform testing even with new innovation. So, in testing if
product doesn’t meet requirement, it means it is not safe, and not sustainable for the product.”
Similarly, M2 said, “You have to be responsible because not only me, hundreds of thousands of people using the
phone.”
Meanwhile M3 said, “If I pass the product, it will affect more than 100 people”.
M4 said, “The phone fails one of the tests which is a requirement, about the noise transmittance. So, the product
has failed to meet the regulation.”
M5 said, “Though the test is not reliable, but it actually matters to mass community that uses the phone.”
M6 said, “The regulations on noise interference transmittance, in this case, could affect people, in the sense give
harm to the phone customers in the long run.”
According to the respondents M1 to M6, they are intolerant towards any attempt of falsifying data, and emphasise
the responsibility of an engineer to adhere to standard regulations and safety of product users/customers. They also
suggested the inclusion of teammates or superiors before making final decision.

Case Study 1 – Female Respondents

The written decision of the female respondents for Case Study 1 are provided as brief statements as below: F1: It
is important for product to pass regulations for other’s safety.
F2: Should not approve the product based on the test data.
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 F3: An engineer of such standards, it is best that he works truthfully in delivering a product which will be
beneficial and it is fully functioning.
F4: Provide information on how the failed test will affect the performance of cell phone and discuss with his boss.
Propose any improvement can be made to the product / research.
F5: Reject to falsify data as suggested by the President because it affects the quality of the product. All the tests
should meet all government standards.

F6: Not allowing the phone product be released to keep his profession intact and for the safety of the phone users.

The emerging theme from data is ‘conform to standard regulations and quality’ with underlying key phrases from
the moral justifications among female respondents, F1 to F6 for Case Study 1, are ‘reliability of test’, ‘responsibility
to community’, ‘not to falsify data’, ‘prioritise safety of consumers’ and ‘conduct research for improvements’.
For instance, F1 said, “Regarding affected parties, the first when I read about the interfering noise transmittance,
the first thing that comes to my mind is the community.”
Meanwhile, F2 said, “The end product would also affect the customers, the phone users. It is always the test
engineer’s fault and blamed if something goes wrong under their watch.”
F3 said, “Quality control is really important. After that, the question that comes to my mind is whether he should
falsify the data, and one thing is you always want to make a product which is best for the customer or the company.”
F4 said, “The engineer needs to do a research first before provide information to his boss. He needs to do
statistics, how the problem will affect the phone performance .”
F5 said, “All the tests pass except for the noise transmittance. Product fails to meet regulation standards.
Maybe some of the team members would pressure to falsify data, because they want to release the product.”
F6 said, “Do more testing on function of phone on interfering noise transmittance.”

According to the female respondents, they are intolerant towards any attempt of falsifying data. They too
emphasized standard regulations, quality and safety of product users/customers. They saw this as the engineer’s
responsibility towards community. In addition, a few female respondents also suggested the need to look into
reliability of tests conducted, and inclined to conduct more research for product improvement.

Case Study 2 – Male Respondents

The written decision of the male respondents for Case Study 2 are provided as brief statements as below:

M1: Approve this funding to this project. The concern is about equipment being stolen, and this issue can actually
be solved easily by improving the security service. This can further develop to improve the tribal community’s
lifestyle.
M2: It is true that using solar panel will cause high budget but it is for charity, which helps people.

M3: About equipment being stolen, explain to community about it, to be responsible for the item. They could not
just stop improving the community area because scared equipment being stolen.
M4: Shall just follow the project’s mission which is to provide the new solar panels for tribal community service.
However, it is good for the engineer to bring up this interior lighting installment idea with his boss.
M5: Follow the company’s research to improve the lighting system for the tribal community and call off the idea
to provide new solar panels. Since it is dealing with tribal community along with its limitations, it would be better to
provide something more practical for them and they can actually learn and apply skills for themselves rather than
giving something more technological but it is rather hard for them to apply and learn.
M6: Take the matter to his boss about his concern. Say ‘no’ to sponsoring solar panels to the tribal community. If
the community could not afford better lighting, they surely could not afford to maintain the solar system later.

The emerging theme from data is ‘improve well-being of community’ with underlying key phrases from the moral
justifications among male respondents, M1 to M6 for Case Study 2, are ‘educate community to operate product’, ‘not to
use cheap material for charity’, ‘technology improves lifestyle of people’ and ‘inform both companies involved’.
For instance, M1 said, “Solar panel is a very useful technology. If we try to explain to the tribal community, that it
actually improve your lifestyle, either your home or your entire community, I think they would probably approve our
action.”
Meanwhile, M2 said, “Because you are helping the people, you doing this project, for sure if enough budget than
only do but even for charity, not to use cheap material.”
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 M3 said, “If the community willing to accept the solar panel, then it will improve their lifestyle. If they don’t accept
it, just want lighting it will straight away solve the issue but their lifestyle just remain that level (their lifestyle). It is just
a solution (for now), but they ignoring the future.”
M4 said, “To go forward with the project. Review project data, which is to install better lighting inside the homes.
So, bring this up to both companies.”
M5 said, “The issue here is probably the fund the company needs to raise in order to make the solar panel project
workable. The tribal community are the one who going to use it, so at least they need to know how to use it.”

In contrary, M6 said, “I would say, this is not right, it is not logic, like those people living in poverty, what’s the
point with solar project. Why would you give something, which is not what they want. You give solar panel and they
want lighting, they still need to find lights.”

The male respondents M1 to M5 reasoned out that installing solar panel for tribal community would bring
technological change. As such, they suggested the need to educate the community to operate solar panel, and not to
use cheap materials for charity projects. They also saw the need to inform both companies involved. Nevertheless,
most of them failed to understand the underlying issue is that the tribal community desire better lighting system.
Respondent M6 varied in his response as compared to the other male respondents, as his reasoning surrounded on
affordability of community, benefits in the long run and interest of both companies. He therefore said his decision
would be not to proceed with the solar panel project, considering that the community cannot afford the maintenance of
solar panels, and the benefits in the long run are not clear.

Case Study 2 – Female Respondents

The written decision of the female respondents for Case Study 2 are provided as brief statements as below:

F1: As an engineer, reducing cost is one of the main concerns and lower the cost spent, the more economically
viable the project is. Thus, the engineer should just propose to install better lighting as it would also prevent from
further issues such as the equipment being stolen.
F2: Should consult his superior on whether the focus of managing such charity projects is mainly for the
philanthropic side, solely benefitting the community out of good will or just a CSR exercise.
F3: should thoroughly do more research regarding the project. The best way to deal with the issue is to do a test-
case and follow up to see how the community takes it as a big technological change for them.
F4: Come up with research on the project. Research can include the statistics/calculation on how the project will
benefit everyone.

F5: Bring up the issue to the boss. I would suggest to just use the normal, energy saving lighting instead of solar
panel.

F6: Get the approval from his boss on redesigning a special lighting system that involves solar energy without
having it to be an easy target for thieves to steal and sell in exchange for money.

The emerging theme from data is ‘improve well-being of community’ with underlying key phrases from the moral
justifications among female respondents, F1 to F6 for Case Study 2, are ‘reduce cost’, ‘sustainable solution for
community’, ‘research and propose improvements’.
For instance, F1 said, “ First though is definitely would be the cost. Because usually in any project, is to reduce
cost. The lesser, the better.”
Meanwhile, F2 said, “Sometimes, I see things the way they are done, they are not called sustainable to the
community we are reaching out to, and we still go on with it. we will go and be sustainable, with better lighting.”
F3 said, “A solar panel is a big change. The community wouldn’t know how it works. What I mean by small test,
instead of installing lot of solar panels in one go, install a small one and go there and see how the community take it,
maybe explain to them how it works.”
F4 said, “We need support our projects with research. My main considerations, solar panel Not many people have.
Secondly, the maintenance and the expensive cost. think better lighting and clean water are basic needs.”
F5 said, “Because solar panels are expensive and high maintenance project. So, it would be a burden to the
company to maintain the solar panels for the community. It would be expensive. It would better to go for energy-
saving lighting”.
F6 said, “Go for cheaper yet safer solution. I can see from the community’s angle, they might not be too happy,
with cases of equipment being stolen.”

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 The female respondents reasoned out that the role of a project engineer is to reduce cost and provide sustainable
solutions for mass community. Thus, they also saw the need to research for improvements in community projects.
Respondent F6, unlike the rest of the female respondents, proposed a win-win situation for Case Study 2, that is to
come up with a solar panel project that also powers lighting, as to satisfy the needs of tribal community as well as to
foster business partnership with local sponsor. However, the practicality in implementing the decision was not clearly
defined by F6.

DISCUSSION

Individual sensitivity to ethical situation does not indicate the outcome of the decision (Rodzalan & Saat,
2016,Saat, Bakar, Rafai & Amin (2012). This study is consistent with the premise that ethical sensitivity of an
individual varies according to the situation the individual deals with (Sparks & Merenski, 2000). Findings imply that
ethical awareness and ethical judgment of respondents differ from case to case. This is evident among the male
respondents, when all of them reflected on the safety of customers (mass community) in justifying the decision in not
approving the flawed phone to market in Case Study 1. However, the same male respondents deliberated that they will
go forward with the solar panel project to bring technological change though the tribal community desired for better
lighting in Case Study 2. An exception was respondent M6, who said he would not go forward with the solar panel
project because there is no logic to install solar panel when the community lacks basic lighting. The reason for the
varied responses could be because respondents M1 to M5 lacked clear understanding of underlying issue in Case
Study 2, and they were more inclined towards bringing technological improvement to the tribal community. In general,
all male respondents able to define underlying issue and affected parties to a certain extent (Step 1 and Step 2 in
EDM), but they were not clear in defining potential course of actions, and possible constraints (Step 3 in EDM). In
this context, most male respondents assessed the harm test option (Step 4 in EDM), deliberating on safety of phone
users in Case Study 1, but were a little unclear in Case Study 2.
In general, all female respondents able to relate to both the cases with their past experiences in carrying out charity
projects and drawing lessons from their internships. Hence, they showed higher ethical sensitivity and assessment
towards every case. They stressed on minimising cost, avoiding bad press, the question of who is going to absorb
responsibility, and the importance of listening to community’s needs. In that context, they deliberated their reasoning
weighing in organisational test, harm test, and publicity test options (Step 4 in EDM). They were able to define
underlying issue and affected parties to a certain extent; and consequences to affected parties and constraints in taking
actions (Step 1 and 2 in EDM). However, they were not clear when it came to defining potential courses of action
(Step 3 in EDM) as all of them were focusing on single solution.
Initial findings of this on-going study suggest that the curriculum does not necessarily evoke the ethical- decision
making ability among engineering students. Though the students are exposed to BEM code of conduct during the PES
module classes, the students did not relate the relevant codes to the two cases provided in the interview. However, the
various project-based learning throughout the 4 years have moulded the students to be responsible engineers. They
have been constantly guided not to falsify data during practical work, and that has become an integral part of their
ethical thinking. This explains why all the 12 respondents decided not to falsify test data to release the new phone to
market and they were not affected by the President’s pressure that the livelihood of 100 people depends on the phone
release, as in Case Study 1. This could also be the reason why the male respondents especially, were more sensitive
towards Case Study 1 involving laboratory test work, as compared to Case Study 2 requiring them to have a different
approach in studying community needs. Generally, the male respondents were lacking skills in ethical evaluation
involving community as in Case Study 2.
Besides that, the industrial training has prepared the engineering students to a certain extent. Project-based
learning and community projects helped them to think through the case studies. Saat, Yusoff & Panatik (2014)
reported that industrial training has minimum impact in improving ethical awareness of students. However, this study
shows that in general, all the respondents reflected upon their internship experiences when relating to the ethical
situations in Case Study 1 and 2, which require them to exercise their ethical decision-making ability. Nevertheless,
the 3 months internship was not sufficient to create an impact on the students’ awareness about ethical challenges in
engineering profession. As such, most of them also drew lessons from their personal experiences, thought sharing
from their parents who are in engineering profession, or guidance from their previous project supervisors.

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 CONCLUDING REMARK

This research study opened up the minds of students to think about engineering issues from ethical aspects.
Findings of this study would be useful to students in terms of their career progression and development plan and
understanding the ethical norms, responsibilities and expectations in a profession like engineering (Atesh, Baruah &
Ward, 2017). Findings of this study show that students draw on past experiences to guide them in decision-making.
The central emphasis among students seem to be emanated from laboratory work and problem-based learning projects,
focusing on the themes ‘conform to standard regulations and quality’ and ‘improving well-being of community’.
Numerous past studies reported that female respondents appear to be more ethical in their responses compared to
the male respondents (Cohen, Pant & Sharp, 2001; Becker & Ulstad, 2007; Rodzalan & Saat, 2016). This study is
consistent with those findings that generally, female students showed higher ethical awareness and sensitivity in the
process of ethical decision-making.
As the study is part of an on-going research, more in-depth analysis will be discussed in my subsequent
publications. This study recommends that engineering schools integrate exercises of ethical decision-making with
relevant case studies or true accounts of engineering-related issues in the curriculum, to evoke ethical thinking among
future engineers. This is because STEM education does not stand alone in today’s globalised world but it is inter-
connected with ethics and societal issues.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to extend my thanks to Strategic Research Initiative (SRI) programme in Taylor’s University for
providing me the research fellowship to work on this project. I thank Dr. Logendra Stanley Ponniah, the Head of
School of Education. I also thank Ms. Noor Zafirah Abu Bakar, the lecturer of Professional Engineers & Society
(PES) module, for facilitating the process of identifying the respondents. This is an unpublished work, which is not
currently under review or not submitted for publication elsewhere.

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 Evaluation of Undergraduate Students on Self-Directed
Learning Readiness
Nabilla Afzan Abdul Aziz*, Ahmad Kamal Idris, Jazifah Jamil, Muhammad
Luqman Hasan

Petroleum Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak

Abstract. The readiness level of the first year students in a private university is being studied to ensure the effectiveness of
implementing teaching techniques to the students, before undergoing years of their undergraduate study with active
learning pedagogy. This study aimed to address the correlation between the students’ demographic and their Self-Directed
Learning Readiness (SDLR). A total number of 97 respondents of first year Malaysian students, age 19-22, have been
asked to evaluate their readiness level of self-learning. The self-rating scale in the survey distributed is based on Likert
Scale, that provides the intensity of their readiness level towards three main factors under Self-Directed Learning (SDL).
These factors are Self-management, Desire for Learning and Self-control. The types of high schools attended by the
students, their gender and ethnic group are being correlated with the SDL readiness rating. The data analysis is presented to
show different demographic which reflects different readiness level. The mean response generally falls between Sometimes
to Always for all three factors of SDL. In conclusion, educators utilizing teaching pedagogy of active learning are
encouraged to obtain an overview of their students’ capability through SDL readiness, before designing their active
learning approach. The pedagogies could be designed effectively from low stake to high stake activities based on the
students’ readiness of different demographic. It is recommended to analyse the capability of Malaysian students from the
present generation on their capability for the Student-Centered Learning approach.
Keywords: Self-Directed Learning, Malaysian Undergraduate, First Year, Demographic

INTRODUCTION
Self-directed Learning (SDL) is a learning technique for students that have reached mature level of learning and
could take control during the teaching of the subject. Generally, adults are presumed to be matured in life compared to
children. Adult students are expected to be ready as they enter the University upon completion of Pre-University
education. Their experience in primary and high schools are reputed to be a journey for developing maturity in
learning. Thus, their learning experience at a younger age are teacher-centered, to incorporate the body of knowledge
and as they reached adulthood, they are expected to be compatible with the student-centered learning. Student-centered
learning is where the students lead their interest in study and have goals to achieve in their interest area.
Knowles (1975) have initiated the importance of understanding self-learning by providing three immediate reasons
for Self-directed Learning implementation. The reasons are proactive learners learn efficiently, it is parallel with the
natural psychological development and it complies with the developments in education. He reminded through his
writing, students who enters self-directed programs without knowing the skills required are prone to anxiety,
frustration and failure which will affect the motivation of their educators too.
Gibbons (2002) mentioned in his book that most self-learning programs designed to permit self-direction, however,
there is no teaching on means to do self- learning. He promoted clear concept of Self-directed Learning, methods to
motivate the students through the activities and created framework on how to deliver SDL in class. He obtained
collection of articles on motivation genre which linked with the elements in SDL. He cited through Sternberg (1997)
book, highlighting on characteristics of successfully intelligent people, which must experience the process of
achieving high productivity and motivated to act upon idea generated by themselves. This concluded that developing
motivation with essential self-learning understanding to the students will enhance their self-directed learning
experience.
Brookfield (1984) highlighted the adult learners must realize that they are in control of their act of learning without
the need of their educator’s approval. The act of learning is the learner exercised control to their skills, and knowledge
to uphold their actions. The educators for adult learning may guide the adult students to success and not teaching the
adult students in a common teacher-centered setting.

145
 Most Western countries have not experienced the varied culture with various ethnics which is clearly portrayed in
Asian countries. Brookfield (1984) stated adult educators should not ignore informal and non-institutional dimensions
or learning in natural societal setting. Corley (2003) investigated that race is a persistent factor in the level of literacy
skills, education and employment. She cited through Losen and Orfield (2002), based on the United States Department
of Education Data, showed statistics of African-American students are mentally retarded or emotionally disturbed
compared to white American students. This clearly showed that the desire for learning and self-control of the students
will be affected from the issue arise in social setting.
Brookfield (1995) have urged further research should be done to check on influence of other dimensions in the
development of learning which is not necessarily sourced from the learning program itself. However, it is associated
in a diverse context beyond academic boundary, based on class, culture, ethnicity, life experience, and gender
compared to general assumption on maturity level with increasing age.
Malcolm (2012) discussed affective dimensions are affected by class, gender and race, which are interrelated to
nature of experience for adult learners. Emotion and interaction between different and similar genders are a part of
adult learning. Empathy, complicity and self-reflection in adult learning is urged to be further studied in order to have
insight of affective domain in self-directed learning.
Andruske (2003) have studied several women on complicated SDL projects related to welfare, and concluded that
when women decided to be self-learners, they are capable to take control and gain power up to a level as political
change agent. Her study redefined the SDL context to include social forces and political realms that exerts women to
be self-directed learners and be independent to achieve their goal. Therefore, female adult learners are capable to
achieve success in education when their readiness as self-directed learners are fully comprehended.
Tinto (1993) have a well-established theory on integrating academic and social attributes which contributed on the
motivation in learning. High desire for learning and staying committed with the institution are the main outcomes due
to the impact of the integration, and the likelihood of departure or withdrawal from the institution will be low.
The Self-directed learning (SDL) model have been developed by several researchers to convey Knowles’ notion.
Garrison (1997) have developed a comprehensive model overlapping three dimensions of contextual control, cognitive
responsibility and entering motivation. The model introduces understanding and facilitate self-direction in order to
achieve learning outcomes, on the other hand gain attributes for living.
Asian researchers in SDL have studied the effect of social culture to the performance of their students. Some
perceived the study as a sensitive issue to highlight, however, the intention of investigating social background is to
understand the students’ life experience to assess their readiness level for self-learning. On the other hand, educators
could design a lesson plan towards compromising with the capabilities and readiness of the students.
Leatemia et al. (2016) stated that student background and cultural experience are factors that contribute to low
readiness level for Problem-based learning implementation in Indonesia. The researchers conducted Self-directed
Learning Readiness (SDLR) survey to all batches of undergraduate students in several universities in Indonesia. The
result showed that the senior students rated their readiness lower than the junior students. They concluded that the
seniors have negative perception on the student-centered approach, due to factors of living in different lifestyles and
changing learning environment, which contributed to the low score rating.
Miranda et al. (2017) studied the SDL experience of Pre-University students in Malaysia and acquired the
respondents to compare their SDL experience in high school. The result showed that the students rated their SDL
experience higher during college compared to school. However, the outcome is too general to be concluded, as the
school experience is not being defined.
On the other hand, Miranda and her team have conducted SDL introduction in two slots during their orientation
week, to provide awareness to the new registered students. The outcome after 6 weeks prior to the introduction is 91%
agreed that ‘Matriculation students could be Self-Directed (SD) learners’, however only 57.7% agreed to the statement
‘All matriculation students could be SD learners’. The honest opinion of the Pre-university students indicated in
general is possible to be SD learners, but to have all students as SD learners displayed disagreement to the statement.

Purpose of the Study

The problem commonly occurred among students in university campus is they felt burden through the student-
centered learning. The feedbacks from the active learning are negative and they are drained when the student-centered
learning is being imposed. The factor is either the lecturer has misunderstood the learning approach and overdo it, or
the students are not ready for the learning approach. The aim of this study is to provide relationship on whether the
various demographic of the students is a factor that affect their self-directed learning readiness level. The demographic

146
of the respondent is recorded based on ethnic, school type and gender. The study aims to investigate the factors in
self-directed learning readiness and the demographic of the respondents from first year undergraduate in the university.

METHODOLOGY
This study examined the perception of the first year students to answer an opinion survey, that consist of two
sections. The first section is the questionnaire that consist of respondent profile and the second section consist of
SDLR statements. The SDLR statements are designed based on three factors related to self-directed learning. The
factors are Self-management, Desire for Learning and Self-control. These statements are based on Garrison’s
comprehensive model of Self-directed Learning.
The statements under all three factors were randomly being distributed in the survey. The voluntary respondents
are required to rate 26 statements, by providing their opinion on the statement through a Likert scale with the range of
1 (Never) - 5 (Always). The survey consists of self-management statements (statement 1-9), desire for learning
statements (statement 10-18) and self-control statements (statement 19-26) as in Appendix. The survey is to
understand the readiness of the first year student towards Student-centered learning approach, which on the other
hand, assist educators to design their lesson plan.
The participants are first year undergraduate students from Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum Geoscience,
Business Information System (BIS) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) courses. The total
participants for the survey are 97 students. The group of students volunteered their participation in the survey, in order
to evaluate their self-directed learning readiness, and on the other hand, self-assess whether they have the required
skills for the student-centered learning.
Demographic information of the students is Pre-University education which majority are Foundation students,
types of high school classified based on the mode of boarding, daily or combination, gender, age, ethnic and their
current CGPA. Some students experienced both high school modes during their five years of high school upon
completing their primary school. Age, CGPA result and Pre-University education are being discarded for analysis as
there is a slight difference among the respondents. Majority respondents are Second Class Upper students and have
undergone Foundation study level.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

A total of 97 voluntary respondents from first year undergraduate programs have answered the survey voluntarily.
The respondents consist of 54% male and 46% female. The students are all Malaysian at the age of 19-22. Only 2
respondents out of 97 respondents are certified in O-level, others are certified in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). Their
high school types are Boarding, Daily and some have experience a combination of Boarding and Daily school type.
Upon entering the private university, the respondents are students from different programs, which are science,
engineering, business and information technology. The ethnicity of the respondents is 77% Malay and 23% Non-
Malay. The analysis of SDLR by mean and standard deviation are shown based on the three demographic items:

i. Gender and SDLR.

ii. Ethnic and SDLR.
iii. Types of High School and SDLR

TABLE (1). Mean (M) score and standard deviation (SD) summary based on the three factors of Self-Management (SM),
Desire for Learning (DL) and Self-Control (SC)

147
 The results of the scores are calculated for Mean, Standard Deviation and Variance to check on the distribution of
the points. The statements are grouped based on the three factors provided by Garrison’s comprehensive model.
Majority statements have variance less than 1 and being further discussed. The score results are analyzed, and
statements are extracted based on highest and lowest mean for each factor. Statements that showed clear discrepancy
are extracted and discussed in order to understand the respondents’ self-directed learning readiness score by
demographic influence.

Gender and SDLR

An overview between gender and SDLR score, showed consistency to all mean scores for all three factors. Self-
management factor showed the lowest mean score compared to the other two factors for Desire for Learning and Self-
control.

Self-management

All statements under Self-management are mean scores of less than 4.0. The highest mean score statement is ‘I
can decide about the priority of my work’ of 3.96 for female and 3.92 for male. Male respondents have rated their
readiness for ‘I am well-organized in my learning’, ‘I am efficient in managing my time’ and ‘I set up strict timeframes
to learn something new’ of less than 3.5 which is closer to Sometimes. This showed that the first year male students
are not ready to organize their learning and managing their time. The mean score for both male and female respondents
rated one statement with less than 3.5 which is ‘I set up strict timeframes to learn something new’. Students of the age
despite of their gender could not manage to schedule timeframes for something new. Indirectly showing they require
guidance at their first year of study.

Desire for Learning

Both genders agreed on the statements of ‘I would like to learn from my mistakes’ and ‘I enjoy learning new
things’ with mean scores of more than 4.2. Both genders have rated Often to Always on their willingness to learn new
knowledge and admit mistakes while learning as shown in Figure 1.

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 Desire for Learning in Gender
4.80
4.56
4.60
4.40 4.38
4.40 4.25
4.20
4.00
3.83
3.80
3.64
3.60
3.40
I critically evaluate new I would like to learn from my I enjoy learning new things
ideas and knowledge mistakes

Male Female

FIGURE 1. Statements with high mean score rates in Desire for Learning based on gender.

A slight discrepancy could be seen only at one of the statement which is ‘I critically evaluate new ideas and
knowledge’, which male scores with a mean of 3.8, whereas female scores with a mean of 3.64. This indicate that
most female students of first year undergraduate are not ready to think critically on new knowledge compared to the
male students. Thus, it is suggested to combine male and female in a pair or group activity, for learning activity that
acquires critical thinking.

Self-control

Self-control statements have not showed any discrepancy mean score between the two genders. Both genders
consistently showed similar mean scores for all statements in Self-control. The highest mean score is for the ‘I believe
in effort to improve my performance’, followed by ‘I would like to set up my goals’ and ‘I correct myself when I make
mistakes’, with mean scores for each statement of more than 4.0. Lowest mean score is shown for statement ‘I set up
planned solutions to solve my problems’, with less than 3.7. Thus, there is no discrepancy on statements under self-
control.

Types of High School and SDLR

The composition of respondents from Boarding school is 61%, Daily school is 29% and Combination (Boarding
and Daily) is 10%. Overall result showed that respondents from Daily school scored lowest compared to Boarding and
Combination schools for all three factors by mean values. Respondents from all three school types, consistently
showed Self-management factor as their lowest mean score compared to Desire for Learning and Self- control factors.

Self-management

The first factor that would be discussed is the set of statements under the Self-management factor. The highest
mean score is for the statement of ‘I can decide about the priority of my work’, followed by the second highest mean
score is ‘I trust my abilities to learn new things’. The lowest statement score in this statement set is ‘I set up strict
timeframes to learn something new’, followed by ‘I am efficient in managing my time’, and ‘I am well organized in
my learning’. Figure 2 showed the discrepancies of the mean score.

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 Self-management in School Types
3.70

3.60 3.58
3.50
3.50 3.47
3.42
3.40
3.32
3.30
3.30 3.25
3.20
3.18
3.20

3.10
I am well-organized in my I am efficient in managing I set up strict timeframes to
learning my time learn something new

Boarding Daily Combination

FIGURE 2. Low mean scores statements under Self-management category based on school types.

Daily school scored the lowest mean for the statement ‘I set up strict timeframes to learn something new’ with
mean score closer to Sometimes, with 3.18. This indicate that the students from daily schools require guidance on
planning their time for the week. Engagement on student learning time based on subject credit hours may assist the
students on creating timeframe. Combination of Boarding and Daily school experience scored lowest for ‘I am
efficient in managing my time’ with 3.20, which is closer to Sometimes, whereas the highest mean score for the
statement is from the Boarding school students with 3.58. The reason for their readiness on time management may
due to the experience gained from Boarding school which have provided full schedule for the whole week, with classes
from day until night.

Desire for Learning

The highest mean score under the factor of Desire for Learning is the statement of ‘I would like to learn from my
mistakes’ with scores more than 4.30 for all school types. All respondents from all three school types agreed on their
readiness level for this statement. The bar chart below shows the mean values by each school type for the mentioned
statements.

Desire for Learning in School Types

4.60 4.53
4.43
4.40 4.30 4.30
4.20 4.10
4.00
3.80 3.71 3.69
3.57
3.60 3.50
3.40
I would like to learn from my I pay attention to all details I am a ‘why’ person
mistakes before taking a decision

Boarding School Daily Combination

FIGURE 3. Highest mean score for all school types and high discrepancy mean score of Self-directed Learning
Readiness for two statements under Desire for Learning.

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 Clear discrepancy between schools are the statements for ‘I pay attention to all details before taking a decision’
and ‘I am a ‘why’ person’. The result showed the highest mean score for both statements are respondents that
experienced both Daily and Boarding school with mean scores of more than 4.0. The lowest mean score for the
statements are respondents from Daily school type with mean score less than 3.6. This have showed that the experience
gained in Boarding school have positive impact to the students in grooming their decision making skills and thinking
skills.

Self-control

The mean scores for Self-control factor have showed for the following statement ‘I correct myself when I make
mistakes’, ‘I would like to set up my goals’ and ‘I believe in effort to improve my performance’. The following bar
chart shows the mean scores for the three statements and respondents from all three types of school agreed on this
with mean scores more than 4.0.

Self-control and School Types

4.60
4.40
4.40 4.32
4.25 4.25
4.20 4.20
4.20 4.14
4.00 4.04 4.02
4.00
3.82
3.80
3.60
3.60

3.40
I believe in effort to I correct myself when I I would like to set up I am a responsible
improve my make mistakes my goals person
performance

Boarding Daily Combination

FIGURE 4. The high mean score for three statements in Self-control factor based on different school type and
only one statement showed discrepancy.

Discrepancy showed at the statement of ‘I am a responsible person’, with mean score of 4.02 for respondents from
Boarding school and mean score of 3.60 by respondents from Combination of Boarding and Daily school type.
Combination high school experience and daily school scored in between Sometimes and Often, however, boarding
school responded more than Often. Daily high school experience may be the factor that affects the difference in mean
scores on their responsibility readiness. The overall structure in a day for daily school type differs with the boarding
school type. Daily school create programs for the improvement in academic performance, however, boarding school
create programs for improvement of both academic and soft skills. Boarding school usually creates soft skills related
program to the students which may induce the responsibility character in the students.

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 Ethnicity and SDLR
The number of respondents between Malay and Non-Malay are being studied to investigate whether the upbringing
culture of different ethnics have impact to the self-directed learning readiness. The number of samples are clustered to
Malay and Non-Malay as the sample number for each ethnic other than Malay is insufficient. Therefore, Chinese,
Indian, Sabah and Sarawak ethnics are compiled under Non-Malay. In overall, Self-management factor showed a gap
at mean score compared to the other factors. Non-Malay showed a mean score lower than Malay respondents for self-
management, with 3.51 whereas Malay with 3.69.

Self-management

Both Malay and Non-Malay scores less than 4.0 for all statements under the self-management factor. Major
statements showed consistency between the two groups. For statements less than 3.5 are ‘I am well-organized in my
learning’ and ‘I set up strict timeframes to learn something new’ by both ethnics.
There are only two statements that showed clear discrepancies which are ‘I am efficient in managing my time’ and
‘I set up strict timeframes to learn something new’. The following bar chart showed the mean values for both
statements.

Self-Management in Ethnic
3.60 3.55
3.50 3.45
3.40
Mean Score

3.40
3.30 3.26
3.17
3.20
3.10 3.04
3.00
Malay Non-Malay
Ethnic
I am efficient in managing my time
I set up strict timeframes to learn something new
I am well-organized in my learning

FIGURE 5. Low SDLR mean scores for Self-management factor by both ethnic groups.

Non-Malay rated low mean scores to both statements with 3.04 and 3.17 which is close to Sometimes. This indicate
that they may be interested to be mentored and guide for planning their schedule and time management. On the other
hand, Malay group rated their time management closer to Often, with the score of 3.55, whereas their capability to
schedule plan is with mean score of 3.40. This is not showing a strong indicator towards require mentoring and
guidance compared to the Non-Malay group.

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 Desire for Learning

Highest mean score statements in this factor is ‘I would like to learn from my mistakes’ with a mean score of more
than 4.3 for both groups, followed by ‘I enjoy learning new things’ with scores more than 4.0. Discrepancies between
both group mean scores are shown at two statements which are ‘I would like to evaluate the level of my learning
progress’ and ‘I critically evaluate new ideas and knowledge’, with different groups scored higher to each statement
as shown in Figure 6.

Desire for Learning in Ethnic

4.90
4.51
4.40 4.39
Mean Score

4.40
3.91 4.00
3.88
3.90 3.69 3.61

3.40
Malay Non-Malay
Ethnic
I would like to evaluate the level of my learning progress
I critically evaluate new ideas and knowledge
I would like to learn from my mistakes
I enjoy learning new things

FIGURE 6. Comparison of mean score between Malay and Non-Malay for some statements in Desire for
Learning. Note on red and blue bars that indicate clear score difference between the two groups.

Malay respondents score higher for the first statement with 3.88 compared to Non-Malay with 3.61. This somehow
indicate Malay group tend to self-monitor their progress in learning, and they are aware with their learning
environment, either they are left behind or on par with the learning progress. On the other hand, Non-Malay scored
higher for the second statement of ‘I critically evaluate new ideas and knowledge’, with the mean score of 3.91,
compared to Malay group with 3.69. The discrepancy showed that Non-Malay is capable to learn in-depth of a
particular project or case study with strong will to think critically on a new subject matter. This showed that most of
the high stake student-centered approaches are suitable to the Non-Malay students.

Self-control

Both Malay and Non-Malay scores high mean score to the statement ‘I believe in effort to improve my
performance’ and ‘I would like to set up my goals’, with means of more than 4.0. The lowest mean score is showed at
‘I set up planned solutions to solve my problems’ for Non-Malay with 3.26, whereas for Malay their lowest mean
score is to the statement of ‘I prefer to set up my criteria to evaluate my performance’ with 3.68, as shown in Figure 7.

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 Self-Control in Ethnic
4.37
4.40
4.24
4.20 4.09
4.00
Mean Score
4.00 3.91

3.80 3.68 3.72

3.60

3.40 3.26
3.20
I would like to set I prefer to set up I set up planned I believe in effort
up my goals my criteria to solutions to solve to improve my
evaluate my my problems performance
performance
Statements Malay Non-Malay

FIGURE 7. Self-control factor among ethnic with high mean scores at two statements and low mean scores with
a gap of 0.23 and 0.46 for the other two statements.

Clear discrepancies are shown to both statements, which indicate Malay respondents are able to come out with
their personal solution to the problems they may encounter. In learning, for case study or project-based, they are
prepared to search on several possibilities to solve it. On the other hand, Non-Malay respondents are clear with the
criteria needed for good performance, which shows that they are prepared if the objective of learning is provided.

CONCLUSION
The need of overlapping all three dimensions of contextual control, cognitive responsibility and entering
motivation is important for the students to self-assess on their readiness for student-centered learning. Voluntary
students were assessed based on their demographic information. Gender have showed several discrepancies in Self-
management and only one discrepancy in Desire for Learning factor. Male requires assistance and guidance in
managing their time and organizing their learning. On the other hand, female requires guidance to think critically on a
new knowledge. Different respondents experience through different high school types has affected the Self- directed
learning readiness of the students, with Boarding school type dominantly showed they do not have low mean scores
to all three factors of Self-management, Desire for Learning and Self-control. Students with experience of Daily
school, require guidance for time management, creating timeframes, and the need to be furnish with management and
soft skills, such as thinking skills, to learn on being responsible and making decisions. Apart from that, both ethnic
groups, Malay and Non-Malay require guidance and mentoring for time management and creating timeframes,
however the emphasis is stronger by the Non-Malay group. Malay have showed they are independent in terms of
solving problems, and self-monitoring their performance progress. On the other hand, Non-Malay showed they are
capable to think critically and in-depth for a new knowledge and independent in terms of goal or criteria setting to
achieve a level of performance. Therefore, based on the various demographic and self-directed learning readiness
scores, these findings could be an eye-opener to lecturers in designing appropriate student-centered learning
approaches. Pair and group-based learning with compatible members will enhance the learning experience. A pre-
assessment on the self-directed learning readiness of the students will assist us to prepare an excellent lesson plan and
assessment that aligns with the readiness of the students.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to express their appreciation to the voluntary respondents in Universiti Teknologi
PETRONAS for their participation and time in answering the Self-directed Learning Readiness survey.

154
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 Appendix

Gender : Male / Female

Nationality :
Ethnic :
Undergraduate Programme :
Age :
High School Type : Boarding/ Daily/ Combination
High School Education Certificate : O-Level / Sijil Pelajaran
Malaysia High School Result :

Please evaluate the following statements according to the scale:

1 = Never 2 = Seldom 3 = Sometimes 4 = Often 5 = Always

1. I am well-organized in my learning
2. I can manage pursuing my own learning
3. I can decide about the priority of my work
4. I am efficient in managing my time
5. I trust my abilities to learn new things Self-Management
6. I prefer to plan my own learning
7. I set up strict timeframes to learn something new
8. I have good management skills
9. I can link pieces of information when I am learning
10. I would like to learn from my mistakes
11. I think deeply when solving a problem
12. I would like to evaluate the level of my learning progress
13. I take the challenge to learn
14. I enjoy learning new things Desire for Learning
15. I critically evaluate new ideas and knowledge
16. I have positive expectations about what I am learning
17. I pay attention to all details before taking a decision
18. I am a ‘why’ person
19. I am a responsible person
20. I correct myself when I make mistakes
21. I judge my abilities fairly
22. I would like to set up my goals
Self-Control
23. I prefer to set up my criteria to evaluate my performance
24. I am aware of my own weaknesses
25. I set up planned solutions to solve my problems
26. I believe in effort to improve my performance

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 Flipped Classroom Implementation: Any Significant Impact
on Students’ Performance
With The Technological Applications?

Azlina A. Rahman,a Hasnah Mohamedb, Zaleha Abdullahb, Norasykin Mohd

Zaidb and Baharuddin Arisb
a
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Selandar Melaka
b
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Abstract. The blistering pace of information technology today has been influential on the changes in teaching and
learning methods applied in the education system. Its consequence is seen in the development of various types of
teaching and learning methods using information technology as a platform for education, such as blended learning
and flipped classroom. While many researchers have discussed the implementation of flipped classroom, there are
also those who view the use of technology as an issue. Ironically, the use of technology is strongly believed to
widen the digital divide, potentially causing a failure in the flipped classroom implementation. This simply stems
from the fact that, not all students have access to technology at home and not all technological facilities in schools
are satisfactory. The question remains whether the integration of technology into the flipped classroom method has
any impact on its implementation. This paper discussed a method of flipped classroom teaching with the use of
technology, while still taking into account the technology constraints. The findings showed that, the use of
technology facilitated the teaching and learning as well as fostering interests among students. However, it was also
revealed that, the learning content and the implementation of a systematic procedure were of the essence with the
effectiveness of the flipped classroom method, thoroughly examined and discussed in this paper.

Keywords- Flipped classroom; Technology; Blended Learning; Digital device

INTRODUCTION

Flipped classroom is one of the Blended learning models born as a result technological revolutions in the world,
which impacts have received mixed reactions in the world of education. Based on previous studies, the implementation
of flipped classroom has received different perceptions. According to Staker and Horn (2012), blended learning is
generated from technology to allow some learning to be conducted outside the classroom. Furthermore, flipped
classroom, which is a subset of the blended learning also requires the use of technology in its implementation.

However, in a different view, researchers Jiugen, Ruonan, and Wenting (2014) stated that, the flipped classroom
method can be applied, with or without the help of technology. This opinion is in further support of the findings by
Bergman, Spencer, Wolf, and Sams (2011); Bergmann and Sams (2009) who implemented flipped classroom at the
secondary school level. These researchers were of the opinion that, the implementation of flipped classroom is not an
issue, with or without the use of technology. In a stark contrast, Jeremy F. Strayer (2012) and Hwang, Lai, and Wang
(2015) revealed that, technology is a necessity and it is considered as one of the principles or criteria to be taken into
account in the implementation of flipped classroom.

The mixed views sparked challenge and curiosity for the authors to study the implementation of flipped classroom
at the school level. Schools are educational institutions which are equipped with required facilities for students to use
technology for that purpose. Nonetheless, technological facilities in schools are not to be relied on fully, due to the
constraints of internet access and a tight schedule of computer lab usage. These factors sparked curiosity to the
researchers to look into the effectiveness and constraints of the flipped classroom implementation at the secondary
school level.

SAMPLING AND METHOD

The study involved a total of 31 Form-two students of both genders, aged 14-years, in a residential school. A
residential school refers to a school which provides placements for students who excel in academics. The topic studied
was Statistics, a sub-topic of Mathematics. The main objective of this case study was to determine the implications of
the use of technology in the form of flipped classroom method. An observation technique was used during the learning
sessions throughout the period of this study.

157
 There are three research questions in the study, which are as follows:

1. How is the progress achieved in students’ performance in the out-of-class learning session of the flipped
classroom method?

2. Is there a significant different in the use of technology while implementing the out-of class learning activities?

3. What are the constraints in conducting the out-of-class learning session of the flipped classroom method?

Flipped classroom method comprises two phases, learning in the classroom and learning outside the classroom, the
former being conducted in the classroom, according to the daily school schedule, while the latter in preparatory classes.
Preparatory classes are the venue where students are allotted time by the management of the residential school to do
their homework and so on. These classes are normally held in the evenings in their respective classrooms. This
opportunity was capitalized on by the authors to conduct the out-of-class learning session of the flipped classroom
method in the preparatory classes. The students were provided with reference material to be manipulated for
understanding the concept of items to be taught on the following day during the in-class learning. The time given for
the purpose of manipulation was between 6 to 10 minutes. At the end of each session of the manipulation series, the
students were required to answer questions, aimed at ensuring that they were better prepared for learning in the
classroom (Azlina A.Rahman et al., 2015). Some previous studies revealed that, without being well prepared with the
material provided during learning session outside the classroom, the students will hardly participate during learning
activities in the classroom (Mukherjee, 2013).
Worst still, they would get bored and eventually fall behind in learning (Mason, Shuman, and E.Cook, 2013). The
manipulation series lasted for two weeks until the completion of Statistics topic, based on the curriculum set by the
Ministry of Education. Detailed implementation of learning outside the classroom is shown in Table 1:

TABLE (1). Details of out-of-class activities

Out-of-class activities In-class activities

Week Day Topics covered Assessment Teaching and

Learning
Preparatory Topic 1 Question A Teaching and
class 1 Learning
Week 1 Preparatory Topic 2 Question B Teaching and
class 2 Learning
Preparatory Topic 3 Question C Teaching and
class 3 Learning
Preparatory Topic 4 Question D Teaching and
class 4 Learning
Week 2 Preparatory Topic 5 Question E Teaching and
class 5 Learning
Preparatory Topic 6 Question F Teaching and
class 6 Learning

Table 1 shows the details of the implementation of learning outside the classroom. In this study, learning activities
outside the classroom took place in a computer lab to facilitate the students with their manipulation of reference
materials. Reference materials, sent through the Learning Management System (LMS) were accessed by the students
via their respective FROG id’s. FROG is a platform that provides education technology for schools and teachers and it
helps improve teaching and learning by providing a personal learning experience for every student.
The students were each provided with a computer to enable them to learn at their own pace. Thus, they were
expected to be able to manipulate the reference materials by learning faster or slower, based on their level of
understanding.
Figure 2 shows step-by-step activities taken by the students in the manipulation of reference materials through the
Learning Management System.

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 Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

FIGURE 1. Access to reference materials through the Learning Management System

As illustrated in Figure 1, step 1 shows the use of the LMS environment as a platform for learning outside the
classroom. Each student would login using his or her own Frog id until the display in the dashboard showed up as in
step 2. The reference materials were subsequently downloaded by the students according to the assigned topics. Steps 3
and 4 show that each folder consists of reference materials for Topics 1 to 6 and Questions A to
F. Each procedure in Figure 1 took place during the preparatory classes, routinely, repeated until all the topics
scheduled in Table 1 were covered.
An example of Questions F is as shown in Figure 2.

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 FIGURE 2. An example of Question F

The readily available LMS was used for the study since, generally, secondary school students in Malaysia have
already been exposed to learning through LMS in information technology (ICTL) subject taught in Form 1 and Form 2.
Thus, this advantage was seen by the researcher as providing the opportunity for both the teachers the students to apply
the available system they were familiar with, saving them the hassles of having to learn a new system.
Although the students had to manipulate their reference materials alone, they were allowed to discuss with their
peers whenever they had any doubts after answering questions at the end of the out-of-class learning series. This was
intended to foster interactions among them and to groom their soft skills, as well as to introduce to them the process of
acclimatization with new things. According to studies by Strayer (2011, 2012), students exposed to a new study, such
as flipped classroom, would initially feel uncomfortable. Hence, the need to discuss with their friends could help
overcome the problems.
Although the study conducted the flipped classroom method using technology, offline reference material was also
provided by the authors, in pen drives. In addition, learning material was also installed in computers in different
computer laboratories as alternatives, in case the existing facilities could not be used. This measure was taken by the
author, considering constraints on facilities that might be present, such as electricity failure or interruption of the
Internet access.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The findings, obtained from the results of manipulation of reference material, recorded through attached questions
(Questions A to F) and shown in Table 2, answered the research question no. 1. The students' answers, provided in
worksheets, were analyzed by using the descriptive analysis as shown also in Table 2.

TABLE (2). Analysis of students’ answers in each series.

Week Question Level of questions Full mark Average mark

A Easy 5 5.00
1 B Easy 10 9.48
C Medium 5 4.19
D Medium 12 10.84
2 E High 5 3.58
F High 10 8.58

Based on Table 2, the levels of the questions posed in each of the learning series were designed in stages, from easy
to difficult. The questions designed were based on the standard curriculum, modified according to topics and time
allocation, and had validation tests completed by two Mathematics specialist teachers. Both of these specialist teachers
have been teaching for more than 10 years in residential schools.
The results of the analysis shown in Table 2 revealed that, for Question A, namely, series of assessments made at
the end of the manipulation of Topic A reference materials, majority of the students obtained high scores. It was most
possibly due to simple questions posed, which enabled the students to answer well. Similarly, as for Question B, most
students were able to obtain high scores due to the moderately simple questions posed.

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 Questions C and D were designed based on moderate levels. The findings showed that the average number of
students who obtained perfect scores decreased slightly. Basically, it was due to the transformation of the levels of
questions from simple to moderate.
Meanwhile, the analysis performed on answers for Questions E and F showed that, majority of the students were
still able to obtain moderately high scores, although the level of questions had been increased. Among the contributing
factors to this was that, the students, to some extent, had acclimatized themselves with the approach of learning outside
the classroom.
Therefore, the implementation of flipped classroom method regularly and continuously is necessary to ensure that
students benefit fully, since a learning familiarization process requires continuous efforts, as proposed by Flumerfelt
and Green (2013).
Apart from the evaluation conducted based on written questions, observations were also made in the field study
every time learning outside the classroom took place. Field work was carried out to monitor the development and
learning activities of the students. In addition, the field study was also intended to identify any difficulties and
unexpected things which might happen during the learning process. The field work analysis was summarized as in
Table 3 below.

TABLE (3). Summary of the field work

Week Day Summary of Activities

1 1,2 Students seemed timid and uncomfortable. They also seemed to be too formal and the
time taken to familiarize themselves with the technical management such as sign in
and download was around 10 to 12 minutes.
There were some students who double checked with their peers to see if they had the
same answers.
1 and 2 3,4 Students seemed to feel comfortable. (Seen in their smiles and cracking jokes).
Happiness began to show from their faces.
They also seemed to become increasingly confident and excited.
The time taken by the students to take their notebooks, sign in their respective emails
and download the reference material namely DigitSTAT became shorter, around 5 to
8 minutes.
The students were familiar with the new situation and there was no difficulty seen in
terms of technical management, compared to the previous day.
2 5,6 Student looked comfortable with the 'new' method.
The students were excited and could not wait to get into the computer lab.
They immediately grabbed their notebooks and took their seats, without being asked
to do so, just the way they did the previous day.
The students already knew about the reference material (DigitSTAT) to be explored.
As usual, when they started their exercises at the end of the series, the quiet
environment during the manipulation of reference material turned boisterous due to
discussion among them.
This time, the students began to ask their peers, from one table to another. The high
level questions seemingly required them to think deeply.

The conclusion that can be made based on Table 3 was that, the students were becoming more acclimatized with the
environment and the approach of learning outside the classroom. This finding was consistent with that of Strayer
(2012) which stated that, students would always feel uncomfortable during their initial stage of involvement in a study.
They needed to be acclimatized and self-motivated to overcome the problem. It was at this juncture that, the researcher
realized the need to design staggered levels of questions, beginning from the low level to enhance the students’
motivation.
The reference material was designed to be simple but precise to ensure that the students could understand it and
master the concepts given in a short time. The questions provided at the end of material were constructed to test the
students' understanding in small sums, so as not to burden them, as long as these questions could make them think and
understand what they had learned. Thus, the significance of preparedness in the flipped classroom is very high since the
students must understand and be prepared before learning in the classroom takes place (Azlina, 2015).

The use of technology in learning is able to foster the motivation and interests of the students. It was observed
during the study that, having the students to work in groups made them more determined and comfortable. For those
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with technical management issues, their group members were available to lend their support. It was also noticed from
observations made that, the students required the use of the internet to explore more in-depth information, especially
when the levels of questions became increasingly difficult. Internet facilities serve as a platform which helps students,
especially those with academic excellence to enhance their understanding and mastery of learning. This finding
supported that by Siegle (2011) which proposed the use of technology and the internet be made available for students
with academic excellence.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study focused only on students in residential schools, which accommodate those with academic excellence.
This paper also focused solely on learning outside the classroom of the flipped classroom method, for Mathematics.
Thus, similar studies should be extended on students in daily schools and for other subjects.

CONCLUSION

A conclusion could be drawn from the study that, the use of technology plays a big role in the implementation of
flipped classroom method. However, a more systematic implementation procedure and relevant contents are important
factors to ensure the success of the flipped classroom method. Other factors, such as students’ preparedness are
elements to be considered to ensure that the flipped classroom method achieves its objectives well. In addition, the
provision of offline reference materials helps to overcome the lack of technology, thus bridging the digital divide
among students closer. In other words, although flipped classroom can be implemented without the use of technology,
the method is more impactful with technological applications, especially towards a more effective learning for students.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors would like to thank Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi (SBPI) Selandar Melaka Malaysia, Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) Malaysia for their support in making this
project possible. This work was supported by the Research University Grant (R.J130000.7831.4F468) initiated by
UTM and MoHE.

REFERENCES
1. Azlina A.Rahman, Baharuddin Aris, Mohd Shafie Rosli, Hasnah Mohamed, Zaleha Abdullah, and Norasykin Mohd Zaid.
(2015). Significance of Preparedness in Flipped Classroom. The 3rd International Conference on Internet Services
Technology and Information Engineering (ISTIE), 21(10), 3389–3391.
2. Bergman, J., Spencer, D., Wolf, D., and Sams, A. (2011). How the Flipped Classroom is Radically Transforming Learning.
The Daily Riff. Retrieved from http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/how-the-flipped-classroom-is-radically- transforming-
learning-536.php
3. Bergmann, J., and Sams, A. (2009). Remixing chemistry class: Two Colorado teachers make vodcast of their lectures to free
up class time for hands-on activities. Learning and Leading with Technology, 36, 22–27.
4. Flumerfelt, S., and Green, G. (2013). Using Lean in the Flipped Classroom for At Risk Students. Education Technology and
Society, 16, 356–366.
5. Hwang, G., Lai, C.-L., and Wang, S.-Y. (2015). Seamless flipped learning : A mobile technology- enhanced flipped
classroom with effective learning strategies. Journal of Computers in Education, 2(4), 449–473.
6. Jiugen, Y., Ruonan, X., and Wenting, Z. (2014). Essence of Flipped Classroom Teaching Model and Influence on
Traditional Teaching. In IEEE Workshop on Electronic, Computer and Applications (pp. 362–365).
7. Mason, G., Shuman, R., and E.Cook, K. (2013). Inverting (Flipping) Classrooms – Advantages and Challenges. In 120th
ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition (pp. 1–21).
8. Mukherjee, T. C. (2013). Exploring the relationship between Learner’s attributes and Flipped classroom success in the
Malaysian context.
9. Siegle, D. (2011). Helping Gifted Students : Learn From and Learn With Technology. Journal of Texas Association for the
Gifted and Talented, XXXI(3), 9–15.
10. Staker, B. H., and Horn, M. B. (2012). Classifying K – 12 Blended Learning. Innosight Institute.
11. Strayer, J. F. (2011). The Flipped Classroom: Turning the Traditional Classroom on its Head. Knewton website. Retrieved
from http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/
12. Strayer, J. F. (2012). How learning in an inverted classroom influences cooperation, innovation and task orientation.
Learning Environments Research, 15(2), 171–193.

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 Form 5 Mathematics Performance: Self-Assessment by
Teachers and Students

Rubiah Dalail and Hanizah Hamzah

Lembaga Peperiksaan, Putrajaya

Abstract. The Malaysian Education Certificate (SPM) is a student’s ticket to achieve one’s goal and passing Mathematics
subject is a vital entrance requirement to continue higher education in many areas. The findings on the poor performance of
2016 SPM’s Mathematics subjects conducted by the Examination Board identified that candidate's attitude towards learning
and examination as one of the causes. The decline in the performance of this subject is also reported in the announcement of
the SPM results analysis 2017 which recorded the rising number of failed candidates and the decline in the number of
outstanding candidates (KPPM, 2018). The objective of this study is to identify information regarding 2017 SPM candidates
based on both the students' views and teachers’ professional judgment about classroom assessment (CA) and SPM
examinations. A total of 2,138 students and 219 teachers were selected as survey’s samples, answering online
questionnaires. The study shows that majority of students are happy with their mathematical learning. However, students
need the guidance of teachers in classroom because the mathematics’ curriculum were not well understood by them. The
role of parents and teachers is very dominant in students’ effort of obtaining grade A. Whereas drilling and paying attention in
classroom are the common SPM’s preparatory work done by students in this study. Improvements in assessment matters such
as discussions on feedback, assessment as learning and teachers' expertise in selecting testing tools are critical in ensuring
the accuracy of teachers' and students’ professional judgment on their performance.
Keywords: Assessment for learning, Assessment as learning, Assessment of learning, Mathematics.

INTRODUCTION
The Malaysian Education Certificate (SPM) is qualification used by school leavers to further study or getting
employment. Accordingly, good examination results are important for students and stakeholders. This certification is
also recognized internationally as the process of assessment has been systematically managed to ensure its validity and
reliability. SPM results are high stake in Malaysia and this is seen as taking toll in teachers’ teaching pattern towards
exam oriented. Implementation of School Based Assessment (SBA) in 2012 in Secondary Schools is the Ministry of
Education (MOE) initiative to focus more on assessment for learning than assessment of learning. Through the
introduction of various 21st century learning methods as well as integration of assessment in teaching and learning
(Berita Harian, 2017) assessment for learning is increasingly acceptable in schools. Hence assessment as learning also
needs to be introduced to improve the effectiveness of classroom assessment. Although the success of this
transformation is still far to be proud of, as its implementation has been over 5 years, the findings of the study have
shown leads. Among the thoughtful methods used is by constructing student profiles via any assessment that teachers
do and records. The main purpose of the student profile is to assess the impact of teacher teaching on student learning
and progress. Subject teachers should know the assessment methodology and set the profile that can be used to track
student progress in the subjects taught. A good profile gives a holistic picture of each student also his or her strengths
and needs. Charting student potential through appropriate teaching and learning setting also can follow through. The
teacher's immediate feedback based on the profiles constructed also will be able to help students do assessment as
learning.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Subject Grade Average (GPMP) of SPM Mathematics in 2017 is 5.04, better than the average for 2016 of 5.46
(Director General of Education Malaysia, 2018). However, yearly statistics of Mathematics’ results show a decreasing
pattern on the number of candidates who get excellent results (A + or A or A-) and an increasing number of failed
students (G). This crossing trend of increasing number of failing students and decreasing number of A students worry
stakeholders as Mathematics is the core subject that students should master (Harian Metro, 2017). What are the skills
or competencies that teachers lack when teaching and what are the problems that students face in learning? The

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answers to those questions relate with the teaching, learning and assessment method used in the classroom. Teachers’
skill and ability to evaluate and estimate students’ performance are critical in these matters (Dalail, Chan and Sidhu,
2017). This study is conducted to understand the readiness of teachers and students with assessment knowledge.
MOE’s SBA initiative in 2012 demands teachers’ expertise in assessment for learning to professionally judge students’
potential. Students are also required to make self-assessment or assessment as learning because SBA emphasizes
student-centered and mastery learning. Are teachers ready to do assessment for learning? Are students exposed to
assessment as learning?

METHODOLOGY
This study was conducted to obtain quantitative data by disseminating online questionnaires to 2,138 Form 5
students of 2017 enrollment and their 219 Mathematics teachers. Respondents of this study consist of students from
different types of schools; SMK, SABK, SMJKC, SMKA and SBP across the country with good internet access. The
selection of respondents and schools sample is on the recommendation of the State Education Department of each state
throughout Malaysia. A total of 46% of schools were in urban areas while 54% in rural areas. Respondents consisted
of 779 male students while the number of female students was 1,359. The number of male teachers was 43 and the
female teachers involved were 176. The survey was conducted a month before SPM started.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study was conducted to fulfill two objectives (SO) and to answer the following questions (SQ):
SO1: To identify the perception of 2017 SPM candidates on their Mathematics performance in Classroom
Assessment and SPM
SQ1: Who teaches form 5 Mathematics?
SQ2: Are the students excited to learn Mathematics?
SQ3: How difficult is the Mathematics curriculum as compared to other subjects? SQ4: What
are the students’ purposes in sitting for SPM?
SQ5: What is the importance of the SPM Certificate to the students? SQ6:
The students expect what Mathematics grades?
SQ7: What are the students' preparations for SPM? SQ8:
Who motivate the students to success in SPM?
SQ9: How do the students perform in classroom Mathematics’ assessment?

SO2: To identify teachers’ perception about 2017 SPM candidates’ potential in Mathematics
SQ10: What are the grades for cohort 2017 SPM candidates?
SQ11: Who set the Mathematics question papers for classroom tests?

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The findings as shown in Table 1 show that 74% (162) teachers teaching Form 5 students cohort 2017 are teachers
who have more than 10 years of teaching experience. A total of 23.7% (52) teach Mathematics between 5 to 10 years.
Whereas new teachers with less than 5 years of experience are not advised to teach SPM students because the number is
only 2.3% (5 people).

Table 1: Teachers’ experience in teaching Form 5 Mathematics

Teaching experience Less than 5 years 5-10 years More than 10 years
Percentage 2.3% 23.7% 74.0%

Most of school administrators' decision in allocating experienced teachers to teach Form 5 students as shown in
Table 1 is seen as good efforts in helping students in Mathematics. These experienced teachers can reinforce the
students' knowledge and plan for scaffolding activities.

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 STUDENTS VIEW ON MATHEMATICS AND SPM
Multiple disciplinary education in Malaysia is based on curriculum comprising core subjects for all discipline plus
selected elective subjects. Among the core subjects listed in Table 2, Mathematics subject is the most enjoyable
subject to learn for 2017 SPM candidates (66.9%, 1,430 students). A total of 41.7% (891) of respondents who could
choose multiple responses of a questionnaire shows a tendency to state that History was the most unenjoyable subject
to learn.

Table 2: Students’ rating on enjoyable subjects to learn

Subject Number of Respond Pecentage

Mathematics 1,430 66.9%
Malay Language 1,353 63.3%
English Language 1,094 51.2%
Science 1,040 48.6%
History 891 41.7%
None 42 2%

Table 2 also shows that 2% of respondents (42) did not see the subjects studied in school as separate disciplines. A
neutral response was given in rating the subjects. However, a total of 23.5% of respondents (503) found that the
Mathematics curriculum was the second most difficult to master as shown in Table 3. According to 33.7% of
respondents (720), History subjects were the most difficult subjects to master. The least difficult subject to master
according to 2.1% (45) of the respondents is Malay Language.

Table 3: Students rating on the difficulty of subjects to master

Subjects Number of Respond Percentage (%)

History 720 33.7
Mathematics 503 23.5
Science 263 19.9
None 181 12.3
English Language 46 8.5
Malay Language 45 2.1
Table 3 shows that reading subjects such as history (33.7%, 720) were not mastered by students. Perhaps because
students are not given a lesson on history at a lower level of education or because History is tested only at the SPM
level. Subjects that need understanding and drilling such as Mathematics are also less mastered by students, informal
survey also reports a possibility of a packed curriculum. While subjects which required language skills are not a
problem for students.
Majority of respondents (1,906, 89.1%) told that their main purpose of taking SPM was to enable them to pursue
their studies at universities or colleges as derived from Table 4. The next factor for taking SPM is to make parents
happy (1,752 people, 81.9%), get excellent results (1,752 people, 81.9%) and get jobs (1513 people, 70.8%).

Table 4: students’ rating on their purpose of taking SPM

Purpose Number of Respond Percentage
Continuing education to University / College 1,906 89.1%
Entertaining parents 1,752 81.9%
Get excellent results 1,752 81.9%
Get a job 1,513 70.8%
Compete with others 593 27.7%
Continuing education to Form 6 453 21.2%
Get compliments 213 10.0%
Earn rewards 153 7.2%
Other reasons 138 6.5%
No reason 11 0.5%

Table 4 also shows that a small number of students take SPM for no reason (11, 0.5%), only following directions
made by MOE. Funds allocated by MOE for students who attend school for no reason should be considered seriously.

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 The internal factors of students taking SPM, as shown in Table 5, are to realize goals (1,749, 81.8%), followed by
getting SPM certificates (1,716, 80.3%), want good SPM results (1,700, 79.5%) and entertaining parents (1583, 74%). A
few of the respondents took SPM for no reason (20, 0.9%).

Table 5: Students’ rating on the pushing factors to have SPM

Factor Number of Respond Percentage (%)
Realizing goals 1,749 81.8
Requiring SPM certificate 1,716 80.3
Wanting good SPM results 1,700 79.5
Entertaining parents 1,583 74.0
Gauging ability 1,113 52.1
Spending schooling 985 46.1
Entertaining oneself 239 11.2
Finishing compulsory education 88 4.1
Following friends 40 1.9
No engagement 20 0.9

There are 1,372 respondents (64.2%) that rated on spending schooling, entertaining oneself, finishing compulsory
education, following friends and no engagement, as shown in Table 5. This statistic indicates a total number of
respondents who are less motivated to achieve the best.
Part of the respondents’ less motivated attributes can be viewed in Table 6 which also records several students
studying just to please others.

Table 6: Students’ target grade in SPM

Target grade Number of Respond Percentage (%)
Got all As 1,054 49.3
Pass all subjects 546 25.5
Result that match oneself effort 366 17.1
Result as expected by parents 148 6.9
Whatever result 13 0.6
Result as expected by school 11 0.5

The mentality of getting As is rampant in the minds of respondents as the majority of respondents (1,054, 49.3%)
want to get all As in SPM as shown in Table 6. Passing all subjects is also not as popular choice as getting all As
because only 25.5% (546) rated this option. Ironically, only 17.1% (366) select to targeting result that match their
efforts. These respondents really understand the meaning of life, there is no success without hardship. Although 74.0%
of the respondents wanted to please their parents as shown in Table 5, only 148 respondents (6.9%) informed they
wanted SPM results as expected of their parents. A total of 13 respondents (0.6%) did not care about the results they
might have received. School roles were also seen as less influencing the respondents as only 11 (0.5%) wanted to
fulfill their school's expected results.
Among the preparations that majority of respondents (1,940, 90.7%) did for SPM, as shown in Table 7, were
drilling with exercises, followed by getting teachers' guidance (1,940, 79.7%). Focusing in classroom is also preferred
by majority of respondents (1,592, 74.5%). Some respondents also took the approach via discussion with friends
(1,468, 68.7%) as well as attending school-planned activities (1404, 65.7%). Attending tuition (945, 44.2%) and
participating in motivational programs (607, 28.4%) outside school hours were not the preferred methods chosen by
respondents in the study.

Table 7: Students preparation for SPM

Preparation Number of Respond Percentage (%)
Do exercises 1,940 90.7
Get teacher guidance 1,704 79.7
Focus in the classroom 1,592 74.5
Discuss with friends 1,468 68.7
Following the activities planned by the school 1,404 65.7
Get friend guidance 1,331 62.3
Get family guidance 1,100 51.4
Attending tuition outside of school hours 945 44.2
Attend motivational programs outside of school hours 607 28.4
No preparation 37 1.7

Table 7 also shows that 1.7% (37) of the respondents did not prepare for SPM. Some of these students need
solution for their learning problems. The focus of the school should be given to them and not to those who are
motivated and have plans to succeed in SPM.
Table 8 lists the main drivers for respondents to succeed in SPM. The respondents rate Parents / Guardians (1,891,
88.4%), teachers (1736, 81%), themselves (1728, 80.8%), friends (1530, 71.6%), siblings (971, 45.4%), principals
(617, 28.9%), idol (381, 17.8%) and no driver (31, 1.4%) as the main driver to their success.

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 Table 8: Students’ main driver to success in SPM
Driver Number of Respond Percentage (%)
Parents/Guardian 1,891 88.4
Teachers 1,736 81.2
Own self 1,728 80.8
Friends 1,530 71.6
Siblings 971 45.4
Principal 617 28.9
Idol 381 17.8
None 31 1.4

Table 8 gives an indication that the influence of people closest to respondents is vital in student learning activities.
Those who are close to the students should take this indication to play their role and give a good example to the
respondents.

2017 SPM CANDIDATES PERFORMANCE

Table 9 lists the findings that report students' current Mathematics performance at school. A total of 35% of
respondents achieved excellent achievement (A + or A or A-), 28% received an honor (B + or B or C + or C), 24%
received a Pass (D or E) and 14% Failed in the school's test.

Table 9: Students’ average performance in classroom tests

Performance Number of Respond Percentage
Excellent (A+ or A or A-) 738 35%
Honor (B+ or B or C+ or C) 601 28%
Pass (D or E) 507 24%
Fail 292 14%

Respondents' information, as in Table 9, indicates that majority of students can get excellent results in classroom
tests. Is the level of difficulty of the questions set during the test easy? The number of failed respondents was 292, and
the percentage was 14%. This statistic is disturbing because Mathematics teaches students to think and solve daily
problems using numbers. If students do not master Mathematics, they may be easily cheated by those who want to
take advantage.
Although most students (Table 9) got good grades in classroom Mathematics test but their results are not in line
with the overall summary made according to their teachers' professional judgment as in Table 10. Their teachers
reported that only 3% of their students are excellent, 37% honor category, 47% pass while 13% fail.

Table 10: Teachers’ professional Judgement on students’ performance

Performance Percentage
Excellent (A+ or A or A-) 3%
Honor (B+ or B or C+ or C) 37%
Pass (D or E) 47%
Fail 13%

Table 10 shows that teachers can assess students who fail because the percentage given is almost the same as the
percentage of students who have failed in Table 9. However, teachers’ judgment is different for students in evaluating
the quality of excellent performance. Table 9 and Table 10 of the findings indicate that students did not get the
immediate and informative feedback on the progress of their learning in Mathematics especially those in the excellent
category. Hence, they were not able to make professional judgment on the quality of their learning.
Table 11 shows that the test papers in schools are hardly written by teachers. Generally, only 7.8% of teachers
wrote their own test questions. The rest of the respondents rated that the test sets were compiled from the actual
collection of last year’s SPM examinations paper (34.70% of teachers use it), provided by excellent teachers (20.50%
of teachers use it). These approaches were not able to help teachers give constructive feedback on students’
weaknesses as the tests do not gauge students’ potential. Some of the tests are used only for the recording of students’
progress. If teachers do not test using proper measurements tools, it is difficult for teachers to improve and make
progress to their teaching methods and give constructive feedback to students. Feedback play an important role in
helping students with self-assessment or engaging in assessment as learning activities.

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 Table 11: How teachers set Mathematics test paper?
Approach Percentage (%)
Selected from a collection of actual questions last year 34.70
Set by excellent teachers 20.50
Set by JPN/PPD 16.40
Selected from other school collections 9.60
Provided by School Principal Council 8.20
Selected from prediction questions 1.40
Selected from reference book 1.40

Literature shows that methods of using test papers assembled by others are less helpful to the advancement of
teacher skills especially in teaching. In addition, students are also not interested in self-assessment as feedback is not
given accordingly thus they are less aware of their strengths and weaknesses as there is no reprimand and
reinforcement given by teachers.

CONCLUSION
MOE always takes measures to realize lifelong learning in schools are happening via assessment for learning,
assessment as learning and ultimately scoring in final assessment of learning namely SPM. The strengthening of SBA
will only materialize when teachers’ professional judgment on students’ performance almost matches the SPM results
of the students. The findings of the study show that there are generally weaknesses in the classroom assessment
because the student's perception as compared with the professional judgment of the teacher on student learning
performance is not parallel. Among the indications of weaknesses are that teachers do not give assessment feedback or
discuss with students about their performance. In this regard, the self-assessment made by the students is less accurate,
they are less likely to plan and strategize accordingly. Majority of teachers in the study also did not use test papers that
measure the corresponding different abilities of students. Many teachers use sets of questions provided by others who
do not know their students' abilities. Therefore, discussion and feedback were difficult to build between teachers and
students.

REFERENCES
1. Ketua Pengarah Pelajaran Malaysia, KPPM (2018). Teks Ucapan Pengumuman Analisis Keputusan Peperiksaan Sijil
Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.
2. Harian Metro. (29 Mac 2017). Kaji punca prestasi subjek SPM turun. pp. 27
3. Berita Harian, (16 Oktober 2017). Konsep PAK 21 bakal diperluas ke semua sekolah
4. Dalail, R., Chan, Y.F., Sidhu, G.K (2017). Learning, Unlearning and Relearning: The Implementation of Standard
Referenced Assessment in Malaysian Schools. Jurnal Paradigma 2016. Special Edition Vol 14 ISSN 1985-1731, ICTLD
3rd International Conference on Teacher Learning and Development. Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia, Pulau
Pinang. pp. 165-176

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 Gambaran Laporan dan Polisi dalam Pembangunan Bakat
dan Pendidikan STEM Negara
Mohd Bakri Bakara* dan Zaiton Abdul Majid
a
Fakulti Sains, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTMJB, Johor, Malaysia.
*Email: bakribakar@utm.my

Abstrak. Pendidikan merupakan komponen utama kemajuan sesebuah negara yang bergantung kepada pengetahuan dan
kemahiran bakat. Keutamaan kepada pendidikan dapat dilihat dengan sejumlah peruntukan kewangan yang besar sentiasa
disediakan bagi menggiatkan pelbagai inisiatif pendidikan. Harus diingat bahawa kelestarian pembangunan negara turut
bergantung kepada pengeluaran hasil inovasi yang berteraskan sains, teknologi, kejuruteraan dan matematik (STEM). Dengan
itu, pembangunan bakat melalui pendidikan dalam bidang berkaitan STEM menjadi tanda aras penting bagi memenuhi aspirasi
kemajuan negara. Kertas kerja ini membincangkan latar belakang, perkembangan dalam konteks semasa serta inisiatif
pengukuhan pendidikan STEM di Malaysia di peringkat menengah dan prasiswazah. Perbincangan tersebut dilakukan secara
sinergi di antara keperluan bidang STEM dan keperluan berkaitan pendidikan yang diuruselia oleh agensi kerajaan yang
berbeza untuk memberikan gambaran keseluruhan terhadap halatuju dalam mengukuhkan pendidikan STEM di Malaysia.
Kata kunci: Pendidikan Menengah, Pendidikan Prasiswazah, STEM

PENDIDIKAN DAN BAKAT SAINS DI MALAYSIA

Sistem pendidikan di Malaysia dibahagikan kepada empat peringkat iaitu pendidikan prasekolah, pendidikan
rendah, pendidikan menengah dan pendidikan tinggi. Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM) merupakan agensi
kerajaan yang bertanggungjawab dalam mentadbir urusan rasmi pendidikan negara. Walau bagaimanapun, terdapat
beberapa kementerian lain juga yang turut bertanggungjawab dalam pengurusan sistem pendidikan tertentu seperti
Kementerian Pembangunan Luar Bandar yang menyelia urusan pendidikan prasekolah melalui agensi Kemajuan
Masyarakat (KEMAS). Selain itu, Kementerian Sumber Manusia dan Kementerian Belia dan Sukan juga diberikan
tanggungjawab dalam pengurusan pendidikan teknikal dan latihan vokasional (TVET).
Setiap peringkat pendidikan mempunyai aspirasi pembangunan bakat dalam bidang berkaitan sains, teknologi,
kejuruteraan dan matematik (STEM). Kitaran bakat STEM dapat dibahagikan kepada tiga fasa iaitu pembangunan
bakat, pemupukan bakat dan penghebatan bakat.1 Fasa pembangunan bakat bertujuan membina minda inkuiri dan
minat dalam bidang berkaitan STEM bermula daripada prasekolah sehingga kepada pendidikan tinggi. Fasa
pemupukan bakat pula bertujuan membina pengetahuan dan kemahiran saintifik di peringkat pendidikan tinggi,
terutamanya pascasiswazah dan di permulaan pekerjaan. Manakala, fasa penghebatan bakat bertujuan melahir pakar
bagi memacu produktiviti dan persaingan negara dalam bidang sains, teknologi dan inovasi. Secara terperinci,
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia turut membangunkan kerangka pembangunan bakat STEM2 di mana pendidikan
awal adalah bertujuan memupuk minat dan memberikan inspirasi, pendidikan rendah bertujuan membina hubungan
dan membangunkan asas, pendidikan menengah bawah bertujuan membangun dan membina kemahiran, pendidikan
menengah atas bertujuan mengukuhkan kemahiran dan pendidikan tertier untuk persediaan bakat menghadapi cabaran
semasa. Dalam konteks ini, kajian menunjukkan mereka yang memilih aliran kerjaya dalam sains adalah berikutan
daripada sokongan, pengalaman dan motivasi pembelajaran yang diterima daripada peringkat awal pendidikan. 3
Dengan itu, pemerkasaan pendidikan melibatkan bidang berkaitan sains pada semua peringkat merupakan
prasyarat penting bagi melahirkan bakat berpengetahuan dan berkemahiran yang menjayakan aspirasi sesebuah
negara maju yang berinovasi. Mengikut rekod, Indeks Inovasi Global 2018 4 meletakkan Malaysia pada kedudukan ke
35 berbanding keseluruhan 126 buah negara. Indeks ini dibangunkan berdasarkan beberapa kriteria seperti input
inovasi yang bergantung kepada bakat mahir dan kapasiti penyelidikan. Selain itu, output inovasi pula mengukur hasil
berteras pengetahuan dan hasil teknologi yang memberikan impak tinggi. Secara umumnya, pencapaian keseluruhan
negara dalam sela 5 tahun lepas tidak menunjukan peningkatan yang ketara. Hal ini berikutan negara kekurangan
bakat yang kritikal dalam profesion utama berteras inovasi seperti saintis, jurutera dan penyelidik. Secara unjuran,
negara memerlukan seramai 1 juta tenaga kerja bagi memenuhi keperluan bidang berkaitan sains dan teknologi
menjelang 2020 berikutan pengenalan program transformasi ekonomi negara pada tahun 2010. 5 Daripada bilangan
tersebut, 50% keperluan merupakan tenaga kerja berkemahiran tinggi. Walaubagaimanapun, pengiraan mengikut
kadar semasa menunjukkan negara akan mengalami kekurangan sebanyak 80% bilangan saintis, jurutera dan
penyelidik pada tahun 2020 berbanding sasaran.

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 STEM DALAM PENDIDIKAN MENENGAH
Rantaian isu tersebut perlu dikenalpasti bermula daripada usaha persediaan bakat melalui agenda pendidikan.
Dalam hal ini, prestasi pendidikan semasa mengikut laporan Science Outlook 20175 menunjukkan negara tidak akan
mencapai sasaran sejumlah 270, 000 pelajar yang diperlukan untuk mengikuti pengajian peringkat pendidikan tinggi
dalam bidang STEM. Hal ini berikutan kekurangan saluran pelajar daripada peringkat menengah atas yang tidak
memenuhi unjuran bilangan, selaras dengan polisi 60:40 Sains/Teknikal:Sastera yang dilaksanakan bermula tahun
1970. Misalnya pada tahun 2017, hanya sejumlah 45.74% pelajar yang telah mengikuti aliran sains dan TVET dengan
pecahan 23.19% untuk sains dan 22.55% untuk TVET. Sebagai perbandingan, peratusan ini adalah berkurang
berbanding prestasi yang dicatatkan pada tahun 2012 iaitu sejumlah 48.15%. Laporan Science Outlook tersebut juga
mencadangkan kelemahan prestasi pelajar telah mula dicerap daripada peperiksaan Penilaian Tahap Tiga (PT3).
Misalnya, data PT3 pada tahun 2016 menunjukkan hanya 25.1% pelajar yang mendapat sekurang- kurangnya gred C
dalam matapelajaran sains dan hanya 24.3% yang mendapat sekurang-kurangnya gred C dalam matapelajaran
matematik. Tentunya pencapaian yang dicatatkan juga merupakan refleksi kepada pencapaian sederhana negara
mengikut penanda aras antarabangsa iaitu melalui Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
dan Programme for International Student Assesment (PISA).
Melalui Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia PPPM 2013-2025,6 satu komponen dalam bab pembelajaran
murid diperuntukkan untuk memperkasakan pendidikan STEM negara melalui tiga langkah utama iaitu meningkatkan
minat murid melalui pendekatan pembelajaran yang baharu dan pemantapan kurikulum, meningkatkan kemahiran dan
kebolehan guru serta meningkatkan kesedaran murid dan orang awam. Pelaksanaan inisiatif dibahagikan kepada tiga
fasa iaitu Gelombang 1 (2013-2015), Gelombang 2 (2016-2020) dan Gelombang 3 (2021-2025). Gelombang 1
menetapkan matlamat mengukuhkan asas pembelajaran di mana laporan tahunan yang dikemukakan pada tahun 2015
telah melaporkan prestasi keseluruhan yang dicapai. Namun, laporan berkenaan kualiti pendidikan STEM tidak
memberikan petunjuk prestasi semasa. Hanya tiga inisiatif telah dilaporkan melibatkan pembangunan sumber
pendidikan STEM menggunakan kaedah pembelajaran teradun, pembangunan model makmal STEM menerusi
kerjasama pelbagai pemegang taruh untuk mengukuhkan kemahiran praktikal dan penyediaan infrastruktur serta
kemudahan di sekolah terpilih selaras dengan keperluan pendidikan abad ke-21. Walaubagaimanapun, prestasi
pendidikan berkaitan STEM pada peringkat awal selaras dengan Gelombang 1 juga boleh dirujuk kepada laporan
Science Outlook 20151 yang diterbitkan oleh Akademi Sains Malaysia.
Laporan tahunan terkini PPPM 2013-2025 untuk tahun 2017 memuatkan prestasi yang dicapai pada tahun-tahun
awal Gelombang 2. Untuk pendidikan STEM, pelbagai inisitif yang bersistematik telah dilaporkan berbanding tahun-
tahun sebelumnya. Misalnya, penganjuran kolokium, persidangan dan bengkel telah dilaksanakan untuk meningkatkan
kemahiran dan kebolehan guru. Pelbagai inisiatif untuk meningkatkan minat murid turut dilaksanakan melibatkan
program formal, bukan formal dan tidak formal serta pembangunan sumber pembelajaran dan penyediaan prasarana
untuk menyokong pendidikan STEM.7 Harus diingat bahawa hasil daripada inisiatif tersebut dijangkakan memberikan
kesan dalam jangka masa yang lebih panjang. Ini kerana laporan prestasi semasa seperti yang dinyatakan sebelumnya
melalui laporam Science Outlook 20175 masih menunjukkan pencapaian yang membimbangkan.
Sebagaimana hasrat PPPM 2013-2025 menerusi gelombang kedua, struktur kurikulum juga memerlukan semakan
bagi memenuhi keperluan semasa. Pada masa ini, kursus sains dan matematik telah diwajibkan pada semua pelajar
pada peringkat menengah rendah. Manakala di peringkat menengah atas, pelajar boleh mengambil kursus elektif
kluster STEM bersama dengan kursus teras. Antara kursus tersebut adalah sains tambahan, matematik tambahan,
kimia, fizik, biologi, asas kelestarian, sains pertanian serta teknologi maklumat dan komunikasi. Kementerian
Pendidikan Malaysia juga terlibat dalam merangka Pelan Tindakan STEM Kebangsaan di mana usaha holistik dalam
pemberdayaan pendidikan STEM termasuk perubahan kurikulum serta penerapan elemen STEM dalam kursus akan
diusahakan.7 Antara inisiatif yang sedang dilaksanakan adalah integrasi kemahiran pemikiran komputasional dan sains
komputer dalam kurikulum pendidikan sekolah. Kajian yang dilakukan di Amerika Syarikat menunjukkan perubahan
kurikulum sentiasa dilakukan bergantung kepada ekosistem dan perkembangan sains dan teknologi setempat seperti
pelancaran satelit Sputnik dan keperluan integrasi sains bersama komuniti supaya terus releven.8 Dengan itu,
beberapa kursus berkaitan telah diperkenalkan seperti Sains Bumi, Sains Angkasa serta Kimia dan Biologi dalam
Komuniti.

STEM DALAM PENDIDIKAN PRASISWAZAH

Sebagai lanjutan, kurikulum STEM dalam sistem pendidikan tinggi prasiswazah juga perlu diberikan penilaian
semula. Bertepatan pula, pendidikan tinggi merupakan fasa terakhir dalam melahirkan bakat dan tenaga kerja yang
dapat memenuhi aspirasi kemajuan dan inovasi negara. Malah, bidang keutamaan sains, teknologi dan inovasi dapat
dimanfaatkan untuk transformasi sosio-ekonomi dan pertumbuhan inklusif negara.9 Secara umumnya, pembangunan
kurikulum universiti adalah berdasarkan kerangka kelayakan oleh Agensi Kelayakan Malaysia (MQA).

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MQA juga telah membangunkan piawai program akademik bagi beberapa program berkaitan STEM seperti
bioteknologi, sains perubatan dan kesihatan serta kejuruteraan dan teknologi kejuruteraan. Walaubagaimanapun,
kandungan terperinci kurikulum seperti kursus teras dan elektif bidang boleh ditetapkan oleh institusi terlibat selaras
dengan amalan autonomi. Malah, semakan kurikulum dibenarkan bagi mengemaskini kurikulum mengikut keperluan
semasa10 bagi menjadikan tawaran pendidikan lebih bersifat organik dan fleksibel.
Sebagai permulaan, semakan kepada keutamaan bidang tujahan negara perlu dilakukan. Pengenalpastian bidang
keutamaan dalam penyelidikan dan pembangunan (R&D) telah dimulakan bermula 2011 melalui seliaan Majlis
Kebangsaan Sains dan Penyelidikan (NRSC). Bidang tersebut telah diperincikan dalam dua bahagian 11 iaitu isu dan
penyelesaian. Terdapat 10 isu yang diberikan keutamaan iaitu keselamatan siber, keselamatan tenaga, alam sekitar dan
perubahan iklim, keselamatan makanan, perubatan dan kesihatan, pertanian dan komoditi, pengangkutan dan
urbanisasi serta keselamatan air. Daripada maklumat tersebut, cadangan penyelesaian adalah berdasarkan pemerkasaan
tiga bidang iaitu salingan nanoteknologi, bioteknologi dan teknologi komunikasi serta maklumat; sains asas; serta
sains sosial dan kemanusiaan. Bidang tersebut menjadi rujukan dalam agihan peruntukan kewangan yang berkaitan.
Walaubagaimana, analisa terkini yang dilakukan5 memberikan gambaran bahawa bidang tersebut adalah tidak selari
dengan kekuatan ekonomi negara. Misalnya, bidang elektronik merupakan sumber eksport utama negara dan tidak
dimasukkan secara khusus ke dalam bidang keutamaan negara. Begitu juga, bidang yang berkaitan minyak dan gas
juga tidak mendapat perhatian utama sebelumnya. Pemasalahan ini menunjukkan bahawa pemadanan bidang
keutamaan tidak dilakukan dengan berkesan, seterusnya turut memberikan refleksi terhadap peningkatan kadar
pengangguran graduan universiti dalam bidang berkaitan STEM.
Intervensi telah dilakukan melalui program transformasi ekonomi negara, di mana dua belas bidang ekonomi
utama telah dikenalpasti iaitu minyak, gas dan tenaga, kelapa sawit dan getah, perkhidmatan kewangan, perkhidmatan
perniagaan, pelancongan, pemborong dan peruncitan, perkhidmatan perniagaan, elektrik dan elektronik, pendidikan,
penjagaan kesihatan, kandungan dan infrastruktur komunikasi dan pertanian. Menariknya, kesemua bidang tersebut
adalah melibatkan STEM sama ada secara langsung atau tidak. Justeru, kurikulum pendidikan STEM di peringkat
universiti perlu mengambil kira keperluan industri berasaskan bidang tersebut bagi menyediakan graduan yang
memenuhi keperluan negara. Dalam konteks ini, Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia (Pendidikan Tinggi) 2015-
202512 melalui lonjakan pertama graduan holistik, berciri keusahawanan dan seimbang turut menyatakan isu terdapat
ketidakpadanan antara penawaran dengan permintaan graduan. Antara inisiatif cadangan adalah dengan menambah
baik pengalaman pembelajaran pelajar dengan memperluas kolaborasi industri dalam merangka kurikulum dan
melaksanakan program akademik, terutamanya bidang STEM.
Selain mengambil kita keperluan semasa, penstrukturan kurikulum juga perlu mengenalpasti keperluan masa depan
sama ada di peringkat tempatan mahupun antarabangsa. Misalnya, laporan Akademi Sains Malaysia berkenaan
kehadiran bidang masa depan dalam sains, kejuruteraan dan teknologi melibatkan bioteknologi, teknologi digital,
nanoteknologi, teknologi hijau dan teknologi neuro perlu diambil perhatian. Begitu juga, pertimbangan terhadap aliran
perubahan masa depan perlu dianalisa seperti melibatkan perubahan sosial dan demografik, teknologi disruptif, masa
depan maya dan kelestarian.13 Selain itu, kehadiran Revolusi Perindustrian Keempat14 yang dipacu oleh kepesatan
teknologi digital dan siber serta inovasi bahan termaju perlu diutamakan. Misalnya, kurikulum pembelajaran setiap
bidang STEM perlu diintegrasikan dengan ilmu dan penemuan terkini seperti aplikasi data raya, kecerdasan buatan,
infokomunikasi, sintetik biologi, komputeran biologi, bahan sintetik dan bahan pintar.
Selain itu, penyampaian pembelajaran STEM universiti juga harus disuntik dengan elemen digital bagi memenuhi
keperluan pendidikan yang terbuka, fleksibel dan maya. Menurut Deloitte, 15 gelombang pendidikan digital yang
pertama adalah berteraskan bahan pembelajaran dan pengajaran dalam bentuk kandungan digital dan melibatkan
penggunaan platform seperti kursus maya, perpustakaan digital, permainan dan apps. Sehubungan dengan itu,
pendidikan STEM seharusnya mampu memanfaatkan peluang tersebut terutamanya dalam mevisualisasikan
kandungan pembelajaran dengan lebih interaktif dalam meningkatkan kefahaman pelajar. Hal ini berikutan terdapat
kandungan kurikulum melibatkan STEM yang lebih mudah difahami melalui dengan amali, praktis dan pengalaman
sebenar berbanding teori. Manakala, gelombang kedua pendidikan digital menekankan kepada pembelajaran
berhubung, kepelbagaian sumber pembelajaran selain pensyarah dan pendidikan bersifat peribadi yang meraikan
perbezaan pengalaman. Sepertimana peringkat pendidikan menengah, pensyarah STEM universiti juga perlu dilatih
dengan pengetahuan dan kemahiran yang bersesuaian dengan keperluan kurikulum abad ke-21. Praktis penyampaian
pengajaran mahupun penilaian pelajar oleh pensyarah juga perlu selaras dengan elemen pendidikan STEM yang
kreatif16 iaitu menfokuskan proses dan produk, mengambil risiko, pelbagai disiplin, penjajaran hasil pembelajaran dan
menghasilkan pengetahuan baharu yang bernilai. Selain itu, pensyarah harus mampu menterjemahkan dapatan
penyelidikan ke dalam bentuk pengajaran melalui kerangka hubungkait pengajaran-penyelidikan (Teaching-Research
Nexus). Gabungan inovasi kurikulum, kemahiran pensyarah dan pengalaman berkualiti pelajar pasti dapat
melonjakkan lagi pendidikan STEM bagi melahirkan graduan yang dapat menyumbang kepada pembangunan negara
dan pembinaan masyarakat berinovasi.

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 PENGHARGAAN
Penghargaan diberikan kepada Universiti Teknologi Malaysia dengan sokongan kemudahan rujukan kertas kerja.

RUJUKAN
1. Akademi Sains Malaysia. (2015). Science Outlook.
2. Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia. (2016). Implementation Guide for
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in Teaching and Learning. Putrajaya.
3. Tai, R.H., Liu, C.Q. dan Maltese, A.V. (2006). Science 312, pp 26-27.
4. Cornell University, INSEAD dan WIPO. (2018). Global Innovation Index.
5. Akademi Sains Malaysia. (2017). Science Outlook.
6. Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia 2013-2025.
7. Shahali, E.H., Ismail, I. dan Halim, L. (2017). Asian Research Policy: S&T Trends - Policy Trajectories and Initiatives in
STEM Education 8, pp 122-133.
8. Park, D-Y. (2006). Curriculum Reform Movement in the US – Science Education, 1st Pacific Rim Conference on
Education, Hokkaido University of Education, Hokkaido, Japan.
9. Kementerian Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi. (2016). Dasar Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi Negara.
10. Pusat Kualiti dan Pengurusan Risiko, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. (2017). Garis Panduan Semakan Kurikulum.
11. Rahim, R.A. dan Emran, N.M. (2012). Maintenance Problems 4, pp 139-150.
12. Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia. (2015). Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia (Pendidikan Tinggi) 2015-2025.
13. a) Akademi Sains Malaysia. (2017). Science and Technology Foresight Malaysia 20150: Emerging Science, Engineering
and Technology Study. b) Akademi Sains Malaysia. (2017). Envisioning Malaysia 2050: A Foresight Narrative.
14. Schwab, K. (2016). The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Penguin UK.
15. Banerjee, P.M dan Belson, G. (2015). Deloitte Review Issue 16, January 26, 2015.
16. Pollard, V., Hains-Wesson, R. and Young, K. (2018). Creative teaching in STEM: Teaching in Higher Education 23, pp 1-
16.

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 Influence of Parents’ Authority Towards
the Development of STEM Career Interest
Among Form Four Science Students in Selangor
Fazilah Razalia, Othman Talibb, Umi Kalthom Abd Manafc, Siti Aishah Hassand
and Mohamad Yusri Dahrumie
a,b,c,d
Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia,zila_ixora@yahoo.com, zahinothman@gmail.com,
umizat90@upm.edu.my, siti_aishah@upm.edu.my
e
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Sepang, Selangor, myusri.dahrumi@gmail.com

Abstract. This paper focuses on the factor of parents that covers the elements of self-efficacy, self-determination, intrinsic,
grades and career which are the factors that have been identified from past research as affecting the development of students’
STEM career directly. This research is a quantitative research that utilizes the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ). The
questions in PAQ are modified and adapted based on the research objectives and it has a scale of 1-10 (strongly disagree-
strongly agree). Research respondents comprise of 419 form four science students from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan in
Selangor. Research focus to determine parents’ authority towards developments of students’ STEM career interest and
result from the research shows that parents’ authority directly influences among form four science students. The result
findings answer the research question and support the research by proving that parents’ authority is directly significant
(p=.048) towards the development of students’ STEM career interest. It is hoped that the results from this research can
provide meaningful input towards students’ learning and contribute towards the importance of parents’ authority in
enhancing curriculum design based on students’ need for the future.
Keywords: STEM, careers, science curriculum, industrial needs, secondary school.

INTRODUCTION
STEM field is the key towards the source of employment and it becomes the agenda for world economic policy to
produce more graduates from the professional and vocational sector in the STEM field (Gough, 2014). Higher
Education Institution level (HEI) is the continuity from the secondary school level. Therefore, past research
emphasized on the best time to channel information related to STEM career among students begins from the secondary
school level; students start to become more active in building career aspiration and they are more aware towards
learning requirement (Chachashvili-Bolotin, Milner-Bolotin, & Lissitsa, 2016; Hidayah & Rohaida, 2014). Early
preparation must be carried out in order to guarantee the students outcome as a result from a planned curriculum.
Therefore, students’ awareness on the importance of science towards STEM career interest that begins from secondary
school level is an early preparation for the students to be consistent in choosing STEM study field in HEI.
The importance of STEM education system has brought about concern from the Malaysia Ministry of Education
(MOE) to enhance students understanding concerning STEM more clearly. Thus, Malaysia Education Blueprint
(MEB) 2013-2025 has been introduced and launched on 6th September 2013 by highlighting on development and
awareness of STEM for every teacher, students and parents. MEB 2013-2025 is a long term education plan document
by MOE in the national education system transformation.
Parents play an important role in influencing students especially towards academic development. In addition,
parents influence is the main domain in creating the basis for academic development on students’ career development
(Dietrich & Salmela-Aro, 2013). Past research (Alkharusi, Aldhafri, Kazem, & Alzubiadi, 2011; Doron & Sharbani,
2013; Nik Hairi, Azmi, & Ahmad Shazili, 2012) also found that parents authoritative contains a balance firmness and
toleration in academic and career choice aside from influencing students in making a decision. Hence it is important to
identify parents’ influence, suitable with the students learning requirement to support and develop students’ interest
towards STEM.
Interest is always connected with process that could contribute towards learning and academic achievement.
Interest drives the students to elevate their desire in achieving their goals by being more aware towards the learning
environment needs (Bergeron & Gordon, 2015). As a result, students that have the tendency to be interested in STEM
field will give direct effect towards the nation’s growth. Boosting the students’ interest especially towards the science
stream must be given appropriate attention by every organization in order to assist the effort to achieve the education
system target in shaping students’ outcome as the nation’s domestic capital (Curriculum Development Division, 2016).
Therefore, identifying factors for students need in learning process that will influence STEM career interest
particularly in terms of learning outcome is vital in order to measure the students’ success by the education system.

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 Parents’ Authority
Parents’ authority has a huge influence towards career aspiration among students mainly in developing students’
interest in choosing STEM career (Ing, 2014; Van Tuijl & Van der Molen, 2015). Parents’ authority can be interpreted
as social relationship that exist between parents and students that involves trust in terms of knowledge and skills in
creating social capital that could provide positive input for the future (Buri, 2013; McNeal, 2014). Parents’ authority
level towards career development differs for every student. Nonetheless, starting from the secondary school level,
parents’ inclusive involvement towards STEM career development contributes a huge and meaningful impact for
students’ outcome in competing globally (Kennedy & Odell, 2014; KPM, 2013).
Emphasis towards parents’ involvement in the education system has been the main focus in giving birth towards
skilled workforce in STEM field comprehensively. Furthermore, parents who are more concerned in students’
academic development, emotion and skills imparts direct influence towards students’ STEM career choice (Guan et
al., 2016; Nugent et al., 2015; Rozek et al., 2017). Parents are icons to their children to keep on focusing in academic
and be consistent in fulfilling career aspiration requirement. Students’ consistency in exploring STEM as career
aspiration requirement leads to an escalation of the students’ motivation. Motivation that is influenced by external
factors such as parents’ involvement is aligned with the theory of self-determination by giving attention towards
parents’ influence in target setting and students career that is more two way (Dietrich & Salmela-Aro, 2013).
Parents who have early awareness on the importance and market value of STEM globally will view the importance
of STEM not only from mastery of knowledge perspective but instead also from different perspective which is the
development of students’ interest towards STEM career. Moreover, parents who are aware of students’ learning and
target will give impact towards a positive interest development in fulfilling students’ career aspiration (Eisner, 1979).
Parents are also an important asset in students’ academic development and readiness towards the career world. Past
researches (Davis-Kean, 2005; Dietrich & Salmela-Aro, 2013; Murayama, Pekrun, Marsh, & Lichtenfeld, 2016; Soni
& Kumari, 2015) emphasize that parents are a significant factor towards students’ career development beginning from
secondary school level until the choosing of study field in HEI. Thus, parents’ awareness towards STEM career market
value in the future will provide direct positive reflection towards development of students’ interest in STEM career.

STEM Career
“The future of the nation’s economy depends on STEM because STEM career will become a priority in the future”
(United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2014)

Report from the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics (2014) stated that the need of skilled labour in STEM
is expected to increase to more than 9 million between the years of 2012 to 2022 in order to strengthen the nation’s
economy. Parallel with Malaysia New Economic Model that highlights three main requirements in an effort to compete
with developed countries starting from the year 2020 (Figure 3). The three main requirements are the need of skilled
workforce in order to achieve the public’s yearly per capita income target at par with other developed countries which
are US$15,000 until US$20,000.

Based on:
SUSTAINABILITY Innovation
Creativity
Meet current needs Modern service sector
without affecting High growth source
future generation  Skilled labor

HIGH INCOME
QUALITY INCLUSIVENESS
OF LIFE
Target USD 15k-
20k per capita by Enable all communities
2020 to gain full benefit from
the nations’ wealth

Source: National Economic Advisory Council (2010)

Figure 1: Malaysia New Economic Model by 2020

174
 This is said as such because until 2008, Malaysia only recorded yearly income per capita of US$6,000 which is
below the level income of a developed country (Figure 4) (National Economic Advisory Council, 2010). Therefore,
expanding the national economy is the public’s responsibility and it must be shaped as early as schooling level so that
Malaysia can provide skilled employment that is able to compete at par with other countries with a high income.
The demand in STEM has become a main issue in global education system when there is drastic increase in the
demand towards skilled labour in STEM field. The importance of STEM awareness begins when the demand and the
anticipated requirement of skilled workforce in the industry is not aligned with the students’ participation enrolment at
the secondary school level (Bergeron & Gordon, 2015; Jacob Kola, 2013) and this will directly affect the graduates’
participation in choosing STEM study field at Higher Education Institution (HEI) level (Badri et al., 2016; Van Tuijl
& Van der Molen, 2015). Furthermore, STEM industry has a wide classification of sectors and it comprises of a huge
part of the national economy compared to non-STEM sector (Kennedy & Odell, 2014; Economic
Planning Unit Prime Minister's Department, 2015). Shortage of source of graduates in the STEM field will affect the
preparation of skilled workforce for the industry and the awareness in developing STEM career interest is a must as
early as secondary school level. Thus, objective of this paperwork is to determine whether parents’ authority has direct
effect that is significant towards the development of students’ STEM career interest.

METHODOLOGY

Research design is a correlation by studying the effect between independent variable and dependent variable.
Research approach uses survey method with the use of questionnaire forms Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ)
and interest in STEM careers (S-STEM).

Location
Research is executed at Sekolah Menengah Harian and schools that are chosen randomly in Selangor. Schools are
chosen randomly according to the zones in Selangor. The division of zones in Selangor is based on the information
gained from the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia official website (2017) by dividing Selangor into two
zones which are Zone 1 (Hulu Selangor, Gombak, Pealing, Hulu Langat and Sepang) and Zone 2 (Klang, Kuala
Langat, Kuala Selangor and Sabak Bernam).

Research Sample
419 Form Four science students consist of all districts (10 districts) in Selangor are the respondents in this research.
Samples are chosen using Proportionate Stratified Random Sampling.

Data Analysis
Data collection that involves the instruments Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ) and interest in STEM careers
(S-STEM) will be analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to predict the results obtained based on the
research’s objective. Measurement software that is utilized in this research is SEM-AMOS. SEM-AMOS software
uses graphic illustration model and it can analyze the influence between latent variable more effectively, accurately
and efficiently. Moreover, its usability and flexibility is recognized based on the technique in the SEM software that
includes simultaneous evaluation for the research variables (Hair, Gabriel, & Patel, 2014).

RESULTS

Measurement Model
Analysis Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) is a statistic method to determine the relationship between
constructs or latent variables and indicators that are involved in the study (Byme, 2010). In this study, CFA functioned
as the determinant for model fit index using the result from the research (Table 1). However, there was no agreement
between researchers regarding fit indexes must be used more specifically (Zainuddin Awang, 2015). As a result, Hair
et al. (2010) recommended the use of index for at least one fit index for every model fit index category which was
absolute fit, incremental fit and parsimonious fit.

175
 TABLE 1: Model Fit Index recommended by Hair et. al. (2010)

Category Index Name Index Full Name Accepted Index

1. Absolute fit Chisq Discrepancy Chi Square > 0.05
RMSEA Root Mean Square of Erro < 0.08
Approximation
GFI Goodness of Fit Index > 0.90
2. Incremental fit AGFI Adjusted Goodness of Fit > 0.90
CFI Comparative Fit Index > 0.90
TLI Tucker-Lewis Index > 0.90
NFI Normed Fit Index > 0.90
3. Parsimonious fit Chisq/df Chi Square/ Degress of < 5.0
Freedom
The study determined the value of index according to every category as bolded in Table 1. CFA analysis between
parents’ authority and the development of students’ STEM career interest achieved the model fit index to represent each
category as shown in Figure 2.

FIGURE 2: Measurement Model Analysis for Latent Construct

Generally, measurement model that fulfill majority of model fit index value for every category is considered good
and acceptable (Schreiber, Nora, Stage, Barlow, & King, 2006). In addition, some of the index value that is important
to evaluate fit index for measurement model in confirmatory factor analysis are RMSEA, CFI and Chisq/df for
continuous data (Hooper, Coughlan, & Mullen, 2008; Hu & Bentler, 1998). Hence, this research had achieved majority
of the index value at least for one index to fulfill every index category that had been set which were index value for P-
value, Chisq, RMSEA, CFI, TLI and Chisq/df based on Table 2 continuous research data.

TABLE 2: Fit Index Measurement Model based on Hair et. al. Index (2010)

Category Index Name Accepted Index Index Measurement

Model

Absolute fit Chisq > 0.05 285.708

RMSEA < 0.08 .068
GFI > 0.90 .916
Incremental fit AGFI > 0.90 .886
CFI > 0.90 .957
TLI > 0.90 .948
NFI > 0.90 .935
Parsimonious fit Chisq/df < 5.0 2.857

Once CFA procedure for every measurement model was carried out, validity and reliability of the constructs were
measured. Evaluation for unidimensional, validity and reliability of measurement model was required before the
production of structural model.
Unidimensional: A process to eliminate items that have low factor loading. New model is operated and the
process of item elimination is continued until fit indexes achieved the required level.

176
 Validity: A procedure that involves:
I. Convergent Validity: AVE ≥ 0.50, refer Table 3
II. Construct Validity: All constructs fulfill the fit index model in order to meet the required index level.
III. Discriminant Validity: No overlap, eliminated or has a “free parameter” characteristic items for all
research constructs, refer Table 4.
Reliability: This requirement is achieved through these processes
I. Internal Reliability: Alpha Cronbach ≥ .70 (Table 3)
II. Composite Reliability (CR): CR ≥0.6 (Table 3)

TABLE 3: Summary of Confirmatory Factor Analysis for Latent Construct

Construct Eliminate Alpha Cronbach(>0.7) CR (≥0.6) AVE

d Item (≥0.5)
Parents’ Authority
IB8 .953 .95 .70
STEM Career Interest K1 .807
K5 K8 .89 .50
K11

K12

TABLE 4: Correlation between Construct Measurement Model

Construct STEM Parents’ Science 21st STEM

Attitude Authority Motivation Century Skills Caree
r Interest
Parents’ Authority **.159 *.836 **.004 **.828 **.102
STEM Career **.195 **.102 **.731 **.096 *.707
Interest
*Square root of AVE
**Correlation between constructs (<.85)

Structural Model
Structural Model functioned as model that connects free variables and dependent variables (Hair et al., 2010).
Structural model represents magnitude and correlation direction between a set of visible variables or latent variables
by enabling researchers to evaluate the relationship between variables based on the influence that was hypothesized in
the model. Structural model involved all structural line between latent variables in the model and overall fit for
structural model. The testing of structural model using AMOS could generate information regarding the overall
influence and direct influence of the variables in the model whereas the calculation of estimation standard of regression
could give input on validity of indicator for every variable.

Model Fit Index Assessment

FIGURE 3: Standard Regression Weight for Structural Model

177
 Research structural model was created to evaluate influence between latent variables (Figure 3). STEM career
interest was an endogenous variable while parents’ authority was exogenous variable. The result from the evaluation
of the research structural model portrayed that the model achieved model fit index of at least one fit index for every
category. Influence between parents’ authority directly showed a significant value of p less than .05 which was
p=.048. Thus, the result from the finding presented that parents’ authority affect the development of students’ STEM
career interest.

TABLE 5: Summary of Model Fit Index Structural Model

Category Index Name Accepted Index Structural
Model Index
1. Absolute fit Chisq > 0.05 285.708
RMSEA < 0.08 .068
GFI > 0.90 .916
2. Incremental fit AGFI > 0.90 .886
CFI > 0.90 .957
TLI > 0.90 .948
NFI > 0.90 .935
3. Parsimonious fit Chisq/df > 5.0 2.857

Table 5 portrayed a suggested model that met the fit index model for each category; at least one index for achieved
category. According to Hair et. al. (2010), Model Fit Index that follows a minimum of one index for each category is
considered good and acceptable.

DISCUSSION
There was direct influence between parents’ authority towards the development of students’ STEM career interest.
Analysis that was executed on the structural model found that the research objective was achieved and accepted and it
gave an implication that there was a significant direct influence between parents’ authority and development of STEM
career interest (p=.048). The results from the testing is also supported by Svoboda et al. (2016) stressing on the
importance of parental influence inclusively in the academic progress of learners can fulfill the learners’ career
aspiration clearly and relevant towards the value of career in STEM industry. Parents also can directly give positive
impacts and significant values to encourage the mastery of science and math subjects towards science stream students in
secondary level to ensure their STEM career interests are well nurtured (Hazari et al., 2017). Additionally, the findings
are also supported by Vanmeter-adams et al. (2014) saying that65.5% of direct parental influence towards learners’
academic progress and parents is the main significant component to increase learners interest in STEM careers in a
long term run. Therefore, parental influence is an important significant asset for learners’ learning needs towards the
formation of STEM career interest to ensure a more comprehensive learning.

RECOMMENDATION

This study was implemented based on the objectives formed initially in the study to be implemented for specific
scopes. However, there were some limitations in conducting the study. Suggestions for continuing research to ensure a
more robust finding can be contributed pertinently in curriculum development. The research conducted was done in
quantitative method between parental authority towards the formation of STEM related careers among learners. Data
collection was conducted among students of the science stream who answered the survey questionnaires form.
However, this research did not involve data collection through interviewing, developing learning module,
experimental or other suitable methods to identify the influences on the formation of STEM related careers among
learners. Therefore, varying research methods and additional variables to identify other mediator variables could leave
more impacts towards the involvement of parents towards the formation of STEM related career interest among
learners in secondary level. Future studies could involve teachers as respondents to give a different perspective in the
efforts of developing learners’ career interest through other approaches such as lesson plan, implemented activities,
and teacher readiness in implemented STEM in teaching and learning. Thus, the yardstick of varying respondents can
give more assorted insights in the efforts of proliferating the formation of learners’ interest in STEM careers among
Malaysian students.

178
 CONCLUSION
STEM career development model is one of the methods to identify students’ interest tendency towards STEM
career more specifically by statistically testing on the influence of parents’ authority. Researchers did not only manage
to determine the variables that could influence the development of students’ STEM career interest but they also managed
to determine the significant of parents’ authority towards students’ need in supporting STEM curriculum innovation.
This research also brought positive impact towards science education in producing students that are able to compete in
STEM industry by giving significant contribution based on the result from the research that had been carried out. This
was due to this research had combined accurate variables to interpret Secondary School Standard Curriculum (SSSC)
target in order to channel the importance of STEM so that it suits the students’ requirement in learning especially
students in secondary school level and in the school community roles more comprehensively.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to Dr Othman Talib, Dr Umi Kalthom Abd Manaf and Assoc. Prof Siti Aishah Hassan for assisting in
completing and prepare this paperwork. Also dedicated my Thanks to Tuan Haji Mohamad Yusri Bin Dahrumi SMK
Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Sepang principal for giving me more space and ideas to prepare this paper better and for all
school society to helping me.

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 APPENDIX

Parental Authority Questionnaire

Instructions: For each of the following statements, circle the number of the 10-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 10 =
strongly agree) that best describes how that statement applies to you and your mother. Try to read and think about each
statement as it applies to you and your mother during your years of growing up at home. There are no right or wrong
answers, so don’t spend a lot of time on any one item. We are looking for your overall impression regarding each
statement. Be sure not to omit any items.

1. While I was growing up my mother felt that in a well-run strongly strongly

home the children should have their way in the family as often as disagree agree
the parents do. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2. Even if her children didn’t agree with her, my mother felt that
it was for our own good if we were forced to conform to what she 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
thought was right.

3. Whenever my mother told me to do something as I was

growing up, she expected me to do it immediately without asking 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
any questions.

4. As I was growing up, once family policy had been

established, my mother discussed the reasoning behind the policy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
with the children in the family.

5. My mother has always encouraged verbal give-and-

take whenever I have felt that family rules and restrictions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
were unreasonable.

6. My mother has always felt that what her children need is to

be free to make up their own minds and to do what they want to do, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
even if this does not agree with what their parents might want.

7. As I was growing up my mother did not allow me to

question any decision she had made. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8. As I was growing up my mother directed the activities

and decisions of the children in the family through reasoning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
and discipline.

9. My mother has always felt that more force should be used

by parents in order to get their children to behave the way they are 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
supposed to.

10. As I was growing up my mother did not feel that I needed to

obey rules and regulations of behavior simply because someone in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
authority had established them.

11. As I was growing up I knew what my mother expected of me

in my family, but I also felt free to discuss those expectations with 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
my mother when I felt that they were unreasonable.

12. My mother felt that wise parents should teach their children
early just who is boss in the family. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

13. As I was growing up, my mother seldom gave me

expectations and guidelines for my behavior. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

181
 14. Most of the time as I was growing up my mother did what
the children in the family wanted when making family decisions. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

15. As the children in my family were growing up, my

mother consistently gave us direction and guidance in rational 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
and objective ways.

16. As I was growing up my mother would get very upset if I

tried to disagree with her. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

17. My mother feels that most problems in society would be

solved if parents would not restrict their children’s activities, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
decisions, and desires as they are growing up.

18. As I was growing up my mother let me know what behavior

she expected of me, and if I didn’t meet those expectations, she 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
punished me.

19. As I was growing up my mother allowed me to decide

most things for myself without a lot of direction from her. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

20. As I was growing up my mother took the children’s

opinions into consideration when making family decisions, but 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
she would not decide for something simply because the children
wanted it.
21. My mother did not view herself as responsible for
directing and guiding my behavior as I was growing up. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

22. My mother had clear standards of behavior for the children

in our home as I was growing up, but she was willing to adjust 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
those standards to the needs of each of the individual children in the
family.

23. My mother gave me direction for my behavior and activities

as I was growing up and she expected me to follow her direction, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
but she was always willing to listen to my concerns and to discuss
that direction with me.

24. As I was growing up my mother allowed me to form my

own point of view on family matters and she generally allowed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
me to decide for myself what I was going to do.

25. My mother has always felt that most problems in society

would be solved if we could get parents to strictly and forcibly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
deal with their children when they don’t do what they are
supposed to as they are growing up.

26. As I was growing up my mother often told me exactly what

she wanted me to do and how she expected me to do it. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

27. As I was growing up my mother gave me clear direction for

my behaviors and activities, but she was also understanding when I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
disagreed with her.

28. As I was growing up my mother did not direct the

behaviors, activities, and desires of the children in the family. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

29. As I was growing up I knew what my mother expected of me

in the family and she insisted that I conform to those expectations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
simply out of respect for her authority.

182
 30. As I was growing up, if my mother made a decision in the
family that hurt me, she was willing to discuss that decision with 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
me and to admit it if she had made a mistake.

183
 Your Future

Here are descriptions of subject areas that involve math, science, engineering and/or technology, and lists of jobs connected
to each subject area. As you read the list below, you will know how interested you are in the subject and the jobs. Fill in the circle
that relates to how interested you are.

There are no “right” or “wrong” answers. The only correct responses are those that are true for you
Not at all Very
Interested Interested

1. Physics: is the study of basic laws governing the motion,

energy, structure, and interactions of matter. This can include studying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
the nature of the universe. (aviation engineer, alternative energy
technician, lab technician, physicist, astronomer)
2. Environmental Work: involves learning about physical and
biological processes that govern nature and working to improve the
environment. This includes finding and designing solutions to
problems like pollution, reusing waste and recycling. (pollution control 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
analyst, environmental engineer or scientist, erosion control specialist,
energy systems engineer and maintenance technician)
3. Biology and Zoology: involve the study of living organisms
(such as plants and animals) and the processes of life. This includes
working with farm animals and in areas like nutrition and breeding. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(biological technician, biological scientist, plant breeder, crop lab
technician, animal scientist, geneticist, zoologist)
4. Veterinary Work: involves the science of preventing
or treating disease in animals. (veterinary assistant, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
veterinarian, livestock producer, animal caretaker)
5. Mathematics: is the science of numbers and their operations.
It involves computation, algorithms and theory used to solve
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
problems and summarize data. (accountant, applied mathematician,
economist, financial analyst, mathematician, statistician, market
researcher, stock market analyst)
6. Medicine: involves maintaining health and preventing and treating
disease. (physician’s assistant, nurse, doctor, nutritionist, emergency 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
medical technician, physical therapist, dentist)
7. Earth Science: is the study of earth, including the air, land, and
ocean. (geologist, weather forecaster, archaeologist, geoscientist) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8. Computer Science: consists of the development and testing of

computer systems, designing new programs and helping others to use 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
computers. (computer support specialist, computer programmer,
computer and network technician, gaming designer, computer
software engineer, information technology specialist)
9. Medical Science: involves researching human disease and working
to find new solutions to human health problems. (clinical laboratory 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
technologist, medical scientist, biomedical engineer, epidemiologist,
pharmacologist)
10. Chemistry: uses math and experiments to search for new
chemicals, and to study the structure of matter and how it behaves. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(chemical technician, chemist, chemical engineer)
11. Energy: involves the study and generation of power, such as
heat or electricity. (electrician, electrical engineer, heating,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) technician, nuclear
engineer, systems engineer, alternative energy systems installer or
technician)
12. Engineering: involves designing, testing, and manufacturing new
products (like machines, bridges, buildings, and electronics) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
through the use of math, science, and computers. (civil, industrial,
agricultural, or mechanical engineers, welder, auto- mechanic,
engineering technician, construction manager)

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 Instrumentation of Early Dyscalculia Screener
Wong Ken Keong a, Ng Lee Fong b
aLa Salle Secondary School, P.O. Box 10282, 88803 Kota Kinabalu. Sabah.
b Research and Innovation Department Teacher Education Institute of Malaysia, Campus Kent, Tuaran.
P. O. Box 2, 89207 Tuaran. Sabah, Malaysia.

Abstract. Instruments are the means to measure, observe or record quantitative data (Creswell, 2005), and thus must be
identified prior to data collection. Instruments could appear in the form of test, questionnaire, log, an observational checklist,
inventory or assessment. In this study, the researcher developed an assessment instrument; the Early Dyscalculia Screener (EDS)
to measure learning disability in mathematics among LINUS students in Malaysia. In general EDS is a computer-based
assessment that had been based on the theory of cognitive development in mathematical thinking (Tall, 2007), the concept of
numerosity (Butterworth, 2002), as well as the symptoms and the causes of dyscalculia by several researchers. The instrument
was compiled and discussed with experts of evaluation and psychology of educational studies as well as a professional officer
working from LINUS department. Most importantly, it adhered to the Malaysian Primary School Mathematics syllabus (MOE,
2011) and LINUS Numeracy syllabus (Prime Minister’s Department, 2011) set by the Malaysian Ministry of Education.
Overall, the reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) for all constructs in EDS had been more than 0.7. It also shows the results
of item fit via Rasch analysis, and the results indicated that all the items in the EDS were fit for the screener.
Keywords: dyscalculia, learning disability, LINUS

INTRODUCTION
This paper describes the development of the research instrument, which is known as the Early Dyscalculia Screener
(EDS). The study was constructing the EDS for LINUS students in primary school who lacked basic numeracy skill.
The first stage of instrumentation was item creation to create pools of items (Moore and Benbasat, 1991) for the EDS
by identifying items from existing resources, such as the Dyscalculia Screener (Butterworth, 2003) and the LINUS
numeracy test (MOE, 2008), as well as by creating additional items that appeared to fit the construct definitions. The
instrument was based on the literature review and other research instruments used in similar studies.

LITERATURE REVIEW
In a general population, there is a small group of children who do not have the arithmetic skills in typical fashion.
Some of them have learning difficulties in arithmetic tables, while some never understand the algorithms of addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division, and some others still have trouble understanding the concept of numbers or
they cannot write, read, or identify the correct word for the number. These children have developmental dyscalculia, a
learning disability that prevents the acquisition of arithmetic skills (Shalev, Manor, and Ayali Kerem, 2001).
Furthermore, initial research on mathematical difficulties was to focus on students identified with learning
disabilities involving mathematics. A consistent finding was that students who struggled with mathematics in the
elementary grades were unable to automatically retrieve what was then called the arithmetic facts, such as 4 + 3 = 7 or
9 x 8 = 72 (Gersten, Jordan and Flojo, 2005). Mathematics disorder is regarded as the difficulty in understanding and
learning mathematics, not associated with general cognitive problems. Pupils with such disabilities may have difficulty
in performing mathematical calculations; having trouble knowing how to respond to the mathematicalinformation,
confuse with symbols and names, as well as reading and writing mathematical symbols wrongly (Farrell, 2009).

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 As conceptualized in response to intervention approach to defect classification of mathematics disability,
designating a group of students with low mathematics performance as having a disability, without ruling out
inadequate instruction as the source of the difficulty, may mask the academic, cognitive, and neurobiology, which may
be associated with disability. For this reason, Fuchs (2005) had categorized children into three categories based on a
research that specified the underlying nature of mathematics disability by contrasting the correlates of mathematics
difficulty:
i. Those who are topically developing,
ii. Those who are best classified as instructional casualties, but respond to prevention services, and
iii. Those for whom inadequate instruction or poor background has been ruled out as a source of difficulty.

In Malaysia, unlike children with hearing and visual impairments, no special training schools were established for
children with learning disabilities (mental retardation) at either primary or secondary level of schooling. All students
with learning disabilities are educated within integrated programs (MOE, 2008). For primary and secondary education,
majority of the students with learning disabilities are segregated from the mainstream classroom learning. However,
there are a substantial number of these students who are included in the mainstream classes. There is no set of rules
governing the inclusion of these students imposed by the Ministry of Education. The decision to include these students
rests entirely on the school’s administration prerogative based on advice by the school’s special education teachers.
Nonetheless, there are two accepted criteria for the inclusion of children with learning disabilities, in which they can
manage themselves without help and do not have behavioral-conditions that could cause disruption to mainstream
learning. Children who are perceived as those having the ability to access mainstream education are included either
entirely or for certain subjects only. Thus, the inclusion of these students is strongly encouraged, but not mandatory in
Malaysia (MOE, 2008).

METHODOLOGY

The purpose of this study was to design and to develop an Early Dyscalculia Screener (EDS) that could be used to
screen and to measure the extent of dyscalculia among LINUS students. EDS is a computer application that measures
two variables; simple reaction time and numerosity. Generally, EDS is an instrument that measures and diagnoses
basic numeracy skill that affects the ability to learn early number concept. The numerosity ability, which consists of
four constructs; number sense, matching item, dot enumeration, and number comparison, was purposely developed as
one of the earliest diagnosis tool to investigate the extent of dyscalculia among LINUS students in primary school in
this study.

The objective of the study was constructing the EDS for LINUS students in primary school who lacked of basic
numeracy skill. The instrument was compiled and discussed with experts of evaluation and psychology of educational
studies as well as a professional officer working from LINUS department. Most importantly, it adhered to the
Malaysian Primary School Mathematics syllabus (MOE, 2011) and LINUS Numeracy syllabus (Department of Prime
Minister, 2011) set by the Malaysian Ministry of Education.

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

In general, the EDS is a computer-based assessment that had been based on the theory of cognitive development in
mathematical thinking (Tall, 1995; 2007), the concept of numerosity (Butterworth, 1999; 2002), as well as the
symptoms and the causes of dyscalculia by several researchers (Murphy, 2006; Gersten et al., 2008, Geary, 2006;
Shalev and Von Aster, 2007). Consequently, the researcher had concluded the following two constructs of EDS as
shown in Table 1.

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 TABLE 1. Constructs of Early Dyscalculia Screener

No Construct Description of Capacity/Test Source

. items
a. Simple Reaction 10 items for left, 10 Response Time Butterworth (2003),
Time items for right. Murphy (2006)

b. Numerosity

i. Number sense 10 items Sense of Numerosity Butterworth (1999),

Geary (2006), Gersten
et al. (2008), Shalev
and Von Aster (2007)
ii. Matching Items 10 items Numerosity as a property Butterworth (2002),
of sets Geary (2006)
iii. Dot 10 items Enumeration (counting) Butterworth (2002)
Enumeration
iv. Number 10 items Sense of ordered Butterworth (2002)
Comparison numerosities

a. Simple Reaction Time

Simple Reaction Time is a test to measure the psychomotor response time. Recorded response time was taken into
account in order to identify the actual cognitive processing time (Butterworth, 2003). Figures 1 (a) and (b) display the
chronology of screenshots for the items in simple reaction time. A child was asked to respond by pressing a key
immediately after the black dot appears randomly on the computer screen. The two Keys were highlighted on the
notebook computer keyboard. The left response key, labelled with an orange sticker, was the ‘f1’ button; the right
response key, labelled with a green sticker, was the ‘del’ button. Reaction times and answers were recorded by the
notebook computer. This process was repeated for ten times for both left and right hands respectively. The response
times on the next four tests were adjusted to take this measure into account.

FIGURE 1 (a). Simple Reaction Time (Left side).

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 FIGURE 1 (b). Simple Reaction Time (Right side).

b. Numerosity

i. Number Sense

The idea of numerosity (Butterworth, 1999) involves familiar consequences such as two sets of things might have
the same numerosity as the other, or a larger or smaller numerosity. This innate ability is called Number Sense
(Butterworth, 2002). Figure 2 (a) displays the number sense test instruction, while Figure 2 (b) unveils a sample item
of number sense which was used to evaluate if a pupil possesses the concept of quantity and the scientists called this
concept as numerosity (Santos-Sousa, 2007). Therefore, the pupils provided their answers by identifying the diagram
with more black dots.

FIGURE 2 (a). Number Sense Test Instruction.

FIGURE 2 (b). Number Sense Test.

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 ii. Matching Items

In addition, Butterworth (2002) proposed that two sets would have the same numerosity if and only if the members
of each set can be put in the form of one-to-one correspondence with none left over. It involves the principle of
matching every item of one set to the items of the other set. Hence, the researcher included Matching Items (see
Figures 3 (a) and (b)) in order to test whether a student understood the one-to-one correspondence principle.

FIGURE 3 (a). Matching Items Test Instruction.

FIGURE 3 (b). Matching Items Test.

iii. Dot Enumeration

Dot Enumeration is a test (see Figures 4 (a) and (b)) that requires better skills in counting numerals and using
symbols (Butterworth, 2002). Learning the basic counting sequence, “one, two, three and four ...” is not difficult and
almost all children including dyscalculic students, can learn this (Geary 2006). However, it is not only about the
sequence as it also involves the ability to assign to each counted object and represents the quantity of items in the
counted set.

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 FIGURE 4 (a). Dot Enumeration Test Instruction.

FIGURE 4 (b). Dot Enumeration Test.

iv. Number Comparison

According to Geary (2006), dyscalculic students usually do not know basic number names such as “7” = “Seven”.
They have difficulty in discriminating large numbers and small numbers. This difficulty can be identified by using
items that are about numbers comparison such as “Which is bigger, 6 or 8?”. Hence, the Number Comparison
construct (see Figures 5 (a) and (b)) is crucial to test the brain area, which is specialized for quantity comprehension,
as well as the ability to understand and to compare numerical magnitudes, which is an important precursor of
children’s mathematical development (De Smedt, Verschaffel and Ghesquière, 2009). In this task, the child was
required to indicate the numerically larger number of the two presented numbers that occurred simultaneously; one
displayed on the left and another on the right on the computer screen. According to Butterworth (2002), this is also
known as the sense of ordered numerosities.

190
 FIGURE 5 (a). Number Comparison Test Instruction.

FIGURE 5 (b). Number Comparison Test.

Reliability of EDS

Table 2 illustrates the results of reliability analysis in SPSS with the values of Cronbach’s alpha for all constructs
of EDS. Overall, the reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) for EDS had been more than 0.7. Table 2 also shows the
results of item fit via Rasch analysis, and the results indicated that all the items in the EDS were fit for the screener. If
a study and its results are reliable, it means that similar results would be obtained if the study were to be replicated by
other researchers using the same method. Hence, the instrument is applicable in the actual study to explore dyscalculia
and basic numeracy skills among LINUS students.

TABLE 2. Reliability and Item Fit of EDS

No Construct Cronbach Alpha, No. of Fit Items

.
1 Simple Reaction Time 0.800 20/20
2 Number Sense 0.769 10/10
3 Matching Items 0.827 10/10
4 Dot Enumeration 0.845 10/10
5 Number Comparison 0.872 10/10
OVERALL (SCREENER) 0.896 80/80

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 Validity of EDS

Validity is established using a panel of experts and field test. Moreover, the types of validity (content, criterion,
construct and face) depend on the objectives of a study (Rahakrishna, 2007). Nevertheless, face validity is subjective,
which is based on the subjective judgement of the researcher, and it only provides the appearance that a measurement
procedure is valid. Therefore, it cannot be quantified. Hence, there are only three types of validity that had been
considered in this study, namely content validity, construct validity, and criterion validity.

(a) Content Validity

To estimate the content validity index (CVI) for each construct, the number of experts who rated the items, as
either three or four were counted and divided by the total number of experts (Grant and Davis, 1997). As for the EDS,
the CVI for the constructs ranged from 0.75 to 1.00 (see Table 3). One construct had a CVI of 0.75, while three
constructs had a CVI of 1.00. The average of these was 0.94, and clearly it was above the 0.80 requirement of content
validity (Rubio et al., 2003).

TABLE 3. EDS as Rated by Experts for Content Validity

Experts
No. Construct Content Validity
1 2 3 4 Index (CVI)
1 Number Sense 2 3 4 3 3/4=0.75
2 Matching Items 3 4 4 4 4/4=1.00
3 Dot Enumeration 4 4 4 4 4/4=1.00
4 Number Comparison 4 3 3 3 4/4=1.00
Average of CVI 0.94

(b) Construct Validity

Table 4 presents the correlation coefficients (r) for the constructs of EDS. The results indicated that there
was evidence for convergent validity (r > 0.5), in which the constructs were positively related to each other.
The results also revealed the evidence of discriminant validity with r > 0.1 or 0.3.

TABLE 4. Construct Validity of EDS

NUMEROSITY CONSTRUCTS
TIME
MAT SENS DOT COMPA
CH E RE
TIME .429** .753** .353** .319**
MATCH .429* .612** .580** .519**
*
NUMEROSITY

SENSE .753* .612** .478** .455**

*
CONSTRUCTS

DOT .353* .580** .478** .489**

*

COMPAR .319* .519** .455** .489**

*
E
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (1-tailed).

Discriminant Validity Convergent

Validity

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 (c) Criterion Validity

Due to time constraint, the researcher had taken the analysis of concurrent validity instead of predictive validity. In
order to acquire concurrent validity, a strong positive relationship (0.6 or more) between LINUS numeracy test and
EDS test among LINUS students was vital. Based on the result of Pearson correlation analysis in Table 5, the value of
the correlation coefficient was 0.668 (> 0.6), indicating that there was a strong positive relationship between the scores
on LINUS numeracy test and EDS test among the LINUS students. Hence, the instrument had obtained a strong
evidence of criterion validity in this study.

TABLE 5. Analysis of Pearson Correlations for Criterion Validity

LINUS Dyscalculia
Pearson Correlation 1 .668**
LINUS Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 448 448
Pearson Correlation .668** 1
Dyscalculia Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 448 448
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-
tailed).

Conclusion
The EDS is a computer-based assessment tool for children aged 6-12 years old, which had been aimed to identify
the characteristics of dyscalculia by measuring response accuracy and response time to test items. In addition, it
distinguishes between low mathematics achievement and specific learning difficulties in assessing an individual's
ability, as well as understanding of numbers size, simple addition, and simple subtraction. The speed of response was
included to measure if the individuals responded slowly to questions, or if there was a cognitively slow responder.

Moreover, the Dyscalculia screener (Butterworth, 2003) was adapted to develop the Early Dyscalculia Screener
(EDS) to suit the context of this study. It is also a source of evidence for the validity in the quantitative research. More
specifically, this study focuses on design and development research. In its simplest form, design and development
research is the study of the process and the impact of specific design and development efforts, or the study of the
design and development process as a whole, or of particular process components.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Vincent Pang who was abundantly helpful and
offered invaluable assistance, support and guidance during my research journey. Without his assistance and dedicated
involvement in every step throughout the process, this project would have never been accomplished. Deepest gratitude
is also extended to my co-supervisor, Dr. Chin Kin Eng and second supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tan Choon Keong,
without whose knowledge and assistance this study would not have been successful. Special thanks to the co-
researcher who’s also my beloved wife, Ng Lee Fong for sharing the literature and invaluable assistance. Not
forgetting to the screener maker, Mr. Chung Tet Kun who had always been there. This research project would not have
been possible without the support of many agencies. I wish to convey appreciations to the Malaysian Ministry of
Education and Sabah Education Department for providing the financial means and laboratory facilities. I would like to
acknowledge the financial support of the Malaysian Ministry of Education for the full scholarship and the
Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRG0312-SS1-1/2012) for my Doctoral program.

193
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Fuchs, L. S. (2005). Improving Outcomes, Building Identification Models, and Understanding Disability.Journal of Learning
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Gersten, R., Chard, D., Jayanthi, M., Baker, S., Morphy, P., & Flojo, J. (2008). Mathematics Instruction for Students with
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Health, 20: 269-274.
Ministry of Education (MOE) Malaysia. (2008). A National Report of Malaysia: The Development of Education. International
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Rubio, D. M., Berg-Weger, M., Tebb, S. S., Suzanne, S. L. & Rauch, S. (2003). Objectifying content validity: conducting a
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Saito, S. (1992). Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses of Arithmetic Errors of Arithmetic Disabled and Normally Achieving
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 Integration of Interactive Whiteboard Technology (IWBT)
in Teaching Primary Science
Lai Mei Lan and Esther Gnanamalar Sarojini Daniel
University Malaya

Abstract. Among most technologies in the classroom the interactive whiteboard technology (IWBT) is quite commonly
found in the science classroom. IWBT is a branch of ICT that has played a huge part in transforming today’s classrooms.
This research aimed to explore the integration of IWBT for teaching and learning by science teachers. The case selected for
the study was a, atypical Chinese government aided primary school within which the bounded system of the use of IWBT in
science classroom was investigated. Multiple data collection techniques were utilised. Six teachers from standard one to
standard six participated in thirteen lessons’ observations and five interviews which were conducted and recorded after the
observations. Documents related to the lessons were also collected for triangulation purposes. Analysis revealed that
majority of the IWBT features were not utilised by the teachers. Most the science teachers only managed to use 1-2 features
of the IWBT in their classroom teaching and learning activities. The most frequently used was the ‘freeze’ and ‘zoom in’ of
the visualizer but the interactive whiteboard was not used at all. This research revealed that there are four factors that may
lead to the reluctance of integrating IWBT in science classrooms, namely, Time, Training, Attitude and Unsolved Technical
Problems.
Keywords: interactive whiteboard technology (IWBT), interactive whiteboard (IWB), primary science, Technological,
Pedagogical dan Content Knowledge (TPACK)

INTRODUCTION
The IWBT is sometimes referred to as an electronic whiteboard SMART Board. In 1993, a pioneer company called
SMART Technologies produced the first SMART Board interactive whiteboards (SMART Technologies, 2015). A
large number of researchers studied the use of IWBT by teachers in whole class settings (for example Alvarez et al.,
2013; Bidaki & Mobasheri, 2013; Singh & Mohamed, 2012; Warwick et al., 2010, 2013). The IWBT includes a large
touchable screen which is connected to a visualizer and/ or a laptop or computer with Internet access. The instructors
or learners can perform a variety of functions with the IWBT. For example, the users can write, draw and erase with
finger, a pen, a stylus or any other object that has a firm maneuverable surface. There is digital ink on the touchable
screen that allows users to write with the pen without ink and erase with hand or pen over websites or other
applications. The work on the screen can be saved and used again for next lessons or used in different software
application (Bidaki & Mobasheri, 2013).
Research related to the use of the IWBT in the classrooms for teaching and learning (Alvarez et al., 2013; Warwick
et al., 2010) have shown that there are a number of advantages and disadvantages in using the IWBT in the classroom.
Murcia (2014) stated that the teacher is the critical agent in facilitating the science learning in the classrooms by
mediating effective use of the IWBT tools and substantive whole class discussion of the science phenomena. Teachers
can use IWBT to present different modes and represent scientific reasoning and findings to engaging the students in
learning such as provide representation of a short multimedia recording, snapshot of classroom action, whole class
exploration talk based on the diagram presented etc. (Beauchamp & Kennewell, 2013; Murcia, 2010, 2014).
In many countries, the importance of the interactive whiteboards is increasing (Hsieh, 2011; Nolan, 2016;
Ormanci, Cepni, Deveci, & Aydin, 2015; Yakubova & Taber-Doughty, 2013). Teachers are the persons who make the
pedagogical decisions whether to integrate the technological skills in the classrooms to present and deliver the content
knowledge to increase student learning (Beauchamp & Kennewell, 2013; Díaz, Nussbaum, Ñopo, & Maldonado-
carreño, Carolina, Corredor, 2015; Murcia, 2014). Teachers’ Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge
(TPACK) may influence their pedagogical decisions in applying the IWBT in science classrooms (Jang & Tsai, 2012,
2013; Jang, 2010).

195
 Nonetheless, despite all the positive outcomes, technology in classrooms is still under utilised even if schools are
equipped with the technological tools to support teaching and learning in the classrooms (Al-Qirim, 2011; Gray,
Thomas, & Lewis, 2010). In particular, it has been found that the IWBT is under utilised (Alvarez et al., 2013;
Bakadam & Asiri, 2012). The major obstacle in integrating technology in the classroom proposed by Nikian, Nor, and
Aziz (2013) is parallel with findings in Kopcha (2012) and Jimoyiannis (2010). They pointed out that the teacher’s
perception of time was consistently negative. Teachers always perceive integrating of technology is a burden of time
because it interrupts the instruction; time is needed to find resources or planning and to undergo training. The focus of
the present study was integration of the IWBT in primary science classrooms. The study identified the factors that may
lead to the reluctance in the integration of the IWBT for science teaching and learning.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Conceptualisation of the study

The objectives of this study are formed due to an apparent gap which appears between the amount of technology
available in today’s classrooms and teachers’ use of that technology for instructional purposes (Al-Qirim, 2010;
Bakadam & Asiri, 2012; Gray, Thomas & Lewis, 2010). In this study, the process of integration of the IWBT among
science teachers in the classroom was observed and interviews were done to explore how the integration of the IWBT
was and followed by identifying the factors that may lead to reluctance in integrating IWBT. The researcher
considered the theoretical framework from Koehler & Mishra (2009) and the focus of the present study i.e. the
integration of IWBT in a selected fully equipped IWBT Chinese primary school to construct the theoretical framework
of this present study. The theoretical framework of the present study is illustrated in the Figure 1. The specific
technology under this present study was the IWBT and there were two actors in this study; they were science teachers
and the pupils in the science classrooms. Science teachers’ use of the IWBT related to their TPACK in science
classrooms was explored as an emergent aspect. Thus, science teachers’ TPACK may influence the IWBT usage.
Meanwhile, pupils’ interaction with the IWBT was observed to triangulate the data. In this present study, the
researcher observed and recorded the integration of the IWBT during the teaching and learning among teacher and
pupils in the science classroom.

Figure 1. Theoretical Framework of the Present Study

Note.

(a) TechTP means technology, teacher and pupils

(b) TechP means technology and pupils

(c) TechT means technology and teacher

(d) TP means teacher and pupils

196
 TK means teknological knowledge

PK means pedagogical knowledge

CK means content knowledge

TPK means teknological pedagogical knowledge

TCK means teknological content knowledge

TPACK means teknological pedagogical and content knowledge

Research Design
The present study utilised a qualitative case study approach (Creswell, 2013; Yin, 2009). This present study is an
in-depth description and analysis of a bounded system and it can be further defined by its special features. This
embedded case was a selected Chinese primary government aided school which is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
This school was the bounded system investigated. Within this system, the board of directors sponsored the purchase of
the IWBT for all the thirty-three classrooms in the school. The Parents and Teachers Association is responsible for the
maintenance of these facilities. The learning software is also provided for the school learning system and all teachers
in the school can access the software in every classroom and the staff room.
Within this case, the subunits purposively identified included four science teachers from level one and two science
teachers from level 2. There were 6 teachers who agreed to participate in the study. All 6 teachers were also qualified
science teachers with at least one year experience.

Data Collection Techniques

This present study used multiple data collection techniques. The main data collection techniques were lesson
observations and interviews. The documents related to the lessons were also collected to gain more understanding
about the research and for triangulation purposes.
In this present study, six science teachers participated voluntary for classroom observations. In total, thirteen
observations were collected in this present study. Table 1 shows the research participants in the classroom
observations. Pseudo names are used. After the end of class observations, the researcher conducted semi-structured
interviews on a one-to-one basis with the teachers. There were three science teachers participated in the interviews
voluntary among six science teachers who agreed to allow classroom observations. An interview with the e- classroom
manager was also recorded. The focus group interviews were conducted with ten pupils who were volunteers from the
research classrooms to reflect on everything they had learnt throughout the process and to comment on the
pedagogical strategies used by their teacher in teaching the science topics. The main purpose of interviews with the
pupils was to elicit their experiences with the IWBT in the science learning context for triangulation purposes.
Furthermore, in order to triangulate the data, the researcher conducted interviews with the e- classroom manager who
entered the school weekly to supervise the operation of the e-classrooms. Table 2 shows the numbers of interviews
conducted in this present study.

Table 1
Research participants
Name (pseudonym) Class Teaching Science Experience Observations
T1 Teacher Melissa Y6 25 2
T2 Teacher Kang Y5 1 3
T3 Teacher Won Y3 1 2
Y2 1
T4 Teacher Shirley Y2 1 3
T5 Teacher Chua Y1 20 1
T6 Teacher Nikki Y1 3 1
Note. No Year 4 science teachers volunteered. Total Observations 13
Table 2
The numbers of interviews
Interviews The numbers of Interviews
Semi-structured interview with science teachers 3
Semi-structured interview with e-classroom manager 1
Focus group interview 1

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 Data Analysis
The qualitative data were mainly collected from the classroom observations and interviews. The researcher started
to analyse the qualitative data at the beginning of data collection, during and at the end of the data collection because a
qualitative design is emergent (Creswell, 2014; Merriam, 2009). In this study, the researcher did not using software to
analyse the data but analysed it manually.
With the field notes, reflective summary and photos taken during the observation, the research wrote the
observational transcripts after every classroom observation. On the other hand, three semi-structured interviews with
science teachers, a semi-structured interview with an e-classroom manager and a focus group interview with pupils
were recorded. After the interviews, the researcher prepared the interview transcripts before started to do the coding.
In total, there were thirteen observations, four semi-structured interview and a focus group interview were recorded.
New understanding emerged as researcher coded the data. After each of the transcripts was ready, the researcher
started to do coding.
With the earliest coding, the researcher did categorizing according the knowledge areas of the TPACK theory
which was used to guide this study. After reducing the observation and interview data into themes through a process of
coding and condensing the codes and finally the researcher presenting the data to answer the first and second research
questions (Creswell, 2013). Table 3 shows some examples of themes, early codes and the related excerpts from
interview data.

Table 3
Some examples of themes, early codes and the related excerpts
Themes Early Codes Excerpts from interview data
Training Lack of knowledge I don’t know how to operate the IWB.
There are very few of them either made e-log or asked for technical support.
Teachers seem don’t like to make e-log to our system.
(I’m) Too short and sometimes teacher calls me to the front but I’m not tall
enough to write.
Lack of practice We need to explore by ourselves.
The training that the school provided was the first day as we entered this
school. At that time, we’re not ready yet and we were not assigning to teach
at that time.
I think the training should provide from time to time, if not we’ll forget.

This present study applied the constant comparative method of data analysis suggested by Merriam (2009) which is
inductive and comparative. This method has been widely using in qualitative data analysis without building a
grounded theory as first proposed by Glaser and Strauss (1967). Merriam (2009) suggested category construction is
data analysis and she sees category the same as a theme, a pattern, a finding, or an answer to a research question.

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Integration of IWBT in Science Teaching and Learning

Technological knowledge (TK)

According to classroom observations, the use of the IWB in science classrooms was mainly for projection purposes
only. The laptop was the most popular technology among all the technologies in the classrooms (refer to Table 4).
Most of the science teachers only managed to use 1-2 features of IWBT in their teaching and learning activities in the
classrooms. The most frequently used was the ‘freeze’ and ‘zoom in’ of the visualizer but not the IWB at all.

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 Table 4
The Use of IWBT in the Classrooms
IWBT
Technologies
Name (pseudonym) Standard Topic The use of The use of The use of
visualizer IWB laptop
T1 Teacher Melissa Y6 Simple Machines 0 0 0
Y4 Measurement 1 1* 0
T2 Teacher Gan Y5 Light 1 1* 1
Y5 Light 0 1* 1
Y5 Light 1 1* 0
T3 Teacher Won Y2 Light and darkness 1 1* 1
Y3 Reproduction of Plants 0 1* 1
Y2 Light and darkness 1 1* 1
T4 Teacher Shirley Y2 Light and darkness 1 1* 1
Y2 Light and darkness 1 1* 1
Y2 Light and darkness 1 1* 1
T5 Teacher Chua Y1 My Senses 0 1* 1
T6 Teacher Nikki Y1 Types of Sounds 0 1* 1
Note. * The ‘1’ indicates the use of the IWB as a screen only.

All the science teachers were familiar with the use of the visualizer while some teachers used both visualizer and
the laptop for teaching and learning activities in the classrooms. The data collected showed that science teachers used
the laptop for Power Point presentations and for showing videos from the internet and teaching resources provided in
the school learning system (Murcia, 2014). There were two science teachers who played music and sound while using
the laptop to project videos downloaded from Youtube and teaching and learning software provided in the school
system. The Power Point presentations were created by the science teachers specifically for classroom teaching and
learning. When using the laptop, the science teachers used the enter button to move the slides forward and backspace
button to go back to the previous pages but none of the teachers used the remote controller for moving the slides
forward or backward. This meant that science teachers were standing at the front left of the classrooms which were at
the podium in front of a laptop to control his or her slides.
Among all the science teachers, only a science teacher showed better skills in Power Point presentations. She was
the only teacher observed who used the highlight function in Power Point presentation to capture pupils’ attention in
teaching “Parts of Plants”. The slides that she prepared were attractive (colourful and animated) and pupils paid
attentions to the slides. This present study elucidated that students were more engaged in the learning process with the
use of technology. This is in line with many previous studies such as Morgan and Olivares (2012), Singh and
Mohamed (2012), Kwan (2016) and Rashid and Ashgar (2016). However, the relationship between students’
engagement and academic performance and self-directed learning are not the scope of this present study (Kwan, 2016;
Rashid and Ashgar, 2016).
The findings from the TK perspective suggested that the science teachers were at the beginning level in using the
IWBT. Science teachers showed reluctance in utilising the available features of IWBT, more specifically, none of the
features of IWB were used in science teaching and learning in the classrooms.

Technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) and Pedagogical knowledge (PK)

Learning is dependent on the pedagogical approaches teachers use in the classroom (Schweisfurth, 2011). In this
present study, science teachers used the technology in classroom to deliver the science content knowledge. How the
science teachers’ deliver the science content knowledge with the use of the IWBT? In the fully equipped IWBT
classrooms, it was found that the use of visualizers in the classrooms was mainly used to project the printed materials
for explanation, discussion, reading and giving the homework to pupils; When using the visualizer, the science
teachers usually zoomed into the page that he or she wanted to project to pupils followed by freezing the page. Then,
the teacher may give instructions to the pupils. None of the teachers used the features of IWB. This findings were
parallel with the findings of Schweisfurth (2011) showed that the classroom realities are the barriers needed to
overcome in order to enhance the technology based learner centred education. In this present study, the IWB was only
used for projection purposes. The common scenarios were as follows:Teacher Melissa gives comments to each group
and shows the best report to all pupils using the visualizer. She zooms in and freezes the report. Pupils are required to
complete their reports. (Observation 2)

She uses visualizer to zoom in textbook page 95 and starts to give explanation for that page. She points on the book
and asks pupils to read aloud. And she asks her pupils to imagine certain scenarios.
(Observation 7)

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 Among all the classroom observations, science teachers showed their preference to use the questioning technique
and verbal explanation to engage pupils in classroom teaching and learning in the fully equipped IWBT classroom.
Classroom observations showed that the participating science teachers tended to use questioning technique followed
by explaining the theories of science and activities. For instance, teacher Melissa used the function of ‘zoom’ and
‘freeze’ of the visualizer to explain the theory of science but the IWB was only used as a screen. After asking
questions and explaining, she proceeded to request pupils to come to the front and draw, label, write or do corrections
using marker pens on a whiteboard but not the IWB.
This present study is in line with the findings of Howard, Chan, Mozejko and Caputi (2015) which showed
teachers’ preparation and delivery of the content knowledge were related to their TPK and PK. Thus, this present
study suggested that teachers’ knowledge of classroom management, knowledge of teaching methods and their
adaptivity dealing with heterogeneous learning groups in the classroom influenced the manipulating of their TPK and
PK in difference classrooms.

Technological content knowledge (TCK) and content knowledge (CK)

The science content knowledge of science teachers’ influenced the selection of worthwhile learning activities,
giving helpful explanations, asking productive questions and evaluating students' learning. Classroom observations
data revealed that science teachers preferred fully or partially using technology in presenting science content
knowledge. Science teachers used the visualizer or laptop to project science content which included the title of the
lesson, instructions, pictures, diagrams, videos and teaching resources on the IWB. The IWBs were used as a normal
projection screen without any others activities on this multi-task screen.
For instance, Teacher Melissa used technologies in the classroom only at a minimum level. Most of the time, she
wrote and drew on an old technology i.e. whiteboard in the classroom in order to teach science. Teacher Melissa only
managed to use the visualizer to zoom and freeze the printed material and projected them to IWB. Another science
teacher, Teacher Chua used Power Point presentations to deliver her content knowledge. She was familiar with setting
up the laptop with the IWB before she started the lesson. Pupils were writing on the IWB with marker pens when they
were called by Teacher Chua to answer the science questions which were projected on to the IWB. The pupils’ height
appears to be a limitation when teachers call them to answer the questions on the IWB. This is because the teacher
does not know that the IWB allows the scrolling up and down of the page on it. Thus, the pupils need to stand on a
chair to answer the questions that appeared on the IWB (refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3).
Among the eight lesson observations from this group, none of the lessons provided the pupils with hands-on
experiment to engage pupils in learning science content. The science teachers greatly depended on the textbook and
the learning software provided to teach in the classrooms. They used laptop and visualizer to give pupils explanation
of the science theory and none of them appeared to use the features of the IWB. Thus, the findings suggested that
science teachers’ content knowledge influence how teachers engage pupils with subject matter and use of instructional
materials in classrooms.

Figure 2. Classroom Observation

Note. A pupil not tall enough to write on the board and he needed a chair to answer a question on the board.

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 Figure 3. Circles Appeared in the Next Slide
Note. Improper use of the IWB as normal whiteboard as pupils were given marker pens to circle the answers on the
IWB. If using the IWB appropriately, the circle would not leave on the next slide as we move to a new slide.

Technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)

Science teachers were somewhat able to engage pupils physically, cognitively and affectively using IWBT to
explain most but not all of the structure and process of primary science subject matter of which they were somewhat
familiar with. They used static pictures, PowerPoint presentation, project pages from textbook via visualizer etc. and
IWB was used as a normal whiteboard in presenting the content knowledge to pupils. Teachers showed that they
would need help with the IWB if there are problems.
The software provided contains colourful pictures, sounds, music, statements, photos and exercises but the use of
the software depends how the teachers’ roles in conducting the lesson are. Teacher Gan, Teacher Won and Teacher
Nikki showed preferable using the software provided or video clips to explain the theory of science. They presented
their content knowledge vividly to real-life phenomenon by using the Internet, laptop and visualizer. The IWB was
used as a screen.
Pupils appeared to enjoy the lessons that incorporate with the use of technologies. Somehow, pupils were
disappointed by the teachers’ TPACK during the lesson. Science teachers do not know how to move the screen of the
IWB and thus he or she had to call pupils to write on the IWB according to pupils’ height. Thus, teachers’ role as the
only instructors in the classroom who were giving chances to pupils manipulates the learning opportunities with
technologies were according to pupils’ sitting places and pupils’ height distracted them from the learning through
technologies. For instance, a science teacher does not call the pupil as he or she is too short to reach and write on the
IWB. This was due to most of the teachers did not know that IWB could be adjusted to pupil’s height and thus
accommodating to shorter pupils. Some excerpts from focus group interviews showed the evidences.

R: Did your science teacher call you to write on the IWB?

P10: We always put up hands but teacher not call us to the front to write.
R: I’m so sorry to hear that.
P10: Teacher, I know Oliver is not tall enough.
R: Did you teacher pull down the pictures, exercise or pages to match your height and let you write?
P8: Huh, how?
R: The teacher can let you write according to your height.
P8: Never. We don’t know.

With the integration of IWBT, teachers can easily provide pupils with the real-world relevance experiences and
cultivate them with the culture of collaborative learning experiences. Somehow, teachers were using static pictures,
power point presentations; pages form textbook to deliver their content knowledge. Furthermore, not all science
process skills are taught in the teaching and learning science. Teachers showed they needed for help with the IWB if
there are problems. Table 5 shows the engagement, science process skills and authentic learning environment in
relation to the IWBT in science classrooms.
In delivering science content knowledge, the most frequently used science process skills in science classroom are
observations and communicating whereas by science teachers provided the opportunities for pupils to observe the
science phenomenon and communicating in order to share the learning experiences (refer to Table 5). In construct,
science process skills such as measuring and predicting were used at minimum level among all of the science process
skills. Below are some excerpts that showed how the science process skills were taught in science classrooms.

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 T6: Now, Teacher Nikki wants to play some sounds for you all to listen. You try to guess what is the sound?
Teacher Nikki reverses the video and pauses at the word ‘shaking’ then she plays the sound. All pupils say the word
‘shaking’. Then, Teacher Nikki minimizes the video and fixes the screen to window screen. She switches on the sound
for the pupils. There are five types of sound playing through the laptop. They are sounds of drum, puppy, singer,
guitar and ambulance. After playing each sound, Teacher Nikki points at one of the pupils requesting the pupil to tell
her what made the sound or where did the sound came from. After that, she reveals the answer in form of pictures or
YouTube videos. (Observation 13)

T5: Boys and girls, I want you to circle the senses of this boy. Who wants to come to the board to circle (the
senses), please put up your hand?
Teacher Chua provides the children with marker pens to circle on the board. A girl walks to the front to circle the
eyes follows by a boy who aimed to circle the nose. However, the boy is too short and finds it difficult to circle the
nose. He has to tip his toes to circle the nose. The third pupil faces the same problem; he is jumping up and down
trying to circle the ear. (Observation 12)

Table 5
Engagement, Science Process Skills and Authentic Learning Environment in relation to the IWBT

Topic Engagement Science Authentic

Process Learning
Skills Environment
Physical Cognitive*2 Affective
*1 *3
Simple Machines √ √ √ Observation √
Communicating
Measurement √ √ × Classifying √
Measuring
Communicating
Characteristic of Light √ √ √ Observation √
Communicating
Inferring
Characteristic of Light √ √ √ Observation √
Communicating
Inferring
Characteristic of Light × √ × Observation √
Light and darkness √ √ √ Observation √
Reproduction of Plants √ √ √ Observation √
Communicating
Light and darkness √ √ √ Observation √
Classifying
Communicating
Light and darkness √ √ √ Observation √
Classifying
Communicating
Inferring
Light and darkness √ √ × Observation √
Classifying
Communicating
Light and darkness √ √ √ Communicating √
Inferring
My Senses √ √ × Classifying √
Types of Sounds √ √ √ Observation √
Inferring
Note. √ Yes × No
*1/ *2/ *3 In relation with the use of visualizer, laptop and the IWB as a projection screen. Teachers’ decisions in
applying his or her pedagogical knowledge in delivering the content knowledge create difference opportunities for
pupils to engage in learning either physically, cognitively or/ and affectively. Not all the observations data showed
pupils engagement in the learning process affectively even if they engaged the learning cognitively and physically.
Pupils engaged affectively with the integration of technology in the classrooms and it was proven with the focus
interview data with pupils. All pupils preferred the involvement of computer or laptop in lesson, as teachers show
videos, pictures and letting pupils write on the interactive board either using digital pen or pupil’s finger.

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 All these interaction with technology, make pupils happy even when teachers did not use other features but choose to
teach with traditional (asking/explanation verbally) method, pupils feel exhilaration through learning with the aid of
technology. The excerpt is shown as below.

R : How was your feeling writing on the IWB?

P1: It’s fun and I enjoy it very much.
R : Janson, how about you? What kind of science lesson you like?
P2: Using computer.
R : What did you all do with the computer?
P2: Got pictures and using computer.
R : What did teacher do with the pictures and computer?
P2 : She just teaches us and we listen to her.

The emergence of technological tools i.e. IWBT in the classrooms, teachers can offer pupils a more authentic
learning experience based on experimentation and action. With the help of the Internet, a visualizer, a projector, an
IWB and learning software in the classrooms, it makes valuable connections among the learners and the instructor in
the classroom. Teachers used the presentation slides to explain the tasks and experiments and followed by the hands-
on activities or vice versa gave pupils a real-world relevance experiences whereby pupils collaborate or work in group
to complete the tasks.
In this present study, science teachers were somewhat able to explain most but not all of the structure and process
of primary science subject matter of which they were somewhat familiar with. Science teachers used static pictures,
Power Point presentations and project pages from textbook via visualizer in delivering the content knowledge to
pupils.

Factors that Lead to Reluctance in Integration the IWBT for Science Teaching
The researcher found that there are four main factors that lead to reluctance in integrating the IWBT for science
teaching and learning. The main factors are Time, Training, Attitude and Unsolved Technical Problems which
emerged from the data collected. A sample of themes for these factors was shown in Table 6.

Table 6
Sample of Themes of the Factors that Lead to Reluctance in Integration the IWBT for Science Teaching and
Learning

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 There are four main factors that lead to reluctance in integrating the IWBT for science teaching and learning. The
main factors are time, training, undelivered information and unsolved technical problems which emerged from the data
collected. Firstly, the findings of this present study revealed that science teachers lacked of time due to the burden of
works until she or he did not have much time to spend on learning or preparing the lesson to integrate the IWBT in her
lessons (Kopcha, 2012; Nikian, Nor & Aziz, 2013). Furthermore, the findings suggested that using IWBT in science
classrooms were time consuming due to the setting up of the IWBT specifically setting up the laptop and the IWB, and
also lack of practice restricted them excel in operating the IWBT.
The second factor is training which emerged from categories of ‘lack of knowledge’ and ‘lack of practice’. Science
teachers were not familiar with most of the features of IWBT restricted them to use the IWBT in classrooms. All of
the science teachers revealed that training provided in school was not enough to support the teaching and learning in
classrooms. They further demonstrated a need to attend trainings to improve their knowledge about the use of the
IWBT in classrooms.
Thirdly, science teachers’ attitude is one of the factors that lead to reluctance in integrating the IWBT for science
teaching and learning (Murcia, 2014; Warwick et al., 2010). Science teachers complained the problem of login the
school learning system and incomplete of school learning materials. These were due to undelivered information
among teachers about the ready sources and the login protocol in school.

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 The forth factor that lead to reluctance in integrating IWBT for science teaching and learning is unsolved technical
problems which was due to IWB screen, connections, calibration and installation of IWBT. In this present study,
science teachers elucidated that they faced various problems with this technology and they need help to solve the
problems. They mentioned that sometimes the screen colour has issue, disconnect between the laptop and the IWB,
unstable of the learning software provided and time-consuming calibration needed before start to use the IWB were
problems that lead to reluctances in integrating the IWBT among science teachers.

CONCLUSIONS
This present study looked in-depth into the reluctance of the integration of IWBT by determining the factors that
lead to reluctance in integrating the IWBT in science classrooms which was the gap found between the amount of
technology available in today’s classrooms and teachers’ use of that technology in daily instructions (Al-Qirim, 2011;
Gray et al., 2010). Using TPACK theory (Mishra & Koehler, 2006; Mishra & Koehler, 2009), researcher’s intention to
explore in-depth the factors that lead to reluctance and gaining science teachers’ valuable opinions and suggestions to
overcome the reluctance of integration IWBT available in classrooms were achieved. It gives a different dimension of
integration of IWBT in science classrooms as the investigation was made from the perspectives of TPACK theory and
thus it provides data for various parties to have a comprehensive understanding about the real situation in the fully
equipped IWBT classrooms.
This present study revealed that science teaches’ technological knowledge at the beginning level as the
multifunction IWB was used for projection purpose. All of the science teachers were familiar with the use of
visualizer, laptop and played the learning software in classrooms but are not familiar with the connection of the
visualizer or laptop to the use of the multi features of the IWB and thus most of them only managed to use 1-2 features
of the IWBT into their teaching and learning activities in the classrooms. The most frequently used was the ‘freeze’
and ‘zoom in’ of the visualizer but not the IWB at all. The IWB was used for projection purpose.
There are four main factors that lead to reluctance in integrating the IWBT for science teaching and learning. The
main factors are time, training, undelivered information and unsolved technical problems which emerged from the
data collected.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY

Firstly, there are several implications for IWBT research. Due to its significant contribution to teaching and
learning in classrooms, research related to IWBT has been overwhelming in the past decade. Although there have been
much research related to IWBT, there is a lack of investigation of IWBT using TPACK theory especially in Chinese
primary school in Malaysia. In this present study, the researcher observed IWBT integration from seven domains of
knowledge areas as suggested by Koehler and Mishra (2009). Hence this present study had contributed by providing a
different dimension of understanding about the integration of IWBT in Chinese primary school in Malaysia.
Secondly, teachers should be aware of the use of IWBT features in science classrooms. In this present study, when
the researcher interviewed teachers about the integration of IWBT in science classroom, none of the teachers could
explained the features of IWBT explicitly although they have had training. In spite of that, none of the classroom
observations showed that science teachers use the digital pen or finger to write on the IWB but there was a science
teacher who used a marker pen to write on the IWB when she was guiding the pupils to answer the questions.
Thirdly, the school leadership must continuously upgrade themselves on the knowledge of IWBT. School
leadership has to play an active role in leading and supporting their teachers in integrating IWBT in classrooms. When
the school authorities have the relevant knowledge, they would decide what kind of training teachers needed to
overcome the reluctance in integrating the IWBT in classrooms. In the present study, researcher revealed that the
factors that lead to reluctance in integrating IWBT in science classrooms were time, training, attitude and unsolved
technical problems. School leadership should know clearly about the factors of reluctance in integrating IWBT among
school teachers when they do planning for professional development for teachers, invite experts on IWBT to conduct
workshops that would support their teachers in daily instructions. Thus, school leadership will have a clearer idea of
how to implement the professional developments for teachers’ long terms practices in science teaching and learning in
the classroom using IWBT.

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 Lastly, the research findings of this study offer useful data to various parties including the Ministry of Education,
Board of Directors and Parent Teacher Associations in deciding upon the investment of IWBT in the classrooms. The
investigation of this present study was done in a fully equipped IWBT Chinese primary school but the observation
data showed that IWB was used as a normal whiteboard for projection purpose. This point of view gives the decision
marker to well plan the investment related to this technology in classrooms. This present study suggested that
investment of IWBT should be done stage by stage which incorporate with the trainings that allow teachers to up-
grade their knowledge to meet the new installation of IWBT in classrooms.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Suggestions for future research were drawn by considering the need to uncover several aspects which remain
unclear in the integration of IWBT in primary Chinese government school. Several ideas for this are suggested below.
This present study covered only a selected fully equipped IWBT Chinese primary school in Klang Valley. Hence, it
covered only one primary Chinese government school in Malaysia. Future studies should be carried out with other
primary Chinese government schools in Malaysia. In addition, the research can also be conducted for primary
national schools in Malaysia. By covering different types of schools, the findings of the research will be more
comprehensive. A better understanding of integration of IWBT in science classrooms can be obtained in relation to
various types of schools with these further studies.
The IWBT guidelines for more effective integration of IWBT to overcome reluctance for science teaching and
learning can be forwarded in the future study based on the integration of IWBT and the factors that lead to reluctance
in the integration of IWBT in science classroom. The future study can be done by covering bigger sample from
various states in Malaysia could produce precise and truthful results.
Another aspect that would be interesting to analyse is the features of IWBT that influence the pupils’ engagement
in learning. It would be fascinating to see how pupils’ interact physically, cognitively and affectively with each of the
features on IWBT as they are given opportunities to use the technology in classroom. At the same time, explore the
preference of using the particular features of IWBT among teachers. Additionally, an in-depth of research can be
done in exploring teachers’ preferable of using the each of the features of IWBT which can be related to pupils’
engagement.
Future studies can also be carried out with teachers from different background, teaching at different level, in rural
or urban school, at private or public schools, would add valuable data for development of a comprehensive and
meaningful IWBT guidelines as well as IWBT science lesson plans to help instructors in daily teaching and learning
in fully equipped IWBT science classrooms.

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 Introducing “Personalised Medicine” Concept as
Enrichment to Form 5 Biology Syllabus by Using an Easy to
Operate Mobile Genetic Detector
Then, S. M.a , Nawoor A. D.a, Ting, K. N.a, Chong, K. S.b and Gan, K. B. b
a
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan
Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia
b
Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Malaysia

Abstract. One of the important concepts in Form 5 Biology is the understanding of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
However the genetic amplification technique of DNA known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that is the key to
various biotechnology and biomedical advances is not part of the Biology curriculum and this content gap makes it hard
for students to achieve the learning objective of evaluating the effects of genetic research on human life. Students also
find such key concept too abstract and complex, as there is a lack of suitable hands-on laboratory practical and teachers
may lack expertise to relate to the recent technological advances to DNA and the PCR technique. Here, we would like
to propose a module named “Personalised medicine” as an enrichment course for students, using a real life medical case
study approach and a novel mobile genetic detector to bring such difficult concepts to life. The highlight of the module
is that students are able to run a real PCR without the need of an expensive laboratory-grade equipment and the mobile
detector will provide an easy to interpret readout of the result. We seek for interested schools and teachers to collaborate
with us to pilot this extra enrichment module to engage students’ interest in medicine and health sciences.
Keywords: biotechnology, biomedical sciences, STEM education, gene, polymerase chain reaction, mobile genetic
detector

DECLINING INTEREST IN STEM EDUCATION

The interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) amongst school children in
Malaysia has been dwindling for many years. Since 1970, the government instituted the Science/Technical: Arts
60: 40 policy to encourage more students taking up STEM compared to arts and business courses. However the
latest data in 2016 saw that only 42% of students taking up the science, technical and vocational stream (MOE,
2016). Meanwhile there is an increase of 15% of students who meet the requirement but chose not to do science in
upper secondary (Halim and Subahan 2016; MOE, 2013). A recent report by Academy of Science (2011) showed
that there is a decline of student enrolment into STEM related courses in higher institutes of learning at only 29%,
which is a cause of concern for our nation. The second challenge is the declining achievement of science and
mathematics among Malaysian school children in international assessment study (Edy et al, 2017). The students’
performance on Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA) has progressively declined. The third challenge is the quality of the STEM education
in our schools, as the current teaching and learning practices in schools are mostly teacher-centric and students lack
opportunity to be critical, creative and innovative. The lack of prerequisite knowledge in STEM among teachers
and the focus on examination preparation by omitting the laboratory practicals have contributed to the decline in
quality of the STEM education. Edy at al. (2017) reported that the change in the STEM curriculum for the last 15
years, with the school-based assessment replacing the compulsory science practical examination has reduced the
opportunities for students to explore the different abstract concepts of STEM. This is because teachers are less
likely to allow students to conduct scientific experiments in the laboratory due to perceived lack of time, resources,
tools, professional support and laboratory infrastructure. This is a major contribution to the lack of interest of
STEM among our children. With the lack of practical hands-on demonstration to complement the teaching of
STEM, students find it hard to conceptualise abstract STEM concepts and due to the perceived difficulty in
understanding the subject, their interest in STEM declines (Edy et al, 2017).
One of the important streams of STEM education is biology or biotechnology education to prepare students to
be acquainted with knowledge in medical, health science, biochemistry, ecology and biotechnology. Under the
Biology/ Biotechnology stream, one of the important concepts for biology or biotechnology education is the
understanding of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). However, the current curriculum does not teach the students
about the genetic amplification technique of DNA known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that is routinely
used for research and diagnosis in the medical and biotechnology field and this content gap makes it difficult for
students to achieve the learning objective of evaluating the effects of genetic research on human life. The concept
of DNA and genetic inheritance is taught in Form 5 Biology subject, however a recent survey done on the
understanding of biotechnology amongst Malaysian students has shown these concepts are too abstract and

208
complex (Bahri et al, 2014) and there is a lack of suitable practical demonstration tailor-made to cash-strapped
schools, while the Biology teachers lack suitable training to perform such laboratory practicals (Bryce & Gray,
2004). To successfully run such laboratory practical, the school would need expensive scientific equipment that
schools do not have to budget to purchase and the skills to maintain (as reviewed by Rasidah 2016). To date there
are several companies that offer modules for educational purpose such as BIO-RAD STEM electrophoresis kit
(http://www.bio-rad.com/en- sg/product/stem-electrophoresis-kit?ID=M5H6QEE8Z) and BIO-RAD MJ Mini
Thermal cycler (http://www.bio- rad.com/en-sg/product/mj-mini-thermal-cycler?ID=16cd26ac-8bc7-4a25-adde-
54c3c155976f). Both systems are hands-on DNA module for teachers and students. It helps to teach students
essential biotechnology skills by using its step-by-step laboratory and classroom guides. However, those modules
focus on the DNA extraction from the cheek cell and use simple STEM electrophoresis kit to visualize only the
DNA but not on the PCR technique. Our system differs in that we incorporate a PCR application with a real life
medical case study to highlight the importance of understanding DNA and the technique related to it and help the
students associate with relevant application in the medical field. This will fill in the content gap mentioned above
and complement the topic of genetic and inheritance taught by teachers in Form 5 Biology.

Innovative Prototype as a Teaching Tool

Therefore, we would like to introduce a module entitled “Personalised medicine”. This 8-hour module
comprises:
1) Interactive session on the basics of DNA and genetic inheritance (40 mins),
2) Interactive session on the principle of PCR (40 mins),
3) Interactive session on the application of PCR (80 mins),
4) Case study (genetic screening for HLA-B*15:02 gene to prevent drug-induced adverse reaction) (40 mins)
5) Laboratory practical related to the case study that involved the use of a mobile genetic detector
developed by our team. (200 mins)
6) Workshop (students present and discuss their laboratory findings) (80 mins)

This module will complement the current educational scope for the Biology curriculum, firstly by reinforcing
learning outcomes on the students’ understanding of what genes, DNA and chromosomes are and the relationship
between these concepts. Secondly with the use of the mobile genetic detector, the module proposed here will fulfill
the learning objective of evaluating the effects of genetic research on human life. With the inclusion of a user-
friendly, low maintenance mobile genetic detector that is central for the laboratory demonstration of PCR, we are
able to do live demonstration of actual DNA amplification technique commonly used in genetic research in science
and medical field. As mentioned by Fonsesca et al (2012), students learn better with active participation, especially
with the science experiments, the laboratory practical session and the workshop session in the module, which will
help students reinforce their learning and understanding of the above objectives. Another key feature of this
module is the case study presented to the students where real life clinical application of how genetic screening is
currently being carried out to prevent severe allergies induced by certain drugs, which is known as drug-induced
adverse reaction. This mobile genetic detector is the fruit of a 4-year research collaboration between University of
Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). The mobile genetic detector
(Figure 1) comprises of a machine that amplifies the DNA (which is called a thermocycler) and a software
interphase that controls the conditions of the DNA amplification (PCR). This software is also used to collect and
process data. The system will generate a unique profile known as a melt curve (Figure 2) and different DNA
sequence will have different melt curve profiles. This melt curve profile is used as the basis of DNA detection to
confirm that a patient is positive for a particular gene, HLA-B*1502. Patients who are tested positive for this gene
and take drugs such as carbamazepine will have high risk of developing drug-induced adverse reactions. By
detecting this gene early before the patients are given any drug, doctors can decide which drug is suitable to
prescribe, based on the genetic profile of the patients to avoid the unwanted side effects of the drug. In the practical
component, students will run two tests and a set of reference samples. Based on the results obtained from the
practical, students will discuss and present their findings and outcomes in a workshop. Unlike conventional
thermocycler, our system does not need additional post-PCR processing to analyse the result, hence makes it easy
to use and suitable for school environment. At the moment, we can come to interested schools to run the module
with the teachers and students in batches.

209
 FIGURE 1. The mobile detector comprises of two parts: a thermocycler and a computer. The software in the computer is
to control the different settings of the reactions and for data acquisition and processing.

Negative Screening Results Positive Screening Results

FIGURE 2. User interphase from the computer will display the outcome of the PCR result as melt curve profile with A1-
A3 as negative profile (samples tested negative for the HLA-B*1502 gene) and B1-B3 as positive profile (samples tested
positive for the HLA-B*1502 gene).

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 We are looking to collaborate with any interested secondary schools and teachers to kick start this module. Our
target students will be those in upper secondary (Form 4, 5, and 6). It will help us to gauge the effectiveness of
using this extra module to engage students’ interest in the area of biomedical and health medicines. Teachers are
welcome to continue to engage with us to run this module on a yearly basis. We hope that this module will
eventually be part of the enrichment course offered to schools as part of the STEM education approach.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) of Malaysia under Fundamental
Research Grant Scheme FRGS/1/2016/TK04/UKM/02/5 and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
(MOSTI) of Malaysia under the eScience Fund 02-02-12-SF0234. We would like to thank Prof Dato’ Dr Raymond
Azman Ali from Neurology Unit and Prof Dr Mohd Shahrir Mohamed Said from Rheumatology Unit, Hospital
Canselor Tuanku Muhriz- UKM Medical Centre, Dr Liza Mohd Isa from Hospital Putrajaya for sample collection;
Prof Datuk Dr A Rahman A Jamal, Dr Nor Azian Abdul Murad and Pn Zam Zureena Mohd Rani from UKM
Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI) for samples processing and storage.

REFERENCES
1. Academy of Science Malaysia (ASM) (2011). Teaching and Learning in Science and Mathematics in Schools- Towards a
more creative and innovative Malaysia.
2. Bahri N. M., Suryawati E., Osman K. Students’ Biotechnology Literacy: The Pillars of STEM Education in Malaysia.
Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education. 2014;10(3):195-207.
3. Bryce, T., & Gray, D. (2004). Tough acts to follow: The challenges to science teachers presented by biotechnological
progress. International Journal of Science Education, 26(6): 717 – 733.
4. Curriculum Development Centre, Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) (2016) Implementation Guide for Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in Teaching and Learning. Putrajaya: MOE.
5. Edy Hafizan Mohd Shahali, Ihsan Ismail, Lilia Halim. (2017) STEM Education in Malaysia: Policies, Trajectories and
Initiatives. Science and Technology Trends: Policies, Trajectories and Initiatives in STEM Education Malaysia, Asian
Research Policy, pp 122-133.
6. Fonseca, M. J., Costa, P., Lencastre, L., & Tavares, F., (2012). Multidimensional analysis of high school students’
perceptions about biotechnology, Journal of Biological Education, iFirst Article, 1-11.
7. Halim, L., & Meerah, T. S. M. (2016). Science Education Research and Practice in Malaysia. In M.-H. Chiu (Eds.),
Science Education Research and Practice in Asia (pp. 71-93). Singapore: Springer
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Malaya PhD Thesis.

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 Kefahaman Konsep Haba di Kalangan Murid Sekolah
Berasrama Penuh
Anis Diyana Bt Halim
SM Sains Seri Puteri, Jalan Kolam Air, 51200 Kuala Lumpur

Abstrak. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti kefahaman awal murid Sekolah Berasrama Penuh (SBP) mengenai
konsep Haba. Konsep haba yang diuji berfokus kepada konsep takat beku dan takat didih air. Kajian ini dilaksanakan melalui
temubual yang dijalankan ke atas 15 orang murid Tingkatan 4 SBP Zon Tengah yang dipilih berdasarkan persampelan
bertujuan. Instrumen temubual yang digunakan diadaptasi dari Thermal Concept Evaluation (TCE). Dapatan kajian
mendapati konsep alternatif yang dimiliki murid sebelum mempelajari konsep Haba adalah . Dapatan kajian ini diharap dapat
membantu guru fizik dalam merancang strategi pengajaran yang berkesan bagi konsep Haba.
Kata Kunci: Kefahaman Konsep, Konsep Haba dan Konsep Alternatif

PENDAHULUAN
Matlamat kurikulum Fizik di Malaysia yang utama adalah melahirkan murid yang berpengetahuan dalam
konsep-konsep Fizik. Matlamat ini di harapkan dapat di capai supaya murid berupaya mengaplikasikan
pengetahuan ini dalam kehidupan seharian (Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum (BPK), 2012). Melalui Pelan
Pembangunan Pendidikan (2013-2025), tumpuan terhadap pembangunan pendidikan di Malaysia telah dirancang
sekaligus turut memberi tumpuan terhadap pembangunan pendidikan Sains supaya matlamat- matlamat dalam
kurikulum tercapai. Pada fasa pembangunan pendidikan yang dirancang, aspek pengetahuan diberi perhatian bagi
menjelaskan kualiti yang perlu ada pada setiap murid (Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan, 2013-2025).
Walaubagaimanapun, isu-isu yang dihadapi oleh pendidikan adalah membimbangkan apabila penyertaan
murid ke aliran Sains tidak pernah mencapai 60% sejak polisi ini diperkenalkan dengan menyasarkan nisbah
60:40 bagi pelajar aliran Sains dan Sastera (Fatin et al., 2014). Selain itu, pencapaian murid-murid sekolah
menengah di Malaysia bagi mata pelajaran Matematik dan Sains adalah menurun dari purata antarabangsa pada
penilaian peringkat antarabangsa iaitu Trends In International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
(Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM), 2012). Perincian terhadap hasil dapatan ini turut menunjukkan murid-
murid di Malaysia masih lemah dalam penguasaan konsep (TIMSS, 2011). Penguasaan konsep yang lemah di
kalangan murid menyukarkan keadaan bagi mencapai matlamat kurikulum Fizik bagi melahirkan murid yang
berpengetahuan dalam konsep-konsep Fizik.
Merujuk kepada isu-isu pendidikan yang berlaku, pendidikan STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics) diperkenalkan bagi menggalakkan penyertaan murid ke aliran Sains sekaligus meningkatkan minat
murid dalam Sains dengan harapan murid dapat menguasai bidang ini (Razali et al., 2013). Melalui pendidikan
STEM, integrasi antara empat bidang iaitu Sains, Teknologi , Kejuruteraan dan Matematik dapat menyediakan
tenaga kerja yang berkeupayaan memenuhi keperluan pasaran kerja terkini yang melibatkan Sains dan Teknologi
(Suhanna et al., 2015). Namun begitu, dalam kesibukan pendidikan negara menghadapi transformasi pendidikan,
pengetahuan konsep yang dimiliki murid juga perlu diberi perhatian. Ini kerana pengetahuan konsep merupakan
perkara asas yang perlu dimiliki murid bagi memahami dan mengaplikasikan pengetahuan yang dimiliki pada
pendidikan STEM.. Oleh itu, bagi mengetahui sejauh mana pengetahuan konsep yang dimiliki murid, satu kajian
dijalankan terhadap murid yang mengambil mata pelajaran Fizik.

PERNYATAAN MASALAH
Kurikulum Fizik di Malaysia mengandungi 9 topik yang perlu dikuasai oleh murid iaitu Pengenalan Fizik,
Daya dan Gerakan, Daya dan Tekanan, Haba, Cahaya, Elektrik, Elektromagnet, Elektronik dan Radioaktif (BPK,
2012). Namun, berbanding dengan topik-topik lain dalam sukatan pelajaran Fizik, murid sekolah menengah di
Malaysia menghadapi kesukaran untuk memahami konsep Haba (Nihra dan Seng, 2010). Berdasarkan kajian-
kajian lepas, terdapat pelbagai konsep alternatif yang dimiliki murid di dalam topik Haba iaitu menghadapi
kesukaran untuk membezakan antara haba dan suhu (Tanahoung et al., 2009; Nihra dan Seng, 2010; Almahdi,
2010; Chu et al., 2012), memahami bahawa haba bergantung kepada suhu sahaja (Almahdi, 2010), tidak dapat
membezakan antara perbezaan suhu dan perpindahan haba (Tanahoung et al., 2009), tidak dapat menjangkakan
suhu apabila dua sampel dicampurkan (Almahdi, 2010), tidak memahami peranan haba pendam dalam perubahan
fasa (Aziz dan Aimi, 2010). Berdasarkan kajian lepas, pelbagai konsep alternatif di dapati dimiliki murid kerana
Haba merupakan konsep yang abstrak (Alhamdi, 2010). Ini menyebabkan murid sukar untuk memahami topik ini

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(Doige dan Day, 2012) berikutan kefahaman murid yang lemah di dalam topik ini (Aziz dan Aimi, 2010).
Keadaan ini bukan sahaja di hadapi oleh murid di Malaysia malah turut dihadapi oleh murid yang berusia dalam
lingkungan 12-17 tahun di negara lain (Chu et al., 2012).
Sekolah berasrama penuh (SBP) di Malaysia ditubuhkan bagi menempatkan murid-murid yang cemerlang dari
segi akademik, kokurikulum dan sahsiah diri (Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (KPM), 2016). Oleh kerana
murid-murid di SBP merupakan murid-murid cemerlang yang terpilih dari murid-murid sekolah harian, maka
murid-murid di sekolah SBP diharapkan dapat menghasilkan keputusan 100 peratus murid cemerlang dalam
peperiksaan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) (Bahagian Pengurusan Sekolah Berasrama Penuh dan Sekolah
Kluster, 2008). Oleh itu, selari dengan transformasi pendidikan negara, murid-murid yang cemerlang ini
seharusnya mempunyai kefahaman konsep bagi mengaplikasikan pendidikan STEM dalam pembelajaran mereka.
Oleh kerana masih terdapat kekurangan kajian terhadap kefahaman konsep di kalangan murid-murid SBP, maka
kajian ini dijalankan bagi mengetahui sejauh mana kefahaman konsep murid dalam konsep Haba. Pada kajian ini,
kefahaman awal murid terhadap konsep haba sebelum murid mempelajari konsep ini secara formal di dalam kelas
bagi mengetahui kefahaman konsep murid terhadap konsep ini berdasarkan pembelajaran lepas dan pengalaman
harian mereka.

OBJEKTIF KAJIAN
Kajian ini dijalankan bagi mengenal pasti kefahaman konsep awal murid terhadap konsep haba dalam
kalangan murid sekolah berasrama penuh (SBP). Kajian ini dijalankan bagi menjawab persoalan kajian iaitu
apakah konsep awal yang dimiliki murid sebelum mempelajari konsep haba.

KAEDAH KAJIAN
Sampel kajian ini terdiri dari murid-murid SBP Zon Tengah di Malaysia. Data kajian ini diperolehi secara
temubual terhadap murid dan di analisis menggunakan analisis tematik bagi mengetahui konsep yang difahami
murid sebelum pembelajaran konsep haba. Persampelan yang digunakan dalam kajian ini merupakan persampelan
bertujuan di mana sampel-sampel yang dipilih merupakan murid-murid yang memperolehi markah yang rendah
setelah Penilaian Konsep Haba dijalankan ke atas mereka. Pada kajian ini, seramai 15 orang murid ditemubual
bagi mengetahui konsep awal yang dimiliki.
Instrumen kajian ini diadaptasi dari Thermal Concept Evaluation dari Yeo dan Zadnik (2001). Konsep haba
yang disoal adalah berkaitan dengan konsep takat beku dan takat didih. Instrumen temubual yang di soal kepada
murid ditunjukkan pada Jadual 4.0

Konstruk Soalan Temubual

Takat Beku Air Seketul ais diletakkan di bahagian pembekuan. Pada
pendapat kamu, berapakah suhu ais tersebut? Berikan penjelasan
terhadap jawapan yang diberikan.

Takat Lebur Air Seketul ais dikeluarkan dari peti ais dan diletakkan di atas
meja. Selang beberapa minit, ais tersebut di dapati telah
mencair. Pada pendapat kamu, berapakah suhu ais tersebut?
Berikan penjelasan terhadap jawapan yang diberikan.

Takat Didih Air Secerek air dipanaskan di atas dapur. Pada pendapat kamu,
berapakah suhu air ketika air mula mendidih? Berikan
penjelasan terhadap jawapan yang diberikan.

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 DAPATAN KAJIAN
Dapatan yang diperolehi dibincangkan berdasarkan kefahaman murid yang diuji iaitu kefahaman murid
terhadap takat beku, takat lebur dan takat didih air. Dapatan yang diperolehi ini menunjukkan kepelbagaian
kefahaman murid terhadap konsep haba sebelum mempelajari konsep ini secara formal di dalam kelas.

Takat Beku Air

Hasil temubual di dapati murid memahami suhu ais di bahagian pembekuan adalah 0 oC. Sebagai contoh, Ali
dan Daud menyatakan, “kerana 0oC merupakan takat beku bagi air” dan “sebab takat beku 0”. Pemahaman ini
menunjukkan bahawa murid memahami ais bersuhu 0oC walaupun berada di bahagian pembekuan peti ais.
Pemahaman ini menunjukkan murid memiliki konsep alternatif kerana pemahaman ini tidak selari dengan konsep
saintifik iaitu ais di bahagian pembekuan adalah bersuhu di bawah 0 oC. Ini kerana ais di bahagian pembekuan
telah membeku sepenuhnya menjadi ais. Pada ketika ini, molekul-molekul ais bergerak perlahan menyebabkan
suhu ais berkurang dari 0oC.
Hasil temubual juga mendapati murid memahami ais di bahagian pembekuan bersuhu di bawah 0 oC.
Walaupun jawapan ini adalah sama dengan konsep saintifik, namun hasil temubual mendapati murid memahami
suhu ais di bahagian pembekuan di bawah 0oC berdasarkan pengalaman harian mereka. Sebagai contoh, Hamzah
menyatakan, “Suhu tu? Bawah 0oC. Sebab saya selalu gak main peti ais. Dia boleh ubah dia punya suhu. Lepas tu
dia boleh ubah dia punya sejuk tu. Setakat peti ais kat rumah saya tak ingat la. Tapi tak lebih dari 0 la. Bawah dari
0 la”. Wan pula menyatakan, “suhu ais? 0oC kebawah. Sebab kemungkinan peti ais tu ada pengawal suhu yang
boleh lebih rendah daripada 0” Adam juga turut memahami, “suhu bawah pada 0. sebab kalau 0 mungkin ada
yang beku, tapi ada yang tak beku. Kan banyak benda kita letak dalam bahagian beku peti ais”. Pemahaman ini
turut menunjukkan murid mempunyai konsep alternatif sebelum pembelajaran konsep haba.

Takat Lebur Air

Bagi ais yang mencair, hasil temubual mendapati murid memahami suhu ais meningkat melebihi 0 oC apabila
ais mencair. Ini kerana, murid memahami haba diserap pada ketika ais sedang mencair menyebabkan suhu ais
meningkat melebihi 0oC. Sebagai contoh, Abu menyatakan, “suhu dia lebih dari 0. Haba dia diserap” (Abu, 22-
24). Zaki juga menyatakan, “suhu bagi ais itu akan meningkat kerana ais itu akan menyerap haba daripada
persekitaran” (Zaki, 22-23). Pemahaman ini menunjukkan murid memiliki konsep alternatif apabila memahami
haba yang diserap meningkatkan suhu ais. Ini kerana berdasarkan konsep saintifik, pada ketika ais mencair, haba
yang diserap memutuskan ikatan antara molekul-molekul ais menyebabkan ais mencair.
Selain itu, murid turut memahami ais yang sedang mencair bersuhu melebihi 0oC kerana kuantiti tenaga haba
adalah tinggi pada ketika ais sedang mencair. Ini seperti yang dinyatakan oleh Amri iaitu “suhu akan meningkat
kerana tenaga haba dia tinggi” dan Zul menyatakan “suhu rendah dari suhu bilik. Tenaga haba dia semakin
bertambah”. Pemahaman ini menunjukkan murid memahami ketika ais mencair haba diserap menyebabkan
kuantiti tenaga haba pada ais adalah lebih tinggi. Pada pemahaman murid, apabila kuantiti haba meningkat, suhu
juga akan meningkat. Pemahaman ini menunjukkan murid hanya memiliki pemahaman makroskopik terhadap
konsep haba apabila tidak dapat memberi penjelasan dengan mendalam mengenai keadaan-keadaan molekul
ketika ais sedang mencair. Ini kerana murid memiliki konsep alternatif terhadap ais yang mencair apabila
memahami haba yang diserap menyebabkan suhu ais meningkat.
Namun begitu, terdapat juga pelajar yang memahami keadaan molekul-molekul ais ketika haba diserap. Murid
memahami, ikatan antara molekul-molekul ais akan terputus menyebabkan ais mencair. Sebagai contoh, Borhan
menyatakan, “suhu tu boleh meningkat dalam 2 ke 3 oC. haba dia telah diserap untuk melepaskan ikatan antara
molekul pepejal tu”. Amin juga turut sama memahami, “suhu meningkat dalam 10oC sebab dia cair. Jadi dia ada
sedikit tenaga haba untuk zarah terbebas dalam bentuk gas. Jadi saya rasa dia tidak akan panas sangat”. Walaupun
murid memahami haba yang diserap memutuskan ikatan antara molekul, namun murid turut memiliki kefahaman
bahawa suhu ais meningkat apabila haba diserap. Kefahaman ini menunjukkan murid tidak jelas suhu ais hanya
akan meningkat apabila tenaga kinetik molekul-molekul ais meningkat. Pada ketika ikatan antara molekul haba
terputus, suhu ais masih kekal pada 0oC.

Takat Didih Air

Hasil temubual murid memahami air yang mula mendidih bersuhu di bawah 100 oC. Ini kerana murid
memahami pada ketika air mula mendidih, suhu air masih belum mencapai suhu takat didih air iaitu 100 oC.
Sebagai contoh, Ali menyatakan, “suhu mula mendidih dalam 50oC. kerana takat didih pada 100oC. Pastu kalau
dah habis mendidih, baru sampai takat 100oC. So kita baru mula tadi, so tak sampai lagi”. Amri juga menyatakan
jawapan yang sama iaitu, “dalam 80oC. Sebab kalau dia betul betul didih tu, 100oC”. Ini kerana pelajar
memahami pada ketika air mula mendidih, air baru mula menerima haba seperti dinyatakan Rosli, “suhu air mula

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mendidih 40oC. Sebab air dalam suhu bilik dia 30oC. So bila api dibuka tu, dia serap haba, mula dapat haba. So,
dia punya suhu tu meningkat sedikit”. Pemahaman ini menunjukkan bahawa murid memahami air yang mula
mendidih baru menerima haba. Oleh itu, suhu air yang mula mendidih masih tidak mencapai 100oC. Pemahaman
ini merupakan konsep alternatif terhadap air yang mendidih kerana konsep ini adalah tidak selari dengan konsep
saintifik air yang mendidih iaitu air yang mendidih bersuhu 100oC kerana pada ketika air mula mendidih, haba
yang diserap menyebabkan ikatan antara molekul air terputus dan menukarkan keadaan air kepada gas. Pada
ketika ini, suhu air telah meningkat sehingga 100oC kemudian air akan mula mendidih setelah mencapai suhu ini.
Selain itu, terdapat juga murid yang memahami suhu air mula mendidih adalah 100 oC. Sebagai contoh Zul
menyatakan, “suhu air mula mendidih 100oC kerana takat didih air adalah 100oC”. Adam juga turut memberi
jawapan yang sama iaitu, “100. Sebab takat didih air biasa 100”. Hasil temubual turut menunjukkan pelajar
memahami apabila air mula mendidih, air telah mencapai suhu takat didih air iaitu 100oC seperti yang dinyatakan
oleh Umar, “mula nak mendidih maknanya air tersebut telah mencapai takat didih. Takat didih air 100 oC. Jadi
suhu air 100oC”. Hasil temubual ini menunjukkan pelajar memahami air bersuhu 100 oC kerana pendidihan telah
berlaku. Oleh kerana pendidihan telah berlaku,maka suhu air telah mencapai suhu takat didih. Namun begitu,
jawapan yang dinyatakan ini tidak menunjukkan pelajar jelas dengan konsep haba apabila murid hanya
memahami suhu air yang mula mendidih adalah 100 oC kerana pendidihan telah berlaku. Ini kerana murid tidak
mengaitkan jawapan yang dinyatakan dengan keadaan molekul-molekul air ketika berlaku pendidihan.

PERBINCANGAN
Hasil dapatan kajian yang diperolehi mendapati murid memiliki konsep alternatif terhadap takat beku, takat
lebur dan takat didih air. Konsep alternatif yang dimiliki ini adalah berdasarkan pemahaman terhadap
pembelajaran lepas apabila murid memahami takat beku ais adalah 0 oC dan takat didih ais adalah 100oC.Pada
pemahaman ini, murid memahami air bersuhu 0oC pada keadaan ais manakala air yang mendidih bersuhu 100 oC.
Pemahaman ini menunjukkan murid memahami 0 oC dan 100oC merupakan suhu akhir bagi air yang membeku
dan air yang mendidih. Pada pemahaman murid, ais bersuhu melebihi 0 oC apabila ais mula mencair.Pemahaman
ini menunjukkan murid sukar memahami takat lebur air adalah 0oC apabila hanya memahami suhu ais meningkat
apabila ais mencair kerana pada ketika ini haba diserap bagi mencairkan ais.
Pemahaman-pemahaman yang dimiliki murid ini menunjukkan konsep alternatif yang dimiliki bagi konsep
haba melibatkan pemahaman terhadap bahan apabila murid tidak dapat membuat perbezaan antara kuantiti haba
pada objek dan suhu objek (Erickson, 1979). Pada pemahaman konsep alternatif pelajar, nilai haba bergantung
kepada nilai suhu (Almahdi, 2011) iaitu apabila nilai suhu meningkat, kuantiti haba juga akan meningkat. Oleh
itu, murid memahami ais bersuhu melebihi 0oC ketika mencair. Pemahaman ini dibentuk apabila murid hanya
memahami tenaga haba yang diserap meningkatkan tenaga kinetik molekul-molekul air dan menyebabkan suhu
meningkat. Pelajar kurang jelas tenaga haba yang diserap dapat juga memutuskan ikatan antara molekul-molekul
air.
Selain itu, konsep-konsep alternatif yang dimiliki murid di dapati wujud hasil dari pengalaman seharian
mereka (Paik et al., 2004; Baser, 2006; Baser dan Geban, 2007; Madu dan Orji, 2015). Sebagai contoh,
pengalaman pelajar menggunakan peti ais dikaitkan dengan suhu ais di bahagian pembekuan dan keadaan air
yang masih belum mendidih dikaitkan dengan suhu air yang mula mendidih. Situasi ini menunjukkan bahawa
pengalaman harian pelajar mempengaruhi kefahaman pelajar terhadap konsep haba menyebabkan pelajar
memiliki konsep alternatif bagi konsep haba. Secara ringkasnya, konsep-konsep alternatif yang dimiliki
disenaraikan di dalam Jadual 6.0

Konstruk Konsep Alternatif

Takat Beku Air 1. Ais di bahagian pembekuan bersuhu 0oC kerana takat beku ais adalah 0oC.
2. Ais di bahagian pembekuan bersuhu 0oC kerana suhu bahagian pembekuan
boleh dilaraskan sehingga di bawah 0oC.

Takat Lebur Air 1. Ais yang sedang mencair bersuhu melebihi 0oC kerana tenaga haba diserap
sewaktu ais sedang mencair.
2. Ais yang sedang mencair bersuhu melebihi 0oC kerana kuantiti tenaga haba
adalah tinggi pada ais yang sedang mencair.
3. Haba yang diserap sewaktu ais sedang mencair
memutuskan ikatan antara molekul tetapi suhu ais yang mencair melebihi 0 oC.

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 Takat Didih Air 1. Air yang mula mendidih bersuhu di bawah 100oC kerana suhu air belum
mencapai suhu takat didih.
2. Air yang mula mendidih bersuhu 100oC kerana telah mencapai takat didih air.

PENUTUP
Kesimpulannya, dapatan kajian ini menunjukkan terdapat konsep alternatif yang dimiliki murid-murid SBP
sebelum pembelajaran konsep Haba. Konsep-konsep alternatif ini difahami pelajar sebagai konsep saintifik
walaupun pelajar telah mempelajari konsep ini ketika di menengah rendah. Dapatan kajian ini juga menunjukkan
bahawa walaupun murid-murid SBP terpilih dari kalangan murid yang cemerlang, namun perubahan konsep
alternatif di kalangan murid SBP turut perlu diberi perhatian oleh guru bagi merancang pengajaran. Oleh itu,
seperti yang dicadangkan oleh Erickson (1979), apabila guru sudah mengetahui kefahaman konsep yang dimiliki
murid bagi konsep haba, guru dapat merancang pendekatan pengajaran yang bermakna bagi mengubah konsep
alternatif murid. Pendekatan pengajaran yang boleh dilakukan sama ada membenarkan murid memperbetulkan
konsep alternatif yang dimiliki sendiri melalui kaedah pengajaran yang dirancang seperti kaedah pengajaran
terhadap perubahan konsep (Baser & Geban, 2015) dan Kaedah Pengajaran Berdasarkan Konflik Kognitif (Madu
& Orji, 2015). Selain kaedah-kaedah pengajaran yang dirancang, guru juga dapat mengubah konsep alternatif
pelajar terhadap konsep haba dengan menjelaskan mengenai perbezaan antara suhu dan haba berdasarkan
keadaan-keadaan molekul sewaktu pengajaran (Erickson, 1979). Maka, kajian ini secara khususnya dapat
membantu guru-guru Fizik di SBP untuk merancang kaedah pengajaran bagi mengubah konsep alternatif pelajar
dalam topik Haba.

RUJUKAN
1. Aimi Alwani (2008). Kefahaman Konsep Suhu dan Haba di Kalangan Pelajar Tingkatan Dua di Sebuah Sekolah di Daerah
Lenggong, Perak. Sarjana Muda. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai.
2. Almahdi Ali Alwan (2011). Misconception of heat and temperature among physics students. Procedia Social and Behavioral
Sciences. 12, 600-614.
3. Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum (BPK) (2012). Spesifikasi Kurikulum Fizik Tingkatan 4. Putrajaya: Kementerian
Pelajaran Malaysia.
4. Chu, H. E., Treagust, D. F., Yeo, S., & Zadnik, M. (2012). Evaluation on student‟s understanding of thermal concepts in
everyday contexts, International Journal of Science Education. 34 (10), 1509-1534.
5. Doige, C. A., & Day, T. (2012). A Typology of Undergraduate Textbook Definitions of „Heat‟ Across Science Discipline ,
International Journal of Science Education, 34(5), 677-700.
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Kemerosotan Penyertaan Pelajar Dalam Aliran Sains: Satu Analisis Sorotan Tesis. Sains Humanika. 2(4), 63-71
7. Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (KPM) (2012). Laporan awal – Ringkasan Eksekutif Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan
Malaysia 2013-2025. Putrajaya: Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia.
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in Malaysia. In 7th International Seminar on Regional Education, Educational Community and Cultural Diversity (2015),
1396 – 1405.
9. Tanahoung, C., Chitaree, R., Soankwan, C., Sharma, M. D., & Johnston, I. D. (2009). The Effect of Interactive Lecture
Demonstrations on Student‟s Understanding of Heat and Temperature: A Study From Thailand, Research in Science and
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 Kepentingan Metakognitif untuk Kecemerlangan Pelajar
di Abad ke-21

Nur Fazirah Jumari, Khairiyah Mohd Yusof and Fatin Aliah Phang

Centre for Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 81310, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Abstract. Abad ke-21 sangat mencabar kepada pekerja di masa hadapan di mana mereka memasuki dunia yang dipenuhi
dengan perubahan pesat dan global, kemajuan yang mendadak dalam teknologi maklumat dan komputer, isu etika yang
kompleks, persaingan global tanpa sempadan, perubahan demografi, kelestarian, dan banyak masalah yang muncul dalam
alaf baru. Kemahiran metakognitif adalah set kemahiran yang telah dikenal pasti untuk membantu meningkatkan setiap
kemahiran yang diperlukan sebagai pekerja masa depan dalam abad ke-21. Kemahiran metakognitif tidak berlaku secara
semula jadi dan tidak boleh mengajar, malah perlu dilatih melalui aktiviti pembelajaran yang sesuai. Pendekatan
pembelajaran konstruktivis telah terbukti berkesan dalam memupuk pembangunan kemahiran metakognitif pelajar
kejuruteraan.

PENDAHULUAN
Kemahiran abad ke-21 telah dikenal pasti sebagai kemahiran yang amat diperlukan dalam pasaran kerja global
masa kini (Hwa 2005; Yussof et al. 2008; Rasul et al. 2009; Wats & Wats 2009; Tewari 2010). Keadaan dunia
sudah berubah. Di era revolusi industry ke-4, kerja yang dilakukan oleh manusia akan digantikan beransur-ansur
dengan program komputer. Kecanggihan telekomunikasi mengembangkan lagi keupayaan mereka untuk mencapai
kebolehan rutin manusia. Membentuk seorang pelajar menjadi seorang yang professional yang mempunyai
kemahiran yang diperlukan untuk menghadapi cabaran pada abad ke 21 bukan sesuatu yang mudah bagi warga
pendidik. Para pekerja professional pada masa hadapan dikehendaki memiliki daya saing yang tinggi terhadap
kualiti pengetahuan dan kemahiran mereka, memandangkan globalisasi berlaku dalam semua industri.
Laporan daripada World Economic Forum pada tahun 2016 menjangkakan kemahiran menyelesaikan masalah
yang kompleks, kemahiran berfikir secara kritis, dan kreativiti adalah tiga kemahiran yang paling atas yang
diperlukan menjelang tahun 2020. Ketiga-tiga kemahiran ini akan menjadi satu aplikasi yang praktikal pada mana-
mana keadaan dan situasi, menekankan pemahaman teori, serta kreatif dan inovatif. Oleh itu, para bakal pekerja
pada masa hadapan mestilah dapat mengambil pendekatan yang holistik, untuk memiliki kemahiran dan
pengetahuan yang mendalam ketika globalisasi tercapai dalam semua industri(Samaka and Ally, 2016; Sticker,
2016; Dumas et al., 2016).
Antara yang boleh dilakukan adalah dengan meningkatkan kemahiran metakognitif bagi para pelajar.
Kemahiran metakognitif dikenal pasti sebagai satu set kemahiran yang membantu dalam meningkatkan kemahiran
lain yang diperlukan oleh para bakal pekerja pada masa depan. Kemahiran metakognitif merangkumi kemahiran
merancang, memantau dan menilai diperlukan untuk menyelesaikan masalah yang rumit (Tan, 2004; An and Cao,
2014; Cunningham et al., 2016). Menurut Najmi Hayati (2009) seterusnya, kemahiran metakognitif boleh
membantu pelajar meningkatkan keupayaan berfikir dan belajar. Kemahiran metakognitif seseorang adalah berbeza
mengikut individu, tidak berlaku secara semulajadi tetapi boleh dipelajari dan diasah daripada pengalaman
pembelajaran seseorang (Saemah dan Philips, 2006). Kemahiran metakognitif boleh dilatih melalui aktiviti
pembelajaran yang sesuai. Dengan kata lain, kemahiran metakognitif memerlukan masa untuk dibangunkan.
Tujuan makalah ini adalah untuk menerangkan kenapa kemahiran metakognitif penting dalam pembentukan
kemahiran kompetensi untuk menghadapi abad ke-21.

METAKOGNITIF
Metakognitif adalah rasa tanggungjawab dan pemilikan seseorang terhadap pembelajaran dirinya dan
memaksimumkannya. Ia adalah satu pengetahuan dan kesedaran mengenai proses dan pemantauan dan kawalan
tentang pengetahuan dan proses tersebut (Efklides 2001; Flavell et al 1993; Schraw dan Moshman 1995). Istilah
‘metakognitif’ telah diperkenalkan oleh Flavell pada tahun 1976 dengan konsep mengawal cara serta proses
pembelajaran melalui cara berfikir. Metakognitif boleh didefinisikan kepada pengetahuan serta kawalan seseorang
individu terhadap aktiviti pembelajaran dan pemikiran (Flavell 1979). Metakognitif ini wujud hasil daripada teori
pemprosesan maklumat bagi menjelaskan proses pemikiran yang mengawal pencarian serta penyimpanan
maklumat dalam ruang ingatan jangka pendek dan jangka panjang. Keadaan ini telah mewujudkan satu konstruk
baru bagi menghuraikan ‘pemikiran tentang pemikiran’ yang lebih dikenali sebagai meta-ingatan (meta-memory)
atau metakognitif (Flavell 1979) dalam kalangan ahli psikologi kognitif.

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 Definisi metakognitif adalah penyusunan pengetahuan tentang proses kognitif seseorang dan orang lain.
Kemahiran metakogtif terdiri daripada kebolehan untuk merancang sebelum melaksanakan tugas; memantau
pemikiran, pembelajaran dan pemahaman seseorang ketika melakukan tugas; mengawal pemikiran seseorang
dengan membuat penyesuaian yang betul; menilai pemikiran sendiri dengan menilai kemajuan dan mengawal
pemikiran untuk mengoptimumkan prestasi.Metakognitif boleh dibahagikan kepada dua bahagian iaitu,
pengetahuan metakognitif dan kemahiran metakognitif (Kluwe, 1982; Brown, 1987; Pintrich et al., 2000).
Pengetahuan metakognitif terbahagi kepada tiga iaitu pengetahuan tentang diri, tugas dan strategi. Pengetahuan
tentang diri termasuk pengetahuan dan kepercayaan seseorang tentang dirinya sebagai seorang pemikir atau
pelajar, dan apa yang dia percaya tentang proses pemikiran orang lain. Pengetahuan metakognitif dari sudut
tugasan pula merangkumi semua maklumat mengenai tugas yang dicadangkan yang tersedia kepada seseorang.
Pengetahuan ini membimbing individu dalam pengurusan sesuatu tugas, dan memberikan maklumat tentang tahap
kejayaan yang mungkin dia capai. Pengetahuan metakognitif tentang tugas memberitahu seseorang itu tentang
jangkauan hasil yang boleh diterima dari proses kognitif dan matlamat yang berkaitan dengannya. Pengetahuan
tentang kesukaran satu-satu tugas, sama ada tugas kesukaran yang jelas mahupun tidak juga boleh dikategorikan
dibawah kategori ini. pengetahuan metakognitif kategori strategi melibatkan mengenal pasti matlamat dan
pemilihan proses kognitif yang digunakan untuk mencapai matlama tersebut. Kemahiran metakognitif adalah
proses metakognisi sekunder yang melibatkan proses metakognitif yang memudahkan dan menyokong penilaian
dan kawalan proses pembelajaran. Proses-proses ini merangkumi perancangan, pemantauan, dan penilaian proses
pembelajaran.

KEPENTINGAN METAKOGNITIF UNTUK PELAJAR PADA ABAD KE-21

Kemahiran abad ke-21 merangkumi enam "literasi asas", seperti kebolehan membaca dan menulis, kemahiran
berkaitan nombor dan matematik, dan celik saintifik, dan 10 kemahiran yang dilabel sebagai "kompetensi" dan
"kualiti watak". Kompetensi adalah cara di mana pelajar menghadapi cabaran yang kompleks termasuk kerjasama,
komunikasi, pemikiran kritikal dan menyelesaikan masalah. Kualiti watak adalah cara-cara di mana pelajar
menghadapi persekitaran yang berubah-ubah; ini termasuk rasa ingin tahu, kebolehupayaan menyesuaikan diri
dalam apa jua keadaan, dan kesedaran sosial dan budaya. Dalam kerangka kemahiran abad ke 21, kompetensi
melangkaui ruang lingkup bidang pengetahuan yang mudah, merangkumi kebolehan yang diperlukan untuk
memenuhi tuntutan kompleks dalam konteks tertentu (Wolters, 2010). Oleh itu, pemahaman tentang kompetensi
merangkumi makna yang lebih luas yang terdiri daripada kemahiran, sikap, pengetahuan dan pelajar perlu berjaya
di sekolah, di tempat kerja, dan dalam kehidupan secara umumnya (Wolters, 2010).
Secara dasarnya, kedua-dua kemahiran metakognitif dan kompetensi abad ke-21 boleh dikatakan sebagai satu
suntikan ke arah pembentukan kemahiran, kebolehan, atau kecekapan yang diperlukan untuk pelajar menjadi
pelajar yang berkesan dalam konteks akademik. Selain itu, aspek kritikal bagi kedua-dua kemahiran metakognitif
dan kompetensi abad ke-21 ditekankan sebagai sesuatu yang penting untuk pembelajaran berkesan sebagai satu
asas yang perlu untuk berfungsi dalam konteks di luar akademik secara produktif.
Menurut Prince (2004), pendekatan pembelajaran secara konstruktif dikatakan satu pendekatan tang sangat
disarankan bagi membentuk kemahiran metakognitif ini. Antara pendekatan konstruktif yang boleh diguna pakai
seperti pembelajaran secara aktif, pembelajaran secara kerjasama, ataupun pembelajaran berpan masalah.
Pembelajaran secara bekerjasama menyediakan platform kerja pasukan yang berkesan di mana pelajar menyokong
setiap ahli dalam pembelajaran dan menghasilkan kerja yang berkualiti tinggi(Johnson et al. 2006; Felder and
Brent 2007).Pembelajaran berasaskan masalah adalah satu pendekatan pengajaran berasaskan masalah sebenar,
yang melibatkan penggunaan pelbagai kemahiran untuk menyelesaikannya(Dolmans and Schmidt, 2006; Prince
2004; Woods 2012). Bagi Torp dan Sage (2002) pula, pebelajaran berasaskan masalah berfokus kepada
pengalaman pembelajaran yang melibatkan mindon dan hands-on yang disediakan melalui penyiasatan dan
keputusan daripada masalah yang sebenar. Menurut Subadrah dan Malar (2005), pembelajaran berasaskan masalah
adalah satu kaedah yang berkesan bagi memupuk kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi dan kemahiran penyelesaian
masalah.
Melalui kajian Swanson (1990) yang menunjukkan perbezaan bahawa pelajar yang mempunyai aras
metakognitif yang tinggi didapati lebih cekap dalam penyelesaian masalah pembelajarannya berbanding dengan
pelajar yang rendah tahap metakognitifnya. Ini kerana pelajar yang memiliki strategi metakognitif akan lebih cepat
memahami apa yang dipelajari (Susantini, 2009). Najmi Hayati (2009) menyatakan, kemahiran metakognitif boleh
membantu pelajar meningkatkan keupayaan berfikir dan belajar. Serentak dengan itu, ia boleh meningkatkan mutu
proses pembelajaran. Tambahnya lagi, metakognitif merujuk kepada sejauh mana kaedah serta teknik yang patut
digunapakai agar proses pembelajaran pelajar itu sendiri dapat dikawal. Schraw dan Dennison (1994) menunjukkan
bahawa pelajar yang menguasai kemahiran metakognitif bagi penilaian kendiri dan sentiasa berwaspada dengan
kebolehan diri sendiri merupakan pelajar yang lebih berstrategi dan lebih berprestasi tinggi berbanding orang lain.
Ini sinonim dengan guru yang sentiasa berwaspada tentang peranan metakognitifnya, adalah cenderung kepada
fungsi yang lebih signifikan dalam membantu pelajarnya membentuk kemahiran metakognitif (Sternberg 1998).
Kemahiran metakognitif juga boleh membantu pelajar membaiki pencapaian akademik mereka melalui

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kecekapan mereka dalam menggunakan strategi (Phakiti 2006) di mana mereka perlu mengetahui kemampuan
belajar yang dimiliki, tahu bagaimana untuk belajar, serta mahir dengan strategi belajar yang paling berkesan untuk
mendapatkan hasil pembelajaran yang optimum. Melalui kemahiran metakognitif juga, pelajar akan berfikir
tentang apa yang telah diketahui, apa yang masih tidak diketahui dan seterusnya apa yang perlu diketahui lagi.
Pelajar yang mengaplikasikan strategi metakognitif merupakan murid yang efektif (Tomlinson dan McTighe
2006). Ini kerana strategi metakognitif membantu murid mengawal proses pembelajaran mereka. Melalui strategi
metakognitif juga, kemahiran berfikir pelajar dapat ditingkatkan (Yahya dan Maszuraimah 2013) dan ini
seterusnya membawa kepada peningkatan prestasi murid (Shahlan et al., 2013). Penguasaan kemahiran
metakognitif ini telah diakui dan dibuktikan oleh ramai pengkaji boleh meningkatkan kemahiran berfikir pelajar
dan menghasilkan peningkatan prestasi dalam pembelajaran.
Ketiadaan kemahiran metakognitif ini adalah satu kerugian yang besar. Ini kerana potensi seseorang pelajar itu
tidak dapat dicungkil dengan sebaiknya. Sekurang-kurangnya kemahiran metakognitif ini penting untuk membantu
pelajar untuk menghadapi masalah-masalah yang membelunggu kehidupan mereka sebagai seorang manusia
memandangkan kemahiran ini bukan sahaja berguna sewaktu pembelajaran di kelas atau di sekolah, malahan
dalam kehidupan mereka.

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 Kualiti Guru Dalam Pendidikan Stem Di Malaysia
Norlizawaty Baharin dan Kamisah Osman

Fakulti Pendidikan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstrak. Inisiatif pengintegrasian STEM dalam kurikulum pendidikan di sekolah merupakan salah satu usaha
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia untuk menggalakkan pelajar meminati dan menceburkan diri dalam bidang-
bidang STEM. Pengajaran dan pembelajaran abad ke-21 menggunakan pendekatan STEM ialah salah satu kunci
kepada pembelajaran yang efektif, bermakna dan mendalam yang dapat mengaitkan sains, teknologi, kejuruteraan
dan matematik dengan kehidupan sebenar dalam kalangan pelajar. Namun begitu, Malaysia berhadapan dengan
masalah kekurangan pelajar yang menjurus kepada bidang STEM. Dalam memenuhi hasrat untuk menjadi negara
maju, Malaysia mesti mengambil tindakan segera untuk menambah bilangan pelajar dalam bidang STEM dan
meningkatkan kualiti pengajaran dan pembelajaran STEM di sekolah. Walau bagaimanapun, proses untuk
mengintegrasikan STEM dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran pelajar boleh menjadi mencabar. Kualiti guru
merupakan salah satu faktor penting untuk memastikan kejayaan program STEM di Malaysia. Artikel ini
membincangkan pelbagai cabaran dalam pendidikan STEM antaranya ialah masalah berkaitan kualiti guru. Antara
yang turut dibincangkan ialah langkah untuk mengatasi masalah berkaitan kualiti guru STEM iaitu program
profesionalisme guru STEM, dan model yang boleh digunakan untuk membawa kepada pengajaran dan
pembelajaran berasaskan STEM yang lebih menarik dan efektif.
Kata Kunci: Kualiti guru, pengintegrasian STEM, pengajaran STEM, model pembelajaran STEM

PENGENALAN
Pendidikan STEM bermaksud Pembelajaran Bersepadu disiplin Sains, Teknologi, Kejuruteraan dan
Matematik yang mengaplikasikan konteks dunia sebenar dengan menghubungkan institusi pendidikan,
komuniti dan industri untuk melahirkan bakat dan masyarakat berliterasi STEM ke arah memacu
pembangunan ekonomi negara. Pendidikan STEM berkonsepkan pendidikan sepanjang hayat yang
merangkumi pembelajaran bersepadu Sains, Teknologi, Kejuruteraan dan Matematik secara formal, bukan
formal dan tidak formal. Pembelajaran formal ialah berdasarkan kurikulum, pembelajaran bukan formal ialah
melalui aktiviti ko-akademik dan kokurikulum, manakala pembelajaran tidak formal ialah pembelajaran tidak
langsung di setiap peringkat umur bermula daripada peringkat awal kanak- kanak, pendidikan rendah,
pendidikan menengah rendah, menengah atas, tertiari dan di peringkat industri/komuniti (Inisiatif Perkukuhan
STEM KPM, 2017).
Sejarah pendidikan STEM di Malaysia bermula pada tahun 2013 di mana STEM mula diperkenalkan
dalam Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia (PPPM). Pada tahun 2014, nisbah pelajar 60:40 Sains
Teknikal:Sastera telah ditukarkan kepada 60:40 STEM:Bukan STEM. Manakala pada tahun 2016, inisiatif
perkukuhan STEM menjadi salah satu inisiatif utama Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM) untuk
memperkasakan pendidikan STEM di Malaysia. Pendekatan STEM sangat relevan dengan sistem pendidikan
di Malaysia kerana melalui STEM pelajar akan diajar kemahiran berfikir secara kritis dan kemahiran untuk
menyelesaikan masalah. Pendidikan STEM memberi peluang kepada pelajar untuk mengaplikasikan konsep
dan pengetahuan daripada pelbagai disiplin ilmu secara bersepadu untuk menyelesaikan sesuatu masalah yang
dihadapi dalam dunia sebenar. Pelajar terlibat secara aktif dalam aktiviti pembelajaran dan berupaya
memperoleh kefahaman mendalam melalui aktiviti yang dijalankan. Penekanan diberikan kepada aktiviti yang
melibatkan penyelesaian masalah yang memerlukan pelajar untuk merancang penyiasatan mereka sendiri yang
membolehkan pelajar memperoleh pembelajaran yang bermakna.
Usaha Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM) untuk membangunkan modal insan dalam bidang STEM
disokong oleh dasar-dasar negara antaranya dasar 60:40, dasar sains, teknologi dan inovasi negara serta
wawasan 2020 (Panduan Pelaksanaan STEM dalam P&P, KPM 2016). Dasar 60:40 telah dilaksanakan mulai
tahun 1970-an untuk meningkatkan jumlah pelajar yang meneruskan pengajian dalam bidang sains dan
teknologi. Dasar ini adalah bagi menghasilkan tenaga kerja mahir dalam bidang sains dan matematik bagi
memacu ekonomi Malaysia. Dasar sains, teknologi dan inovasi negara telah diperkenalkan pada tahun 1986
bagi menyokong hasrat Malaysia menjadi sebuah negara maju. Wawasan 2020 yang dilancarkan pada tahun
1991 pula bertujuan menjadikan Malaysia sebuah negara perindustrian dan negara maju menjelang tahun
2020. Salah satu cabaran strategik dalam wawasan 2020 ialah mewujudkan masyarakat saintifik, berdaya
saing, dinamik serta menyumbang kepada teknologi masa hadapan (Panduan Pelaksanaan STEM dalam P&P,
KPM 2016).
Matlamat pendidikan STEM ialah melahirkan pelajar berliterasi STEM yang berupaya untuk mengenal
pasti, mengaplikasikan serta mengintegrasikan konsep atau komponen STEM untuk memahami masalah dan

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menyelesaikannya secara kreatif dan inovatif. Ini boleh dicapai melalui pembelajaran bersepadu STEM yang
mengaplikasikan konteks dunia sebenar dan menggunakan pendekatan ‘hands-on’ dan penerokaan terbuka.
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia telah melancarkan inisiatif perkukuhan STEM 2017 yang bertemakan
‘Pendidikan Menerusi Penerokaan’. Inisiatif ini memfokuskan kepada peningkatan kemahiran guru dan bukan
guru. Antara inisiatif yang telah dicadangkan adalah Program Mentor Mentee STEM, Kolokium Pendidikan
STEM, Persidangan Antarabangsa Pendidikan STEM, Penilaian Kompetensi Guru Bidang STEM, Intervensi
Guru Bidang STEM, Latihan Amali Guru Sains Sekolah Rendah dan juga Latihan Pembantu Makmal Sains.
Inisiatif ini merupakan usaha-usaha KPM untuk menggalakkan pelajar meminati dan seterusnya menceburkan
diri dalam bidang-bidang STEM (Inisiatif Perkukuhan STEM KPM, 2017).

Inisiatif pengukuhan STEM merupakan satu langkah yang positif dan proaktif bagi melahirkan tenaga
pakar dalam bidang STEM bagi memenuhi keperluan Negara. Inisiatif ini juga bertujuan meningkatkan minat
pelajar melalui pendekatan pembelajaran terkini, kurikulum yang mantap, menerapkan kemahiran berfikir aras
tinggi, meningkatkan penggunaan kemudahan pengajaran yang praktikal, dan menjadikan kandungan
pengajaran dan pembelajaran relevan dengan kehidupan seharian. Bagi meningkatkan kemahiran dan
kebolehan guru dalam pengajaran STEM, guru-guru di sekolah rendah dan menengah perlu dilatih untuk
mengajar kurikulum yang disemak semula. Kesedaran pelajar, ibu bapa dan orang awam mengenai STEM
juga perlu ditingkatkan melalui kempen-kempen dan program-program kebangsaan.

INOVASI PENDIDIKAN STEM DALAM KURIKULUM

Usaha Malaysia bagi meningkatkan bilangan pelajar dalam bidang STEM terutamanya mata pelajaran
Sains dan Matematik telah pun bermula sejak tahun 1970 melalui pengenalan dasar 60:40 Sains/teknikal:
Sastera. Walaupun hasrat ini masih belum tercapai sepenuhnya, kerajaan terus komited untuk meningkatkan
kualiti dan bilangan pelajar dalam bidang STEM menerusi Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia (PPPM)
2013-2025. Pendekatan pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang sesuai adalah sangat penting untuk menarik dan
mengekalkan minat pelajar dalam mata pelajaran STEM. Pembelajaran berasaskan penyelesaian masalah,
berasaskan projek dan aktiviti saintifik inkuiri merupakan pendekatan pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang
berkesan dalam pendidikan STEM (Voet & De Wever, 2016). Aktiviti saintifik inkuiri akan menyediakan
pelajar dengan kemahiran berfikir, menggalakkan pelajar untuk bertanya soalan, membuat dan menguji
hipotesis serta menjalankan penyelidikan seperti seorang saintis yang sebenar (Kelley & Knowles, 2016).
Walau bagaimanapun, pendekatan inkuiri memerlukan pengetahuan yang mendalam serta persediaan yang
rapi oleh pelajar dan guru. Pelajar boleh menentukan arah pembelajaran mereka sendiri dan menentukan
sendiri apakah persoalan yang ingin dikaji. Pendekatan saintifik inkuiri memerlukan guru menguasai
pengetahuan kandungan pedagogi semasa menjalankan penyiasatan.
Pendekatan pendidikan STEM memerlukan pengetahuan asas dan kefahaman konsep yang mantap untuk
membolehkan pelajar memahami dan mengaplikasikan pengetahuan STEM. Guru tidak boleh hanya mengajar
dan berharap pelajar akan mampu untuk mengaitkan apa yang dipelajari dengan kehidupan seharian. Oleh itu,
pendekatan STEM menjadi alternatif untuk menghubung kaitkan mata pelajaran STEM dan menyediakan
konteks yang relevan untuk proses pembelajaran (Kelley & Knowles, 2016). Justeru, guru perlu mengambil
tindakan yang proaktif untuk menambah pengetahuan dan meningkatkan kemahiran mereka dalam bidang
STEM demi melahirkan pelajar yang bakal menerajui bidang STEM negara di masa hadapan. Pendekatan
pendidikan STEM mestilah berpusatkan pelajar, menggunakan pendekatan pembelajaran secara koperatif
dalam kumpulan kecil, dan pemerolehan kefahaman menerusi aktiviti yang dijalankan secara langsung. Guru
pula perlu berperanan sebagai fasilitator atau pemudah cara, dan memberi peluang kepada pelajar untuk
merasai sendiri pengalaman menyelesaikan masalah dalam konteks dunia sebenar.
Usaha pendidikan STEM boleh diperkukuhkan lagi melalui inovasi kurikulum, inovasi pedagogi dan
inovasi penilaian. Salah satu inovasi penting dalam pendidikan STEM ialah inovasi kurikulum dengan
mengintegrasikan bidang STEM dalam kurikulum sekolah. Pengintegrasian kurikulum merangkumi 4 bidang
iaitu ‘intradisciplinary’, ‘multidisciplinary’, ‘interdisciplinary’ dan ‘transdisciplinary’. ‘Intradisciplinary’
adalah gabungan antara 2 atau lebih topik dalam satu mata pelajaran. ‘Multidisciplinary’ ialah gabungan
antara dua atau lebih mata pelajaran tetapi masih dalam kumpulan ilmu yang sama. ‘Interdisciplinary’ ialah
gabungan antara dua atau lebih mata pelajaran tetapi bukan berada dalam kumpulan ilmu yang sama.
Manakala ‘Transdisciplinary’ merupakan gabungan antara salah satu mata pelajaran di sekolah dengan ilmu
pengetahuan lain yang tidak diajarkan di sekolah (Lilia Halim & Mohamad Satar, 2016).
Guru-guru merupakan pemacu dan pemangkin kepada perubahan dalam sistem pendidikan sesebuah
negara. Justeru, guru-guru mestilah mempunyai kesedaran yang tinggi terhadap STEM serta pengetahuan
kandungan serta pedagogi dalam mata pelajaran STEM. Sekiranya guru mempunyai kelemahan dalam aspek
pengetahuan kandungan, ia boleh membawa kepada pedagogi yang kurang efektif (Stohlmann, Moore, &
Roehrig, 2012). Inovasi pedagogi dalam STEM boleh dicapai dengan pendekatan pembelajaran berasaskan
projek dan pembelajaran berasaskan masalah. Pelajar akan menjadi lebih berminat terhadap mata pelajaran

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STEM, mampu memahami konsep-konsep penting dengan baik serta berkebolehan untuk menyelesaikan
tugasan yang diberikan. Pelajar juga akan menjadi seronok untuk belajar serta terlibat dengan aktiviti inkuiri
dan penemuan. Hal ini secara tidak langsung akan membawa kepada pembelajaran yang aktif dan bermakna
dalam kalangan pelajar. Pelaksanaan pendekatan STEM memerlukan guru untuk menilai pelajar secara
individu walaupun tugasan yang diberikan adalah dalam bentuk kerja berkumpulan. Guru perlu banyak
bertanya soalan pada aras tinggi mengikut taksonomi Bloom iaitu pada aras aplikasi, analisis, penilaian dan
mereka cipta untuk merangsang kemahiran berfikir pelajar.
Kajian menunjukkan bahawa guru daripada disiplin STEM yang berbeza mempunyai persepsi yang
berbeza tentang pengintegrasian STEM dalam bilik darjah dan ini membawa kepada amalan bilik darjah yang
berbeza. Walau bagaimanapun, guru-guru percaya bahawa penyelesaian masalah memainkan peranan penting
untuk mengintegrasikan kejuruteraan dalam sains dan matematik. Guru-guru juga berpandangan bahawa
pengetahuan sedia ada, seperti pengetahuan kandungan sains dan matematik adalah penting untuk pelajar
memahami integrasi STEM (Wang, Moore, Roehrig, & Park, 2011).

CABARAN PENDIDIKAN STEM DAN MASALAH KUALITI GURU

Pendidikan STEM di Malaysia berdepan dengan pelbagai cabaran. Antaranya penurunan bilangan pelajar
yang mengkhusus dalam bidang sains di peringkat menengah. Tenaga kerja dalam bidang STEM pada hari ini
sebenarnya adalah produk yang dilahirkan daripada sistem pendidikan Malaysia lebih kurang 20 atau 30 tahun
yang lepas. Sasaran KPM untuk mencapai nisbah 60:40 pelajar sains kepada sastera tidak pernah mencapai
sasaran sejak tahun 1967. Malah pada tahun 2014 juga didapati nisbah 21:79 pelajar sains kepada sastera, iaitu
suatu penurunan yang sangat membimbangkan (Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, 2012). Sekiranya masalah
ini tidak diatasi dengan segera maka hasrat Malaysia untuk menjadi negara pengeluar teknologi tidak akan
menjadi kenyataan sebaliknya kita akan kekal sebagai negara pengguna teknologi.
Suatu kajian Nasional, Sumber Manusia S&T : Satu Perancangan Strategik ke Arah 2020 (2012) telah
mengesahkan bahawa Malaysia memerlukan satu juta pekerja dalam bidang sains dan teknologi menjelang
tahun 2020 (Rajah 1). Daripada jumlah ini, negara memerlukan seramai 500,000 pekerja (480,000 pelaksana
dan 20,000 pengkaji) yang berkemahiran tinggi dengan sekurang-kurangnya mesti mempunyai diploma atau
ijazah daripada universiti. Selebihnya seramai 500,000 tenaga kerja mesti dilengkapkan dengan program
teknikal atau vokasional untuk memberi sumbangan dalam aspek khidmat sokongan (MOSTI, 2012). Selain
itu, di kebanyakan negara maju, tenaga pekerja STEM berkemahiran merangkumi sebanyak 30% daripada
jumlah keseluruhan tenaga kerja.
Pengkaji, saintis, dan jurutera yang berkelayakan ialah keutamaan kepada pertumbuhan produktiviti,
inovasi, dan kajian saintifik sesebuah negara. Malaysia mempunyai seramai 85 ribu tenaga pekerja STEM
berkemahiran tinggi pada 2012 dan menjelang tahun 2020, Malaysia dijangka memerlukan lebih ramai tenaga
kerja STEM berkemahiran tinggi. Sasaran Malaysia adalah untuk mencapai 3% daripada jumlah keseluruhan
penduduk iaitu 500,000 ribu tenaga pekerja STEM berkemahiran tinggi pada 2020. Walau bagaimanapun
bilangan ini masih jauh ketinggalan berbanding sasaran yang ditetapkan negara-negara maju kerana negara-
negara maju secara purata menyasarkan 30% daripada rakyatnya ialah tenaga pekerja STEM berkemahiran
tinggi (Jadual a).

RAJAH 1. Pembahagian sumber manusia bidang Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi menjelang 2020.

Selain itu cabaran yang dihadapi adalah penurunan pencapaian dan literasi sains dan matematik oleh
pelajar sekolah di Malaysia dalam penilaian antarabangsa seperti TIMSS dan PISA. Perbandingan prestasi
dalaman Malaysia bagi TIMSS (1999-2007) menunjukkan bahawa sehingga 20% pelajar di Malaysia tidak
mencapai tanda aras minimum dalam Matematik dan Sains pada tahun 2007. Keputusan tersebut menunjukkan
pelajar memahami asas konsep Matematik dan Sains, namun tidak dapat mengaplikasikan pengetahuan ini.
Perincian prestasi pelajar dalam TIMSS 2007 menunjukkan bahawa hanya 2-3% pelajar Malaysia mencapai

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tanda aras tertinggi, seperti penyelesaian masalah kompleks, berbanding dengan lebih 30% pelajar di
Singapura. Pelajar Malaysia juga didapati tidak dapat melaksanakan dengan baik dalam ketiga-tiga dimensi
profisiensi pelajar iaitu mengingat pengetahuan, mengaplikasikan pengetahuan dalam penyelesaian masalah,
dan kebolehan menaakul dalam menyelesaikan masalah (Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia 2013-
2025).

JADUAL (a). Jumlah tenaga kerja mahir, tenaga kerja STEM, tenaga kerja STEM berkemahiran tinggi dan
pengkaji, saintis & jurutera (Sumber : MOSTI 2012, MOSTI 2013)
Kohort 2012 2020 (Sasaran) Negara Maju
Jumlah tenaga kerja 13 juta 15 juta
Tenaga kerja berkemahiran 3.48 juta 6 juta
Tenaga kerja STEM 120 ribu 1 juta
Tenaga kerja STEM 85 ribu 500 ribu 30% (Purata)
berkemahiran tinggi
Pengkaji, saintis & jurutera 58:10000 tenaga kerja 70:10000 tenaga kerja (105
(69 ribu pengkaji, saintis ribu pengkaji, saintis &
& jurutera) jurutera)
13 juta 15 juta

Antara masalah yang telah dikenal pasti menyebabkan kemerosotan pelajar dalam TIMSS dan PISA ialah
kelemahan daripada aspek kemahiran pemikiran kritis serta kelemahan untuk mengaitkan pendidikan STEM
dengan masalah kehidupan sebenar. Oleh yang demikian, hasrat untuk melahirkan generasi yang celik STEM
berdepan cabaran besar disebabkan kelemahan pelajar dalam aspek kemahiran berfikir. Selain itu, ramai
pelajar yang menghadapi masalah tidak seronok belajar dalam kelas sains menyebabkan mereka menghadapi
masalah dalam menguasai kefahaman sains (Tawfik, Trueman, & Lorz, 2014). Sikap negatif ini perlulah
ditangani bagi memastikan pendekatan pendidikan STEM dapat mencapai matlamat.
Antara masalah yang telah dikenal pasti menyebabkan kemerosotan pelajar dalam TIMSS dan PISA ialah
kelemahan daripada aspek kemahiran pemikiran kritis serta kelemahan untuk mengaitkan pendidikan STEM
dengan masalah kehidupan sebenar. Oleh yang demikian, hasrat untuk melahirkan generasi yang celik STEM
berdepan cabaran besar disebabkan kelemahan pelajar dalam aspek kemahiran berfikir. Selain itu, ramai
pelajar yang menghadapi masalah tidak seronok belajar dalam kelas sains menyebabkan mereka menghadapi
masalah dalam menguasai kefahaman sains (Tawfik, Trueman, & Lorz, 2014). Sikap negatif ini perlulah
ditangani bagi memastikan pendekatan pendidikan STEM dapat mencapai matlamat.
Integrasi STEM dalam bilik darjah boleh meningkatkan tahap keyakinan pelajar dalam pembelajaran sains
dan matematik. Integrasi STEM dapat membantu pelajar untuk mencapai dan melaksanakan sesuatu yang baru
serta meningkatkan minat pelajar dalam disiplin STEM kerana pelajar seronok apabila dapat mengaplikasikan
integrasi STEM dalam bilik darjah. Kurikulum STEM boleh membantu guru untuk melihat gambaran
keseluruhan bagaimana subjek yang diajar boleh diintegrasikan dengan disiplin STEM yang lain (Wang,
Moore, Roehrig, & Park, 2011). Walau bagaimanapun, kekurangan bahan teknologi digital (komputer dan
lain-lain alat teknologi digital) dan kurikulum STEM yang bagus adalah penghalang kepada integrasi STEM.
Cabaran untuk mendapatkan bahan kurikulum yang berkualiti menjadi penghalang kepada integrasi STEM
(Guzey, Moore, & Harwell, 2016).
Cabaran lain ialah taburan guru berkualiti di sekolah-sekolah. Kajian yang dijalankan di Amerika Syarikat
menunjukkan bahawa sekolah yang mempunyai ramai pelajar miskin dan bangsa minoriti banyak menerima
guru yang baru memasuki profesion pendidikan iaitu guru novis yang kurang berpengalaman. Manakala guru
yang lebih berpengalaman dan berkualiti banyak mengajar di sekolah yang rendah bilangan pelajar miskin dan
sekolah dengan pencapaian yang tinggi (Peske & Haycock, 2006). Polisi yang diguna pakai berkaitan
pendidikan guru, pengambilan guru dan pembangunan profesionalisme membawa perbezaan penting daripada
segi kelayakan guru. Kompetensi guru mempunyai perkaitan rapat dengan pembelajaran pelajar yang boleh
diukur daripada segi tahap akademik, bilangan tahun pendidikan yang diterima, pengalaman mengajar,
pengetahuan pedagogi, pengetahuan berkaitan subjek, dan pengajaran di dalam bilik darjah. Kualiti guru
berkait rapat dengan pencapaian pelajar (Darling- Hammond, 2000). Kebanyakan guru di Malaysia menerima
pendidikan di institut yang diiktiraf iaitu di Institut Pendidikan Guru (IPG) dan Universiti dengan kelayakan
akademik sekurang-kurangnya ijazah sarjana muda. Walau bagaimanapun, kualiti guru dilihat berbeza dalam
aspek pengetahuan pedagogi, pengetahuan berkaitan subjek, dan pengajaran di dalam bilik darjah. Guru yang
kurang berkualiti mempunyai kelemahan dalam aspek-aspek ini menyebabkan penurunan dalam pencapaian
pelajar.
Keberkesanan guru merupakan penentu kepada perbezaan dalam pembelajaran pelajar. Guru yang
berkesan mampu mengajar secara efektif menyebabkan pelajar mendapat pembelajaran yang bermakna.
Pelajar yang diajar oleh guru yang efektif menunjukkan pencapaian yang lebih tinggi berbanding pencapaian
pelajar yang diajar oleh guru yang kurang efektif (Sanders & Rivers, 1996). Walau bagaimanapun, terdapat

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guru yang kurang efektif dan tidak dapat menilai kefahaman pelajar semasa pembelajaran berlangsung. Kajian
menunjukkan guru menghadapi masalah untuk memilih alat untuk menilai kefahaman dan kemahiran pelajar
melalui aktiviti pendekatan STEM (Ashgar et al., 2012). Guru juga tidak dapat menghubungkaitkan antara
penilaian untuk kefahaman mengikut silibus mata pelajaran berbanding dengan kurikulum STEM. Guru juga
memerlukan ‘school-based coaching’ yang berterusan dan permentoran dalam bidang STEM terutama dalam
aspek pengajaran, penilaian untuk melaksanakan pendidikan STEM dengan sempurna (Ashgar et al., 2012).
Cabaran lain adalah daripada segi pedagogi guru yang perlu menjurus ke arah abad ke-21 serta
menggunakan pendekatan terkini bagi menarik minat pelajar. Guru perlu bijak memilih pendekatan pengajaran
dan pembelajaran yang berkesan dan mendorong kepada kefahaman mendalam dalam kalangan pelajar.
Pengajaran dan pembelajaran berasaskan ‘one-way communication’ seperti kaedah kuliah perlu dielakkan oleh
guru kerana ia sememangnya gagal melahirkan pelajar yang dapat menguasai kefahaman mata pelajaran serta
tidak merangsang kemahiran penyelesaian masalah (Gallagher & Gallagher, 2013). Pendapat ini disokong oleh
kajian yang menyatakan terdapat tenaga pengajar yang bergantung pada kaedah kuliah sebagai strategi
pengajaran STEM yang utama dan mempunyai pemikiran yang sempit tentang pengajaran dan enggan berubah
(Talanquer, 2014). Kaedah ini menyebabkan pelajar memperoleh ilmu pengetahuan dengan cara yang pasif,
dan gagal untuk memperoleh pembelajaran yang bermakna.
Kajian yang dijalankan oleh (Stohlmann et al., 2012) menyatakan bahawa guru tidak mengetahui mengenai
hala tuju pelajar dalam pembelajaran STEM yang menyebabkan guru menjadi kurang yakin dengan
pengetahuan mereka serta mengalami kesukaran untuk membimbing pelajar dalam tugasan mereka. Hal ini
disebabkan guru-guru mempunyai kurang kemahiran dalam melaksanakan pendekatan pendidikan STEM
disebabkan tidak mahu merubah pendekatan pengajaran sedia ada (Siew, Amir, & Chong, 2015). Ini
menunjukkan keperluan untuk memperbanyak program latihan berasaskan STEM untuk guru-guru. Justeru,
guru-guru perlu diberi latihan dari semasa ke semasa bagi menambah kemahiran dan pengetahuan mereka
terutama dalam aspek kandungan pengetahuan dan kemahiran pedagogi supaya mereka dapat mengajar
menggunakan pendekatan STEM secara berkesan.
Kajian lain mendapati guru-guru menghadapi kesukaran untuk menghubungkan disiplin STEM semasa
proses pembelajaran. Akibatnya, minat pelajar dalam mata pelajaran STEM terutamanya Matematik dan Sains
menurun apabila mereka gagal untuk menghubungkaitkan apa yang dipelajari di dalam kelas dengan pelbagai
disiplin ilmu dan dengan kehidupan sebenar (Sun, Merrill, & Peterson, 2001) menyebabkan pelajar gagal
mendapat pembelajaran yang bermakna. Hal ini disokong oleh kenyataan bahawa antara cabaran dalam
reformasi STEM adalah penyediaan peluang pembelajaran yang bermakna dan produktif untuk kelompok
pelajar yang besar (Talanquer, 2014).
Suatu penyelesaian yang proaktif perlulah diambil bagi menyelesaikan halangan serta memastikan objektif
pendidikan STEM tercapai. Antara langkah yang boleh diambil bagi mengatasi halangan ini ialah menarik
taraf dan memodenkan makmal sains di sekolah supaya aktiviti berkaitan STEM dapat dilaksanakan bagi
memantapkan pembelajaran pelajar, menghasilkan bahan dan video STEM yang interaktif untuk membantu
guru-guru dalam pengajaran STEM, meningkatkan keupayaan guru sains dan pembantu makmal melalui
kursus-kursus dan bimbingan yang berterusan, pemeriksaan pendidikan STEM mengikut tema serta menilai
semula penilaian untuk amali sains di sekolah (Inisiatif Perkukuhan STEM KPM, 2017).

PERANAN DAN KUALITI GURU DALAM PENDIDIKAN STEM

Guru ialah agen utama dalam transformasi pendidikan di Malaysia. Oleh itu, peranan dan pengaruh guru
terhadap pelajar sememangnya tidak dapat dinafikan. Hal ini kerana perubahan dalam pendidikan tidak dapat
dielakkan seiring dengan negara Malaysia yang sedang menuju ke arah negara yang berpendapatan tinggi.
Hasrat ini perlu didukung oleh produktiviti negara yang dipacu oleh inovasi-inovasi dan rekaan terkini. Guru
perlulah mempunyai sikap dan semangat untuk mengubah pemikiran pelajar dan masyarakat. Guru juga perlu
memainkan peranan untuk menangani silap fahaman konsep berkaitan mata pelajaran STEM dalam kalangan
pelajar. Sehubungan itu, pengajaran guru di dalam bilik darjah adalah antara aspek terpenting yang menjadi
tunjang kepada pelaksanaan kurikulum dan kokurikulum dalam bilik darjah. Justeru, kaedah pedagogi guru
perlulah menjalani transformasi dan mengubah bagaimana guru melihat amalan bilik darjah mereka. Selain itu,
aspek penyampaian, bimbingan dan tunjuk ajar yang diberikan dalam bilik darjah perlulah terkini, berkualiti
dan diberikan penekanan yang serius. Pendekatan pembelajaran yang aktif dan menggalakkan kemahiran
berfikir haruslah diberikan keutamaan.

Kualiti guru merupakan faktor penting bagi keberhasilan pelajar. Guru abad ke-21 perlulah memiliki
beberapa kualiti penting antaranya mahir dan berketerampilan dalam pedagogi, memahami perkembangan
pelajar dan menyayangi mereka, memahami psikologi pembelajaran, memiliki kemahiran kaunseling,
menggunakan teknologi terkini, dan menguasai subjek iaitu pengetahuan kandungan kurikulum. Hal ini
disokong oleh kajian Zemelman, Daniels & Hyde (2005) dipetik dari (Stohlmann et al., 2012) yang
menyatakan bahawa sepuluh amalan terbaik dalam pengajaran sains dan matematik ialah penggunaan

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pembelajaran ‘hands-on’ dan manipulatif, pembelajaran koperatif, perbincangan dan inkuiri, penyoalan,
menggunakan justifikasi pemikiran, penulisan refleksi dan penyelesaian masalah, penggunaan pendekatan
penyelesaian masalah, mengintegrasikan teknologi, guru sebagai fasilitator, dan menggunakan penilaian
sebagai sebahagian daripada pengajaran.

Rick Stephen ada menyatakan bahawa pendidik hari ini menyediakan pelajar untuk pekerjaan yang masih
belum wujud menggunakan teknologi yang masih belum dicipta dan menyelesaikan masalah yang masih
belum dikenal pasti. Oleh itu satu persoalan yang perlu dijawab adalah sama ada kita telah menyediakan
pelajar kita hari ini untuk memenuhi dan mengisi kekosongan kerjaya masa depan ini? Adakah pelajar kita
hari ini sedar dengan dunia masa depan yang sedang menunggu mereka? Adakah guru-guru di Malaysia kini
telah dilengkapkan dengan kemahiran- kemahiran baru, bakat dan pengetahuan yang diperlukan untuk kekal
relevan dalam dunia yang berkembang pesat? Guru-guru perlu sentiasa prihatin dengan trend masa depan serta
impak STEM kepada dunia masa depan di luar skop bilik darjah. Guru juga perlu proaktif dalam mencari
peluang untuk menimbulkan perasaan ingin tahu, keseronokan dan menemui ilmu pengetahuan baru yang
boleh dikongsi bersama pelajar.

Bagaimana untuk kita kekal relevan dalam dunia hari ini? Guru perlu memainkan peranan penting bagi
melahirkan pelajar yang mampu untuk bersaing dan mendepani cabaran dalam dunia masa depan. Guru perlu
menyemak semula bagaimana cara guru berfikir mengenai pendekatan pendidikan secara umum. Guru juga
perlu mampu membantu pelajar untuk mengaitkan kehidupan sebenar dengan mata pelajaran STEM. Guru
perlu merangsang pemikiran dan imaginasi pelajar. Guru juga perlu mendukung pendekatan pedagogi yang
kreatif. Guru perlu mengambil pendekatan yang menekankan kepada penerokaan. Guru juga perlu mampu
membawa pelajar untuk menyelami ke dalam proses pembelajaran dan mengaitkannya dengan situasi
kehidupan sebenar. Guru juga perlu memberi peluang kepada pelajar untuk mengambil tanggungjawab
terhadap perkembangan pembelajaran mereka sendiri, serta menjelajahi dunia pendidikan STEM dan
bagaimana ia mempengaruhi kehidupan manusia. Kesimpulannya, guru perlu belajar untuk mengajar ‘kurang’
supaya pelajar dapat belajar ‘lebih’ lagi.

“education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire” – William Butler Yeats

Adalah menjadi suatu keperluan penting untuk melibatkan pelajar secara langsung dalam pengalaman
pembelajaran untuk meningkatkan minat, kebolehan dan kecekapan terutama di peringkat menengah rendah.
Guru akan bertindak sebagai fasilitator atau pemudah cara dan bukannya sebagai penyampai ilmu (Estes, Liu,
Zha, & Reedy, 2014). Hal ini demikian kerana guru bukanlah bertindak sebagai sumber ilmu sebaliknya lebih
kepada pembimbing dan pemudah cara kepada pelajar supaya pelajar berupaya mendapatkan dan mendalami
sendiri sesuatu ilmu pengetahuan. Pelajar akan bekerjasama, berbincang dan berusaha untuk memperoleh,
memahami serta mengembangkan sendiri sesuatu ilmu. Guru perlu menerima perubahan ini dan dengan
sokongan teknologi terkini dalam pendidikan dan kurikulum yang telah dirombak semula maka impian ini
boleh menjadi kenyataan. Penekanan kepada aspek pedagogi perlu diberi lebih perhatian manakala aktiviti
pembelajaran mestilah dapat meningkatkan pengetahuan, kemahiran merentas kurikulum dan aplikasi
penyelesaian masalah dalam dunia sebenar (Newhouse, 2017).
Apabila pelajar dilibatkan secara aktif dalam pembelajaran, mereka akan menjadi lebih bermotivasi, lebih
selesa untuk bertanya soalan, berani untuk mengemukakan idea dan mencadangkan langkah-langkah untuk
menyelesaikan sesuatu masalah (Tawfik et al., 2014). Pengalaman pembelajaran STEM yang baru
membolehkan pelajar untuk mengaplikasikan pengetahuan untuk menyelesaikan masalah dalam dunia sebenar
dan seterusnya dapat memberi sumbangan penting kepada masyarakat.

PROGRAM PEMBANGUNAN PROFESIONALISME UNTUK GURU STEM

Pendidikan di Malaysia kini menekankan kepentingan pendidikan STEM yang memberi pendedahan
kepada pelajar untuk belajar melalui pembelajaran merentas pelbagai disiplin, pendekatan berasaskan inkuiri
dan berasaskan penyelesaian masalah. Pelajar berpeluang untuk belajar tentang ilmu sains melalui pengalaman
eksplorasi dan penyelidikan terancang. Bagi menyediakan guru untuk pengajaran STEM, ia mestilah dimulai
dengan pemantapan konsep STEM melalui teori-teori yang berkaitan, pendekatan pedagogi yang terkini dan
latihan secara berkala.
Setiap pihak yang berkaitan perlu memainkan peranan masing-masing dengan aktif antaranya pihak
pentadbir, PPD, JPN, KPM, Universiti dan komuniti. Pihak universiti contohnya perlu lebih proaktif dalam
menyediakan kursus-kursus pembangunan profesional guru yang berterusan, dan bukan terhad kepada bakal-
bakal guru di universiti. Hal ini kerana profesion perguruan memerlukan kursus dan bengkel yang berterusan
yang bersifat pembelajaran sepanjang hayat bagi memastikan guru mampu kekal relevan. Program
pembangunan profesional yang dijalankan di universiti dapat menyokong pemahaman para pendidik sekolah

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menengah dan meningkatkan keupayaan untuk menggunakan pendekatan STEM berasaskan masalah dalam
bilik darjah (Ashgar et al., 2012). ‘Community of practice’ boleh menyediakan ruang untuk komuniti
memberikan sumbangan terhadap pembangunan STEM di sekolah. Komuniti seperti saintis, jurutera dan pakar
boleh menyumbang ilmu, kepakaran untuk mengaitkan pengetahuan STEM dengan konteks kehidupan yang
sebenar (Kelley & Knowles, 2016).
Guru-guru perlulah menguasai kaedah pengajaran STEM terutamanya aspek kandungan mata pelajaran
STEM dan pedagogi yang sesuai bagi menjamin pengajaran yang efektif. Guru juga perlu diberi kemahiran
STEM melalui pembelajaran berasaskan projek, pembelajaran berasaskan masalah dan pembelajaran secara
koperatif. Kajian menunjukkan bahawa bengkel pembangunan profesional STEM boleh memberikan
sokongan kepada guru-guru untuk menggunakan pendekatan STEM berasaskan projek yang lebih inovatif,
kreatif dan berkesan untuk pengajaran sains (Siew et al., 2015). Namun, terdapat pendapat yang menyokong
supaya kajian dan perbincangan dibuat berkaitan pengetahuan, pengalaman, dan latar belakang yang
diperlukan oleh guru untuk pengajaran STEM secara efektif (Stohlmann et al., 2012) serta membentuk
program pembangunan profesional yang mampu mempengaruhi pendekatan pengajaran, kepercayaan dan
amalan guru (Talanquer, 2014). Program pendidikan guru yang lebih produktif dan strategi pembangunan
profesionalisme guru yang lebih efektif memberikan kesan yang lebih signifikan terhadap pendekatan
pengajaran guru (Darling-Hammond, 2000). Pembangunan Profesionalisme STEM untuk guru-guru boleh
menyediakan peluang untuk guru-guru memahami bagaimana untuk menggunakan integrasi STEM untuk
mengajar mata pelajaran mereka (Wang et al., 2011).
Kajian menunjukkan bahawa program pembangunan profesional memberi kesan positif terhadap
pandangan guru-guru terhadap pendidikan STEM. Guru yang mengambil bahagian mampu untuk menyatakan
pandangan bagi menambah baik program pendidikan STEM di sekolah. Guru-guru perlulah diberi latihan dari
semasa ke semasa bagi meningkatkan kesedaran dalam bidang STEM. Hasrat ini dapat direalisasikan melalui
program ‘professional learning community’ (PLC) yang dijalankan di sekolah bagi meningkatkan kecekapan
guru-guru untuk merancang, melaksanakan serta menilai proses pengajaran yang sesuai untuk pendekatan
STEM (ALTAN & ERCAN, 2016). Pengajaran STEM akan menjadi lebih efektif dan pencapaian pelajar akan
meningkat apabila guru terlibat secara aktif dalam PLC di sekolah (Fulton & Britton, 2011). PLC juga akan
membantu guru dalam meningkatkan pengetahuan kandungan dan pengetahuan kandungan pedagogi,
memperbaiki amalan pengajaran dalam bilik darjah serta meningkatkan pencapaian pelajar dalam mata
pelajaran STEM. Enam prinsip telah dikenal pasti bagi menjadikan PLC sebagai efektif di sekolah iaitu
perkongsian nilai dan matlamat, tanggungjawab bersama, penilaian autentik, refleksi terarah kendiri,
persekitaran yang stabil dan sokongan kepimpinan yang kuat (Fulton & Britton, 2011).
Inisiatif lain kerajaan dalam pembangunan profesional guru STEM adalah dengan melantik Pembimbing
Pakar Peningkatan Sekolah (SISC+) yang berperanan untuk membimbing guru dalam pengajaran dan
pembelajaran yang berkesan dalam bilik darjah. SISC+ ini akan datang ke sekolah untuk melihat pengajaran
guru dan seterusnya memberikan komen supaya guru dapat menambah baik kualiti pengajaran di bilik darjah.
Kementerian Pendidikan juga mengadakan program video STEM yang menghimpunkan koleksi video
pengajaran yang boleh dijadikan panduan dan idea kepada guru-guru lain (Lilia Halim, Mohamad Satar,
2016). Adalah diharapkan supaya inisiatif oleh pihak KPM ini dapat menyuntik semangat kepada guru-guru
untuk meneruskan semangat dan dedikasi dalam pendidikan STEM di Malaysia.

MODEL PENGAJARAN DAN PEMBELAJARAN STEM YANG IDEAL

Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia telah menggariskan ciri-ciri utama pengajaran dan pembelajaran STEM
bagi membimbing guru melaksanakan pengajaran dan pembelajaran STEM di sekolah. Guru harus
mengintegrasikan pengetahuan, kemahiran dan nilai mata pelajaran STEM untuk menyelesaikan sesuatu
tugasan atau masalah dalam konteks kehidupan harian, masyarakat dan alam sekitar. Ciri-ciri tersebut ialah
melibatkan pelajar dalam inkuiri dan penerokaan terbuka, melibatkan pelajar dalam kerja berpasukan yang
produktif, mendorong pelajar memberikan pelbagai jawapan atau penyelesaian yang disokong oleh justifikasi,
memberi peluang pelajar menambah baik jawapan atau produk, melibatkan pelajar mengaplikasikan
kemahiran proses mereka bentuk, serta meningkatkan kepekaan pelajar kepada isu dan masalah dunia sebenar
(Buku penerangan KSSM, 2017).
Pendekatan STEM melibatkan pengaplikasian pengetahuan, kemahiran dan nilai STEM untuk
menyelesaikan masalah dalam konteks kehidupan harian, masyarakat dan alam sekitar seperti dalam rajah 2.
Pendekatan ini menggalakkan pelajar bertanya dan meneroka persekitaran mereka melalui inkuiri dan
menyelesaikan masalah yang berkaitan dengan dunia sebenar ke arah membudayakan amalan STEM.

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 RAJAH 2. STEM sebagai pendekatan P&P (Buku Penerangan KSSM, 2017)

Pembelajaran STEM perlu memfokuskan kepada permasalahan dan juga isu-isu dunia sebenar. Pelajar
perlu mengenal pasti apakah permasalahan sosial, ekonomi dan alam sekitar yang berlaku dan seterusnya
mencari penyelesaian kepada permasalahan tersebut. Model pembelajaran STEM (rujuk rajah 3) menekankan
pengetahuan kandungan sebagai faktor penting kepada guru yang mengajar STEM untuk membantu
pengajaran guru yang efektif. Selain itu, faktor efikasi kendiri guru juga mempunyai pengaruh kepada
motivasi pelajar, esteem kendiri pelajar, sikap pelajar di dalam kelas, dan efikasi kendiri pelajar. Antara faktor
yang mempengaruhi efikasi kendiri guru ialah pengetahuan kandungan guru, pengalaman dan pengetahuan
kandungan pedagogi guru. Selain itu, pendekatan pengajaran yang berpusatkan pelajar serta aktiviti yang
berstruktur akan mendorong kepada kejayaan pelajar.
Pendidikan STEM juga memerlukan bahan dan sumber supaya pelajar berpeluang untuk meneroka
masalah dalam dunia sebenar melalui reka bentuk, pengujian dan penilaian semula idea mereka (Stohlmann et
al., 2012). Model pembelajaran STEM dapat digunakan untuk membantu guru dalam pengajaran STEM,
meningkatkan minat pelajar serta membantu pembelajaran pelajar. Model ini dapat memberi input kepada
pendidikan STEM, meningkatkan minat dan keupayaan pelajar yang seterusnya dapat memotivasikan pelajar
untuk berkecimpung dalam kerjaya STEM.
Sokongan
 Kerjasama dengan universiti berhampiran
 Menghadiri kursus pembangunan profesional
 Kolaborasi bersama guru
 Latihan berkaitan kurikulum

Pengajaran
Perancangan pembelajaran Amalan bilik darjah
 Fokus kepada perkaitan  Guru bertanyakan soalan
 Memahami miskonsepsi pelajar  Justifikasi pemikiran
 Memahami kemampuan pelajar  Penulisan refleksi
 Berasaskan penyelesaian masalah  Fokus kepada corak pemahaman
 Berpusatkan pelajar  Pembelajaran koperatif
 Dibina berdasarkan pengetahuan lepas  Penggunaan manipulatif yang efektif
 Fokus kepada idea utama, konsep dan tema  Inkuiri
 Integrasi teknologi
 Dunia sebenar dan kesesuaian budaya

Efikasi
 Pengetahuan kandungan dan pengetahuan pedagogi membawa kepada efikasi kendiri guru yang positif
 Komitmen kepada pendidikan STEM
 Perancangan dan penyusunan adalah penting

Bahan
 Sumber teknologi
 Pandangan luas tentang teknologi
 Kit untuk aktiviti
 Bilik dan ruang menyimpan untuk bahan
 Meja untuk kerja berkumpulan

Pasukan Pembelajaran STEM

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  Melibatkan guru STEM dalam perbincangan mengenai pengajaran mereka
 Memahami STEM dengan lebih baik
 Persekitaran pembelajaran kolaboratif profesional
 Menambah baik amalan pengajaran di bilik darjah

RAJAH 3. Model STEM untuk pengajaran STEM (Diadaptasi daripada kajian Stohlmann, Moore, & Roehrig (2012)

KESIMPULAN
Faktor kualiti guru merupakan antara faktor terpenting yang perlu diberi perhatian serius bagi memastikan
keberkesanan pengajaran dan pembelajaran STEM di bilik darjah. Faktor pengetahuan kandungan mata
pelajaran serta pendekatan pedagogi guru yang berkesan perlu diberikan penekanan yang sewajarnya bagi
memastikan pelajar memperoleh pembelajaran dan mendalam dan bermakna. Semua pihak yang
berkepentingan termasuklah Universiti, KPM, JPN, PPD, sekolah, PIBG dan pihak swasta perlu saling
berganding bahu dan memainkan peranan masing- masing bagi meningkatkan minat pelajar dalam bidang
STEM dan seterusnya memastikan kejayaan pendidikan STEM di Malaysia. Pendekatan Pendidikan STEM
perlu memasukkan elemen penyelesaian masalah, pemikiran kritis, pemikiran kreatif dan pemikiran saintifik
yang dapat meningkatkan kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi (KBAT) dalam kalangan pelajar untuk membolehkan
berlakunya pembelajaran yang efektif, bermakna dan pemahaman mendalam. Pengalaman pembelajaran yang
diperoleh melalui aktiviti berasaskan STEM dapat memberi idea kepada pelajar untuk mengaitkan apa yang
dipelajari dalam kelas dengan pengalaman seharian mereka dan seterusnya dapat meningkatkan kemahiran
penyelesaian masalah mereka. Diharapkan supaya pendidikan STEM di Malaysia dapat melahirkan insan yang
bukan sahaja cemerlang dalam segenap aspek merangkumi akademik, kokurikulum, dan sahsiah, tetapi juga
mampu bersaing di peringkat global.

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 Learning Study: Sharpening Skills and Abilities of
Mathematics Teachers In STEM Initiative

Zulkifili bin Saleh

Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Kota Setar, Alor Setar, Kedah

Abstract. A highly structured process of teachers‟ Professional Learning Community (PLC) through
collaboration, observation, reflection and practice has been implemented in supporting teachers‟ professional
development. This study explored the method of PLC through a learning study approach, which originated from
Hong Kong, encouraging and supporting mathematics teachers to adopt and apply strategies to enhance students‟
understanding of Mathematics. Moreover, this study showed that Learning Study was able to sharpen skills and
abilities of mathematics teachers in STEM initiative. Teachers completed cycles of researching, planning, teaching,
evaluating and reflecting on the lesson to help students to learn specific objectives. Interviews were conducted with
the teachers involved, transcribed and interpretively analysed. The findings of the study reveal that teachers were
motivated as they developed knowledge of mathematical learning of young children in their own setting. More
importantly, the teachers are able to form a professional learning community among themselves. Evidence from
the study suggests the importance of incorporating the learning study approach to enhance teachers‟ pedagogical
practices.
Keywords: STEM, Professional Learning Study, Learning Study.

BACKGROUND
The Ministry of Education Malaysia has, since the 1960s, been giving priority to science, mathematics and
technology education through National Science and Technology Enrolment Policy of 60:40, which guaranteed
that 60 per cent of students would be enrolled in science with the remaining 40 per cent in arts. However, the
target has not been able to achieve it. In 2014, only 45% students enrolled in science, technical and vocational
stream whereas 55% remained in art stream (MoE, 2013). It is said that, students are no longer interested in
science, technical and vocational programmes. In another warning sign, there are now more arts classes than
science classes in schools and science laboratories are now a rarity in secondary schools.
The Education Ministry (MOE) has come out with a clear policy regarding the above problems through
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, STEM education. Among the first steps to strengthen
STEM education is through the Malaysia Education Blueprint (2013 - 2025), namely to increase the interest of
students and teachers awareness of STEM education. STEM initiative is clearly stated in Malaysia Education
Blueprint 2013 – 2025 and the aims of these initiatives are: i. to prepare students with the skills to meet the
science and technology challenges,
(ii) to ensure that Malaysia has a sufficient graduates (MoE, 2013). By definition, STEM Education means
pedagogical applications based design and engineering technology for teaching content and practice in science
and mathematics education with the content and practice of educational technology and engineering with
simultaneous (Azian, 2015; English, 2016; Suraya, Norsalawati, Nasir, 2017).
Based on the definition above, it can be known that the goal of integration is to integrating STEM Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in the teaching and learning process. However, according to
English (2016), one of the problematic issues for researchers and curriculum developers lies in the different
interpretations of STEM education and STEM integration. Moore, Johnson, Peter-Burton and Guzey (2016) in
Suraya, et. al. (2017) details the six core of STEM integration: 1. Using meaningful learning context and
relate to student real life.
2. Challenge students potential using design approach Engineering to develop critical and creative
thinking through activities that be related. 3. Student aided design technology can learn from failure in
designing solutions in engineering design with existing design. 4. Implementing teaching and learning that is
integrated with science and mathematics and subjects relevant like Literature, Humanities, and Social Studies.
5. Implementing teaching and learning activities that are student-centered so that students are actively
involved in teaching and learning 6. Train students to collaborate and communicate in conducting educational
activities. STEM, by the way, is more than just an acronym for science, technology, engineering and
mathematics.
To achieve the above demand, we probably need to improve our school system. Further investigation
should be made to look at the impact of policy and practice in STEM education to examines ways in which

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research can be informed by a thorough understanding of the perspectives of policy makers and practitioners
that lead to school improvement (Rosicka, 2016). DuFour and Eaker (2008) stress that when we talk about
school improvement; we are talking about people improvement. Teachers are necessarily at the centre of any
reform plan and determinant to boost the quality of teaching and learning. According to Taylor, Anderson,
Meyer, Wagner and West (2005), educational reform will be successful if the focus is given on two main
areas: (a) increasing teachers' knowledge, and (b) increasing the effectiveness of teaching in the classroom.
Developing professional teachers has been the crust of many educational reforms in the world. Some
researchers suggest that one promising strategy is through a professional learning community (PLC) that
focuses on instructional improvement and student achievement. In this concept paper, I share one tailored
professional development to sharpen skills and abilities of mathematics teachers that align with STEM
integration called learning study.

THE LEARNING STUDY APPROACH

Most of the studies cite that the continued incorporation of one-time, mandated short duration workshops
and presentations is shown to be an inadequate strategy for bringing about change in teacher practices
(Duncan-Howell, 2010; Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman & Yoon, 2001; Guskey, 2002; Padward & Dixit
2008; Song 2012). Research by Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman & Yoon (2001) reveal that characteristics of
professional development that can foster improvements in teaching are shown by activities that are linked to
teachers‟ outside experiences and aligned with other efforts to make changes in their teaching practices. In
other words, research suggested that teachers desire professional learning opportunities that focus on practical
classroom strategies targeting their specific needs (Guskey, 2002). Effective teachers‟ professional
development must address the needs of the teachers, not just the needs by school management or other
stakeholder (Duncan-Howell, 2010).
Some researchers suggest that one promising strategy is through a professional learning community (PLC)
that focus on instructional improvement and student achievement. Padward & Dixit (2008) define PLC as a
community of professionals who come together for sharing, interaction, and mutual support, leading to
personal and professional growth. Song (2012) explains the characteristics of a PLC as follows: (a) shared
sense of purpose and focuses on student learning, (b) shared decision making, (c) collaborative activity and
deprivatised practice, and (d) support and cooperation. In summary, establishing PLC can make teachers feel
more empowered and PLC turns the singular „I‟ into a plural „we‟ creating the sense of reliability and
belonging within the community.
In Malaysia, Bahagian Pendidikan Guru (BPG) and Institut Aminuddin Baki (IAB) have been actively
involved in implementing PLC among teachers and school administrators since 2011. One important tool in
PLC that involves an active collaboration among teachers is called lesson study. Lesson study is a type of
professional development programme where teachers collaboratively plan, implement, make observations and
reflect on a lesson (White & Lim, 2007). Cerbin and Kopp (2006) explains that the “Lesson study is a process
in which a group of teachers jointly designs, teaches, observes, analyses and revises a single class lesson,
called a research lesson” (pg. 3).There are three steps to be followed by a group of teachers in a lesson study;
1. Plan a lesson (Plan), 2. Implement the lesson (Do), and 3. Evaluate and reflect on the lesson taught (Check).
Since 2011, Malaysia‟s Ministry of Education has been implementing the lesson study as part the School
Improvement Programme to enhance the pedagogical quality of teachers in schools that are identified
(Ministry of Education, 2011).
Learning Study is a hybrid of lesson study (Wood, 2013) which originated in Hong Kong, and is now also
the major mode of practice in countries such as Sweden and Brunei (Cheng & Lo, 2013). While a lesson study
may focus on various aspects of a lesson, such as classroom management, teaching strategies, or
implementation of a new curriculum, a learning study always takes the „object of learning‟ as the point of
departure. In other words, the research question in each learning study is always, “How can X be taught to
students so that they have the best opportunity to learn it?” (Wood, 2013). The conceptual framework of each
learning study is based on a learning theory, and so far, all the learning studies are based on Variation Theory.
The theory used was developed by Marton and Booth (1997) with an emphasis on the determination of the
object of learning and its critical aspects as a precursor to the design of learning situations (Wood, 2013). In
other words, it helps to explain the conditions necessary for the design of effective learning situations.
According to Wood (2013) there are eight steps in a Learning Study:
(1) A group of teachers, supported by a consultant, decide on an object of learning;
(2) A topic or principle or approach to problem solving that is included in the curriculum;
(3) Drawing on information about the learners‟ different ways of experiencing the object obtained by a
pre-test and by pooling the teachers‟ experience of teaching the object, the Learning Study group
designs the new lesson(s)
(4) Variation is used as a tool for designing the new lesson(s).
(5) One of the teachers teaches the new design. Evidence is collected through observation and video-

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 recording of the lesson, and learners are post-tested and may be interviewed.
(6) The Learning Study group considers the evidence and analyses the test results. If they find the
learning outcomes unsatisfactory, they review the design.
(7) If necessary, the next teacher teaches the revised design in her class and evidence is collected.
(8) The Learning study continues in a cyclical process of improvement until the group is satisfied with
the design.

Learning Study In Action

This learning study project was conducted by one of the secondary schools in the Kota Setar District,
Kedah with the author as a coach for the teachers. It involved four mathematics teachers, all of whom had
received formal training in teaching mathematics. The identification of an object of learning was determined
by the teachers. Three types of variation guided the investigation process: variation in students‟understanding
of the object of learning (V1), variation in the teachers‟ own ways of understanding and dealing with this
object of learning in the past (V2), and variation as a guiding principle of pedagogical design (V3). Teachers
conducted item analysis from students‟ performance in their Mid-term examination. They spent one hour in
each meeting, sharing, discussing and negotiating the object of learning. Finally, they agreed to focus on the
topic of Angles of Elevation and Depression, and the object of learning was „Determine angles of elevation
and depression‟.

FIGURE 1. Students misconception to determine angle of depression

Based on students‟ answers of finding determine angles of elevation and depression (referred to as V1 in
the learning study framework), the teachers shared their experience teaching the topic (V2) and all teachers
admitted that they normally use the explanation method to teach the topics. The teachers worked out a pattern
of variation (V3). Teachers are eager to contribute their teaching notes and share their knowledge to design
(V2, V3) the lesson plan. The lesson was carried out by Mrs M to the 5C which have 28 students (VI, V2, V3)
and the rest of teachers observed the lesson. The reflection session (V1, V2, V3) was held after the lesson
which involved all teachers and the coach.

DISCUSSION
Findings from the study supported the use of Variation Theory as a guiding principle of pedagogical design
for effective learning. Throughout the project, the teachers learned and used a common language to talk about
teaching and learning, referring to the object of learning, variation in students‟ understanding of the object of
learning (V1), variation in the teachers‟ ways of dealing with the object of learning (V2), and using variation
as a guiding principle of pedagogical design (V3).

“I have taught this topic to my students, but without proper planning. I didn‟t give them choices to
determine angles of elevation and depression. I want them to follow my way. But actually, students
didn‟t see it. After thislesson, I realize that I have to think more on how students think and how they
learn. In the future I should discuss with others to get a better idea”. (Mrs M).

“Before this I would just discuss the right answer with my students. Actually I don‟t really make use of
item analysis after each examination. This project helps me to make use of the analysis”. (Mrs R)

The above findings support the claim that learning study contributes to teachers learning. Similar results

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have been reported by other researchers (Cheng, 2009; Song, 2012; and Wood, 2013). Cheng (2009) reported
that learning study provided an opportunity for all teachers to share knowledge, values and beliefs. Teachers
provide a positive view of the learning study.

“Honestly, this is good…because, when we teach alone, we don‟t realize aspects that need to be
improved. But learning study has given me an opportunity to criticize the lesson. Now I have a chance
to appreciate my weaknesses and other people‟s strengths”. (Mrs. N)

“When I teach my students this topic,I will just tell them the answer….Now I feel that it is not
appropriate to do that...” (Mrs. K)

Learning study can provide teachers with a platform for knowledge sharing and more importantly, it helps
teachers to form their very own PLC. DuFour and Eaker (2008) identified six characteristics of PLC, which
can be found in learning study: (a) shared mission, vision, values and goals focused on students‟ learning, (b)
a collaborative culture with a focus on learning, (c) collective inquiry into best practices and current reality,
(d) action oriented, (e) commitment to continuous improvement, and (f) result orientation.
In this planned lesson, teachers have asked the students to represent the angles of elevation and depression
using concrete materials. The students have to sketch their ideas and explain it. One of the group came up with
the ideas of using light from the touch light that tied to a protractor. The explanation given by the students
were beyond teachers‟ expectation of integrating STEM in mathematics teaching. The students‟ explain that
seems light move in a straight line, it would be easy for them to identify horizontal line and line of elevation
and depression and determine the angles by reading the protractor. Ample time should be given for the
students to explore and develop the models of their own. However, teachers in learning study team took the
ideas and developed an innovation called Protractor SD&T. This innovation was then shared with all the
teachers in their school and mathematics teachers in Kota Setar District.

FIGURE 2. Protractor SD&T – Innovation for teaching Angles of Elevation and Depression

CONCLUSION
The Learning Study process has provided a meaningful experience for all the teachers. The use of
Variation Theory distinguishes learning study from other types of lesson study. It provides the teachers with a
common problem for design and evaluation. Learning Study is a process of developing collaborative
professionalism to set goals, plan, teach, observe, and reflects a daily lesson plan. The findings show that
learning study can be incorporated in teachers‟ professional learning communities (PLC) to support STEM
integration in teaching mathematic. However, establishing PLC at the school level requires commitment and
determination. Teachers need support, especially from their school administrators, such as providing flexible
timetables for teachers to hold a meeting. The school administrator and all education authority members must
ensure that teachers have a clear understanding about STEM education in Malaysia if they really want to
improve the quality of education. This can be done through learning study as teachers‟ professional
development.

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 Making Sense of my Reflective Practice:
A Journey from practice to praxis
Aisha Mahmooda, Yudariah Mohammad Yusofb and Mohammad Fauzi
Othmanb
a
Department of STEM Education, Division of Education, University of Education, Main Campus,
Township, Lahore, Pakistan
b
Center of Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bharu, Johar, Malaysia

Abstract. Sense-making of the reflective practice is the key to the journey from practice to praxis. The principal
researcher of a longitudinal research project documented her sense-making phenomena through the involvement of
another online research project. Through that project, the researcher got a chance to interview a pioneer in
engineering education research who helped the researcher to comprehend that reflective practice is incomplete
without making sense of it and for that one needs someone from the community of practice (CoP) to listen to one’s
reflections, to rephrase whatever have been said and to help uncover the hidden meanings of what have been
experienced. After that exposure, the researcher understood what reflection really means and how to reflect on
experiences, it is about this intentional going back and looking at what you have done and making sense of it. This
research illustrates how the phenomena of sense making of reflective practice occurred.
Keywords: Living Theory, Making-sense, Reflective Practice, Praxis.

INTRODUCTION
Sense making is developing understanding of a situation, context, or concept by connecting it with existing
knowledge. (NCTM, 2009) whereas “Reflective thinking is always more or less troublesome because it
involves overcoming the inertia that inclines one to accept suggestions at their face value; it involves
willingness to endure a condition of mental unrest” (Dewey, 1910, p. 13). A major contribution in reflection
practice of the author as researcher was dependent on her reflective thinking as mentioned earlier. The
researcher’s reflective thinking was the result of observing her students and the consequences of the students’
behaviors both in the classroom and in the mathematical thinking lab (MTL). That learning is supported by
Sociocognitive Theory (Moreno, 2010, p. 592).

SENSE MAKING OF REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

Some of the sense-making experiences of the researcher’s reflective practice are described below:
“Fifteen years ago, I started teaching as a positivist practitioner who tried to figure out the problems that
students face, fix or eliminate those problems. Now I realize as an engineering educator that I do not want the
students' problems to simply go away. I want students to grapple with problems that are worth grappling with,
and I want the rest of them maybe disappearing into the background. So we can still appreciate them provided
we can turn them into learning opportunities for our students.” (Excerpt from researcher’s reflective journal on
January 18, 2014)
“During my quest to find resolutions of all my teaching issues and the associated tensions, I myself
struggled with my own perception about teaching, learning, and thinking. My focus needed to have a shift
from “becoming a good teacher” without understanding “why my students are doing what they are doing” to
“improve my practice” by learning about my students’ learning and researching about all the associated
“whys.” As the time passes by, I realized that I need to rethink critically about my philosophical assumptions
and to reengineer the way I have been practicing in the past.” (Excerpt from researcher’s reflective journal on
June 24, 2013)
Before going into a deeper discussion, the researcher shared her initial expectations from her reflective
practice and then the later experiences she had:
After reading the book “You and your action research project” written by Jack and Jean (2010) and knowing
that “action research has become a recognised practice internationally” and the “interest has exploded around
the world in the idea of practitioners studying their own practices”, I felt confident about the way I planned my
research. My reflective practice during this entire study should help me to address the need for practitioners “to
give explanations for their practices, which is a process of theorising, and show how they hold themselves
accountable for what they are doing” (Excerpt from researcher’s reflective journal on August 12, 2013).

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 “Adhering to my earlier stance on reflective practice, I have experienced that action research offered me a
way forward, by accentuating the need for lifelong learning about how to improve my own practice, how to
refine my capabilities, and how to realize my potential contributions to the emergent needs and demands of the
engineering education. In this study, the action research is not only cased in the mould of professional
development but also for theory generation by presenting my own cogent explanations for my practice (McNiff
& Whitehead, 2010)” (Excerpt from researcher’s reflective journal on December 29, 2013).
During this research, the researcher also developed a habit of asking herself “why?” every time she heard the
word “should” for example, you should take a situated approach, “why?” You should use this particular
methodology, “why?” You should keep a reflexivity journal when you are doing qualitative research, “why?”
You should have to do this step in this particular way “why?” After getting out of the perplexing situation and
having got all the answers of “why?” she used to resume her attention towards "should”. She described her
experience during the main study as:
“It is interesting watching the first year engineering students in Mathematical Thinking Lab (MTL) who
were actually having problems that were very useful for their learning. Although I am trying to provide support
to let them think through those problems or to understand or appreciate what they were learning from those
problems. I also tried to make them realize that “being stuck” is not a bad state during problem solving. It
becomes a sticky issue in my head trying to figure out how to navigate between this paradigm of finding
student's problems and fixing them or students having problems being a chance to learn more” (Excerpt from
researcher’s reflective journal on October 1, 2013)
The sense making of reflective practice, during the main research, is further refined after getting involved
with an online project. Through that project, the researcher got a chance to interview a pioneer in engineering
education research who helped the researcher to comprehend that reflective practice is incomplete without
making sense of it and for that you need someone from the community of practice (CoP) to listen to your
reflections, to rephrase whatever you have said and to help you in uncovering the hidden meanings of what you
have experienced. After that exposure, the researcher understood what reflection really means and how to
reflect on experiences, it is about this intentional going back and looking at what you've done and making
sense and getting meaning out of it. The interview turned into an interesting conversation and the expert
started asking questions to the researcher about her research and teaching practice.
In the end, the researcher is still left with new questions ignited from her quest and are supported by the
experiences of Jack and Jean as below:
“It does not matter if the social situation does not reach successful closure; it probably will not because
any solution allows new questions to emerge. What matters is that you show your own processes of learning
and explain how your learning has helped you develop your work within the situation” (McNiff &
Whitehead, 2010, p. 19).
The development of the researcher’s self-efficacy through this research was accompanied by her
perplexing experiences throughout the journey. She gained her efficacy perceptions through her pattern of past
successes and failures in practice (personal performance and accomplishments), by comparing herself to the
effective peer practitioners (vicarious learning), through receiving encouragement or discouragement from
others (social persuasion), by dealing with pleasant and unpleasant physical and emotional reactions
(physiological states and reactions). The above four sources acted interactively and simultaneously in the
development of her perception of self-efficacy as believed by Bandura resulting in three behavioral
consequences backed by Bandura (1977) as described by Fantz, Siller, & Demiranda (2011):
1. What she is willing to try and from what she stays away (Approach versus avoidance)
2. The ability demonstrated to translate her previously learned skills into new situation of
engineering education (Performance)
3. Not giving up to make a positive change in engineering education (Persistence)

CONCLUSION
During the journey from a positivist practitioner to become an interpretive, reflective engineering educator,
the researcher has realized that it is difficult to compartmentalize the two stances strictly. The already drawn
boundary lines between both the worldviews are just lines on the sand and can easily be washed away and
redrawn based upon the researcher's perceptions of what is "valuable" and “useful”. The researcher thus, felt
gravitated more towards becoming "Critical Praxis Researcher" who breathe in deeply in her world of
academia and learn to survive as a researcher without the aid of positivist contrivance (Kress, 2011, p. 61).

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are grateful to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and the Malaysia Ministry of Higher Education for the
financial support (Vot 02G51) in making the main research possible..

REFERENCES
1. Dewey, J. (1910). How we think (1991 editi). Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
2. Fantz, T. D., Siller, T. J., & Demiranda, M. a. (2011). Pre-Collegiate Factors Influencing the Self-Efficacy of
Engineering Students. Journal of Engineering Education, 100(3), 604–623. http://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-
9830.2011.tb00028.x
3. Kress, T. M. (2011). Critical Praxis Research Breathing: Breathing New Life into Research Methods for Teachers.
Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
4. McNiff, J., & Whitehead, J. (2010). You and your action research project (3rd ed.). London and New York:
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. http://doi.org/10.4324/9780203281291
5. Moreno, R. (2010). Educational Psychology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
6. NCTM. (2009). Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making. The Mathematics Teacher (Vol.
106). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. http://doi.org/10.5951/mathteacher.106.8.0635

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 Maklumbalas Pelajar Terhadap Penggunaan Peta
Konsep Sebagai Alat Pentaksiran Alternatif Dalam
Aktiviti Pembelajaran Makmal
Intan Baizura A. Ghania, Noraffandy Yahayab, Nor Hasniza Ibrahimc
a
Sekolah Menengah Agama Persekutuan, Km 11, Jalan Labu, 71900 Labu, Negeri Sembilan
bUniversiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor

Abstrak. Kefahaman terhadap konsep Kimia dipelajari penting bagi membolehkan konsep tersebut diaplikasikan
dalam penyelesaian masalah harian dan yang berasaskan STEM. Antara alat pentaksiran alternatif yang berpotensi
meningkatkan kefahaman pelajar dengan baik adalah melalui penggunaan peta konsep. Sehubungan itu,
maklumbalas penggunaan peta konsep dalam mentaksir kefahaman pelajar terhadap aktiviti pembelajaran makmal
merupakan tujuan utama kajian ini dilaksanakan. Seramai 32 orang pelajar Tingkatan 4 telah terlibat dalam kajian
ini. Borang refleksi telah digunakan untuk mendapatkan maklum balas pelajar dan telah dianalisis menggunakan
kaedah analisis kandungan. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa penggunaan peta konsep telah mendapat maklumbalas
positif sebagai alat pentaksiran aktiviti makmal berbanding penggunaan alat tradisi iatu laporan makmal.
Kata kunci: Peta konsep, aktiviti makmal, kefahaman, pendidikan Kimia.

PENGENALAN
Transformasi pendidikan telah menjadi salah satu agenda penting secara global mengikut arus perubahan
pesat dunia. Penekanan kepada pembentukan pelajar yang lebih bersifat daya saing, mampu memperlihatkan
kemahiran berfikir secara kreatif dan kritis, bersifat inovatif dan mampu menyelesaikan sesuatu permasalahan
diberi merupakan matlamat pendidikan abad ke 21 (Evren, Bati & Yilmaz, 2012). Justeru, penguasaan ilmu
yang tinggi terhadap ilmu Sains dan Matematik khususnya sangat penting untuk dicapai bagi memenuhi
matlamat pendidikan alaf baru ini (Lopez et al., 2011).
Ilmu kimia merupakan asas penting bagi memenuhi keperluan pembelajaran merentasi bidang Sains,
Teknologi, Kejuruteraan dan Matematik (STEM). Matlamat pendidikan Kimia sepatutnya memberi fokus
kepada pembelajaran bermakna, di mana pelajar mampu menguasai konsep-konsep asas kimia dengan baik
supaya dapat digunakan untuk menyelesaikan permasalahan dalam situasi yang baharu (Celikten & Ipek,
2012). Namun begitu, masalah pembelajaran yang dihadapi oleh pelajar dalam matapelajaran Kimia masih
banyak dilaporkan. Masalah pembelajaran yang berpunca daripada tahap penguasaan yang lemah terhadap
konsep-konsep abstrak Kimia telah banyak dilaporkan sehingga kini (Tatli & Ayas, 2013). Perkara ini
dikhuatiri bakal menghalang kejayaan terhadap banyak usaha yang telah dilaburkan untuk membangunkan
kemahiran pelajar pada aras yang lebih tinggi. Justeru, pada asasnya, fokus harus diberi kepada bagaimana
penguasaan kefahaman terhadap konsep-konsep asas ini dapat ditingkatkan, agar perubahan kepada kemahiran
yang lebih berkembang dapat diusahakan.

Aktiviti Pembelajaran Makmal Kimia

Aktiviti pembelajaran makmal merupakan antara strategi yang dapat membantu kepada perolehan
kefahaman pelajar semasa mempelajari konsep-konsep abstrak Kimia, seterusnya membantu kepada
pembinaan kemahiran kognitif pelajar pada aras yang lebih tinggi (Zoller & Pushkin, 2007).
Namun begitu, kesan aktiviti makmal terhadap objektif pelaksanaannya masih menjadi tanda tanya
(Abraham et al., 2013). Antara isunya, ramai pelajar tidak tahu tujuan dan matlamat utama aktiviti makmal
dijalankan. Aktiviti makmal juga dikatakan tidak dapat menjadi platform kepada pembangunan konseptual,
hanya dapat memberi manfaat kepada kemahiran manipulatif sahaja. Perkara-perkara ini seterusnya
menyebabkan kefahaman mendalam terhadap sesuatu konsep dipelajari sukar diperolehi (Hofstein & Kind,
2012; Glover et al., 2013).
Selain itu, antara sebab utama mengapa aktiviti makmal tidak dapat dioptimumkan ialah kerana
penggunaan amalan aktiviti pentaksiran yang telah dilakukan. Sebagai contoh, laporan makmal sebagai alat
pentaksiran yang diamalkan sehingga sekarang tidak melibatkan penglibatan aktif pelajar terhadap pembinaan
ilmu yang dipelajari (Kaya, 2008; Kibar et al., 2013). Aktiviti pentaksiran formatif jarang diberi perhatian,
hanya pentaksiran sumatif diberi penekanan bertujuan untuk penggredan dan kemasukan pelajar ke peringkat
lebih tinggi (Fernandez et al., 2013). Justeru, usaha perlu dipergiatkan dalam bidang amalan pentaksiran dan

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penilaian khususnya secara formatif bertujuan untuk pembangunan kefahaman konseptual dalam aktiviti
makmal.

Potensi Peta Konsep Sebagai Alat Pentaksiran Alternatif

Dalam Meningkatkan Kefahaman Pelajar
Peta konsep, suatu alat visual yang telah banyak dilaporkan berpotensi sebagai alat untuk mengenalpasti
kefahaman pelajar dalam struktur kognitif mereka (Bransdter, 2012). Kefahaman pelajar dapat diwakili
melalui percambahan frasa hubungan yang tepat dapat dibina oleh pelajar. Frasa hubungan terdiri daripada dua
konsep yang telah dihubungkan oleh satu kata hubung yang dapat menjelaskan dengan tepat hubungan yang
wujud antara dua konsep tersebut. Semakin banyak frasa hubungan tepat yang dapat dihasilkan, semakin
tinggi tahap kefahaman yang diperolehi oleh pelajar tersebut (Davies, 2011; Hilbert & Renkl, 2008). Perkara
ini juga menggambarkan bahawa pembelajaran bermakna telah berlaku, apabila pelajar dapat menjelaskan,
membuat perkaitan dan mengintegrasikan idea dan konsep baru terhadap idea sedia ada semasa penghasilan
banyak frasa hubungan yang tepat dalam sesebuah peta konsep. Pembelajaran bermakna penting dalam
membentuk kemahiran kognitif pelajar pada aras yang lebih tinggi (Ruiz Primo, 2001).
Selain itu, alat visual ini juga berpotensi dalam mentaksir dan menilai aktiviti pengajaran dan pembelajaran
yang berlaku. Menurut Ruiz Primo dan Shavelson, 1996, peta konsep dapat diaplikasikan sebagai alat
pentaksiran, sekiranya ia memenuhi tiga komponen penting iaitu, a) task demand (teknik/tugasan pembinaan
peta konsep b) format terhadap respon pelajar dan c) sistem penskoran. Tanpa memenuhi ketiga-tiga
komponen ini, sesuatu aktiviti peta konsep tidak dapat diaplikasikan sebagai alat pentaksiran dan penilaian.
Teknik pemetaan konsep boleh dikategorikan berdasarkan jumlah maklumat pembinaan peta konsep yang
diberi oleh guru atau penilai kepada pelajar. Teknik pemetaan konsep berdarjah arahan tinggi mewakili kepada
banyak maklumat tentang komponen peta konsep yang diberi kepada pelajar. Manakala teknik pemetaan
konsep berdarjah arahan rendah pula mewakili hanya sedikit sahaja maklumat komponen peta konsep yang
diberikan. Teknik pemetaan konsep berdarjah arahan rendah (low directed map) telah dikatakan oleh kajian
lepas sebagai teknik yang paling baik dalam mendedahkan kefahaman mendalam pelajar serta dapat
merangsang kemahiran berfikir pelajar secara kreatif dan kritis (Bramwell lalor, 2014).
Walaupun penggunaan peta konsep telah dilaporkan secara meluas, namun peranannya sebagai alat
pentaksiran alternatif masih kurang dan perlu diperluaskan (Kibar et al., 2013), khususnya dalam aktiviti
pembelajaran makmal. Perkara ini perlu diberi penekanan kerana aktiviti pentaksiran dan penilaian merupakan
komponen penting dalam transformasi pendidikan abad ke 21. Justeru, kajian ini dijalankan bertujuan untuk
menyumbang kepada pencarian alternatif terhadap pendekatan aktiviti pentaksiran yang boleh diaplikasikan
dalam aktiviti pembelajaran makmal Kimia khususnya bagi pembangunaan kefahaman pelajar.

OBJEKTIF KAJIAN
Objektif kajian ini adalah untuk mendapatkan maklumbalas pelajar terhadap penggunaan peta konsep
sebagai alat pentaksiran alternatif aktiviti pembelajaran makmal dalam mempelajari konsep Kimia.

PERSOALAN KAJIAN
Apakah maklumbalas pelajar terhadap penggunaan peta konsep sebagai alat pentaksiran alternatif aktiviti
pembelajaran makmal dalam mempelajari konsep Kimia?

METODOLOGI KAJIAN
Kajian ini memilih kaedah persampelan secara bertujuan. Kaedah persampelan bertujuan boleh digunakan
dalam kedua-dua kajian kuantitatif dan kualitatif untuk menghasilkan data yang kukuh dan boleh dipercayai
(Onwuegbuzie dan Collins, 2007). Kaedah persampelan ini telah dilakukan terhadap populasi pelajar
Tingkatan Empat yang mempelajari mata pelajaran Kimia berdasarkan Sukatan Kurikulum Kimia Tingkatan
Empat terhadap subtopik Elektrolisis yang telah disediakan oleh Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia di sekolah
menengah. Seramai 32 orang pelajar daripada sebuah intact class sekolah berasrama penuh di daerah Batu
Pahat Johor telah terlibat dalam kajian ini. Kajian dimulakan dengan melaksanakan beberapa langkah
mengikut turutan iaitu:
i) Pelajar telah menjalani sesi pengenalan dan latihan terhadap kemahiran membina peta konsep
berdarjah arahan tinggi selama seminggu menggunakan modul
ii) Lima aktiviti pembelajaran makmal terhadap topik Elektrolisis telah berlangsung selama lima
minggu (rujuk Jadual 1)

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 JADUAL 1. Pembahagian objektif pembelajaran dan aktiviti makmal dalam subtopik Elektrolisis

Objektif Pembelajaran
6.1 Memahami ciri-ciri elektrolit dan
bukan elektrolit
6.2 Menganalisis proses elektrolisis
sebatian lebur
6.3 Menganalisis elektrolisis larutan
akueus dan mengkaji faktor pemilihan ion
untuk dinyahcas di katod dan anod
berdasarkan perkara berikut:
Kedudukan ion dalam siri elektrokimia.
kepekatan ion dalam larutan jenis
elektrod.
jenis elektrod
Minggu Pelaksanaan
Aktiviti Makmal
Kajian Sebenar
Mengklasifikasikan bahan kimia kepada Minggu pertama
elektrolit dan bukan elektrolit
Mengkaji elektrolisis plumbum (II) Minggu kedua
bromida lebur
Mengkaji faktor yang menentukan
pemilihan ion untuk dinyahcas berdasarkan Minggu ketiga
kedudukan ion dalam siri elektrokimia
Mengkaji faktor yang menentukan Minggu keempat
pemilihan ion untuk dinyahcas berdasarkan
kepekatan ion dalam elektrolit
Mengkaji faktor yang menentukan Minggu kelima
pemilihan ion untuk dinyahcas berdasarkan
jenis elektrod

iii) Setiap aktiviti pembelajaran makmal melibatkan tiga fasa pembelajaran. Tiga fasa ini
melibatkan satu waktu sebelum aktiviti makmal dijalankan (pra aktiviti makmal), dua waktu melibatkan
aktiviti makmal sebenar dijalankan dan satu waktu selepas aktiviti makmal dijalankan (pos makmal)
iv) Pelajar diminta untuk membuat peta konsep pra makmal semasa pra aktiviti makmal dijalankan
dan peta konsep pos makmal selepas aktiviti makmal dijalankan (pos makmal)
v) Setelah berakhir lima aktiviti pembelajaran makmal tersebut, semua pelajar telah diminta untuk
memberi maklum balas atau refleksi terhadap pendekatan kaedah pentaksiran alternatif yang telah digunakan
dalam aktiviti pembelajaran makmal
vi) Pelajar telah diberi masa selama sepuluh minit untuk melengkapkan borang refleksi yang telah
diedarkan.

Refleksi pelajar telah dianalisa secara kualitatif menggunakan teknik analisis kandungan melalui
pendekatan induktif. Beberapa tema telah dapat ditimbulkan daripada refleksi tersebut dan telah dibahagikan
kepada tema positif dan negative.

DAPATAN KAJIAN
Berdasarkan catatan refleksi yang telah diterima menunjukkan bahawa kesemua tiga puluh dua orang
pelajar bersetuju terhadap penggunaan peta konsep sebagai alat pentaksiran alternatif dapat memudahkan
kepada kefahaman konsep yang lebih mendalam berbanding dengan penggunaan alat tradisi iaitu laporan
makmal.

Penggunaan Peta Konsep Lebih Baik Berbanding Laporan Makmal

Daripada jumlah tersebut, seramai tiga puluh orang pelajar memberi pandangan positif bahawa
penggunaan peta konsep sebagai alat pentaksiran alternatif adalah lebih baik berbanding membuat laporan
makmal. Beberapa maklumbalas positif seperti lebih mudah untuk membina kefahaman, seronok dalam
aktiviti membina peta konsep, serta kebaikan dalam penggunaan peta konsep secara berkala telah dapat
ditunjukkan hasil daripada analisis refleksi pelajar yang telah dilakukan. Berikut merupakan beberapa contoh
refleksi pelajar terhadap maklumbalas positif yang telah diperolehi.

i) Lebih mudah peroleh kefahaman terhadap konsep dipelajari

Daripada jumlah tersebut, majoriti pelajar menyatakan bahawa penggunaan peta konsep lebih baik untuk
digunakan sebagai alat pentaksiran dalam aktiviti pembelajaran makmal kerana ia memudahkan mereka untuk
memahami sesuatu konsep yang dipelajari. Mereka lebih gemar untuk menggunakan peta konsep kerana dapat
membantu membina kefahaman mereka dengan lebih baik terhadap eksperimen yang telah dijalankan
berbanding penggunaan laporan makmal. Antara contoh refleksi yang telah diberikan pelajar ialah:

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 Pelajar Respon
P18 Saya memang susah faham Kimia ni…tapi bila buat peta konsep dalam aktiviti makmal
ni, menyebabkan saya mudah untuk faham konsep-konsep Kimia ni…tak best kalau buat
lab report..sebab selalu buat lab report,saya tak faham pun apa yang saya dah
belajar..saya selalu salin balik je
P24 Peta konsep terbaik!..lebih mudah untuk kefahaman banding lab report
P22 Alhamdulillah..saya makin faham tentang subtopik ni. Lab report sangat
membosankan dan kekadang tak faham sebab lab report kene ikut format dia yang dah
ada..kalau peta konsep..kita bina ikut kefahaman kita sendiri..sangat-sangat membantu
untuk membina kefahaman yang baik

ii) Seronok semasa aktiviti membina peta konsep

Selain itu, pelajar juga berasa seronok dapat menterjemahkan kefahaman mereka melalui pembinaan peta
konsep terhadap aktiviti makmal yang telah dilakukan. Seramai sebelas orang pelajar menyatakan
keseronokan mereka dalam membina peta konsep. Ada pelajar yang menyifatkan bahawa aktiviti pentaksiran
menggunakan peta konsep menjadi seronok apabila aktiviti tersebut dapat mencabar kefahaman mereka
terhadap konsep yang telah dipelajari.

Pelajar Respon
P1 Seronok buat peta konsep, mencabar pengetahuan saya tentang konsep elektrolisis ni,
kalau buat lab report cam(macam) boring sikit
P19 Buat peta konsep lebih mudah dan menyeronokkan berbanding buat lab report yang
membosankan

iii) Penggunaan peta konsep secara berkala membantu kepada pembinaan kefahaman yang lebih baik

Aktiviti pembinaan peta konsep sebelum dan selepas aktiviti makmal berlangsung juga menarik minat
pelajar, kerana menurut mereka, ia dapat membantu kepada pembinaan kefahaman terhadap sesuatu konsep
dan memperbaikinya melalui pembinaan peta konsep secara berkala. Beberapa contoh respon pelajar adalah
seperti berikut:

Pelajar Respon
P9 Saya semakin enjoy bila buat peta konsep…saya telah buat beberapa kesalahan pada
concept map sebelumnya..jadik lepas buat eksperimen dan buat peta konsep selepas
tu..saya dapat kesan dan betulkan kesilapan saya
P2 Bila buat peta konsep kedua ni..baru lebih nampak dan faham tentang konsep yang
dipelajari, saya macam dapat kenalpasti apa kesilapan yang telah saya buat pada peta
konsep pertama tadi

iv) Lebih gemar membuat laporan makmal berbanding peta konsep

Namun begitu terdapat dua orang pelajar yang lebih gemar untuk menghasilkan laporan makmal daripada
membina peta konsep, walaupun mereka akui bahawa pembinaan peta konsep sememangnya dapat
memudahkan kefahaman mereka terhadap konsep yang telah dipelajari. Maklumbalas yang telah diberi adalah
seperti berikut:

Pelajar Respon

P17 Peta konsep saya kali ni lebih ok..sebab dah faham..entahla..tak tau camna nak
bandingkan..tapi mungkin lab report lebih ok
P20 Lebih mudah faham..tapi tak berapa suka sangat buat..sebab macam komplikated

Hasil daripada respon yang diterima, pengkaji menemubual pelajar tersebut bagi mendapatkan ulasan
lanjut tentang respon yang telah diberikan. Sehubungan itu, kedua-dua pelajar tersebut telah ditanya tentang
sebab mengapa mereka lebih gemar untuk membina laporan makmal berbanding dengan peta konsep sebagai
alat pentaksiran alternatif dalam makmal. Berikut merupakan jawapan yang telah diberi:
Pengkaji: Mengapa awak lebih gemar membuat laporan makmal berbanding membina peta konsep
sebagai alat pentaksiran alternatif dalam aktiviti makmal?
Responden 17: Mmmm…sebab saya rasa buat lab report lebih mudah, tak payah pening-pening

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 macam nak buat peta konsep, bila saya rasa susah untuk hubungkan dua konsep, saya rasa
complicated
Responden 20: Saya ok je untuk buat peta konsep, memang bantu untuk saya lebih faham sesuatu
konsep dengan baik, tapi…bila saya rasa susah sangat nak bina kata hubung, saya rasa give up. Jadi
saya rasa kalau bina lab report lagi senang, salin je..
Kemudian, pengkaji meneruskan lagi sesi temubual dengan pelajar terbabit untuk bertanya tentang
pengalaman mereka membina peta konsep dalam aktiviti makmal yang telah dijalankan dalam membina
kefahaman konseptual mereka terhadap konsep Elektrolisis berbanding penggunaan laporan makmal. Respon
yang diberi adalah seperti berikut:
Pengkaji: Adakah anda berpendapat bahawa pembinaan peta konsep dalam aktiviti makmal dapat
membantu dalam memperoleh kefahaman yang lebih baik dalam konsep elektrolisis berbanding
laporan amali?
Responden 17: Ya, cuma agak sukar untuk dibina sekiranya kurang faham.
Responden 20: Ya, peta konsep memang membantu.
Berdasarkan kesemua maklumbalas pelajar yang diperolehi, membuktikan bahawa kesemua tiga puluh dua
orang pelajar bersetuju bahawa penggunaan peta konsep sebagai alat pentaksiran alternatif dapat membantu
mereka memperoleh kefahaman yang lebih baik terhadap konsep Elektrolisis berbanding penggunaan laporan
makmal. Aktiviti menghasilkan hubungan yang tepat antara konsep melalui pembinaan peta konsep telah
menggalakkan pelajar terlibat secara aktif dalam pembangunan kefahaman konsep Elektrolisis berbanding
penghasilan laporan makmal. Selepas menggunakan peta konsep sebagai alat pentaksiran kefahaman konsep
pelajar terhadap Elektrolisis selama lima minggu aktiviti pembelajaran makmal, pelajar memaklumkan
bahawa mereka berjaya memperoleh hasil positif terhadap tahap kefahaman mereka dalam mempelajari
subtopik Elektrolisis.

PERBINCANGAN
Maklum balas positif telah diterima oleh pelajar terhadap pendekatan penggunaan alat pentaksiran
alternatif yang telah diketengahkan. Berdasarkan analisis refleksi yang telah diterima, sebanyak tiga tema telah
dapat diterbitkan berdasarkan respon yang diterima iaitu ‘lebih mudah peroleh kefahaman’, ‘lebih seronok’
dan ‘buat banyak kali membantu membina kefahaman’. Bagi penerbitan tema yang pertama, kesemua pelajar
mengakui peta konsep sangat membantu dalam membina kefahaman mereka terhadap konsep dipelajari
berbanding penggunaan alat tradisi iaitu laporan makmal. Laporan makmal hanya bertindak sebagai suatu alat
pentaksiran yang tidak memberi manfaat kepada pembinaan kefahaman pelajar. Antara respon pelajar yang
menyokong dapatan ini ialah mereka hanya menyalin semula segala prosedur yang terdapat dalam buku
laporan amali tanpa mengambilkira aspek pengetahuan yang perlu diperolehi hasil daripada aktiviti makmal
tersebut. Dapatan ini menyokong kajian oleh Ozmen et al., (2009) serta Kaya (2008), yang melaporkan
bahawa pelajar berupaya memperoleh kefahaman konseptual dalam konsep dipelajari melalui aktiviti makmal
menggunakan peta konsep. Roberts dan Johnson (2015) juga menyifatkan peta konsep sesuai digunakan
sebagai alat untuk membangunkan kefahaman dalam aktiviti makmal.
Selain itu, majoriti pelajar berasa lebih seronok menggunakan peta konsep sebagai alat pentaksiran
terhadap aktiviti pembelajaran mereka dalam makmal berbanding penggunaan laporan makmal. Dapatan
kajian ini juga selari dengan pendapat yang telah diutarakan oleh Markow dan Lonning (1998), Kilic et al.,
(2004) serta Ozmen et al., (2009) yang mendapati bahawa pelajar seronok membina peta konsep dalam
membantu membangunkan kefahaman pelajar berbanding penggunaan laporan dalam aktiviti pembelajaran
makmal. Sebagai tambahan, rasa seronok yang dizahirkan pelajar semasa aktiviti membina peta konsep
terhadap aktiviti pembelajaran dalam kelas juga telah dilaporkan oleh beberapa kajian lepas seperti oleh
Bramwell Lalor et al., (2014).
Namun begitu, dapatan kajian ini didapati agak berbeza dengan dapatan kajian oleh Didis et al., (2014)
yang melaporkan, ramai guru beranggapan aktiviti pemetaan konsep lebih sesuai dan seronok dijalankan oleh
pelajar di peringkat sekolah rendah sahaja, tidak berupaya memberi manfaat optimum kepada pelajar pada
peringkat yang lebih tinggi. Pengkaji berpendapat bahawa dapatan kajian tersebut diperoleh disebabkan oleh
pemilihan teknik pemetaan konsep berdarjah arahan tinggi yang tidak menggalakkan pelajar untuk berfikir
dengan lebih kritis dan kreatif. Sehubungan itu, dapatan kajian ini dapat menjadi menjadi bukti bahawa pelajar
berpencapaian tinggi di peringkat menengah juga mampu memperolehi rasa seronok dan manfaat daripada
aktiviti pemetaan konsep. Tambahan lagi, terdapat beberapa pelajar yang menyifatkan bahawa kesukaran yang
dihadapi semasa membina peta konsep berdarjah arahan rendah merupakan suatu proses yang seronok dan
dapat mencabar mereka dalam proses memperolehi ilmu pengetahuan.
Walau bagaimanapun, terdapat dua pelajar yang memberikan maklum balas sebaliknya, iaitu mereka lebih
gemar membuat laporan makmal berbanding peta konsep walaupun mereka akui aktiviti membina peta konsep
telah menambahkan kefahaman mereka terhadap konsep Elektrolisis yang dipelajari. Pelajar tersebut
menyifatkan pembinaan peta konsep agak rumit dan mencabar kemampuan kognitif mereka terutamanya

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semasa hendak menghasilkan frasa hubungan yang paling tepat. Ini selari dengan dapatan kajian oleh Jang
(2010) serta Bramwell- Lalor dan Rainford (2014), yang mendapati bahawa terdapat pelajar menyatakan
kesukaran membina peta konsep berdarjah arahan rendah. Namun begitu, pengkaji berpendapat bahawa
perkara ini merupakan cabaran yang perlu dihadapi pelajar dalam menterjemahkan kefahaman mereka
terhadap sesuatu konsep dipelajari terutamanya dalam teknik pemetaan konsep berdarjah arahan rendah.
Cabaran ini seharusnya menjadi asas kepada pelajar untuk membina kemahiran berfikir secara kritis dan
kreatif. Sebagai tambahan, laporan kajian oleh Dowd et al., (2015) juga mendapati bahawa terdapat segelintir
pelajar yang tidak mengakui kepentingan aktiviti pemetaan konsep dalam mempelajari sains. Namun, dapatan
kajian ini memberi indikator bahawa penggunaan peta konsep sebagai alat intervensi bukanlah suatu alat yang
dapat memenuhi kepelbagaian sifat dan keperluan populasi pelajar sebagai manusia yang mempunyai fitrah,
sikap, kebolehan dan keperluan yang berbeza. Namun, tiga puluh sampel pelajar lain (93.75%) yang telah
menzahirkan rasa positif dan seronok dalam membina peta konsep merupakan suatu bilangan yang cukup
besar untuk mengesahkan peta konsep sebagai alat visual yang signifikan dan relevan untuk digunakan dalam
mentaksir kefahaman konsep terhadap aktiviti pembelajaran makmal Kimia.
Seterusnya, kajian ini telah memberi bukti positif terhadap penggunaan peta konsep pra dan pos makmal
sebagai pendekatan pentaksiran terhadap kefahaman konsep pelajar. Pendekatan ini berfokuskan kepada
penglibatan pelajar secara aktif dalam membina pengetahuan mereka sendiri. Ini selari dengan beberapa
dapatan kajian lepas seperti Markow dan Lonning (1998), Kaya (2008), Kibar et al., (2013) serta Burrows dan
Mooring (2015) yang mencadangkan bahawa pendekatan pembinaan peta konsep secara berkala sangat baik
dalam menterjemahkan perkembangan konseptual pelajar. Dapatan ini diperkuatkan lagi dengan analisis
beberapa refleksi pelajar yang menggambarkan sikap positif mereka terhadap pendekatan peta konsep pra dan
pos makmal yang telah dijalankan. Penerbitan tema ‘buat banyak kali membantu membina kefahaman’ melalui
analisis refleksi pelajar menggambarkan aktiviti pembinaan peta konsep secara berkala banyak membantu
mereka membangunkan kefahaman konseptual terhadap konsep yang telah dipelajari melalui aktiviti makmal.
Pelajar dapat mengenalpasti kesilapan konsep yang telah dilakukan pada peta konsep pra makmal dan
memperbaiki hubungan konsep tersebut pada peta konsep pos makmal. Tambahan lagi, konsep-konsep penting
yang telah pelajar kenalpasti terlebih dahulu semasa membina peta konsep pra makmal sangat membantu
mereka untuk mencari hubungkait dan penerangan yang lebih jelas terhadap hubungan antara konsep-konsep
berkaitan melalui aktiviti makmal. Seterusnya, melalui pembinaan peta konsep pos makmal pula, pelajar
berpeluang untuk menterjemahkan kefahaman terbaik yang mereka perolehi daripada aktiviti makmal yang
telah berlangsung. Perkara ini menggambarkan bagaimana pembangunan kefahaman konseptual pelajar dapat
dirangsang melalui pendekatan pembinaan peta konsep secara berkala yang telah didedahkan. Pendapat ini
disokong oleh beberapa pengkaji lepas seperti Ozmen et al., (2009) dan Kaya (2008) dalam kajian mereka.
Pendekatan ini berjaya memberi kesan kepada aspek pembangunan kefahaman pelajar memandangkan cirinya
yang mampu melibatkan pelajar untuk bertanggungjawab secara aktif dalam pembentukan ilmu mereka
sendiri. Ciri ini sangat berkait rapat dengan pendekatan pembinaan ilmu pengetahuan secara konstruktivisme
yang menekankan kepada aspek penglibatan aktif pelajar memperoleh ilmu (Aydin et al., 2009).

KESIMPULAN
Berdasarkan hasil kajian yang diperolehi, membuktikan bahawa penggunaan peta konsep berupaya
digunakan sebagai alat pentaksiran terhadap minat dan kefahaman pelajar dalam aktiviti pembelajaran
makmal. Penggunaan peta konsep dapat memperluaskan lagi teknik-teknik pentaksiran yang dapat digunakan
untuk mentaksir kefahaman konsep yang dipelajari dalam pembelajaran dan pengajaran sains umumnya.
Pengkaji berharap agar pelaksanaan kajian seperti ini dapat diperluaskan kepada semua topik pembelajaran
Kimia khususnya. Kepentingan perolehan kefahaman mendalam terhadap konsep dipelajari amat penting
kerana ia merupakan asas kepada pembentukan segala kemahiran pembelajaran yang lain.

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 Mapping Social Cognitive Theory Criteria towards
Teachers Digital Technology Training Framework
Farah Zeehan Othman , Rose Alinda Alias and Zaidatun Tasir
a b c

Scholarship Division, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia

a

b
Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia,
School of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia,
c

Abstract. The use of digital technologies in teaching and learning will facilitate understanding and improve
retention among the students. Training has been reported by many studies as a critical factor for teachers to
optimize their use of digital technologies. There is also a perceived gap in technology literacy between students and
teachers. Characteristics of teachers suitable to be trained have also been largely ignored by previous studies. Thus,
to identify the teachers, this study organized criteria in social cognitive theory (SCT) and mapped them with the
critical success factors of digital technology training that were found in literature. This paper discusses the potential
of taking into consideration other model combine with SCT when developing a digital technologies training
program framework.
Keywords: Social Cognitive Theory, Teachers Training, Digital Technology Training.

INTRODUCTION
The advent of computers and other digital technologies has brought tremendous changes to the
landscape of teaching and learning in schools. Training has always been an essential component in ensuring
teachers are well- prepared in using technologies in the classroom. Training is also the best mediation in
changing employee behavior (Hao, 2016)

“I have to lay off hundreds of people because their jobs have disappeared and I do not need their skills
– and I have hundreds of job openings I can’t fill because I can't find people with the right training and
skills.”
CEO (Paper & World Economic Forum, 2017)

Teachers or educators play an important role in incorporating digital technologies in teaching and
learning so as to create a generation which has the appropriate skills for the challenging future. Teacher
digital technology training is critical to improve teachers’ competencies and change their behavior towards
optimizing digital technologies in their teaching practice. This study aims to develop a suitable framework
when developing a digital technologies training program for teachers.
Social Cognitive Theory is one of the motivational and learning theories will be used in this study that
acts as as a lens to identify the criteria that should be embedded when selecting teachers for training.

Why Digital Technology Training?

In-service training is defined as methods used to give or present employees the appropriate skills that
they need to perform their job (Desseler, 2007). With the exponential speed of technological change, teachers
who are supposed to use digital technologies in their educational practice should equip themselves with
digital skills and competencies (Barnes et al, 2018; Kimiloglu et al, 2017; Macià & García, 2016). Digital
revolution brings more disruptions compared to previous industrial revolutions because the speed is faster
than ever and the breadth and depth is wider and deeper; where many radical changes occur simultaneously.
(Schwab, 2016). This will impact the future employment to our future generation. To stay employed, one
must possess the necessary digital skills, and know what skills are important in order to compete in today’s
world of technology. In order to support computing educational environment for the students; it is crucial
for the teachers to have proper digital technologies training strategies to enhance the knowledge and skills
(Bhuasiri et al, 2012; Bindon, 2017; Kuo et al, 2013; Pérez-Foguet et al., 2017; Sánchez-García et al, 2013),
improves digital technologies competency (Gil- Flores, et al, 2017). A few studies emphasize on better
infrastructure help in optimizing usage of digital technologies (Bhuasiri et al., 2012), but Gil-Flores et al.
(2017) believes resource availability alone is insufficient explanation of frequency of digital technologies
used. When it comes to digital technologies, skills and knowledge is not enough. Teachers with sufficient

246
knowledge and skill will probably be discouraged due to lack of self- efficacy (Christensen & Knezek,
2017; Gil-Flores et al., 2017) lack of motivation and attitude (Taşdemir, 2014) and also weak training
system (Stoffregen et al., 2016).

Existing Digital Technologies Training

Every country has different growth strategies, affecting with what kind of framework that they are going
to use. Consequently, a country may need to identify a suitable route and strategy, for example by using a
framework (UNESCO, 2008). Countries may differ on which goal they want to achieve and which strategy
they want to follow, for example, some countries may look at educational infrastructure, others may
consider quality of the teachers or the curriculum structure as the main target. Malaysia Education Blueprint
2013 – 2025 was developed as a long term strategy which consider to transform Malaysia Education
comprehensively (KPM, 2017).

FIGURE 1. UNESCO ICT-Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT-CFT), 2008

Teachers Education Division, Ministry of Education, Malaysia (BPG) is the organisation responsible in
giving training to teachers in Malaysia. The general framework from UNESCO as shown in Figure 1 is
used by BPG as a guide them in building Digital Technology Training Program. A good training guideline
must consider technology awareness, motivation in changing trainee behavior (Bhuasiri et al., 2012),
meditation to improve self-efficacy (Hao, 2016), considering self-motivation, belief, goal expectation and
long life support learning (Paraskevas, Zarouchas, Angelopoulos, & Perikos, 2015).
The main focus of the study is teacher professional training, how an organisation builds the training
program, and what to consider by having Social Cognitive Theory as a lens in building the future
framework.

Social Cognitive Theory

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) SCT was introduced by Albert Bandura around 1986 as a continuation
of the Social Learning Theory. SCT originated from psychology but had been widely adopted by many
other disciplines including education for computer training, management, social, developmental, health and
personality psychology (Andersen & Chen, 2002; Compeau & Higgins, 2001; Conner & Norman, 2005;
Wood & Bandura, 1989). SCT promote human motivation in Triadic Reciprocal Determinism by
considering personal factor, behavior and environment factors that are interact each other to determine
future behaviour (Bandura, 1999) as shown in Figure 2.
Many studies focus on effectiveness of self-efficacy as human motivation; considering three important
constructs, namely self-efficacy, goal setting and outcome expectation (Andersen & Chen, 2002; Author et
al., 1999; Byrge & Tang, 2015; Callaghan et al., 2010). Self-efficacy is one of those personal factors which
can impact behavior positively and negatively in a number of ways (Bandura, 1999). In contrast Author et
al. (1999) and Compeau & Higgins (2001) mention that belief and goal expectation, outcome expectancy,
competencies skill and personal goal are four important constructs in self-efficacy towards behavioral

247
change. For example, skill competencies is the combination of personal and behavioral factors (Author et
al., 1999). How a person reacts previously may be related to their way of thinking that will lead to
competencies (Bandura, 1999).

FIGURE 2. Triadic Reciprocal Determinism (Social Cognitive Theory) (Bandura,1986)

Personal factors such as, knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, motivation affects human behaviour. For
example when a person has goal expectations, they behave in a certain way to achieve the goal (Compeau
& Higgins, 2001). Similarly behavior affects personal factor, for instance a person with bad alcohol addict
will affect their characteristic, the attitude and the way they think (Bandura, 1999). Both personal factors
and behavior interact with environmental factors; social influences in the selected environments such as
Oxford University, can set the direction of personal development through the competencies, values, and
interests and also change the way we act (Wood & Bandura, 1989). However, Bandura (1997) said that
individuals’ performance, attainment, and motivation may be affected by a number of behavioural,
personal, and environmental factors that interact continuously; while self-efficacy is one of those personal
factors which can impact behaviour positively and negatively in many ways. In contrast, the relationship
between personal, behaviour and environment factors contribute to self-efficacy in responding to the new
behaviour (Compeau & Higgins, 2001).
In information systems studies, there are arguments that look at digital technology training in different
theoretical perspectives (Author et al., 1999) In recent Information System (IS) studies of digital technology
training, researchers are debating on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Cheng & Yuen, 2018),
Unified Theory of Acceptance Use of Technology (UTAUT) (Gil-Flores et al., 2017), DeLone and McLean
IS Success Model (Kimiloglu et al., 2017) that focus on quality satisfaction, Situated Learning Theory
(SLT) (Aebersold et al., 2018) for actual gamification training, Constructivist Learning (Alt, 2018; Zhang,
Liu, Chen, Wang, & Huang, 2017). All the theories mentioned are still significant based on the suitability of
the research topic.
From organization perspective of looking at employee, self-efficacy is the combination of environment,
behavior and personal factor that are interrelated to each other (Wood & Bandura, 1989). The teachers in
this scope must acquire not only the competence and skills, but also optimistic belief in controlling or
performing future behavior. Self-efficacy levels can increase motivation by the emotional influence
(Myrick, 2017). This supports Bandura (2001) who says that SCT is one of the motivational theories.
In this study, we identified common criteria for Triadic Reciprocal Determinism factors in previous study
by SCT Scholars in psychology, management, health and education field. Those criteria were be mapped
with recent studies on digital technology training. We argue for significant criteria for recent digital
technologies training factors to be included in the future framework.

METHOD

Mapping the Factors

Mapping is the method currently used to identify the factors of Triadic Reciprocal Determinism used in
digital technologies training. We first identified the criteria that scholars in SCT discussed previously. Then
we came out with a Meta-Analysis Table shown in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3. From the review for
criteria proposed by previous scholars, the themes were identified according to Triadic Reciprocal
Determinism behavior, environment and personal factors. (Wood & Bandura, 1989, Bandura, 1999,
Compeau & Higgins, 2001, Bolt, Killough, & Koh, 2001) said in their writing covers all three factors but the
criteria vary as we can see in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3.
Then we used coding technique for analyzing the content of the relevant articles using NVIVO 12 to

248
identify factors influencing digital technology training specifically for in-service teacher either it is in a
good training practice or vice versa. The listed criteria then were synthesized to produce factors for the
Triadic Reciprocal Determinism component.

TABLE (1). Identified Criteria for Behaviour Factor of SCT by Scholar

Author Performance Prior Behavior Skill Using Strategy

Compeau & Higgins (2001) ✓ ✓

Robert W Lent, Brown, & Hackett (1994) ✓ ✓
Wood & Bandura (1989) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Andersen & Chen (2002) ✓
Author et al. (1999) ✓ ✓
Bolt, Killough, & Koh (2001) ✓ ✓
Conner & Norman (2005) ✓

Table 1 presents the identified criteria according to a few SCT scholar in behavior factors. Skill stands
out in the table as the crucial criteria for behavior that influence personal and environment factors. But
what is interesting about the data in this table is that Wood & Bandura (1989) clarify that all performance,
prior behavior, skills and how individual act by using strategy is affected by the environment and the
personal factors.

TABLE (2). Identified Criteria for Environment of SCT by Scholar

Influence by Situation / Other Social Norm

Author Governance
People Environment Tools
Wood & Bandura (1989) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Andersen & Chen (2002)
✓
Bolt, Killough, & Koh
(2001) ✓ ✓
Compeau & Higgins
(2001) ✓
Conner & Norman (2005)
✓

Bandura (1999) ▪ ▪ ✓

Most of the criteria identified vary as the scholars define different variables for their research. It is
related to what relationships they want to identify. Other tools are less significant to previous studies
because at that time tools were not important. Another important finding is that surrounding people may
give either positive or negative influence to the changes in personal or behaviour factors.

TABLE (3). Identified Criteria for Factors Factors of SCT by Scholar

Author Attitude Belief Expectation Experience Knowledge Self-

Efficacy
Author et al.(1999)
✓ ✓ ✓
Bandura (1999)
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Bolt, Killough, & Koh (2001)
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Conner & Norman (2005)
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Andersen & Chen (2002)
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

249
 Compeau & Higgins (2001)
✓ ✓ ✓
Wood & Bandura (1989)
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Robert W Lent, Brown, & Hackett
(1994) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

One interesting finding from Table 3 is that Belief happened to be the most common criteria mentioned
by all scholars. Belief is individual capabilities to execute behavior (Bandura & Bandura, 1989). This
theory emphasizes on if the individual has strong belief, will lead to expectancy then they will execute the
behavioral change.

FIGURE 3. Triadic Reciprocal Determinism (Social Cognitive Theory) with identified criteria for each factors.

Finally, we come out with criteria for Triadic Reciprocal Determinism as shown in Figure 3. The criteria
represent each factor that had been identified by scholars. All identified criteria of each factor are related to
one other. The purpose of analyzing and determining the criteria as shown in Figure 3 is to map with the
recent studies.

Mapping the Criteria

The use of digital technology in teaching and learning will facilitate understanding and improve
retention among the students. Exponential change in digital technologies (World Economic Forum, 2016)
contribute to importance of training the teachers (Paper & World Economic Forum, 2017) who are going to
embed digital technologies as their powerful assistance in teaching practical. In this paper we identified 20
factors that might influence training from previous recent studies. Table 4 shows the list of factors that
influence digital technologies training.
TABLE (4). List of Factors Influencing Digital Technologies Training

Twenty Factors of
Digital Technologies Training Authors
based on recent literature
Awareness Ateskan & Lane (2016); Christensen & Knezek (2017)
Belief Alt (2018); Gil-Flores, Rodríguez-Santero, & Torres-Gordillo (2017)
Barnes, Zuilkowski, Mekonnen, & Ramos-Mattoussi (2018);
Collaborations Pappas, Arapi, Moumoutzis, & Christodoulakis (2017); Prenger,
Poortman, & Handelzalts (2017), Macià & García, (2016);
Competence Alt,(2018); Amrou, Semmann, & Böhmann (2015); Bilal, Guraya, & Chen
(2017)
Cost Kimiloglu, Ozturan, & Kutlu (2017)

250
 Barnes et al. (2018); Gil-Flores et al. (2017); Tondeur, Van Braak,
Curriculum
Siddiq, & Scherer, (2016)
Digital Device Gil-Flores et al. (2017); Pappas et al.(2017)
Christensen & Knezek (2017); Gil-Flores et al. (2017); Paraskevas,
Environment
Zarouchas, Angelopoulos, & Perikos (2015); Zhang, Liu, Chen,
Wang, & Huang (2017)
Policies Gil-Flores et al., 2017; Tondeur et al. (2016)
Infrastructure Bhuasiri, Xaymoungkhoun, Zo, Rho, & Ciganek (2012)
Knowledge Alt, (2018); Ateskan & Lane, (2016); Gil-Flores et al., (2017); Hao (2016)
Literacy Barnes et al. (2018)
Mentoring / Coaching Gandomani, Zulzalil, Abdul Ghani, Abu, & Parizi (2015)
Organization Gil-Flores et al. (2017)
Readiness Christensen & Knezek, 2017; Mueller & Renken (2017)
Alt (2018); Christensen & Knezek (2017); Gil-Flores et al. (2017),
Self-Study
Gandomani et al. (2015); Lareki, de Morentin, & Amenabar (2010)
Skill Gil-Flores et al.(2017), Ateskan & Lane (2016)
Stakeholder Kimiloglu et al.(2017), Gandomani et al.(2015)
Teaching Strategy Christensen & Knezek (2017), Gil-Flores et al. (2017)
Interest Ateskan & Lane (2016)

Then thematic analysis is used to categorize the 20 digital technologies training factors in Table 4 into
criteria of Personal Factors, Behavior Factors and Environment Factors.

Figure 4. Mapping of Factors Influencing Digital Technologies Training with Triadic Reciprocal Determinism

Figure 4 shows the result of mapping the factors of digital technologies training in recent studies with
criteria in SCT discussed by scholars. Attitude, expectation and experience for personal factors did not map
with any factors in recent study. However criteria such as self-efficacy in Personal Factor, Using strategy in
Behavior Factors and Governance in Environment factors were mapped. There are more than one factor for
each criteria. For example, Self-efficacy includes awareness, competence, self study. Using Strategy has
Monitor / Coaching, Collaboration and Teaching Strategy and also Governance contain organisation,
policies, environment, cost and curriculum.
From the mapping, new factors were identified, such as stakeholder, Training Environment and
Training Strategy as shown in Figure 5. Further research will review models to be considered as
combination of SCT to produce a framework.

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 Figure 5. Mapped Factors Organized as Criteria of Triadic Reciprocal Determinism

Figure 5 shows factors of digital technology training that are organized into eight main criteria. Several
criteria were revised according to suitability. Knowledge and literacy are combined, Competency was
excluded, because competency is a combination of knowledge and skills to perform a behavior (Corner &
Norman, 2005). Influence by people changed into stakeholder. These results will be used as input for
future research.

CONCLUSION
SCT was used as lens towards developing a digital training framework. Criteria previously identified by
scholars were used to map the factors of digital technology training collected from recent studies. There are
20 factors that had been identified and mapped into 8 main categories. They were related to each other as
they were considered as criteria in Triadic Reciprocal Determinism. Therefore, it is proposed to focus on
considering other model to combine with SCT in developing teacher training framework as a guideline for
the organisation to administer digital technologies training for the teachers. The guideline aims to help
decision makers to choose which categories of teacher that will be trained. The guideline of the training
may be act as practical contribution of the research. Criteria of personal, behaviour and environment factors
that had been identified will be used as input to further study. Self-Efficacy as personal factor will be one of
critical success factor that help to increase levels of motivation in improving their frequency of using
digital technologies in their educational practical. Combination of SCT and other models may produce a
specific characteristic of the teachers as the trainee and it may help the organization decision makers to
choose the mode of delivery of the training.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study is sponsored by Scholarship Division, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.

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 Memperkasakan Pelaksanaan Pembelajaran STEM Abad
Ke 21: Panduan Sistematik dan Mudah
Syed Ahmad Helmi Syed Hassana and Khairiyah Mohd Yusofb
a
Center of Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai

Abstrak. Dunia hari ini berada di era teknologi baru dan transformasi digital. Landskap baru ini digambarkan sebagai
gabungan teknologi yang mengaburkan garis di antara bidang fizikal, digital, dan biologi. Oleh itu cara bekerja juga akan
berubah. Maka adalah menjadi satu kewajiban untuk membuat persediaan kepada perubahan ini. Khususnya persiapan
menyediakan tenaga kerja dengan kemahiran Sains, Teknologi, Kejuruteraan, dan Mathematik (STEM) yang mampu
berfikir pada aras tinggi (KeBAT). Untuk itu, satu pendekatan yang kemas perlu dilaksanakan bagi memperkasakan
pembelajaran STEM ini. Kertas kerja ini menerangkan secara sistematik bagaimana usaha memperkasakan pembelajaran
STEM ini dapat dicapai dengan perlaksanaan pembelajaran berpusatkan pelajar (SCL). Kaedah yang termudah adalah
dengan mengamalkan pembelajaran koperatif secara tidak formal (ICL).
Kata Kunci: Pembelajaran Abad 21, Kemampuan Berfikir Aras Tinggi (KeBAT), Pembelajaran Berpusatkan Pelajar
(SCL), dan Pembelajaran Kooperatif (CL)

PEMBELAJARAN ABAD KE 21
Dunia dalam abad ke 21 telah banyak berubah hasil dari transformasi teknologi dan ledakan maklumat yang
begitu pantas. Kita berada di ambang Industri 4.0, yang mempertembungkan dimensi fizikal, digital, dan biologi [1].
Kemajuan ini mengubah kehidupan, perniagaan, serta industri, dan sekaligus mengubah keperluan kemahiran,
bakat dan pekerjaan. Jadual 1 menunjukkan kemahiran yang diperlukan di dalam abad ke 21, yang terbahagi
kepada tiga domain, iaitu Literasi Asas, Kebolehan dan Kualiti Perwatakan. Perubahan teknologi yang begitu
pantas juga memerlukan pelajar dipupuk dengan kebolehan pembelajaran sepanjang hayat, yang merangkumi
ketiga-tiga domain kemahiran abad ke 21. Bahkan, keadaan dunia sekarang telah pun mengubah sikap generasi
muda sekarang. Oleh itu, teknik pendidikan juga perlu berubah, lebih-lebih lagi di dalam matapelajaran STEM
bagi memastikan sesebuah negara itu tidak ketinggalan dalam menghadapi perubahan teknologi yang menuju ke
arah integrasi dunia fizikal, digital dan biologi.

JADUAL (1). Kemahiran Abad 21[2]

Literasi Asas Kebolehan Kualiti Perwatakan
Celik Huruf Pemikiran Kritis/Penyelesaian Penasaran
Mengira Masalah Inisiatif
Lierasi Sains Daya Kreativiti Kegigihan
Literasi ICT Kommunikasi Penyesuaian
Literasi Kewangan Kerjasama Kepimpinan
Literasi Kebudayaan dan Pembelajaran Sepanjang Hayat Kesedaran sosial dan
Awan budaya

Bagi memastikan agar pelajar dapat menghadapi cabaran-cabaran abad ini, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia
menggalakkan Pembelajaran Abad ke-21 (PAK), yang menekankan pelaksanaan pembelajaran berpusatkan pelajar
(Student-centered Learning, SCL) bagi mencapai kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi (KeBAT) dan pembentukan
pelajar secara holistic [2b]. Terdapat pelbagai jenis teknik di bawah SCL, bermula dari yang mudah dilaksanakan
serta rendah darjah pemusatan kepada pelajar, hinggalah yang kompleks dan tinggi darjah pemusatan pelajar,
seperti di dalam Rajah 1.

254
 Menjadikan Aktiviti kumpulan Aktiviti Masalah
pengajaran secara tidak pasukan pemandu arah
aktif formal berstruktur kursus
(Zon 1) (Zon 2) (Zon 3) (Zon 4)

Berpusatkan Berpusatkan
Pengajar Pelajar

Pembelajaran Pembelajaran Pembelajaran Pembelajaran

aktif Kolaboratif Kooperatif Berasaskan
Masalah

RAJAH 1. Teknik-teknik Pembelajaran Berpusatkan Pelajar [3]

Merujuk kepada Rajah 1, teknik pembelajaran di sebelah kiri lebih berpusatkan pengajar, tetapi aktiviti
pembelajaran lebih mudah dilaksanakan dan diterima pakai oleh pengajar dan pelajar yang sudah biasa dengan
pendekatan pengajaran tradisional berbentuk syarahan. Semakin ke kanan, darjah pemusatan kepada pelajar dan
pendekatan aktiviti-aktiviti pembelajaran yang ditunjukkan semakin bertambah. Contohnya, pada zon 1, pengajar
melibatkan pelajar di dalam bilik darjah dengan bertanya atau meminta pendapat pelajar secara rawak, manakala
pada zon 2, pengajar akan menggunakan aktiviti kolaboratif yang berstruktur untuk melibatkan semua pelajar di
dalam kelas dalam aktiviti pembelajaran seperti menjawab soalan-soalan konsep atau berbentuk inkuiri, mengira,
menulis struktur karangan, menyemak nota, membaca berpasangan dan lain-lain lagi. Zon 3 melibatkan aktiviti
yang membentuk pembelajaran berpasukan seperti pembelajaran kooperatif, yang memerlukan lebih komitmen
pelajar terhadap pembelajaran. Pengajar lebih banyak berperanan sebagai fasilitator dalam menjalankan aktiviti
yang lebih rumit, tetapi amat berkesan dalam membentuk pemahaman yang mendalam dan sikap yang positif di
kalangan pelajar. Zon 4, di mana darjah pemusatan pelajar adalah paling tinggi, memerlukan paling tinggi
persediaan guru dan komitment pembelajaran pelajar. Pendekatan yang lebih rumit ini, seperti pembelajaran
berasaskan masalah (Problem-based Learning, PBL), memerlukan guru yang mempunyai kemahiran yang baik
sebagai fasilitator. Sungguhpun begitu, kaedah PBL amat baik kerana kaedah ini dapat membentuk bukan sahaja
aspek kognitif dan pemahaman konsep, tetapi juga aspek afektif dari segi sikap pelajar.
Objektif kertas kerja ini adalah untuk menerangkan pelaksanaan PAK 21 untuk STEM di dalam pendekatan
pembelajaran pada zon 2, di mana ianya juga merupakan asas untuk melaksanakan pendekatan pembelajaran di
dalam zon 3 and zon 4. Konsep asas aktiviti di bawah pendekatan pembelajaran zon 2 juga akan dihuraikan bagi
membolehkan rekabentuk aktiviti baharu untuk disesuaikan dengan hasil pembelajaran dan kaedah baru yang
dikehendaki. Rekabentuk pengajaran yang mudah untuk sebuah kelas juga akan diperkenalkan.

PEMBELAJARAN KOOPERATIF SECARA TIDAK FORMAL

Pendekatan teknik pengajaran di dalam Zon 2 lebih mudah dan boleh dilaksanakan oleh setiap pengajar dalam
semua suasana, tanpa memerlukan penambahan fasiliti, bilangan pelajar yang kecil, perubahan bilik darjah, atau
pergerakan pelajar yang banyak. Zon ini dikenali sebagai pembelajaran kooperatif secara tidak formal (ICL) [4].
Berbagai-bagai aktiviti pembelajaran aktif secara tarsusun boleh dilaksanakan dalam pembelajaran ICL ini.
Aktiviti- aktiviti ini boleh dibahagikan kepada 3 jenis: (1) pembukaan, (2) perbincangan, dan (3) penutup.
Salah satu rekabentuk pengajaran yang paling mudah untuk memastikan pelaksanaan pembelajaran aktif yang
teratur di dalam kelas adalah keadah pembahagian penghujung buku (bookends division). Rajah 2 menunjukkan
keadah perancangan perjalanan pengajaran bagi sebuah kelas selama 60 minit (2 masa) berdasarkan kaedah
pembahagian penghujung buku. Pengajaran dimulai dengan aktiviti pembukaan (selama lebih kurang 3 hingga 4
minit) yang dikenali juga sebagai Advanced Organising. Aktiviti pembukaan ini sangat penting untuk
menyediakan suasana kelas dan perasaan untuk pelajar bersedia belajar. Aktiviti ini juga digunakan untuk
mengetahui pengetahuan sedia ada pelajar tentang topik yang akan diajar agar dapat membantu mereka mengaitkan
ilmu yang sedia ada dengan ilmu yang baru dipelajari. Antara aktiviti pembukaan yang boleh dilakukan adalah:
aktiviti percambahan fikiran (brainstorming), senarai terfokus (focused listing), dan soalan pembukaan (opening
question). Seterusnya diikuti dengan syarahan. Untuk memastikan pelajar dapat memberi sepenuh perhatian dalam
syarahan, bagi setiap lebihkurang 10 hingga 12 minit, guru perlu selang-selikan syarahan dengan aktiviti selama
lebih kurang 3 hingga 4 minit yang dinamakan perbincangan seketika atau dikenali sebagai intermittent discussion.
Dengan mendengar perbincangan pelajar, guru akan dapat mengetahui jika terdapat kesilapan dalam pemahaman
pelajar dan memperbetulkan kesilapan mereka di dalam topik yang dipelajari.
Aktiviti ini juga bertujuan membantu pelajar untuk mendapat pemahaman yang mendalam pada tahap pemikiran

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aras tinggi, sekaligus mengingati apa yang dipelajari. Antara aktiviti yang menarik yang boleh dilakukan adalah:
berfikir-berpasangan-berkongsi (think pair share), ujian berpasangan (pair testing), menyemak nota (note
checking), dan soalan-jawaban berpasangan (question and answer pair). Manakala di akhir syarahan perlu
dilakukan aktiviti penutup selama lebih kurang 4 minit, yang dikenali juga sebagai closure. Tujuan aktiviti penutup
diadakan adalah untuk membuat ringkasan akhir dan memastikan pelajar benar-benar memahami apa yang telah
dipelajari pada waktu tersebut. Ia juga bertujuan untuk membuat persediaan awal untuk pelajar mengikuti pelajaran
yang seterusnya pada pertemuan yang akan datang. Antara aktivitinya adalah: satu soalan terakhir (one final
question), kertas dua minit (2-minute paper), dan tinjauan-akhir berpasangan (closure review pairs). Sekiranya
pengajaran adalah selama 30 minit, maka pembahagian penghujung buku ini boleh dibahagi dua: dengan aktiviti
pembukaan, 2 syarahan, 1 perbincangan seketika, dan penutup.

10 10 10 10
Min Min Min Min
syarah syarah syarah syarah
4 min 4 min 4 min
bincang bincang bincang
dengan dengan dengan
Pembukaan

Penutup
rakan rakan rakan
4 min

4 min
RAJAH 2. Pembahagian penghujung buku (Bookends Division) [5]

Semua aktiviti-aktiviti ini dirangka mengikut aturan sepertimana ditunjukkan di Rajah 3. Kelebihan aktiviti-
aktiviti ini adalah ia akan melibatkan semua pelajar, tanpa pengecualian. Di dalam aktiviti-aktiviti ini, ianya
sentiasa dimulai dengan pembinaan secara individu (individual construction). Pada masa ini pelajar akan berfikir
sendirian, menjawab persoalan atau melaksanakan aktiviti yang diutarakan oleh pengajar. Selepas berfikir secara
bersendirian, pelajar diminta untuk menyuarakan pandangannya dengan rakan sebelah. Dengan memberi peluang
pelajar berfikir secara sendirian, setiap pelajar sudah ada bahan untuk dikongsi bersama rakan mereka. Oleh itu,
perbincangan dengan rakan akan jadi lebih cepat, menarik dan matang. Selepas berbincang dengan rakan sebelah,
perbincangan dibuka untuk keseluruhan kelas dengan diselia oleh pengajar. Perbincangan pada masa ini akan
menjadi lebih menarik dan interaktif. Sayugia diingatkan jangkamasa bagi setiap aktiviti janganlah terlalu lama,
dan perlu di bawah kawalan pengajar. Jangkamasa bagi setiap aktiviti disarankan di antara 3 ke 4 minit. Satu yang
sangat penting adalah setiap aktiviti ini perlu dirancangkan terlebih dahulu bagi mencapai hasilan yang terbaik, dan
pelajar perlu dimaklumkan objektif dan hasil aktiviti agar mereka faham apa yang perlu mereka lakukan untuk
mendapat manfaat dari aktivit tersebut.
Penglibatan semua dalam kelas!

Pembinaan Individu

Pembinaan dan/atau
interaksi dengan rakan
sebelah/ahli pasukan

Interaksi keseluruhan
kelas dengan pengajar

RAJAH 3. Corak dalam aktiviti pembelajaran kooperatif secara tidak formal

KESIMPULAN
Dalam dunia di ambang Industri 4.0 ini, banyak pekerjaan yang ada akan diganti oleh komputer dan robot,

256
manakala banyak pekerjaan yang baru akan muncul. Kerja-kerja yang baru ini memerlukan daya kreativiti yang
tinggi yang tidak boleh dilakukan oleh komputer dan robot. Di era ini banyak masalah-masalah yang akan dihadapi
adalah masalah baru yang belum pernah ujud. Justeru ini, tidak dapat tidak, generasi akan datang harus dipupuk
sejak dari awal persekolahan supaya memiliki kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi. Untuk itu pendekatan pendidikan
berpusatkan pelajar perlu diberi perhatian yang serius. Berpandukan Taxonomy Bloom, sekiranya pengajaran hanya
menggunakan cara tradisi, iaitu hanya berbentuk syarahan yang berpusatkan pengajar, maka tahap Blooms’s
tertinggi yang boleh tercapai hanyalah tahap 1 [6]. Oleh yang demikian, setaip pengajar mesti mengamalkan kaedah
pendidikan berpusatkan pelajar. Berdasarkan kaedah ini, pendekatan yang paling mudah untuk diamalkan tetapi
menjanjikan hasil yang baik, adalah pendekatan pembelajaran kooperatif secara tidak formal. Pendekatan ini
bersistematik dan mudah untuk dilaksanakan pada bila-bila masa, dalam apa jua keadaan.

PENGHARGAAN
Penulis ini merakamkan setinggi-tinggi penghargaan kepada Pusat Pendidikan Kejuruteraan, Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia, dan Kementerian Pengajian Malaysia kerana membiayai kos penyelidikan ini.

RUJUKAN
1. World Economic Forum, 2016, New Vision for Education: Fostering Social and Emotional Learning through Technology.
2. World Economic Forum, 2017, https://www.weforum.org/about/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-by-klaus-schwab
3. Prince, M, 2013, Does Active Learning Work? A Review of the Research, Journal of Engineering Education (JEE), Volume
93, Issue 3, pp 223-231
4. Johnson, D.W, Johnson, R.T. and Smith, K., 2013, Cooperative Learning: Improving University Instruction By Basing
Practice On Validated Theory, Journal on Excellence in University Teaching, pp 1-26
5. Smith, K., Tameka Clarke Douglas, and Monica F. Cox, 2009, Supportive Teaching and Learning Strategies in STEM
Education, New Direction for Teaching and Learning, Spring 2009, Issue 117, pp 19-32
6. Chi, M.T., 2009, “Active-constructive-interactive: a Conceptual Framework for Differentiating Learning Activities’, Topic
in Cognitive Science, 1(1), pp 73-105
7. Anderson, L.W., David R. Krathwohl, Peter W. Airasian, Kathleen A. Cruikshank, Richard E. Mayer, Paul R. Pintrich,
James Raths, Merlin C. Wittrock, 2001, A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom's
Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Abridged Edition.

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 Modeling Educational Background and Teaching
Experienced of Physics Teachers with the Nature of Science
(NOS) Understanding
Abd Rahman N. Fa and Phang F. Ab
a
Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
b
Centre of Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia

Abstract. This study explores the correlation of the nature of science (NOS) understanding with physics teachers’
educational background and teaching experiences. The analysis is aimed to establish a link between the significant
contributors to teachers’ understanding towards the constructs of NOS. This study employed an explanatory research design
using a survey known as Physics Scientific Epistemological Measurement for Teacher (PSET) which consists of 60 items.
The instruments were developed with two main constructs known as formal and practical epistemology that explained their
understanding about the NOS. The sample involved in this study is 70 physics teachers with different demographic
background. The analyses were done to explore which factors are correlated to teachers’ understanding about NOS through
Spearman correlation and multiple regression analysis. The findings showed that teachers’ understanding about NOS
constructs is weakly correlated with their educational background. Yet, the educational background is statistically
significantly predicts the outcome for teachers’ understanding towards NOS with low and positive correlation between the
variables. The output also claimed that 13.6% of what there is to know about teachers’ understanding towards NOS is
significantly accounted by their educational background. Adding to this, teaching experienced is found as unreliable
account that contributes to teachers understanding about NOS. Yet, the teaching experiences are significantly correlated
with the practical epistemology. Thus, it concluded that educational background is more influential as predictor to increase
teachers’ sophistication towards NOS.
Keywords: Nature of science, multiple regressions, scientific epistemology.

INTRODUCTION
As this study attempts to explain physics teachers’ understanding towards Nature of Science (NOS), it appears
that more discussion is needed about teachers’ content knowledge. Subject matter content knowledge is often
associated with the study of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). From Shulman (1986) perspective, many
researchers have highlighted that PCK is among the significant factors that contribute to students’ achievements.
PCK is known for its mission to understand on how teachers translated their subject matter knowledge through
their pedagogical practices. The strategy is known to provide greater accessibility for students towards the subject
matter itself. Yet, there are less emphasis is given on the alignment needed between teachers’ subject matter
knowledge and the pedagogical practices on how the accessibility is provided. Advocacy for NOS in physics
education is not explicitly stated in the national curriculum, but some elements and characteristic of NOS were
noted as compulsory skills that need to be gained at the end of the lessons. For instance, observation is considered
as skill that needs to be acquired although students are not demanded to understand the nature of scientific
observation. One of the primary justifications to look into the fundamental issues about scientific epistemology is
because according to Erduran (2013) NOS helps to expose the learner with the enculturance of scientific practices
behind the scientific knowledge. Hence, knowing the subject matter knowledge alone to have a better PCK is
insufficient if the knowledge is not equipped with an understanding about NOS. This is where in this study
statistical analysis is done to warrant a claim about a static view of knowledge that probably existed when NOS is
treated in isolation from the knowledge development.

BACKGROUND OF PROBLEM
While a range of studies have demonstrated the causes and strategies to overcome poor enrollments in science
streams (Phang et al., 2014), the most likely explanation about this issues is often deductively associate with the
teachers’ quality as an educators (Abd Rahman &Phang, 2016) or students’ ability to succeed in science streams.
The conclusion about this situation is generally following universal premises about teachers’ quality in translating
their knowledge about physics during teaching and learning activities. Saleh (2014) found that students have high
motivation in science learning but agreed that they are not fascinated with the knowledge itself. According to
Shulman (1986) teachers’ educational background is represented by their understanding about the subject matter
knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and curriculum knowledge. Although Shulman (1986) positioned
subject matter knowledge as different entities from the pedagogical knowledge, there are studies who perceived

258
subject matter knowledge as part of pedagogical knowledge. The distinction is debated as many studies has
précised perspective about pedagogical content knowledge but unable to achieve uniform agreement when it come
to subject matter knowledge. For instance, Ültay (2016) studied subject matter knowledge as a form of conceptual
understanding of density in relation to overflow container activity. Ültay (2016) investigate the subject matter
knowledge because of argument that believed about the significant influence of the formation of a chain of
erroneous information towards the pedagogical knowledge (Ültay & Ültay 2014). Refining what is mean by an
understanding about physics as subject matter knowledge is very challenging. This definition might likely have to
abide with the curriculum knowledge or the nature of knowledge. The literatures about teachers’ knowledge or
teaching provide a springboard for the work that greatly concerns on the power behind teachers’ role as the
knowledge mediator. But, it did not offer a way forward of analysis between subject matter knowledge and its
nature of knowledge. This concern arises from Shulman (1986)’s argument which firmly believe that teachers must
not only delivered the accepted truth in a domain. The analytical framework of the subject matter knowledge
thought in school is known to be influenced by the curriculum priorities. Referring to Shulman (1986) the
pedagogical knowledge is relative to curricular priorities. Following the arguments regarding the exam orientation
as one of the accepted norms among teachers, thus it can be said that teachers are visibly using strategic knowledge
against their pedagogical knowledge to achieve curricular priorities. This sort of argument thus showed that the
neither subject matter knowledge nor pedagogical practices may representing teachers actual understanding about
the form of scientific knowledge delivered during teaching. The necessity to understand the interplay between
them is to come out with a general consensus about teachers’ source of knowledge when representing physics as a
ways of knowing.
The NOS is known to inform teachers’ subject matter knowledge with regards to develop sophisticated
epistemic understanding and practices (Abd-El-Khalick, 2013). The epistemological perspective is necessary for
teachers to gain an insight about the generation, validation and limitation of scientific knowledge. On the contrary,
the subject matter knowledge that predetermine by curriculum priorities focuses on physics concepts. The content
is more likely can be defined as knowledge of teaching content and become very dominant in determining the
chain of inquiry of knowledge development. Given that, this study is gravitated to the NOS as the contextual
meaning to define subject matter knowledge. The decision is made based on the claim provided by Abd El Khalick
(2013) about the idealized inquiry employed by teachers when teaching does not come with NOS understanding.
The actual inquiry in classroom is only possible when, according to Abd El Khalick (2013) the inclusion of NOS is
made explicit.
Teachers’ understanding about the NOS is often measured by previous studies like Abd El Khalick to
categorize their stances between naïve and informed view about NOS (Sandoval & Cam, 2010). The method
allowed previous study to have an access with their prior understanding about five general elements of NOS as
suggested by Lederman et al. (2002). The general accepted constructs for NOS are tentativeness of scientific
knowledge, creativity in science, the scientific methods, the scientific theories and laws and observation and
inferences.
Apart from this elements, studies from pragmatist view like Sandoval (2005) argued that this belief alone
irrelevant without an assessment about their practical epistemology. Practical epistemology is defined differently
from NOS because of their concerns regarding objectivist epistemology where knowledge is independent of
knower and it provides certainty status to the learner (Sandoval & Cam, 2010). The objectivist epistemology
delivered a static view about the NOS which might limit the analysis only with a belief hold by the participants.
Examining NOS has to take into account on how teachers used to think about their current physics knowledge to
allow more in depth view on how their subject matter knowledge is correlated with current NOS features.
Following this suggestion, the analysis of NOS for this study took into account the necessary to evaluate teachers’
understanding about the epistemological resource to their practical epistemology. There are four new constructs
developed thematically from Redish et al. (1998), Halloun (2001), Adams et al. (2006) and Stathopoulou and
Vosniadou (2007) studies which are known as application of physics in real life, mathematics in physics,
knowledge generation, and source of knowledge. These constructs measured the epistemological resource to
teachers’ current understanding about the nature of physics knowledge when the knowledge is brought into
practice.

259
 For the purpose of this study, it is important to clarify what is mean by analyzing the educational background
and teaching experience to the NOS. In this study, the source for teachers’ educational background is represented
by their academic background like first degree in education or first degree in pure physics. Their educational
background is regard as the source for their view and understanding about the nature of physics knowledge. Most
studies believed that experienced teachers are pedagogically more sophisticated if compared to least experienced
teachers (Shulman, 1986). Thus teaching experience is understood as the indicators that represent their practices as
teachers are assumed to reflect on their own teaching practices. In this study, the teaching experiences are
representing teachers’ knowledge about the organization of the curriculum and its sequences. From the concept of
habitus proposed by Bourdieu (1986), this study believes that the teaching practices come out as a socialize norm
that teachers endure during their services that guide their thinking and behavior. The norm exists as an interplay
that teachers experienced with the curriculum priorities and agencies like school administration and standard by
national curriculum. These two variables are therefore can be very predictive to further understand teachers’
understanding about the NOS elements.
METHOD
The sample consisted of 70 physics teachers from Johor Bahru, Malysia, who came from different educational
background and with different range of teaching experiences. The sample is taken from 78 physics teachers in
Johor Bahru. In planning this study, the Physics Scientific Epistemological Measurement for Teacher (PSET)
instruments was administered to the teachers and measured two main dimensions of NOS known as formal
epistemology and practical epistemology. From the formal epistemology, the dimensions consist of five constructs;
the certainty of scientific knowledge, creativity, the diversity scientific method, law and scientific theories and
observation and inference (Abd Rahman, 2016). While for practical epistemology there are four constructs that
representing this dimension; the application of physics in real life, mathematics in physics, knowledge construction
and source of knowledge. The instrument is developed with 60 items and all the items were tested for its validity
and reliability. The reliability of the instrument is .711 using Alpha Cronbach analysis (Abd Rahman, 2013) that
indicate PSET has an accepted value (Mohd Najib, 2003) for internal consistency based on scale used in the
instruments. Following to this, the Rasch analysis were executed and the item reliability is very good at .97 and the
person reliability is at .67 (Abd Rahman et al., 2018).The analysis of Rasch Model Measurement is conducted
using Winstep software while for the Alpha Cronbach the analysis was done using SPSS.

FINDING AND ANALYSIS

From raw data, teachers’ scientific epistemological level is analyzed using descriptive statistics which are
frequency and percentage. Their understanding towards NOS is categorized into four hierarchal stances which
begin from naive, low transition, high transition to sophisticated. The initial analysis indicated that 44.7% of the
teachers are categorized at low transition level. This is followed with 25.5% of teachers who are found as naive
which bring 70.2% of the samples at the lowest hierarchy of understanding about NOS. The remaining teachers are
24.7% of high transition and 5.1% of sophisticated. The descriptive analysis showed that generally, teachers in this
study do not showed sufficient proficiency about NOS as physics educators. The educational background is
categorized into degree in physics education, educational diploma and degree in science education. For teaching
experiences, teachers are asked to rate their experience between four ordinal group which are 0 – 3 years, 3 – 6
years, 6 – 10 years and more than 10 years. Teachers who obtained educational diploma is ranked the highest for
their subject matter knowledge because of their first degree in either physics pure, physics industry or physic
nuclear. This is followed by degree in physics education and degree in science education. Both variables are in
ordinal scale.
The analysis was carried out to obtain the correlation between the level of scientific epistemology with the
educational background and teaching experiences. Spearman correlation was done because the analysis is between
the ordinal scale (educational background and teaching experiences) and the continuous scale (level of scientific
epistemology). As can be seen from Table 1, the analysis showed that only educational background is significantly
correlated at .331 to the teachers’ level of scientific epistemology. Referring to Mukaka (2012) the strength of the
relationship however is relatively low. Apart from this, an unexpected finding shown that the dimension of
practical epistemology is significantly correlated at .324 with teaching experiences. Similarly, the strength of the
relationship is low (Mukaka, 2012).

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 Table (1). Spearman Correlation between Constructs

Variables Spearman Correlation A B C D E

N=70 ** Significant at 0.01

Following the Spearman correlation analysis, further analysis to examine the relationship and impact of
educational background and teaching experiences have with the NOS’s understanding is executed. The multiple
regression model is used to examine relationship between several independent variables (educational background
and teaching experiences) and single dependent variables (level of scientific epistemology) (Williams, 2012). The
analysis allowed this study to explore the pure effect of teachers understanding of NOS after controlling the
independent variables. From Table 2, this table is known as Summary Model that provides information about
the R, R2, adjusted R2, and the standard error of the estimate . The multiple correlation coefficients, R measured the
quality of the prediction which is .368. The strength of the association is considered as between weak and moderate
association (Neter et al, 1996). The coefficients of determination, R2 indicates that the proportion of variance in the
level of scientific epistemology that can be explained by the independent variables is 13.6%.

Table (2). Regression Model Analysis

Model R R2 Adjusted R2 Std. Error of the Estimate

1 .368(a) .136 .123 .793

The F-ratio in Table 3 implied that the overall regression model represented by the independent variables are
statistically significant predict the level of scientific epistemology, F(1, 68) = 10.659, p<.0005.

Table (3). ANOVA analysis for the Regression Model

Model Sum of Square df Mean square F Sig.

Regresion 6.708 1 6.708 10.659 .002(a)
Residual 42.792 68 .629
Total 49.500 69

As can be seen from Table 4, the educational background is the only variables that had significant positive
regression weight. Thus, it is expected that teachers with greater educational background is expected to have higher
level of scientific epistemology. Following the earlier assumption, teachers who obtained degree in physics with
educational diploma like physics industry is proven to have sound understanding of NOS. The teaching experience
does not contribute to the regression model due to insignificant correlation earlier. Regardless of different years of
teaching experiences, teachers’ stances towards NOS are not easily waved by the variable.

Table (4). Coefficients

Model B Std. β T Sig.

Error
(Constant) 1.587 .295 5.373 .000
Educational background .395 .121 .368 3.265 .002
B = Unstandardized multiple regression coefficient Β = Standardized multiple regression coefficient

Level of scientific epistemology = 1.587 + 0.395 (educational background) + error

Ŷ = Bo + B1 X1 + error

261
 Ŷ = Scientific epistemology score
Bo= Constant Multiple regression coefficient
B1= Multiple regression coefficient educational background X1= educational background score

DISCUSSION
Evidences suggest that knowledge about NOS among physics teachers is significantly correlated with their
educational background. In contrary, the teaching experiences have no significant relationship with the level of
scientific epistemology. However, the strength of correlation is weak. The analysis point out that, teachers who
have a degree in physics have greater stances about the nature of physics knowledge if compared to those who
majored in education. This is because this group of teachers spent more credit hours for the subject matter
knowledge at tertiary education when pursuing their degree in physics. Yet, the correlation is weak suggesting that
the subject matter knowledge is lacking for their proficiency to be translated as understanding of NOS. The
misalignment between subject matter knowledge and NOS found in this study shown that teachers though have
greater subject matter knowledge is likely to hold a more static view about NOS too. This claim is supported with
the correlation analysis which showed that there is no significant relationship between educational backgrounds
with either formal or practical epistemology. Thus leading the discussion to assume about the present of objectivist
views towards the nature of physics knowledge. This indication implies that the ability to evaluate the strength and
the limitation of physics knowledge as an integrated knowledge is relatively very low. Since knowledge is viewed
as a product of scientist, this showed that majority of the teachers; particularly those 70.2% gives the impression to
the students that physics learning is a straight forward process to accept the truth discovered by scientists. When
physics is represented in this light, hence it is understandable why finding from Saleh (2014) found that the
scientific knowledge presented to students is boring.
Regardless of this, the multiple regression analysis has successfully compute a statistical model on how the
educational background that is highly related to teachers’ subject matter knowledge must be valued as the turning
point to elevate the NOS understanding among teachers. This is very much similar when teachers are delivering
physics knowledge during lesson, where the subject matter knowledge must have its fundamental to an
understanding about NOS too.
The significant role of NOS in teachers’ instructional practices can be seen from a positive relationship
between teachers’ experiences and practical epistemology. The significant relationship between practical
epistemology and teaching experiences also indicates that the epistemological ideas about NOS do not bear any
relationship with the stances. The teaching experiences are defined earlier as the habitual norm that teachers
acquire about constructing physics knowledge through their knowledge about organization of curriculum and it
sequences. This asserts that with an increase of experience in teaching physics, teachers are capable to translate the
written curriculum as epistemological resource for practical epistemology. The epistemological resource is vital for
shifting the knowledge generation from understanding to knowing (Sandoval & Cam, 2010). The multiple
regression analysis in contrary showed that teaching experiences is not a significant variable to increase
epistemological stances. The contradiction between these findings indicates that the curriculum decision that
teachers made throughout their experiences as teachers does not have an impact to their notion towards NOS.
The analysis however does not distinguish how the different years of experiences in teaching physics is
contributing for each constructs under practical epistemology. The analysis can also be interpreted that teachers are
generally capable to have diverse epistemological resource because practical epistemology tested in this study is
associated with pedagogical scenario. This explained why though they have poor stances towards NOS, indicating
that they cannot talk about physics like scientist or researchers, teachers are pedagogically resourceful to enhance
the practical epistemology. The misguide confliction between teaching experiences and practical epistemology is
likely to rise when teachers are providing the access to physics knowledge without making an alignment with the
epistemic practices. Thus teachers are impairing the possibility to change the practical epistemology from
understanding to knowing. Therefore, the epistemological resource which provided to help with the practical
epistemology is directed towards instrumentalist view. Thereby, teachers’ formulation of world view about physics
through their pedagogical practices becomes irrelevant to the multiple regression model to increase the level of
scientific epistemology because of the focus on the curriculum priorities. This failure implied that the teaching
experiences which surfaced from the habitual norms of physics teachings must be studied in depth on which
sociable norms are limiting the curriculum priorities to be translated into epistemic practices of NOS.

CONCLUSION

Study about the NOS in relation with subject matter knowledge and teaching experiences focused on how these
variables are beneficial to become as indicator to further understand about teachers’ knowledge. This paper claims
that the subject matter knowledge from teachers’ educational background is the closet predictors to help with
improving teachers’ understanding about the nature of science from the multiple regression analysis. The analysis

262
also reveals that teaching experiences are highly related to the practical epistemology which supported the
arguments on how the curriculum knowledge is clouding teachers’ content knowledge. The fact that this study
does not distinguish on what kind of subject matter knowledge that is being tested or how differ between different
group of educational experiences showed that there is a limitation in this analysis that require an exploratory
analysis.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia under Potential Academic Staff (PAS) Grant numbered
Q.J130000.2753.03K37.

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Biology International: The International Union of Biological Sciences. 54, pp. 49-54.

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 Modul Chem-A Berasaskan Pendekatan STEM Dalam
Topik Ikatan Kimia Tingkatan Empat
Nur Adilah Abdol Samat, Nor Hasniza Ibrahim, Johari Surif

dan Marlina Ali

Fakulti Pendidikan, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Malaysia

Abstrak. Penyelidikan ini bertujuan untuk menghasilkan Modul Chem-A berasaskan pendekatan STEM dalam topik
Ikatan Kimia. Hal ini disebabkan terdapat kajian-kajian lepas mengenai permasalahan pelajar dalam topik Ikatan
Kimia dan strategi pengajaran secara konvensional yang kurang memberi manfaat kepada pelajar. Justeru, penyelidik
yakin bahawa perlunya inisiatif lain dalam meningkatkan kefahaman pelajar dalam topik ini dengan menggunakan
strategi pengajaran berasaskan pendekatan STEM. Ia selari dengan Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia (2013-
2025) yang ingin mengaplikasikan STEM sebagai pendekatan pembelajaran yang baharu bagi meningkatkan minat
pelajar dan menyediakan mereka untuk menghadapi cabaran dunia yang sedang berubah. Selain pendekatan STEM,
modul ini mengaplikasikan perancangan pengajaran menerusi pembelajaran berasaskan masalah dan permasalahan
diberikan dalam bentuk senario. Objektif utama kajian ini adalah bagi melihat keberkesanan Modul Chem-A dalam
kalangan pelajar terhadap topik Ikatan Kimia dari segi kefahaman dan seterusnya melihat perspektif guru terhadap
modul ini. Reka bentuk keseluruhan penyelidikan ini adalah secara kuantitatif yang berbentuk pra eksperimen
berdasarkan satu kumpulan. Pemilihan sampel ditentukan berdasarkan kaedah persampelan bertujuan, yakni seramai
30 orang pelajar dipilih sebagai sampel kajian. Kajian ini dimulakan dengan perlaksanaan ujian pra, diikuti dengan
pendedahan Modul Chem-A dan diakhiri dengan ujian pos. Seterusnya, ujian pra dan ujian pos dianalisis secara
deskriptif menggunakan perisian SPSS untuk mendapatkan nilai min ujian pra dan nilai min ujian pos dan seterusnya
ujian-t digunakan bagi menguji sama ada wujudnya perbezaan yang signifikan antara ujian pra dan ujian pos pelajar.
Disamping itu, dalam melihat perspektif guru terhadap modul ini, soal selidik telah diedarkan kepada 10 orang guru
dan dapatan dianalisis menggunakan perisian SPSS untuk mendapatkan nilai kekerapan dan peratusan bagi setiap
item. Secara keseluruhannya, dapatan menunjukkan bahawa Modul Chem-A dapat meningkatkan kefahaman pelajar
dalam topik Ikatan Kimia. Hal ini dibuktikan dengan peningkatan markah dalam ujian pos berbanding ujian pra dan
terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan antara ujian pra dan ujian pos. Dapatan kajian juga mendapati kebanyakan guru
memberikan maklum balas yang positif terhadap modul ini. Kesimpulannya, Modul Chem-A menunjukkan
keberkesanan yang baik dari segi kefahaman pelajar dalam topik Ikatan Kimia dan perspektif guru terhadap modul
ini. Justeru, modul ini sesuai dijadikan sebagai gambaran kepada guru untuk mengaplikasikan STEM dalam proses
pengajaran mereka.
Kata kunci: Modul Chem-A; Ikatan Kimia; Pendekatan STEM; pembelajaran berasaskan masalah

PENGENALAN
Pada hari ini, sains dan teknologi kian berkembang pesat, lantas memberi impak yang besar kepada
kehidupan manusia. Justeru, pendidikan sains dan teknologi sangat penting dan perlu dijadikan sebagai
elemen wajib dalam sistem pendidikan. Hal ini adalah bagi menyediakan anak muda pada masa kini
memainkan peranan mereka sebagai masyarakat yang dapat memberikan sedikit sebanyak sumbangan kepada
negara kelak. Menurut Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia (2013-2025), untuk mencapai tenaga mahir
dalam bidang sains dan teknologi, pada tahun 1967, Dasar Pendidikan Kebangsaan telah mensasarkan kadar
peratusan pelajar dalam aliran sains dan teknologi berbanding sastera adalah pada nisbah 60:40 menjelang
tahun 2020. Walau bagaimanapun, sehingga tahun 2012, penyertaan pelajar dalam aliran sains masih belum
mencapai 60% dan bukan itu sahaja, berlakunya penyusutan yang membimbangkan (Bernama, 2016).
Rentetan itu, menurut Tami et al., (2004), kebanyakan pelajar berpendapat bahawa kimia merupakan mata
pelajaran yang sukar dan kesukaran ini dapat dilihat dalam sebahagian daripada konteks di mana pelajar perlu
membangunkan konsep kimia dan kemahiran menyelesaikan masalah. Oleh itu, guru perlu memainkan
peranan penting dalam mencari strategi pengajaran yang berkesan bagi meningkatkan tahap pencapaian
pelajar dalam pendidikan Sains terutamanya bagi mata pelajaran Kimia. Justeru, kajian ini membangunkan
modul pengajaran dan pembelajaran dalam topik Ikatan Kimia menggunakan pendekatan STEM. Strategi
pengajaran berasaskan pendekatan STEM adalah selari dengan Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia
(2013-2025) yang ingin mengaplikasikan STEM sebagai pendekatan pembelajaran yang baharu bagi
menyediakan pelajar untuk menghadapi cabaran dunia yang sedang berubah kini. Selain pendekatan STEM,
modul ini mengaplikasikan perancangan pengajaran menerusi pembelajaran berasaskan masalah dan
permasalahan diberikan dalam bentuk senario. Pengaplikasian strategi pengajaran ini juga selari dengan
pembelajaran abad ke 21 yang ingin mengubah pendekatan pembelajaran berpusatkan guru kepada

264
pembelajaran berpusatkan pelajar. Objektif utama kajian ini adalah bagi melihat keberkesanan Modul Chem-
A dalam kalangan pelajar terhadap topik Ikatan Kimia dari segi kefahaman dan seterusnya melihat perspektif
guru terhadap modul ini.

LATAR BELAKANG MASALAH

Ozmen (2004) menyatakan bahawa mata pelajaran Kimia merupakan antara mata pelajaran yang penting
dan sukar dan ianya telah diakui oleh para guru dan penyelidik. Terdapat pelbagai faktor yang mendorong
kepada kebanyakan pelajar yang beranggapan mata pelajaran Kimia sukar dikuasai. Antara faktor yang
dikenalpasti adalah permasalahan pelajar dalam menguasai topik Ikatan Kimia dan kaedah pengajaran secara
tradisional pada masa kini. Banyak kajian-kajian lepas menceritakan permasalahan pelajar dalam topik ini
(Peterson et al., 1989; Taber, 1994; Harrison dan Treagust, 1996; Kim Chwee dan David, 1999; Ozmen,
2004; Wan Ros Maizan, 2007; Muhammad Hafidzuddin Misbah, 2011; Nimmermack, 2016).
Kajian oleh Nimmermark (2016) yang mendalami masalah miskonsepsi pelajar Swedish dan Afrika
Selatan terhadap topik Ikatan Kimia mendapati bahawa hanya 55 hingga 60% pelajar dari pelbagai tahap
pelajar menyatakan bahawa kalium klorida wujud dalam bentuk molekul. Keseluruhan hasil kajian beliau
merumuskan hanya 20% pelajar tahun pertama universiti yang menguasai sepenuhnya terhadap topik ikatan
kimia ini.
Selain itu, strategi pengajaran guru mempengaruhi proses pembelajaran pelajar dan sekali gus dalam
kefahaman pelajar mendalami konsep-konsep sains. Sikap guru yang menggunakan kaedah penyampaian
secara tradisional menjadi penyebab kepada kesukaran dalam merealisasikan proses pengajaran dan
pembelajaran yang lebih bermakna. Hal ini adalah kerana pengajaran secara tradisional adalah berpusatkan
kepada guru dan menyebabkan pelajar bersifat pasif di mana pelajar tidak melibatkan diri secara langsung
dalam proses pembelajaran di bilik darjah. Dengan kata lain, guru sebagai pengajar dan pelajar sebagai
pendengar semata-mata. Justeru, pengajaran seperti ini gagal memberi motivasi kepada pelajar untuk
meneruskan pembelajaran dalam kimia (Ilhan et al., 2016). Bukan itu sahaja, kaedah ini akan menyebabkan
pelajar secara berterusan dengan konsep-konsep sedia ada mereka kerana tiada komunikasi dua hala antara
guru dan pelajar. Walau bagaimanapun, guru-guru masih menggunakan kaedah pengajaran berpusatkan guru
dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran (Azizah dan Shahrom, 1999). Menurut Nurshamshida et al.,
(2013), kaedah tersebut hanya memberi tumpuan kepada penguasaan kandungan dengan kurang penekanan
terhadap perkembangan kemahiran saintifik dan juga sikap. Ia disokong oleh Jesse et al., (2014) yang
menyatakan bahawa ia kurang memberikan peluang kepada pelajar untuk mengambil peranan dalam bilik
darjah dan sekali gus menyebabkan penyertaan pelajar untuk bersifat aktif terbatas.
Justeru, dalam kajian ini, satu pendekatan untuk mengatasi masalah kesukaran pelajar dalam mendalami
topik Ikatan Kimia akan dilaksanakan. Ikatan Kimia merupakan antara tajuk mata pelajaran Kimia tingkatan
4 dan tema bagi topik Ikatan Kimia adalah jirim di sekeliling kita. Atas dasar keprihatinan kepada
permasalahan pelajar terhadap pemahaman konsep ikatan kimia, satu modul pembelajaran telah dibangunkan.
Tujuan modul ini adalah untuk melihat keberkesanan proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran dengan
menggunakan pendekatan STEM. Pendekatan STEM dititikberatkan kerana kursus kimia diperlukan untuk
kebanyakan pelajar merentasi bidang sains, teknologi, kejuruteraan dan matematik (STEM). Selain itu,
menurut Chonkaew et al., (2016), permintaan yang tinggi di kebanyakan negara pada hari ini terhadap
penyelidik dan juruteknik yang layak di mana mereka mampu untuk mengenal pasti, menyesuaikan diri dan
menggunakan pengetahuan dalam sains dan teknologi dengan lebih bermakna dalam membangunkan satu
teknologi yang unik. Walau bagaimanapun, kebanyakan negara merentasi dunia mengalami bilangan pelajar
yang sedikit untuk mendalami ilmu STEM walaupun di Amerika Syarikat dan negara Eropah (Osborne dan
Dillon, 2008). Bukan itu sahaja, minat, motivasi, kepercayaan, sikap, keyakinan diri pelajar terhadap sains
dan teknologi juga merosot (Crawley dan Black, 1992). Oleh itu, modul menggunakan pendekatan STEM ini
melibatkan pelajar secara aktif bagi merangsang kefahaman dan minat mereka dalam aktiviti pembelajaran
terutamanya dalam memahami konsep Ikatan Kimia.
Selain itu, bagi meningkatkan keberkesanan modul, pendekatan STEM ini diaplikasikan menerusi
pembelajaran berasaskan masalah dan masalah yang dikemukakan adalah dalam bentuk senario.
Pembelajaran ini merupakan pendekatan yang berpusatkan pelajar yang mana menurut Senocak et al., (2006),
ia merangkumi sebahagian besar keberangkalian dapat menambahbaik pembelajaran, seperti pelajar menjadi
lebih aktif dan bekerjasama antara satu sama lain, memberikan maklum balas dengan pantas dan
meningkatkan sikap kebertanggungjawaban pelajar. Ia turut disokong oleh Yuzhi (2003) yang menyatakan
bahawa daripada menumpukan kepada fakta semata-mata, pembelajaran berasaskan masalah dapat
menggalakkan pembelajaran aktif dan kendiri yang berdasarkan konteks situasi kehidupan sebenar.
Justeru, kajian ini melaksanakan satu modul pengajaran yang dinamakan Modul Chem-A khusus untuk
topik Ikatan Kimia. Modul ini menggunakan strategi pengajaran pendekatan STEM menerusi pembelajaran
berasaskan masalah dan seterusnya permasalahan diberikan dalam konteks senario. Modul ini diaplikasikan
kepada pelajar bagi melihat keberkesanannya dalam topik Ikatan Kimia dan juga mengenalpasti persepektif

265
guru terhadap modul ini.

KERANGKA TEORITIKAL
Kajian ini adalah berasaskan teori konstruktivisme. Teori ini mempunyai pelbagai perspektif yang
berbeza. Menurut Kyere (2017), konstruktivisme merujuk kepada konsep yang menerangkan pengalaman
pembelajaran dan bagaimana seseorang itu membina pengetahuan berdasarkan apa yang telah dipelajari.
Jones dan BraderAraje (2002) menyatakan bahawa konstruktivisme memberi impak yang besar terhadap
pengajaran dan reka bentuk kurikulum kerana ia didapati berkesan dalam pendekatan pendidikan semasa.
Disamping itu, Piaget (1970) memberi tumpuan kepada peranan aktif individu dalam pembelajaran kerana
menurut beliau semua pengetahuan terikat kepada tindakan dan mengetahui sesuatu perkara adalah dengan
menyesuaikannya dalam skema tindakan. Schunk (2004) menganggap konstruktivisme sebagai epistemologi
yang mana individu mendapat pengetahuan melalui kefahaman, keyakinan diri dan pengalaman terhadap
dunia sebenar. Sanders (2009) pula menyatakan bahawa aplikasi sebenar pengetahuan boleh memberi
manfaat kepada pelajar dalam pembelajaran matematik dan sains (Dewey, 1963). Konstruktivisme juga
menekankan bahawa pembelajaran adalah bersifat kontekstual, yakni ia tidak akan berlaku melainkan jika
pelajar boleh menghubungkaitkan sesuatu idea atau fakta ke sistem yang lebih besar.
Justeru, dapat dilihat bahawa teori konstruktivisme adalah amat relevan dan menepati ciri-ciri dalam
kajian yang sedang dijalankan ini, iaitu modul Chem-A berasaskan pendekatan STEM. Modul Chem-A
menggalakkan pelajar bersifat aktif dan meminta mereka membina pengetahuan berdasarkan konsep ikatan
kimia yang telah dipelajari. Selain itu, aktiviti dalam modul ini memerlukan pelajar melakukan aktiviti secara
hands-on. Bukan itu sahaja, modul ini juga menekankan pembelajaran berasaskan masalah dan masalah
diberikan dalam bentuk senario. Hal ini sejajar dengan kenyataan oleh Dewey (1963) iaitu pembelajaran
matematik dan sains dapat dipertingkatkan dengan melibatkan pelajar dengan peluang pembelajaran yang
realistik dan bersifat hands-on serta pemberian soalan yang berasaskan masalah. Ia turut disokong oleh Glynn
dan Duit (1995) yang menyatakan sains yang bersifat hands- on diperlukan bagi membolehkan pelajar lebih
memahami akan kandungan pengetahuan dan kemahiran proses. Oleh itu, berasaskan teori ini, pengkaji
yakin bahawa prestasi pelajar dalam pembelajaran STEM dapat dipertingkatkan. Rajah 1 menunjukkan
kerangka teori bagi kajian ini.

RAJAH 1. Kerangka Teori Kajian

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 OBJEKTIF KAJIAN
Kajian ini bertujuan untuk:

i. Membangunkan Modul Chem-A berasaskan pendekatan STEM dalam topik Ikatan Kimia.
ii. Mengenalpasti keberkesanan Modul Chem-A dalam topik Ikatan Kimia.
 Mengenalpasti kefahaman pelajar terhadap topik Ikatan Kimia.
 Mengenalpasti perspektif guru terhadap Modul Chem-A.

METODOLOGI
Kajian deskriptif yang menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif ini melibatkan 30 orang pelajar aliran
sains di salah sebuah sekolah menengah di Johor Bahru. Kajian ini dijalankan berdasarkan reka bentuk kajian
pra eksperimen berdasarkan satu kumpulan (O1 X O2) di mana kajian dimulakan dengan perlaksanaan ujian
pra, diikuti pendedahan Modul Chem-A dan diakhiri dengan perlaksanaan ujian pos. Pemilihan sampel
ditentukan berdasarkan kaedah persampelan bertujuan (purposive sampling) yang mana sampel bertujuan ini
dipilih untuk kumpulan yang mempunyai maklumat mendalam mengenai topik yang ingin dikaji. Kajian
rintis telah dijalankan untuk mendapatkan indeks kepercayaan ujian pra-pos. Nilai Alpha Cornbach yang
diperoleh adalah 0.78. Bagi kaedah kuantitatif, pengkaji menggunakan kajian yang berbentuk kajian tinjauan
yang mana data kuantitatif dikumpulkan berdasarkan soalan ujian yang diberikan kepada pelajar dalam
melihat keberkesanan modul dari segi kefahaman. Kedua-dua set ujian ini merupakan soalan yang sama yang
terdiri daripada 10 soalan objektif dan empat soalan subjektif yang merangkumi keseluruhan topik Ikatan
Kimia. Secara keseluruhannya, item dalam ujian ini adalah diadaptasi dari soalan Sijil Peperiksaan Malaysia
tahun 2010 hingga 2016. Data yang diperolehi daripada ujian disemak secara manual dan seterusnya
dianalisis secara diskriptif dalam pakej SPSS (Statistical Package For Social Science Version 22.0) untuk
mendapatkan nilai kekerapan, peratusan dan min. Ujian-t (paired sample t-test) digunakan bagi
membandingkan perbezaan min skor ujian pencapaian pembelajaran pelajar dalam ujian pra dan ujian pos.
Seterusnya, ia juga bertujuan bagi melihat sama ada wujudnya perbezaan yang signifikan atau sebaliknya
antara kedua-dua ujian ini. Teknik kekerapan dan peratusan digunakan dalam menganalisis setiap item dalam
bahagian objektif dan item bahagian subjektif.
Seterusnya, selain kefahaman pelajar, pandangan beberapa orang guru juga diperoleh bagi
mengenalpasti persepsi mereka terhadap Modul Chem-A yang dibina. Untuk menjawab persoalan kajian yang
ketiga, seramai 10 orang guru telah diberikan borang soal selidik berserta Modul Chem-A. Soal selidik ini
melibatkan soalan tertutup dan juga soalan terbuka. Kaedah ini masih dalam lingkungan reka bentuk secara
kuantitatif. Pemilihan kaedah ini adalah kerana data menerusi soalan terbuka berfungsi sebagai data sokongan
kepada pendekatan kuantitatif. Set borang soal selidik yang dikemukakan dibahagikan kepada tiga bahagian,
iaitu Bahagian A, Bahagian B dan Bahagian C. Bahagian A mengandungi dua item iaitu jantina dan
pengalaman mengajar. Bahagian B adalah soalan- soalan berkaitan dengan Modul Chem-A. Secara
keseluruhannya, bahagian ini mengandungi 28 item. Terdapat tiga konstruk iaitu konstruk iaitu isi kandungan
dalam Modul Chem-A yang mengandungi 10 item, strategi pengajaran terhadap Modul Chem-A
mengandungi 11 item dan ciri-ciri pengajaran dan pembelajaran STEM mengandungi 7 item. Manakala,
bahagian C merupakan soalan terbuka iaitu penilaian umum yang meminta guru memberikan aspek yang
digemari dan tidak gemari dalam Modul Chem-A, cadangan untuk memperbaikinya dan pendapat atau
cadangan keseluruhan. Jawapan ditulis dalam ruangan kosong yang telah disediakan. Nilai kekerapan dan
peratusan juga digunakan dalam menganalisis soal selidik. Manakala, kaedah pengekodan akan digunakan
dalam soalan terbuka.

HASIL DAPATAN
I) Pembangunan Modul Chem-A
Modul Chem-A yang dibina adalah khusus kepada topik Ikatan Kimia bagi mata pelajaran Kimia tingkatan
empat. Modul ini dibina berasaskan model ADDIE, menggunakan pendekatan STEM menerusi pembelajaran
berasaskan masalah dan permasalahan diberikan dalam bentuk senario. Model ADDIE terdiri daripada lima
fasa mengikut turutan iaitu fasa analisis, reka bentuk, perkembangan, perlaksanaan dan diakhiri dengan
penilaian.

267
Fasa ADDIE Aktiviti dan hasil
Analisis  Penyelidik menjalankan dua tahap analisis iaitu analisis terhadap kandungan dan analisis terhadap
pengguna, yakni pelajar. Hasil daripada analisis mendapati bahawa responden merupakan pelajar
daripada sekolah yang baik tahap pencapaiannya dan responden terdiri daripada lebih ramai pelajar
perempuan berbanding pelajar lelaki.
 Bagi analisis kandungan, pengkaji mengenalpasti bahawa pelajar sudah mempelajari topik Ikatan
Kimia.
 Tujuan dan objektif pembelajaran turut dikenalpasti iaitu ingin mengaplikasikan pendekatan STEM
dalam topik Ikatan Kimia serta ingin mengatasi permasalahan pelajar dalam topik ini.
 Permasalahan pelajar bagi konsep Ikatan Kimia dikenalpasti berdasarkan kajian-kajian lepas yang
mana hasil kajian mereka mendapati pelajar keliru sama ada sesuatu sebatian itu merupakan ikatan ion
atau ikatan kovalen, pelajar tidak dapat melukis pembentukan sebatian dengan tepat dan lain-lain lagi.
 Hasil analisis mendapati bahawa tiada lagi teknik pengajaran yang mengaplikasi pendekatan STEM
dalam topik ini.
Reka bentuk  Reka bentuk pembangunan Modul Chem-A menggunakan pendekatan STEM.
 Fasa ini terdiri daripada reka bentuk muka hadapan, pengenalan, rasional, matlamat dan seterusnya
objektif modul, prosedur pengajaran dan sesi pengajaran dan pemudahcaraan modul.
Pembangunan  Modul Chem-A yang dibina dimulakan dengan bahagian pendahuluan seperti pengenalan, rasional,
matlamat dan objektif modul dan seterusnya konsep Ikatan Kimia.
 modul ini diteruskan dengan bahagian pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang mana modul ini
menggunakan pendekatan STEM dan pembentukan rancangan pengajaran bagi pembelajaran yang
menggunakan pendekatan pembelajaran berasaskan masalah. Masalah yang dikemukan adalah dalam
bentuk senario.
 Rancangan pengajaran harian dan cadangan jawapan turut disertakan dalam modul ini.
Perlaksanaan  Modul pengajaran yang telah disediakan telah dipersembahkan kepada pelajar dalam bentuk dan
susunan yang telah dibangunkan. Tujuannya adalah untuk melihat keberkesanannya menggunakan
pendekatan yang agak baharu ini iaitu pendekatan STEM.
 Hasil pemerhatian mendapati bahawa pelaksanaan Modul Chem-A mengambil masa selama 1 jam 30
minit dan kajian mendapati pelajar dalam kumpulan dapat menyelesaikan masalah yang diberikan.
Penilaian  Pendedahan modul diakhiri dengan fasa penilaian. Fasa ini bertujuan menilai keberkesanan modul
dalam pembelajaran bermakna bagi mengatasi permasalahan dalam pembelajaran terutamanya dalam
topik Ikatan Kimia.
 Ujian pra dan pos diberikan kepada pelajar dan soal selidik untuk para guru. Rajah 2 menunjukkan
muka hadapan modul, komponen STEM yang diterapkan dalam modul dan antara permasalahan yang
digunakan.

RAJAH 2. Muka hadapan modul, komponen STEM dan permasalahan

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 II) Keberkesanan Modul Chem-A
Kefahaman pelajar dikenalpasti berdasarkan pencapaian markah keseluruhan pelajar dalam ujian pra dan
ujian pos. Pencapaian pelajar dianalisis dengan membandingkan markah ujian pra dan ujian pos. Berdasarakan
Jadual 1 yang menunjukkan pencapaian 30 orang pelajar dalam ujian pra dan ujian pos, markah terendah dan
markah tertinggi dalam ujian pra adalah 16% dan 74%. Manakala, bagi ujian pos pula, markah terendah dan
tertinggi adalah 50% dan 95%. Selain itu, perbezaan markah yang ketara adalah sebanyak 66% iaitu oleh
responden R14.

JADUAL (1). Ujian Pencapaian Pelajar dalam Ujian Pra dan Ujian Pos

Responden Ujian pra (%) Ujian pos (%) Perbezaan (%)

R1 53 61 8
R2 66 79 13
R3 60 76 16
R4 74 87 13
R5 61 97 36
R6 16 71 55
R7 45 71 26
R8 58 89 31
R9 30 79 49
R10 34 61 27
R11 29 50 21
R12 32 55 23
R13 47 89 42
R14 26 92 66
R15 18 63 45
R16 26 61 35
R17 55 58 3
R18 66 55 -11
R19 47 53 6
R20 55 92 37
R21 55 84 29
R22 58 95 37
R23 66 84 18
R24 53 82 29
R25 74 84 10
R26 63 89 26
R27 76 84 8
R28 37 89 52
R29 58 84 26
R30 48 82 34

Ujian-t (sample paired t-test) dijalankan bagi menguji sama ada wujudnya perbezaan yang signifikan antara
skor pencapaian ujian pra pelajar dan skor pencapaian ujian pos pelajar. Jadual 2 menunjukkan peningkatan skor
min markah daripada 49.53 kepada 76.53 iaitu sebanyak 27.00. Peningkatan min jelas menunjukkan bahawa
penggunaan Modul Chem-A dapat membantu meningkatkan tahap kefahaman pelajar dalam menguasai topik
Ikatan Kimia. Seterusnya, hasil analisis ujian-t seperti dalam Jadual 3 menunjukkan terdapat perbezaan yang
signifikan antara skor min markah ujian pra dan skor min markah ujian pos pada aras keyakinan .05. Hal ini
dapat dilihat nilai signifikannya iaitu .000 dan ianya tidak melebihi .05. Justeru, wujud perbezaan yang
signifikan antara skor min markah ujian pra dan skor min markah ujian pos.

JADUAL (2). Statistik sampel berpasangan Ujian Pra dan Ujian Pos

Ujian N Min Std. error mean Std. deviation

Ujian Pra 30 49.53 3.076 16.850
Ujian Pos 30 76.53 2.586 14.163

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 JADUAL (3). Ujian-t Ujian Pra dan Ujian Pos

Justeru, dapat dirumuskan bahawa skor pencapaian pelajar dalam ujian pos (M=76.53, SD=2.586) lebih
tinggi berbanding skor pencapaian pelajar dalam ujian pra (M=49.53, SD=3.076). Terdapat perbezaan yang
signifikan, T(30)=-8.637, P, 0.05, d=0.720. Oleh itu, kajian ini menerima H 1 iaitu terdapat perbezaan antara
ujian pra dan ujian pos. Rentetan itu, dapat dinyatakan bahawa perbezaan tahap pencapaian topik Ikatan Kimia
melalui ujian pos menunjukkan kesan pendedahan Modul Chem-A yang mengintegrasikan pendekatan
pendekatan STEM.
Bagi melihat keberkesanan Modul Chem-A dengan lebih mendalam, analisis data bagi setiap item
dilaksankan. Jadual 4 menunjukkan menunjukkan enam soalan bagi konstruk ikatan ion dalam bahagian
objektif. Bahagian ini adalah untuk menjawab persoalan kajian yang kedua, iaitu keberkesanan modul dari segi
kefahaman pelajar. Keputusan pelajar yang menjawab soalan dengan betul dan keputusan pelajar yang
menjawab dengan salah ditunjukkan dalam kekerapan (f) dan juga teknik peratusan (%).

JADUAL (4). Analisis data bagi item Ikatan Ion bahagian objektif

Item Ujian pra Ujian pos

Kekerapan pelajar Kekerapan pelajar Kekerapan pelajar Kekerapan pelajar
menjawab soalan dengan menjawab soalan dengan menjawab soalan menjawab soalan dengan
betul (f) dan peratus betul salah (f) dan peratus dengan betul (f) dan salah (f) dan peratus
(%) salah (%) peratus betul (%) salah (%)
1 26 (86.7%) 4 (13.3%) 28 (93.3%) 2 (6.7%)
2 27 (90.0%) 3 (10.0%) 29 (96.7%) 1 (3.3%)
3 26 (86.7%) 4 (13.3%) 29 (96.7%) 1 (3.3%)
5 7 (23.3%) 23 (76.7%) 22 (73.3%) 8 (26.7%)
6 20 (66.7) 10 (33.3%) 25 (83.3%) 5 (16.7%)
10 26 (86.7%) 4 (13.3%) 27 (90.0%) 3 (10.0%)

Seterusnya, analisis data diteruskan dengan konstruk ikatan kovalen pula. Jadual 5 menunjukkan
empat soalan bagi konstruk ikatan kovalen dalam bahagian objektif. Bahagian ini adalah untuk menjawab
persoalan kajian yang kedua, iaitu keberkesanan modul dari segi kefahaman pelajar. Keputusan pelajar yang
menjawab soalan dengan betul dan keputusan pelajar yang menjawab dengan salah ditunjukkan dalam
kekerapan (f) dan juga teknik peratusan (%).

JADUAL (5). Analisis data bagi item Ikatan Kovalen bahagian objektif

Item Ujian pra Ujian pos

Kekerapan pelajar Kekerapan pelajar Kekerapan pelajar Kekerapan pelajar
menjawab soalan dengan menjawab soalan menjawab soalan dengan menjawab soalan dengan
betul (f) dan peratus betul dengan salah (f) dan betul (f) dan peratus betul salah (f) dan peratus salah
(%) peratus salah (%) (%) (%)

4 25 (83.3%) 6 (16.7%) 27 (90.0%) 3 (10.0%)

7 24 (80.0%) 6 (20.0%) 28 (93.3%) 2 (6.7%)
8 17 (56.7%) 13 (43.3%) 28 (93.3%) 2 (6.7%)
9 15 (50.0%) 15 (50.0%) 22 (73.3%) 8 (27.3%)

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 Secara keseluruhannya, berdasarkan hasil analisa pemarkahan pelajar bagi setiap item bahagian
objektif, kekerapan pelajar menjawab soalan dengan betul dalam ujian pos meningkat berbanding kekerapan
pelajar menjawab soalan dengan betul dalam ujian pra. Justeru, hal ini menunjukkan bahawa Modul Chem-A
yang dibina dapat meningkatkan kefahaman pelajar dalam topik Ikatan Kimia. Ia disebabkan oleh pendekatan
strategi pengajaran yang digunakan iaitu berasaskan STEM menerusi pembelajaran berasaskan masalah dan
masalah diberikan dalam bentuk senario.
Analisis data diteruskan dengan item dalam bahagian subjektif. Bahagian subjektif terdiri daripada
empat soalan yang merangkumi semua subtopik dalam topik Ikatan Kimia. Jadual 6 menunjukkan empat
soalan bagi dalam bahagian subjektif. Bahagian ini juga adalah untuk menjawab persoalan kajian yang kedua,
iaitu keberkesanan modul dari segi kefahaman pelajar. Keputusan pelajar yang menjawab soalan dengan
betul dan keputusan pelajar yang menjawab dengan salah ditunjukkan dalam kekerapan (f) dan juga teknik
peratusan (%).

JADUAL (6). Analisis data bagi item dalam bahagian subjektif

Item Ujian pra Ujian pos

Kekerapan pelajar Kekerapan pelajar menjawab Kekerapan pelajar Kekerapan pelajar menjawab
menjawab soalan dengan soalan dengan salah (f) dan menjawab soalan dengan soalan dengan salah (f) dan
betul (f) dan peratus peratus salah (%) betul (f) dan peratus peratus salah (%)
betul (%) betul (%)
1(a) 22 (73.3%) 8 (26.7%) 28 (93.3%) 2 (6.7%)
1(b) 15 (50.0%) 15 (50.0%) 24 (80.0%) 6 (20.0%)
1(c) 11 (36.7%) 19 (63.3%) 28 (93.3%) 2 (6.7%)
1(d) 9 (30.0%) 21 (70.0%) 23 (76.7%) 7 (23.3%)
2(i-Y) 27 (90.0%) 3 (10.0%) 29 (96.7%) 1 (3.3%)
2(i-Z) 7 (23.3%) 23 (76.7%) 22 (73.3%) 8 (26.7%)
2(ii) 21 (70.0%) 9 (30.0%) 30 (100.0%) 0
2(iii) 11 (36.7%) 19 (63.3%) 19 (63.3%) 11 (36.7%)
3(a) 23 (76.7%) 7 (23.3%) 30 (100.0%) 0

Berdasarkan analisis jawapan dalam ujian pra dan ujian pos, dapat dilihat bahawa terdapat peningkatan dari
segi kekerapan pelajar menjawab soalan dengan betul bagi soalan 1 sehingga soalan 3(a) dalam ujian pos
berbanding ujian pra.
Bagi soalan 3(b) pula, markah diberikan berdasarkan tahap jawapan pelajar. Soalan ini membawa 3 markah.
Jadual 7 menunjukkan kekerapan pelajar mendapat 0 markah, 1 markah, 2 markah dan markah penuh iaitu 3
dalam ujian pra dan ujian pos.

JADUAL (7). Analisis data bagi soalan 3(b)

Item Ujian pra Ujian pos

Kekerapan pelajar menjawab soalan Kekerapan pelajar menjawab soalan mengikut markah (f)
mengikut markah (f) dan peratus (%) dan peratus betul (%)

3(b) 0 markah: 0 markah:

8 (26.6%) 0

1 markah: 1 markah:
5 (16.7%) 2 (6.7%)

2 markah: 2 markah:
17 (56.7%) 19 (63.3%)

3 markah: 3 markah:
0 9 (30.0%)
Seterusnya, bagi soalan 4, markah diberikan berdasarkan tahap jawapan pelajar. Soalan 4 membawa 10
markah. Jadual 8 menunjukkan kekerapan pelajar mendapat 0 markah, 1 markah sehingga markah penuh iaitu
10 dalam ujian pra dan ujian pos.

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 JADUAL (8). Analisis data bagi soalan 4

Berdasarkan analisa jawapan bagi soalan 3(ii) dan soalan 4 pula, kekerapan pelajar mendapat markah yang
tinggi dalam ujian pos meningkat berbanding kekerapan pelajar mendapat markah yang tinggi dalam ujian pra.
Justeru, hal ini menunjukkan bahawa Modul Chem-A yang dibina dapat meningkatkan kefahaman pelajar dalam
topik Ikatan Kimia. Ia disebabkan oleh pendekatan strategi pengajaran yang digunakan iaitu berasaskan STEM
menerusi pembelajaran berasaskan masalah dan masalah diberikan dalam bentuk senario. Secara
keseluruhannya, kesemua item menunjukkan peningkatan markah dalam ujian pos berbanding ujian pra.
Keberkesanan Modul Chem-A yang digunakan bagi membantu proses pembelajaran pelajar diperkukuhkan
lagi dengan perspektif para guru. Soal selidik ini terdiri daripada empat konstruk iaitu isi kandungan, strategi
pengajaran, ciri-ciri pengajaran dan pembelajaran STEM dan juga soalan terbuka. Konstruk yang pertama dalam
soal selidik ini adalah mengenai isi kandungan Modul Chem-A seperti dalam Jadual 9.

JADUAL (9). Nilai Kekerapan dan Peratusan bagi Konstruk Kandungan Modul Chem-A

Item Skor min Kekerapan dan Peratusan (%)

STS TS S SS
1 Kandungan pengajaran Modul Chem-A sesuai dengan 3.40 0 1 4 5
sukatan pembelajaran. (0) (10) (40) (50)
2 Tiada kesalahan dalam kandungan Modul Chem-A. 3.30 0 0 7 3
(0) (0) (70) (30)
3 Bahan pengajaran Modul Chem-A mudah difahami. 3.50 0 1 3 6
(0) (10) (30) (60)
4 Pengajaran dalam Modul Chem-A yang relevan dengan 3.40 0 0 6 4
aplikasi harian (0) (0) (60) (40)
5 Maklumat Modul Chem-A dikaitkan dengan 3.40 0 0 6 4
pengetahuan sedia ada dalam diri pelajar (0) (0) (60) (40)
6 Isi kandungan dalam Modul Chem-A disusun dengan 3.50 0 0 5 5
teratur (0) (0) (50) (50)
7 Bahan penyampaian dalam Modul Chem-A mudah 3.60 0 0 4 6
difahami (0) (0) (40) (60)
8 Tiada kesalahan ejaan dalam Modul Chem-A 3.50 0 0 5 5
(0) (0) (50) (50)
9 Aras kesukaran seperti istilah, pendekatan dan 3.40 0 0 6 4
kandungan Modul Chem-A adalah sesuai dengan (0) (0) (60) (40)
kumpulan sasaran
10 Pengajaran boleh atau sesuai digunakan kepada berbagai 3.40 0 0 6 4
kumpulan sasaran (0) (0) (60) (40)

Konstruk yang kedua dalam soal selidik adalah mengenai strategi pengajaran terhadap Modul Chem-A.
Jadual 10 menunjukkan skor min, nilai kekerapan dan peratusan bagi item dalam konstruk strategi pengajaran.

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 JADUAL (10). Skor Min, Kekerapan dan Peratusan bagi Strategi Pengajaran terhadap Modul Chem-A

Konstruk yang ketiga dalam soal selidik adalah mengenai ciri-ciri pengajaran dan pembelajaran STEM
dalam Modul Chem-A. Jadual 11 menunjukkan skor min, kekerapan dan peratusan bagi konstruk ini.

JADUAL 11. Skor Min, Kekerapan dan Peratusan bagi Ciri-ciri Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran STEM

Item Skor Kekerapan dan Peratusan (%)

Min STS TS S SS
1 Perlaksanaan Modul Chem-A dapat meningkatkan kepekaan 3.40 0 0 6 4
pelajar terhadap sesuatu isu. (0) (0) (60) (40)
2 Perlaksanaan Modul Chem-A dapat melibatkan pelajar dalam kerja 3.50 0 0 5 5
berpasukan yang produktif. (0) (0) (50) (50)
3 Perlaksanaan Modul Chem-A dapat melibatkan pelajar dalam 3.50 0 0 5 5
inkuiri dan penerokaan terbuka. (0) (0) (50) (50)
4 Perlaksanaan Modul Chem-A memerlukan pelajar memberikan 3.40 0 0 6 4
pelbagai jawapan/penyelesaian dengan justifikasi. (0) (0) (60) (40)
5 Perlaksanaan Modul Chem-A memerlukan pelajar mengaplikasi 3.60 0 0 4 6
pemahaman kandungan STEM. (0) (0) (40) (6)
6 Perlaksanaan Modul Chem-A memberi peluang pelajar menambah 3.70 0 0 3 7
baik jawapan atau produk. (0) (0) (30) (70)
7 Perlaksanaan Modul Chem-A melibatkan pelajar mengaplikasikan 3.70 0 0 3 7
kemahiran proses mereka bentuk. (0) (0) (70) (70)

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 Kesimpulannya, daripada analisis soal selidik berkaitan ciri-ciri pengajaran dan pembelajaran STEM
dalam Modul Chem-A, data keseluruhan menunjukkan bahawa responden bersetuju dengan hampir
keseluruhan item yang dikemukakan.
Bagi penilaian umum, terdapat lima item terbuka yang terdiri daripada aspek, cadangan serta
pandangan keseluruhan responden terhadap Modul Chem-A Ikatan Kimia. Antara aspek yang digemari oleh
responden adalah isu yang diberikan adalah jelas, bermaklumat dan padat, modul ini dapat menarik minat
pelajar, pelajar dapat menjalankan aktiviti sendiri selain aktiviti yang menyeronokkan dan susun atur modul
yang baik dan ianya lebih mudah dan jelas untuk guru fahami. Manakala, bagi aspek yang tidak digemari
pula, responden hanya memberikan maklum balas dari segi kandungan modul iaitu penggunaan ayat yang
banyak dan kurang pengunaan gambar rajah. Cadangan yang diberikan untuk memperbaiki modul ini adalah
dari segi strategi pengajaran yang mana mereka menyatakan bahawa penyelidik perlu mempelbagaikan lagi
bahan bantu belajar, meminta pelajar membuat masalah sendiri berdasarkan isu semasa, menambahkan
permasalahan yang lebih berbentuk KBAT dan bahan serta cara pembinaan model boleh dibuka kepada
pelajar agar mereka boleh mencetuskan idea kreatif. Selain itu, bagi kandungan dalam modul pula, responden
mencadangkan penyelidik perlu mengurangkan penggunaan ayat dan membina rancangan pengajaran harian
yang lebih padat. Pendapat keseluruhan yang diberikan oleh responden adalah strategi pengajaran yang baik
dan kandungan modul yang menarik, baik dan jelas. Secara keseluruhannya, berdasarkan maklum balas
responden dalam soal selidik yang diberikan, Modul Chem-A mendapat maklum balas yang positif. Hal ini
secara tidak langsung menunjukkan bahawa guru memberikan perspektif yang baik terhadap modul yang
dibangunkan ini.

PERBINCANGAN

Berdasarkan analisa jawapan item objektif dan subjektif, secara keseluruhannya, dapat disimpulkan bahawa
pelajar tidak dapat menjawab kesemua soalan dengan betul. Hal ini diperkuatkan lagi dengan dapatan-dapatan
daripada kajian lepas bahawa pelajar mengalami permasalahan dalam topik Ikatan Kimia. Nimmermack (2016)
menyatakan bahawa hanya 20% pelajar kajiannya menguasai sepenuhnya dalam topik Ikatan Kimia.
Berdasarkan kajian lepas yang dilakukan oleh Muhammad Hafidzuddin Misbah (2011) menyatakan kebanyakan
pelajar keliru terhadap perbezaan antara ikatan ion dan ikatan kovalen. Ia dapat dibuktikan dalam ujian pra yang
telah dijalankan. Kekeliruan dalam ikatan ion dan ikatan kovalen ini turut disokong oleh kajian yang telah
dilaksanakan lebih awal lagi iaitu dari Butts dan Smith (1987).
Justeru, dapat disimpulkan bahawa permasalahan pelajar dalam topik Ikatan Kimia turut diterima oleh
kajian-kajian lepas. Rentetan itu, pihak guru perlu memainkan peranan dalam mengatasi masalah ini seperti
mengubah strategi pengajaran yang lebih berpusatkan kepada pelajar. Ia turut disokong oleh Heitzmann (2007)
yang menyatakan bahawa pemilihan kaedah pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang sesuai dapat mendorong kepada
pencapaian objektif pembelajaran dan sekaligus memberi kesan yang signifikan dalam pencapaian dan
prestasi para pelajar.
Kajian ini telah membangunkan Modul Chem-A berasaskan Pendekatan STEM yang mana modul ini
menggunakan pendekatan STEM menerusi pembelajaran berasaskan masalah (PBL). Seterusnya, permasalahan
diberikan dalam bentuk senario. Hasil daripada perlaksanaan modul ini menunjukkan terdapat peningkatan skor
dalam ujian pos. Selain itu, dapatan mendapati kekerapan pelajar menjawab soalan dengan betul dalam ujian pos
meningkat berbanding kekerapan pelajar menjawab soalan dengan betul dalam ujian pra. Disamping itu,
berdasarkan ujian-t, kajian mendapati wujudnya perbezaan skor yang signifikan antara ujian pos dan ujian pra.
Justeru, dapat dirumuskan bahawa modul ini menunjukkan keberkesanan dari segi kefahaman pelajar dalam
topik Ikatan Kimia. Hal ini disebabkan strategi pengajaran yang digunakan melibatkan pelajar turut serta dalam
proses pembelajaran.
Peningkatan kefahaman pelajar disokong oleh kajian-kajian lepas. Antaranya, dapatan kajian oleh Chonkaew
et al., (2016) menunjukkan terdapat signifikan terhadap sikap positif pelajar dalam pembelajaran sains selepas
pendedahan STEM melalui PBL. Perkara ini dapat dilihat apabila pelajar dapat merumuskan semua pengetahuan
yang telah dipelajari dengan sendiri berbanding mendengar guru mengajar semata-mata. Tambahan lagi,
peningkatan kefahaman pelajar dalam topik Ikatan Kimia turut dipersetujui oleh Becker dan Park (2011) yang
menyatakan bahawa pendekatan integrasi STEM yang kebiasaannya dilaksanakan dalam aktiviti menyelesaikan
masalah menunjukkan kesan yang positif terhadap pembelajaran pelajar terutamanya dalam peningkatan minat
dan pembelajaran pelajar. Ia turut disokong oleh Kuenzi (2008) yang menyatakan integrasi STEM dapat
menjadikan pembelajaran lebih mempunyai kaitan antara satu sama lain dan bermakna kepada pelajar.
Pemberian masalah dalam modul ini dapat menggalakkan pelajar meneroka sesuatu, mengintegrasikan teori
dan seterusnya mengaplikasikan pengetahuan dan kemahiran untuk mencari penyelesaian dalam menjawab
permasalahan yang diberikan (Savery, 2006). Selain itu, hasil dapatan oleh Senocak et al., (2007) yang
menjalankan kajian terhadap pengajaran sains menggunakan PBL menunjukkan terdapat perbezaan yang
signifikan antara jumlah min skor pelajar dalam ujian pra dan ujian pos. Dapatan kajian Modul Chem-A yang
menunjukkan keberkesanan modul dalam kalangan pelajar ini turut disokong oleh kajian-kajian lepas iaitu

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Tarhan et al., (2008); Afolabi dan Akinbobola (2009); Senocak et al., (2007) dan Yuzhi (2003) yang
menyatakan bahawa pengajaran menggunakan PBL menunjukkan pencapaian akademik yang tinggi dan
signifikan berbanding pengajaran secarakonvensional.
Selain itu, pengkaji yakin peningkatan kefahaman murid juga disebabkan oleh penggunaan senario sebagai
permasalahan aktiviti. Hal ini disokong oleh Trona dan Trna (2014) yang menyatakan minat pelajar dapat
dipertingkatkan dengan pemberian senario sebagai permasalahan. Ini adalah kerana senario akan menimbulkan
banyak pertanyaan dalam kalangan pelajar.
Justeru, jelaslah dapat dilihat bahawa pendekatan STEM banyak memberikan manfaat kepada pelajar. Modul
Chem-A yang dibina ini melibatkan pelajar dalam semua komponen STEM yang mana mereka mempelajari
pengetahuan sains, teknologi, kejuruteraan dari segi pembinaan susunan elektron sebatian secara visual dan
matematik. Hasil pendedahan modul ini menunjukkan perbezaan yang signifikan dalam ujian pos pelajar
berbanding ujian pra. Oleh yang demikian, dapat dirumuskan bahawa kefahaman pelajar meningkat selepas
pendedahan Modul Chem-A.
Seterusnya, penyelidik telah mengkaji elemen-elemen yang terdapat pada Modul Chem-A berasaskan
Pendekatan STEM dalam topik Ikatan Kimia ini bagi membantu meningkatkan kefahaman pelajar. Secara
keseluruhan, dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa penggunaan elemen-elemen dari segi isi kandungan, strategi
pengajaran dan ciri-ciri pengajaran pendekatan STEM dalam modul ini adalah pada tahap yang baik. Hal ini
bermakna guru-guru bersetuju bahawa modul ini mampu meningkatkan tahap kefahaman pelajar dalam topik
Ikatan Kimia. Selain itu, modul ini juga dapat menyuntik minat pelajar dalam mempelajari topik Ikatan Kimia,
yang mana pelajar akan lebih mudah faham dan mereka lebih cepat untuk bekerja menyelesaikan sesuatu
masalah. Hal ini disokong oleh Trona dan Trna (2014) yang menyatakan minat pelajar dapat dipertingkatkan
dengan pemberian senario sebagai permasalahan.

RUMUSAN

Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa kefahaman pelajar dalam mempelajari topik Ikatan Kimia dapat
dipertingkatkan melalui perlaksanaan Modul Chem-A berasaskan Pendekatan STEM dan modul ini mendapat
maklum balas yang positif dari kalangan guru. Daripada dapatan kajian, dapat dilihat bahawa seseorang guru
yang mempelbagaikan strategi pengajaran dapat membantu pelajar meningkatkan kefahaman mereka dalam
sesuatu topik. Hal ini adalah disebabkan aktiviti pembelajaran yang menarik dapat meningkatkan minat pelajar
dan menggalakkan pembelajaran yang aktif agar mereka lebih memahami konsep ikatan kimia dengan lebih
berkesan. Pembelajaran yang aktif juga dapat dilihat apabila mereka bersemangat berkerja dalam kumpulan. Hal
ini turut dipersetujui oleh Nurshamshida et al., (2013) yang menyatakan bahawa cara guru menyampaikan
pengajaran dan pembelajaran merupakan antara faktor yang perlu ditekankan bagi mengurangkan berlakunya
permasalahan dalam mempelajari sesuatu konsep. Justeru, diharapkan modul yang dibina ini dapat memberikan
gambaran kepada guru untuk menerapkan elemen STEM dalam proses pengajaran mereka. Bukan itu sahaja,
modul ini memberi idea kepada guru untuk menggunakan strategi pengajaran lain yang boleh menjadikan bahan
pembelajaran lebih menarik.

RUJUKAN
1. Azizah Mohamad dan Shaharom Noordin (1999). Tahap Penguasaan Kemahiran Saintifik Pelajar Tingkatan Empat
Daerah Kulai. Buletin Persatuan Pendidikan Sains dan Matematik Johor. 9: 28-36.
2. Butts, B. dan Smith, R. (1987). Chemistry Students' Understanding of the Structure and Properties of Molecular and
Ionic Compounds. Research in Science Education. 17: 192-201.
3. Crawley, F. E. dan Black, C. B. (1992), Causal modeling of secondary science students’ intentions to enroll in physics.
Journal of Research Science. 29(6), 585–599.
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 Module of Efficacy Enhancement in English Teaching
for Early Childhood Education Teacher (MEET-EceT)
Through Pilot Study
Nur Nazuha Beevi Abdul Aziz

National Child Development Research Centre, Sultan Idris Education University, 35900, Tanjong Malim,
Perak, Malaysia.

Abstract. This study focuses on the improvement of a module by conducting a pilot study. The main purpose of this
pilot study is to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the module. Improvement of the module is proposed
after identifying the weaknesses. This study involved 30 Islamic kindergarten teachers in Kuala Kangsar. Training
workshop namely Enhancement Efficacy Workshop in Teaching English using MEET-EceT was conducted.
Feedback was obtained through self-reflection forms and self-efficacy activity book which were distributed to the
participants as the users of the module. The weaknesses in terms of the feasibility of the activities highlighted in the
module to achieve each set objective, the time allocation for each activity, and the way the workshop was conducted
by the facilitator. This study also scrutinised the suitability of the exercises in the self-efficacy activity book, the use
of facilitator note and equipment preparation for each activity, as well as steps to implement the module. The module
needs to be improved before being tested to see its feasibility in the actual field. After being improved, MEET-EceT
can be used in quasi-experiment to evaluate dependent variables, to increase the efficacy level in teaching English
and relieve anxiety in teaching English.
Keywords: Pilot study, module improvement, module users, self-efficacy activity book, training workshop , teaching
English efficacy and teaching English anxiety.

INTRODUCTION
Module development is important to determine the usability of a module. According to Jamaludin (2016), the
feasibility of a module is assessed by looking at the feedback from the users and developer while trying out the
activities outlined in the module. This is to improve the quality of the activities by addressing the weaknesses.
During the pilot study, the module activities are implemented and the module developer can seek feedback in for
of writing or interview from the users.
The weaknesses encompass activity compatibility, spelling mistakes, sentence structure errors, time
allocation for an activity, the match between the activity and users’ capability, objective, command of activity
command and clarity in steps taken to run an activity. Once all of the weaknesses are identified, the module
developer can rectify, repair, refine the module activities and run them via a pilot study, until the module
activities are ready to be used in the field.

BACKGROUND OF STUDY
The MEET-EceT was developed based on Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory and Keller’s ARCS Model. The
combination four elements from the Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory and four elements from the Keller’s ARCS
Model leads to a training module for early childhood education teachers to enhance efficacy in teaching English.
There are four components in the Self-Efficacy Theory that influences the efficacy level in teaching, they are i)
knowledge and achievement in English, ii) self-modelling in teaching, iii) self-evaluation in teaching and iv)
development of self-conscious emotions. Meanwhile, the Keller’s ARCS Model highlights four components that
help to boost teachers’ motivation in undergoing training workshop, they are i) A-Attention, ii) R-Relevance, iii)
C- Confidence and iv) S-Satisfaction.

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 Bandura’s Self ARCS Keller
Efficacy Theory Model

Self efficacy
Knowledge and activity book
Achievement in MODULE OF A - Attention
EFFICACY Facilitator's R – Relevance
English
ENHANCEMENT IN efficacy note C – Confidence
ENGLISH
S - Satisfaction
TEACHING FOR Efficacy task
Self Modelling in EARLY checklist
teaching CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION Module
TEACHER (MEET- assessment
EceT) survey question
Self evaluation on
teaching

Development of self
–conscious emotions

DIAGRAM 1. MEET-EceT development based on Bandura Self Efficacy Theory and ARCS Keller Model

RESULT
Based on the pilot study that was conducted, there are some weaknesses were identified from the module; i)
content for each activity, ii) time allocation for activity, iii) availibility of equipment to carry out activities, iv)
facilitator’s skills to handle the workshop, v) efficacy note for the workshop, vi) quality of checklist in the
efficacy practice and vii) suitability of exercises in the self-efficacy activity book. Table 1 and Table 2 show the
improved content activity and the time allocation for each activity. (Nur Nazuha Beevi Abdul Aziz & Nordin
Mamat, 2018)

TABLE (1). Content Activity Module of Efficacy Enhancement in English Teaching for Early Childhood Education
Teachers (MEET-EceT) after pilot test
Content Activity MEET-EceT before pilot test Content Activity MEET-EceT after pilot test
Strategy 1 : Introduction to MEET-EceT
Introducing a new activity
Activity 1 : Build rapport

Strategy 1 : Introduction to MEET-EceT Activity 2 : Getting to know Bandura’s Self- Efficacy

Activity 1 : Getting to know Bandura Self- Efficacy Theory
Theory Activity 3: Teacher’s Self-Efficacy
Activity 2: Self-empowerment

Strategy 2 : Knowledge and Achievement in English
Activity 1 : Reaching for the stars
Activity 2 : Knowledge on English pedagogy
Activity 3 : Past teaching performance
Activity 4 : Knowledge on content
Strategy 2 : Knowledge and Achievement in English
Activity 1 : See other people’s efficacy
Activity 2 : Teachers’ knowledge
Activity 3 : Reflective thinking
Activity 4 : Self-learning

Strategy 3 : Self-modelling in Teaching Strategy 3 : Self-modelling in Teaching

Activity 1 : Guiding my fellow friends Activity 1 : Guiding my fellow friends
Activity 2 : My mentor Activity 2 : My mentor
Activity 3 : I am champion Activity 3 : My motivation
Activity 4 : Let’s practice Activity 4 : Learn through observation

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 Strategy 4 : Self-evaluation on Teaching
Activity 1 : Video critics
Activity 2 : Micro-teaching
Activity 3 : Let’s write teaching programme
Activity 4 : Think positively
Strategy 4 : Self-evaluation on Teaching
Activity 1 : Video criticism
Activity 2 : Let’s write a teaching plan
Activity 3 : Let’s practice teaching
Activity 4 : Feedback is not failure

Strategy 5 : Development of Self-Emotion Introducing a new activity

Activity 1 : Generating ideas
Activity 2 : Managing stress
Activity 3 : Trust on efficacy
Activity 4 : I love English language
Strategy 6 : Closing (Individual Transformation)
Activity 1 : My mind map
Activity 2 : You can do it!
Activity 5 : Other methods in teaching
Strategy 5 : Development of Self Conscious Emotion
Activity 1 : Changes in physiology and emotions
Activity 2 : Managing stress
Activity 3 : The pyramid of behavioral change
Activity 4 : Positive thinking of English
Strategy 6 : Closing – Self Transformation
Activity 1 : You can do it!

Activity 2 : Mind transformation

TABLE (2). Time Allocation for Each Activity in the Module of Efficacy Enhancement in English Teaching for Early
Childhood Education Teachers (MEET-EceT) after pilot test

Sub Module / Activity Time Allocation for Each Activity Time Allocation for Each
Before Pilot Test Activity After Pilot Test
Strategy 1 : Introduction to MEET-EceT
Introducing a new activity 30 minutes
Activity 1 : Build rapport
Activity 2 : Getting to know Bandura’s Self- 60 minutes 45 minutes
Efficacy Theory
Activity 3: Teacher’s Self-Efficacy 60 minutes 45 minutes

Strategy 2 : Knowledge and Achievement in English

Activity 1 : See other people’s efficacy 60 minutes 45 minutes
Activity 2 : Teachers’ knowledge 60 minutes 45 minutes
Activity 3 : Reflective thinking 60 minutes 45 minutes
Activity 4 : Self-learning 60 minutes 45 minutes

Strategy 3 : Self-modeling in Teaching

Activity 1 : Guiding my fellow friends 60 minutes 45 minutes
Activity 2 : My mentor 60 minutes 45 minutes
Activity 3 : My motivation 60 minutes 45 minutes
Activity 4 : Learn through observation 60 minutes 45 minutes

Strategy 4 : Self-evaluation on Teaching

60 minutes 60 minutes
Activity 1 : Video criticism
60 minutes 30 minutes
Activity 2 : Let’s write a teaching plan
60 minutes 120 minutes
Activity 3 : Let’s practice teaching
60 minutes 30 minutes
Activity 4 : Feedback is not failure
Introducing a new activity
Activity 5 : Others methods in teaching 90 minutes

Strategy 5 : Development of Self Conscious

Emotion 60 minutes 45 minutes
60 minutes 45 minutes
Activity 1 : Changes in physiology and emotions
60 minutes 45 minutes
Activity 2 : Managing stress
60 minutes 45 minutes
Activity 3 : The pyramid of behavioral change
Activity 4 : Positive thinking of English
Strategy 6 : Closing – Self Transformation
60 minutes 45 minutes
Activity 1 : You can do it
60 minutes 45 minutes
Activity 2 : Mind transformation
Total hours MEET-EceT activities 20 hours 18 hours

279
 Based on Table 2and Table 3, some changes were made to improve the MEET-EceT. The time allocation for
each activity was revised when MEET-EceT was run. At first, the implementation of MEET-EceT takes 20
hours, but after the pilot study, only 18 hours are used to run the MEET-EceT activities. Besides, the researcher
has to add two new activities namely introductory sessions in the beginning of Strategy 1 and “Activity 5: Other
methods in teaching” for “Strategy 4: Self-Evaluation in Teaching”.
The introductory sessions aim to rapport between facilitator and participants at the beginning of the
workshop. Participants tend to feel more comfortable with the facilitator and it is easier for the latter to handle
the workshop when there is two-way interaction between them. For “Activity 5: Other methods in teaching”,
researcher found that teachers need to be exposed with new approaches in teaching English rather than sticking
to the traditional methods. Therefore, early childhood education teachers need to get used with the new teaching
methods that are more relevant with children development. This helps to relieve stress among teachers and
children in practising during teaching session. Researcher had introduced the Emotion Body Response (EBR)
approach to the teachers because it is easy to practise and helps the students to better acquire and understand
vocabulary part. (Nur Nazuha Beevi Abdul Aziz, 2018).

DISCUSSION
Based on the evaluation, researcher still has to improve the steps in implementing the module activities. This
is because with clear and specific steps, facilitator can handle the module more effectively. Noah and Jamaludin
(2005) splits the module activities into two, one is with facilitator assistance while another is without the
facilitator. MEET-EceT is the module that requires facilitator assistance. Therefore, this module requires a
facilitator who understands and capable of carrying out the module activities efficiently. Researcher needs to
improve the steps to implement the MEET-EceT activities and provides training to the facilitators so that they
can get used to handle the workshop systematically.
Some of the weaknesses identified from the module are in terms of time allocation for each activity and the
feasibility of the activities. The activities outlined in the MEET-EceT are developed based on the Bandura’s
Self- Efficacy Theory with the help of experts. Therefore, the selection of activity and time allocation for each
activity should be further revised. It’s because this study different with some research that already done. Some
researcher developing module from the existing modules from overseas that has went through the validity and
realibility process, so that researcher can use some activities and follow time allocation for each activity as
reference. (Mariah Kamaruddin, 2017).

CONCLUSION
In developing the module, module developer should run it via a pilot study to evaluate the suitability of the
activities, as well as rectify any spelling mistakes and errors in the sentence structure. Besides, the time
allocation for each activity and the match between the activity and users’ capability should be tested, while the
steps highlighted in the instructions for any activities should be made clear. This will help the module developer
to develop a high quality module.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research receives no grant from any funding agencies, be it public sector, commercial industry or non-
profit sector.

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 Penerapan Kemahiran Proses Sains Menggunakan
Augmented Reality
Emir Nasriq Kassima, Mohd Shafie Roslib and Azri Syazwan Atanb
a
SK Sri Pulai Perdana Jalan Pesisiran Pulai Perdana 1 81300 Skudai Johor
b
Sekolah Pendidikan Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 81310 Johor
Bahru

Abstract. Penarafan di peringkat antarabangsa berkenaan pencapaian pelajar Malaysia mencatatkan penurunan dan
berada pada tahap yang membimbangkan. Penguasaan Kemahiran Proses Sains (KPS) dikalangan pelajar Malaysia di
tahap yang lemah dan sederhana antara faktor penyumbang kepada kebimbangan ini. Kajian ini bertujuan mengenal
pasti tahap KPS pelajar, menggunakan perisian Augmented Reality (AR) dan menilai keberkesanannya di dalam
meningkatkan KPS pelajar serta mengkaji cara pelajar menggunakan AR dalam meningkatkan KPS mata pelajaran
sains. Sebuah sekolah di Selatan Malaysia dipilih menggunakan teknik pensampelan rawak mudah. Seramai 150 orang
murid dipilih sebagai sampel melalui teknik pensampelan rawak kluster. Bagi mencapai objektif, satu perisian AR telah
dipilih bagi menjayakan kajian. Analisis statistik data melalui ujian pra menunjukkan KPS pelajar adalah sederhana
(min = 50.14). KPS pelajar melalui ujian pos didapati meningkat selepas menggunakan perisian AR yang
dicadangkan (min = 85.26). Ujian-t merekodkan wujud perbezaan yang signifikan antara skor ujian pra dengan ujian
pos, (t = 22.199, p < 0.05) di mana rawatan yang diberikan memberi kesan kepada peningkatan skor pelajar. Hasil
temu bual mendedahkan tentang cara bagaimana pelajar menggunakan AR dalam mata pelajaran sains. Kesemua
bersetuju bahawa dengan menggunakan AR, mereka boleh melihat imej objek 360º dan 83.33% pelajar mengatakan
dengan menggunakan AR, mereka boleh memfokus imej haiwan pada bahagian-bahagian yang tertentu. Sebagai
kesimpulan, kajian ini membuktikan penggunaan AR dalam mata pelajaran sains berkesan meningkatkan KPS pelajar.
Keywords: Kemahiran Proses Sains, Augmented Reality

PENGENALAN
Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia (2013-2025) adalah satu gagasan dan transformasi pendidikan
yang memberi penekanan secara menyeluruh oleh pihak kerajaan untuk memperkasakan sistem pendidikan
Malaysia serta mencapai pendidikan bertaraf dunia. Laporan TIMSS (2007) dan PISA (2009) tentang status
pendidikan negara dalam bidang Matematik dan Sains yang dianggap rendah dan terkebelakang. Berdasarkan
Standard Jemaah Nazir (2004), kepentingan unsur amalan pembelajaran menyeronokkan dinyatakan dalam
elemen telah pun digariskan dalam disposisi guru. Standard ini menggariskan bahawa guru perlu mewujudkan
suasana riang dan merangsang pembelajaran. Peranan guru amat penting untuk mewujudkan proses pengajaran
dan pembelajaran yang berkesan.
Kurikulum Sains memberi penekanan kepada kemahiran saintifik (KS) yang terbahagi kepada kemahiran
proses sains (KPS) dan juga kemahiran manipulatif (KM). KPS adalah alat yang digunakan individu atau pelajar
untuk mendapatkan maklumat berkenaan dunia saintifik dan menyusun maklumat berkenaan (Oxford
Encyclopaedia Science Dictionary, 2010). KPS merupakan proses mental yang menggalakkan pemikiran secara
kritis, analitik dan sistematik. Penguasaan KPS membolehkan pelajar mempersoalkan sesuatu masalah yang ada
dan mencari jawapan secara bersistem daripada kemahiran mudah kepada kompleks (Bahagian Pembangunan
Kurikulum, 2010). Malah, ianya merupakan kemahiran yang paling kerap digunakan dalam kemahiran berfikir
seperti yang dinyatakan oleh Gagne (1965) dan Aydogdu et al. (2012). Saintis mengaplikasi KPS dalam
melaksanakan tugasan mereka Mutlu dan Temiz (2013) dan menurut Opateye (2012), individu yang menguasai
KPS mempunyai sikap yang lebih positif terhadap sains.
Kajian menunjukkan bahawa KPS adalah sangat penting untuk literasi sains (Harlen, 1999; Espinosa,
Monterola, Punzalan, 2013). Literasi dalam sains sangat penting untuk kelestarian masyarakat moden (Turiman,
Omar, Daud & Osman, 2011). Ewers (2001) melaporkan bahawa sekiranya KPS tidak diperolehi, pelajar tidak
akan menguasai literasi sains kerana literasi sains bukan hanya tertakluk pada pembacaan dan pendengaran
semata-mata sebaliknya memerlukan kecekapan pelajar dalam kemahiran proses sains. Tambahan lagi,
kemahiran ini mempengaruhi sosial dan kehidupan individu keseluruhannya (Aktamiş dan Ergin, 2008). Ferreire
(2004) menekankan kepentingan Kemahiran proses sains dalam pengajaran sains. Untuk itu, pengajaran sains
seharusnya dirancang dan dimasukkan dengan kemahiran proses sains (Saat 2004; Yakar 2014).
Penerapan KPS dalam pengajaran pembelajaran subjek sains boleh dianggap sebagai suatu cabaran kepada
guru sains sekolah rendah. Bagi menjayakan pelaksanaan kurikulum sains ini, tenaga pengajar sains telah dilatih
samada secara berpusat ataupun secara latihan dalaman di peringkat sekolah untuk merancang aktiviti

282
pengajaran dan pembelajaran sains yang menerapkan kemahiran proses sains. Lebih penekanan adalah diberi
kepada penguasaan KPS berbanding dengan penguasaan fakta-fakta dan prinsip sains semata-mata. Ini adalah
kerana KPS yang dikuasai pelajar akan kekal selepas fakta-fakta menjadi lapuk atau dilupai (Wellington, 1994).
Penguasaan KPS dikatakan amat berkait rapat dengan pemerhatian.
Millar (1990) menyatakan bahawa pemerhatian adalah proses fundamental sains. Haury (2002) mengatakan
bahawa, walaupun pemerhatian tidak dijamin tepat atas batasan kebolehan deria manusia yang terhad, namun ia
adalah tunjang dalam sains, dan penimbang tara terakhir sebelum pembinaan dan pengujian idea. KPS utama
bagi pelajar sekolah rendah adalah kemahiran pengelasan yang amat membantu kanak-kanak mengembangkan
kemahiran ini adalah satu tanggungjawab yang penting seorang guru kepada kanak-kanak (Tucker et al, 2002).

KEMAHIRAN PROSES SAINS DAN POTENSI AUGMENTED REALITY

Kajian mengenai KPS di salah sebuah bandar utama di Malaysia menunjukkan penguasaan para pelajar
masih di tahap sederhana (Rohana Yusof, 2004). Ismail Jusoh (2001) menyimpulkan dalam kajiannya bahawa
KPS di sekolah rendah dan sekolah menengah berada pada tahap yang kurang memuaskan. Kajian ini juga jelas
menunjukkan bahawa pelajar di sekolah luar bandar mahupun sekolah di bandar juga mempunyai masalah dalam
menguasai KPS. Walaubagaimanapun, status semasa KPS masih menjadi persoalan.
Penyelidikan mengenai AR telah berkembang daripada menggunakan alatan tidak mudah alih kepada
menggunakan alatan mudah alih seperti telefon pintar. Sejak pengintegrasian AR ke dalam pendidikan, ianya
diyakini memiliki potensi dalam aplikasi pedagogi (Johnson et al., 2011). Malahan, beberapa kajian telah
dilaksanakan untuk mengkaji kesan AR terhadap pendidikan sains seperti dalam isu yang berkaitan konsep sains
(Shelton dan Stevens 2004), aktiviti di makmal sains (Andujar et al., 2011), pembelajaran berasaskan inkuiri
(Squire dan Klopfer, 2007), perdebatan saintifik (Squire dan Jan 2007), pemeliharaan ekologi (Koong Lin et al.,
2011), dan keupayaan spatial pelajar (Martin-Gutierrez et al., 2010). Keputusan kajian-kajian ini kebanyakannya
menunjukkan sikap positif pelajar terhadap AR serta berlakunya peningkatan pencapaian dalam pelajaran sains.
Penyelidikan berkaitan AR juga menunjukkan tahap penggunaannya sangat tinggi dalam proses pembelajaran
bagi meningkatkan motivasi pelajar (Chiang et al., 2014). Namun, masih kurang kajian dilaksanakan dalam
mengenal pasti potensi AR dalam meningkatkan KPS pelajar.
Ibáñez, Di Serio, Villaran, dan Delgado Kloos (2014) telah membangunkan satu aplikasi AR untuk mengajar
konsep elektromagnet. Menggunakan perisian ini, komponen yang digunakan dalam eksperimen ini (kabel,
magnet, bateri, dan lain-lain) dapat dikenal pasti menggunakan kamera peranti mudah alih seperti tablet. Di
dalam tablet, komponen-komponen telah dilapisi dengan maklumat berkaitan yang membolehkan pelajar
meneroka kesan-kesan medan magnet dan melihat bagaimana rupa medan elektromagnet yang terhasil. Itu
adalah contoh bagaimana AR digunakan dalam tajuk elektromagnet. Dalam kajian ini penyelidik mahu
mengenal pasti bagaimana pelajar menggunakan dan berinteraksi dengan AR dalam subjek sains sehingga dapat
meningkatkan KPS mereka. Objektif kajian ini adalah:

1. Mengkaji tahap KPS sedia ada pelajar sekolah rendah.

2. Mengkaji keberkesanan AR dalam meningkatkan KPS pelajar sekolah rendah.
3. Mengkaji bagaimana pelajar menggunakan AR dalam meningkatkan KPS mereka.

METODOLOGI KAJIAN

Kajian ini menggunakan reka bentuk kajian pra-eksperimental. Pensampelan sekolah telah dilaksanakan
secara rawak mudah melibatkan sekolah-sekolah rendah di selatan Malaysia. Setelah sekolah di sampel, kelas
dipilih oleh pengkaji menggunakan teknik pensampelan rawak kluster. Sebanyak 150 orang pelajar telah terlibat
dalam kajian ini. Seramai 100 orang sampel terlibat dalam mengkaji tahap KPS sedia ada pelajar dan 50 orang
lagi terlibat dengan rawatan menggunakan AR. 100 orang pelajar ini menjawab ujian KPS yang telah
dibangunkan oleh penyelidik.
Bagi tujuan rawatan, walaupun 50 orang pelajar ini dipilih secara rawak kluster, kriteria berikut perlu
dipenuhi bagi membolehkan mereka terlibat dengan kajian:
1. Bersetuju dengan rela hati untuk terlibat dengan kajian.
2. Memiliki peranti sendiri dan tahu mengendalikannya.
3. Pentadbir sekolah bersetuju memberikan kebenaran penggunaan peranti secara bersyarat di sekolah
bagi tujuan pembelajaran dan kajian.
4. Kelas mempunyai akses Internet yang baik.

Pelajar telah menggunakan AR selama 2 minggu bagi tujuan mempelajari kemahiran mengelas yang
merupakan KPS bagi pelajar sekolah rendah. AR yang digunakan adalah AR jenis berasaskan marker. Pengkaji
telah menerapkan model inkuiri 5E dalam proses pembelajaran. Model 5E telah dilaksanakan dengan cara

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menyampaikan soalan-soalan yang memerlukan kepada proses mencari jawapan oleh pelajar. Bagaimana Model
5E telah diterapkan adalah seperti dalam Jadual 1.

JADUAL (1). Bagaimana penyoalan digunakan untuk menerapkan model 5E dalam

pembelajaran KPS
menggunakan AR
Elemen 5E Huraian Cara Soalan diajukan
E1 – Penglibatan Menggalakkan proses pembelajaran, Apakah yang anda lihat?
dedahkan pelajar dengan konsep terkini. Apakah persamaan yang anda temui?
Tunjukkan minat kepada topik tersebut Mengapa perkara ini boleh berlaku?

E2 – Penerokaan Pelajar mendapat pengalaman dengan Nyatakan pemerhatian dan idea. Buktikan
fenomena semasa` kenapa perkara ini berlaku.
E3 – Penjelasan Guru boleh menjelaskan untuk memimpin Rujuk kepada aktiviti sebelum ini. Jelaskan
pelajar ke arah kefahaman yang lebih pendapat anda.
mendalam Asingkan haiwan mengikut ciri sepunya

E4 – Menghurai Pelajar menggunakan kefahaman mereka ke
dalam situasi baru atau konteks
E5 – Penilaian Kefahaman pelajar dinilai
Bina peta pokok untuk mengelaskan haiwan
Buktikan kesimpulan berdasarkan maklumat
yang diperolehi.
Berikan pendapat terkini anda
Berdasarkan kefahaman yang diperolehi.
Buktikan pernyataan ini salah Tuliskan apa
yang anda faham tentang perkara ini.

Sebelum menggunakan AR, sampel melalui ujian pra. Kemudian, selepas tamat rawatan pelajar diminta
menjawab ujian pasca dan ditemu bual. Pemilihan sampel bagi tujuan temu bual adalah dilaksanakan secara
rawak.
Ujian KPS, ujian pra dan ujian pasca telah diuji kebolehpercayaannya. Seramai 10 orang sampel yang tidak
terlibat dengan kajian sebenar telah digunakan bagi tujuan ujian rintis. Nilai Cronbach Alpha yang diperolehi
adalah = 0.658. Kesahan ujian KPS, ujian pra dan ujian pasca telah disahkan oleh seorang Ketua Panitia Sains
yang memiliki pengalaman mengajar selama 10 tahun. Markah penuh bagi ketiga-tiga ujian ini adalah 100. Ujian
ini dijawab menggunakan kertas dan pelajar diberikan masa selama 30 minit bagi setiap ujian. Ujian telah
disemak oleh pengkaji menggunakan skema jawapan yang telah disediakan terlebih dahulu.

DAPATAN KAJIAN
Berdasarkan ujian kepada 100 orang pelajar, didapati penguasaan KPS sampel adalah pada tahap sederhana
iaitu min = 50.14. Nilai minimum yang diperolehi adalah 40 dan nilai maksimum adalah pada 90. Ini
menunjukkan majoriti pelajar masih belum menguasai KPS dengan baik.
Bagi objektif kajian kedua, skor ujian pra dan ujian pasca bagi 50 sampel kajian yang terlibat adalah seperti
dalam Jadual 2.
JADUAL (2). Skor Ujian Pra dan Ujian Pasca
Sampel Ujian Pra Ujian Pasca Sampel Ujian Pra Ujian Pasca
S1 56 90 S31 48 78
S2 60 92 S32 76 90
S3 58 88 S33 56 90
S4 44 74 S34 44 76
S5 60 89 S35 64 86
S6 84 94 S36 54 96
S7 56 88 S37 56 76
S8 54 78 S38 78 93
S9 54 76 S39 70 91
S10 48 78 S40 42 80
S11 50 85 S41 76 90
S12 76 94 S42 42 84
S13 42 82 S43 58 90

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 S14 58 87 S44 54 88
S15 54 82 S45 58 78
S16 58 78 S46 66 80
S17 66 90 S47 72 95
S18 72 96 S48 44 85
S19 44 68 S49 50 78
S20 50 85 S50 58 86
S21 50 84
S22 44 76
S23 64 89
S24 58 83
S25 56 86
S26 50 80
S27 54 90
S28 76 95
S29 90 90
S30 54 86

Nilai min yang diperoleh bagi ujian pra dan ujian pasca adalah 58.12 dan sisihan piawai = 11.52 bagi ujian
pra. Bagi ujian pasca pula, min = 85.26 dan sisihan piawai = 6.61. Nilai min bagi ujian pasca adalah lebih besar
dari nilai min ujian pra dan ini menunjukkan pencapaian KPS sampel meningkat selepas menggunakan AR.
Rumusan ujian secara deskriptif bagi ujian pra dan ujian pasca adalah seperti dalam Jadual 3.

JADUAL (3). Rumusan ujian deskriptif bagi ujian pra dan pasca

n Range Min Mak Min Sisihan Piawai Variance Median

Ujian Pra 50 48.00 42.00 90.00 58.1200 11.55226 133.455 56.000

Ujian Pasca 50 28.00 68.00 96.00 85.2600 6.61418 43.747 86.000

Bagi tujuan mengkaji keberkesanan AR dalam meningkatkan KPS. Pengkaji telah melaksanakan ujian t bagi
membandingkan ujian pra dan ujian pasca. Jadual 4 memaparkan hasil dapatan ujian t yang telah dilaksanakan.

JADUAL 4. Dapatan Ujian T

Sisihan
Min t df Signifikan
Piawai
Ujian Pasca –
Ujian Pra 27.14 8.64495 22.199 49 .000

Dapatan ujian t yang telah dilaksanakan mendapati bahawa AR adalah berkesan dan efektif dalam
meningkatkan KPS pelajar, t = 22.199 dan p = .000. Data temu bual telah dianalisis seperti dalam Jadual 5.

JADUAL 5. Dapatan Data Temu Bual

Konstruk Jawapan Sampel

Cara menggunakan AR
Kelebihan menggunakan AR
Kekurangan menggunakan AR
Menggunakan telefon pintar Memusingkan imej secara 360 darjah
Memfokuskan haiwan dengan lebih dekat pada bahagian- bahagian
tertentu.
Boleh melihat bahagian haiwan yang terlindung di dalam gambar.
Lebih banyak ciri haiwan yang dapat dikenal pasti.
Boleh melihat dengan lebih dekat haiwan-haiwan yang berbahaya
atau yang tiada di Malaysia.
Tiada kebebasan menggunakan peranti pintar di sekolah

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 Pandangan tentang penggunaan Membantu pelajar berimaginasi
AR Perlu diterapkan dalam lebih banyak topik

PERBINCANGAN
Seth Sulaiman dan Naslina Mahat, (2010) dalam kajian mereka menyatakan bahawa pencapaian kemahiran
proses sains pelajar aliran sains adalah lebih baik berbanding pencapaian pelajar bukan sains. Jika pencapaian
KPS pelajar terutamanya pelajar aliran sains berada di tahap yang cemerlang dengan nilai min sebanyak 85.89%,
hasil dapatan kajian mereka tidak dicerminkan dengan ujian penarafan antarabangsa seperti TIMSS, PISA dan
OECD yang menunjukkan prestasi pelajar Malaysia dalam bidang sains dan matematik berbanding negara lain
di seluruh dunia berada pada tahap menurun dan sangat membimbangkan (Darus, 2012). Berikutan pencapaian
pelajar Malaysia dalam TIMSS, PISA dan OECD, KPS diterapkan dalam Kurikulum Standard Sains sekolah
rendah mulai tahun 3 walaupun penerapan ini terhad kepada 6 kemahiran proses sahaja, yakni memerhati,
mengelas, mengukur dan menggunakan nombor, membuat inferens, meramal dan berkomunikasi (Bahagian
Pembangunan Kurikulum, 2012).
Pengujian tahap KPS pelajar menggunakan instrumen ujian KPS membuktikan bahawa tahap KPS sedia ada
berada di tahap sederhana. Hasil dapatan kajian ini juga selari dengan hasil kajian yang diperoleh Mohd. Shaifi
dan Siti Maryam (2010). Kajian mereka terhadap penguasaan kemahiran proses sains pelajar sekolah rendah
juga menunjukkan bahawa ianya masih di tahap lemah. Kajian ini juga jelas menunjukkan bahawa pelajar di
sekolah luar bandar mahupun sekolah di bandar juga mempunyai masalah dalam menguasai kemahiran proses
sains dalam pengajaran Sains di sekolah.
Penguasaan KPS memerhati dan mengelas responden juga dapat dibuktikan masih berada di tahap yang
lemah. Ini disokong oleh Eng Tek Ong dan Bibi Hazliana Mohd Hassan (2013) dalam kajian mereka berkenaan
penguasaan KPS, pelajar sekolah rendah masih lagi tidak menguasai kemahiran tersebut berdasarkan dapatan
keseluruhan mereka yang mempamerkan pelajar gagal mencapai tahap dua pertiga dan masih berada di tahap
lemah.
Menurut Barsom (2016) AR menjadi jambatan yang menghubungkan dunia maya dan realiti, membuka jalan
baru dalam sesi pengajaran dan pembelajaran, serta diakui penggunaannya dalam banyak kajian kebelakangan
ini. Walaupun menjadi teknologi paling terkini dalam pendidikan, namun nilai penggunaan AR dalam sesi
pengajaran dan pembelajaran masih tidak jelas. Ini berikutan proses perpindahan pengetahuan kepada manusia
dalam keadaan yang dikawal dan terbatas.
Namun berdasarkan dapatan kajian yang diperoleh pengkaji, peningkatan nilai min daripada 58.12% kepada
85.26% menolak kekurangan AR akan memberi kesan seperti yang dinyatakan Barsom. Peningkatan ini
membuktikan bahawa walaupun sampel berada dalam situasi penerimaan pengetahuan yang terbatas,
pengetahuan yang dibekalkan sesuai dan bertepatan dengan bidang yang ingin diterokai dan dalam kajian yang
dijalankan, perkara ini tidak mengganggu malah meningkatkan prestasi pelajar terutamanya dalam KPS.
Dapatan ini juga selari dengan dapatan perbandingan ke atas 57 orang pelajar berusia antara 9-10 tahun yang
menggunakan perisian telefon pintar AR dengan pelajar yang menggunakan perisian telefon pintar tanpa AR oleh
Chiang (2014).
Huda Wahida Rosli (2013) menghuraikan bagaimana penggunaan AR kepada pelajar prasekolah dapat
membantu mereka dalam mata pelajaran sains. Melalui hasil penilaiannya, penggunaan perisian AR yang
dipanggil ARMS sangat berkesan untuk di aplikasi dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran asas sains yang turut
melibatkan KPS memerhati dan mengelas secara tidak langsung. Penggunaan AR bagi menggantikan model dan
gambar sistem otot juga membuktikan bahawa AR meningkatkan pemahaman pelajar tentang sistem otot, serta
menunjukkan berlaku perkembangan kognitif pelajar dan peningkatan kemampuan pelajar untuk belajar.
Beberapa cara penggunaan perisian AR dapat dikenalpasti melalui hasil temu ramah yang dijalankan selepas
kajian. Dengan menggunakan AR, pelajar dapat melihat imej objek secara 360º. Cara ini diakui telah digunakan
100.00% responden yang terlibat dalam kajian ini. Selain menggunakan telefon pintar, ada juga responden yang
menggunakan tablet semasa menggunakan perisian AR memandangkan tablet mempunyai skrin yang lebih besar
jika dibandingkan dengan telefon pintar. Saiz skrin yang lebih besar memberi peluang kepada responden untuk
melihat imej yang dipaparkan dengan lebih jelas. Sampel juga mengakui bahawa mereka cenderung untuk ‘zoom’
imej dengan lebih dekat bagi mendapatkan lebih maklumat daripada perincian yang disediakan oleh perisian AR
yang digunakan. Perkara yang dinyatakan responden ini merupakan pengalaman secara maya yang mendalam
seperti yang dinyatakan oleh Dede, (2009) tentang gambaran subjektif yang dialami pengguna AR, menyumbang
kepada pengalaman yang realistik dan menyeluruh.
Ini juga antara cara yang ditunjukkan pelajar yang menggunakan AR dalam kajian yang dijalankan oleh Matt
Dunleavy (2013). Beliau menyatakan bahawa media interaktif yang wujud sekarang membolehkan pelbagai cara
untuk belajar. Pengalaman secara maya hasil gabungan pergerakan, simbol dan deria yang berkesan akan
meningkatkan lagi kepercayaan pengguna AR bahawa dia bukan berada dalam situasi digital. Kajian juga
menunjukkan bahawa penggabungan dengan suasana digital boleh meningkatkan lagi proses pembelajaran
melalui perspektif pelbagai dan pembelajaran berasaskan situasi.

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 Cara penggunaan yang dinyatakan responden itu juga merupakan antara cara penggunaan yang dinyatakan
oleh Crandall (2015(. Beliau menjalankan kajian tentang permainan video yang turut menggunakan AR dan
melibatkan pergerakkan. Sama seperti Matt Dunleavy, beliau juga mendapati bahawa AR membolehkan
penggunanya melihat daripada pelbagai perspektif dan situasi. Crandall juga menyatakan bahawa apabila
pengguna menggunakan AR yang melibatkan pergerakan, perisian tersebut menjadikan penggunanya berperanan
dalam pembelajarannya. Perhubungan berdasarkan pergerakan ini akhirnya akan membawa pengguna
mendalami konteks yang disampaikan di dalam perisian AR yang digunakan.

KESIMPULAN

Daripada dapatan kajian, didapati tahap KPS sedia ada pelajar masih berada di tahap yang sederhana. Tahap
KPS ini selari dengan beberapa kajian lain yang turut menunjukkan bahawa tahap KPS dalam mata pelajaran
sains adalah rendah samada di peringkat sekolah rendah, sekolah menengah bahkan guru-guru pelatih yang
berada di institusi pengajian tinggi dan bakal mengajar mata pelajaran sains turut menghadapi masalah yang
sama. Ini adalah isu global di Malaysia yang perlu dibendung segera oleh pihak yag berkenaan.
Sampel yang terlibat dalam kajian ini juga bersetuju bahawa transformasi pedagogi seperti penggunaan AR
dalam sesi pembelajaran adalah sangat membantu. Kenyataan ini disokong dengan peningkatan keputusan
pelajar dalam ujian pengesanan yang dijalankan. Penggunaan AR di dalam bilik darjah dan di sekolah
membolehkan guru menjalankan aktiviti pengajaran dan pembelajaran dengan lebih mudah dan proses
penyampaian ilmu yang berlaku juga akan menjadi lebih berkesan. Penglibatan pelajar juga menjadi lebih aktif
samada bersama guru atau rakan-rakan kelas bila sesi pembelajaran melibatkan AR.
Justeru, adalah menjadi tanggungjawab semua pihak untuk bersama-sama turun padang dan berganding
tenaga dan usaha ke arah meningkatkan KPS pelajar di Malaysia. Ini penting bagi memastikan rekod prestasi
pelajar Malaysia yang menurun dan membimbangkan dalam ujian penarafan antarabangsa seperti TIMSS, PISA
dan OECD dapat diperbaiki. Rakyat Malaysia perlu mampu mencapai sasaran yang ditetapkan, bagi memastikan
rakyat Malaysia kekal dalam persaingan pasaran dunia akan datang.

PENGHARGAAN
Penulis ingin menyampaikan penghargaan di atas bantuan tajaan oleh Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia dan
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia melalui Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) dengan No. Projek
R.J130000.78.31.4F952

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 Pengaruh Kecerdasan Pelbagai Terhadap
Pencapaian Akademik Pelajar Tingkatan Enam
Bagi Subjek Pengajian Perniagaan Di Larut Matang
dan Selama, Perak
Kho Ai Penga, Mohd Asri Mohd Noorb and Nor Azrin Md Latipc
a
Fakulti Pengurusan dan Ekonomi, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris

Abstrak. Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk meneliti pengaruh kecerdasan pelbagai terhadap pencapaian akademik bagi
subjek Pengajian Perniagaan di Larut, Matang dan Selama, Perak. Kajian ini melibatkan 291 orang responden yang
terdiri daripada pelajar menengah di atas lapan buah sekolah di bahagian tersebut. Kajian ini dijalankan untuk
menguji hubungan di antara domain kecerdasan pelbagai terhadap pencapaian akademik pelajar tingkatan enam bagi
subjek pengajian perniagaan. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah berasaskan Multiple Intelligence Test yang
dibangunkan oleh Gardner (1983, 1999). Data dianalisis dengan menggunakan statistik inferens iaitu ujian korelasi
pearson dan ujian regresi pelbagai. kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa wujud hubungan yang signifikan dalam domain
kecerdasan pelbagai terhadap pencapaian akademik dan domain kecerdasan pelbagai mempengaruhi pencapaian
pelajar dalam subjek pengajian perniagaan. Hasil kajian menunjukkan terdapat empat domain kecerdasan pelbagai
iaitu kecerdasan verbal linguistik, kecerdasan logik matematik, kecerdasan interpersonal dan kecerdasan visual
ruang mempunyai pengaruh terhadap pencapaian akademik pelajar tingkatan enam bagi subjek Pengajian
Perniagaan. Domain kecerdasan pelbagai seharusnya diberi perhatian dalam persediaan pembelajaran dan
pengajaran bagi membantu meningkatkan pencapaian subjek ini.
Kata Kunci: Multiple Intelligence Test, Kecerdasan Verbal Linguistik, Kecerdasan Logik Matematik, Kecerdasan
Interpersonal dan Kecerdasan Visual Ruang

PENGENALAN
Pendidikan bertujuan membangunkan sistem pendidikan bertaraf dunia, dari segi kualiti dan
meningkatkan potensi individu sepenuhnya. Menurut Francisco (2017) sistem pendidikan tinggi di seluruh
negara akan mengalami perubahan hasil revolusi industri 4.0. Menurut beliau, proses melaksanakan
pendidikan 4.0 akan dapat memenuhi keperluan negara membangunkan pendidikan relevan dan selaras
dengan industri 4.0. Beliau berpendapat pengetahuan yang ada pada hari ini hanya dapat menyumbang satu
peratus menjelang tiga puluh tahun akan datang. Ini bermakna, pasaran kerja perlu dipenuhi individu yang
berkemahiran, kreatif dan mempunyai pemikiran kritis. Maka, pendidikan yang fleksibel dan sedia
mengharungi cabaran baharu agar semua golongan tidak terpinggir perlu diberi perhatian dalam era
globalisasi dan digital. Menurut Gardner (2006) pendidikan boleh diperkembangkan secara menyeluruh
melalui teori kecerdasan pelbagai kerana kecerdasan pelbagai akan melibatkan pelbagai aspek tingkah laku
manusia yang boleh diperkembangkan dari pelbagai perspektif dengan menggunakan perspektif
pembelajaran dan pengajaran yang berbeza. Maka guru perlu berusaha meningkatkan potensi pelajar, dan
menyesuaikan pembelajaran untuk mencungkil potensi pelajar. Menurut Gardner (1983), kecerdasan yang
tidak dicungkil dan dijaga akan hilang mengikut masa. Justeru, guru perlu memastikan kejayaan proses
pembelajaran bersesuaian dengan situasi dan tahap perkembangan pelajar. Guru juga seharusnya
memperkembangkan kecerdasan pelajar dan menggunakan cara pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang
bersesuaian dengan perkembangan kecerdasan pelajar. Sebagaimana dinyatakan oleh Carla (2013), guru
perlu memahami pendekatan yang mampu mempengaruhi pembelajaran pelajar yang positif.
Secara umumnya, penekanan peperiksaan menekankan pengujian mengingat semula fakta mendorong
para guru mengutamakan penghafalan dalam pengajaran masih dipraktikkan di sekolah. Pengabaian
kemahiran pembelajaran mencungkil potensi pelajar menyebabkan pendekatan pengajaran dan
pembelajaran yang diamalkan akan bercanggah dengan aspek pembelajaran yang menyatakan idea, fikiran,
pendapat dengan jelas. Teori kecerdasan pelbagai mampu mengubah pola tradisional menjadi pengalaman
yang menyenangkan dan memudahkan pembelajaran (Gardner, 2006). Ini selaras dengan Falsafah
Pendidikan Kebangsaan yang menyatakan “memperkembangkan lagi potensi individu secara menyeluruh,
dan bersepadu untuk mewujudkan insan yang seimbang dan harmonis dari segi intelek, rohani, emosi dan
jasmani”. Demikianlah teori yang dikemukakan oleh Gardner (1983) menyokong Pembelajaran yang
menyulur selaras dengan Falsafah Pendidikan Kebangsaan. Teori ini menekankan guru yang memberi fokus

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isi kandungan pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang berkesan akan dipraktikkan. Guru disarankan memberi
tumpuan kepada kekuatan pelajar dalam sesi pembelajaran. Dengan itu, pendekatan penyelesaian masalah di
kalangan pelajar dapat dipraktikkan dalam pembelajaran secara langsung. Beliau juga menyatakan guru
yang memahami kecerdasan pelajar akan membantu guru mempertingkatkan kemahiran pelajar dalam
berfikir secara kritis. Gardner (1983) kecerdasan tidak boleh diwarisi semata-mata, dan kecerdasan boleh
dipengaruhi oleh budaya, persekitaran, peluang pendidikan dan suasana pembelajaran Menurut Gardner
(1983), setiap individu mempunyai tahap kecerdasan yang berbeza yang boleh ditingkatkan dengan
pendidikan melalui aktiviti bersesuaian. Maka guru perlu memberi perhatian terhadap kekuatan yang
terdapat pada setiap pelajar sebagai domain kejayaan dalam pencapaian akademik. Sebagaimana yang
dinyatakan Gardner (1983), guru boleh meningkatkan pencapaian pelajar dengan mengaplikasikan
kecerdasan pelbagai dalam pembelajaran. Teori ini akan mendorong pelajar mempelajari melalui kekuatan
masing-masing (Gardner, 2006).
Kecerdasan pelbagai diterokai dalam bidang pendidikan sememangnya dipandang sebagai perspektif
yang memberi manfaat bukan sahaja kepada pemikiran, keupayaan, tetapi juga mengenal pasti potensi
pelajaran dan pembelajaran (Gardner, 1991). Teori kecerdasan pelbagai telah diaplikasikan secara meluas di
negara-negara seperti Amerika Syarikat, United Kingdom, Kanada dan Australia (Rohizani, 2010).
Pengetahuan tentang kecerdasan pelbagai adalah penting untuk semua pihak, terutamanya mendorong
pelajar dapat menilai, mengguna dan menghubungkaitkan setiap kecerdasan dalam mempertingkatkan
kemahiran belajar yang cemerlang. Berdasarkan teori kecerdasan pelbagai, setiap individu mempunyai
sekurang- kurangnya lapan kecerdasan iaitu kecerdasan verbal linguistik, kecerdasan logik matematik,
kecerdasan visual ruang, kecerdasan kinestetik, kecerdasan muzik, kecerdasan interpersonal, kecerdasan
intrapersonal dan kecerdasan naturalis (Amstrong, 1994; Campbell dan Campbell dan Dickinson; Jasmine,
1996) Melalui teori kecerdasan pelbagai, para pelajar akan didedahkan gaya pembelajaran menimba ilmu,
potensi dan kekuatan di samping pelajar akan dicungkil dan mendorong pelajar menuju ke arah kerjaya
yang bersesuaian dengan kecerdasan mereka (Gardner, 2006).
Sehubungan dengan itu, pendekatan pengajaran yang bersesuaian dengan pelajar tingkatan enam seiring
Pra universiti perlu diteliti dan dikaji agar guru dapat mengembangkan kecerdasan pelajar dan seterusnya
mengembangkan potensi pelajar. Guru yang mengajar tingkatan enam seharusnya menggunakan teknik
yang berbeza untuk membuat perubahan dalam pendekatan pembelajaran dan pengajaran (Kementerian
Pelajaran Malaysia, 2012). Pelajar perlu dibimbing setiap masa dari aspek pendekatan penyelesaian masalah
dan menjana idea baharu. Maka, guru-guru perlu membuat perubahan dalam penekanan pengajaran seiring
dengan perubahan pelajar dalam pembelajaran. Sebagaimana pandangan ini menyokong dapatan Pascarella
(2005) yang menekankan pengajaran yang inovatif mengubah perubahan pembelajaran pelajaran. Menurut
Majid, et al. (2012), Kecerdasan pelbagai diterapkan di kurikulum sekolah bestari di Malaysia bermula
tahun 1997. Seterusnya tahun 2007, teori kecerdasan pelbagai diperkenalkan di seluruh sekolah di Malaysia
di kalangan pelajar berumur 13 dan 16 tahun. Guru sepatutnya mempraktikkan pengajaran dan
pembelajaran menggunakan pendekatan teori kecerdasan pelbagai. Justeru itu, guru-guru seharusnya
menggunakan pelbagai penyampaian memudahkan kepelbagaian pelajar mempunyai minat dalam
pembelajaran. Menurut Gouws (2008), kini masih terdapat ramai guru yang tidak mengamalkan pengajaran
dan pembelajaran berdasarkan sistem pendidikan baru. Teknik menggunakan pertuturan sahaja dalam
pembelajaran masih meluas dipraktikkan secara meluas di sekolah. Pembelajaran ini secara tidak langsung
memberi implikasi negatif menyekat perkembangan potensi individu dalam mencapai kecemerlangan
terhadap akademik. Justeru, penelitian kecerdasan pelbagai perlu diberi perhatian bagi mengenal pasti
matlamat pembelajaran mencungkil potensi pelajar dapat dicapai. Namun begitu, kajian Kecerdasan
pelbagai hanya dilaksanakan di sekolah Bestari di Malaysia sejak tahun 1992, pada hakikatnya masih belum
diperluaskan secara menyeluruh di sekolah secara meluas. Maka adalah wajar mengkaji adakah sesuai
mempraktikkan kecerdasan pelbagai di subjek pengajian perniagaan. Seperti mana dilaporkan Howard
Gardner (1999), kecerdasan pelbagai dipandang pada seseorang individu dilihat melalui pelbagai dimensi.
Teori ini membuktikan dapat mencungkil potensi individu yang dimilikinya serta dapat menampung
keperluan dan kehendak masyarakat pada masa depan. Sememangnya, pelaksanaan kecerdasan pelbagai
berupaya memperbaiki kemahiran pembelajaran pelajar dan menarik minat pelajar dan potensi pelajar
dalam pembelajaran. Persoalannya adakah teori kecerdasan pelbagai sesuai dipraktikkan di semua subjek?
Carla, (2013) menyatakan kebanyakan kajian hanya dilaksanakan pada subjek Matematik, Bahasa dan
Sains. Walau bagaimanapun, kecerdasan pelbagai sehingga kini masih belum dilaksanakan dalam subjek
pengajian perniagaan pelajar tingkatan enam. Maka, untuk memenuhi sistem baharu STPM, jika kecerdasan
pelbagai dihalusi sudah pasti bukan sahaja mendorong mencungkil idea baharu di kalangan pelajar malah
membimbing pelajar menyelesaikan masalah dalam kehidupan seharian.

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 KAJIAN LITERATUR
Terdapat banyak kajian berhubung aplikasi kecerdasan pelbagai telah menunjukkan menyumbang
kepada kejayaan pembelajaran pelajar di sekolah (Amstrong (2000), Berman (1998), Campbell et.al (1996),
Jasmine (1996) dan Lazear (1991). Perbincangan adalah membincangkan lapan domain kecerdasan pelbagai
iaitu kecerdasan verbal linguistik, kecerdasan logik matematik, kecerdasan muzik, kecerdasan visual ruang,
kecerdasan kinestetik, kecerdasan interpersonal, kecerdasan intrapersonal dan kecerdasan naturalis. Pusat
Kurikulum (2001) telah memperkenalkan teori kecerdasan pelbagai dalam pendidikan di Malaysia,
melaporkan dalam melahirkan pelajar yang seimbang, model teori kecerdasan pelbagai membantu pelajar
memperoleh apa yang perlu untuk hidup di abad akan datang. Selain itu, penegasan model teori ini
mengulas teori kecerdasan pelbagai dapat membantu menganjak fokus dari isi kandungan kepada hasil
pembelajaran generik yang lebih penting serta berguna kepada para pelajar. Teori kecerdasan pelbagai
dipelopori oleh Howard Gardner (1983). Kecerdasan pelbagai adalah keupayaan menyelesaikan masalah
atau menghasilkan sesuatu yang lebih bermakna dalam budaya. Gardner (1983) mengulas pembelajaran
sepanjang hayat adalah bertitik tolak dari pengalaman pelajar yang positif dalam alam pembelajaran di
persekolahan. Gardner (1983) mempercayai setiap individu mempunyai semua jenis kecerdasan pelbagai.
Setiap jenis kecerdasan itu adalah berasingan dan tidak saling bergantungan antara satu sama lain.
Bagaimanapun, darjah atau kadar setiap kecerdasan tertentu adalah berbeza dari segi kekuatan dan
kemahiran.
Kebiasaannya, seseorang individu akan mempunyai sekurang-kurang lapan domain kecerdasan pelbagai
iaitu kecerdasan verbal linguistik, kecerdasan logik-matematik, kecerdasan visual-ruang, kecerdasan
kinestetik, kecerdasan muzik, kecerdasan interpersonal, kecerdasan intrapersonal dan kecerdasan naturalis
(Armstrong, 1994; Campbell, Campbell dan Dickinson,1996; Jasmine,1996). Kesemua kecerdasan pelbagai
dapat diperkembangkan melalui pendidikan, pengalaman dan persekitaran Gardner (1983). Beliau
merumuskan teori kecerdasan pelbagai adalah tidak diwarisi namun boleh dipengaruhi oleh budaya,
persekitaran dan peluang pendidikan. Menurut beliau lagi, setiap kecerdasan adalah berasingan dan tidak
saling bergantung. Ini kerana seseorang individu yang cemerlang dalam sesuatu bidang kemahiran mungkin
menghadapi kelemahan dalam bidang kecerdasan yang lain. Rubado (2002) menyatakan individu yang
mempunyai kecerdasan verbal linguistik membolehkan individu mempunyai keupayaan menggunakan kata-
kata secara berkesan dalam lisan dan penulisan dan mengingat maklumat yang secara tidak langsung
meningkatkan keyakinan orang lain terhadap individu. Individu yang mempunyai kecerdasan verbal
linguistik yang tinggi akan menunjukkan kecerdasan muzik yang sederhana (Eid & Alizh, 2004; Shearer,
2004). Namun, sistem persekolahan dan peperiksaan di Malaysia lebih tertumpu pada dua domain
kecerdasan pelbagai sahaja iaitu kecerdasan verbal linguistik dan kecerdasan logik matematik (Pusat
Perkembangan Kurikulum, 2001). Menurut Gardner (1983) dan Gardner (2006) melaporkan individu yang
mempunyai kecerdasan logik matematik akan mempunyai kebolehan menggunakan nombor secara berkesan
dan bijak berhujah, termasuklah memahami kelompok nombor asas, prinsip sebab dan akibat serta
kebolehan menjangka. Individu akan mempunyai kebolehan membuat keputusan yang tidak berat sebelah
dan cekap dengan menggunakan teknologi semasa menyelesaikan masalah.
Sehubungan dengan itu, pembelajaran seseorang pelajar yang mempunyai kecerdasan ruang visual akan
menunjukkan kebolehan melakar peta minda, kerangka konseptual, membayangkan masalah dan cara
penyelesaian (Gardner, 2006). Nolen (2003) menjelaskan seseorang guru boleh membimbing pelajar dalam
pembelajaran menggunakan graf dan carta aliran untuk meningkatkan kemahiran pelajar dalam menguasai
sesuatu topik. Sebagaimana Carla (2013) melafazkan pandangannya bahawa kecerdasan pelbagai ini
mendorong pelajar mempersembahkan idea dalam power point, video dan gambar rajah. Menurut Gardner
(2006) individu mempunyai keupayaan mengembangkan keupayaan dari melodi dan bunyi. Pembelajaran
boleh dipelbagaikan melalui mencipta konsep pembelajaran menggunakan melodi, menggunakan latar
belakang muzik dalam pembelajaran. Stone dan Stone (2013) bersetuju muzik boleh membantu pelajar
dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran. Sementara itu, secara teorinya individu yang mempunyai kecerdasan
kinestetik perlu belajar lebih baik dengan melibatkan pergerakan otot seperti bergerak ke dalam pengalaman
pembelajaran. Mereka lebih bertindak membuat persembahan dan melakukan sesuatu secara fizikal
(Gardner, 2006). Nolen (2003) dan Rubado (2002) menyatakan individu yang memiliki kecerdasan ini akan
menceburi bidang atlet, penari. Seseorang pelajar yang boleh dibimbing dari aspek melibatkan diri dalam
permainan yang melibatkan pergerakan dan memainkan peranan perwatakan dalam drama. Individu
mempunyai kecerdasan ini mempunyai kemahiran bekerjasama dengan setiap individu. Keupayaan
memahami keperluan orang lain, emosi, dan motif, mendorong individu cenderung ke bidang sebagai
jurujual dan guru (Gardner, 2006).
Menurut Stone dan Stone (2013) pelajar yang mempunyai kecerdasan ini mendorong guru membimbing
berdasarkan refleksi pelajar. Dengan itu, guru dan pelajar saling mempelajari antara satu sama lain untuk
mencapai matlamat yang memperbaiki pencapaian akademik pelajar secara bersama. Selain itu, individu
mempunyai keyakinan yang tinggi, memiliki pegangan hidup keazaman tinggi membolehkan individu

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mampu melakukan setiap perkara dengan sendiri (Gardner, 2016). Menurut Gardner (2006) individu yang
mempunyai kecerdasan ini cenderung dalam bidang “horticulture”, “ecology” dan “geology”. Individu ini
dirumuskan mempunyai nilai memulihara dan memelihara alam sekeliling. Nolen (2003) menyatakan
pelajar boleh dicungkil kecerdasan natuaralis melalui kajian luar bilik darjah. Pelajar akan menunjukkan
kemahiran mereka cipta objek secara semula jadi, menanam pokok bunga, memelihara dan memulihara
alam sekeliling seperti mengumpul bahan semula jadi seperti batu bata, daun. Kecerdasan ini meningkatkan
individu menceburi dalam bidang saintis, biologist.
Kesimpulannya, teori Gardner digunakan dalam bidang pendidikan dan kini menjadi inspirasi dalam
pembangunan kurikulum (Gardner, 2006) dan berkeupayaan menyumbang kepada kejayaan pembelajaran
pelajar di sekolah.

METODOLOGI KAJIAN

Kajian ini dijalankan ke atas responden dari lapan buah sekolah di Larut Matang dan Selama, Perak
yang menawarkan subjek pengajian perniagaan, iaitu ST, KE, DB, SP, DK, KT, HH dan TB. Jumlah
responden dari lapan buah sekolah ialah seramai 1,201 orang pelajar yang terdiri dari 570 pelajar tingkatan
enam atas dan pelajar tingkatan enam bawah seramai 631 orang. Berdasarkan jadual penentuan Saiz sampel
oleh Krejcie dan Morgon (1970), bilangan pelajar yang diambil secara rawak sebagai sampel ialah 291
orang responden. Bilangan responden penyelidik hanya terhad kepada pelajar tingkatan enam sahaja.
Instrumen kajian yang digunakan ialah soal selidik. Soal selidik adalah cara yang mudah memperoleh
maklumat dikehendaki (Field, 2009 dan Chua 2012). Instrumen Multiple Intelligence Test yang
dibangunkan oleh Gardner (1983, 1999) digunakan untuk mengukur pengaruh kecerdasan pelbagai
pencapaian akademik pelajar pengajian perniagaan. Instrumen ini mengandungi 80 soalan yang telah
dibentuk untuk mengumpul segala maklumat yang diperlukan dalam kajian ini. Soal selidik Multiple
Intelligence Test dibangunkan oleh Gardner mengandungi 70 item ditambahkan kepada 80 item yang
mengukur kecerdasan pelbagai verbal linguistik (10 soalan), kecerdasan pelbagai logik matematik (10
soalan), kecerdasan visual ruang (10 soalan ), kecerdasan kinestetik (10 soalan), kecerdasan muzik (10
soalan), kecerdasan interpersonal (10 soalan), kecerdasan intrapersonal (10 soalan) dan kecerdasan naturalis
(10 soalan).
Hasil KMO menunjukkan nilai KMO setiap kategori soal selidik melebih 0.6. Ini bermaksud analisis
faktor diteruskan dan item merupakan konstruk yang sah. Menurut Field (2009), Hair et. al (2010) hasil
nilai KMO 0.5 sehingga 0.7 dikatakan “mediocre”, 0.7 sehingga 0.8 adalah “good”, 0.8 sehingga 0.9 adalah
“great” dan lebih 0.9 adalah “superb”. Jadual 3.1 merupakan nilai KMO kecerdasan pelbagai. (Rujuk
jadual.1).

Jadual (1). Nilai KMO Kecerdasan pelbagai

Kategori Soal Selidik Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure Of Extration Sum Of Square

Domain Kecerdasan Sampling Adequacy (KMO) Loading % Variance
Pelbagai
Verbal Linguistik 0.840 40.205
Logik Matematik 0.793 31.429
Visual Ruang 0.713 28.914
Kinestetik 0.774 31.823
Muzik 0.699 30.322
Interpersonal 0.908 55.372
Intrapesonal 0.699 30.322
Naturalis 0.693 25.009

Hasil KMO dari output SPSS, menunjukkan KMO setiap kategori item domain kecerdasan pelbagai
melebihi 0.6. Justeru itu, analisis ujian korelasi pearson dan ujian regresi pelbagai boleh diteruskan.

DAPATAN KAJIAN
Gulap dan Umar (2014) menunjukkan ujian korelasi pearson ke atas 905 pelajar di sekolah Pakistan
menunjukkan domain kecerdasan pelbagai mempunyai hubungan signifikan terhadap pencapaian akademik
pelajar. Kajian daripada Majid et.al (2012) turut menunjukkan hasil kajiannya ujian korelasi pearson
menunjukkan hubungan yang signifikan tetapi hubungan yang rendah dan negatif. Dapatan ini disokong
Emald (2012) Ujian korelasi pearson dalam menguji hubungan domain kecerdasan terhadap pencapaian

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akademik menunjukkan hubungan rendah dan sederhana. Selain itu, kajian Siti Rahayah (2008)
menunjukkan melalui ujian korelasi pearson domain kecerdasan pelbagai juga menunjukkan hubungan
signifikan terhadap pencapaian akademik. Maka penyelidik menggunakan ujian korelasi pelbagai untuk
menguji hubungan domain kecerdasan pelbagai ke atas pencapaian akademik pelajar pengajian perniagaan
di Larut Matang dan Selama, Perak. Berdasarkan Jadual 2 menunjukkan keputusan ujian korelasi pearson
antara domain kecerdasan pelbagai terhadap pencapaian akademik pelajar pengajian perniagaan di Larut
Matang dan Selama, Perak.
Berdasarkan jadual 2, pekali korelasi pearson antara domain kecerdasan pelbagai terhadap pencapaian
akademik Pelajar Pengajian Perniagaan pada aras positif 0.01(p<0.01) kecuali domain kecerdasan logik
matematik r=-.270, p=0.00. Nilai pekali Korelasi yang positif menunjukkan hubungan yang positif di antara
domain kecerdasan verbal linguistik r=.362, p=0.00, domain visual ruang r=.416, p=0.00, domain
kecerdasan pelbagai muzik r=.180, p=0.00 dan domain kecerdasan interpersonal r-.567, p=0.00.
Jadual (2). Keputusan Ujian Korelasi Pearson terhadap Pencapaian Akademik Pelajar Pengajian Perniagaan di
Larut Matang dan Selama, Perak.
Domain Kecerdasan Pelbagai R P
Verbal Linguistik .362 **.000
Logik matematik -.270 **.000
Visual Ruang .416 **.000
Kinestetik .028 .688
Muzik .180 **.000
Interpersonal .567 **.000
Intrapersonal .047 .507
Naturalis .028 .688
** Korelasi signifikan pada aras 0.01 (2 –tailed)

Guilford’s Rule of Thumbs Sekaran (2003) menyatakan pekali korelasi yang menghampiri 1.0
menunjukkan hubungan korelasi positif yang sangat kuat. Nilai antara 0.01 hingga 0.30 menunjukkan
hubungan korelasi positif tetapi lemah. Korelasi 0.7 sehingga 0.9 menunjukkan hubungan yang kuat.
Korelasi 0.41 sehingga 0.7 merujuk hubungan yang sederhana.
Maka, penyelidik telah membuktikan terdapat lima domain kecerdasan pelbagai yang mempunyai
hubungan signifikan terhadap pencapaian akademik Pelajar Pengajian Perniagaan. Maka dapatan ujian
seterusnya menggunakan ujian regresi pelbagai ditunjukkan dalam jadual 3.

Jadual (3). Keputusan Pengaruh Kecerdasan Pelbagai Pencapaian Akademik Pelajar Pengajian Perniagaan Di
Larut Matang dan Selama, Perak.

Adjusted Std. Error of

R Square the Estimate
Model R R Square Durbin-Watson

1 .464a .215 .183 .04942 1.755

Jadual 3 melaporkan nilai R2 sebanyak .215, menunjukkan bahawa aplikasi domain kecerdasan pelbagai
membawa sumbangan peningkatan 21.5 peratus ke atas pencapaian akademik pelajar pengajian perniagaan.
Penyelidik telah membuktikan domain kecerdasan pelbagai adalah signifikan terhadap pencapaian
akademik. di mana tahap signifikan mencatatkan <0.05, seperti mana ditunjukkan dalam jadual 4.

Jadual (4). Keputusan Anova

Model Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.

Regression .131 8 .016 6.710 .000a

Residual .479 196 .002

Total .610 204

Keputusan Anova menunjukkan bahawa terdapat perhubungan yang signifikan antara domain
kecerdasan pelbagai terhadap pencapaian akademik pelajar pengajian perniagaan, p<.05. Seterusnya, untuk
menguji sama ada regresi pelbagai merupakan model yang fit dalam menentukan pengaruh pencapaian
akademik pelajar pengajian perniagaan. Penyelidik telah membuktikan residuals statistik menunjukkan nilai

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residual piawai -2.990 dan 2.375 yang terletak di lingkungan +3.3 menunjukkan kajian tidak mempunyai
nilai ekstrem iaitu outlier. Maka, ia telah memenuhi ujian regresi pelbagai. Rujuk Jadual 5.

Jadual (5). Keputusan Koefisien

Standardized
Unstandardized Coefficients Coefficients

Model B Std. Error Beta T Sig.

(Constant) 1.148 .140 8.216 .000

Verbal Linguistik 003 .001 .167 2.346 *.020

Logik Matematik -.003 .001 -.282 -3.134 *.002

Visual ruang .002 .001 .132 2.045 *.042

Muzik .003 .002 .109 1.326 .186

Interpersonal .006 .002 .268 3.311 *.001

Intrapersonal .002 .002 .062 .965 .335

Kinestetik .003 .003 .099 1.003 .317

Naturalis .001 .001 ..053 .758 ..449

a. Dependent Variable: Tpencapaian

Jadual 5 telah membuktikan domain kecerdasan verbal linguistik ( t= 2.346, p= 0.020, p<0.05), domain
logik matematik ( t=-3.134, p= 0.002, p<0.05), domain visual ruang ( t= 2.045, p= 0.042, p<0.05) dan
domain interpersonal ( t= 3.311, p=0.001, p<0.05) telah menunjukkan aras signifikan p<0.05. Ini
membuktikan terdapat empat domain kecerdasan pelbagai yang signifikan terhadap pencapaian akademik
subjek pengajian perniagaan. Maka boleh merumuskan, kecerdasan pelbagai mempunyai pengaruh terhadap
pencapaian akademik pelajar dalam subjek pengajian perniagaan.

PERBINCANGAN DAN KESIMPULAN

Dapatan kajian penyelidik telah membuktikan domain kecerdasan pelbagai mempunyai pengaruh
terhadap pencapaian akademik subjek pengajian perniagaan. Justeru itu, adalah merupakan tanggungjawab
seorang guru mencuba dan mengaplikasikan teori kecerdasan pelbagai dalam pembelajaran dan pengajaran
bagi subjek pengajian perniagaan. Amstrong (2009) menyatakan kecerdasan pelbagai mendorong keupayaan
pelajar dalam pembelajaran dan pengajaran boleh dipertingkatkan. Justeru, dapatan kajian ini dapat
membantu guru membuat perancangan dan pembelajaran pada masa hadapan dengan baik. Guru perlu
menyedari, setiap pelajar mempunyai potensi yang berbeza sebagaimana dinyatakan oleh Gardner (1983)
melaporkan setiap pelajar mempunyai keunikan yang tersendiri. Apabila potensi pelajar dikenal pasti,
Pelajar akan lebih gigih berusaha untuk mencapai matlamat disasarkan oleh guru. Dapatan kajian penyelidik
adalah selaras dengan kajian dijalankan Pusat Perkembangan Kurikulum (2001), Siti Rahayah, Roseni dan
Hafsa (2008) dan Noor (2015) menyatakan kecerdasan pelbagai verbal linguistik telah membolehkan
pembelajaran yang lebih bermakna berlangsung dalam bilik darjah. Pelajar yang mempunyai kecerdasan
verbal linguistik yang tinggi akan memberi kesan positif pencapaian akademik. Pelajar akan menunjukkan
komitmen yang lebih tinggi menyempurnakan tugasan diberikan oleh guru. Ini bermakna, pelajar dalam sesi
pembelajaran menunjukkan kebolehan melakar peta minda, konseptual, membayangkan masalah dan cara
penyelesaian sebagaimana yang dinyatakan oleh Gardner (2006). Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (2012)
sistem pentaksiran baharu STPM bermula tahun 2012 berbeza dari pentaksiran sebelum tahun 2012. Dengan
itu, Pengajaran yang berbeza perlu dipraktikkan dalam membawa transformasi dalam pembelajaran pelajar.
Sejak sistem pentaksiran baharu STPM diperkenalkan, pencapaian pelajar adalah dinilai secara wajib
melalui kerja kursus bermula pada semester kedua. Kerja Kursus subjek pengajian perniagaan dilaksanakan
sepanjang semester terakhir iaitu semester ketiga dalam tingkatan enam membantu meningkatkan
pemahaman berhubung topik dalam pembelajaran. Melalui kerja kursus pengukuhan topik mendorong
pelajar meneroka penguasaan bahasa dalam bidang perniagaan secara meluas melalui pembacaan yang luas
berhubung perniagaan. Secara tidak langsung pembacaan akan meningkatkan pemahaman berhubung teori

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dipelajari seterusnya merumuskan idea dalam kerja kursus yang menyumbang 25% dalam peperiksaan
subjek pengajian perniagaan. Jelasnya melalui kerja kursus ini, domain kecerdasan pelbagai verbal linguistik
yang dicungkil dalam kalangan pelajar akan mendorong pelajar menjurus pendekatan penyelesaian masalah
dengan kreatif dan membuat penaakulan mengaplikasikan pengetahuan kemahiran dipelajari dengan
berkesan.
Sementara itu, sebagaimana dilaporkan Nor (2015) kecerdasan visual ruang menjadikan pembelajaran
yang lebih aktif, menyeronokkan dan membantu menyelesaikan masalah. Guru yang menggunakan
diagram, mewujudkan pembelajaran secara bergambar berbanding menggunakan teks, memberi tumpuan
pembentangan berasaskan gambar rajah dan teks akan membantu pelajar menyelesaikan masalah dengan
lebih baik. Pembelajaran ini mengurangkan perasaan bosan di kalangan pelajar. Pembelajaran yang lebih
seronok wujud dan bukan sahaja dapat meningkatkan minat untuk mempelajari tetapi mencungkil imaginasi
pelajar dalam penyelesaian masalah dalam kehidupan. Menurut Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia (2013),
KBAT merujuk kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi menunjukkan keupayaan seseorang mengaplikasikan
pengetahuan, kemahiran dalam membuat penaakulan mahupun refleksi menyelesaikan masalah, membuat
keputusan berinovasi dalam mencipta sesuatu. Dalam KBAT, domain mengaplikasi, mengalisis, menilai dan
mencipta diberi perhatian. Dalam pembelajaran dan pengajaran subjek pengajian perniagaan, pelajar
didedahkan pembelajaran proses perniagaan yang pelbagai. Maka, guru yang dapat mengaplikasikan
kecerdasan visual ruang dalam pembelajaran dan pengajaran di kalangan pelajar, maka pelajar akan
mencapai pencapaian akademik yang cemerlang dalam subjek pengajian perniagaan. Domain kecerdasan
visual ruang membantu pelajar mengingat melalui cara melukis, seperti yang dilaporkan oleh Nurhafizah
et.al., (2015), peta pemikiran i-Think yang diaplikasikan dalam pembelajaran dan pengajaran akan
membantu pelajar membudayakan kemahiran berfikir. Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (2012) turut
menjelaskan penggunaan peta pemikiran merupakan satu cabang alat berfikir dalam proses pembelajaran
dan pengajaran yang memupuk pelajar berfikir serta menaakul. Sebagaimana dinyatakan Gardner (2006)
dalam pembelajaran seseorang pelajar yang mempunyai domain kecerdasan pelbagai seperti kecerdasan
visual ruang, pelajar akan menunjukkan kebolehan melakar peta minda, kerangka konseptual,
membayangkan masalah dan cara penyelesaian (Gardner, 2006). Maka, jelasnya domain kecerdasan visual
ruang mempunyai pengaruh ke atas pencapaian akademik pelajar subjek pengajian perniagaan.
Sementara itu, penyelidik turut membuktikan pelajar yang mempunyai domain kecerdasan pelbagai
seperti kecerdasan interpersonal akan aktif melibatkan diri dalam kumpulan membantu pelajar menguasai
topik dipelajari dengan berkesan. Aktiviti pembentangan secara kumpulan, penyelesaian masalah secara
kumpulan membantu pelajar dihargai sebagai rujukan rakan dalam penyelesaian masalah. Secara tidak
langsung, pengajaran guru berjalan lebih lancar dan pelajar berkongsi pengamalan dalam perbincangan,
pembentangan menyumbang pengajaran selari dengan falsafah pengajaran. Guru yang dapat
mengaplikasikan kecerdasan interpersonal di kalangan pelajar akan memberi implikasi positif dalam
pembelajaran pengajaran. Menurut Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (2012), Sistem Pentaksiran Baharu
STPM yang mewajibkan kerja kursus menghasilkan penulisan bermula semester kedua, melibatkan
pembelajaran dan pengajaran memerlukan penglibatan pelajar perlu bekerjasama antara pelajar sepanjang
menyempurnakan tugasan kerja kursus. Pelajar yang mempunyai kecerdasan interpersonal yang tinggi akan
menggalakkan pelajar bekerjasama dalam menyelesaikan masalah dalam pembelajaran secara bersama
untuk mencapai matlamat pencapaian akademik yang lebih cemerlang. Maka, guru perlu tidak ragu-ragu
dalam mengaplikasikan kecerdasan interpersonal di kalangan pelajar dalam pembelajaran dan pengajaran.
Secara tidak langsung, pengajaran guru berjalan lebih lancar dan pelajar bersedia berkongsi pengalaman
dalam perbincangan, pembentangan menyumbang pengajaran yang menyeronokkan.
Namun begitu, dapatan kajian penyelidik melaporkan domain kecerdasan pelbagai seperti kecerdasan
logik matematik menunjukkan pertentangan dengan dapatan kajian pengkaji lepas (Gardner 1983, Gardner
1999 dan Gardner 2006). Penyelidik dalam kajian melaporkan semakin kurang menggunakan domain
kecerdasan pelbagai maka semakin signifikan pencapaian akademik subjek pengajian perniagaan, namun
begitu ia adalah selaras dengan sukatan pelajaran pengajian perniagaan yang mencatatkan tajuk yang
melibatkan perhitungan adalah sangat terhad. Maka keseluruhannya, penyelidik telah membuktikan dapatan
adalah bertepatan dengan kajian pengkaji yang lepas.
Kesimpulannya, guru sewajarnya mencuba menggunakan teori kecerdasan pelbagai dalam aktiviti
pengajaran dan pembelajaran. Teori kecerdasan pelbagai bukan sahaja membantu guru membuat
perancangan pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang kreatif tetapi membantu guru-guru mengatasi masalah
kebosanan di kalangan pelajar ketika pengajaran dan pembelajaran berlangsung. Teori kecerdasan pelbagai
jelasnya akan mencungkil kekuatan dan potensi pelajar selaras dengan penyediaan modal insan yang
berketerampilan dan cemerlang dalam kehidupan. Maka, kajian lanjutan sewajarnya dijalankan dalam skala
yang lebih besar dalam kalangan pelajar tingkatan enam di seluruh Malaysia. Pembelajaran dan pengajaran
menggunakan teori kecerdasan pelbagai perlu diaplikasikan dalam pembelajaran dan pengajaran secara
berterusan agar mencapai melahirkan modal insan serba boleh, berdaya saing dan berjaya dalam
persekitaran dunia yang kian berdaya saing.

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 RUJUKAN
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 Persepsi Pelajar Sekolah Terhadap
Subjek Matematik Tambahan

Syarifah Zyurina Nordin, Shariffah Suhaila Syed Jamaludin,

Fuaada Mohd Siam, Hamisan Rahmat
Jabatan Sains Matematik, Fakulti Sains, Univerisiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor

Abstract. Sejajar dengan era pendidikan globalisasi, elemen yang berteraskan Sains, Kejuruteraan, Teknologi
dan Matematik telah dijadikan agenda utama di dalam sistem pendidikan negara bagi melahirkan golongan
profesionalisma yang memiliki ilmu kepakaran yang tinggi di dalam bidang sains dan teknologi. Justeru itu,
suatu kajian telah dijalankan menerusi program pengukuhan Matematik Tambahan di kalangan pelajar-pelajar
sekolah untuk melihat peningkatan terhadap pemahaman serta minat pelajar dalam subjek tersebut. Kaedah
pengajaran yang diterapkan di dalam program ini berorientasikan kurikulum abad ke 21 dapat membantu para
pelajar berfikir secara lebih kritis tentang sesuatu topik dan memahami teknik penyelesaian dengan lebih
efektif. Seramai 108 orang pelajar dari daerah Johor Bahru Tengah telah menyertai program tersebut dan soal
selidik telah dijalankan terhadap pelajar bagi mengkaji keberkesanan program. Data dianalisis berdasarkan
maklumat sebelum dan selepas program dijalankan. Hasil kajian mendapati program yang dijalankan telah
meningkatkan minat serta motivasi diri pelajar dalam memahami konsep Matematik.
Keywords: Sistem Pendidikan Negara; Matematik Tambahan, STEM

PENGENALAN
Pendidikan berasaskan Sains, Teknologi, Kejuruteraan dan Matematik (STEM) adalah bertujuan untuk
membangunkan budaya sains dan teknologi yang merangkumi aspek pengetahuan dan kemahiran di
kalangan masyarakat dengan menerapkan elemen-elemen yang sejajar dengan agenda pendidikan negara
2016-2020 (KPM 2012). Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia telah meletakkan pendidikan STEM
sebagai satu agenda yang penting dalam transformasi pendidikan bagi menyediakan generasi muda untuk
menghadapi cabaran abad ke-21. Justeru itu, usaha pendidikan seumpama ini perlu diterapkan di peringkat
awal menerusi pelajar. Pengajaran & Pembelajaran STEM yang berfokuskan pelajar dapat menghasilkan
pembelajaran yang bermakna dan menyeronokkan. Sejajar dengan agenda pelan pembangunan pendidikan
Malaysia, Jabatan Sains Matematik, Fakulti Sains, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia telah mengambil
inisiatif untuk mengadakan program pengukuhan Matematik Tambahan bagi pelajar Tingkatan 4 dalam
memperkasakan ilmu Matematik di kalangan pelajar.
Objektif utama program ini adalah untuk memperkenalkan kaedah pengajaran yang lebih kreatif dan
inovatif bagi memupuk minat pelajar terhadap subjek Matematik mengikut Kurikulum Abad ke 21 serta
memperkukuhkan pemahaman pelajar terhadap topik-topik khusus dalam Matematik menerusi aktiviti
ceramah dan latihan dalam kumpulan. Selain itu, program ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan motivasi,
keyakinan dan kebolehan pelajar dalam menyelesaikan soalan-soalan beraras tinggi. Pendekatan seperti
pembelajaran berasaskan masalah digunakan untuk menyelesaikan soalan aras tinggi. Pendekatan ini lebih
baik daripada pembelajaran secara konvensional (Ade & Utari, 2015). Seterusnya, menerusi program
tersebut, suatu kajian akan dijalankan bagi melihat keberkesanan kaedah pengajaran yang dilaksanakan
dari segi pemahaman, minat dan motivasi pelajar. Hasil dapatan kajian ini diharapkan dapat mengurangkan
tekanan pelajar dalam menjawab soalan Matematik Tambahan selain meningkatkan kemahiran pelajar
dalam menyelesaikan soalan-soalan yang beraras tinggi.
Pelbagai faktor yang mempengaruhi minat pelajar dalam bidang tertentu. Antaranya ialah faktor sikap
pelajar serta keyakinan diri dan persepsi terhadap mata pelajaran tersebut. Sekiranya faktor sikap pelajar
seperti sikap ambil mudah merupakan salah satu punca kelemahan prestasi pembelajaran mereka salam
bidang Sains (Aziz & Lin, 2011). Selain itu, kajian menunjukkan kepuasan pelajar terhadap pengajaran dan
pembelajaran mempunyai hubungan positif yang signifikan dengan persekitaran pembelajaran psikososial
yang mempengaruhi tahap motivasi pelajar dalam menentukan kejayaan akademik mereka (Nidzam,
Kamisah & Lilia, 2010). Program yang dijalankan ini juga merupakan salah satu usaha dalam
menggurangkan kerisauan pelajar terhadap mata pelajaran Matematik Tambahan. Ini kerana ada kajian
yang menyatakan bahawa kerisauan mengenai kesukaran terhadap subjek tertentu mempengaruhi
pemilihan bidang pelajar (Phang et al., 2014).

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 KAEDAH KAJIAN
Program Pengukuhan Matematik Tambahan telah dijalankan dengan usahama Yayasan Penyayang,
Majlis Pembandaran Iskandar Puteri bersama dengan Jabatan Sains Matematik UTM. Seramai 108 orang
pelajar dari Sekolah Menengah Kangkar Pulai serta Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Taman Nusajaya telah
dipilih. Program ini telah dijalankan di dalam beberapa peringkat siri mengikut topik silibus Matematik
Tambahan. Pelbagai pendekatan seperti memperbaiki kesilapan lazim dan teknik menjawab soalan yang
beraras tinggi turut diketengahkan dalam program ini. Program ini menerapkan elemen 4C yang ditekankan
dalam pembelajaran abad ke 21 iaitu komunikasi, kolaborasi, kreativiti dan pemikiran kritis. Penyusunan
aktiviti program yang bersepadu serta terangkum membolehkan janaan produktiviti hasil dan output
pendidikan sains matematik yang berimpak. Fasilitator yang ikut serta bagi menjaya program ini juga
dipilih dikalangan pensyarah dan pelajar pasca siswazah yang menguasi topik yang dibincangkan, mudah
didekati dan mempunyai cara penyampaian yang menarik. Ini penting kerana ada kajian yang menunjukkan
bahawa motivasi pelajar akan meningkat sekiranya tenaga pengajar mempunyai ciri-ciri seperti yang
dinyatakan (Latief & Dini, 2013). Kajian selepas program pula, di adaptasikan semula melalui soal selidik
untuk melihat persepsi pelajar terhadap subjek matematik tambahan. Selain itu, kuiz sebelum dan selepas
program juga dijalankan bagi melihat pemahaman pelajar sebelum dan selepas program.

KEPUTUSAN DAN ANALISIS

Kajian soal selidik program dengan topik Fungsi dan Persamaan Kuadratik serta Indeks dan Logaritma
telah dijalankan. Berikut adalah analisa keputusan yang telah diperolehi sebelum dan selepas program.

Topik Fungsi dan Persamaan Kuadratik

(a) (b)

RAJAH 1. Peratusan (a) peningkatan motivasi dan (b) penggunaan kaedah pengajaran bagi topik Fungsi dan
Persamaan Kuadratik

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 (a) (b)

RAJAH 2. Perubahan markah kuiz selepas program bagi sekolah-sekolah yang terlibat dalam kajian kes bagi topik
Fungsi dan Persamaan Kuadratik

Terdapat perubahan sikap pelajar terhadap soalan kaji selidik sebelum dan selepas program. Seramai
95.75% pelajar lebih bermotivasi untuk memahami topik Fungsi dan Persamaan Kuadratik seperti di
paparan Rajah 1(a). Kaedah-kaedah bagi topik ini meliputi topik seperti kaedah pemfaktoran, kaedah
melengkapkan kuasa dua dan mengenal pasti jenis punca-punca persamaan. Kebolehan pelajar
menggunakan kaedah-kaedah yang telah diterangkan di dalam program telah meningkat kepada 89.36%
berbanding hanya 11.7% sahaja sebelum ini. Maklumat selanjutnya adalah seperti Rajah 1(b). Rajah 2
memaparkan bilangan peningkatan markah pelajar bagi kuiz yang telah dijalankan sebelum dan selepas
program bagi sekolah-sekolah yang dipilih. Hampir 72% pelajar meningkat dari segi markah ujian kuiz dan
sekurang-kurangkan tiada perubahan markah selepas program dijalankan.

Topik Indeks dan Logaritma

(a) (b)

RAJAH 3. Peratusan (a) kebolehan menjawab soalan dan (b) peningkatan motivasi bagi topik Indeks dan Logarithma

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RAJAH 4. Rajah perubahan markah kuiz selepas program bagi sekolah-sekolah yang terlibat dalam kajian kes bagi topik
Indeks dan Logarithma

Rajah 3(a) menunjukkan peratusan keyakinan diri pelajar terhadap soalan yang melibatkan topik Indeks
dan Logaritma. Peningkatan keyakinan diri yang ketara iaitu sebanyak 86.08% pelajar menyatakan mereka
lebih berkeyakinan selepas menyertai program yang dijalankan berbanding kurang daripada 20% sebelum
program. Seramai 96.53% pelajar telah bersetuju bahawa program pengukuhan yang dijalankan telah
meningkatkan motivasi mereka untuk belajar dan memahami topik Indeks dan Logaritma berbanding
hanya 33.91% yang bersetuju sebelum program. Hanya 3.48% responden yang masih belum menujukkan
sebarang perubahan motivasi seperti maklumat yang ditunjukkan di dalam Rajah 3(b).
Kajian kes ini juga di sokong oleh markah kuiz yang dijalankan sebelum dan selepas program. Terdapat
perubahan pada markah pelajar. Peratusan menghampiri 80% pelajar yang sekurang-kurangkan tiada
perubahan dalam markah kuiz mereka. Hanya lebih kurang 20% sahaja pelajar yang mempunyai penurunan
dalam markah kuiz yang telah dijalankan selepas program. Keputusan dipaparkan seperti di dalam Rajah 4
bagi kedua-kedua sekolah.

KESIMPULAN
Dapat dirumuskan bahawa program ini dapat memperkukuhkan lagi pemahaman teori dan kaedah
penyelesaian yang efektif melalui aktiviti penerangan konsep matematik, menyingkap kesilapan lazim yang
sering dilakukan pelajar serta latihan dalam kumpulan yang diterajui oleh mentor yang berkelayakan.
Seramai 89% pelajar bersetuju bahawa mereka akan menggunakan kaedah yang dipelajari dari program ini.
Tidak kurang juga program ini dapat meningkatkan motivasi 96% pelajar untuk belajar dan memahami
kaedah-keadah penyelesaian yang di terangkan. Sekiranya program ini dijalankan secara berterusan, tidak
mustahil subjek MatematikTambahan tidak lagi digeruni oleh para pelajar.

PENGHARGAAN

Para penulis ingin mengucapkan penghargaan terima kasih kepada semua pihak yang menjayakan
program dan kajian ini terutama kepada Jabatan Sains Matematik, Task Force Pengukuhan dan
Penghayatan Matematik (P^2M), STEM@FS, Fakulti Sains, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Yayasan
Penyayang Majlis Pembandaran Iskandar Puteri, Jabatan Pendidikan Negeri Johor, Gerakan STEM
Kebangsaan, SMK Kangkar Pulai, SMK Taman Nusa Jaya serta geran penyelidikan universiti (GUP
16H20).

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 RUJUKAN
1. Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2012). Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia 2013-2025.
2. Ade Mulyana & Utari Sumarmo (2015), Meningkatkan Kemampuan Penalaran Matematik dan Kemandirian Belajar
Siswa SMP Melalui Pembelajaran Berbasis Masalah. Didaktik, 9(1), 40 – 51.
3. Aziz Nordin & Lin Hui Ling (2011), Hubungan Sikap Terhadap Mata Pelajaran Sains Dengan Penguasaan Konsep
Asas Sains Pelajar Tingkatan Dua. Journal of Science & Mathematics Educational. 2, 89 – 101.
4. Che Nidzam Che Ahmad, Kamisah Osman & Lilia Halim (2010), Hubungan Ramalan Persekitaran Pembelajaran
Makmal Sains dengan Tahap Kepuasan Pelajar. Journal Pendidikan Malaysia. 35(2), 19 – 30.
5. Fatin Aliah Phang, Mohd Salleh Abu, Mohammad Bilal Ali & Salmiza (2014), Faktor Penyumbang Kepada
Kemerosotan Penyertaan Pelajar dalam Aliran Sains: Satu Analisis Sorotan Tesis, Sains Hurmanika, 2(4), 63 – 71.
6. Latief Sahidin & Dini Jamil (2013), Pengaruh Motivasi Berprestasi dan Persepsi Siswa tentang Cara Guru Mengajar
Terhadap Hasil Belajar Matematika. Journal Pendidikan Matematika, 4(2), 211 – 222.

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 Proses Penyelesaian Masalah Matematik Melalui
Pendekatan STEM Bersepadu
Norazla Binti Mustafaa, Zaleha Binti Ismailb, Zaidatun Binti Tasirb, Mohd Nihra
Haruzuan Bin Mohamad Saidb
a
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tuanku Syed Putra
b
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Abstrak. Penyelesaian masalah telah menjadi fokus utama dalam pendidikan matematik. Kelemahan dalam
penyelesaian masalah matematik berlaku kerana pelajar tidak menguasai kemahiran penaakulan menyebabkan
sukar memahami kesinambungan di antara konsep matematik dengan kehidupan seharian. Kesukaran menguasai
kesinambungan penyelesaian masalah dengan masalah dalam kehidupan berlaku kerana pelajar lemah dalam
kemahiran matematik asas. Pendekatan STEM Bersepadu merupakan alternatif kepada pembelajaran penyelesaian
masalah matematik melalui pengintegrasian sains, teknologi dan kejuruteraan dalam matematik. Kajian ini
merupakan kajian kualitatif yang diperoleh melalui temu bual dan refleksi pelajar melibatkan lima orang pelajar
Tingkatan Empat. Analisis kandungan digunakan untuk menganalisis data daripada melibatkan aplikasi STEM.
Dapatan kajian menunjukkan elemen penyelesaian masalah dan kejuruteraan yang muncul semasa pelajar
menyelesaikan tugasan dan membentuk kerangka proses penyelesaian masalah matematik berasaskan STEM
Bersepadu.
Keywords: Proses Penyelesaian Masalah, Matematik, STEM Bersepadu

PENGENALAN

Menjelang abad ke-21, tenaga pekerja yang diperlukan bukan sahaja boleh menjalankan penyelesaian masalah
yang rutin tetapi menguasai penyelesaian masalah yang lebih kompleks dan berupaya membina, menerangkan,
memanipulasi dan membuat jangkaan (English, 2006). Penyelesaian masalah menjadikan pembelajaran menjadi lebih
bermakna apabila pelajar berpeluang membina kefahaman konseptual, kemahiran komunikasi dan kemahiran
penaakulan (NCTM, 2010). Kemahiran penyelesaian masalah merupakan salah satu daripada kemahiran kognitif
dalam pendidikan matematik yang perlu diterapkan kepada pelajar bagi memenuhi kompetensi abad ke-21 (National
Research Council, 2012) selain daripada penaakulan dan pembuktian (reasoning and proof), komunikasi, perkaitan
(connection) dan perwakilan (representations). Di Malaysia, pendidikan matematik diwajibkan kepada pelajar dari
usia awal kerana matematik merupakan penanda aras bagi pembangunan pengetahuan sains dan teknologi (KPM,
2013). Kurikulum Matematik di Malaysia telah menggariskan tiga aspek yang perlu diberi perhatian iaitu; (1)
penyelesaian masalah matematik sebagai fokus utama; (2) berkomunikasi dalam matematik membolehkan pelajar
memberi penjelasan tentang strategi penyelesaian yang telah ditentukan, seterusnya menjadi lebih cekap dalam
penyelesaian masalah. (3) melatih pelajar membuat perkaitan dalam matematik supaya pelajar dapat mengaitkan
pengetahuan konseptual dan prosedural, selain mengaitkan matematik dengan kehidupan seharian.

LATAR BELAKANG MASALAH

Kelemahan pelajar dalam penguasaan penyelesaian masalah matematik telah menjadi fokus utama beberapa
pengkaji lepas di Malaysia (Aziz, 2002; Heong, 2005; Tarzimah, 2005; Tarzimah dan Thamby Subahan, 2010;
Hanapi dan Nordin, 2014). Aziz (2002) mengesahkan kelemahan dalam penyelesaian masalah matematik berlaku
kerana pelajar tidak menguasai kemahiran penaakulan menyebabkan sukar memahami kesinambungan di antara
konsep matematik dengan kehidupan seharian. Kesukaran menguasai kemahiran penyelesaian masalah matematik
berlaku kerana pelajar lemah dalam kemahiran matematik asas (Tarzimah, 2005; Tarzimah dan Thamby Subahan,
2010). Kemahiran matematik asas yang dikaji terdiri daripada kemahiran fakta nombor, kemahiran aritmetik,
kemahiran maklumat, kemahiran bahasa dan kemahiran visual-spatial. Dalam kajian tersebut, pelajar didapati gagal
menguasai fasa pertama kemahiran penyelesaian masalah iaitu memahami masalah kerana ayat dalam soalan yang
terlalu panjang dan maklumat yang terlalu banyak diberikan. Ini bermakna pelajar berdepan dengan kesukaran untuk
mengekstrak maklumat dan mencerakinkan maklumat tersebut untuk merancang dan melaksanakan penyelesaian.

Singh, Granvile dan Dika (2002) dalam kajiannya mendapati penyelesaian masalah yang diketengahkan dalam
buku teks matematik di Malaysia memberi penekanan kepada prosedur penyelesaian masalah sahaja. Justeru,

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 penyelidik membandingkan dapatan kajian Singh et al (2002) dengan buku teks Tingkatan Empat di Malaysia.
Berikut merupakan contoh jawapan bagi penyelesaian masalah yang disediakan dalam buku teks Tingkatan 4 bagi
topik Persamaan Kuadratik. Berdasarkan semakan terhadap buku teks tersebut, penyelidik bersetuju dengan dapatan
kajian oleh Singh et al (2002) bahawa pelajar tidak diberi pendedahan tentang proses penyelesaian masalah
mengikut fasa penyelesaian masalah sebaliknya hanya diberikan contoh jawapan yang berbentuk algoritma dan
prosedur. Berikut merupakan contoh jawapan penyelesaian masalah yang disediakan dalam buku teks Matematik
Tingkatan Empat di Malaysia.

Katakan lebar kad ialah x meter. Panjang kad = (x+3) meter dan Luas kad = 10 m2
x(x+3) = 10
x2 +3x =
10
x2 +3x – 10 = 10
(x – 2) (x + 5) = 0
x – 2 = 0 atau x + 5 = 0
x = 2 , x = -5 ;
Jawapan; Lebar kad ialah 2 meter.
(KPM, 2012, muka surat 25)

Pendedahan kepada prosedur dan bukannya kepada proses penyelesaian masalah menyebabkan pelajar hanya
menghafal jawapan telah menyumbang kepada kegagalan pelajar mengaplikasikan kemahiran penyelesaian masalah
apabila diberikan tugasan berasaskan konteks dunia sebenar (Nik Azis, 2014). Ini menunjukkan bahawa pelajar masih
kurang menguasai kemahiran penyelesaian masalah terutamanya melibatkan situasi yang lebih realistik yang
memerlukan pelajar mengaplikasikan kemahiran dan pengetahuan sedia ada (Yunus, Hamzah, Tarmizi, Abu dan Nor
2006). Susulan kepada kelemahan pelajar dalam penyelesaian masalah yang melibatkan konteks dunia sebenar, maka
suatu transformasi dalam bidang pendidikan perlu dikaji untuk mengatasi masalah ini. Kompetensi penyelesaian
masalah ini sangat sinonim dengan keperluan tenaga industri yang mahir dalam bidang sains, teknologi, kejuruteraan
dan matematik (STEM) menjelang abad ke 21. Peluang kerjaya dalam bidang STEM berupaya membantu pelajar
menguasai pengetahuan melalui aktiviti penyelesaian masalah (Tseng, et al, 2013). Penyelidik lepas telah menyatakan
bahawa pengintegrasian STEM menyediakan laluan karier untuk profesion kejuruteraan (Katehi, Pearson dan Feder,
2009; Wicklein, 2006; Dearing dan Daugherty, 2004). Perkaitan antara disiplin STEM menggalakkan penglibatan
aktif pelajar serta peningkatan minat pelajar dalam bidang sains dan matematik dan menjadikan kerjaya STEM
sebagai satu pilihan (Felix dan Harris, 2010; Guttie dan Wicklein, 2007).
Kajian tentang STEM Bersepadu di Malaysia oleh Ng dan Adnan (2018) terhadap pelajar Tahun Satu mendapati
penggunaan modul STEM telah berjaya meningkatkan kefahaman pelajar dan guru tentang pengintegrasian STEM
dalam matematik. Modul yang dibangunkan memilih tajuk Ruang dan mempunyai lima unit pembelajaran yang
mengaplikasikan pendekatan pembelajaran berasaskan inkuiri yang memberi fokus kepada aktiviti pembelajaran
berasaskan projek. Manakala, Nor Aishah, Lilia dan Subhan (2010) mendapati bahawa penghasilan modul Ensci
melalui pengintegrasian STEM dan pendidikan sains dengan menggunakan pembelajaran berasaskan projek telah
berjaya meningkatkan tahap kemahiran proses sains pelajar sekolah menengah. Norhaqikah dan Kamisah (2017) telah
menggunakan pendekatan STEM Bersepadu dan membangunkan Modul STEM dalam disiplin Biologi untuk
meningkatkan kemahiran abad ke-21. Kajian tersebut juga mengesahkan bahawa guru dan pelajar dapat menjayakan
STEM Bersepadu dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran sekiranya panduan pelaksanaan atau modul pembelajaran
disediakan (Nor Aishah et al., 2010; Norhaqikah dan Kamisah, 2017; Ng dan Adnan, 2018)
Pendekatan STEM Bersepadu di Malaysia telah dilaksanakan dalam disiplin Biologi (Norhaqikah dan Kamisah,
2017) dan Matematik sekolah rendah (Ng dan Adnan, 2018) tetapi memberi tumpuan kepada persepsi guru dan
pelajar terhadap pelaksanaan STEM Bersepadu yang diberikan modul pembelajaran. Kebanyakan kajian lepas
memberi tumpuan kepada program STEM Bersepadu khusus kepada bakal guru tetapi menekankan kepada
pengintegrasian kandungan mata pelajaran sahaja (Elliot, Oty, McArthur dan Clark, 2001; Lewis, Alacaci, O’Brien
dan Jiang, 2002; Frykholm dan Glasson, 2005; Furner dan Kumar, 2007). Selain itu, kajian lepas terhadap
pengintegrasian STEM Bersepadu juga hanya menumpukan kepada peningkatan pencapaian, minat motivasi dan
sikap pelajar (Norazla, Zaleha, Zaidatun and Mohd Nihra Haruzuan, 2016). Hung (2013) dan Muhammad Abd Hadi
(2017) memberi fokus kepada aplikasi konsep dalam menyelesaikan masalah berasaskan STEM khusus untuk disiplin
Fizik. Justeru, wujud keperluan untuk menjalankan kajian yang memberi tumpuan khas kepada pengukuhan
penyelesaian masalah matematik dalam kalangan pelajar dengan pelaksanaan intervensi melibatkan konteks STEM
itu juga masih perlu diberikan perhatian lebih mendalam.

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 Objektif Kajian

Objektif kajian ini adalah seperti berikut;

(i) Mengenal pasti proses penyelesaian masalah dalam kalangan pelajar semasa menyelesaikan masalah
matematik berasaskan STEM Bersepadu (FPMSTEM).
(ii) Membangunkan kerangka proses penyelesaian masalah matematik berasaskan STEM Bersepadu .

Metodologi Kajian

Kajian kualitatif yang melibatkan kepelbagaian kaedah yang naturalistik dapat membantu penyelidik mendalami
masalah tersebut secara terperinci (Denzin dan Lincoln, 2005). Kajian ini merupakan kajian kualitatif melibatkan
enam orang pelajar yang mempunyai kemahiran penyelesaian masalah yang baik. Enam orang pelajar yang dipilih
dalam kajian ini telah menerima pembelajaran berasaskan fasa penyelesaian masalah melalui STEM Bersepadu
(FPMSTEM) dan merupakan pelajar yang menunjukkan skor cemerlang dalam ujian pasca iaitu pelajar P14, P17,
P27, P28, P34 dan P46. Peserta kajian diberikan empat jenis Tugasan Matematik berasaskan STEM Bersepadu iaitu
Tugasan 1: Aplikasi STEM. Setiap tugasan dilaksanakan serentak dengan temu bual dan refleksi bertulis pelajar.
Sesi temu bual ini dijalankan pada waktu petang sebaik sahaja tamat semua sesi pembelajaran FPMSTEM. Proses
kerja bagi setiap tugasan dan penulisan refleksi telah dianalisis bersama dengan transkrip temu bual berasaskan
tugasan. Penyelidik menggunakan kaedah analisis kandungan semasa menganalisis data daripada temu bual
berasaskan tugasan dan refleksi pelajar untuk mengenal pasti proses penyelesaian masalah berasaskan STEM
Bersepadu. Prsoes penyelesaian masalah ini dianalisis dengan merujuk kepada fasa kemahiran penyelesaian masalah
dan proses reka bentuk kejuruteraan yang membawa kepada penghasilan Kerangka Proses Penyelesaian Masalah
Matematik Berasaskan STEM Bersepadu.

Dapatan Kajian

Seramai lima orang pelajar iaitu P14, P17, P28, P34 dan P46. telah berjaya menyelesaikan Tugasan Matematik
melibatkan aplikasi STEM. Penyelidik telah menjalankan analisis data menerusi transkrip temu bual dan refleksi
pelajar terhadap setiap tugasan bagi mengenal pasti kemunculan elemen kemahiran penyelesaian masalah dan proses
reka bentuk kejuruteraan tertentu yang digunakan semasa menyelesaikan tugasan melibatkan aplikasi STEM.
Merujuk kepada analisis yang telah dijalankan terhadap pelajar yang berjaya menyelesaikan masalah matematik
menggunakan empat fasa penyelesaian, penyelidik membuat kesimpulan bahawa wujud elemen-elemen proses
penyelesaian masalah dan reka bentuk kejuruteraan dalam menyelesaikan masalah matematik melibatkan aplikasi
STEM. Namun begitu, penyelidik menyedari bahawa kewujudan elemen-elemen kemahiran penyelesaian masalah
adalah berbeza mengikut pelajar.
Setelah mengesan elemen dalam proses penyelesaian masalah dan reka bentuk kejuruteraan yang digunakan oleh
setiap pelajar, penyelidik telah menjalankan enumerasi data iaitu merupakan satu cara untuk mengkuantitatifkan data
kualitatif. Proses enumerasi data ini ini dilakukan dengan menyemak data untuk mengenal pasti aspek yang ingin
dikenal pasti dalam data kajian (Chua, 2012). Dalam kajian ini, penyelidik memberi fokus kepada elemen dalam
kemahiran penyelesaian masalah Polya (2004) dan reka bentuk kejuruteraan (Cunningham, 2009; MoS, 2012; NGSS,
2013) dalam menyelesaikan masalah matematik berasaskan STEM Bersepadu. Penyelidik seterusnya menjalankan
enumerasi data dengan membuat rumusan kewujudan elemen proses penyelesaian masalah dan elemen proses reka
bentuk kejuruteraan terhadap semua orang pelajar yang terpilih.
Elemen dalam kemahiran penyelesaian masalah pelajar terdiri daripada kenal pasti maklumat, visualisasi,
menghubung kait, mencari kata kunci, menentukan strategi, penyelesaian sistematik, penyelesaian lebih satu,
justifikasi, penggantian nilai, semakan dari belakang dan semakan alternatif telah menjadi fokus utama kajian ini.
Manakala, proses reka bentuk kejuruteraan yang terdiri daripada sembilan elemen iaitu kenal pasti keperluan,
tentukan semula keperluan, melakar penyelesaian, memilih penyelesaian, membina model, menguji dan menilai
model, berkomunikasi dengan penyelesaian, mereka semula penyelesaian dan membuat keputusan akhir tentang
penyelesaian merupakan elemen pelengkap kepada proses penyelesaian masalah melalui STEM Bersepadu. Jadual
4.12 menunjukkan rumusan elemen kemahiran penyelesaian masalah dan elemen reka bentuk kejuruteraan bagi lima
orang pelajar yang dapat menyelesaikan masalah matematik berdasarkan Tugasan Matematik melibatkan aplikasi
STEM.

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 JADUAL 1 Elemen Kemahiran Penyelesaian Masalah dan Reka Bentuk Kejuruteraan - Aplikasi STEM
Elemen Proses Penyelesaian Masalah
Memahami Merancang Melaksana Menyemak
Pelajar Kenal Visuali Hubung Kata Strategi Siste Lebih Justi Ganti Dari Alter
pasti sasi kait kunci matik satu fikasi Nilai Belakang natif
F 1 F F2 3R 1R 2L L
1 2L 3S 1 S 2 S3

P14 √ √ √ √
P17 √ √ √ √ √
P28 √ √ √ √ √ √
P34 √ √ √ √ √
P46 √ √ √ √ √

Elemen Reka Bentuk Kejuruteraan

Soal Bayangkan dan Reka Penambahbaikan
Rancang
Kenal Tentu Lakar Pilih Bina Uji Komunikasi Reka Keputusan
pasti semula semula
K 1 K 2 K 3 K
4 K5 K 6 K 7 K 8 K 9

P14 √
P17 √
P28 √
P34 √ √
P46 √

Jadual 1 menunjukkan semua pelajar kecuali P34 telah menonjolkan elemen dalam proses penyelesaian masalah
iaitu ‘mengenal pasti maklumat’ (F1) yang membawa maksud pelajar mencari maklumat yang diberi untuk
membolehkan proses menghubung kait dilakukan. Analisis data menunjukkan bahawa semua pelajar menonjolkan
elemen ‘menghubung kait’ (F3) iaitu menggunakan maklumat yang ada untuk menyesuaikannya dengan pengetahuan
sedia ada. Namun begitu, bagi proses reka bentuk kejuruteraan pula, hanya pelajar P17 menunjukkan penggunaan
elemen ‘mengenal pasti keperluan’ (K1).
Kemahiran merancang penyelesaian pula ditakrifkan sebagai keupayaan pelajar menganalisis maklumat dan
mencerakinkannya supaya dapat membuat pemahaman lebih jelas tentang maklumat tersebut dengan pengetahuan
sedia ada, seterusnya memilih strategi penyelesaian yang sesuai. Berdasarkan Jadual 4.12, majoriti pelajar berjaya
menunjukkan elemen proses penyelesaian masalah iaitu ‘menentukan strategi penyelesaian’ (R2) bermakna pelajar
telah memilih cara penyelesaian yang paling efisen untuk menjawab persoalan yang dikemukakan. Pada masa yang
sama, sebahagian daripada pelajar telah menonjolkan elemen bagi reka bentuk kejuruteraan iaitu ‘melakar
penyelesaian’ (K3) yang membawa kepada pelajar membayangkan dan merancang penyelesaiannya.
Seterusnya, penyelidik mengesan kehadiran proses penyelesaian masalah bagi elemen ‘penyelesaian sistematik’
(L1) dan ‘justifikasi’ (L3) dalam kemahiran melaksana penyelesaian. Pelajar P28, P34 dan P46 telah menunjukkan
penggunaan elemen ini dalam analisis temu bual dan refleksi. Elemen ‘penyelesaian sistematik’ membawa maksud
pelajar telah berjaya menunjukkan pengiraan yang teliti dan lengkap mengikut strategi yang telah dirancang.
Manakala, elemen ‘justifikasi’ pula ditakrifkan sebagai keupayaan pelajar memberi penjelasan bagi setiap langkah
penyelesaian yang ditunjukkan.
Begitu juga dengan kemahiran menyemak semula, dua orang pelajar telah melakukan semakan tetapi tidak
menulisnya di dalam skrip jawapan. Tiga orang pelajar telah menunjukkan penggunaan elemen ‘penggantian nilai’
(S1) dan ‘semak dari belakang’ (S2) dalam refleksi dan temu bualnya. Elemen ‘penggantian nilai’ bermakna pelajar
dapat menunjukkan bagaimana nilai yang diperoleh digantikan dalam rumus yang ditulis. Elemen ‘semak dari
belakang’ membawa maksud pelajar menjalankan semakan dari langkah pengiraaan yang terakhir dan menggantikan
nilai supaya nilai yang sama diperoleh untuk langkah pengiraan pertama. Seorang pelajar telah menonjolkan elemen
reka bentuk kejuruteraan apabila pelajar ini telah ‘melakar penyelesaian’ (K3) dan ‘mereka semula penyelesaian’
(K8) setelah mengesan kesilapan dilakukan semasa sedang menyemak semula. Kesimpulannya, dapatan analisis lima
orang pelajar yang berjaya menyelesaikan tugasan melibatkan aplikasi STEM telah diringkaskan pada Jadual 4.13.

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 JADUAL 2 Rumusan Elemen Kemahiran Penyelesaian Masalah dan Reka Bentuk Kejuruteraan - Aplikasi STEM
Tugasan Penyelesaian Masalah Matematik melibatkan Aplikasi STEM
Kemahiran Penyelesaian Masalah Proses Reka Bentuk Kejuruteraan
F 1F F
2 R 3 R 1 L 2 L 1 L 2 S 3S S
1 K
2 K K
3 1K 2 K3 K 4 K 5 K 6 K 7 8 9

4 - 5 4 5 - 4 2 2 - 2 - 3 - - - 1 -

Analisis dijalankan untuk mengesan kemunculan elemen dalam proses reka bentuk kejuruteraan semasa pelajar
menyelesaikan masalah. Berdasarkan Jadual 2, pelajar yang berjaya menyelesaikan tugasan melibatkan aplikasi
STEM telah menonjolkan elemen dalam kemahiran penyelesaian masalah iaitu F1, F2, F3, R2, L1, L3, S1, S2 dan
elemen dalam proses reka bentuk kejuruteraan iaitu K1, K3 dan K8. Dapatan analisis ini telah membawa kepada
penghasilan Proses Penyelesaian Masalah Matematik Berasaskan STEM Bersepadu – Aplikasi STEM. Proses analisis
yang telah dibincangkan telah diulangi bagi Tugasan Matematik melibatkan konteks kesihatan, sukan dan reka bentuk
pelan. Dapatan analisis daripada semua tugasan akhirnya membawa kepada penghasilan kerangka utama dalam proses
penyelesaian masalah pelajar berasaskan STEM Bersepadu. Proses kerja pelajar yang bersesuaian ditunjukkan untuk
mengukuhkan penilaian penyelidik terhadap proses penyelesaian masalah dan reka bentuk kejuruteraan semasa
pelajar sedang menyelesaikan tugasan matematik.
Proses Penyelesaian Masalah Matematik Berasaskan STEM Bersepadu –Aplikasi STEM dihasilkan daripada
analisis terhadap temu bual dan refleksi bagi empat orang pelajar dalam Tugasan 1 iaitu penyelesaian masalah
melibatkan aplikasi STEM. Analisis yang dijalankan mendapati bahawa empat orang pelajar telah menonjolkan lapan
elemen dalam fasa kemahiran penyelesaian masalah dan tiga elemen dalam proses reka bentuk kejuruteraan. Dapatan
daripada pelajar P14, P17, P28 dan P34 semasa menyelesaikan Tugasan Matematik membawa kepada penghasilan
Proses Penyelesaian Masalah Matematik STEM Bersepadu– Jenis Tugasan Melibatkan Aplikasi STEM.
Dalam tugasan ini, pelajar menghasilkan proses penyelesaian masalah melibatkan aplikasi STEM dengan fasa
memahami masalah dan fasa soal terlebih dahulu. Kemahiran memahami masalah dapat dikesan apabila pelajar
berupaya mengaplikasikan pengetahuan sedia ada dalam menyelesaikan tugasan ini. Merujuk kepada data temu bual
dan refleksi, Pelajar P14, P17, P28 dan P34 telah berjaya menonjolkan elemen dalam kemahiran memahami masalah
apabila dapat ‘mengenal pasti maklumat’ (F1) yang diberikan dan ‘menghubung kait maklumat’ (F3) kepada bentuk
yang lebih mudah difahami. Elemen dalam fasa soal bagi proses reka bentuk kejuruteraan iaitu ‘mengenal pasti
keperluan’ (K1) juga ditunjukkan. Berikut merupakan contoh kemahiran memahami masalah yang ditunjukkan oleh
pelajar P17:

“Saya biasanya akan mencari nilai yang diberi dalam soalan setiap kali saya membaca soalan. Soalan saya baca
dua tiga kali sebab kali pertama saya cuba fahamkan ceritanya, kemudian saya gariskan gaji, kadar faedah bank
dan berapa tahun pinjaman. dan akhir sekali saya kaitkan antara maklumat dan tulis semula.”
[Temu bual Pelajar P17]

Dapatan kajian menunjukkan pelajar P17 terlebih dahulu mengenal pasti dan membanding beza maklumat
sebelum membuat perancangan untuk menulis semula maklumat tersebut dalam bentuk perwakilan yang lebih mudah
difahami. Selain itu, pelajar P17 juga menunjukkan kemahiran ‘membuat hubung kait’ apabila didapati mengaitkan
pengetahuan sedia dengan penggunaan kadar faedah untuk pinjaman bank. Pelajar ini telah menukarkan maklumat
tentang kadar faedah kepada nilai dalam ringgit. Ketika ini, pelajar mula ‘mengenal pasti keperluan’ setiap maklumat
sebelum membayangkan penyelesaiannya.
Kebiasaannya pelajar memulakan pengiraan dengan kemahiran penyelesaian masalah ‘memahami’ iaitu mencari
maklumat dan membuat hubung kait dan juga proses reka bentuk kejuruteraan ‘mengenal pasti keperluan’. Namun
pelajar P14 membaca soalan sambil melakarkan sesuatu di atas kertas jawapannya sambil mencuba membuat padanan
dengan maklumat. Ini bermakna, pelajar sedang membayangkan penyelesaian yang mungkin dengan ‘melakarkan
penyelesaian’. Pelajar ini berusaha menggunakan proses pemikiran semasa menghubungkan situasi yang
dikemukakan dengan pengetahuan sedia ada berkaitan kadar faedah. Pelajar juga menunjukkan potensi untuk
mengembangkan maklumat apabila mencatat dua jumlah bayaran pendahuluan sebelum merancang penyelesaian.
Berikut ialah refleksi pelajar P14 berkaitan perkara ini;

“Saya berfikir kaitan antara kadar faedah bank dengan pembelian kereta dan mencatat anggaran perbelanjaan.
Maknanya saya tahu tentang kadar faedah dan kemampuan gaji, jadi sebelum membeli saya sepatutnya sudah buat
anggaran perbelanjaan supaya tidak terlebih bajet.”
[Refleksi Pelajar P14]

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 Dapatan ini diperjelaskan dalam temu bual bersama pelajar P14.
“Tentukan kadar faedah berdasarkan jumlah pinjaman untuk mendapatkan jumlah pinjaman sebenar. Harga kereta
tambah jumlah faedah ialah jumlah pinjaman sebenar.”
[Temu Bual Pelajar P14]

Rajah 1 Proses Kerja Pelajar P14 (Fasa Memahami Masalah)

Rajah 1 menunjukkan proses kerja pelajar dalam ‘memahami masalah’ dengan membuat perbandingan di antara
dua maklumat. Pada peringkat ini, pelajar P14 telah mengemukakan elemen dalam fasa bayangkan dan rancang iaitu
‘melakar penyelesaian’ mengenai situasi yang bakal dihadapi dalam dunia pekerjaan dan memikirkan kesukaran
membuat pilihan.
Dapatan temu bual dengan pelajar P28 dan P46 menunjukkan kemunculan elemen dalam kemahiran memahami
masalah apabila berjaya ’mengenal pasti maklumat’ dan mengekstrak maklumat dengan betul. Ini menunjukkan
pelajar menguasai dalam kemahiran memahami ‘membuat hubung kait’. Pelajar dapat ‘mengenal pasti keperluan’
berdasarkan maklumat yang diberi dengan mengaitkan pengalaman lalu dengan situasi baru. Pelajar berjaya
menguasai elemen dalam kemahiran memahami masalah iaitu ‘menghubung kait’ dalam usaha awal untuk
menyelesaikan tugasan matematik. Kemahiran memahami ‘menghubung kait’ yang biasanya ditonjolkan oleh pelajar
bukanlah suatu proses pemikiran aras tinggi tetapi amat penting untuk membolehkan pelajar bergerak ke fasa
penyelesaian yang seterusnya. Ini kerana pelajar hanya ‘membuat hubungkait’ dengan memikirkan tajuk yang telah
dipelajari dan rumus yang telah diketahui supaya dapat mencari penyelesaian. Data temu bual dan refleksi yang
berikut menunjukkan contoh elemen ‘menghubung kait’ yang telah ditunjukkan oleh pelajar P28 dan P46;

“Setelah mengenal pasti maklumat, saya terus fikirkan tajuk matematik yang sesuai supaya saya tahu rumus apa
yang patut digunakan untuk menyelesaikan masalah.”
[Refleksi Pelajar P28]

“Maklumat diberi iaitu kadar faedah, gaji dan tempoh pinjaman mesti berkait dengan tajuk Tingkatan 1. Saya masih
ingat rumus kadar faedah jadi saya akan gunakan rumus ini untuk membantu saya selesaikan soalan ini.”
[Temu bual Pelajar P46]

Seterusnya, dapatan temu bual pelajar P46 menunjukkan pelajar juga cuba menonjolkan elemen proses reka
bentuk kejuruteraan iaitu ‘mengenal pasti keperluan’ apabila dilihat menyenaraikan apa yang perlu dicari, apa yang
perlu dilakukan dan apa yang perlu ada supaya dapat merancang penyelesaian masalah. Berikut merupakan dapatan
temu bual pelajar P46;

“Bila selesai membaca soalan, saya menyoal diri saya sama ada saya perlukan maklumat lain untuk selesaikannya
atau saya bertanya jika saya faham apa yang saya perlu buat untuk selesaikannya.”
[Temu bual Pelajar P46]

Bagi elemen dalam fasa soal iaitu ‘mengenal pasti keperluan’, pelajar P46 menggunakan maklumat dalam soalan
untuk mendorongnya memahami soalan. Pelajar ini dilihat mengutarakan soalan kepada diri sendiri sambil menjawab
setiap persoalan yang dikemukakannya. Pada peringkat ini, pelajar cuba melatih memberikan penjelasan tentang
keperluan dalam penyelesaian dan bersedia mempertahankan idea dan keputusan yang dilakukan. Bagi penghasilan
sub-kerangka Proses Penyelesaian Masalah Matematik Berasaskan STEM Bersepadu – Jenis Tugasan Melibatkan
Aplikasi STEM ini, semua pelajar telah dikesan menonjolkan elemen ‘mengenal pasti maklumat’ iaitu mengekstrak
maklumat daripada soalan, elemen ‘membuat hubung kait’ iaitu mengaitkan maklumat dengan pengetahuan sedia ada
atau membanding beza di antara maklumat supaya dapat melihat perkaitan antara maklumat dan elemen dalam proses
reka bentuk kejuruteraan iaitu ‘mengenal pasti keperluan’.
Pada peringkat kedua, para pelajar mula menunjukkan kemunculan elemen dalam kemahiran merancang
penyelesaian semasa menyelesaikan masalah matematik berasaskan STEM Bersepadu. Elemen dalam kemahiran
merancang penyelesaian membolehkan pelajar menyenaraikan strategi penyelesaian yang mungkin dan memilih

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strategi yang sesuai atau melakarkan penyelesaian yang mungkin sebelum menentukan penyelesaian. Berdasarkan
analisis yang dijalankan, majoriti pelajar menunjukkan elemen kemahiran merancang penyelesaian iaitu ‘menentukan
strategi penyelesaian’ (R2) apabila berjaya mengekstrak maklumat yang diberi dan menyusun maklumat tersebut
dalam bentuk jadual, persamaan, pola atau strategi lain. Kebiasaannya pelajar memilih strategi penyelesaian
berdasarkan susunan maklumat yang telah dilakukan. Berikut adalah contoh data refleksi dan temu bual yang
menunjukkan elemen ‘menentukan strategi penyelesaian’ bagi pelajar P34;

“Jadi saya gunakan rumus faedah untuk mencari bayaran ansuran bulanan. Tetapi saya kena pastikan tempoh
pinjaman dalam tahun saya tukarkan kepada bulan dan kadar faedah yang bank kenakan itu saya perlu campur
dengan jumlah pinjaman.”
[Temu bual Pelajar P34]

“Fahami konsep kadar faedah, cari jumlah kadar faedah dan tambahkan dengan jumlah pinjaman. Rumus nyatakan
tempoh masa mesti dalam bulan, jadi perlu tukarkan kepada bulan.”
[Refleksi Pelajar P34]

Dapatan refleksi menunjukkan pelajar P34 cuba memikirkan cara penyelesaian dengan menterjemahkan
maklumat yang telah dikenal pasti dengan menentukan konsep kadar faedah, menentukan jumlah faedah yang
dikenakan dan mencari jumlah pinjaman berdasarkan kadar faedah. Seterusnya, pada fasa bayangkan dan rancang,
pelajar P28, P14 dan P34 telah mencerakinkan maklumat yang diberi dan pada masa yang sama terus mencari nilai
bagi maklumat yang telah dicerakinkan apabila menonjolkan elemen ‘melakar penyelesaian’ (K3) . Pengekstrakan
maklumat dilakukan dengan mencerakinkan maklumat bertujuan untuk melihat pola data. Rajah 4.6 ialah proses
kerja bagi pelajar P28;

Rajah 2 Proses Kerja Pelajar P28 (Fasa Bayangkan & Rancang)

Berdasarkan analisis yang telah dijalankan, pelajar P14 dan P34 yang menunjukkan elemen dalam proses reka
bentuk kejuruteraan iaitu ‘melakar penyelesaian’ untuk merangka penyelesaian. Dapatan daripada refleksi pelajar
P34 ditunjukkan seperti berikut;

“Senaraikan semua penyelesaian yang mungkin, lukis rajah dan senaraikan semua cara yang mungkin.Fikirkan
cara lain selain daripada maklumat yang ada. Mungkin saya patut letakkan bayaran pendahuluan lebih banyak
supaya saya dapat buat pinjaman kurang.”
[Temu bual Pelajar P34]

Berdasarkan dapatan temu bual pelajar P34, pelajar juga cenderung untuk menunjukkan kemahiran memahami
masalah iaitu ‘menentukan strategi penyelesaian’ (R2), iaitu memilih satu cara penyelesaian yang paling tepat
berdasarkan maklumat yang telah diekstrak. Pada masa yang sama, pelajar P34 telah menonjolkan proses reka
bentuk kejuruteraan ‘melakarkan penyelesaian’ bertujuan untuk membuat perbandingan antara strategi penyelesaian
yang mungkin.
Setelah merancang penyelesaian yang mungkin dan memilih satu strategi yang paling sesuai, pelajar mula
melaksanakan penyelesaian mengikut strategi yang dipilih. Majoriti pelajar melaksanakan strategi dengan
menggunakan maklumat yang telah disusun dan diekstrak. Sebagai contoh, pelajar P28 menunjukkan kemahiran
melaksanakan penyelesaian iaitu ‘penyelesaian dengan sistematik’ (L1). Pelajar ini telah menyusun pengiraannya
dengan kemas dan terperinci. Walaupun, pengiraannya pendek, tetapi pelajar berjaya menyelesaikan tugasan ini
dengan mengenal pasti langkah demi langkah. Temu bual berikut menunjukkan ketelitian pelajar P28 dalam
menyusun penyelesaiannya;

“Saya telah menyusun maklumat berikut mengikut keperluannya, kadar faedah darab dengan harga kereta, saya

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akan dapat jumlah sebenar pinjaman bank. Kemudian saya fikirkan berapa tahun pinjaman. Konsepnya, semakin
lama berhutang, semakin rugi tetapi semakin murah bayaran ansuran. Bila saya, barulah saya mula mengira.”
[Temu bual Pelajar P28]

Dapatan temu bual menunjukkan, pelajar P28 terlebih dahulu memikirkan langkah demi langkah yang perlu
dilakukan dalam menyelesaikan soalan tugasan ini. Kemudian, pelajar ini mula menunjukkan kemahiran
melaksanakan penyelesaian berdasarkan strategi awal yang telah dirancang. Dapatan daripada refleksi pelajar P14,
P17 dan P34 juga menunjukkan elemen bagi kemahiran melaksanakan penyelesaian iaitu ‘penyelesaian yang
sistematik’ (L1).

“Saya telah menetapkan bayaran pendahulan sebanyak 10 ribu dan 20 ribu. Kemudian, saya bercadang untuk
menolak baki ratus supaya jumlah pinjaman digenapkan. Seterusnya, saya terus gantikan semua nilai yang saya
ada ke dalam rumus yang telah saya pilih. Setiap kali saya menggantikan nilai dalam rumus atau menekan
kalkulator, saya akan pastikan saya melihat semula pengiraan sebelum ini.”
[Refleksi P14]

“Saya menggunakan rumus kadar faedah iaitu jumlah pinjaman x kadar faedah x tempoh pinjaman. Jumlah
pinjaman
= harga kereta + faedah -bayaran pendahuluan. Faedah = kadar faedah x harga kereta. Kemudian tempoh pinjaman
= tempoh x 12 bulan. Berdasarkan ini, saya akan selesaikan pengiraan ini.”
[Refleksi P17]

“Saya pilih 9 tahun bermakna hutang bank selama 108 bulan. Kemudian kadar faedah 9 tahun biasanya tinggi sikit
jadi saya letakkan sebanyak 3%. Dan saya kira berapa jumlah faedah yang saya akan tambahkan pada harga
kereta. Bayaran pendahuluan minimum 10% daripada harga kereta, jadi saya hutang RM 43 000. Bila sudah
nampak jelas jalan penyelesaiannya barulah saya mula menulis pengiraan.”
[Refleksi P34]

Dapatan refleksi pelajar P1, P17 dan P34 menunjukkan keupayaan pelajar mengaplikasi pengetahuan sedia ada
tentang peratus kepada situasi sebenar seperti pinjaman bank. Pada peringkat ini, ketiga-tiga pelajar ini dapat
menyatakan dengan jelas andaian mengenai masalah tersebut yang mungkin akan dilalui oleh pembeli kereta.
Ketiga- tiga pelajar dapat menyatakan dengan jelas melalui refleksi yang ditulis tentang langkah-langkah yang perlu
difikirkan sebelum membuat pinjaman bank. Berdasarkan analisis ini, penyelidik membuat kesimpulan bahawa
pelajar-pelajar ini telah menguasai kemahiran penyelesaian masalah ‘memberi justifikasi’ apabila penulisan yang
sangat jelas tentang kemahiran penyelesaian masalah ‘penyelesaian yang sistematik’. Dalam hal ini, pelajar telah
dilihat menyatakan sebab bagi setiap tindakan dalam penyelesaiannya dengan menonjolkan elemen dalam
kemahiran melaksanakan penyelesaian iaitu ‘memberi justifikasi’ bagi bagi menjelaskan penyelesaian yang telah
dilakukan. Manakala, dapatan temu bual pelajar P17 menunjukkan elemen ‘menghubung kait’ dan ‘memberi
justifikasi’ secara serentak;

“Pada pendapat saya, bank tidak akan memberi pinjaman hanya atas harga asal kereta kerana bank mendapatkan
keuntungan daripada produk pinajamn seperti ini. Lagipun, tempoh pinjaman yang lama akan menyebabkan bank
semakin untung. Sebab itu kadar faedah tersebut merupakan pinjaman tambahan kepada harga kereta. Sama seperti
konsep pinjaman yang mak saya buat kepada kami adik beradik. Siapa yang tidak cukup duit setiap bulan, boleh
meminjam dan diberikan tempoh sebulan untuk memulangkannya. Jika lebih daripada sebulan, mak akan kenakan
3% denda atas jumlah pinjaman. Sama sahaja konsepnya.”
[Refleksi P17]

Pada peringkat ini, pelajar P17 menunjukkan kemahiran penyelesaian masalah ‘menghubung kait’ situasi yang
dihadapi dalam tugasan ini dengan situasi sebenar yang dilaluinya dalam kehidupan seharian. Ini bermakna, pelajar
yang berjaya menguasai elemen ‘penyelesaian yang sistematik’ berpotensi untuk menguasai elemen ‘membuat
justifikasi’ dan ‘menghubung kait’ dengan lebih mendalam kepada tugasan yang sedang diselesaikan.

Setelah berjaya menyelesaikan masalah bagi tugasan ini, pelajar menunjukkan penguasaan terhadap kemahiran
menyemak semula iaitu ‘menyemak melalui penggantian nilai’ (S 1) iaitu dengan membuat penilaian terhadap
penyelesaian yang telah dilakukan. Berdasarkan pemerhatian semasa proses penyelesaian tugasan ini dijalankan,
penyelidik mendapati bahawa pelajar P14 dan pelajar P17 hanya melakukan semakan dan menonjolkan elemen
‘penggantian nilai’ dengan cara menggantikan semula nilai-nilai tersebut menggunakan kalkulator. Pelajar P34 dan
pelajar P28 telah menyatakan dengan jelas dalam refleksinya berkaitan kemahiran menyemak semula iaitu

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‘penggantian nilai;

“Saya melihat pada semua nombor yang telah digantikan dalam setiap langkah. Saya semak satu persatu, saya
hitung semula faedah, tengok semula tempoh dalam bulan. Kemudian saya gunakan kalkulator untuk semak nilai
yang saya telah kirakan.”
[Refleksi P34]

“Saya telah menyemak semua jalan kira dengan melakukan semula pengiraan iaitu gantikan nilai-nilai yang ada
dalam rumus tersebut. Sebelum menggantikan nilai, saya terlebih dahulu menyemak da nmengira semula perkara
asas seperti jumlah pinjaman selepas tambah dengan faedah atau berapa faedah yang dikenakan oleh bank dan
juga berapa jumlah yang saya pinjam sebenarnya. Kemudian saya semak juga nilai-nilai yang saya telah gantikan
ini dari belakang ke depan untuk pastikan saya sebenarnya faham penggantian nilai yang saya buat dan untuk
pastikan ia betul”
[Refleksi P28]

Pelajar P28 telah menunjukkan kemahiran penyelesaian masalah ‘penggantian nilai’ (S1) dan ‘semakan dari
belakang’ (S2) secara serentak. Ini bermakna semasa menyemak ‘penggantian nilai’, pelajar secara automatik akan
melakukan ‘semakan dari belakang’ bertujuan untuk menentukan keseluruhan proses penyelesaian yang telah
dijalankan. Pada peringkat ini, pelajar melakukan penilaian terhadap proses kerja di samping memastikan tiada
sebarang kesilapan yang boleh menjejaskan penyelesaian akhir dan skor yang akan diperoleh. Semakan yang
dilakukan oleh pelajar pula terdiri daripada dua kategori iaitu pelajar menunjukkan pengiraan semula bagi
menyemak pengiraan asal atau pelajar hanya menggunakan kalkulator untuk menyemak nilai-nilai yang telah ditulis
mengikut tertib dari langkah pertama hingga langkah terakhir atau dari langkah terakhir kepada langkah pertama
pengiraan.
Penyelidik membuat kesimpulan bahawa analisis dapatan daripada temu bual dan refleksi bagi keempat-empat
pelajar yang berjaya menyelesaikan tugasan ini telah membuktikan bahawa pelajar menunjukkan penggunaan
elemen dalam kemahiran menyemak semula iaitu ‘penggantian nilai’ dan ‘semakan dari belakang’ secara tersirat
ataupun secara terbuka. Seterusnya, penyelidik meneliti proses reka bentuk kejuruteraan yang wujud semasa fasa
penambahbaikan. Pelajar P34 menunjukkan proses reka bentuk ini apabila pelajar ini dapat mengesan kesilapan
yang dilakukan dalam pengiraan semasa menjalankan semakan ‘penggantian nilai’. Rajah 2 proses kerja pelajar P34
sebelum semakan dan selepas semakan dilakukan;

Rajah 2 Proses Kerja Pelajar P34 Sebelum dan Selepas Fasa Semakan

Berdasarkan Rajah 2, pelajar P34 telah menyedari kesilapan dalam pengiraannya apabila maklumat yang
dimasukkan tidak tepat iaitu faedah pinjaman tidak ditambahkan kepada harga kereta. Kemudian kesilapan kedua
pula, menunjukkan pelajar ini tidak membahagikan jumlah pinjaman mengikut bulan sebaliknya menggunakan 9
tahun untuk mencari bayaran ansuran bulanan. Kesilapan ini dikenal pasti oleh pelajar P34 semasa sedang
menjalankan semakan ‘penggantian nilai’ dan ‘semakan dari belakang’. Pelajar ini kemudiannya menyemak semula
kepada fasa merancang penyelesaian dan mendapati perancangan yang dilakukan adalah tepat, iaitu pelajar ini
berjaya menunjukkan kemahiran penyelesaian masalah ‘strategi penyelesaian’. Oleh itu, pelajar telah menonjolkan
elemen dalam fasa penambahbaikan iaitu ‘mereka semula penyelesaian’ (K 8) apabila pelajar menunjukkan pengiraan
semula untuk memperbetulkan kesilapannya. Temu bual dengan pelajar P34 menjelaskan faktor yang mendorongnya
melakukan kesilapan di sebalik perancangan teliti yang telah dilakukan.

‘”Saya membuat penilaian terhadap jalan kira ini dengan memeriksa setiap langkah yang saya tulis, kemudian saya
sedar bahawa bayaran bulanan untuk kereta MyVi terlalu tinggi. Jadi saya semak semula sekali lagi dan saya

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dapati dua kesilapan yang saya buat. Saya silap sebab saya rasa saya telah faham masalah ini, jadi saya terburu-
buru menyelesaikannya. Sepatutnya untuk mendapatkan ansuran, saya perlu bahagi dengan 108 bulan dan
sepatutnya jumlah pinjaman berbeza dengan harga kereta, mesti lebih banyak dari harga kereta.”
[Temu Bual P28]

Berdasarkan dapatan temu bual dengan pelajar P34, penyelidik membuat kesimpulan bahawa perancangan
yang teliti memerlukan juga ketelitian semasa menggunakan strategi yang dirancang supaya memperoleh pengiraan
yang tepat. Ini bermakna, walaupun pelajar telah menguasai kemahiran penyelesaian masalah ‘strategi penyelesaian’
namun pelajar masih berpotensi melakukan kesilapan sehingga memaksa pelajar ‘mereka semula penyelesaian’.
Selepas menjalankan semakan semula penyelesaian yang dilakukan, pelajar berpotensi menyedari kesilapan dalam
perancangan atau penyelesaian dan perlu ‘mereka semula penyelesaian’ dengan memperbaiki kesilapan yang telah
dilakukan. Rumusan dapatan temu bual atau refleksi yang dibincangkan ini telah membawa kepada penghasilan
Proses Penyelesaian Masalah Matematik Berasaskan STEM Bersepadu– Jenis Tugasan Melibatkan Aplikasi STEM.

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1. Aziz, O. (2002). Komunikasi dalam Matematik. Jurnal Akademik Maktab Perguruan Terengganu, JLD XIII: 41–
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 Reasons for Students to Continue Study Physics
Fatin Aliah Phanga, Nor Ain Huseinb and Sheela Chandrenb
a
Centre for Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia
b
Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia

Abstract. Many students dislike Physics for various reasons. However, there is a lack of studies on what makes students
shift from hating Physics to liking Physics. This study collects the reflection journals of 39 first year Physics students at a
public university on why they choose to study Physics and when they started to like Physics. The collected data was then
analyzed using thematic analysis. The results show that most of the students hated Physics when they were in secondary
schools due to the difficulties in understanding Physics, the subject was too focused on examinations and the students did
not know how to relate Physics to daily life application. However, when they continued their study post-secondary school
level, all of those who hated Physics initially began to like Physics especially when they have entered Matriculation
Colleges. The analysis shows that four main reasons are responsible for the students liking Physics at Matriculation
Colleges, which are supportive teachers, Physics was taught or learned by relating to daily application, positive attitude of
the teachers and supportive peers. The study shows that further research is needed to compare the education system between
secondary schools and matriculation colleges as the teachers at both institutions are trained under the same program. By
knowing this, it can help to improve students’ interest towards Physics starting from Form 4.
Keywords: STEM enrolment, interest in STEM.

INTRODUCTION
Physics has been considered as one of the most difficult and hated subjects by many school students [1].
Commonly, students tend to avoid taking this subject more than other science subjects such as Chemistry and
Biology. This can be caused by many reasons. In fact, many reports have been published on the reasons and factors
for students to not study Physics, such as the abstract nature of the subject that makes it very difficult to be
understood [2,3], too many calculations [4], difficult to imagine [5], misconceptions [6], and many more. However,
reports and researches on the reasons why students continue to study Physics until undergraduate level are still
insufficient. This paper reports the study on the reasons why students continue to study Physics, in order to shed light
on how to encourage more students to take up Physics, as Physics an important and fundamental subject in expanding
technologies in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0.

BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE

Studies have shown that there is a declining trend in students taking science stream (pure science subjects such as
Chemistry, Biology, and/ or Physics) in Malaysia among Form 4 students [7]. In Malaysia, after the completion of
Form 3, student (at the age of 15 years old) will start to choose the stream that they wish to continue in Form 4, which
are either science or arts streams. Although Malaysia has always made 60% as the target for student enrolment in
science stream, till today, it is still not realized [8]. Figure 1 shows the percentage of Form 4 students’ enrolment in
different streams in secondary schools from the year 1981 to 2017. Based on the graph, the number of students
enrolled in science stream has been decreasing. Since the peak of science stream enrolment in 2005 at 31.22%, the
percentage has steadily declined to 28.69% in 2014, followed by a sharp drop to 23.19% in 2017. This worrying
trend is an alarming situation for the development of our nation because as the world moves towards Industrial
Revolution 4.0, more emerging technologies require high-skilled workforce who are literate in science, or more
popularly identified as STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Malaysia may have to rely on
foreign high-skilled workers in STEM to fill in the job market demand in this new era. Therefore, one of the national
agendas is to address and tackle this problem.
Many efforts have been taken since the 1980s till now to increase students’ enrolment in science stream, such as
science outreach programs, science competitions, teacher training, teaching and learning resources, use of technology
in teaching and learning, improving school laboratories and many more [8]. Although so much money and efforts
have been invested, it seems that the science enrolment is still not improving. In fact, declination has been observed.

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 Many researchers have attributed this to factors such as the lack of interest in science [5,9], poor teaching and learning
methods practiced at schools [10], lack of hands-on activities [5,11], poor laboratory facilities [5,12] and many others.
The choice to take up Physics subject strongly depends on the students’ interest towards the subject [13]. Students’
interest towards Physics can be affected by many factors, for example the teaching and learning method [14], the
maturity of the students [13], the learning environment [15], the contents of the subject [16], students’ achievement
[14], and so on. A lot of studies have been conducted to understand the factors that affect students’ interest towards
Physics. These studies usually employ questionnaire to measure students’ interest towards certain topics in Physics
[5, 13-17]. However, the exact triggers for the students to be interested in Physics have yet to be told. Therefore, this
research aims at collecting qualitative data to understand better on the reason why students choose to take up Physics
at higher education.

80.00

70.00

60.00

50.00

40.00

30.00

20.00

10.00

0.00
1981
1982
1983
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2017
F4 & F5 Arts F4 & F5 Science F4 & F5 Voc & Tech F4 & F5 Technics F4 & F5 MLVK

FIGURE 1. Percentage of Form 4 student enrolment in different streams in secondary schools 1981-2017

RESEARCH METHOD
This study was conducted by collecting students’ opinion using reflective journals. Reflective journal is defined
as a record or log of learning experiences and events [18]. It can provide insights and experience of respondents that
cannot usually be collected or measured using structured quantitative questionnaire [19]. The respondents are asked
to freely write their thoughts, emotions and experiences in Physics. In this study, the respondents of the research are
first year undergraduate students at a university in Malaysia who enrolled in Physics programs. A total of 39
respondents used reflective journals to explain the reasons why they are interested in Physics and why they took up
Physics program at for their undergraduate study. The data was then analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis
[20].

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 RESULTS AND DICUSSION
From the analysis, it was found that most of the students disliked Physics initially when they were learning Physics
during Form 4 or Form 5. Below are some of the reasons (# indicates the index of the respondents):
a. Lack of interest – “Pada mulanya saya memang tidak menyukai subjek fizik kerana pada pendapat saya fizik
merupakan subjek yang sukar untuk difahami.” #2
b. Difficult to understand – “I started learning physic when i was form 4. It was really hard at the first time and
it made me to hate physic for a while” #5
c. Difficult to score – “dulu saya paling menyampah sangat dengan subjek physics nie terutama time spm
dulu.bila sebut je class physics lepas nie,hilang terus semangat” #7
d. Seniors’ influence – “masa mula-mula dapat kos fizik masa tingkatan 4,saya bayangkan fizik ni sangat susah
tambahan abang-abang dan kakak-kakak senior cakap fizik ni kena banyak hafal formula dan
konsep,sekiranya konsep salah semua jawapan menjadi salah.Masa tu rasa takut gila sebab takut tak lulus.”#17
e. Poor teaching – “When i was in high school, i really hated physics because I was irritated by the fact that I
couldn't grab the concept… I don't understand my teacher when he's teaching. When I personally meet him, I
became more confused. I was just memorizing the subject the entire time and didn't understand a thing.”#28
“Cikgu yang mengajar fizik masa tu pula cuma ajar dengan menggunakan slide saja. memang susah hendak
faham.”#35
f. Failed to see the application of Physics in daily life – “Dulu masa sekolah aku tak ada minat pun fizik sebab
aku langsung tak faham apa yang diajar oleh cikgu aku dan aku tak tahu bila nak apply konsep-kensep fizik
tu semua.”#32

Based on the reflective journals, it can be summarized that the reasons for the respondents to dislike Physics are
lack of interest, difficulties in understanding the subject, difficulties in achieving good results, peer influence, poor
teaching and failure to see the link between Physics and daily life. These reasons have also been reported by previous
studies [13-16]. However, at a later point of their lives, these students started to like Physics. From the reflective
journals, it was found that most of the students (21 out of 39 students) started to like Physics at post-secondary level,
such as at Matriculation Colleges, Form 6 or Foundation Course at Universities. Here are some quotes from the
students’ reflective journals:
a. Matriculation colleges – “I came to love physics when I was in matriculation” #28
b. Form 6 – “I think I'm blessed meeting Pn. Suhaili during Form 6, not just that I learned the knowledge of
Physics, she boost my curiosity towards Physics to always ask WHY?”#1
c. Foundation course – “kat asasi , fizik ni lah jadi favourite subjek saya”#19

Most of the students started to like Physics when they experienced different learning environment at Matriculation
Colleges. From the analysis of the reflective journals, there are four main reasons that contributed to the students
eventually liking Physics at Matriculation Colleges, as summarized in Table 1. Learning environment plays an
important role in influencing students’ interest towards Physics as pointed out by Mihladiz et al. [15]. Although
students’ maturity may also affect their interest, such as stated in the report by Akpinar et al. [13], results from Table
1 clearly show that the most influential factor is the teachers.
From the reflection, it shows that the teachers at Matriculation Colleges are able to provide the support, teaching
and possess attitude that can foster students’ interest towards Physics. In Table 1, student #2 mentioned that the
teaching method at Matriculation Colleges was different. Learning Physics in Matriculation Colleges was deemed to
be more interesting, fun, practical, relatable to daily application and managed to show the beauty of Physics to the
students. The students were also given the opportunity to perform experiments (#30). Teachers at Matriculation
Colleges provided more supports to the students as they were learning Physics. It must be noted that the training for
teachers at Matriculation Colleges and secondary schools in Malaysia are the same. There is no special teacher training
program for Matriculation College teachers. Therefore, other reasons that need to be considered for the success of
Matriculation Colleges in fostering students’ interest in Physics could be the education system and the learning
environment. Further studies to compare the education system between Matriculation Colleges and secondary schools
must be conducted to make a better conclusion in terms of the teaching and learning of Physics, assessment and
contact hours.
Furthermore, from the reflections, most of the students who claimed to have hated Physics in secondary school
began to like Physics when it was taught at Matriculation Colleges. This shift is an important factor to be further
studied. By knowing this, a more efficient teaching and learning methods suitable for Form 4 students at secondary
school level can be introduced to increase students’ interest towards Physics.

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 TABLE (1). Reasons to like Physics
Reason Quotations from the reflective journals
Physics is “Saya mendapat tawaran ke Matrikulasi Perak dengan mengambil program fizik. Di situlah saya mula mengenali
taught/learned pensyarah yang sangat bagus iaitu Miss Chew. Beliau telah berjaya menarik minat saya kepada fizik. Fizik
and linked to digunakan pada setiap hari, tidak kira di mana sahaja pastinya terdapat konsep fizik.”#3
daily life “He [a matriculation Physics teacher] showed me the beauty in physics and relate it to the world and teachings
of my religion. He showed that every knowledge especially physics have their own importances in this world and
are never in vain.”#14
“. The activity in the physics lab also made me feel excited!”#30
Supportive “However, my friends and lecturers were all supportive and helpful. They taught me every single thing that I
Physics teachers don’t know…I felt relieved. Day by day, I become interested in Physics. I enjoyed every physics class we had”#30
“But it was different during matriculation. Things suddenly becomes interesting when my lecturer teaches using
her own way and i could grab the concept during lectures. I was quite surprised that i'm becoming curious about
physics. The questions how and why always came to my mind that i always went to meet that lecturer. In one to
one session, i had the opportunity to ask things that i don't understand and my lecturer would kindly explained it
to me. For the first time in my life, i finally understand the concept.”#28
“Ini kerana pensyarah saya yang merangkap guru tutoran sentiasa memberi dorongan motivasi dan semangat
kepada semua rakan-rakan saya dan saya sendiri”#39
“Minat Physics masa dekat matrik sebab lecturer semua sporting and banyak tolong.”#26
Supportive “It was really hard at the first time and it made me to hate physic for a while but in the end i was able to study
friends physic and score my physic in exam. It was all because of my friends and my teachers who were always there to
help me.”#5
“Alhamdulillah berkat dorongan dan ajaran dari pensyarah dan kawan-kawan di matrikulasi, saya berjaya
mendapatkan keputusan yang lebih baik dalam peperiksaan di matrikulasi.”#2
“i realise that physic is not easy as i think. But its okay. I have a very energetic and helpful classmates.”#36
Teacher’s “Di matrikulasi, pensyarah telah mengajar subjek ini dengan menggunakan kaedah yang menarik seperti
appearance & menambahkan ilmu pengetahuan am dan secara tidak langsung telah membuat saya rasa berasa seronok untuk
attitude mempelajari fizik.”#2
“Saya mendapat tawaran ke Matrikulasi Perak dengan mengambil program fizik. Di situlah saya mula mengenali
pensyarah yang sangat bagus iaitu Miss Chew. Beliau telah berjaya menarik minat saya kepada fizik.”#3
“walaupun pensyarah yang baru tu garang..bukan garang, tp garang sangat-sangat..tapi beliau salah seorang
pesnyarah yang aku tak akan lupa sampai bila-bila..beliau dah didik aku sampai aku boleh suka sangat
fizik..baling buku, cubit, pukul,baling report, tak payah cakap la..semua aku pernah kena..tapi dari situ lah aku
belajar sampai aku boleh dapat anugerah pelajar cemerlang dalam subjek fizik”#12
“'Physics is Beauty'. Ayat dan pepatah yang selalu digunakan oleh pensyarah saya di Kolej Matrikulasi Pahang
iaitu En Ab Rahim dan Madam Li. Dalam kesemua subjek di peringkat matrikulasi Fizik adalah subjek yang saya
boleh score berbanding subjek lain.”#39
“naik sem 2 , dapat lecturer handsome, sporting dan paling pnting ..kelakar.Sir Jejaii namanya..aura fizik dia
kuat sampailah di kuliah tak pernah tidur.mesti ada sahaje lawak dia ..huhu..so, spnjg sem2 tu memang have
funlah dengan fizik..selepas mengalami pelbagai cobaan pahit manis dengan fizik ..,fizik byk mengubah attitude
saya.jadi, fizik lah favourite subjek saya”#18

CONCLUSION
This study presented an analysis on the point of life and the reasons why some students opted to study Physics at
university level. These reasons are crucial in improving our curriculum, teaching and learning methods, and
assessment at secondary school level, in order to increase students’ enrolment in science stream. However, further
studies are needed to provide a more conclusive results that can be used to drive changes in our curriculum.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) through UTMSHINE
Flagship Grant vot no. Q.J130000.2431.03G77.

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101

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 Research on Pre-service Teachers in Integrated STEM
Education from 2000-2018: A Systematic Review
Usman Galadima a, Zaleha Ismail b and Norulhuda Ismail b
a
Department of Science Education, Sokoto State University
b
Department of Sciences, Mathematics and Creative multimedia
Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi, Malaysia (UTM),81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru

Abstract. This paper explores the research being conducted on pre-service teachers in integrated Science,
technology, engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education through an analysis review of articles for 19 -year
period from 2000 to 2018. The systematic review focuses on the characteristics of identified elements: a) temporal
distribution of articles during the study period, b) frequent instructional course integration, c) location/country
mostly the research is being conducted,
d) dominant model for effective STEM integration, e) types of participants, and e) methodological design employed.
Articles from published journals were selected based on the original authors’ discussion and analyzed to determine
the pre- service teachers in integrated STEM education in the articles. The paper summarizes the frequency of
different research procedure, the outcome of the frequent course integration and dominant models of effective
STEM integration throughout the years under review and eventually location in which most of the current research is
conducted. The results of the review indicated that, interdisciplinary integration model and integration of Science
and Mathematics instruction are the dominant strategies for addressing pre-service teachers with integrated STEM
education. However, this approach improves and drive the future of pre-service teachers’ preparation and ability to
enter the integrated STEM fields fully-equipped by putting theory into practice. This study equally helps to prepare
students to become scientifically skills and improve their future capability to compete with others in the knowledge-
based society. Likewise, the review revealed that, qualitative research design is mostly the methodology employed
for involving pre-service teachers in addressing integrated STEM education. The findings from this review will
guide and provide the teacher educators with the necessary information that would be of importance and stand as a
starting point for those wishing to conduct research on preparing pre-service teachers in addressing integrated
STEM education.

Keywords: STEM, Pre-service Teachers, Integrated STEM Education

INTRODUCTION

STEM is a collection of the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. STEM is a popular
acronym used broadly in education and has been adopted by research institutes, government, organization, business
community, occupational groups and as well as industry leaders to communicate an urgent need in educating students.
STEM also prepares students to be ready to enter the workforce that can be used to meet the demands of business and
industry in a complex and technological driven economy. The issue is that, various groups involved in the business of
STEM use various definitions of STEM based on their perspectives, but still lacks a clear definition or consensus
among them. This assertion is in line with the study of (English, 2016) which indicated that, one of the major issues
for STEM educators and curriculum developers lies in the different interpretation of STEM education.

It is a term that had its origins and first coined the use of acronym in the 1990s at the National Science Foundation
(NSF) in the United State of America (USA). Hence, today the term is used in a common label for any event, program,
policy and practice that involves one or numerous STEM fields. For example, Bybee (2010); Salinger and Zuga (2009)
describe STEM by the separate subjects of which it is collected together, but this explanation is inadequate. Rather,
STEM education is best understood as an integrative discipline by removing any boundaries between the subjects and
conceptualize them taught as one discrete entity (Morrison and Bartlett, 2009, Gallant, 2010).

The characteristics and attributes that makes an effective STEM learning environment are numerous. To this end,
Morrison (2006), outlined several characteristics of STEM education for students, schools, and classrooms. She

318
suggested that, the STEM education students should be problem solvers, innovators, investors, self-reliant, logical
thinkers, technologically literate, and able to relate his/her own culture to the learning through experience, talk and
discourse. In line with the aforementioned characteristics, it is clear to note that active and student-centred classroom
required, having outfitted with computers (laptop/tablet devices) with STEM software, having easily reconfigured
furniture to ensure the classroom layout are compatible with the method of STEM teaching (Morrison, 2006). The
accessibility and constant supply of electricity allow students to have power for their computers, laptops and tablets
devices. It can also serve as students with variety of learning styles as well as those with learning disabilities.

Building on the above, integrated STEM Education seeks to combine Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics into a single class focused on connections between the subjects and real-world problem (Wang et al.,
2011, Stohlmann et al., 2012). The push for integrated STEM Education comes from the continually growing demand
for the required STEM skills to meet present and future global economic and social challenges (English, 2016,
National Research Council-NRC, 2014, Honey, 2014). According to Stohlmann et al. (2012), there are numerous
approaches and needs that teachers required to effectively teach integrated STEM education such as knowledge,
experience, and background. Also, he detailed the importance of: supporting teachers; teaching practice on teaching
integrated mathematics and science provides a good basis for integrated STEM education; teachers’ beliefs about their
capabilities to produce a desired effect on students learning; and materials needed to implement STEM integration is
vital for the future success of students to careers in STEM fields and may improve their motivation, interest,
performance in mathematics and science.

Pre-service teachers are education students at the colleges of education and university levels who are training to
become certified teachers for schools within a formal teacher education program (National Research Council-NRC,
2010). According to study conducted by Koirala and Bowman (2003), indicated that pre-service teachers are much
more likely to implement integrated teaching strategies within and during their teaching method, particularly within
their university methods courses. Numerous studies have been conducted within the last decade examining pre-service
teachers’ preparation with regards to integrating science and mathematics content into their instruction.

Due to inability of empirical research on integrated STEM, these studies serve as an excellent starting point for
researchers who wish to drive the future of pre-service teachers for integrated STEM education. Numerous research
studies have indicated that promoting integration of STEM through integrated model is highly effective means for not
only teaching integrated STEM education, but also in raising the perceived value of integrated STEM education among
pre-service teachers (Koirala and Bowman, 2003, Furner and Kumar, 2007).

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this paper is to explore the trends in which various study address pre-service teachers with
integration of STEM program that has been researched in various location of the globe for the period of 19 years.

This review addresses the following questions:

1. What is the research methodological design employed?
2. Where most of the research being conducted?
3. Which participants level of education dominant the reviewed articles?
4. What are the frequent participants course integration?
5. Which model of STEM integration appeared most often?

METHODS

This paper focused on published research limited to only those from January 2000 to February 2018 using the
educational research journals which met the exact criteria of the study. This range of date was chosen by the
researchers as consistent time frame for each article analyzed in order to capture the trends in addressing pre-service
teachers in integrated STEM education research. Also, the articles were identified to be suitable for incorporating in
the study when the original authors addressed pre-service teachers effectively with integrated STEM education in the
article contents connected to the research questions. In this study, the researchers used the Educational Research
information Centre (ERIC) as the main online database search relevant published articles. Among the web-based
service providers used were EBSCO, Emerald, Wiley online library, Springer Link, Educational Journals & ProQuest,

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Science Direct, Scopus, Taylor & Francis online, Web of Science, Digital Library, and additional information of
relevant articles were searched using Google Scholar. These multiple databases were scanned to retrieve the related
articles on appropriate approaches used to address pre-service teachers with integrated STEM education. Since there
are insufficient research entirely on the approaches and keywords term used in this review which includes Pre-service
teachers, Integrated STEM education, beginning learners, and STEM integration. The search was limited to 2000-
2018, and a total of 47 published articles were identified that stated about either pre-service teachers and/or STEM
integration but since we are looking for articles which fulfilled the review criteria that, stated course integration,
method of integration employed, models of STEM integration, location of the article being conducted, and the
published articles in the high-impact journals, we are able to obtain a total of 21 articles that were directly connected
and fulfilled the requirement. Some articles discovered during the search reviews were irrelevant and not included as
the authors were not clearly mention the kind of course integration and methodology used in their studies.

The reviewers managed to retrieved numerous articles from established International Journal of STEM Education,
Journal of Science and Technology, Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education,
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, Journal of Turkish Science Education, Journal of
European Educational Research Association, School Science and Mathematics, International Journal of Problem-
based Learning, Universal Journal of Educational Research, International Journal of Innovation in Science and
Mathematics Education, and Journal of STEM Teacher Education. The articles were analysed using their tittle,
abstracts, participants course integration, research methodological design employed, Participants levels of education,
instructional models of integration, and findings. The paper provides empirical result involving temporal distribution
of reviewed articles from 2000-2018. Descriptive statistics is employed and supported by description review to
interpret the research findings in this study according to the research questions as presented in Table1, Table 2,
Table 3, and Table 4. Once again, this review is to be used as a way for framing future research and also guide the
teacher educators with the necessary information that would be of importance if wishing to conduct research on
addressing pre-service teachers with STEM integration.

FINDINGS

The findings of this study provide a descriptive analysis of the research on pre-service teachers in integrated STEM
education. These findings show that there is a research base for pre-service teachers in integrated STEM education.
Laterally, these findings demonstrate the frequency of research design and method being conducted by different
scholars in the published articles, and the location or countries in which the current research is being conducted and
published. The findings are organized in the following sections.
1. Temporal distribution of reviewed articles;
2. Location/country in which the research is conducted;
3. Research methodology employed;
4. Research institutional Levels of education;
5. Instructional course integration; and
6. Instructional model of STEM integration.

TABLE (1). Shows the Author(s)/year, Location/country in which the study is conducted, and Methodology employed

S/N Author(s)/year Location/ Methodology

Country
1 Shernoff et al. (2017) USA Qualitative Research
2 Estapa and Tank (2017) USA Qualitative Content Analysis
3 Guzey et al. (2016) USA Mixed Method
4 Nunes-Bufford et al. (2015) USA Qualitative Case Study
5 Radloff and Guzey (2016) USA Qualitative Exploratory
6 Sinan et al. (2016) Turkey Qualitative Case Study
7 Kim and Bolger (2017) Korea Qualitative Survey Analysis
8 Guler et al. (2017) Turkey Quantitative Research Design

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 9 Delen and Uzun (2017) Turkey Qualitative Research Design
10 Alrwaished et al. (2017) Kuwait Quantitative Research Design
11 Adams et al. (2014) USA Qualitative Research Design
12 Cooke and Walker (2016) Australia Quantitative Research Design
13 Siew et al. (2015) Malaysia Mixed Method
14 Eckman et al. (2016) USA Mixed Method
15 Evans (2015) USA Mixed Method
16 Akaygun and Aslan-Tutak (2016) Turkey Qualitative
Phenomenography
17 Nadelson et al. (2015) USA Quantitative Survey Research
18 Benuzzi (2015) USA Mixed Method
19 Asghar et al. (2012) USA Qualitative Research Design
20 Berlin and White (2010) USA Quantitative Research Design
21 Koirala and Bowman (2003) USA Qualitative Research Design

TABLE (2). An extract for Table 1 showing the distribution of Retrieved Articles from 2000-2018, Location/Country in
which the Research is conducted, and Method employed

Year F % Location/ Number % Methodology F %

country Of
Articles

2003 1 4.8 Australia 1 5.5 Qualitative 11 52

2010 1 4.8 Korea 1 5.5
2012 1 4.8 Kuwait 1 5.5 Mixed Method 5 24
2014 1 4.8 Malaysia 1 5.5
2015 5 23.8 Turkey 4 22 Quantitative 5 24
2016 6 28.5 USA 13 56
2017 6 28.5
TOTAL 21 100 TOTAL 21 100 21 100

Temporal Distribution of Retrieved Articles from 2000-2018

Table 2 shows the analysis of articles for the year 2000-2018. The total number of 21 articles analysed for the
period of 19 years. The dispersal of published pre-service teachers in integrated STEM Education articles in various
countries showed a positive yearly increasing trend from period under reviewed. Though the maximum publish articles
are recorded in 2016 and 2017 with the highest percentage of 28.5 or found to be 6 out of 21 articles recorded
respectively. There are no records of articles being publish in the year 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007,
2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2018, while only four articles fulfilled the criteria of the present study retrieved in the
year 2003, 2010, 2012, and 2014 with the percentage of 4.8 recorded each and for the year 2015 the trend increases
to 5 articles with the percentage of 23.8 were reviewed.

Location/country in which the research is conducted

Concerning the location or country in which the research is conducted USA (United States of America) recorded
the most prolific research country with the highest percentage of 56 or 13 out of 21 articles published on addressing
pre-service teachers in implementing integrated STEM education. While, Turkey recorded the second productive
research country in the field of integrated STEM education addressing pre-service teachers with the percentage of 22
or 4 out of 21 articles published.

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 Research Methodological Design Employed

The research design employed by the researchers on pre-service teachers in Integrated STEM education
were obtained, analysed and reported the findings of the articles reviewed are categories into three (3)
classifications: Qualitative, Mixed method, and Quantitative research paradigms.

Table 2 shows that the method mostly used to discuss, and report findings were heavily concentrated in
qualitative research design. This type of research is popular over the years among the research conducted for
addressing pre- service teachers in implementation of integrated STEM education. However, regardless of the
tedious and boring of using qualitative research software (e.g. NVIVO) for analysis of the research findings,
majority of the research exactly 52% or 11 out of 21 articles reviewed have emphasized and used qualitative
research over other designs. The reason is that many a times the new researchers use to focus on the procedure
and patterns of expert on the field of research they frequently employed qualitative research design. We also
observed that, mixed method design which employs both qualitative and quantitative research paradigms have
been employed in a total of 24% or 5 out of 21 articles of the overall research studies being reviewed. This
indicated that, mostly the studies are from USA and Malaysian research experts in the trend for mixed method
design which seems to be frequently employed in the field of integrated STEM education. The assertion is in line
with the study of Kamaleswaran et al. (2014) which indicated that Malaysian researchers on the field of STEM
education are known for their maturity and flexibility in employing mixed method research approach
consistently in Malaysian studies for producing their scholarly articles.

TABLE (3). Shows the Institutional Level of Education, Instructional Course integration, and Model of integration
for which the research was conducted

S/N Author(s)/year Level Course Integration Integration

Education Model

1 Shernoff et al. (2017) All levels Maths & Science Interdisciplinary

2 Estapa and Tank (2017) Elementary Engineering Design Interdisciplinary
3 Guzey et al. (2016) Elementary Engineering Design Interdisciplinary
4 Nunes-Bufford et al. (2015) Elementary Maths & Science Interdisciplinary
5 Radloff and Guzey (2016) Tertiary/ University iSTEM Transdisciplinary
6 Sinan et al. (2016) Tertiary/ University Maths & Science Interdisciplinary
7 Kim and Bolger (2017) Elementary Science Methods Interdisciplinary
8 Guler et al. (2017) Elementary iSTEM Transdisciplinary
9 Delen and Uzun (2017) High/ Secondary Maths & Science Interdisciplinary
10 Alrwaished et al. (2017) High/ Secondary Maths, Science Interdisciplinary
&Technology
11 Adams et al. (2014) Elementary Maths, Science Multidisciplinar
& Social Studies
12 Cooke and Walker (2016) Elementary Mathematics Interdisciplinary
Methods

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 13 Siew et al. (2015) High/ Secondary Science project Based Interdisciplinary
14 Eckman et al. (2016) High/ Secondary Maths & Science Interdisciplinary
15 Evans (2015) Elementary Embedded STEM Interdisciplinary
16 Akaygun and Aslan-Tutak (2016) Tertiary/ University Maths & Science Interdisciplinary
17 Nadelson et al. (2015) All levels iSTEM Interdisciplinary
18 Benuzzi (2015) Elementary Maths & Science Interdisciplinary
19 Asghar et al. (2012) High/ Secondary Maths & Science Interdisciplinary
20 Berlin and White (2010) Tertiary/ University Maths, Science Interdisciplinary
& Technology
21 Koirala and Bowman (2003) All levels Maths & Science Interdisciplinary

TABLE (4). An extract for Table 3 showing the distribution of institutional level of Education, Course Integration, and
Model of integration for which the research is conducted

Course Integration Count Level of Count Integration Count

Education Model
Maths Method 1 Elementary 9 Interdisciplinary 18
Engineering Design 2
Embedded STEM 1 High/Secondary 5
Maths/ Science 9 Transdisciplinary 2
Maths/Sci./Tech 2 Tertiary/University 4
Science Method 2
Maths/Sci./Social Studies 1 All Levels 3 Multidisciplinary 1
iSTEM 3

21 21 21

Participants Level of Education

The research studies review the type of participants that were used between the four different categories of
researchers ranging from elementary to university level of education. Table 4 describe the different studies conducted
at Elementary/primary, Higher/secondary, and Tertiary/university level of education. From the summary of the table,
it is indicated that the highest count of 9 out of 21 on the studies were carried out in Elementary schools. This result
is in line and related with the findings of Benuzzi (2015) which indicated that the pipeline to prepare students to an
integrated STEM field begins in elementary. However, 5 out of 21 of the studies were in Higher/secondary schools.
while, only 4 at the tertiary/university level and 3 focused on both level of education.

Participants Course Integration

The paper determines eight major groups of participants course integration. The analysis of the publish research
articles was carried out to examine the participants emphasis on integration used in the STEM fields.
Table 4 shows that, the highest count was recorded on integration of Maths/ science with 9 out of 21articles.
However, Koirala and Bowman (2003) revealed that pre-service teachers appreciated the emphasis on integration of
mathematics and science method courses. Likewise, the integration of mathematics and science enclose a number of
consideration (Furner & Kumar, 2007). They cited an example that, teaching science is entirely part of mathematics,
and mathematics is considered to be a language and tool for teaching science or entirely teaching mathematics as a
part of science. Three studies considered the integration of all the STEM fields, while 2 out of 21 studies indicated
that Engineering design and science method integration. Making comparison to mathematics and science fields in
the review, engineering design has the lower number of published articles. In judging with this result, Sasser,
Lineberry, and Scheff (2004), pointed that, engineering is a field not understood by many and people are unaware of
the positive and exciting characteristics of the profession.

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 Model of Integration
Table 4 illustrated that, the majority of the research reviewed emphasised on interdisciplinary model of integration.
This indicated that eighteen out of twenty-one studies conducted on pre-service teachers on integrated STEM
education focused on interdisciplinary model. Interdisciplinary or integrated model provides opportunities for more
relevant, stimulating and less fragmented experience for learners (Koirala & Bowman, 2003). Transdisciplinary model
is recorded two out of twenty-one articles while only one study applied multidisciplinary model of integration.

Integrated model of STEM education in recent years have received much attention and frequently use in the
literature are mostly Interdisciplinary, Transdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary paradigms. However, Choi and Pak
(2006) identified the frequent words for interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary as an interactive,
additive and holistic respectively. Consequently, Choi and Pak (2006) propose and advocated that multidisciplinary
work with the level of knowledge based on discipline but stays within the circles of those fields; on the other hand,
interdisciplinary is working between two disciplines; while transdisciplinary is working across and beyond several
disciplines.

FURTHER SUGGESTION
It is suggested that more research studies and review should be conducted all over the other countries so as to break
even in domination of research on assessing pre-service teachers on implementing integrated STEM in United States
of America (USA) alone in order to overcome the imbalance. It is also advisable that a large number of articles should
be used to cover a wider ground in order to give a true picture on the emphasis employed on qualitative research over
other research designs. Also, more research associated with tertiary/university level is needed, because such researches
are scarce as this review indicated inadequate articles that cover tertiary level of education.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

The conclusions were established from the analysis and interpretation of the results. The results imply that there
are positive yearly increasing trend for research on addressing pre-service teachers in implementing integrated STEM
education. Also, concerning the location or country in which the review covered, USA recorded the most prolific
research country compared to other locations in the globe. Likewise, qualitative research design is popular over the
years among the research conducted that addressing the pre-service teachers in implementing integrated STEM
education. However, on course integration, the studies showed that pre-service teachers tend to express positive
attitudes towards mathematics and science integration among the disciplines. Research also indicated that, using an
interdisciplinary model of integration emphases greatly among the models of integrated STEM. The model provides
opportunities to closely linked two or more disciplines with the intent of comprehensively increase to building a depth
of understanding in both knowledge and skills. Interdisciplinary model provides opportunities for pre-service teachers
to plan on how students can learn across the disciplines. In line to this, English (2016) pointed out that, to advance in
integrated STEM supports the profile of all of its disciplines, there is tremendous need to focus on both the
interdisciplinary strategies and core content knowledge. Also, Choi and Pak (2006) recommended that
interdisciplinary analyses, synthesise, and harmonised the connections between disciplines into a related and coherent
whole. Many researchers suggested that, an interdisciplinary curriculum is the best model of curriculum integration
that starts with real world problems or issues (Mansilla, 2005, Drake and Burns, 2004, Wang et al., 2011, Friedow et
al., 2012, Nikitina, 2006, Atkinson and Mayo, 2010, DeWaters and Powers, 2006, Sinan et al., 2016, Repko et al.,
2012, Dabney et al., 2012, Choi and Pak, 2006, Chernus and Fowler, 2010)). As such, since multidisciplinary approach
is not that simple to design as opined by Choi and Pak (2006) due to the approach that requires working with
knowledge from different disciplines of STEM subjects. As such, it is recommended that STEM education experts
and researchers should plan several multidisciplinary programs and projects that can be offered once or twice in a year
to meet certain curriculum requirements. This may be a practical way for pre-service teachers to prepare students to
be capable of dealing with environmental and industrial related problems.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am thankful to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education for supporting this
research under the grant with Vote No. 4F942

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 Research Programme in Form Six Education
Gan Lui Nam

Pusat Tingkatan Enam SMK Taman Johor Jaya

Abstract: In line with the aspiration of Ministry of education, Pusat Tingkatan 6 SMK Taman Johor Jaya 1 is one of the
secondary schools in Malaysia has been taking proactive initiatives to promote the best practices in research development
through high order thinking skills for long-term building. It started on year 2014 by a Chemistry teacher. This special
intervention programme is carried out with the hope to increase students’ interest in Chemistry subject. As the result, there
was obvious improvement of pre-university students’ interest in Chemistry subject after the implementation of SMART
CHEM Programme.

INTRODUCTION
Education is key for personal development, moreover a fundamental to the development of our social and
economic capital. Towards achieving this, meticulous planning and various initiatives were undertaken to identify
challenges and gaps related to the increase the student’s involvement in STEM and find ways to address them.
However most of the students shown low interest and less enjoyment in Science, compare with other subjects. Since
Chemistry is one of the areas in which a core of knowledge being specified for Science, many programmes were
introduced by Gan Lui Nam, ‘guru cemerlang’ which specialized in subject Chemistry.

All of the programmes are based on experiment activity, stimulating student intrinsic motivation and build up
student self-confidence. This is supported by Viljaranta et al. (2014), experiment activities have the positive
relationship between the intrinsic motivation and academic. Burton et al. (2006), intrinsic motivation is associated
with academic performance. Teacher always praise and give reward to students when they did the good job.
According to Carol Sansone and Judith M. Harackiewicz Elsevie (2000), praise able to stimulate student’s intrinsic
motivation. At the same time, self-confidence is integral to psychological theories of motivation (Bandura, 1997).
Teacher strongly believes that there is association between self-confidence and interest subject. In this paper, one of
the special programmes will be discuss in detail.

What Is the Special School Programme?

Smart Chem has been the named for this intervention programme. This programme inspires creativity and
fosters innovation. It provided pre-university students with the scientific skills and presentation skills. In order to
meet our high aspirations amidst an increasingly competitive global environment, pre-university students require a
transformation to compete with the best in the world. Pusat Tingkatan 6 SMK Taman Johor Jaya 1 develop pre-
university students who are knowledgeable, think critically and creatively, have leadership skills and are able to
communicate with the rest of the world. In this programme, every student was given the opportunity to perform
hands-on science activities in the classroom and in the community. This programme was also involving the
participation of pre- university science students in the international programme (Conference – poster presentation,
oral presentation/ competition, technical report writing competition). The work presented in the conference is the
current issues and the latest work that lie at the intersection of material science especially Chemistry. In additional,
the quality of the research done is quite exceptional.

Objective of The Programme

• To promote the learning Chemistry through the high order thinking skills (HOTS) by providing hands-on
learning opportunities for students to discover that learning Science especially Chemistry can be interesting
and relevant.
• To apply Chemistry in real-world applications
• To provide a platform for potential pre-university students to venture in experiment, research writing and
other academic activities (presentation, competition).
• To provide a platform for the academic interaction worldwide.

327
 How Does This Idea Come?
• The first scenario can be found in most of the students are seriously deficient in having intrinsic interest in
Chemistry in contrast to other subjects, was low. With such an apparently rich set of positive options for
improving the interest in Chemistry response to the issue of lack of interest in science, teacher started to
think how to engage more students enthusiastically with science.

• Teacher planned an effective programme and promoted this SMART CHEM Programme to all the pre-
university students. With the hope, this special programme can develop 21st Century Skills such as critical
and creative thinking, as well as encourage holistic, well- rounded personal growth.

The Role of Teacher

• Influence student’s interest in science in direct and indirect ways. Stimulate the interest of the students by
creating a supportive school environment
• Relate the current issues with the syllabus. Encourage the students to some problems related to the
coursework question.
• Raising student interest by making the content relevant to everyday life. The teacher expertise in using her
skills to guide students in problem solving, making positive change happen in daily life.
• Plan efficient implementation of high impact programme to promote students’ STEM awareness at school.
• In the part of role mentoring, teacher give the advice, guide and assist the students in planning, conducting
research / experiment and writing
• Encouraging students to continue the research/ experiment after the unsuccessful work
• Send the technical report to the relevant organizer
• Finding funds to support the research programme

Implementation of the Programme

Briefing the students

Students work in group

Carry out research/ experiment

Research writing

Presentation

Joining the international programme

RATIONALE OF THE PROGRAMME

• A special programme is believed to achieve its core objectives to bring the students research work to the
next level.
• There is a need for school to organize a serial of programme especially amongst classes of science
discipline at the international level.
• Participating at international conferences locally is doubtlessly needed as an avenue to create a local
platform amongst pre-university students.
• This programme aims to provide a wide platform for pre-university students, academicians, professionals
and fellow researches and postgraduate participants to interact and share idea, experience and expertise in
chemistry related fields, and provide them opportunities to discuss recent and new findings.
• Pusat Tingkatan 6 SMK Taman Johor Jaya 1 also encourage project-based and inquiry-based learning, for
instance, through the increased use of laboratory work, student-directed inquiry. These activities not only
provided students with training to ensure that they are able to deliver the finding effectively, moreover,
emphasise higher- order thinking skills such as analysing, critical thinking, hypothesising and decision
making.
• Positive peer influences engage excellent leadership development through the activities has the effect on
strengthening interest towards Chemistry and in the careers that science involves among the pre-university
students.

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 • A series of activities with 21st century learning skills in the SMART CHEM has prepared them for future
university programme.
• It can help students to gain credit in either academic or co-curriculum.

Collaborative
Beginning of new collaborative efforts, and even wider networks already prevailing in SMART CHEM. Our
efforts of taking this initiative has been supported by government, non-governmental organizations.
From 2014 onwards, Pusat Tingkatan 6 SMK Taman Johor Jaya 1 works with the individual parents, private
sector and NGOs and members of the local community to roll out a role playing awareness in education system. We
collaborated with partners to increase student abilities, talents and sow the seeds of our student’s success. As the
result, several recognitions and awards was achieved by ours students.

CONCLUSION
Pusat Tingkatan 6 SMK Taman Johor Jaya 1 is the pioneer in this research programme in form six education.
We have taken the lead towards promoting and developing scientific research in Pusat Tingkatan 6 through the
initiatives of SMART CHEM. SMART CHEM as part of a vital strategy to invest in emerging research fields that
may defy today’s traditional academic classification. Tomorrow’s challenges demand innovative and unconventional
approaches that cross or dissolve the boundaries of class disciplines.
By doing so, students found this programme inspiring, mind-opening and most pleasurable. This has proven that
students shown greater interest in Chemistry than previously. In addition, our students will grow and develop skills
needed for the 21st century.

100%
Percentage

80% Before the

60% intervention
programme
40%
20% After the
intervention
0% programme
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018

Figure 1. Percentage of interest in Chemistry among Pre-University Students before and after the Intervention
Programme from the year 2014 - 2018.

In this research, the issues associated with lack of interest in Chemistry among students were studied. Teacher
used both quantitative and qualitative methods. The view that emerges from surveys and informal information
interview that the student’s interest in Chemistry is low. Many of them have weak background in science studies.
Most students agree that school science is a difficult subject. These remarkable findings can only be explained in
terms of the level of interest and engagement in Chemistry.
From the data analysis in figure 1, surprisingly, there was obvious improvement of pre-university students’
interest in Chemistry subject after the implementation of SMART CHEM Programme. Further evidence of student
responses to Chemistry comes from the SMART CHEM Programme, they liked the activities very much.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work was supported by the Chemistry Unit, Pusat Tingkatan Enam SMK Taman Johor Jaya 1. Please
contact the author regarding access to the underlying research materials if required.

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4. Torsten Witteck, Bettina Most, Stephan Kienast and Ingo Eilks .(2007). A lesson plan on ‘methods of separating matter’
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and identified motivation on well-being and performance: Prospective, experimental, and implicit approaches to self-
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10. Carol Sansone, Judith M. Harackiewicz Elsevie. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Search for Optimal
Motivation and Performance. Academic Press.

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Robotic Education Impact Towards Science and Technology
Learning in Higher Education
Muhammad Ikmal Hakima, Hazlina Md Yusofa, Zukifli Zainal Abidina and Yasir
Mohd Mustafaha
a
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Kulliyyah of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia,
(IIUM), 53100 Jalan Gombak. Kuala Lumpur

Abstract. In this 21st century, we are now living in a world where technology keeps on evolving and becoming more
advanced. Nowadays, our generation is not only able to interact with the society, but also with the technological
advancements. This change has brought us into a new environment that urges today’s educational system to have more
needs on the engagement with technology. Hence, robotic education is introduced to provide a new platform for the
educational system in schools and universities. Robotic education gives us the opportunity to explore Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in a new way. In some opinions, robotic education is considered as
the mindtools supporting knowledge that helps students to have a better understanding in their studies especially those
who are studying in science stream. It is also used as the educational tool that enhance today’s education through the
project design, traditional and virtual learning as well as learning through reflection and collaboration. By implementing
the robotic education, the future of Malaysia education can be improved and elevated to a higher level especially in our
higher education level. This paper emphasizes on the impact of robotic education towards the learning of science and
technology in higher education. A lot of readings and research were done to collect information as much as possible.
Besides that, the explanations of these components will be highlighted: The development of robotic education, the role
and significance of robotic education, the reality of nowadays robotic education in certain countries, especially Malaysia
as well as the efforts to promote robotic education. At the end of this paper, we will explain about the impacts of robotic
education towards higher education level based on the information that we have gathered. Hopefully, through this effort,
it will open our mind and change our previous perspective towards robotic education.
Keywords: Robotic education, Higher education, STEM education

I. INTRODUCTION
Robots had already been introduced for thousand years ago. It all began with the invention of dancing dolls,
marionettes and puppets in the ancient Japan, China and Egypt. The progress kept on improving until in the mid-
1900s, where robots were categorized into three different areas namely industrial, research and educational. As we
can see, nowadays, robotics has been widely applied in education. There are many countries that already employed
robotic education into their educational system such as in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and
many more. There is no doubt that many children and adults today are living in an advanced technology
environment and they have unique way of thinking and interacting with one another. Thus, this is the part where
robotic education plays the significant role to educate this so called ‘advanced generation’.
Robotic education can be used in the primary school, secondary school and higher education curriculum. It will
not only teach students about robots, but also the ways to integrate science and technology subjects through the
application of robots. Based on the research done, there are many opinions claiming that robotic education provides
learning and teaching motivation for children and adults. Not only that, it can also enhance students’ learning and
overall development in terms of developing a creative and innovative thinking as well as possessing high-quality
problem-solving skills in Science, Mathematics, Technology and Engineering. This will be one of the methods to
allow today’s generation to unleash their full potential and to be able to apply the knowledge and skills that they
learn into the real world by inventing more advanced technological devices aligned with 21 st century needs.

II. Robotic Education

Robotic education is a learning environment which deals with design, construction, assembly and operation of
the robot [1]. It can be built by using varied materials and it is controlled by a computer system. Robotic education is
not only about learning how to build a robot, but it also emphasizes on specific fields of study such as Science,
Engineering Education, Programming Learning and Mathematics. These subjects are the main focus and objective in

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robotic education, which is to expose our young generation towards science and technology in a new and modern
way. It gives us an opportunity to interact directly with technology and apply all concepts that they have learnt. Not
only that, robotic education has become a motivational tool for research programs and it has become a part of
society interaction as well.

III. Purposes of Robotic Education

Our young generation today, are now living in an environment where technology has become part of their life.
Therefore, their way of thinking and perceiving knowledge will be totally different if we compare them with those
who are living in the late 90s. Thus, the purposes of implementing the robotic education are:

Constructivism Theory

This theory was introduced by Jean Piaget [20]. It is believed that children will understand more if they do some
practical exercises instead than just listening. The thinking process must occur in order for the frameworks called
“knowledge structures” to exist. This theory can also be utilized as educational method. Students tend to read and
listen without a full understanding of what they are learning. Thus, robotic education, is one of the educational
methods that can lead to the application of constructivism theory. By applying robotic education in the classroom, it
can create an active learning session, where students can experience the knowledge gained from the construction
process and they can relate the things that they learn in realistic and relevant contexts [2][3][4].

To provide an interactive learning session in STEM education

STEM education focuses on learning and teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
subjects [5]. It is a platform that integrates all four related disciplines together. Morrison [6] had outlined the
advantages of STEM in developing problem solving, innovation, invention, self-reliant, logical thinking and
technologically literate skills among the students. Goh and Aris [7] had summarized the benefits that can be obtained
by students in the following curriculum areas:

(a) Science : enhance investigating energy, forces and speed.

(b) Technology : able to program and control input and output devices.
(c) Engineering : enhance the skills on developing solutions, selecting and building materials together as well
as testing and evaluating the end product.
(d) Mathematics : able to apply mathematics to obtain accurate measurements for robotic construction.

Robotic education is structured to expose students with STEM education. Besides, integrating robotic education
with STEM education, can provide many interactive activities which will develop a better understanding towards
science and technology.

As mindtools supporting knowledge construction

Mindtools is proposed by Jonassen that defined mindtools as computer-based learning environments that
learners develop or modify to engage and facilitate critical thinking and higher order learning [8]. It is significant to
inculcate education with this concept to provide a meaningful teaching and learning session. Robotic education has
the characteristic which follows the mindtools’ principle. It is because robotic education will expose students with
problem solving situations and the design of meaningful project with reflection and collaboration. Besides that,
students will continuously be exposed to computers. Thus, it will overcome the students’ difficulties when working
with computers. By compiling the common characteristics and goals of educational robotics and mindtools, we
propose the following reasons for educational robotics to be used as mindtools. They both support [4]:

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  Knowledge construction through the design of meaningful projects and students’ representations using
authentic paradigms.
 Learning in the virtual and real world by providing a safe problem space.
 Cognitive conflict through the comparison between causes and results
 Learning through reflections, by helping students to represent their knowledge
 Learning by conversing through collaboration, discussion, argumentation.

IV. The Implementation of Robotic Education

There are many ways and methods to apply robotic education in the educational system. The government and
together with every academic institution must put efforts to ensure the robotic education can be the future education
for the young generation.
In elementary and secondary school, it is a good platform to introduce students with robotic education at a very
young age. In United Kingdom, schools are provided with robotic kits to be used as supporting tools for teaching
and motivation that can change learning environment in schools. Johnson [9] believed and agreed that, robotics
education can be used to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). To support his
agreement, he made a comparison on how robotics is different from other teaching media such as sports, painting
and art, computer games, wood and metal craft. Based on his comparison, it is found out that, robotics is so
multidisciplinary and involves a synthesis of so many technical things. It can teach people about algebra and
trigonometry, design and innovation, electronics and programming, forces and laws of motion, plus materials and
physical processes. To introduce students with robotic education, LEGO Decta materials can be one of LEGO
educational products that can be applied in primary schools. The product has proven to stimulate a learning
experience with hands-on practical application of scientific, mathematical and technological concept.
Sheffield Hallam University [27] has conducted a study on educational impact of LEGO Dacta materials to
students from 1st grade to 6th grade of primary education in 14 different schools. The LEGO Dacta materials are set
of teaching and learning module that uses LEGO components such as bricks, gears, motors, batteries, sensors and
more for design projects and building machines. Each module has been created according to different grade of
students. The study showed that, students’ who were being taught with LEGO Dacta had better academic
achievement compared to those who were not exposed to the modules. Not only that, students’ creativity, problem-
solving skills and self-esteem were also improved. Hence, LEGO Dacta materials should be introduced to the
students in elementary and secondary schools to motivate and change their learning attitude.
In higher education, robotic education is also being applied through by using other LEGO product called LEGO
Mindstorm. According to Drew and Esposito [2], LEGO Mindstorms is an appealing product for the university-level
student and is frequently used in introductory Computer Science and Engineering courses. This product had been
integrated into the curriculum at many universities such as MIT, Brown University, University of Maryland, Tufts
University, University of Aarhus in Denmark, University of Utrecht in Netherlands, Trinity College Dublin in
Ireland, and University of Manchester in United Kingdom. After this product was exposed into the learning and
teaching session, students were able to complete the fundamental task besides having the initiative to explore more
in lectures and reading.
Other than that, robotic education can be a part of intra-curricular or extra-curricular. For intra-curricular
activities, they will take place in a formal class, where students have to follow the school curriculum and also the
formal syllabus. In this formal session, students will be exposed to outcome base learning education (OBE) and
assessment-based learning education. For extra-curricular learning, it will take place after school hours. It will be an
informal learning session where, there is a workshop with the guidance of instructor for students to learn robotic
[10].
There are also other kind of initiatives from other academic institution to inculcate robotic education curriculum
into their educational system. There was a project conducted by the academicians from the Department of Computer
Science, Columbia University, New York and the School of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge. The
objective of the project was to enhance the teaching of standard physics and math topic to middle and early high
school students in inner-city schools in New York City using an educational robotics curriculum. In this project, two
summer programs were conducted, The Science and Technology Enty Program (STEP) and Playing2 Win (P2W),
where each program used the LEGO Mindstorms Robotic Invention System. Throughout this project a curriculum
structure was developed, and they attempt to divide the learning process into three broad phases, briefly explain:

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 a) Construction phase
Students first learn about design and then how to build and improve their designs. Through this hands-on
experience, they gain exposure to and begin to acquire an understanding of engineering and design
principles.
b) Programming phase
Students first learn the basics of the RoboLab programming environment and then how to apply that
knowledge.
c) Application
Students are exposed to problems in physics and mathematics that the robots can help illustrate.

At the end, students make presentations to share their solutions with each other. By sharing, students can reflect
the entire learning process [11]. Besides that, robotic competitions are also one of the efforts that we can see
nowadays to promote robotic education in society and educational institution. In Malaysia, technological education
is undergoing reform in relation to its status, goals and teaching/learning strategies. Thus, robotic competitions are
introduced to create awareness in robotic technology among the Malaysian public. Robot competition involves the
use of computers to acquire, analyze, control and model different worlds not reduced to screen simulation but with
real device control. Next, we will see how the competitions are being set up and also some of the famous
competitions that are being held in Malaysia. followed by a robot with modifiable body plan with complex team
behavior and lastly project coordination through robot construction and problem solving.

Competition Set Up

The level of competition is set up based on the level of educations of the participants. Each competition has its
own educational purpose based on constructionism approach towards technological education. There are three-step
educational process that have been designed for the competition set up according to Shafie and Baharum [12].
Firstly, is imaginary robots which is a Robot Drawing Contest. In this competition, primary school children will be
invited to send their drawing up to national level. Their work will be evaluated based on the originality of robot’s
design. The second level is called Learning to Manage the Non-deterministic Characteristics of the Real
Environment (RoboCup Junior Soccer). It is adapted from RoboCup (World Cup of Robot Soccer) which is an
autonomous intelligent soccer robot competition. This type of competition has been organized in Malaysia RoboFest
and can be participated by secondary school’s students. From this competition, participants will get some knowledge
about real-life applications and develop their problem-solving skills through programming and creative tinkering.
The organizers also put their hope that through this competition, the participants will have a deep understanding
about the robots and the effect of the robots in their lives.

Education Experience

Malaysia also has introduced the First Arduino-based Robotics Education Center for primary and secondary
school. It is an interesting way to teach the students about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM) topics through robotic education. Moreover, studies have shown that it is more effective way in developing
team-work and self-confidence. In robotic education, Arduino-based robot is used since they are low cost and used
widely in university level [13].
Malaysia Robotics Championship (MRC)

In this contest, robotics enthusiasts can participate, so that they can gain knowledge and experience from a
friendly and healthy competition. Here, participants need to design, manufacture, assemble, perfecting their robots
and at the same time, enhance their skills in robotics. [13]

Fighting Robot Competition (FRC)

In this competition, robotic hobbyists were given an opportunity to learn by means of a friendly competition
against their peers where they are responsible to design, construct, and to make sure that the robot performs as
desired. [13]. The competition, which is organized in Malaysia had triggered students’ interest to involve in robotics
learning. Students also will have the motivation to learn robotics, and not just that, they also will have the ability of
understanding in designing, constructing, and performance of the robot. As a result, robotic competition can attract

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our young generation to learn about robotics. However, we are still lack with events or competitions, that focus on
relating science and technology with robotics.

V. Example of Robotic Equipments Used in Robotic Education

To implement robotic education in schools and universities, there must be some equipments to be provided
during the teaching and learning session. There is some important educational kit that commonly been used which
are: LEGO Mindstorm, Logo, Fishertechnik, Pioneer, K-Team, IroRobot, TEAC2H-RI and Handy Board. These kits
are very useful to explain and verify algorithms, to learn some concepts of programming languages and to encourage
the strengthening of different cognitive skills [14]. In this part, we will be only focusing on two types of robotic
equipment that have been used in Malaysian schools and universities which are: Lego NXT and Arduino.

Lego NXT

FIGURE 1. Product of LEGO NXT

LEGO Mindstorm NXT is programmable robotics kits. It is an education base set. It also comes with NXT-G
programming software which is easy to understand and use. The main part of this robotics kit is the NXT Intelligent
Brick. This component is the key for all other components to work. The NXT Intelligent Brick can take input from
up to four sensors and control up to three motors. All the connections are via modified version of RJ12 cables. The
brick has a 100×60 pixel monochrome LCD display and four buttons that can be used to navigate a user interface.
The LEGO Mindstorm NXT can be designed to make various kind of robots but with limited size and shape as
all the component have specific size and shape design exclusively for LEGO Brick only. Even though the shape and
size is limited, but LEGO NXT still can do many amazing things like Rubik cube solver. Moreover, The NXT use
block diagram to program, so, we can set sequence of task using the block diagram [15]. In Malaysia, this robot
usually used in secondary school for robotic club and for robotic competitions but not for education syllabus. This
robot is not accessible for every student, but only for student who join the robotic club because of its price is high.
Thus, not all will get benefit from it.

Arduino

Arduino is an open-source computer hardware and software company, project and user community that designs
and manufactures microcontroller-based kits for building digital devices and interactive objects that can sense and
control objects in the physical world [16]. It has been used in a lot of projects due to its popularity worldwide and
ease of use. As the Arduino is an open source, a lot of projects and coding can be found in the Internet to follow or
refer. This Arduino has a microcontroller in it that can be programmed to control input and output depends on our
need to do many different things. Arduino has its own free software to write code that need to be upload in the
Arduino microcontroller. The Arduino software supports the C and C++ programming languages using special rules
of code organization [17]. The programing language is easy to understand as the structure is simple which contain 3
basic paragraphs main, setup and loop. Besides that, we will see what makes Arduino becomes so special in robotics
that make this equipment likely to be used in various area:

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a) Open Source
The hardware and software are open source which the schematics are available online, so if we do not want
to purchase a pre-made Arduino, we are free to buy the individual components and make it ourselves. There
are even clones available that function in exactly the same way. But, we must know that purchasing an
original device will support the creators and the future development of the Arduino [18].

b) Connectivity
The Arduino can operate either independently (like in a robot), connected to a computer (get data from the
sensors directly), or connected to other Arduino’s, or other electronic devices and controller chips. We also
can set the connection either wired or wirelessly. There are a lot of wireless modules available for sale like
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module. Almost every electric and electronic component can be connected and is
bounded only by our imagination, willingness to put some time and effort into learning something new, and
the availability of components.

c) Support from Others

There are thousands of other people and organizations out there embracing the Arduino. They are willing to
share their idea and tutorials for their projects. We can just follow their tutorials and get some basic concept
of the module or component that we might use. Then, we can apply it on our projects. These tutorials can
be found on http://www.instructables.com/, learn.sparkfun.com and the Arduino website itself Arduino.cc.
If we still find it hard to follow or understand the tutorials on the website, there are a lot of organization and
company that provide class to learn about Robotic especially on Arduino as the brain of the robot like in
Malaysia, My Robot Education Sdn. Bhd. have a class on Arduino-based Robotics. The fees is also quite
reasonable which around RM80.00 per month. [19].

d) Cost
An official complete unit costs as little as RM90.00 and of course we can get for much lower price for the
clone’s version. The input and output components also we can get it in lower price. We can get all of these
components on the online marketing website like eBay, lelong.com.my, Gie.com.my and Cytron website.

e) Versatility
Arduino can pretty much do anything like from the basic blinking led to the complex CNC or 3d printing
machine. We are free to design our project like robot for example we can make Robot car by using used
optical disk and bottle to make a robot car. The circuit also comes with many options, we can solder it on
donut board or we can build solderless circuits using breadboard (prototype board) and jumpers that were
commonly used for Arduino projects. But, of course we need to have basic knowledge about circuit
because without it we might damage the component or worst we might make an explosion.

FIGURE 2. Arduino Microcontroller

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 VI. The Impact of Robotics Education Towards Science and Technology Learning in
Higher Education
The implementation of robotics education in the educational system has brought many changes. Therefore, we
will see the impact of robotics education toward science and technology learning in higher education based on the
information that we have gathered. This part will focus on current situations in Malaysia besides in other countries.
As we mentioned before, robotic education has the elements of constructivism theory. It is a theory of knowledge
which means human generate knowledge and meaning from an interaction between their experiences and ideas [20].
In other words, human will have the ability to construct knowledge’s understanding and obtain the meaning of the
knowledge by themselves. If we look into Malaysian context, primary and secondary schools’ students are still
adopting the traditional educational system. Students are being spoon-fed in class where they only listen, see, take
notes, write and repeat to anything given by their teachers. In our higher education institutions, students are too tied
up with the exam-oriented system. This will only go to class and obtain knowledge just to get good grades in the
examinations. Moreover, this exam-oriented system also has affected students’ thinking skills and soft skills. We
always heard that, most of our fresh graduates are having difficulties getting a job due to lack of soft skills. In other
cases, when our fresh graduates enter the real working environment, there are not competent in performing their job.
This is because they do not have a very good basic knowledge, weak problem-solving skills and bad work ethics and
communication skills.
Therefore, the implementation of robotics education can improve the educational systems by shifting the
memory-based learning environment to an active learning environment where students can engage in many hands-on
activities which can trigger the students’ mind to think and understand the knowledge theoretically and practically.
Not just that, it will expose students towards self-learning experience where students will have the opportunity to
explore knowledge, new ideas and technologies in a concrete way by themselves. Plus, the learning environment of
robotic education, can develop students’ creativity, problem solving skills and improve their social interaction which
prepare them towards real life situations [21]. It is proven that by implementing robotic education, students were
able to obtain knowledge and skills throughout the trial- and-error construction process. Not only that, students who
gone through in this process also have the ability and capability to create their own invention and improved their
problem-solving skills in science, mathematics and technology learning. This shows that, robotic education is an
educational method that follows constructivism theory. Based on our gathered information, there are lots of
educational experiments on robotic education done by researcher and universities which shows that it is an effective
tool for teaching science and mathematics subjects in all levels of school students as well as technology and
engineering course for high and undergraduate students [2] [5] [10].
Besides that, it provides a technical education and non-technical education which both are related to science and
technology learning [10]. Technical education is a notion of giving students the knowledge of robots and technology.
Its aim is to introduce computer science and programming and to familiarize undergraduate students with technology
and exposed student with technical subject using robots. Thus, the students, will have the opportunity to involve in a
hands-on activity, where they can apply their knowledge practically by making the robots to work. In non-technical
education, refers to deployment of robots as an intermediate tool to teach student with science and mathematics
subject. This is where robot’s motions are being studied by the students so that, they can understand better on
those mentioned subjects. For example, in Macquarie University Australia, they expose children by relating the
movement of the robot with the concept of rotations, spatial and transformational geometry [22]. For example, in
Macquarie University Australia, they expose children by relating the movement of the robot with the concept of
rotations, spatial and transformational geometry [22]. A robot named, iRobot’s is used in teaching mechatronics
subject and related fields of science [23]. Meanwhile, in non-technical education, the applications of robotics
education are in areas such as kinematics concepts and music orchestration using the Tiro robot for Korean children
[24] [25].
There are certain developing countries which are dealing with a problem where the number of people with a solid
knowledge in their specialty area and with high research skills are depreciating. Due to that, some of the countries,
especially in the Latin American Countries are having a research crisis. For example, in Colombia in 2006, there was
only 151 researchers per million inhabitants, whilst for the same year in USA and Japan there is 4663 and 5573
researchers per million inhabitants, respectively [14]. Based on data stated, Panama, Guatemala and Ecuador are
facing the research crisis while in Chile, Brazil Argentina and Mexico are less severe. As for Malaysia, the number
of researchers per million inhabitants was between 2500-3000 researcher in 2015. Still, the number is low although
the country has many developments and progress. The number of researchers per million inhabitants in developing
countries can be referred further from [28].

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 Research is very important in the developing country because it is one of the resources to affront the social,
technological, ecological and economic challenges. If the number of researchers is low, the progress of development
in the country will become slow. Therefore, robotic education courses have been implemented by some research
centres and universities to solve the problem and to increase the number of researches in science and technology
especially in higher education. We present some of the efforts and results done by Carnegie Mellon University
(CMU). In Qatar and Ghana, the Carnegie Mellon University collaborated with some higher educational institutions
to develop a course on autonomous robots with the aim of strengthening the knowledge of algorithms and the
creativity in the undergraduate Computer Students [14]. As a result, the course had increased the interest of the
learners by technological topics and research.
In Malaysia, robotic education also has increased the number of our researcher. This can be seen in the local
universities, where there are many students that develop idea and invent something to solve various kinds of
problem using science and technology through research. For example, in International Islamic University Malaysia
(IIUM), the robotic team has done a lot of research in order to fulfill their mission which is to provide engineering
solutions for society and local Industries. And, of course, it is not limited to only robotic team members, other
students also have interests in the robotics. This can be proven by the impressive participation of robotic workshop
that was conducted by IIUM ROBOTEAM shown in figure 3.

FIGURE 3: Robotic Workshop (RW 3.0 and 4.0)

Moreover, by having knowledge and understanding about robotics, science and technology and with extra ability
like creative minded students are able to develop or generate idea to solve our daily life problem and change their
idea become reality. For example, a simple project like automatic sprinkler can help to conserve our energy to keep
the plant healthy. Students will no more rely on finished product which is very costly. If the projects have a lot of
potential, students can move to the next level which is entrepreneurship. For example, IIUM ROBOTEAM have a
project named Smart Poultry Farm Monitoring. This project is about to monitor and control temperature, humidity
and ammonia gas of chicken farm and to reduce the number of dead chickens due to high density of ammonia gas.
This project can benefit the farmer a lot for a long term. So, this project has high potential to get profit. But, of
course we need to undergo some procedure to make this idea ours which is patent making [26].

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 FIGURE 4: Ongoing research project by IIUM ROBOTEAM students

VII. Conclusion
In conclusion, we can see that robotic education brings a lot of positive impact towards our educational
system. It is not only used as the educational tools, but also as the motivational tools to attract the interest of our
young generation towards science and technology subjects. Moreover, it is also a good platform to expose students
with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in schools and in higher education.
From the students’ perspective, robotic education will develop student’s intellect that will build their own
understanding towards science and technology learning. Not only that, it will enhance student’s overall
development, soft skills, higher order thinking and also innovative thinking. According to our former Minister of
Education, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein [7]:

“We want our human capital to be knowledgeable, have skills that are relevant to the times and be able to
compete in a globalised world. We want people with new ideas, who are critical and creative, adept at problem-
solving, able to create new opportunities and adaptable to changes”

However, there is still much more improvement need to be done in our robotic education’s curriculum
structure especially in Malaysia. Although, the process takes time to be well developed, it needs both efforts and
commitments from the Malaysian government, educational institutions and also NGOs in order to implement robotic
education in Malaysia. With this effort, our generation will be prepared and ready to face the challenges in the 21 st
century.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work was supported partially Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (MOHE) FRGS16-030-0529 and we
would like to thank IIUM ROBOTEAM for the assistance in sharing information of their works and activities to be
written in this paper.

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12. Shafie, A. A., & Baharum, Z. (2003, July). Educational features of Malaysian robot contest. In Robot Soccer World Cup (pp.
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13. My Robot Education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2015 from http://www.roboteducation.com.my/
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15. Watters, A. (2015, April 10). Lego Mindstorms: A History of Educational Robots. Retrieved from
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16. Arduino - Home. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015 from https://www.arduino.cc/
17. Zlatanov, N (2015). Arduino and Open Source Computer Hardware and Software.
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20. Bada, S. O., & Olusegun, S. (2015). Constructivism learning theory: A paradigm for teaching and learning. Journal of
Research & Method in Education, 5(6), 66-70.
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197-202.R.
24. Mitnik, M. Nussbaum, and A. Soto, An autonomous educational mobile robot mediator, Autonomous Robots, 25(4),2008,
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25. Han, J. H., Kim, D. H., & Kim, J. W. (2009, August). Physical learning activities with a teaching assistant robot in elementary
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innovation

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 STEM Outreach Program: An evaluation on students’
perspective towards STEM engagement

Marlina Ali, Johari Surif, Abdul Halim Abdullah, Corrienna Abdul Talib,
Norulhuda Ismail, Nor Hasniza Ibrahim

Faculty of Social Science and Humanities,

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Johor
Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Abstract. STEM outreach programme is one of the programme in Malaysia to create awareness, inculcate STEM interest,
increase science stream art target (60:40) and develops interest on career STEM. This paper describes how this programme
able to affect the participants’ perspective towards their engagement in STEM. The evaluation on students’ perspective
towards STEM engagement was conduct using survey method. This questionnaire consists of 11 items. Eight items were
likerts scale items and another three were open ended questionnaire. The data were analyzed by using PSPP. The data
shows students’ perspective towards STEM Outreach Program in at high level. This result shows that students’ perspective
towards STEM engagement in STEM Outreach Program is good.

Keywords—STEM outreach program, STEM, STEM Mentor Mentee program, interest towards STEM, non-formal
learning

INTRODUCTION

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education has become an important topic for
researchers currently because of its vital role in the country’s economic growth and nation building. Malaysia need to
produce high quality STEM talented students because STEM is the future of the world and nation. Malaysia need to
get more students interested in STEM and to enter STEM stream. Three essential skills that guarantee a job according
to Bill Gates is science, engineering and economics. It is estimated that there will be one million STEM careers in
Malaysia by 2020. However, Educational Planning and Research Division (2018) reported in 2016, 21.7% of UPSR
students did not master math and in 2017, 18.6% of UPSR did not master math. Also, student enrollment of form 4
and 5 in STEM Stream from 2013 to 2017 are still below the target (60%) for example, in 2013 the percentage is 47%,
in 2014 it slightly decreased to 46.3%, in 2016 increased slightly to 47.8% and in year 2017 the percentage dropped
again to 45.7% (Educational Planning and Research Division, 2018). In addition, there was a decrease in graduation
rates in STEM fields according to Ministry of Education of Malaysia (2013). Those who were trained for STEM-
related careers were not sufficient to meet the country’s needs (Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation
(MOSTI), 2012). A national study, Science and Technology (S&T) Human Capital: A Strategic Planning Towards
2020 (Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), 2012) confirms that Malaysia needs at least 1.0
million S&T human capital by 2020 based on a 6% annual economic growth and the emergence of EPPs (Entry Point
Projects) under the NKEAs as well as the emergence of new technology-driven sectors. 50% of this number are high
skilled workers. However, it would only comprise 3% (500, 000) of our expected total workforce of 15 million in
2020. All these data shows that more efforts need to be done to prepare more students to enter STEM fields. This data
shows Malaysia was having a serious leaking STEM pipeline.

According to the National STEM Movement (2016), STEM is referred to disciplines of knowledge consisting of
Science (physics, chemistry and biology) and mathematics with the integration of various technologies and
engineering. STEM incorporates all the technologies that engage science and mathematics. The ultimate goal for
STEM education is to produce STEM-literate who are capable of thinking in logical manner, using technology, solving
problems, creating new ideas, and designing/ inventing new products through an integrated learning encompassing
STEM which applies real world context into teaching and learning process and immerse students in hands-on inquiry
and open-ended exploration (Educational Planning and Research Division, 2018). In order to sustain interest towards
STEM subjects, students should be involved with STEM active learning activities regularly. According to Mohd
Shahali et al. (2018) the possible reasons for the decrease in interest towards STEM subjects could be due to the

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quality of teaching and learning that students experienced in the classroom. This is because Malaysia is having a
content heavy curriculum (Educational Planning and Research Division, 2018). The heavy emphasis on content caused
teachers imply fast teaching mode to finish the topic and limit hands-on activities. As the teachers having difficulties
to finish the syllabus, therefore STEM related activities can be done after class. According to Sahin (2013), by carrying
out various activities such as science fairs, after school activities, engaging students with STEM related clubs can
often develop positive attitudes towards STEM fields. In Malaysia, there are many non-formal activities organized by
the schools and industries such as school lab competition, Petrosains Science show, National Science challenge,
Science and Engineering Innovation competition, STEM+ club, STEM mentor mentee programme, F1 in schools and
STEM Icon (Educational Planning and Research Division, 2018). Student participation in STEM non-formal activities
are quite impressive and increases every year (Miller et al., 2018). This is even though little is known about the
effect of STEM competition participation and career interest in STEM.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Decreasing interest in Science Stream

Despite substantial investment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, there has
been a decrease on students’ interest in STEM (Ministry of Education (MOE), 2013). Educational Planning and
Research Division (2018) reported in 2016, 21.7% of UPSR students did not master math and in 2017, 18.6% of UPSR
did not master math. Also, student enrollment of form 4 and 5 in STEM Stream from 2013 to 2017 are still below the
target (60%) for example, in 2013 the percentage is 47%, in 2014 it slightly decreased to 46.3%, in 2016 increased
slightly to 47.8% and in year 2017 the percentage dropped again to 45.7% (Educational Planning and Research
Division, 2018). This data shows Malaysia was having a serious leaking STEM pipeline and those who were trained
for STEM-related careers were not enough to meet the country’s needs (Ministry of Science Technology and
Innovation (MOSTI), 2012).

Lack of STEM Talents

The low ratio of enrolment in science indicates that the supply of human resources was not inclined towards
Science and Technologies (S&T) human capital. In other words, Malaysia will face a serious shortage of human capital
in science fields as the target for student enrolment in the stream is not being met annually at the school and tertiary
levels. Table 1 shows existing ratio and production rate of S&T human capital versus target.

TABLE 1. Existing ratio and production rate of S&T human capital versus target
2012 2020
Production rate Production rate
Level Ratio Ratio
(Quantity/ year) (Quantity/ year)
Science student in secondary
30% 135, 000 70:100 315, 000
school
Science student in tertiary
40% 40, 000 70:100 70,000
education
Source: Academy of Sciences Malaysia (2015); Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation (MOSTI)
(2012)

In spite of the substantial expenditure on education, there is a shortage of skilled labour in Malaysia. Labour force
participation rates by education level show that the majority of workers only have at most, a secondary school
education. In 2010, unskilled workers represented more than 75% of total workers employed; those with tertiary
education and applicable skills made up only a quarter of the workforce. Only 28% of Malaysian skilled jobs are in
the higher skilled bracket. Shortages in critical professions such as engineers, scientists and research and development
(R&D) personnel are indeed limiting the evolution of current industries. Therefore, it is crucial for educational
stakeholders to continuously develop and maintain the interest of students in STEM to produce first class human
capital who possess scientific minds.

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 STEM outreach programs
STEM outreach programs have become an increasingly popular out-of-school activity over the past century.
According to Sahin (2013), by carrying out various activities such as science fairs, after school activities, engaging
students with STEM related clubs can often develop positive attitudes towards STEM fields. In Malaysia, there are
many STEM outreach activities organized by the schools and industries such as science fair, school lab competition,
Petrosains Science show, National Science challenge, Science and Engineering Innovation competition, STEM+ club,
STEM mentor mentee programme, F1 in schools and STEM Icon (Educational Planning and Research Division,
2018). Student participation in STEM non-formal activities are quite impressive and increases every year (Miller et
al., 2018). This is even though little is known about the students’ perspective towards STEM engagement.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The purpose of this study is to determine the distribution of the participants and evaluate on students’ perspective
towards STEM engagement in STEM outreach program. It addresses the following research questions. Does
participating in a STEM competition influence students’ interest in STEM and in pursuing a STEM career?

METHODOLOGY
The research methodology is quantitative study with survey method as the main research method. Questionnaire
are used as instrument for data collection through purposively sampling for the representative population selected
among STEM outreach participants. The questionnaire was developed by the researchers using Likert Scale 1 to 5.
The Likert scale rating represents (5) strongly agree (4) agree, (3) neural (2) disagree, (1) strongly disagree. There are
11 items consists in the questionnaire includes eight Likert scale items and three open ended items. The questionnaire
was distributed during activities. This research population consist of year 6 up to higher secondary schools’ students.
A total of 66 respondents participated in this study. Data were analysed descriptively using PSPP. To determine the
perspective of students towards STEM engagement in STEM outreach program, the researcher categorises and
interprets the scores into three levels as displayed in table 2 below. Mean scores 1.00-2.39 indicate a low level, mean
scores between 2.40 and 3.66 indicate average level and mean scores 3.70 to 5.00 indicate high level. The analysis
process is done through the computer using PSPP software. No negative items in the questionnaire. A descriptive
analysis of the mean score is an accrued way portrays the real value of the perspective towards STEM whereby the
lowest mean score reflects the lowest level of STEM interest while the highest mean score reflects the higher level of
STEM interest. Analysis of the research is divided into two parts, namely descriptive analysis and inferential analysis
between parameter variables used in this research.

TABLE 2. Interpretation of average score (Likert Scale 5)

Mean Interpretation
1.00-2.39 Low
2.40-3.66 Average
3.70-5.00 High
Source: Modified from Pallant (2001)

FINDINGS & DISCUSSION

This division is to answer research questions and thereby achieve specified research objectives. The following
table displays the distribution of participants and analysis finding of students’ perspective towards STEM engagement
in STEM outreach program.

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Distribution of participants

TABLE 3. Gender distributions

Gender Frequency Percentage

Male 25 37.88
Female 39 59.09
Missing 2 3.03
Total 66 100

Table 2 shows that 25 [37.88%] students are male and the remainder is 39 [59.09%] are female students while 2 [3.03]
is missing. This result demonstrates, female students is higher than male students in this study.

TABLE 4. Ethnic distributions by gender

Ethnic Male Female Total

Malay 19 (26.69%) 36 (56.25%) 55 (82.94%)

Chinese 5 (7.81%) 2 (3.13%) 7 (11.04%)
Indian 1 (1.56%) 1 (1.56%) 2 (3.12%)
Total 25 (39.06%) 39 (60.94%) 64 (100%)

As indicated on Table 4, a total of 55 people [82.94%] are Malays, followed by 7 [11.04%] are Chinese and 2 [3.12%]
are Indian. This result shows among three ethnics in Malaysia, participation of the Malay ethnics are the highest in
this study.

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 TABLE 5. Gender distributions by age
Age Male Female Total
12 7 (29.17%) 6 (15.38%) 13 (20.63%)
13 0 (0%) 2 (5.13%) 2 (3.17%)
14 2 (8.33%) 4 (10.26%) 6 (9.52%)
15 1 (4.17%) 1 (2.56%) 2 (3.17%)
16 3 (12.50) 3 (7.69%) 6 (9.52%)
17 11 (45.83%) 23 (58.97%) 34 (53.97%)
Total 24 (38.10%) 39 (61.90%) 63 (100%)

Based on table 3, the number of enrolled participants was among the 17-year-old students with a total of 34 [53.97%]
people, followed by 12-year-old student of 13 [20.63%]. The rest is a minority of 14-year-old and 16 year-old of 6
[9.52%] and lastly 13-year-old and 15 year-old student of 2 [3.17%]. Participation of 17 years old are highest compared
to the rest. Among 17 years old respondents, female students are higher than male students.

TABLE 6. School level distributions by gender

Gender Primary school Secondary school Higher secondary Total
school
Male 7 (29.17%) 3 (12.50) 14 (58.33%) 24 (38.10%)
Female 6 (15.38%) 7 (17.85%) 26 (66.67%) 39 (61.90%)
Total 13 (20.63%) 10 (15.87%) 40 (63.49%) 63 (100%)

As indicated on Table 6, a total of 40 people [63.49%%] participated in this study from higher secondary school,
followed by 13 [20.63%] are primary schools and 10 [15.87%] are secondary school. The highest respondents
participated in this study was higher secondary school. Female respondents were higher compared to male among
higher secondary school.

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 Students’ perspective towards STEM engagement in STEM outreach program

TABLE 7. Frequency of answer to items on students’ perspective on STEM Outreach Program

No Students’ perspective towards Frequency and percentage Mean SP

STEM engagement in STEM SDA DA N A SA
outreach program
1 STEM activities conducted in this program is 3 (5%) 32 (48%) 31 (47%) 4.42 0.58
interesting
2 My interest towards STEM is increasing after 10 (15%) 35 (53%) 21 (32%) 4.17 0.67
take part in the activities
3 Facilitator performed very well in STEM 13 (20%) 25 (38%) 27 (41%) 4.22 0.76
activities
4 This activity makes me more likely to learn 1 (1%) 3 (5%) 35 (53%) 27 (41%) 4.33 0.64
STEM field in the future
5 The time allocated to carry out STEM 1 (1%) 5 (8%) 10 (15%) 36 (55%) 14 (21%) 3.86 0.89
activity is sufficient
6 I am interested to explore this STEM activity 1 (1%) 3 (5%) 35 (53%) 27 (41%) 4.32 0.71
further in the future
7 I would recommend this STEM activities to 1 (1%) 9 (14%) 29 (44%) 27 (41 %) 4.24 0.75
my friends
8 This activity influence me to choose a career 10 (15%) 35 (53%) 21 (32%) 4.17 0.67
in the STEM field
Overall Total 4.21 0.71

The analysis findings above on Table 7 display the students’ perspective towards STEM engagement in STEM
outreach program. On the whole, all of the items are at high level. Item 1 “STEM activities conducted in this program
is interesting” (M=4.42, SP=0.58) is recorded as the item with the highest mean value. Research findings also show
that the overall mean for the student’s perspective towards STEM engagement in STEM outreach program is 4.21
(SP=0.71). To answer the first research questions of this study, item 2 “My interest towards STEM is increasing after
take part in the activities” shows the mean is at high level. This result show that students’ interest in increasing after
take part in STEM outreach program. For second research questions, item 8 “This activity influences me to choose a
career in the STEM field” also show the mean at high level. This result show that students’ interest in STEM career
is increasing after take part in STEM outreach program. This result show that participating in a STEM competition
influence student’s interest in STEM and in pursuing a STEM career.

CONCLUSION
As a conclusion, this study shows that participating in a STEM competition influence student’s interest in STEM
and in pursuing a STEM career. Research findings also show that the overall mean for the student’s perspective
towards STEM engagement in STEM outreach program is at high level (M=4.21, SP=0.71). This result shows that
students’ perspective towards STEM engagement in STEM Outreach Program is good.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) for their financial funding through RUG
Vote No Q.J130000.2531.18H44.

REFERENCES
[1] Academy of Sciences Malaysia. (2015). Science Outlook Action Toward Vision.
Retrieved from http://www.youblisher.com/p/1432982-Science-Outlook-2015/
[2] Educational Planning and Research Division, M. (2018). [2018 STEM Education Inititive by MOE Malaysia].
[3] Miller, K., Sonnert, G., & Sadler, P. (2018). The influence of students’ participation in STEM competitions on their interest in
STEM careers. International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 8(2), 95-114. doi:10.1080/21548455.2017.1397298
[4] Ministry of Education (MOE). (2013). Laporan Strategi Mencapai Dasar 60: 40 Aliran Sains/Teknikal: Sastera
[5] Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation (MOSTI). (2012). Science & Technology Human Capital.
[6] Mohd Shahali, E. H., Halim, L., Rasul, M. S., Osman, K., & Mohamad Arsad, N. (2018). Students’ interest towards STEM: a
longitudinal study. Research in Science & Technological Education, 1-19. doi:10.1080/02635143.2018.1489789
[7] National STEM Movement. (2016). Retrieved from http://stemmalaysia15.wixsite.com/stem
[8] Sahin, A. (2013). STEM Clubs and Science Fair Competitions: Effects on Post-Secondary Matriculation. Journal of STEM
Education, 14(1), 5-11.

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APPENDICES

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 Strategies to Solve Mathematical Non-Routine Problems
Muslimah Shawana, Mohd Salleh Abub and Sharifah Osmanb
a
Bahagian Tajaan Pendidikan, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia
b
School of Education, Faculty of Science Social and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Abstract. The paper describes the types of problems, the processes and strategies to solve non-routine problems. Some
of the most popular effective strategies such as Guessing and Testing, Solve a Simpler Problem, Make a Table, Draw a
Diagram, and Work Backward are discussed with appropriate examples as well as how and when these strategies can be
applied. The findings of this study are expected to provide useful information for the mathematics teachers to understand
and use heuristic strategies in teaching mathematical non-routine problem solving in a classroom. This is to ensure that
our students are equipped with problem solving skills that are very useful for real life in their future.

Keywords: Heuristics strategies, Non-Routine Problem.

INTRODUCTION

Problem solving is an important life skill in the 21st century and the goal of teaching and learning mathematics
is to develop the ability to solve a wide variety of complex mathematics problems [1]. Students need mathematical
problem solving as practical skills that will useful in daily life and important at the workplace. Although we are
aware of its importance in real life, students continue to have difficulty learning how to solve mathematical
problems especially non-routine problem.
We also admit that important of algorithms in mathematics and mathematics instruction must develop them but
the process of carrying out an algorithm, though a complicated one, is not problem solving [1]. Problem solving can
be defined as the process to formulate answers or new approaches to answers involving more than the simple
application of previously learned rules to reach the answer [2]. Problem solving might difficult because it involves
critical thinking [3]. These are the skills that students need in their everyday lives. Therefore, we need to equip
students with problem solving skills especially in solving non-routine problem, so that students will be prepared.
Mathematics education in Malaysia aims to develop individual who can think mathematically and who can apply
mathematical knowledge effectively and responsibly in solving problems [4]. Therefore, teachers should enhance
their teaching techniques to help students acquiring problem solving skills [5]. By teaching problem solving
strategies, students will realize that problems can be solved by one or combination of strategies. By knowing the
various problem-solving strategies, students will not stick to only one strategy and simply give up when it not
works, but they will try to solve by other strategies until they reach the solution. However, we also often heard from
mathematics teachers about their difficulty in teaching problem solving. Although heuristic strategies have been
mentioned in their syllabus, the use of these heuristics are not fully reflected in published textbooks [6], therefore,
they did not know how and when heuristics should be incorporated into their teaching.

MATHEMATICAL NON-ROUTINE PROBLEM SOLVING

Types of Mathematical Problems

A problem is an assignment for which the solution method is not known at the beginning. Students must use
their knowledge, and through this process, they will often develop the new mathematical understanding to find a
solution. Problems can be categorized into routine and non-routine problems. Routine problems are generally
described as well-structured [7] and the tasks are clearly formulated to determine students’ ability to use standard
algorithms [1]. An algorithm is a procedure, applicable to a certain problem, which if followed correctly, is
guaranteed to give the right answer to the problem [1]. It comes in different forms, such as formulas, instructions,
and tests of all possible solutions.
While non-routine problems are ill-structured, with no existing algorithm, which can provide solution to the
problem. Non- routine problems can be solved by general problem-solving strategies or known as heuristics.
Heuristics are kind of information, available to students in making decision during problem-solving [1], are
strategies or rules that can suggest solution to a problem but do not promise it will work. Heuristics help us to
narrow down the possible solutions and help us find one that works.

351
 Many textbooks contain problem solving sections in which students are given drill-and-practice on simple
versions of Polya- type strategies [8]. They are shown a strategy, given practice exercises using the strategy, given
homework using the strategy, and tested on the strategy. But when strategies are used in this way, they are no longer
heuristics, they are mere algorithms. When students are drilled in solution procedures like this, they are not
developing the broad set of skills. True problem-solving need teachers to perceive the implications of student’s
different approaches, whether they may be fruitful and if not, what might make them so [9].

Problem Solving Process

The problem-solving process is a set of steps that are sufficiently general so that they can be applied to any
problem to obtain a solution while prior knowledge is a key element in the problem-solving process (Mayer 1982,
Schoenfeld,1982 Silver 1982) [10, 11, 12]. Prior knowledge influences the problem solver’s understanding of the
problem as well as the choice of strategies that will be called upon in trying to solve the problem. In fact, prior
knowledge and prior experiences are all that solver has to draw on when first attacking a problem. As a result, all
problems solving heuristics incorporate this resource of past experiences and prior knowledge into their initial attack
on problem. Of the heuristics that refine, none is more influential than the one created by George Polya [13].
Polya [14] in his book, How to Solve It, summarizes the four-step process of his heuristic as follows:

1. Understanding the Problem

 First, you have to understand the problem.
 What is the unknown? What are the data? What is the condition?
 Is it possible to satisfy the condition? Is the condition sufficient to determine the
unknown? Or is it insufficient? Or redundant? Or contradictory?
 Draw a figure. Introduce suitable notation.
 Separate the various parts of the condition. Can you write them down?

2. Devising a Plan
 Second, find the connection between the data and the unknown. You may be obliged to consider
auxiliary problems if an immediate connection cannot be found. You should obtain eventually a
plan of the solution.
 Have you seen it before? R have you seen the same problem in a slightly different form?
 Do you know a related problem? Do you know a theorem that could be useful?
 Look at the unknown and try to think of a familiar problem having the same or a similar unknown.
 Here is a problem related to yours and solved before. Could you use it? Could you use its result?
Could you use its method? Should you introduce some auxiliary element to make its use possible?
 Could you restate the problem? Could you restate it still differently? Go back to the definitions.
 If you cannot solve the proposed problem try to solve first some related problem. Could you
imagine a more accessible related problem? A more general problem? A more special problem?
An analogous problem? Could you solve a part of the problem? Keep only a part of the condition,
drop the other part; how far is the unknown then determined, how can it vary? Could you derive
something useful from the data? Could you think of other data appropriate to determine the
unknown? Could you change the unknown or data, or both if necessary, so that the new unknown
and the new data are nearer to each other?
 Did you use all the data? Did you use the whole condition? Have you taken into account all
essential notions involved in the problem?

3. Implementing the Plan

 Third, carry out your plan.
 Carrying out your plan of the solution, check each step. Can you see clearly that the step is
correct? Can you prove that it is correct?

4. Looking Back
 Fourth, examine the solution obtained.
 Can you check the result? Can you check the argument?
 Can you derive the solution differently? Can you see it at a glance?
 Can you use the result, or the method, for some other problem?

According to [13], Polya’s Heuristic is not only focus on past experiences and prior knowledge, but also present
these ideas in a very short, easy-to-digest, and teachable manner and it has become a popular, mechanism in which
problem solving is taught and learned.

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 Problem Solving Strategies (heuristics)

Students engage in problem solving when they develop, choose and apply strategies to obtain solutions to tasks
for which no immediate answer or solution path is known. Choosing and implementing strategies is an important
aspect of the problem-solving process that students go through when they are confronted with non- routine
problems. Typically, non-routine problem can be solved in many ways and while there is no comprehensive list of
the various problem-solving approaches and strategies can be made, in this section we will discuss some of the most
popular effective strategies as well as how and when these strategies can be applied.

a) Guessing and Testing

Guessing and testing involves selecting likely solutions in accordance with the conditions in a problem and checking
to see if these solutions are correct. This approach can save time if the options to a solution are few. However, it can
be time consuming if there are too many options that must be eliminated.
Using this method of solving problems does not mean that the problem solver will simply shout random numbers
until they come across the right ones. Each guess should be used to refine further guesses and to exclude or focus on
particular numbers for future guesses. Let us explore this method using the following consecutive whole numbers
problem.

Determine which two consecutive whole numbers will give a sum of 69.

After a few guesses’ students should realize that:

 the numbers must be in the ‘30s’ as any pair of numbers in the ‘20s’ will give a sum that is more than 40,
but less than
60. Furthermore, numbers in the 40s will give sums that are 80 or more; and
 at some point, consecutive numbers in the ‘30s’ will give a sum that is in the ‘70s’. All pairs in which 36–
39 is present will give a number in the ‘70s’. For example, 37 and 38 give 75.

The consecutive numbers, therefore, fall between 30 and 35. At this point, the problem solver can easily identify
the requisite numbers as 34 and 35.

b) Solve a Simpler Problem

This method in problem solving suggests that students take a known problem and make it simpler, without changing
the focus of the problem. Consider the following problem.
What is the last digit in the answer to 2200?
 Clearly, no child is expected to multiply 2 by itself 200 times. Additionally, children are not likely to have
a calculator that can produce the solution without using exponents.
 Solving a simpler problem, however, helps in determining the answer to this question. Consider the table
below, which gives the result of 21 up to 212.

TABLE 1: Solution of Number in Base 2

Problem Power Result Last Digit
21 1 2 2
22 2 4 8
23 3 8 8
24 4 16 6
25 5 32 2
26 6 64 4
27 7 128 8
28 8 256 6
29 9 512 2
210 10 1024 4
211 11 2048 8
212 12 4096 6

By looking at the table, you realize that:

 the last digits are simply a repetition of the numbers 2, 4, 8, 6.
 all the results for powers that are multiples of 4 will have a last digit of 6. Since 200 (the power in 2200 )
is a multiple of 4, then the result will also have a last digit of 6.

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c) Make a Table
Some problems are very complicated and ask students to work with numbers that are too large for them to
manipulate. In these cases, students should be able to create a table and look for patterns that they can use to solve
complex cases. When this method is used, two key activities are usually involved. These are:

 exploring the results of simpler cases and recording the answers in a table; and
 identifying a pattern from the table that can be extended over many or any number of cases.
Consider the following problem:
A gardener has 68m of fencing to fence a garden along three sides, with the fourth side of the garden being
formed by a wall. Assume that a wall is perfectly straight. What are the dimensions of a rectangular garden
that will result in the largest area being fenced off?

TABLE 2: Dimensions of Rectangular Garden and its Area

Length (m) Width (m) Width (m) Area (𝑚2)
66 1 1 66
64 2 2 128
62 3 3 186
60 4 4 240
58 5 5 290
56 6 6 336
54 7 7 378
52 8 8 416
50 9 9 450
48 10 10 480
46 11 11 506
44 12 12 528
42 13 13 546
40 14 14 560
38 15 15 570
36 16 16 576
34 17 17 578
32 18 18 576
30 19 19 570
28 20 20 560
… … … …

By looking at the table, you realize that:

 The area continues to increase when the width increased and the length reduced accordingly so the width
becomes 17 and the length is reduced to 34 which gives the area of the garden 578𝑚2. Then, the area
continues to decrease when the width continues to be increased and the length is reduced. This shows that
the width of 17m and length of 34m gives the maximum area for the garden.

d) Draw a Diagram
Drawing a diagram is a useful technique to apply in solving geometric problems. Let us look at this problem.

Tom is planting a garden of tomato plants. He can place seven plants so that they form five straight lines with three
plants on each line. How is this possible? Here are two possible solutions.

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In creating the diagram students can be allowed to use counters, putty or any appropriate manipulative to assist the
process. This is particularly useful when students need to make a lot of attempts before a final answer is produced,
or when a part of the drawing need to be changed without having to restart.
In creating a diagram can be allowed to use the appropriate counter, putty or manipulative to assist the process. This
is especially useful when students need to make a lot of attempts before the last answer is produced, or when some
of the drawings may need to be changed without having to restart.

e) Work Backwards
The process of reversibility is a key feature of mathematics. Reversibility involves starting at the end (usually from
the response, which is already known) and working backwards to obtain missing information. Problems to which
the final outcome, not the desired response, is known are suited for such a method. In working backwards any other
previously mentioned method may be incorporated. The problem below shows how the process of reversibility can
be used.
John, Nick and Danial are sharing sweets. The following steps are followed:
• Joe gives Nick and Tom as many sweets as each already has.
• Nick then gives Joe and Tom as many sweets as each of them then has.
• Finally, Danial gives Nick and Joe as many sweets as each has. If at the end, each has eight sweets, how
many sweets did each have at the beginning?

The steps can be simplified and reversed as follows:

Number of
Sweets
John Danial Nick
Final Amount (Total: 24) 8 8 8
In the last step, Danial gave each of the other 4 (John got 6 16 (Danial gives 4 (Nick got
boys, the amount they had. Their sweets were sweets from away 8 sweets – 4 4 sweets
therefore doubled. The amounts they had Danial) to Nick and 4 to from
BEFORE Danial John) Danial)
shared with them were:
Before Danial shared, Nick gave the other two 2 (John got 2 8 (Danial got 8 14 (Nick gave
boys the same amounts they had before, hence sweets from sweets from away 10
he too doubled what each person had before. Nick) Nick) sweets
The amounts – 8 to
they had BEFORE he shared were: Danial and 2
to John)
In the beginning, John gave to each of the other 13 (he gave 4 (he got 4 more 7 (he got 7
two boys the amount they already had. Hence, he Danial 4 and from John) more from
too Nick 7) Joe)
doubled their amount; but BEFORE he did they
each had:
From the given deductions, at the beginning John had 13 sweets, Danial had 4 sweets and Nick had 7 sweets.

EXPECTED BENEFITS
This study explains how the problem solving process can occur as well as when and how heuristic strategies can
be used to solve mathematical non-routine problems. The findings from this study are expected to provide useful
information and guide the teachers to use heuristic strategies in teaching mathematical non-routine problem
solving. This is to ensure that our students are equipped with problem solving skills that are very useful for real life
in their future.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful for the financial support from Hadiah Latihan Persekutuan (HLP), Kementerian Pelajaran
Malaysia, and to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, for making this study possible.

REFERENCES
1. Wilson, P.S (Ed.) (1993). Mathematical Problem Solving, Chapter 4 of Research Ideas for the Classroom: High School
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Jerome A. Chavez, (2), 1-8.

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4. Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum, K.P.M. (2015). Matematik Dokumen Standard Kurikulum dan Pentaksiran
Tingkatan
1. Malaysia
5. Marzita, P., & Mahani, I. (2010). The Usage of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies among Form Four Students in the
Mathematical Problem-Solving Context: A Case Study. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8(5), 446 -
452.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.12.061
6. Fan, L., Yan, Z. (2000). Problem Solving in Singaporean Secondary Mathematics Textbooks. The Mathematics
Educator, 5(1), 117-141.
7. Ministry of Education, Kingston, J.(2016). Paint Problems and Problem Solving. Ministry of Education, Kingston,
Jamaica, 1-156. Retrieved from http://www.dacrylate.co.uk/Hub/problems.html
8. Schoenfeld, A.H. (1992). Learning to Think Mathematically: Problem Solving, Metacognition, and Sense Making in
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ICME- 5, Shell Centre, Nottingham.
10. Mayer, R. (1982). The Psychology of Mathematical Problem Solving. In F.K.Lester & J. Garofalo (Eds.),
Mathematical Problem Solving: Issues in Research (pp.1-13). Philadelphia, PA: Franklin Institute Press.
11. Schoenfeld, A.H. (1982). Some Thoughts on Problem-Solving Research and Mathematics Education. In F.K Lester &
J. Garofalo (Eds.), Mathematical Problem Solving: Issues in Research (pp.27-37). Philadelphia: Franklin Institute
Press.
12. Silver, E. (1982). Knowledge Organization and Mathematical Problem Solving. In F.K Lester & J. Garofalo (Eds.),
Mathematical Problem Solving: Issues in Research (pp.15-25). Philadelphia: Franklin Institute Press.
13. Liljedahl, P., Santos-Trigo, M., Malaspina, U., & Bruder, R.(2016). Problem Solving in Mathematics education. In
Problem Solving in Mathematics Education (pp. 1-39). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40730-2_1
14. Polya, G. (1949). How to Solve it. Princeton NJ: Princeton University.

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 Student-Centered Learning Increase Student Engagement
and Help Student Develop 21st Century Skills
Chin Suk Mei

SJK Chung Hua Buso, D/A Pejabat Pelajaran Daerah Kecil Bau,
94000 Bau, Sarawak, Kuching, Malaysia

Abstract. The aim of this action research is to investigate the effectiveness of Student-centered learning on student
participation in science learning process. The issues were pupils difficult to share their opinions and were reluctant to
speak up in class. They faced the problem to respond in some way to show that they learned what is being taught. They
also seem to forget so much of what they’ve learned. This research was conducted at a primary school in Bau District
within six weeks. This action research applied the simplest form of research design. There is no control of extraneous
variables and it is one group pre-test, post- test design type. The purposeful sampling has been used and involved 11
students from year 5. In this study, I myself became the main instrument to collect data by observing, interviewing and
analyzing the data. The methods used for data collection were such as observing students' behavior, responses, feelings
and reactions via video recording, photos and notes, analysis the document such as pre-test, post-test and transcripts. All
data were analyzed by content analysis, interviews were transcribed and analyzed. The findings show that Student-
centered learning in science give a motivational effect on students to actively participate in classroom. This learning
method also help to cultivate the skills that students should master to succeed in work and life in the 21st century.

Keywords: Student-centered learning, effective teaching and learning technique, science learning process, 21st century,
innovation in teaching and learning, transformation in teaching and learning.

INTRODUCTION
In 1983, Malaysia started to implement New Primary School Curriculum (KBSR) until 2012, then, it is going
through a transformation process and transfers into a new curriculum, the Primary School Standards Curriculum
(KSSR) (KPM, 2010). As according to KPM, (2012), this new curriculum was introduced as an effort to restructure
and improve the current curriculum to ensure that students have the relevant knowledge, skills and values to face the
challenges of the 21st century. Also, it was introduced to overcome certain shortcomings within the older system. It
is hoped with this new restructured and improved curriculum, our children would have the necessary knowledge,
skills and also the values to face and overcome the challengers of the current times (KPM, 2012). It was in line with
the main objectives of SPPK (Sistem Pentaksiran Pendidikan Kebangsaan) which are to reduce the focus on public
examination, to improve students’ learning, to create a holistic and everlasting assessment, to develop a better
human capital and to strengthen school-based assessment (LembagaPeperiksaan Malaysia, 2009).
In line with the change and transformation, teacher should make changes for the students of 21st century. In a
classroom, when teachers talked for most of the lesson, with students taking a passive role, or if only a few students
participate by volunteering answers, asking questions, or contributing to discussions, class sessions become to lost
opportunity to assess and promote learning. This style of learning is related to traditional method which relies
mainly on textbooks. This style of learning is teacher-centered and contrasts to active learning, which is student-
centered, whereby students take an active or participatory role in the learning process. Traditional method
emphasizes on basis skills while modern method emphasizes on big ideas. With traditional method of teaching,
assessment is seen as a separate activity and occurs through testing while with modern method of teaching,
assessment is seen as an activity integrated with teaching and learning and occurs through portfolios and observation
(Brooks and Brooks, 1999). Traditional method will promote passive learning and the student isn’t doing anything
but listening and this also disempowers the student while makes the teacher the focus of the learning environment.
So, as teacher, we should change the way we teach and making the case for learner-centered teaching to help
students develop 21st-century skills such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving that
advocates believe schools need to teach to help students thrive in today's world.

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 BACKGROUND
Malaysia education is going through a transformation process and transfers into a new curriculum as an effort to
restructure and improve the current curriculum to ensure that students have the relevant knowledge, skills and values
to face the challenges of the 21st century. This transformation has been a great concern to parents, teachers and
others concerned. However, the issues in my class were pupils difficult to share their opinions and are reluctant to
speak up in class. They faced the problem to respond in some way to show that they learned what is being taught.
They also seem to forget so much of what they’ve learned. Due to this issue, I should shift from my past style
teaching method and integrate the Student-centered learning in promote the active learning among the students. I
should have 21st century mindsets and I wanted to ensure my classroom encourage active learning by engaging
students. I am using groups for problem-solving activities, motivating them to participate in discussions, and engage
with the material and collaborate with each other. The activities included storytelling, Q&A based sessions, hand-on
activities, experiments, students presentation and games. They are not only shift from my approach in teaching, but
also contributed a lot for personal growth and development in my own learning process as an academician.

PURPOSE OF STUDY
The aim of this action research is to investigate the effectiveness of Student-centered learning on student
participation in science learning process and to investigate whether it can help students to develop 21st century
skills.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. Does Student-centered learning (SCL) benefit students?

2. Does Student-centered learning (SCL) enable the teacher to develop students' 21st century skills?
3. Is there a difference between the pretest and posttest scores before and after the Student-centered learning?

LITERATURE REVIEW
Many studies have been carried out by researchers to identify the perception and effectiveness of Student-
centered learning (SCL). Student-centered learning (SCL) hold their attention and introduce excitement, spontaneity,
and fun into a class session. Student-centered learning aims to develop learner autonomy and independence
(Steffens, 2014) while it is methods of teaching that shift the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student.
Student-centered schools focus on designing learning experiences that recognize and respond to the individual needs
of each of their students. They encourage all members of their school community to be active learners, working to
enhance the educational opportunities available at their school. This literature review seeks to address and explore
the hypothesis that student-centered schools make the difference (Harris et al.2013).
Student-centered approach not only improve student academic performance but also assists students to develop a
good quality of positive behavior. As according to Miriam Boggler, (2018), when students gain more control over
the learning process, teachers see an immediate improvement in student behavior. Students who are motivated by
and engaged in learning tend to perform considerably higher academically and are better behaved than unmotivated
and un-engaged peers (Fredricks, Bulumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). Literature review by Harris et al, 2013 research,
cited (Babcock 2011; Lerin 2006; Toshalis & Nakkula 2012) study which indicated that when students are given
opportunities to give input into their learning experiences, their levels of engagement and motivation rise, and
student performance may increase. That means fewer classroom frustrations and more time spent teaching. Even
better, teachers get to see students make connections to the material. More engaged students mean more fulfilled and
less stressed educators. Miriam Boggler, (2018) In respect to this, children learn best when they’re playing. Play
encourages critical thinking, helps children better understand their world and encourages social skills. Quiet, rigid
classroom environments are a distinctly contemporary phenomenon. Playing will create learning opportunities that
are active, collaborative, and promote learning relationships. Active learning in groups, peer relationships, and social
skills are key components to engagement and motivation. Miriam Boggler, (2018)

358
 Student-centered learning is the type of learning that students need to prepare themselves and society for a better
future, the learning of the 21st Century skills (Silva, E. (2009). Imill, (2015) stated that the shift to student-centered
learning allows students to take on a proactive role in this 21 Century skills development by working with others,
using a variety of resources and learning and evaluating skills on a continuous basis that they can use throughout
life. The characteristics of the 21st century class are very different from the ordinary class as the focus is on
producing students who are highly productive, effective communicators, and inventive thinkers. Student-centered
learning are able to promote critical thinking. In Sayre, E. (2013) study, indicated that student-centered methods are
different than teacher-centered methods because these methods incorporate several learning styles, cooperative
activities, and even technology in order to engage the student and promote critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is
important for students to master because it gives them the skills to move past the obvious and make individual
connections with the text.
Student-centered learning represents both a mindset and a culture within a given higher education institution and
is a learning approach which is broadly related to and supported by constructivist theories of learning. It is
characterized by innovative methods of teaching which aim to promote learning in communication with teachers and
other learners and which take students seriously as active participants in their own learning, fostering transferable
skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking and reflective thinking (Brussels, 2010). Communication skills
development is one of the important goals of education. Requena-Carrión et. al (2010) proposed an integrated
student-centered collaborative learning environment for developing communication skills, using project-based
learning methods and peer assessment. In the 21st century highlights the need for the development and facilitation of
student creativity (Donnelly & Barrett, 2008). While study by Fryer (2006) identifies several teaching techniques
which students-centered based facilitating creativity are, i.e. problem-based learning (Barrett 2005); game-based
learning that utilizes challenging problems; real-life scenarios; practical exercises; and group work. Fryer’s work
shows that positive teacher attitudes and supportive factors such as the relationship between tutor and students are
also significant in facilitating a creative learning environment (Donnelly & Barrett, 2008).

PARTICIPANT
This was a small-scale study, involving only 11 of year 5 students from a primary school in Bau area. There was
unequal distribution of boys and girls, the student included 9 boys and 2 girls. The ethnic composition of the sample
is 100% Chinese.

TABLE a). Demographics of the research participants (Year 5 students)

No Student Gender Ethnic Knowledge and skill of Science Problems

1 A Male Chinse Moderate Passive
2 B Male Chinse Moderate Passive, Poor memory
3 C Male Chinse Moderate Passive
4 D Male Chinse Moderate Passive
5 E Male Chinse Moderate lack of attention
6 F Male Chinse Moderate lack of attention
7 G Male Chinse Moderate tardiness, defiant
8 H Male Chinse Weak bored, unmotivated
9 I Male Chinse Weak Poor memory
10 J Female Chinse Moderate Passive
11 K Female Chinse Moderate Passive

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 PLAN OF THE ACTION
1. Identified student behavior problem. Their reactions and responses in the classroom were observed. This
involved questioning and talking with the student.
2. Field notes be written immediately after the observation.
3. The student reactions and responses were analyzed to determine the reason for their reactions.
4. The student result were analyzed and evaluated.
5. Identified 21 Century skills.
6. Identified and designed the effective learning or appropriate intervention strategies.
7. Integrated the interventions. Each activity has students who took on leadership roles to help conduct and
assist the activity. Activities during intervention are as below:
a. Story telling
b. Q&A based sessions
c. Hand-on activities or experiments
d. Brainstorming- Students are given a blank graphic
e. Students presentation
f. Games
8. Observations and video recordings were made during the interventions.
9. Data analysis. The videos and data collected were analyzed.

METHODOLOGY
Data Collection

Data was collected in a variety of methods; including field notes, student interviews, observing students'
behavior, responses, feelings and reactions, and gathering student work samples as well as student’s achievement in
pretest and posttest. Field notes included student responses and view on Student-centered learning and explanations
of their answers.

Method of research
This action research applied the simplest form of research design. There is no control of extraneous variables and
it is one group pre-test, post- test design type. It is only a single group are observed subsequent to the treatment
presumed to cause change, so there is no control or comparison group is employed. In this study, a single case is
observed at two time points, one before the treatment and one after the treatment. Changes in the outcome of interest
are presumed to be the result of the intervention or treatment. It required researcher to collect data on study
participants’ level of performance before the intervention took place and collect the same data after the intervention
took place. The pre-posttest design allows me to make inferences on the effect of Student–centered learning by
looking at the difference in the pre-test and post-test results. This action research took place over a month during the
Science in Year 5 classroom. The first week of the research was spent investigating the student achievement from
the pre-test and also their learning behavior from their responses. The pre-test is given to them before the treatment
(SCL) to measure true learning. The pretest including the multiple choices questions which were simply worded, to
the point, and unambiguous as well as focus on the learning objectives and were developed between 30 minutes to
complete.
After the pretest, the Student–centered learning was conducted. The teaching and learning last for the four week
and SCL were applied for the whole learning. The learning activities included storytelling, Q and A based sessions,
hand-on activities, experiment, brainstorming with graphic, student’s presentation or student teach their class and
games. Each activity has students who took on leadership roles to help conduct and assist the activity. In the fifth
week, after the SCL, the students were given a posttest. The posttest question not the same with pretest but very
similar. Results from both tests were compared to assess progress made. By comparing pre-and post-tests, researcher
can see what students learned from the lessons that were developed. The post-test data assisted in investigating the
issue further. Also, at the fifth week, interviews were completed with the six students selected in the beginning. The
interviews with students were done to determine how students felt and perceive on SCL. 6 students were selected for
interviews according to their achievement. There were two students chosen from each of three scoring categories.

360
These categories included demonstrating a high, average, or low scoring on the pretest. Interviews were completed
one-on-one and kept to five minutes. Ethical considerations are an important aspect of research projects. At one
level, ethical consideration involve getting informed consent from the research participants. A letter introducing the
research project and asking for permission to have students participate was sent home to the students’ parents prior
to the beginning of the intervention. The consent forms which were written in English were first read to those who
were asked to participate. Considering the sensitive nature of the themes or issues that this research explored was
important to assure the latter that their participation would not expose them to any risks. Moreover, the researchers
informed the participants that their participation was confidentiality would be observed by using sure name to
protect them. Interviews were video, and audio recorded depend on participants’ willingness and later transcribed by
the researcher.
After the recording, the audio interview is converted into a written transcript. The transcript was including the
information such as interviewer, subjects or participants, location, time, date and topic. The notes are taken during
transcribing and observations. It is the full 'script' of the interview and the aim is to take a full written version of the
interview which gives a better, more holistic picture of what is going on. The related documents such as policy
documents are collected in order to compare the ideal with the real. In this study, reviewed of official documents and
published works was done to explore the context and situation of KSSR in Malaysia Public School. These included
the Education of Ministry Circular, performance standard of Science was also analyzed. The photographs that were
taken symbolized the interpretations of the participant’s interactions with their social and physical environments. In
this research, the content analysis of the photographs and videos gave some indication of perception, satisfaction on
the teaching and learning activities. The aspects of the classroom environment were captured. In this study, the
number of photographs was generally indicative of overall implementing SCL satisfaction. To gain more in-depth
information, I also gathered student work samples to assess any changes in students’ learning.

FIGURE 2a 2b. Sample Observation Field Notes (Student–Centered Learning)

361
 a b)i

b)ii b)iii

c d)i d)ii

d)iii d)iv

FIGURE 1. Response and reactions of students during interventions (Student–centered learning) a. Students
presentation b.i-iii Games c.Brainstorming d.i-iv Hand-on activities or experiments

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 Data analysis
Data analysis is the process of understanding the meaning the interview data Patton, (2002). In this study, the
entire interview transcripts were read and coded then were analyzed. Furthermore, I spent more than a week to read
and analyzed the articles or paper done by recognized author to discover what statistical knowledge exists related to
SCL to increase the statistical knowledge and generate new original ideas of the proposed study. As mentioned
above, the research is designed to study the effectiveness of using Student–centered learning among Year 5 students
in a primary school in Bau, Kuching. There is a single group pre-tested which are year 5 aged 11 students. The
students are not randomly chosen rather they come from the same classroom. The group is exposed to a treatment
which is Student–centered learning during the teaching and learning of Science. The students are then post-tested
upon implementation of the treatment.
The bar graph below illustrated the pre-test and posttest scores of each 11 students in this study. The pre-test
scores illustrated the assessment of students’ test scores prior to the intervention of SCL during the instruction. The
post-test scores indicated the assessment of the students’ test scores upon implementation of the intervention of SCL
instruction. The chart also illustrates the relationship between the pre-test and post-test scores of the individual
students prior and after implementation of the treatment of SCL.

100
80
60
Pre-Test
40
Post-Test
20
0
A B C D E F G H I J K

FIGURE 1. Pre-Test & Post Test Scores of Science (Year 5 students)

TABLE b). Pre-Test & Post Test Scores of Science (Year 5 students)

No Student Gender Pre-Test Post Test Improvement/Decrease

1 A Male 75 88 +13
2 B Male 60 72 +12
3 C Male 50 52 +2
4 D Male 52 64 +12
5 E Male 54 65 +11
6 F Male 62 70 +8
7 G Male 58 65 +7
8 H Male 38 42 +4
9 I Male 40 48 +8
10 J Female 60 72 +12
11 K Female 65 80 +15

The below bar graph is an illustration of the average pre-test and post test scores of the 11 students participated
in the action research project. The average scores of the students’ pre-test scores are 55.82. The average scores of the
students’ post test scores are 65.27. Therefore, the research showed that there is an increase of 9.5 percent in the pre-
test and post-test scores of students’ after the treatment. The research question in no 3 has been answered and the
conclusion is Student–centered learning benefit students and thus research question no 1 has been answered.

363
 70
65
60 Pre-Test
55 Post-Test
50
Pre-Test /
Post-Test

FIGURE 2. Pre-Test & Post Test Scores of Science (Comparison of Average)

Prior to the implementation of the treatment of SCL during Science instruction, six selected students’ were also
interviewed to determine how students felt and perceive on Student-centered learning in Science. After the
recording, the audio interview is converted into a written transcript. The related documents such as policy
documents are collected in order to compare the ideal with the real. The content analysis of the photographs gave
some indication of perception, satisfaction on the teaching and learning activities. The aspects of the classroom
environment were captured. In this study, the number of photographs was generally indicative of overall
implementing SCL satisfaction.

DATA TRIANGULATION
In this study, data triangulation is used to increase the credibility and validity of the results. I used the matrix
form as below to compare the collected data sources to increase the credibility of the data obtained. I also requested
views and suggestions from my other friends to analyze the datas.

TABLE c). Data triangulation

Research questions Photos and video Field notes Test Transcript

Does Student centered / / / /
learning (SCL)
benefit students?

Does Student centered / / / /

learning (SCL) enable
the teacher to
develop students' 21st
century skills?

Is there a difference / / /
between the pretest
and posttest scores
before and after the
Student centered
learning?

364
 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The research showed that there is an increase of 9.5 percent in the pre-test and post-test scores of students’ after
the treatment. The study found that Student–centered learning benefit students in learning Science. According to
what being said by student D in interview, he is able to develop communication skills and remember most of the
material via interactive activities and game and thus help him to achieve higher score in assessment. As what shown
in the above bar graph, the average scores of the students’ pre-test scores are 55.82. The average scores of the
students’ post test scores are 65.27. Therefore, there is a increase of 9.5 percent in the pre-test and post-test scores of
students’ after the treatment. In addition, games are able to provide rich and meaningful contexts for developing
higher order thinking and social skills (Thomas & Brown, 2011) and develop hypotheses collaboratively in order to
solve the mystery (Squire & Jan, 2007). Game-based provides opportunities for continued practice as it serves as an
integral part of the learning experience (Gee, 2009; Groff, Howells, & Cranmer, 2010; Ke, 2009; Klopfer, Osterweil,
&Salen, 2009). This encourages players to improve through repeated practice either by advancing within a game or
replaying part of a game. The price of failure is lower (Gee, 2005).
This study found that, Student–centered learning is also useful in teaching concept and fact or skills that need
students to memorize. As admitted by participant H and I, they felt happy with their improvement. The activities
such as game, storytelling-based sessions helped them to remember the concept and fact. Stated by Participant E,
question and answer sessions made him more alert and helped him prepare for tests. Student K concluded that the
hand-on activities and experiments helped her to develop science process skills such as classifying, measuring,
inferring, and predicting and also making conclusion. More importantly, they felt interested and proud with their
performance and thus are motivated to learn and to erase the idea that learning is boring (participant H, A and I).
Participant A felt excited during presentation and when he had the chance acting like REAL teacher to teach in class.
From the photos and videos captured during the Student–centered learning, researcher found that the student
really enjoyed the SCL during Science instruction rather than the ordinary class (Figure 1). The student actively
involves in learning through discussion, competition and even playing. So, this indicated that, the use of SCL give a
prominent role to the teacher and can be very effective in maximizing students’ motivation and learning and benefit
the independent students. From my observation on the data collected, I found that Student–centered learning
motivates the students, hold their attention, and promote excitement, spontaneity, and fun in teaching and learning.
With games and activities, students can reinforce and consolidate their knowledge through practicing and getting
reward for their achievements. Students can take risks and quickly learn from their mistakes. Our students nowadays
exposed to too much complexity material, consequently, nowadays teachers have decided to change from rigid
thinking that and should take the initiative to apply the more creative and innovative teaching method to enhance
learning and to promote active learning and by the way keeping students mentally, and often physically, active in
their learning through activities that involve them in gathering information, thinking and problem solving (Collins &
O’Brien, 2003).
Student-centered learning is the type of learning that prepare student for a better future, the learning of the 21st
Century skills (Silva, E. 2009) and it allows students to take on a proactive role in this 21 Century skills
development by working with others, using a variety of resources, and learning and evaluating skills on a continuous
basis that they can use throughout life (Imill, 2015). The characteristics of the 21st century classrooms focus on
producing students who are highly productive, effective communicators and inventive thinkers. Student-centered
methods incorporate several learning styles, cooperative activities and even technology in order to engage the
student and promote critical thinking skills (Sayre, E. 2013). It is characterized by innovative methods of teaching
which aim to promote learning in communication with teachers and other learners and which take students seriously
as active participants in their own learning, fostering transferable skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking
and reflective thinking (Brussels, 2010). Requena-Carrión et. al (2010) proposed an integrated student-centered
collaborative learning environment for developing communication skills, using project-based learning methods and
peer assessment. In the 21st century highlights the need for the development and facilitation of student creativity
(Donnelly & Barrett, 2008).
In conclusion, Student–centered learning reduce the issues that students being bored, passive and show
disinterest in learning, lack of engagement or involvement with teaching and learning activities, have low confidence
or lacking self-esteem, lack of motivation for school, loss of interest in school work, or poor relationships with peers
or teachers. Student–centered learning enables the teacher to develop students' 21st century skills such as
collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking and problem-solving that schools need to teach to help students thrive
in today's world.

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 TEACHER'S REFLECTION
Student centered learning in science give a motivational effect on my students and encourages my student to be
engaged in their learning experience. Academic plans which applying student centered learning take into account a
student's skills and interests. The teacher’s primary role is to facilitate student learning and to measure student
learning through both formal and informal forms of assessment. This learning method also help to cultivate the skills
that students should master to succeed in work and life in the 21st century such as collaboration, communication,
concentration and problem Solving. My students are more interested in learning activities when they can interact
with one another and participate actively. Students who are able to collaborate learn how to share and give credit
where it is due. It’s delightful to see students work or play together. These allow students to express themselves, ask
questions, and direct their own learning. Watching how they work and communicate within the team, are all so
fascinating. Hand-on activities enable my students learn to solve their own problems and thus help them turn out to
be independent, critical thinkers. Teaching my student these skills requiring lots of time but it will be quite a thrill to
see them applying them! This will be key to the success of their future as well as performance in school and at the
workplace.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE

Future research could attempt to cover the feedback of parents on the effectiveness of using students-centered
based in Science for identification of key issues.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my headmistress Madam Hee Thai Tai as informed about
ICSTEM conference and also her support and invaluable advices in teaching and learning. On a personal level, my
headmistress inspired me by her sincere, friendly, hardworking and passionate attitude. I would like to thank my
colleagues for their keen, affection and care shown towards me. It is truly a wonderful place to work and their
concern for my welfare have greatly motivated me. My heartiest thanks to pupils for their tremendous support,
cooperation during various stages of my work. Last but not least, I have no words to express my gratitude for my
family members for their love, prayer, support, care and encouraging words that certainly acted as a paddle and
propelled me to have a smooth sail in my works.

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2. Boggler, M. (2018). What are the Advantages of Student-Centered Learning? Retrieved May 25, 2018, from
https://www.projectpals.com/project-based-learning-blog/what-are-the-advantages-of-student-centered-learning
3. Brussels, (2010). Student-Centred Learning – Toolkit for students, staff and higher education institutions
4. Donnelly, R., & Barrett, T. (2008). Encouraging Student Creativity in Higher Education.
5. Fryer, M. (2006) in Developing Creativity in Higher Education, eds N. Jackson, M.
6. Oliver, M. Shaw & J. Wisdom. London: Routledge. pp. xviii-xx.
7. Fredericks, J., Blumenfeld, P., & Paris, A. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concepts, state of the evidence.
Review of Educational Research, 74, 59-109.
8. Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
9. Gee, J. P. (2007). Good video games and good learning. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
10. Harris, J., Spina, N., Ehrich, L. C., & Smeed, J. (2013). Literature review: Student centred schools make the difference.
11. Imill, (2015). Student-Centred Classrooms and 21st Century Skills.
12. Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (2012).KSSR.Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum.
13. Lembaga Peperiksaan, Malaysia. (2011). Panduandan Peraturan PBS. Putrajaya.
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Bil 2/2009.
15. Light, G, and Cox, R, Learning and teaching in higher education. Sage Pulications, 2001. www.wikipedia.org.
16. Oliver, M., Shah, B., McGoldrick, C. and Edwards, M. (2006) ‘Students’ experiences

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17. of creativity’, in N.J. Jackson (eds.) Developing Creativity in Higher Education: an Imaginative Curriculum, London:
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18. Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation met ods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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centered collaborative learning environment for developing communication skills in engineering education. In Education
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 Students’ Interest in Learning Science
Kamilah Radin Salim, Morina Abdullah, Noor Hamizah Hussain, Rosmahaida Jamaludin,
Sahnius Usman, Mohd Nabil Muhtazaruddin, Shamsul Sarip and Nurul Huda Ahmad

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur

Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra
54100 Kuala Lumpur

Abstract. Many factors affect students’ interest and motivation to participate in Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematic (STEM) education and choose the subjects as their field of study. This paper discusses a program implemented by
the authors which could help to increase the students’ interest and motivation towards science subject. A pre and post survey
was used to determine students’ interest, and motivation before and after attending the program. A total of 106 participants
who were in Form 2 participated in this study. The results indicated that there was an increase in students’ interest, and
motivation towards science subject after attending the program.

Keywords: STEM, interest, motivation, intervention

INTRODUCTION
Malaysia has set to become a develop nation by 2020, which requires supply of highly-skilled human resources to
fulfill the industrial needs. To fulfill the requirement, government has set a policy that the ratio of students’ enrollment
in Science / Technical field to Arts / Literature stream is 60:40 [1]. Even though the target has been set since 1980
[2], the enrollment of students in science / technical field does not reach the set target. For example, in 2005, total
enrollment in science stream at school was 31.22% [3]. In 2014, the percentage increased to 37% [4]. The enrollment
in science stream at the state level is also low. In a recent report, only 19% of students pursuing Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in Sarawak [5].
One of the factors that could increase students’ participation in STEM fields is by focusing on their interest and
motivation [6,7] and by increasing the teachers’ awareness on STEM education [7]. Therefore, this paper discusses
the program implemented by the authors to increase students’ interest and motivation in learning science among Form
2 students. A pre and post survey was distributed to the participants to determine the effect of the program on their
interest and motivation.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Interest in science and technology (S&T) at school level remains an important issue as it can be linked to students’
achievement and their intention to pursue studies or careers in S&T. Around the world, several studies have shown
that interest in S&T declines with school years [8]. In 2009, Osborne, Simon and Tytler [9], reported that there are
issues with student interest in studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. Among
the factors that contribute to students’ interest and motivation to pursue their studies in STEM are the experience in
instruction and education environments [10]; and interpersonal interaction between teacher and student, the relevance
and authenticity of the topics being studied and the diversity of the teaching methods [11].
Research on interventions suggested that educators and practitioners could influence the development of interest
and self-concept in STEM among the students. According to Beiber [12], to further foster students’ interest and self-
concept in STEM, their achievement in STEM should be recognized and rewarded. In addition, the classrooms
environment where students feel free to ask questions and interact with instructors will also nurture interest and self-
concept in STEM. Similarly, a well-managed classroom, where STEM material is targeted toward the interests of both
male and female students will potentially increase achievement, interest and self-concept in STEM.
Activities in the classroom could also affect students’ interest in STEM. According to Beiber [12], a small group
work where students develop relationships with their friends could increase sense of belonging and peer support to
learn STEM. The author also proposed that the teachers should incorporate hands-on laboratory experiences in their
teaching and learning activities and encouraged students to participate.

368
 Other researchers employed innovative methods to motivate students’ interest in STEM. For example, Junaidi
[13] implemented a STEM Educational Model (known as iG-HOME Innovation Sustainable Homes Model) which
integrates STEM education with environmental education. The participants for the study were 40 lower secondary
school students (age between 13 to 15 years old). The author reported that, after attending the two series of iG-HOME
program, students showed better involvement, interest, inquisitiveness as well as better awareness in preserving the
environment.
Balakrishnan and Azman [14] conducted an engineering outreach program called Professionals Back to School
which involved professional/practicing engineers, and technical/engineering undergraduates. The program was
conducted through talks by professional/practicing engineers, and hands-on activities facilitated by
technical/engineering undergraduates. The program was attended by 40 secondary school students. The outcomes of
the program indicated that students became more interested and motivated to learn STEM subjects. In addition, the
program also helped to create awareness on STEM and understanding of science [14].
Chumbley et al. [15] conducted a study to determine how the secondary agriculture students conceptualized their
motivation to learn Agroscience course. It is an innovative curriculum that could motivate students and spark interest
in STEM. The results of the study showed that students have moderate levels of motivation in Agroscience course.
Grade, motivation and self-efficacy were found to be the motivational constructs that meant the most to the students.
All the above research indicated that various activities, methods and programs could be implemented to gauge
students’ interest and motivation to participate in STEM field. The activities implemented by the authors will be
described in the following section.

METHODOLOGY
The program was part of community program conducted by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia with the following
motto: Effective Learning Strategy Through Science, Mathematics and English. This program was held at a secondary
school located in sub-urban area in Malaysia. It involved 106 students, age 14 years old (Form 2). The students were
selected by their school teachers. They were divided into three groups known as DUMA, DUSAJ, and UNDANG with
approximately 36 students per group. The program was held for six days where the groups were alternately assigned
according to Science, Mathematics and English subjects as shown in Table1. In other words, each group involved in
the activities under Science, Mathematics and English subjects for two days. All the activities in the program were
performed during school hours; that is from 9 am to 1.30 pm with 30 minutes break time. However, this paper only
describes activities related to Science subject.

TABLE 1. Date of the activities for each subject

Subject / Date 14 Nov 17 15 Nov 17 16 Nov 17 21 Nov 17 22 Nov 17 23 Nov 17
Science DUMA DUSAJ UNDANG DUMA DUSAJ UNDANG
Mathematics UNDANG DUMA DUSAJ UNDANG DUMA DUSAJ
English DUSAJ UNDANG DUMA DUSAJ UNDANG DUMA

The objective of this paper is to describe students’ interest in learning Science subject in their school curriculum
after they went through certain activities (intervention) related to Science subject. Pre and post survey questionnaires
were used to determine students’ perceptions. The survey questionnaire is a Likert scale type where students have to
rate their agreement to the given statement based on the following scale: Strongly disagree (1), Disagree (2), Not sure
(3), Agree (4), and Strongly agree (5).
The intervention consists of four hands-on experiments designed by the authors who acted as the facilitators. Each
group of students performed the same hands-on experiments, namely Hydro-pico Turbine, Solar Kit, Properties of
Light and LED circuits. The explanation of the hands-on experiments are provided in Appendix A. The duration for
each experiment was two hours which include briefing session, experiment session, and report writing. Eight
facilitators were involved in monitoring and facilitating the students while they conducted the experiments and writing
their report / observation. However, only four facilitators involved for each day.
The 1st day of the program (i.e. 14 Nov. – DUMA) started with the ice-breaking session, followed by briefing
about the objective of the program. Then, pre-survey questionnaire was distributed to the students. They took
approximately 5 minutes to complete it. After that, briefing and the related theory about the first and second
experiments (Hydro-pico Turbine and Solar Kit) were given. Since there were only one Hydro-pico Turbine
experimental kit and four sets of Solar Kit, the students were divided into five groups (six to seven students per group).
The arrangement were made to ensure every groups have the opportunity to perform the experiment on Hydro-pico

369
Turbine. Students conducted the experiments by following the instruction sheet provided to them. After they have
completed the experiments, they discussed and wrote their observations and outcomes of the experiments with the
guidance, and questions and answers from the facilitators.
On the 2nd day of the program (i.e. 21 Nov. – DUMA), the students conducted the experiments on Properties of
Light and LED circuits. First, one of the facilitators gave briefing and explanation on the Properties of Light. Then
students conducted the related experiment and wrote the observations and outcomes of the experiment. After every
groups have completed the experiments on Properties of Light (maximum two hours), another facilitator gave briefing
and explanation on experiment related to LED circuits. Then students conducted the experiment and wrote the
observations and outcomes of the experiment.
Students were given ample time to perform the experiments, until they satisfied with their results. During the report
writing sessions, students could ask questions to facilitators, and the facilitators also asked questions to the students
to check their understanding. Every groups must submit one report for each experiment. Three (3) months later, the
authors distributed the post-survey questionnaire. In that three (3) months duration, students attended and learned
their normal school curriculum.
The data obtained from the pre and post survey questionnaire were analyzed descriptively using Statistical Package
for Social Science (SPSS). The following section discusses the results of the data analysis.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The output of statistical analysis is presented and discussed in this section. Total number of participants is 106
students. Table 2 shows students’ perceptions towards Science subject.

TABLE 2. Perception on Science Subject

Strongly Agree &
No Item disagree & Not sure (%) strongly agree
disagree (%) (%)
Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post
1 Science subject is interesting 72.4 66.7 18.1 19 9.5 14.1
2 Science subject is easy to understand 46.7 44.8 40 41 14.1 15.2
3 Science subject does not require
40 38.1 29.5 31.4 31.4 29.5
memorization
4 Learning science help me to think in
77.1 35.2 20 38.1 3.8 26.7
solving problem

Comparing the result for pre and post for item 1, there is an increase of 4.6% for scale agree and strongly agree.
This indicates that more students have the perception that science subject is interesting after attending the program.
There is a significant increase for item 4 for scale agree and strongly agree (pre = 3.8%, post = 26.7%) which shows
that the program helped the thinking skills among the students.
Table 3 shows the methods students learned science. It should be noted that students perform experiment in group
during their school hours.

TABLE 3. Learning Method for Science Subject

Strongly Agree &
No Item disagree & Not sure (%) strongly agree
disagree (%) (%)
Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post
1 Prepare time table to revise science
24.8 19 36.2 34.3 39 46.7
subject
2 Take the opportunity to perform the
68.6 26.7 22.9 36.2 9.5 37.1
experiment during school hours

The results in Table 3 show that the number of students who selected agree and strongly agree scale increase for
both items. The results also show that the program has improved students participation in conducting the experiment
which require them to perform the activity in group. Before the intervention, only 9.5% of students admitted they
involved in the group activity. However, after attending the program, the percentage increase tremendously to 37.1%.

370
 The following statement was also included in the pre-survey questionnaire. “I attend the program because of
interest”. Students’ respond to this statement is very important because it could contribute to their participation in the
program. The result indicates that 46.7% of the students attended the program because they are interested whereas
53.7% attended the program because they were selected by their teacher. Even though more than 50% of the students
were selected, authors’ observation during the program (six days) found that most of the students participated and
gave their full cooperation during the program.
The statements in Table 4 were only included in the post survey questionnaire. Referring to Table 4, only 36.2%
admitted that the program that they attended has improve their interest in science subject. This result may be because
the students were selected to attend the program as discussed previously. The result also shows that 46.7% of the
students confessed that their parents encourage and support them in learning science. This indicates that parents’
encouragement is also important to build and increase students’ interest towards science subject.

TABLE 4. Others
Strongly disagree Agree & strongly
No Item & disagree (%)
Not sure (%)
agree (%)
1 Interest in science subject increase after
25.7 37.1 36.2
attending program
2 Parents encouragement in learning
22.8 30.5 46.7
science

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that an intervention or non-classroom science related
activities that require students’ involvement could increase students’ interest in learning Science subject. Parents
should encourage and support their children to learn science subject. This finding support the findings by other
researchers discussed in the literature review section. In general, the results for almost all items indicate quite high
response for ‘Not sure’ scale. Therefore, it is recommended that the response ‘Not sure’ should not be included in the
survey questionnaire. This scale shows as is the respondent cannot decide whether to ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’ with the
given statement.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
1. Administrators, teachers and students from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Undang Jelebu, Sekolah Menengah
Kebangsaan Dato’ Undang Syed Ali Al Jufri, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Dato’ Undang Musa Al Haj and
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Teriang Hilir.
2. Center for Community and Industry Network, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (CCIN- UTM) and Office of Student
Affairs Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur Campus (HEMA- UTMKL).

REFERENCES
1. National Education Policy, Ministry of Education, 2012.
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In Malaysia, Proceeding: 7th International Seminar on Regional Education, November 5-7, Volume 3.
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10. David Fortus and Dana Vedder-Weiss (2014), Measuring Students’ Continuing Motivation for Science Learning, Journal of
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12. Beiber, M. E. (2008). Literature overview: Motivational factors in STEM: Interest and self-concept, SWE-AWE CASEE
Overviews. Retrieved from http://www.engr.psu.edu/awe/misc/ARPs/ARP_SelfConcept_Overview_122208.pdf.
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Study In Malaysia, Journal of Engineering Science and Technology 12(10): 2640-2650.
15. Steven Boot Chumbley, J. Chris Haynes, and Kathryn A. Stofer (2015), A Measure of Students’ Motivation to Learn Science
through Agricultural STEM Emphasis, Journal of Agricultural Education, 56(4), pp.107-122.

Appendix A
The first experiment focuses on the generation of electrical energy using water source. A model of hydro-electric
generation known as Hydro-pico Turbine is used. Through this experiment, students could visualize how the electricity
is generated.
The second experiment focuses on solar energy as a renewable energy. Students were provided with Solar Kit
trainer to perform the experiment. Here, they learned how the electrical energy can be generated from the solar energy.
In this experiment, students observed the used of solar energy to light-up bulb and to turn on the small fan.
The objective of the third experiment is to investigate the properties of light, such as the direction the light as it
travels through a medium, reflection and refraction and light dispersion. Students were provided with set of easily
obtainable materials to perform the experiment such as mirror, torchlight, beaker and cardboard. The first activity was
to observe how the light travel. In the second activity, students investigated the reflection and refraction properties of
light using mirror and a beaker of water respectively.
The fourth experiment is related to LED circuits. The objective of the experiment is to identify intensity of LED
for different values of supply voltage and rated voltage of the LED. Students were provided with project board, LED
(white, red, green), resistor and battery. Students were required to build simple series LED circuit. Then they varies
the supply voltage, measured the voltage across the LED and observed the brightness of the LED.

Appendix B

Experiment 1: Hydro-pico Turbine Experiment 2: Solar Kit

Experiment 3: Properties of Light Experiment 4: LED circuits

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 Tahap Penguasaan Asas Kemahiran Aras Tinggi Guru
Dalam Proses Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran
Vikneswaran M.Gunahlan and Zanaton H.Iksan
Fakulti Pendidikan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

Abstrak. Pendidikan di Negara ini telah mengalami satu berubahan besar dengan mengamalkan dasar baru yang
dikenali sebagai Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia (PPPM) 2013 hingga 2025. Dalam dasar ini pelbagai
perkara telah dititik beratkan bagi meningkatkan mutu pendidikan Negara ini untuk bersaingan dengan Negara yang
lebih maju. Perkara utama yang dititik beratkan ialah kemahiran aras tinggi. Dalam konteks ini guru memainkan
peranan penting untuk menerapkan elemen tersebut. Malangkan kebanyakkan guru gagal memainkan peranan tersebut.
Maka kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui perkara asas dalam pelaksanaan KBAT iaitu pengetahuan, pengaplikasian,
kesungguhan di kalangan guru dan kesediaan murid terhadap tahap kemahiran aras tinggi (KBAT) di Negeri Sembilan
dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran. Seramai 120 orang guru Matematik dan Sains di semua peringkat terlibat.
Sampel kajian di pilih secara rawak. Hasil dapatan dianalisis dengan mengunakan SPSS bentuk deskriptif iaitu peratus,
min dan kekerapan serta intervensi. Hasil dapatan menunjukkan bahawa pengetahuan guru tentang KBAT dan
pengaplikasian KBAT dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran berada di tahap yang rendah iaitu di bawah 50%.
Manakala pengaplikasian murid-murid terhadap KBAT dan usaha guru untuk mengetahui KBAT juga menunjukkan
pada tahap yang sangat rendah iaitu di bawah 30%. Keputusan ini menunjukkan ramai guru masih kurang mahir dalam
KBAT ini mengakibatkan pencapaian murid rendah dan menyukarkan untuk mencapai objektif PPPM. Maka pihak
kementerian dan jabatan pelajaran perlu mengambil kira perkara ini untuk mengorak langkah dengan mengadakan
bengkel atau membina modul berkaitan KBAT sebagai panduan membantu guru- guru memahami dan
mengaplikasikan kemahiran tersebut dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran.

Kata kunci: Kemahiran Berfikir, Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi (KBAT), Pengetahuan, Aplikasi, Kesungguhan,
Kesediaan Murid

PENGENALAN
Pendidikan boleh didefinisikan sebagai satu proses penyemaian ilmu secara berterusan dalam diri setiap insan.
Prof Syed Mohd Naquib Al-Attas (2008) yang dipetik dari artikel Sains dan Pembangunan Masyarakat Berliterasi
Sains yang ditulis oleh Lilia Halim (2013), mendefinisikan pendidikan sebagai satu usaha atau proses menitiskan
sesuatu ke dalam diri seseorang manusia. Pandangan-pandangan di atas menekankan kepentingan pendidikan dalam
membentuk insan yang berkualiti sejajar dengan Falsafah Pendidikan Kebangsaan untuk melahirkan insan yang
seimbang dan harmonis dari segi harmoni intelek, rohani, emosi dan jasmani berdasarkan kepercayaan dan
kepatuhan kepada tuhan.

Guru merupakan pemikir dan pembuat keputusan, pemikiran reflektif merupakan salah satu kemahiran penting
untuk menjadi guru yang berkesan. Pengajaran guru adalah satu aktiviti kognitif kompleks dan memerlukan guru
menggunakan pengetahuan dan kemahiran perguruan yang kompleks (Borko & Putnam 1996).Pengetahuan ini
membezakan seorang ahli sains daripada seorang pendidik sains. Seorang ahli sains mempunyai pengetahuan sains
manakala seorang pendidik sains adalah seorang yang menterjemahkan ilmu sains untuk pemahaman pelajarnya
(Lilia 2013). Guru Sains yang efektif mampu menarik minat pelajar untuk mempelajari sains. Guru Sains yang
berkesan mempunyai kemahiran penyelidikan, kemahiran bekerjasama dan mengambil kira pelbagai kebolehan
pelajarnya (Lingard et al. 2002). Perkara ini turut disokong oleh Ayers, Dinham dan Sawyer dalam artikel mereka
Inovasi dan Kreativiti Guru Sains (2004).

Guru memainkan peranan yang penting dalam merealisasikan impian tersebut. Oleh itu, pengajaran dan
pembelajaran (P&P) yang berkesan di dalam bilik darjah amat dititikberatkan untuk menjamin proses penyampaian
ilmu itu dijalankan dengan sempurna dan diterima oleh pelajar. P&P dalam bilik darjah merupakan satu proses
interaksi yang melibatkan pelajar, kandungan pelajaran dan guru. P&P bertujuan supaya pelajar dapat mengetahui
dan menguasai sesuatu pengetahuan atau kemahiran baru.Sebenarnya, guru memainkan peranan penting untuk
menyerapkan konsep sains (Hettie 2003). Untuk itu proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran Sains perlu menarik
(Aszoura 2007). Barulah murid-murid dapat menerima input dengan mudah.

Pengajaran berkesan memberi peluang kepada pelajar untuk berbincang, mengemukakan soalan dan pendapat
mereka. Guru perlu bijak dan kreatif untuk menyampaikan pengajaran mengikut tahap kemahiran, pengetahuan,
kecerdasan dan pengalaman sedia ada pelajar supaya dapat merangsang dan menarik minat pelajar sewaktu P&P
berlangsung. Sekiranya keadaan sebegini wujud maka kerajaan Malaysia dapat merealisasikan impian untuk 60 %
murid terlibat dalam aliran Sains dan 40 % lagi dalam aliran sastera. Tetapi pada hakikatnya kementerian pendidikan
hanya dapat merealisasikan impian kerajaan dengan hanya 35% sahaja (Rushnawati 2011)

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 Menurut Ahmad Md Sharif (1997), dipetik dari artikel Pendidik Kreatif Sebagai Teras Transformasi Literasi
Kreatif di Malaysia oleh Mohd Azhar et al (2003), pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang menarik ialah pengajaran dan
pembelajaran yang mencabar dan berkesan di mana pengajaran tersebut berpusatkan pelajar. Ini memberi peluang
kepada berinteraksi, berkomunikasi, mengalami dan menghayati proses pembelajaran lebih berkesan. Oleh itu,
sebagai guru yang lebih berinovasi kita harus mengorak langkah untuk memajukan bidang pendidikan dan juga
menerapkan nilai positif dalam pendidikan.

Kurikulum pada masa kini, dalam KSSR lebih menerapkan unsur Kemahiran Aras Tinggi (KBAT) di mana
Negara sedang menuju untuk melahirkan generasi yang mempunyai pemikiran yang kritis dan kreatif

PENYATAAN MASALAH
Kehidupan abad ke-21, menuntut kehidupan yang lebih kompleks dimana kita perlu mempunyai pemikiran
yang kritis, kreatif dan inovatif. Hal ini kerana kebanyakan keperluan harian kita telah di automasi yang membuat
kita kurang berfikir. Kehidupan yang mencabar dalam era globalisasi menyebabkan capaian maklumat di hujung jari
tanpa sempadan masa dan tempat. Kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi adalah penting untuk mengharungi kesemua
cabaran ini.

Malangnya, dalam bidang sains Negara kita tidak mencapai sebarang perubahan atau pencapaian yang
memberangsangkan di pesada antarabangsa. Negara kita menduduki tempat tercorot dalam beberapa ujian bagi
matapelajaran Sains yang diadakan di peringkat antarabangsa. Antaranya ialah “Programme for International Student
Assessment” (PISA) 2012- 53 daripada 65 negara, “Trends in Mathematics and Science Study” (TIMSS) 2011-
Sains 32 dan UN Education Index meletakkan Malaysia di kedudukan 98 daripada 181 negara. Pada 2015 tiada
seorang pelajar Negara kita mencapai aras 6 dalam peperiksaan PISA dan hanya 0.6% sahaja mencapai pada aras
0.6%. Negara-negara asia tenggara yang kurang maju seperti Thailand, Vietnam mendahului Negara kita. Ini adalah
kerana soalan dalam PISA dan TIMMSS melibatkan soalan kemahiran aras Tinggi dan murid-murid kurang mahir
dengan pengaplikasian sains dalam kehidupan mereka. Ini mengakibatkan mereka tidak dapat menjawab soalannya.

Tambahan lagi, keputusan UPSR pada tahun 2015, 2016 dan 2017 kuantiti murid mendapat A di Negeri
Sembilan kurang daripada 12% jika dibandingkan tahun sebelumnya. Manakala pada tahun 2015 mendapati ramai
murid tidak mendapat A walaupun kuantiti untuk lulus meningkat. Ini adalah kerana soalan KBAT dalam
peperiksaan tersebut semakin meningkat tahun demi tahun. Salah satu faktor murid-murid tidak dapat menjawab
soalan dalam peperiksaan adalah mereka tidak mendapat pendedahan yang secukupnya daripada guru mereka. Hasil
soal selidik yang dijalankan dengan menggunakan instrumen Musliha Samsah, 2013 mendapati 87.3% guru tidak
memahami apa yang dimaksudkan dengan soalan KBAT. Mereka tidak mendapat pendedahan secara langsung
berkaitan dengan KBAT ini.

Senario yang berlaku dikebanyakkan sekolah ialah guru-guru hanya mengajar secara konvensional iaitu
berpandukan “chalk and talk”. Ia merupakan kaedah pembelajaran tradisi dan kebanyakan murid hanya belajar
dalam satu hala sahaja. Menurut Aris et al. (2000), interaksi di antara pelajar dan guru menjadi kurang dan terbatas
dan seterusnya menyebabkan pelajar menjadi pasif di dalam kelas. Mereka hanya duduk sepanjang waktu dan ia
sungguh membosankan. Selain itu, pemahaman pelajar terhadap mata pelajaran juga menjadi terbatas kerana pelajar
sukar untuk mengetahui sejauh mana pemahaman dan juga keupayaan mereka terhadap pembelajaran. Maka ilmu
yang mereka belajari tidak masuk ke dalam otak mereka. Peperiksaan dalam KSSR lebih menekankan kepada soalan
KBAT dimana murid-murid perlu berfikir sebelum menjawab berbanding dengan sebelum ini dalam kurikulum
KBSR. Penyataan ini disokong oleh Dr Na’imah Binti Ishak, 2013 dimana guru tidak dapat mengaplikasikan kaedah
pengajaran hafalan sahaja sebalik mereka perlu menyoal soalan KBAT. Hasil soal selidik juga kebanyakan guru di
Negeri Sembilan mengamalkan kaedah hafalan dan berpusatkan peperiksaan berbanding KBAT.

Guru adalah pendukung kepada pembentukan masyarakat yang berfikiran aras tinggi dan memerlukan
kompeten guru itu sendiri menggunakan KBAT. Oleh itu, guru perlu melengkapkan diri dengan pengetahuan untuk
mengajar dan mentaksir murid dari segi KBAT. Penglibatan intelektual di bilik darjah adalah tanggungjawab guru.
Apabila guru melaksanakan pengajaran yang mengandungi pedagogi yang membantu murid membangunkan KBAT,
guru secara langsung dapat meningkatkan pencapaian murid. (Boaler & Staples, 2008 ;Franco, Sztajn & Ramalho
2008). Dalam konteks mengintegrasikan KBAT di sekolah-sekolah di Malaysia, guru-guru yang dilatih perlu
memiliki perkara-perkara asas seperti ilmu pengetahuan tentang mata pelajaran, kemahiran untuk mengajar
kemahiran tersebut dan sikap yang sesuai. Di samping itu, juga kesediaan guru untuk mengendalikan proses
pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang dituntut oleh sesuatu inovasi merupakan salah satu pemboleh ubah utama yang
menentukan kejayaan atau kegagalan inovasi tersebut. (Rajendran 2001).

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 Walaupun terdapat guru yang cemerlang dalam sistem pendidikan Malaysia, kajian AKEPT 2011 mendapati
bahawa hanya 50% pengajaran disampaikan dengan berkesan. Hal ini bermakna penyampaian mata pelajaran tidak
melibatkan murid secukupnya dan cara mengajarnya lebih pasif serta berbentuk syarahan. Mata pelajaran yang
disampaikan lebih berfokus kepada pemahaman kandungan yang tidak mendalam dan tidak memberi tumpuan
kepada kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi. Statistik ini juga menunjukkan cabaran besar yang akan dihadapi kerana lebih
kurang 60% guru pada hari ini akan terus mengajar bagi tempoh 20 tahun lagi. Hal ini menunjukkan guru belum
bersedia penuh untuk mendidik anak murid untuk menghadapi dunia yang kian maju ini.

Terdapat sebilangan kajian lepas yang mengkaji kesediaan guru dalam pengendalian proses pengajaran dan
pembelajaran yang mengintegrasikan KBAT. Masalah utama yang dihadapi oleh guru ialah ketidaksediaan guru
dalam melaksanakan agenda ini kerana kekurangan ilmu dan kemahiran (Rosnani & Suhailah, 2003). Guru-guru
kurang bersedia dari segi ilmu pengetahuan, kemahiran pedagogi dan sikap untuk mengajar KBAT. (Rajendran,
2001). Menurut Ball dan Garton (2005), kebanyakan guru tidak tahu menerapkan KBAT kepada pelajar malahan ada
yang kurang bersedia.

Dapatan yang berbeza dilihat dalam kajian oleh Sukiman.et al (2012) di mana guru-guru Matematik
mempunyai kemahiran yang mencukupi untuk mengembangkan kemahiran berfikir pelajar, mempunyai kefahaman
yang cukup untuk mengajar kemahiran berfikir, berkebolehan mengajar pelajar untuk berfikir dengan baik serta
yakin bahawa objektif kemahiran berfikir boleh dicapai melalui subjek yang diajar. Guru-guru juga mempunyai
persepsi yang positif terhadap nilai dan kepentingan pengajaran berfikir. (Sukiman et al., 2012). Barathimalar (2014)
juga mendapati bahawa guru-guru Matematik bersedia dan menyedari kepentingan KBAT dalam mewujudkan
masyarakat yang mempunyai daya pemikiran yang tinggi.

Di samping itu, dari segi penaksiran beberapa cabaran dilalui. Antaranya ialah pengetahuan tentang penaksiran
KBAT, kemahiran guru dalam pembinaan dan penilaian item yang menguji KBAT adalah kurang dalam kalangan
guru. Selain itu, bahan sokongan dan rujukan tentang penaksiran KBAT di sekolah, daerah dan negeri sangat
berkurangan. Cabaran lain yang dilalui adalah persepsi guru yang menyatakan item KBAT adalah sukar dan
menentukan kecemerlangan murid-murid berdasarkan bilangan ‘A’ dalam peperiksaan yang mendorong murid untuk
mengamalkan budaya menghafal. (Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia, 2013)

OBJEKTIF KAJIAN

 Melihat sama ada guru-guru sekolah mempunyai pengetahuan berkaitan dengan unsur Kemahiran Berfikir
Aras Tinggi.

 Melihat sama ada guru-guru mengaplikasikan unsur Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi sewaktu proses
pengajaran dan pembelajaran.

 Mengenal pasti sama ada terdapat berbezaan di antara guru-guru sekolah rendah dengan menengah dalam
aspek keyakinan dan semangat untuk mengaplikasi unsur Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi dalam proses
pengajaran dan pembelajaran

 Mengenal pasti sama ada terdapat perbezaan di antara murid-murid sekolah kebangsaan dengan sekolah
jenis kebangsaan terhadap unsur Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi

PERSOALAN KAJIAN

 Adakah guru-guru sekolah mempunyai pengetahuan tinggi berkaitan dengan unsur Kemahiran Berfikir
Aras Tinggi?

 Adakah guru-guru mengaplikasikan unsur Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi sewaktu proses pengajaran dan
pembelajaran?

 Adakah terdapat berbezaan di antara guru-guru sekolah rendah dengan menengah dalam aspek keyakinan
dan semangat untuk mengaplikasi unsur Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi dalam proses pengajaran dan
pembelajaran?

 Adakah terdapat perbezaan di antara murid-murid sekolah kebangsaan dengan sekolah jenis kebangsaan
terhadap unsur Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi?

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 HIPOTESIS KAJIAN
 Ho1: Tidak terdapat perbezaan signifikan diantara jantina guru dalam aspek pengetahuan dalam unsur
KBAT

 Ho2: Tidak terdapat perbezaan signifikan diantara jantina guru dalam pengaplikasian unsur KBAT dalam
proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran

 Ho3: Tidak terdapat perbezaan signifikan diantara jenis aliran sekolah dalam pengaplikasian unsur KBAT
dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran

 Ho4: Tidak terdapat perbezaan signifikan diantara jantina dan bangsa guru dengan pengetahuan mereka
dalam unsur KBAT

KAJIAN-KAJIAN LEPAS
Pendidikan di Negara ini telah mengalami satu berubahan besar dengan mengamalkan dasar baru yang dikenali
sebagai Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia (PPPM) 2013 hingga 2025. Dalam dasar ini pelbagai perkara
telah dititik beratkan bagi meningkatkan mutu pendidikan Negara ini untuk bersaingan dengan Negara yang lebih
maju. Pengarah pelajaran Malaysia Datuk Dr Khair Mohammad Yusof mengatakan dalam usaha untuk melahir dan
membangunkan model insan yang akan memacu kemajuan Negara pada masa hadapan, Negara memerlukan
generasi rakyat Malaysia yang mempunyai pemikiran minda kelas pertama, menguasai kemahiran berfikir aras
tinggi (KBAT), bersifat inovatif dan kreatif serta berkemampuan untuk melonjakkan Negara ke persada
antarabangsa. Maka untuk mencapai impian ini, guru memainkan peranan penting untuk mengaplikasikan kemahiran
berfikir aras tinggi dalam pendidikan. Ini telah disokong oleh mantan pengarah lembaga peperiksaan dimana
kejayaan penerapan elemen KBAT dalam pentaksiran murid amat bergantung kepada kerjasama dan komitmen yang
berterusan daripada semua pihak.

Menurut Rajendran (2001), kekuatan sebenar sesebuah Negara terletak tahap ilmu dan kemahiran yang
dikuasai oleh rakyat Negara tersebut. Untuk mencapai matlamat ini, setiap rakyat Malaysia perlu menguasai
kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi sejak di bangku sekolah lagi bagi melahirkan warga Malaysia yang berfikiran meluas
dan dapat berfikir secara kreatif dan kritis. Sistem pendidikan setiap negara bermatlamat untuk memastikan setiap
murid diberi didikan ilmu pengetahuan dan kemahiran supaya dapat berjaya dalam kehidupan. Sejak kebelakangan
ini, sistem pendidikan Malaysia seperti negara-negara lain menitikberatkan penguasaan kandungan pengetahuan oleh
murid menerusi mata pelajaran seperti Sains, Matematik dan bahasa. Tahap penguasaan ini seringkali diukur melalui
keputusan peperiksaan yang diduduki oleh murid-murid.

Walau bagaimanapun, Malaysia seperti negara-negara lain mempunyai kesedaran bahawa penguasaan 3M
(membaca, menulis dan mengira) sahaja tidak memadai untuk meninggalkan alam persekolahan tetapi kemahiran
menaakul iaitu kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi perlu dibangunkan. Isu ini dikenal pasti melalui a) pertamanya, sistem
pendidikan negara lain dapat meningkatkan prestasi murid dengan lebih cepat dan mampu mengekalkan momentum
tersebut secara berterusan. Oleh itu, jurang pencapaian antara sistem pendidikan Malaysia dan negara lain semakin
lebar. b) Keduanya, pentaksiran antarabangsa iaitu TIMMS dan PISA menunjukkan prestasi murid Malaysia
semakin merosot. Sepanjang dua dekad yang lalu, pentaksiran antarabangsa seperti Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA) dan Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), telah muncul
sebagai kaedah perbandingan langsung tentang kualiti keberhasilan pendidikan merentas pelbagai sistem.

Terdapat 3 elemen utama dalam pelaksanaan KBAT iaitu kurikulum, pedagogi dan pentaksiran serta 4 elemen
sokongan iaitu kokurikulum, sokongan komuniti dan swasta, bina upaya dan sumber. (Azraei, 2016) Dalam elemen
kurikulum, kehendaknya adalah untuk menyediakan standard KBAT dari prasekolah hingga ke Tingkatan 5, dari
segi pedagogi pengajaran yang efektif dalam bilik darjah perlu dilaksanakan berdasarkan penggunaan alat berfikir
seperti program i-Think manakala peratus dan kualiti soalan berunsurkan KBAT perlu ditingkatkan serta manual
pembina item KBAT perlu disediakan dari segi pentaksiran.

Bertitik tolak daripada kesedaran ini, Kementerian Pelajaran telah mengkaji semula sistem pendidikan
Malaysia pada bulan Oktober 2011. (Utusan Online, 2012) Di bawah anjakan pertama dalam Pelan Pembangunan
Pendidikan Malaysia 2013-2025 iaitu menyediakan kesamarataan akses kepada pendidikan berkualiti bertaraf
antarabangsa beberapa perubahan telah dibuat dalam sistem pendidikan. Hari ini murid-murid dikatakan berjaya
menguasai ilmu apabila mereka berupaya menganalisa maklumat, berfikir secara kritis, mengaplikasi ilmu secara
kreatif dan berkomunikasi dengan berkesan. Inilah ciri-ciri kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi yang dimilik oleh murid-
murid di negara-negar maju. Menurut Robinson (2000), selain daripada kemahiran asas, kemahiran yang lebih
penting untuk memperoleh pekerjaan adalah memiliki kemahiran berfikir tahap tinggi (higher-order thinking skills).

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 Sehubungan dengan itu, Kementerian melancarkan Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah (KSSM) dan
Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) yang disemak semula pada tahun 2017. Selanjutnya, peperiksaan dan
pentaksiran kebangsaan juga dirombak untuk meningkatkan tumpuan terhadap kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi selaras
dengan pelaksanaan kurikulum baharu. Sebagai contoh menjelang tahun 2016, peperiksaan UPSR akan
mengandungi 80 peratus soalan berbentuk pemikiran aras tinggi.

Segala langkah yang diambil ini tidak akan berhasil tanpa sokongan dan dorongan oleh guru-guru yang
berkualiti. Kualiti guru merupakan faktor paling signifikan dalam menentukan keberhasilan murid. Kualiti sistem
tidak boleh melangkaui kualiti guru.

METADOLOGI KAJIAN
Kajian ini di jalankan terhadap 160 orang guru yang hadir ke seminar kajian tindakan peringkat Negeri
Sembilan. 160 orang guru tersebut hadir dari pelbagai daerah dan mereka terdiri daripada guru yang mengajar di
pelbagai jenis aliran sekolah. Keputusan yang diperolehi boleh mewakili keseluruhan guru-guru di Negeri Sembilan.
Daripada 160 orang guru hanya 120 orang guru sahaja yang menghantar boring soal selidik dengan lengkap. Kaedah
soal selidik merupakan kaedah yang digunakan untuk menguji tahap Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi di kalangan
guru-guru. Soalan selidik yang pengkaji sediakan ini menggunakan format Linkert. Pengkaji telah memperincikan
kepada aspek-aspek seperti yang berikut semasa menyediakan item untuk soal selidik. Berikut adalah item yang
dibahagikan mengikut objektif kajian seperti pengetahuan guru terhadap KBAT, aplikasi unsur KBAT dalam proses
pengajaran dan pembelajaran, keyakinan guru sewaktu mengendalikan kelas yang melibatkan KBAT, Usaha
seseorang guru untuk memperolehi ilmu berkaitan KBAT dan Fakta KBAT. Kesemua aspek ini telah menjawab
persoalan kajian ini.

ANALISIS DATA
*Melihat sama ada guru-guru sekolah mempunyai pengetahuan berkaitan dengan unsur Kemahiran Berfikir Aras
Tinggi.

JADUAL 1: pengetahuan guru mengikut jantina

Skala Jantina N Min Sisihan Nilai-t Sig

Piawai
Pengetahuan Guru Lelaki 34 12.18 1.82 -2.47 0.015
dalam
Perempuan 86 13.26 2.28
KBAT

Berdasarkan data, nilai signifikan bagi ujian Levene adalah kurang daripada p=0.05 iaitu dalam data 0.001,
maka varian bagi kedua-dua kumpulan adalah tidak sama. Maka kita perlu menggunakan maklumat bagi baris kedua
dalam ujian-T iaitu “equal variances not assumed”.

Ujian T –test tidak bersandar dijalankan bagi mengetahui segi tahap pengetahuan KBAT dalam kalangan guru-
guru berdasarkan jantina antara lelaki dan perempuan. Terdapat perbezaan signifikan skor diantara jantina lelaki
(min=12.18, s.d=1.82) dan jantina perempuan (min= 13.26, s.d= 2.28); (t= -2.47, p=0.015). Ini telah membuktikan
bahawa hipotesis nul ditolak dimana wujud perbezaan signifikan dari segi pengetahuan guru dalam kalangan guru-
guru berdasarkan jantina dimana perempuan mempunyai tahap pengetahuan KBAT yang tinggi berbanding dengan
lelaki berdasarkan skor mean.

*Melihat sama ada guru-guru mengaplikasikan unsur Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi sewaktu proses pengajaran
dan pembelajaran.

Jadual 2: aplikasi unsur KBAT dalam P&P mengikut jantina

Skala Jantina N Min Sisihan Nilai-t Sig

Piawai
APLIKASI UNSUR Lelaki 34 12.68 1.98 -2.04 0.044
KBAT DALAM Perempuan 86 13.57 2.23
P&P

377
 Ujian T –test tidak bersandar dijalankan bagi mengetahui segi aplikasi KBAT dalam P&P dalam kalangan
guru-guru berdasarkan jantina antara lelaki dan perempuan. Terdapat perbezaan signifikan skor diantara jantina
lelaki (min=12.68, s.d=1.98) dan jantina perempuan (min= 13.57, s.d= 2.23); (t= -2.04, p=0.044). Ini telah
membuktikan bahawa hipotesis nul ditolak dimana wujud perbezaan signifikan dari segi pengetahuan guru dalam
kalangan guru-guru berdasarkan jantina dimana perempuan mempunyai tahap aplikasi KBAT dalam P&P yang
tinggi berbanding dengan lelaki berdasarkan skor mean.

*Ho3: Tidak terdapat perbezaan signifikan diantara jenis aliran sekolah dalam pengaplikasian unsur KBAT dalam proses pengajaran
dan pembelajaran

JADUAL 3: pengaplikasian unsur KBAT dalam P&P mengikut jenis aliran sekolah

JENIS SEK N MEAN Sisihan Piawai

SMK 28 12.68 2.09
SK 46 13.15 2.36
SJK(C) 18 14.06 1.86
SJK(T) 21 14.05 2.06
Lain-lain 7 12.86 2.04

Sum of df Mean F Sig.

Squares Square
Between 35.171 4 8.793 1.884 .118
Groups
Within 536.796 115 4.668
Groups
Total 571.967 119

ANOVA satu hala dijalankan untuk mengetahui tahap pengaplikasian KBAT dalam P&P oleh guru-guru dalam
pelbagai jenis aliran sekolah. Hasil dapatan menunjukkan sekolah jenis Kebangsaan mengaplikasikan unsur KBAT
di sekolah lebih tinggi berbandingan dengan Sekolah Menengah dan Sekolah Kebangsaan. Hasil eta square juga
menunjukkan bahawa terdapat perbezaan sederhana di antara kelima-lima jenis aliran sekolah dengan nilainya 0.06.
terdapat perbezaan signifikan di antara jenis aliran sekolah [F(4,115)= 1.884, p=0.118]. ini telah membuktikan
bahawa hipotesis nul ditolak dimana wujud perbezaan signifikan dari segi pengaplikasian KBAT dalam P&P dalam
kalangan guru-guru berdasarkan jenis aliran sekolah dimana Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan mempunyai tahap aplikasi
KBAT dalam P&P yang tinggi berbanding dengan sekolah Menengah dan Kebangsaan berdasarkan skor mean.

*Mengenal pasti sama ada terdapat berbezaan di antara guru-guru sekolah rendah dengan menengah dalam aspek keyakinan
dan semangat untuk mengaplikasi unsur Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran

JADUAL 4: keyakinan dan usaha guru dalam KBAT mengikut jenis aliran sekolah

Descriptives
95% Confidence Interval
for Mean
Std. Lower Upper
N Mean Deviation Std. Error Bound Bound Minimum Maximum
Keyakina SMK 28 9.8571 1.53271 .28966 9.2628 10.4515 7.00 13.00
n Guru SK 46 10.3696 1.65138 .24348 9.8792 10.8600 7.00 13.00
SJKC 18 10.8333 1.29479 .30518 10.1895 11.4772 8.00 13.00
SJKT 21 10.7619 2.14254 .46754 9.7866 11.7372 6.00 15.00
Lain-lain 7 9.5714 2.07020 .78246 7.6568 11.4860 7.00 12.00
Total 120 10.3417 1.71741 .15678 10.0312 10.6521 6.00 15.00
Usaha SMK 28 14.4286 2.15043 .40639 13.5947 15.2624 10.00 19.00
Guru SK 46 14.5000 1.67000 .24623 14.0041 14.9959 10.00 18.00
SJKC 18 15.1667 1.54349 .36380 14.3991 15.9342 12.00 18.00
SJKT 21 15.5238 1.74983 .38184 14.7273 16.3203 14.00 20.00
Lain-lain 7 14.1429 2.54484 .96186 11.7893 16.4964 11.00 17.00
Total 120 14.7417 1.86744 .17047 14.4041 15.0792 10.00 20.00

378
 ANOVA
Sum of
Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Keyakinan Guru Between Groups 18.822 4 4.705 1.629 .172
Within Groups 332.170 115 2.888
Total 350.992 119
Usaha Guru Between Groups 24.039 4 6.010 1.768 .140
Within Groups 390.952 115 3.400
Total 414.992 119

Jadual menunjukkan keyakinan guru dan usaha guru di kalangan guru Sekolah menengah dan rendah adalah
berbeza. Guru-guru di sekolah menengah mempunyai keyakinan diri yang rendah berbandingan dengan sekolah
rendah. Bagi aspek keyakinan diri guru di sekolah menengah adalah rendah adalah mean=9.86, s.d= 1.53 manakalah
bagi sekolah rendah adalah atas mean= 10.4.bagi usaha guru pula sekolah menangah masih mencapai keputusan
yang rendah iaitu mean=14.42, s.d=2.15. Pada masa yang sama secara keseluruhannya, guru-guru masih tidak yakin
dengan penyampaian mereka, menjawab soalan, pengaplikasian KBAT di kelas dimana keyakinan guru mencapai
mean=10.34 sahaja. Ini telah membuktikan bahawa hipotesis nul ditolak dimana wujud perbezaan signifikan dari
segi keyakinan dan usaha guru di kalangan guru-guru sekolah menengah dan rendah dimana guru sekolah rendah
mempunyai tahap keyakinan dan usaha KBAT yang tinggi berbanding dengan guru sekolah menengah berdasarkan
skor mean.

*Mengenal pasti sama ada terdapat perbezaan di antara murid-murid sekolah kebangsaan dengan sekolah jenis kebangsaan
terhadap unsur Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi

JADUAL 5: kesedian murid mengikut jenis aliran sekolah

Descriptives
95% Confidence
Interval for Mean
Std. Std. Lower Upper
N Mean Deviation Error Bound Bound Minimum Maximum
SMK 28 4.8214 1.21879 .23033 4.3488 5.2940 3.00 7.00
SK 46 5.0435 1.53415 .22620 4.5879 5.4991 3.00 8.00
SJKC 18 6.5000 1.61791 .38135 5.6954 7.3046 3.00 9.00
SJKT 21 6.2381 1.57812 .34437 5.5197 6.9564 3.00 9.00
Lain- 7 5.0000 1.41421 .53452 3.6921 6.3079 3.00 7.00
lain
Total 120 5.4167 1.60138 .14619 5.1272 5.7061 3.00 9.00

ANOVA

Sum of
Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups 52.837 4 13.209 6.020 .000
Within Groups 252.330 115 2.194
Total 305.167 119

Jadual 5 juga menunjukkan murid-murid di Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan lebih bersedia berbandingan dengan sekolah
Menengah dan Sekolah Kebangsaan. Sekolah jenis Kebangsaan Cina mencapai significant yang sangat tinggi iaitu mean=6.50,
s.d=1.62. sekolah menengah mencapai nilai yang sangat rendah mean=4.82, s.d
1.22 kerana aras KBAT bagi sekolah menengah adalah sangat tinggi berbandingan di sekolah rendah. Pada masa yang
sama, keyakinan guru untuk mengajar juga turut mempengaruhi kesediaan murid-murid. Jadual di atas menunjukkan tahap
keyakinan guru di sekolah menengah sangat rendah mengakibatkan murid-murid tidak mempunyai lalui yang betul untuk
mengetahui KBAT. Ini telah membuktikan bahawa hipotesis nul ditolak dimana wujud perbezaan signifikan dari segi kesediaan
murid mengikut jenis aliran sekolah dimana sekolah jenis Kebangsaan Cina mempunyai tahap kesediaan KBAT yang tinggi
berbanding dengan sekolah aliran yang lain.

379
 *Ho4: Tidak terdapat perbezaan signifikan diantara jantina dan bangsa guru dengan pengetahuan mereka dalam unsur
KBAT

JADUAL 6: Pengetahuan KBAT mengikut jantina dan bangsa

Descriptive Statistics

Bangsa Jantina Mean Std. Deviation N

melayu lelaki 11.5000 1.46059 16
perempuan 13.4655 1.93051 58

Total 13.0405 2.00301 74

cina lelaki 12.2857 .95119 7
perempuan 12.8571 2.82454 14
Total 12.6667 2.35230 21
India lelaki 13.0909 2.34327 11
perempuan 12.7857 3.01735 14
Total 12.9200 2.69134 25

Sum of Mean Partial Eta Observed

Source Squares df Square F Sig. Squared b
Power
Bangsa 3.485 2 1.743 .377 .687 .007 .109
Jantina 10.914 1 10.914 2.362 .127 .020 .332
Bangsa * 22.858 2 11.429 2.473 .089 .042 .488
Jantina
Error 526.840 114 4.621
Total 20704.000 120
Corrected 579.700 119
Total
Total lelaki 12.1765 1.81693 34
perempuan 13.2558 2.28131 86

Total 12.9500 2.20713 120

Hasil dapatan menunjukkan bangsa Melayu mempunyai pengetahuan yang lebih tinggi dalam KBAT. Ini
adalah kerana kebanyakkan cikgu di sekolah jenis merupakan guru yang mengajar berdasarkan kepada pengalaman
sahaja. Tambahan lagi mereka bukan guru yang mempunyai pengkhususan khas dalam bidang matematik mahupun
Sains. Pengaruh pemboleh ubah adalah kecil kerana eta square adalah di bawah 0.02. Bangsa melayu mempunyai
perbezaan significan yang besar berbanding dengan bangsa yang lain (mean=13.04, s.d=2.00). Bangsa China dan
India mempunyai nilai significant yang hampir sama dengan bangsa Cina (mean=12.67, s.d=2.35) manakala India
pula (mean=12.92, s.d=2.69). sekiranya di bandingkan dengan jantina dengan bangsa, Jantina lelaki Melayu
mepunyai perbezaan yang sangat besar di mana lelaki Melayu kurang mempunyai pengetahuan dalam kemahiran
KBAT dengan nilai mean=11.50, s.d=1.46. ). Ini telah membuktikan bahawa hipotesis nul ditolak dimana wujud
perbezaan signifikan dari segi pengetahuan guru mengikut bangsa dan jantina dimana bangsa Melayu mempunyai
tahap pengetahuan KBAT yang tinggi berbanding dengan bangsa melayu berdasarkan skor mean.

380
 KESIMPULAN
Ini telah menunjukkan bahawa tahap KBAT secara keselurahan masih rendah di kalangan guru-guru di
semua peringkat guru. Ini adalah kerana mereka tidak mengetahui elemen yang terdapat dalam KBAT. Pada masa
yang sama, di sekolah jenis kebangsaan pula kebanyakkan guru adalah bukan berdasarkan kepada pengkhususan
masing-masing. Mereka mengajar berdasarkan pengalaman. Ini menyebabkan mereka tidak mengetahui unsur yang
terdapat dalam KBAT. Pada masa yang sama, guru perempuan lebih arif tentang KBAT berbanding dengan lelaki.
Mungkin guru lelaki tidak mempunyai usaha sendiri untuk mencari info berkaitan dengan KBAT terutamanya lelaki
berbangsa Melayu. Di sebabkan mereka tidak mempunyai ilmu yang mencukupi berkaitan KBAT menyebabkan
mereka tidak yakin untuk menyampaikan input berkaitan dengan KBAT di dalam kelas. Pada masa yang sama
pengaplikasian unsur KBAT di sekolah juga menunjukkan guru perempuan lebih aktif berbanding dengan guru
lelaki. Mereka perlu bertindak segera bagi membolehkan pencapaian akan meningkat. Guru lelaki lebih mengutakan
proses pengajaran yang tradisional dan tidak mempunyai ilmu yang mencukupi dengan tajuk KBAT.

Maka hasil daripada data ini, pengkaji akan membuat modul KBAT untuk membantu para guru di sekolah
rendah untuk membina soalan KBAT dan cara menjawab soalan KBAT dengan mudah. Ia sangat membantu
meningkatkan pencapaian dan akan melahirkan murid-murid yang berfikiran aras tinggi untuk bersaing dengan
Negara-negara yang maju yang lain.

PENGHARGAAN
Bersyukur kepada tuhan kerana dapat menyiapkan kajian ini dengan berjaya. Tambahan lagi, saya ingin
mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih kepada pensyarah saya Dr Zanaton dan Prof Kamisah atas bimbingan dan tunjuk
ajar mereka bagi membantu saya membuat kajian ini. Selain iu, saya juga ingin mengambil kesempatan untuk
mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih kepada semua guru yang terlibat dalam kajian saya ini sebagai responden di mana
mereka meluangkan masa untuk menjawab soalan ini. Akhir sekali, saya ingin mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih
kepada semua pihak yang membantu saya secara langsung dan tidak langsung untuk menyiapkan kajian ini.

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Transformasi Literasi Kreatif di Malaysia, http//www.Eprints.Utm.My/Pendidik_Kreatif_Sebagai_Teras_Transformas
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11. Rozainee Khairuddin, Rohany Nasir, Zainah Ahmad Zamani, Fatimah Yusooff &Fatimah Omar.(2011). A Game
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International Journal Knowledge, Culture and Change Management 10(9): 29-39.

381
 Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment and Assessment
Practices in Mathematics at Secondary Schools

Nur Hidayah Abd Gapara, Zaleha Ismailb and Yudariah Mohamad Yusofb
a
Sekolah Menengah Sains Rembau, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
b
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia

Abstract. This paper reports on results of a study on teachers’ conceptions of assessment and their practices in
Mathematics. The aim is to determine whether there is a difference between the level of teachers’ conceptions of
assessment in Mathematics and the level of their assessment practices in Mathematics based on gender. The study used
quantitative methods involving 50 Mathematics teachers from secondary schools around Rembau District. The
respondents were selected through stratified random sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires adapted from
the work of Brown. Descriptive analysis and inferential analysis namely Mann-Whitney is used to analyses the data.
The findings showed that the level of teachers’ conceptions of assessment in Mathematics and the level of their
assessment practices in Mathematics is high. While the Mann- Whitney analysis found that there is no difference
between the level of teachers’ conceptions of assessment and their assessment practices based on gender. It is expected
that teachers could carry out quality assessments and were able to test the level of knowledge achieved by their students
in Mathematics. The grades obtained by students in the assessment thus describe their actual understanding and
achievement in Mathematics. The findings were discussed and recommendations for further research were also
addressed.
Keyword. Assessment Conception, Assessment Practice, Mathematics Teachers, Secondary Schools

INTRODUCTION
Assessment plays an important role in education at all levels. In learning and teaching, assessment is conducted to
determine whether teachers are ‘teaching’ and students are ‘learning’. According to Stephen and Stiggins (2001),
students’ confidence and motivation to learning increased when teachers are using classroom assessment activities
that involve students directly and deeply in their learning. Such practice emphasizes progress and achievement of
students rather than failure and defeat. While evaluations focus on the grades acquired by students and give the figure
of classrooms components such as the course content and mastery level. Besides, discussion, student’s cooperation,
attendance and ability to communicate efficiently could also be included in an evaluation.
In general, assessment system implemented in mathematics classroom is still using the traditional method and
teaching activities were mainly based on public examinations (Rowlett, 2011). Students believed that excellent
results achieved from an examination is sufficient to assess their level of proficiency in mathematics to be applied in
the world of work. There has been criticism that students although excelled in mathematics courses taken at the
university, could not apply what they learn in the workplace (Kashef et. al, 2011). This suggest that students were not
prepared well for the workplace environment and the good grades that they have scored are just a grade.
It is proposed that assessment practices should include assessment for learning as it not only assesses students, it
also allow teachers to review their instruction in the classroom. This means that, both teachers and students would
use classroom assessment information to modify and improve their teaching and learning activities respectively.
Teaching and learning process must be able to form a more comprehensive understanding of mathematics in
students, where they should be able to use their knowledge in various situations and communicate in writing or orally
with confidence. When the teaching and learning of mathematics are concerned with the balance between
knowledge, understanding and skills to apply the concepts, then the assessment and evaluation should also attach
great importance to this aspect of mathematics.
Recognizing the importance of assessment in the educational system particularly in Mathematics, a study that
focus on teachers’ conceptions about assessment and their actual practices in assessment was carried out. Of concern
is how teachers perceived their assessment practices. It would be of interest to know if there is a significant difference
between the level of the teachers’ conceptions of assessment and the level of their assessment practice in
Mathematics classroom.

382
 RESEARCH BACKGROUND
Assessment practices differ between countries and region, between institutions and subject areas within
institutions (QASA, 2008). There are a number of issues relating to assessment, in particular exam-oriented
education issue that seem to kill the fun and excitement of students’ life as it is synonymously associated with
studying for exams (Adi Badiozaman, 2007). Despite the importance of school assessment in the learning process, its
effectiveness depends on various factors among others (i) attitude, orientation and philosophy of teachers to the
students and the teaching-learning process, (ii) training, knowledge and skills of teachers in educational assessment,
(iii) classroom climate and (iv) education policy (Stiggins & Conklin, 1992). There is still much debate on how to
define better way to assess students’ knowledge and their learning process particularly in Mathematics.

This paper reports on a study that seek to answer the following questions:

i. What are the level of conceptions of Mathematics teachers toward assessment on the aspects of
accountability, improvement and irrelevance?
ii. What are the level of assessment practices of Mathematics teachers on the aspects of accountability,
improvement and irrelevance?
iii. What are the differences between the level of conceptions on assessment in Mathematics and assessment
practices among secondary school Mathematics teachers based on gender?

METHODOLOGY
The population for the study is teachers teaching Mathematics in secondary schools. Secondary schools in Negeri
Sembilan were chosen as the state was ranked the second-best performance in SPM 2016 at the national level. The
stratified random sampling was used to choose the district for the study and Rembau has been selected to participate
in the study conducted. The number of secondary school Mathematics teachers who was in the area was obtained
from the Rembau District Education Office. A total number of 60 teachers were identified teaching Mathematics in
secondary schools in Rembau. For getting high validity and reliability, the sample is based on the Table Sample Size
Determination by Krejcie and Morgan (1970) where the sample for the population should be 52. Thus, 60
Mathematics teachers in schools around Rembau is considered sufficient as respondent for this research.
A set of questionnaires was prepared as an instrument to elicit feedback from the respondents. Items in the
questionnaire were adapted from a survey instrument developed by Brown (2009). A 5-point Likert scale format
ranges from (1) = Strongly Disagree, (2) = Disagree, (3) = Almost Agree, (4) = Agree, to (5) = Strongly Agree was
used. Out of 60 respondents, only 50 of them managed to return the questionnaire given.

DATA ANALYSIS

The Level of Conceptions on Assessment of Mathematics Teachers on the Aspects of

Accountability, Improvement and Irrelevance
The Statistical Package for Social Science Version 22.0 (SPSS 22.0) software was use to analyze the respondents
feedback quantitatively. Results obtained are summarize in Table (1) below.

TABLE (1). Median score and Standard Deviation for the Level of Assessment Conceptions of Mathematics Teachers on the
Aspects of Accountability, Improvement and Irrelevance

No. of Assessment Conceptions Median

SD Level
Construct of Mathematics Score
Teachers
1 Accountability: Evaluate School 4.00 0.63 High
2 Accountability: Evaluate Students 4.00 0.56 High
3 Improvement: Improve Students Learning 4.00 0.42 High
4 Improvement: Improve Teaching 4.00 0.47 High
5 Improvement: Diagnose Student Ability 4.00 0.59 High
6 Improvement: Quality Valid Information 3.67 0.44 Moderate
7 Irrelevance: Used But Ignored 3.00 0.79 Moderate
3.81 0.34 High

Based on Table (1), the conception of assessment among the mathematics teachers in general, is considered a
high level (median = 3.81, SD = 0.34). Similar results are obtained for the other five aspects, namely

383
Accountability: Evaluate School (median = 4.00, SD = 0.63), Accountability: Evaluate Students (mean = 4.00, SD =
0.56), Improvement: Improve Teaching (mean = 4.00, SD = 0.47) and Improvement: Diagnose Student Ability
(mean = 4.00, SD = 0.59).
While for the aspect of Improvement: Quality valid Information is considered in the moderate level among the
seven aspects of the teachers’ assessments conception in Mathematics with Median = 3.67 and SD = 0.44. The
aspect of Irrelevance: Used But Ignore has the lowest median score which is 3.00 (SD = 0.79) and is also considered
in the moderate level. As a whole, teachers have a high level of conceptions of assessment in Mathematics.

The Level of Assessment Practices of Mathematics Teachers on the Aspects of

Accountability, Improvement and Irrelevance
Table (2) shows the statistical results on teachers’ conceptions towards their assessment practice in Mathematics
classroom.

TABLE (2). Median score and Standard Deviation for the level of Assessment Practices of Mathematics Teachers on the
Aspects of Accountability, Improvement and Irrelevance

No. of Teachers Practices of Assessment in Median

SD Level
Constructs Mathematics Score
1 School Accountability 4.00 0.59 High
2 Students Accountability 4.00 0.62 High
3 Improvement: Students Learning 4.00 0.49 High
4 Improvement: Teaching 4.00 0.56 High
5 Improvement: Diagnose Student Ability 4.00 0.53 High
Improvement: Quality Valid
6 3.67 0.55 Moderate
Information
7 Irrelevance: Used But Ignored 2.67 0.99 Moderate
3.76 0.39 High

From the table, it can be seen that the level of assessment practices in Mathematics among teachers also indicate
a high level (median = 3.76, SD = 0.39). Likewise, the other six aspects that are under assessment practices constructs
had median scores in the high level, specifically Accountability: Evaluate School (median = 4.00, SD = 0.59),
Accountability: Evaluate Students (mean = 4.00, SD = 0.62), Improvement: Students Learning (median = 4.00, SD
= 0.49), Improvement: Improve Teaching (median = 4.00, SD = 0.56) and Improvement: Diagnose Student Ability
(median = 4.00, SD = 0.53).
While the aspect of Improvement: Quality valid Information has the second lowest median score of 3.67 (SD =
0.55) and considered in the moderate level. This is followed by Irrelevance: Used But Ignore which has the lowest
median score of 2.67 (SD = 0.99) among the seven aspects measured and considered in the moderate level. This
suggest that teachers’ conception of their assessment practices in Mathematics classroom is in the high level.

Differences in the Level of Conceptions on Assessment in Mathematics and Assessment

Practices among Secondary School Mathematics Teachers based on Gender
Mann-Whitney Test was used to identify the difference in the level of conceptions of assessment in Mathematics
and assessment practices among secondary Mathematics teachers based on gender. The results are shown in Table
(3) below.

TABLE (3). Differences in the Level of Conceptions on Assessment in Mathematics and Assessment Practices among
Secondary School Mathematics Teachers

Variables Gender N Mean Rank U Z Sig (p)

Assessment Male 12 23.46
203.500 -.558 .577
Conception Female 38 26.14
Assessment Male 12 28.67
190.000 -.866 .387
Practice Female 38 24.50
*Significant at
p > .05

384
 Table (3) shows the Mann-Whitney analysis on the level of conceptions on assessment and assessment practices
for both the male and female teachers. The test results for the comparison in assessment conceptions between male
and female (z = -.558, p = .577) is significant at the level of p > .05. The value of the mean rank between the male
(23.46) and the female (26.14) is almost the same. This indicates that there is no difference in the level of assessment
conceptions in Mathematics between the male and female teachers.
Likewise, the test results for the comparison in assessment practices between male and female (z = -.866, p
=.387) is significant at the level of p > .05. The value of the mean rank between the male (28.67) and the female
(24.50) is almost the same too. This indicates that there is no difference on the level of assessment practices in
Mathematics between the male and female teachers.
Overall the analysis showed that there were no significant differences in the level of conceptions on assessment
and assessment practices between male and female.

DISCUSSION

The Level of Conceptions of Mathematics Teachers on Assessment Based on the Aspects of

Accountability, Improvement and Irrelevance
The level of teachers’ conceptions of assessment in Mathematics was determined based on three aspects,
namely accountability, improvement and irrelevance. The results of this study showed that the level of teachers'
conceptions of assessment in Mathematics is high. In particular, the aspect of accountability in terms of evaluates
school and evaluates students, is at high level. Most of the teachers agree that assessment is a good way to evaluate the
performance of a school in mathematics. The results parallels Deneen and Brown (2016) that suggest schools
evaluation has to do with using assessment results to determine the performance of teachers and schools. Earlier
study such as Ravitch (2013) had highlighted the use of assessment to determine whether schools and teachers are
making adequate progress or meeting expected standards. The respondents also strongly agreed that the assessment
in Mathematics help placed students into categories according to their performance in Mathematics. They too
believe that assessment is about assigning a grade or level to student work. This support a study by Ramlah et. al
(2015) which proposed that in the assessment system, teachers managed, recorded, interpreted, reported and made
judgments about student performance during, throughout (formative) and at the end of (summative) teaching and
learning process. Furthermore, assessment process is about giving grades and reporting (assessment of learning)
(Azhar and Shahrir, 2007).
The aspects of improvement consist of student learning, improve teaching, diagnose student ability and quality
of valid information were too found at high levels. Most of the teachers agreed that information modifies ongoing
assessment of students in Mathematics teaching. Indeed, the main goal of the assessment was not simply to make a
decision about a student's achievement, but to provide support and positive mechanism to help students improve or
enhance learning and improve teaching (Ramlah et. al, 2015). It is believing that assessment can established what
students have learned in Mathematics and provide reliable results of performance in mathematics. In addition,
teachers perceived a quality assessment can give an accurate information and showed the real situation on the level
of students’ learning.
While the aspect of irrelevance (used but ignored) has a moderate level. Most of the teachers disagree that
assessment has little impact on teaching Mathematics and that they make little use of the assessment results. This
resonates with Brown (2011) who claimed that assessment done in the classroom is to make teaching more
meaningful and leaves a long-lasting impression on the students. Furthermore, Alaba (2012) stressed that teachers, who
are teaching, are the teachers assessing their students. Certainly, result of assessments will help teachers to be more
aware and knowledgeable about their students.

The Level of Teachers Conception on Assessment Practice in Mathematics Based on the

Aspects of Accountability, Improvement and Irrelevance
In the case of assessment practice in Mathematics, the level of teachers’ conceptions too was determined based on
the three aspects: accountability, improvement and irrelevance. The results showed that the level of teachers'
conceptions is also high. The aspect of accountability in terms of school accountability and student accountability is at
a high level. The teachers agree that the schools used assessment results to show how well it is doing and regarded
the assessment result as an important indicator of the school's quality. They perceived good assessment as the result
of effective implementation of regular assessments where the administrator, especially principals is seen as having
played a successful role in the planning process. A study by Syed Ismail and Ahmad Subki (2010) indicate that the
leadership of the principal is viewed as the pillars of success of a school both in academic and co-curricular

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activities. As leaders, principals must have the quality of self-assessment that can help build a strong foundation for
practice in the school.
The teachers agreed that it was important to use the Mathematics assessment result to categorize students
according to their performance and to determine if students meet standards. Other studies had suggested that the
important purpose of assessment is to help students master the content of the lesson (Akhbar Ibrahim and Siti Zaliha
Reduan, 2002), to help students improve their learning (Gronlund, 2006), and their grade (Airasian, 2001). While the
aspect of improvement, consisting of students’ learning, teaching, students’ ability and quality diagnose valid
information is also at a high level. This indicate that teachers always use assessment to help students learn Mathematics
and to identify students' learning needs in Mathematics. They provide feedback to students about their performance
in Mathematics. This is in line with the recommendations of William and Thompson (2007) that shows among
good assessment practices is talking with students about their learning progress as well as making assessments
measure what is mastered. This practice is one of the best practices in assessment recommended by Barkdale-
Ladd and Thomas (2000), where feedback provided do help students improve their learning. Giving feedback in
terms of comments alone can lead to higher achievement for all students rather than giving feedback on students in
the form of grade or mark (Butler, 2006). In fact, the main criteria of effective feedback students were giving
explanations and specific activities to undertake to improve learning as intended by teachers (Wiliam, 2010). Thus,
teachers should ensure assessment is in line with the mastery learning and to
develop assessment instruments based on what is to be assess.
With respect to the aspect of improvement of teachers (teaching), in practice teachers would re-teach students
whom perform poorly in Mathematics assessment. Teachers also ask questions in class mainly to check students'
understanding as well as using other various assessments to access students’ thinking. Zhang and Burry-Stock
(2003), report that teachers of secondary schools often use traditional assessment techniques such as written tests like
a multiple-choice test, the objective test build by teachers themselves, essay test and problem solving item for
assessing student learning to ensure they understand the ongoing learning and teaching. Although questioning takes
up a high proportion of teachers’ talk, it is one of the most important factors in determining students' opportunities
for developing understanding through inquiry (Harlen and Johnson, 2014).
In view of the Assessment practices in Mathematics on the aspect of improvement (Diagnose Student Ability),
most of the respondents claim using assessments to measure students' higher order thinking skills in mathematics.
This practice was observed by Marso and Pigge (1987) who found that secondary school teachers more often form
high level cognitive items and less on items that test the level of knowledge. Majority of the teachers use assessment
to establish what students have learned in Mathematics and to determine how much students have learned from the
teaching. Assessment was done in the classroom to make teaching more meaningful and leave a long-lasting
impression on the students (Brown, 2011), and through assessment teachers can describe what students know,
understand and do. Teachers will also use the assessment results to predict future students’ performance as they have
assessed their students' abilities and have many opportunities to get to know the students during the assessment
process.
The last sub- construct in assessment practices, which is irrelevance has a moderate level where most of the
teachers agreed that they almost always stick to teaching plan irrespective of poor assessment results, following
which the results have little impact on their teaching. Gruskey (2008) argues that planning and teaching should be
done wisely and take into account the results of the assessment to ensure the implementation of the assessment
meets the learning standards set. Proper planning will help teachers to focus on teaching in order to produce a
meaningful learning (Brown, 2011). Thus, the implementation of the assessment should be carried out carefully as
noted by Hamzah and Paramasivam (2009) citing a speech by Tan Sri Dr Murad Mohamad Nor, the then Secretary
General of Education that says;

... the most important part in the implementation of such a plan, is a teacher. No matter how good the plan, it will
be useless if teachers do not perform well". (p.14)

Difference in the Conceptions on Mathematics Assessment and Assessment Practices

Among Secondary Schools Mathematics Teachers Based on Gender
The Independent Sample T-test was used to analyze the difference in the conceptions on mathematics assessment
and assessment practices between the female and male teachers. Results showed that there is no significant
difference between their conceptions on assessment and assessment practices. This indicates that, the conceptions on
assessment and teachers’ assessment practices are not dependent on gender. Brown (2004) also discovered that
teachers’ gender has no effect on their conceptions and practices. To the teachers, what is consider important are the
knowledge and the skills in assessment (Bennett, 2011). It is expected that teachers have the mastery in all related
matters such as the knowledge and skills in building an instrument, diversifying teaching methods, selecting
assessment methods and so on. Radin (2008) found that the level of knowledge and skills of teachers are at a

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moderate level and teachers desire professional training in assessments to get the knowledge and skills of doing
assessment so that they can carry out assessments, especially in Mathematics effectively.

CONCLUSION

The results of a study that focused on the level of conceptions of teachers on assessment in Mathematics and
their assessment practices is presented. The level of teachers’ conceptions was determined based on three aspects,
namely accountability, improvement and irrelevance. The study was guided by three research questions whereby it
was found that the level of teachers’ conception on assessment in Mathematics and the level of their assessment
practices in Mathematics are both high. There is no difference between the level of teachers’ conception on
assessment in Mathematics and their assessment practices in Mathematics based on gender. The findings give us a
clear indication about the teachers’ conception on assessment in Mathematics. Teachers desire for courses related to
the process of conducting a quality assessment to the students need to be given due consideration. Thus, teachers can
improve on their assessment practices in Mathematics from time to time. The study gave implications on preparing
teachers to have good conceptions and practices in mathematics assessment in order to carry out quality assessments.
It is envisaged that a quality assessment would be able to produce students who can meet the standards that our
country demands, ones with high quality in knowledge and skills that they have learned in schools.

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 Teknik ‘Biru Hijau Putih’ - Kaedah Meningkatkan
Kemahiran Murid Melukis Formula Struktur dan
Menamakan Isomer Sebatian Alkana, Alkena dan Alkohol
Lee Saw Im

SMK Seri Bintang Utara, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstrak : Kajian tindakan ini dijalankan untuk menentukan keberkesanan teknik Biru Hijau Putih dalam meningkatkan
pencapaian murid-murid Tingkatan 5SG dalam menjawab soalan-soalan berkaitan dengan isomer bagi sebatian Alkana, Alkena
dan Alkohol. Kajian ini melibatkan 19 orang murid. Tinjauan awal telah dilaksanakan melalui ujian pra dan temu bual dengan 8
orang murid. Hasil tinjauan menunjukkan bahawa murid tidak dapat melukis formula struktur dan menamakan isomer-isomer
bagi sebatian Alkana, Alkena dan Alkohol. Instrumen keputusan kajian terdiri daripada ujian-ujian pra dan pasca serta soal-
selidik. Perancangan kajian tindakan ini difokuskan kepada teknik untuk meningkatkan kemahiran menyelesaikan soalan-
soalan yang melibatkan isomer bagi sebatian Alkana, Alkena dan Alkohol melalui teknik Biru Putih Hijau. Teknik Biru Hijau
Putih menggunakan bahan kitar semula hijau kos rendah penutup botol air mineral sebagai simulasi atom karbon, hidrogen dan
oksigen. Teknik Biru Hijau Putih menggalakkan pembelajaran aktif yang memerlukan minds on and hands on yang
berpusatkan murid. Kajian ini diselesaikan dalam tempoh 1 minggu. Adalah terbukti bahawa teknik Hijau Biru Putih berkesan
kerana min telah meningkat dari 4.95 kepada 7.11 iaitu sebanyak 2.16. Keputusan ujian juga menunjukkan bahawa 100%
murid menunjukkan peningkatan. Soal selidik juga menunjukkan sebanyak 85.2% murid lebih memahami, mudah mengingat
dan seronok dalam menjawab soalan-soalan tentang isomer melalui teknik Biru Hijau Putih.

Kata kunci : Isomer, formula struktur, sebatian organik

PENGENALAN
1.0 Refleksi Awal Pengajaran Dan Pembelajaran

Saya adalah seorang guru kimia di SMK Seri Bintang Utara, Kuala Lumpur daripada tahun 1999 hinggalah
sekarang. Semasa sesi pengajaran dan pembelajaran tajuk Sebatian Karbon bersama murid-murid Kelas 5SG, saya
mendapati mereka adalah kurang berminat untuk mengikuti aktiviti pembelajarn dan pengajaran. Mereka juga
mengambil masa yang agak lama untuk menlukis formula-formula isomer bagi sebatian Alkana, Alkena dan
Alkohol. Formula-formula yang dilukis adalah kurang tepat dan ada juga salah. Oleh itu, saya telah menjalankan
pemerhatian tidak berstruktur dalam pembelajaran dan pengajaran saya. Hasil dapatannya, saya dapati mereka tidak
dapat menunjukkan ikatan tunggal atau dubel, tidak dapat melukis kumpulan alkil pada kedudukan yang betul dan
keliru dengan ikatan tunggal dan dubel antara atom karbon. Sekiranya masalah ini tidak diberi perhatian, maka
mereka akan menghadapi masalah untuk menulis melukis dan menamakan isomer-isomer sebatian karbon dengan
betul mengikut tatanama The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Sehubungan itu, saya
telah menjalankan kajian tindakan ini.

2.0 Isu Keprihatian

Saya mengesan banyak masalah yang dihadapi oleh murid saya, saya hanya fokuskan kajian ini kepada
masalah melukis formula struktur dan menamakan isomer-isomer mengikut tatanama IUPAC. Murid saya tidak
dapat menerangkan pembentukan isomer dengan tepat. Kelemahan ini telah menyebabkan mereka tidak dapat
melukis formula struktur dan menamakan isomer-isomer bagi sebatian Alkana, Alkena dan Alkohol secara
keseluruhannya. Keberkesanan pengajaran adalah antara aspek yang perlu diberi perhatian bagi meningkatkan minat
pelajar terhadap sains. Keberkesanan pengajaran bukan sahaja dapat meningkatkan minat pelajar tetapi juga dapat
meningkatkan prestasi mereka (Othman Talib, 1999). Kabolla (1988) pula mendapati kaedah pengajaran sains yang
tidak berkesan telah menyebabkan pelajar beranggapan bahawa mata pelajaran sains adalah mata pelajaran yang
menjemukan dan sukar, terlalu banyak fakta yang perlu diingat, dan tidak berkaitan dengan kehidupan seharian.

Pembelajaran Berasaskan Masalah (PBM) merupakan salah satu kaedah pembelajaran aktif yang berasaskan
teori konstruktivisme sosial. PBM merupakan pembelajaran yang bermula dengan masalah dan pelajar membina
idea baru menggunakan bahan sokongan, maklumat dan pengetahuan sedia ada (Saaid, 2011). Bagi Torp dan Sage

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(2002) pula, PBM berfokus kepada pengalaman pembelajaran yang melibatkan mindon dan hands-on yang
disediakan melalui penyiasatan dan keputusan daripada masalah yang sebenar. Menurut Subadrah dan Malar (2005),
PBM adalah satu kaedah yang berkesan bagi memupuk kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi dan kemahiran penyelesaian
masalah. Oleh itu, pelajar haruslah didedahkan dengan kaedah pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang boleh menjurus ke
arah kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi, KBAT dan kemahiran menyelesaikan masalah.

Dengan membantu murid meningkatkan minat belajar Kimia Organik melalui teknik Biru Hijau Putih, saya
yakin murid-murid dapat menerangkan pembentukan isomer-isomer bagi sebatian-sebatian berkenaan dengan
lengkap dan tepat. Hal ini seterusnya diharapkan akan dapat membantu mereka menjawab soalan objektif, struktur
atau esei yang melibatkan isomer bagi tajuk-tajuk lain dalam Kimia SPM tahun 2019 yang akhirnya akan
merendahkan niai GNP serta dapat mencapai kelulusan 100%.

3.0 Fokus Kajian

Walaupun saya mengesan banyak masalah yang dihadapi oleh murid saya, saya hanya memfokuskan kajian ini
untuk meningkatkan kemahiran melukis serta menamakan isomer-isomer bagi sebatian Alkana, Alkene dan Alkohol.
Secara khususnya murid berkenaan menghadapi masalah melukis dan menamakan isomer-isomer bagi Sebatian
Alkana, Alkene dan Alkohol menulis esei Kertas 2 Kimia SPM. Untuk mengatasi masalah mereka, satu inovasi
berbentuk hands on dan minds on yang menggunakan bahn kitar semula telah diketengahkan. Melalui pemerhatian
dan kajian, didapati kebolehan guru menarik minat murid dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran Isomer Kimia
Organik dengan mengaplikasikan inovasi – Biru Putih Hijau yang berasaskan Pembelajaran Berasaskan Masalah
(PBM) yang merupakan daya pengerak kepada penguasaan konsep dan minat murid. Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran
Guru – Murid menjadi lebih seronok, dan guru dapat mengetahui kekuatan dan kelemahan murid. Akhirnya
manipulasi alat dan bahan digunakan untuk aktiviti pengukuhan pembentukan isomer-isomer seterusnya.

4.0 Objektif Kajian

4.1 Objektif Am

Objektif kajian ini ialah untuk menilai keberkesanan teknik Hijau Biru Putih bagi meningkatkan kemahiran
murid melukis melukis formula struktur dan menamakan isomer bagi sebatian Alkana, Alkena dan Alkohol secara
hands on dan minds on.

4.2 Objektif Khusus

Di akhir kajian pelajar boleh

1. melukis formula struktur isomer-isomer bagi sebatian Alkana yang mempunyai 4 dan 5 atom karbon
2. melukis formula struktur isomer-isomer bagi sebatian Alkena yang mempunyai 4 dan 5 atom karbon
3. melukis formula struktur isomer-isomer bagi sebatian Alkohol yang mempunyai 3 dan 4 atom karbon
4. menamakan isomer-isomer mengikut tatanama IUPAC

5.0 Kumpulan Sasaran

Kajian ini melibatkan 19 orang murid dari kelas 5SG. Mereka terdiri daripada 7 orang murid lelaki dan 12 orang
murid perempuan.

6.0 Perlaksanaan Kajian

6.1 Tinjauan Masalah

Sebelum langkah-langkah yang seterusnya diambil dalam menjalankan kajian ini, tinjauan terhadap masalah
yang dikenal pasti telah dibuat dengan tujuan untuk memahami masalah tersebut dengan lebih mendalam. Temu
bual dijalankan secara rawak ke atas 5 orang murid untuk mengetahui masalah sebenar yang dihadapi oleh murid

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selepas ujian memeriksa latihan mereka. Pemerhatian dijalankan ke atas tingkah laku murid semasa proses
pengajaran dan pembelajaran berlangsung bertujuan melihat sikap ingin tahu dan minat mereka tentang kimia.

6.2 Pemerhatian Awal

Saya telah membuat pemerhatian ke atas tingkah laku murid semasa proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran
berlangsung sebelum dan selepas kajian. Sebelum kajian murid kurang menunjukkan respons dan tiada keyakinan
kepada soalan diajukan.

6.3 Ujian Pra

Ujian pra telah diberikan kepada kumpulan sasaran untuk mengesan kefahaman dan kemahiran mereka menulis
dan menamakan isomer bagi sebatian Alkana, Alkena dan Alkohol. 78.9% murid mendapat pencapaian sederhana.

6.4 Ujian Pasca

Selepas saya memperkenalkan teknik Biru Hijau Putih, ujian pasca diadakan. Ujian Pasca menggunakan set
soalan mirip dengan Ujian Pra.

6.5 Temubual

8 orang murid telah ditemu bual untuk mengumpul punca masalah yang dihadapi oleh mereka dalam
pembelajaran tentang isomer bagi alkane, alkena dan alkohol. Saya juga meminta pandangan daripada rakan-rakan
guru tentang teknik Biru Hijau Putih.

6.6 Analisis Tinjauan Masalah

Didapati murid-murid tidak dapat melukis formula struktur isomer bagi alkane, alkena dan alcohol dengan
tepat. Hasil pemeriksaan jawapan murid, didapati ramai murid cuba menjawab soalan tetapi tidak dapat memberi
jawapan yang tepat atau lengkap. Di antara masalah yang dihadapi oleh murid ialah mereka:

 cuai melukis lebih daripada 4 ikatan tunggal bagi atom karbon

 tidak melukis formula struktur isomer secara sistematik
 tidak dapat mengenalpasti rantai lurus terpanjang
 tidak mahir menamakan prefix dan suffix
 tidak mahir menamakan isomer mengikut tatanam IUPAC

6.7 Analisis Pemerhatian

Berdasarkan pemerhatian selepas kajian dijalankan terhadap kumpulan sasaran didapati:

Murid-murid lebih yakin dan berani mencuba soalan yang lain. Mereka dapat melukis formula struktur isomer
dengan kemas, pantas dan betul.
Murid berjaya menerangkan menamakan isomer mnegikut tatacara IUPAC bagi sebatian Alkana, Alkene dan
Alkohol.
Suasana pengajaran dan pembelajaran di dalam kelas menjadi dua hala dan lebih memberangsangkan.

6.8 Tindakan Yang Dijalankan

Berdasarkan tinjauan awal didapati murid saya memang lemah dalam melukis rajah kimia. Ini adalah kerana
mereka kurang menguasai istilah kimia dan kurang keyakinan diri. Oleh itu adalah menjadi tangungjawab saya
dalam mendidik anak-anak didik saya. Untuk mengatasi masalah ini, teknik Hijau Biru diperkenalkan untuk
melaksanakan kajian ini. Tindakan-tindakan yang telah saya jalankan:

a. Pertama saya telah mula menggumpul penutup botol air mineral berwarna biru, putih dan hijau.
b. Kemudian saya menyediakan keratan jalur kertas bewarna untuk mewakilkan ikatan kovalen
c. Taklimat ringkas tentang aktiviti diberikan kepada murid-muird.
d. Beberapa langkah mudah perlu diikuti seperti berikut:

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 Aktiviti 1 : All single in Alkanes
Aktiviti 2 : All single but One C=C in Alkenes
Aktiviti 3 : All single and must has OH in Alcohols

6.9 Perlaksanaan Tindakan Dan pemerhatian / Penilaian

6.9.1 Aktiviti 1 : All single in Alkanes

Murid-murid membentuk isomer bagi butana dan pentana dengan menggunakan penutup botol mineral yang
bewarna biru (atom karbon) dan hijau (atom hidrogen) serta jalur kertas (ikatan kovalen). Murid-murid dibimbing
untuk menamakan isomer-isomer mengikut tatacara IUPAC.

C H

Biru Hijau

Pemerhatian Yang Dijalankan

Murid-murid dapat menyatakan bahawa terdapat 4 ikatan kavalen tunggal bagi setiap atom karbon dan hanya 1
ikatan tunggal bagi setiap atom hidrogen. Mereka juga dapat merumuskan isomer-isomer yang terbentuk
mempunyai formula molekul yang sama tetapi formula struktur yang berlainan. Murid-muird berpeluang untuk
hands on dalam membentuk formula struktur dengan mudah dan seronok.

1 2 3 4

n-butane

1 2 3

methyl
2-methylpropane

Berdasarkan pemerhatian daripada All single in Alkanes, ternyata aktiviti ini dapat memberi peluang murid
mencuba jaya penguasaan untuk membentuk formula struktur isomer dengan betul.

392
Refleksi

Semasa aktiviti All single in Alkanes dilaksanakan, saya merasa sangat seronok kerana murid-murid saya
menjalankan aktiviti ini dalam suasana yang ceria. 17 orang murid mendapat membentuk isomer dengan baik dan
hanya 2 orang murid perlu bimbingan minima oleh ahli kumpulan. Murid-muird dapat mengikuti aktiviti ini tanpa
fobia kerana bahan kitar semula digunakan. Mereka telah menunjukkan minat untuk mempelajari isomer bagi
sebatian Alkena. Mereka juga sebut “Teacher, ....... we Go Green! ”

6.9.2 Aktiviti 2 : All single but One C=C in Alkenes

Murid-murid berbincang untuk membentuk isomer bagi butena dan pentena dengan menggunakan penutup
botol mineral yang bewarna biru (atom karbon) dan putih (atom hidrogen) serta jalur kertas (ikatan kovalen).
Mereka diingatkan wajib ada satu ikatan ganda dua antara atom karbon-karbon (C=C). Murid-murid dibimbing
untuk menamakan isomer-isomer mengikut tatacara IUPAC.

Pemerhatian Yang Dijalankan

Mereka dapat membentuk dan melukis formula struktur isomer-isomer bagi butena dan pentena. Contoh isomer-
isomer butena:

4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1

But-1-ene But-2-en

3 2 1

methyl

2-methylpropene

Berdasarkan pemerhatian daripada All single but One C=C in Alkenes, ternyata aktiviti ini dapat mengukuhkan
penguasaan melukis isomer bagi sebatian alkena.

Refleksi

Semasa aktiviti All single but One C=C dilaksanakan, saya merasa amat gembira kerana semua murid saya dapat
menjalankan aktiviti dalam suasana yang ceria. 15 orang dapat membentuk dan menulis isomer-isomer bagi
butena dan pentena dengan betul. Mereka juaga dapat menamakan isomer-isomer tersebut. Mereka telah
menunjukkan minat untuk mempelajari isomer bagi sebatian alkohol.

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6.9.3 Aktiviti 3 : All single and must has OH in Alcohols

Murid-murid berbincang untuk membentuk isomer bagi propanol dan pentanol dengan menggunakan penutup
botol mineral yang bewarna biru (atom karbon), hijau (atom hidrogen) dan putih (atom oksigen) serta jalur kertas
(ikatan kovalen). Mereka diingatkan perlu ada satu kumpulan hidroksil (-OH). Murid-murid dibimbing untuk
menamakan isomer-isomer mengikut tatacara IUPAC.

C H O

Biru Hijau Putih

Pemerhatian Yang Dijalankan

Murid-murid dapat membentuk dan melukis formula struktur isomer-isomer bagi propanol dan butanol.

Contoh-contoh isomer alkohol.

3 2 1

hydroxyl
Propan -1-ol

3 2 1

hydroxyl
Propan -2-ol

Berdasarkan pemerhatian daripada All single and must has OH in Alcohols, ternyata aktiviti ini dapat
mengukuhkan penguasaan menulis susunan elektron bagi ion-ion positif.

Refleksi

Semasa aktiviti All single and must has OH in Alcohols dilaksanakan, saya merasa sangat seronok, kerana
murid-murid saya seronok dan aktif dalam aktiviti ini. 15 orang telah dapat melukis iosmer-isomer bagi propanol
dan butanol dengan betul.

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7.0 Refleksi Kajian

7.1 Perlaksanaan Tindakan dan Pemerhatian/ Penilaian

Kajian ini telah dilaksanakan selama satu minggu. Selepas Ujian Pasca, murid-murid diminta mengisi
borang soal selidik untuk mendapatkan pandangan mereka tentang keberkesanan Biru Hijau Putih. Soal selidik
digunakan agar murid lebih selesa dan bebas menjawab berbanding dengan mendapat maklumat secara temu
bual. Saya juga telah menerangkan secara ringkas mengenai Biru Hijau Putih kepada guru kimia dan meminta
mereka memberi pandangan.

Berdasarkan pemerhatian saya, teknik Biru Hijau Putih berjaya membantu murid menguasai kemahiran
melukis dan menamakan isomer bagi sebatian alkana, alkena dan alkohol. Murid dapat menjawab soalan dengan
keyakinan yang tinggi. Mereka lebih yakin mencuba soalan dan lebih berani untuk bertanya soalan. Saya berasa
amat bangga, seronok dan tidak kecewa lagi apabila masuk ke kelas 5SG. Rakan guru juga telah memberikan
komen membina, dorongan dan sokongan terhadap usaha saya.

Komen-komen guru kimia:

“…Satu teknik yang mesra pengguna dan Go Green”
“…Pembelajaran aktif menyebabkan murid kurang bosan dalam kelas”
“…Murid lebih yakin menjawab soalan”

KEPUTUSAN
Jadual 2 menunjukkan keputusan Ujian Pra dan Pasca bagi murid-murid Kelas 5SG yang telah mengikuti
Biru Hijau Putih. Adalah terbukti Biru Hijau Putih berkesan kerana min telah meningkat dari 4.95 kepada 7.11
iaitu sebanyak 2.16.

Selepas mengenal pasti maslah yang dihadapi oleh murid dalam Ujian Pra, saya telah mencipta bahan bantu
belajar Biru Hijau Putih yang dapat digunakan oleh murid secara individu atau dalam kumpulan. Biru Hijau
Putih telah memberi impak yang tinggi dalam menangani masalah yang dihadapi oleh murid berdasarkan
perbandingan pencapaian murid dalam Ujian Pra dan Ujian Pasca seperti Jadual 1 dan Jadual 2.

395
 Jadual 1: Perbezaan Antara Ujian Pra dan Ujian Post

No Nama* Ujian Pra Ujian Pasca +/ -

1 P1 4 6 +2
2 P2 5 7 +2
3 P3 6 9 +3
4 P4 5 7 +2
5 P5 6 9 +3
6 P6 6 8 +2
7 P7 5 7 +2
8 P8 4 6 +2
9 P9 5 7 +3
10 P10 5 7 +2
11 P11 5 7 +2
12 P12 4 6 +2
13 P13 5 7 +2
14 P14 5 8 +3
15 P15 5 6 +1
16 P16 4 6 +2
17 P17 4 6 +2
18 P18 6 9 +3
19 P19 5 7 +2
Min 4.95 7.22 +2.16
Bilangan murid yang menunjukkan peningkatan 19
Bilangan murid yang tidak hadir 0
Bilangan murid yang menunjukkan kemerosotan 0
Jumlah murid 19

Dapatan ini amat membimbangkan saya kerana sebanyak 26.3% dan 52.6% murid masing-masing hanya mendapat
skor 5 dan 6 daripada 10 dalam Ujian Pra. Hanya 4 orang murid dalam sampel ini mendapat skor tertinggi iaitu skor
7 daripada 10.

Perbandingan pencapaian murid dalam Ujian Pra dan Ujian Pasca adalah seperti Jadual 2.

Jadual 2: Perbandingan Pencapaian Murid

Ujian Pra Ujian Pasca

Markah
Bil Peratus Bil Peratus

1 0 0.0% 0 0.0%
2 0 0.0% 0 0.0%
3 0 0.0% 0 0.0%
4 0 0.0% 0 0.0%
5 5 5.3% 0 0.0%

396
 6 10 73.7% 6 31.6%
7 4 21.1% 8 42.1%
8 0 0.0% 2 10.5%
9 0 0.0% 3 15.8%
10 0 0.0% 0 31.6%
Tidak hadir 0 0.0% 0 0.0%
Jumlah 19 19

Graf 1: Analisis Ujian Pra

Graf 2: Analisis Ujian Pasca

397
Jadual 3 dan Graf 3 menunjukkan analisa peningkatan murid selepas tindakan. Seramai 21.1% murid mendapat
peningkatan terendah iaitu sebanyak 1 markah. Peningkatan paling tinggi iaitu 3 adalah sebanyak 10.5%. Pada
keseluruhannya keputusan telah menunjukkan bahawa selepas penggunaan Biru Putih Hijau, 100% murid
mendapat peningkatan.

Jadual 3: Analisa PeningkatanSelepas Tindakan

Peningkatan Bilangan Peratus

1 markah 4 5.3%

2 markah 13 73.7%

3 markah 2 21.1%

Jumlah 19 100%

Graf 3: Analisa Peningkatan Selepas Tindakan

Analisa Peningkatan Selepas

Tindakan Biru Hijau Putih

5.3%

21.1%

73.7%

1 markah 2 markah 3 markah

Dapatan Ujian Pasca menunjukkan terdapat peningkatan yang mendadak dari segi pencapaian murid. Hal ni
menunjukkan Biru Hijau Putih dapat membantu murid dalam memahami dan meningkatkan kemahiran melukis
formual struktur isomer bagi sebatian Alkane, Alkena dan Alkohol. Minat, kepuasan diri dan semangat ingin belajar
murid-murid ini jelas meningkat.
Dapatan daripada pemerhatian traffic lights pada akhir kelas mendapati murid-murid sangat seronok dan yakin
menjawab soalan-soalan tentang isomer selepas menggunakan Biru Hijau Putih. Satu soal selidik juga dijalankan
kepada murid-murid dan dapatannya adalah seperti berikut:

Skala Likert: 1 – sangat tidak setuju

2 – tidak setuju
3 – kurang setuju
4 – setuju
5 – sangat setuju

398
 Jadual 4: Soal Selidik Penggunaan Biru Hijau Putih

No Skala 1 2 3 4 5
1 Kimia merupakan satu subjek yang mudah 0 3 8 7 0
2 Saya lebih suka teknik menghafal saya 0 0 3 10 5
daripada Biru Hijau Putih
3 Isomer merupakan satu tajuk yang mudah 7 6 5 0 0
dipelajari walaupun tanpa Biru Hijau Putih
4 Saya mudah memahami isomer selepas 0 0 2 6 10
guru memperkenalkan Biru Hijau Putih
5 Saya lebih yakin melukis isomer selepas 0 0 3 4 11
guru memperkenalkan Biru Hijau Putih
6 Saya berasa lebih seronok belajar isomer 0 0 0 9 9
menggunakan Biru Hijau Putih
7 Saya akan menggunakan Biru Hijau Putih 0 0 5 6 7
bagi mata pelajaran lain
8 Biru Hijau Putih membantu saya meningkatkan 0 0 1 8 9
kemahiran menerangkan pembentukan isomer
Jumlah 7 9 35 64 65

Dapatan kajian dan kesan daripada Biru Hijau Putih menunjukkan bahawa terdapat perubahan dalam pencapaian
dan perubahan sikap yang positif ditunjukkan oleh murid dalam pembelajaran kimia.
Hasil perkongsian dan temu bual dengan guru dan pendedahan dalam kursus Kajian Tindakan juga mendapati
guru-guru menyatakan bahawa Biru Putih Hijau dapat membantu murid-murid dalam pembelajaran. Ahli panitia
kimia juga akan menggunakan Biru Hijau Putih ini dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran mereka pada masa akan.
Selepas menjalankan kajian ini, saya berasa amat berpuas hati dan bangga yang tidak terhingga. Kelainan
daripada gaya routin pengajaran dan pembelajaran memberi impak yang besar kerana murid menunjukkan minat dan
semangat belajar yang sangat tinggi semasa dan selepas kajian ini. Malah ada murid yang meminta saya adakan teknik
magik sebegini dalam kelas-kelas akan datang. Saya berpendapat inisiatif dan dorongan guru adalah amat penting
dalam memotivasikan murid dalam pembelajaran bak kata pepatah, belakang parang diasah nescaya akan lebih tajam
lagi.
Aktiviti pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang menggunakan Hijau Biru Putih dalam kajian ini bertujuan
menyediakan pembelajaran yang menyeronokkan, di samping meningkatkan intelek, emosi dan minat pelajar secara
berkesan. Situasi ini telah memberi motivasi murid untuk turut serta dalam aktiviti pengajaran dan pembelajaran.
Secara tidak langsung, penglibatan murid dalam aktiviti pembelajaran juga dapat ditingkatkan.

8.0 Cadangan Untuk Tindakan Seterusnya

Untuk kajian yang akan datang, saya bercadang untuk mengekalkan kaedah ini bagi topik-topik yang
bersesuaian. Topik-topik yang sesuai menggunakan teknik Hijau Biru Putih adalah seperti tajuk aloi dan struktur
atom. Keseronokan belajar dapat menyediakan murid untuk meneruskan pembelajaran ke aras yang lebih tinggi.
Pengkajian yang akan datang juga boleh memperbaiki dan memperkemaskan lagi kaedah ini dengan menggunakan
kertas atau kad untuk mewakili ikatan supaya tidak mudah rosak dan tidak terbang akibat angin daripada kipas.
Dengan ini murid akan dapat menjawab soalan kimia dengan baik dan dapat menurunkan paras GNP.

RUJUKAN
1. Bloom B. S (1968), Learning of Mastery: Evaluation Comment (UCLA-CSIEP)
2. Othman Talib (1999). Keberkesanan Kaedah Penyepaduan Peta Konsep Dalam Pengajaran Kimia Terhadap
Pencapaian Pelajar Matrikulasi. Kuala Lumpur: Universiti Putra Malaysia
3. Koballa, T. R. (1988). Attitude and related concepts in science education. Science Education. Baraton:
University of Eastern Africa

399
4. Roslina Abd Karim & Zanaton Iksan. Keberkesanan Pembelajaran Berasaskan Projek Ke Atas Pengetahuan,
Sikap Dan Tingkah Laku Murid Tahun 5 Terhadap Tajuk Tenaga. Kuala Lumpur: Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia.
5. Manual Kajian Tindakan, Bahagian Perancangan dan Penyelidikan Dasar Pendidikan Kementerian Pelajaran
Malaysia, 2006
6. Kementerian Muridan Malaysia (2001), Pembelajaran Masteri. Kuala Lumpur: Pusat Perkembangan Kurikulum

400
 The Framework of Mobile Computer-based Physics
Laboratory (MCPL) in Teaching and Learning Forces and
Motion for Secondary Schools
Nur Hazwani Zakariaa, Fatin Aliah Phangb, Mohamad Bilal Alic, Norazrena
Abu Samahc, Abd Khamim Ismaild
a
b
Sekolah Menengah Sains Pokok Sena, Kedah
Centre of Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
c
Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor
d
Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor

Abstract. Forces and Motion is a topic in Physics that requires students to relate to real life applications, but most students
have difficulties in connecting a physical concept to its corresponding representation and connecting the representation to
the real world, contributing to poor conceptual understanding. Conventional teaching approaches whereby teachers use
lectures more than experiments also create low interest in studying Physics. Some school laboratories are also poorly
equipped and some of the apparatus are outdated, malfunctioning or absent. Therefore, a mobile science laboratory (MSL)
is used in the research to provide a well functioning laboratory and the use of a microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) to
provide up-to-date apparatus in data acquisition and real time data. This research investigates the impact of the Mobile
Computer-based Physics Laboratory (MCPL) which is a combination of the use of MSL and MBL, in teaching and learning
Forces and Motion. This research is important in increasing students’ interest in Physics, giving insight and experience in
doing computer-based experiments which allows students more time to explore the science concepts. This research was
conducted in six weeks of intervention using MCPL among 94 Form 4 students. Tests and interviews were carried out to
investigate students’ interest, achievement of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) in topic Forces and Motion, students’
and teachers’ perceptions and learning using MCPL. The findings were used to develop a framework that helps teachers
to implement MCPL in Forces and Motion. The framework can be used effectively in integrating experience and computer
based experiments which saves time, allows meaningful science exploration, development of conceptual understanding as
well as nurturing students’ HOTS.

Keywords: Forces and Motion, physics practical works, computer-based experiments

INTRODUCTION
According to Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM) for Form 4, Physics consists of five topics
(Curriculum Development Centre, 2005; 2012). These are Introduction to Physics, Forces and Motion, Forces and
Pressure, Heat and Light. An investigation on secondary school students’ use of the concept of force shows that it is
‘hard’ due to the way it is taught, and due to students’ cognitive representations (MOE, 2008). Reports of the overall
performance of the candidates show that students’ understanding of facts and concepts in Physics for the topic Forces
and Motion was also low based on assessments in school in Malaysia (Ahmad Tarmimi and Shahrul Kadri, 2016;
MOE, 2012; MOE, 2010; MOE; 2008). compared to other topics. Analysis from TIMSS in 2011 indicates that items
related to Physics also showed Force and Motion was moderately understood among the Malaysian students (MOE,
2013). The analysis referred to the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) Physics Paper 2 in the years 2008 and 2010.
Furthermore, the topic covers twelve subtopics from Kinematics to Energy (Curriculum Development Centre, 2005)
such that the syllabus takes time to complete.
A study by Turner (2005) states that kinematics becomes problematic for students because they have difficulties
in connecting physical concepts to their corresponding representation, and in connecting the representations to the real
world. Kinematics is usually represented by varied graphs of kinematics (position, velocity, or acceleration). Students
have difficulties in interpreting how aspects of graphical representations (slope, intercept, or area under the graph)
correspond to the physical concept (velocity, acceleration, or displacement). This is because students learn the concept

401
in a discrete unit and not within their real life experience (Carlone, 2003), suggesting that concepts should be taught
in a contextual way.
Carlone (2003) constructs a module to disseminate the usual physics course by integrating several concepts of
Physics with activities such as roller coasters and in sports. For real life situations, a contextual approach is able to
distinguish between the usual conventional Physics discourse and new learning discourse (Hoffmann and Ha, 1999).
Besides, students’ experiences in real life situations can be useful for carrying out scientific teaching in the laboratory.
This involves practical work such as experiments and hands-on activities for interesting science exploration. A study
by Williams et al. (2003) shows that practical work is interesting for students to learn Physics and they perceive these
as ‘relevant’, referring to the relevance of studying Physics in the context of everyday life. Teachers lack an effective
module for teaching and learning (Nik Syaharudin et al., 2015; Norlidah and Siraj, 2012; Ojediran et al., 2014). They
are only given curriculum specifications which have learning objectives, learning outcomes, suggestion activities and
a glossary. Excellent teachers have their own module for teaching and learning but novice teachers must plan and
work according to the needs of students regardless of the number of students in class and level of understanding of
students. Therefore, an effective module of teaching and learning is required to produce effective teaching and
learning, and improve perceptions towards the Physics teacher (Ojediran et al., 2014). For this research, a new module
is developed in order to use computer-based experiments that guide the teachers and students to learn effectively.
Currently, ICT is being used widely in Malaysia in every aspect of life at work and at home. For teaching and
learning, computer aided teaching has been practised by most teachers but is still not yet being used in the school
laboratory. Computer-based experiments are an example of experiments that have used computers and probewares
that minimize the time required for carrying out experiments and data collection. Such experiments have relevance
to science teaching involving sophisticated apparatus (Dimian, Cojocariu, and Ursuleanu, 2012).
Meanwhile, some school laboratories are poorly functional and some of them do not have enough apparatus to
ensure that all science students can do experiments. Time constraints also lead to fewer experiments being carried
out. Therefore, a mobile laboratory that serves as an alternative laboratory can be a solution for this problem. Several
studies suggest that such laboratories promote students’ motivation, improve performance on high-stakes tests
(Franzblau et al., 2011), provide new pedagogical approaches to teachers, save costs in laboratory maintenance in the
long term (Franzblau et al., 2011) and enrich teachers’ pedagogical skills (Erol et al., 2012). Therefore, a study of
how technology can be integrated by using ICT and mobile laboratories is a way to improve Physics education.
Alongside, it is hoped that teachers and students can also benefit from this research.
Besides, there is a decline in the number of students in the science stream at secondary as well as university level
(Ffiseg and Bghymru, 2010; Sawtelle, Brewe, and Kramer, 2012; Carlone, 2003; Trumper, 2006; Kamisah, Zanatun
and Lilia, 2007). Research has been carried out to identify factors underlying the decline in science enrolments, in
order to promote student attachment to scientific and technological disciplines (Richardson, 2013), including Physics
(Mujtaba and Reiss, 2012; Bøe and Henriksen, 2013). The Ministry of Education in Malaysia (MOE) has implemented
a policy to increase the number of students in the science stream in upper secondary school. However, the 60:40
policy is yet not been achieved (Mohd Salleh et al., 2012). Therefore, appropriate actions should be taken to promote
interest among students in science and technology, as we need more expert professionals such as engineers and
scientists (MOE, 2013) who meet the qualities of human capital. The Mobile Computer-based Physics Laboratory
(MCPL) is seen as a suggested solution to the above problems. This research designed MCPL for learning Forces and
Motion. The quantitative studies have been reported elsewhere (Zakaria et. al., 2016; 2017) and this paper will focus
on the development of a framework of MCPL for teaching and learning Forces and Motion for Malaysian schools.

METHODOLOGY

An interview protocol was used to better understand the impact of the Mobile Computer-based Physics Laboratory
(MCPL) on the level of students’ interest in Physics and the students’ achievement in Forces and Motion as well as in
HOTS questions. The data was collected through interviews. Interviews were conducted after pre-test data collection
was completed (Zakaria et al., 2016; 2017). The data in the form of audio and video were then transcribed. The
transcript was divided into segments of information. Every segment was coded and the overlap and redundancy of
codes was reduced. It visually represents codes and their interconnection (Creswell, 2014).
As an intervention, the MCPL teaching and learning module and the mobile science laboratory (MSL) vehicle was
designed and developed. MCPL experiments were implemented using the module provided and the mobile science
laboratory vehicle named Physics on the Go (PoTGo) was used at four schools as in Figure 1. It took six weeks and
in average, 60 minutes for every one unit of learning. Six weeks were enough for implementing the intervention

402
(Creswell, 2003). The students were arranged in groups of six students and they took turns in using the apparatus of
PASCO. 13 students were selected as their test score were moderate, to be interviewed to explore their perception of
MCPL in relevance to their level of interest, conceptual understanding in the topic Forces and Motion, in HOTS
questions and experiential learning. The respondents were Zul, Zana, Faris, Andika, Hazri, Adi, Sarah, Yus, Amir,
Elias and Afif . They were students age 16 and another two teachers, Ahmad, 33 years old and Azlina, 36 years old.
All respondents were form four students in SMK harian and Science Boarding School in Kluang and Kota Tinggi.

Students choose and pick up Students worked in group The students assembled Teacher guided the
apparatus from PoTGo apparatus students

FIGURE 1. MCPL activities in schools

RESULT
For qualitative analysis for interview, thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke (2006) was used which consists of
six steps such as familiarization with the data, generating initial codes, searching for sub-themes, reviewing sub-
themes, defining and naming themes and producing the report. Coding is a process of examining data, identifying
and noting aspects that relate to the research (Braun and Clarke, 2013). As the steps in using MCPL module was
aligned with Kolb’s Experiential Learning. The transcripts were read and codes were constructed such as “skill in
using computer” for excerpt by Zul, Yus, Andika and Sarah.
“For me, very good” (Zul, 9)
“I am good in using computer” (Yus, 9).
“For me, my skill is moderate” (Andika, 9)
“My level is moderate” (Sarah, 9).

All respondents were good in using computers basically and they are skilful enough to use the PASCO program
which is called Data Studio. They were able to click the correct buttons and handle the computers. The researchers
found that the skill in using computers is important to ensure that they are capable of using computers without fear,
and are competent enough to use tools especially in assembling sensors from PASCO apparatus with the computer.
Besides, the respondents find that new things that they experience at school make them more interested to learn.
The researchers found that they gain interest by exploring the new apparatus in doing experiments in MCPL.
29 because I know lots of new thing
30 from these experiments
60 It was interesting because I have got (to know) many new things (Faris)
71 It is a new thing that has never been done at my school (Zul)

Apart of it, some respondents found that MCPL helps them in assembling the apparatus, especially through the
module. This was evidenced when they were asked how they use the MCPL module in conducting the experiment.
Faris said “It gave me information to do experiments, for example it gave me guidance to connect wires” (40-42). Pn
Azlina, the teacher also agreed that the students learn how to assemble the apparatus using the module.
When the students were asked “Did you use MCPL module while conducting experiment? How?” Faris answered,
40 It gave me information to do experiments
41 for example it gave me
42 guidance to connect wires (Faris)

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 Based on codes as in Table 1, the researchers redefined the sub-theme related to respondents and find relationships
with each sub-theme. After that, the theme for teaching and learning using Experiential learning theory was developed.
Finally the framework was produced.

Excerpt with Sub-themes Code

“I like it because it gave me new experiences” (Zana, experience, 1. Experience
56).
“The experiment is very much related to my real life 2. Relate to real life context
experiences” (Zana, experience, 18).
“For me, it is interesting, especially loaded with stuff 3. Interesting apparatus
(apparatus)” (Zana, POTGO, 51-52).
“The experiments are convenient. It is easy for us to do the
experiment” (Zana, COM-EXP, 47-48). 4. Easy to carry out experiment
“MCPL experiment is better than conventional experiment
because it is easier for us” (Zana, COM- EXP, 62-63).
“For me, my level of computer usage is good” (Zana, COM- 5. Skill in using computer
EXP. 9).

“…because I know lots of new things from the 1. New things

experiment” (Faris, experience, 29-30, 60).
“While carrying out the experiments using MCPL, I have 2. More input compared to
more input compared to the conventional way” (Faris, CHR, conventional approach
70-73).
“I feel that MCPL exposure makes me understand Forces and 1. Relate to real life context
Motion better, especially Inertia. If a passenger is in a vehicle,
as the vehicle collides, the passenger will be thrown forward.
So, velocity should be lower. So I can apply this when I drive
a vehicle”, (Afif, experience, 54-60).
“When I have fun I do experiments. I become more attracted to
know more about experiments compared to in the lab, which is
quite boring and less interesting for the students”(Afif, 2. Interesting
POTGO, 21-25).
“It helps students’ interest in learning because we can see
students learn inside and outside the classroom.
Students become more interested” (Afif, POTGO, 70- 73).
“For me, the lines of instruction are easy to understand, not 1. Clear easy instruction
confusing. So it helps from the sentence, for example, we look
at the figure. So, we just assemble. For me, the instructions are
complete and understandable” (Andika, CHR, 54-60).
“For me, we explore our own learning” (Andika, DEVUN, 17). 2. Explore own learning
“Yes, by referring to what I have done I check again after I
get the data and write the result and final step I look back 3. Follow instruction
again to the module. Whether I am doing it right or wrong. I
will refer again” (Andika, DEVUN, 46-50).
“My level of understanding, alhamdulillah is good. Because may
be previously I only knew momentum concepts from Newton. 4. More understand concepts
After carrying out experiments,
I really just know how
momentum is produced” (Andika, DEVUN, 64-69).
“From my experience, MCPL is really interesting” (Andika, 5. Interesting
interest, 11).

404
“I am excited because this is my first time using these tools 6. Use of computer
(points at apparatus) such as motion sensor and conducting
experiments using laptop” (Andika, COM- EXP, 93-96).
“In my experience, MCPL is really interesting because by 7. Move around
comparing with ordinary learning this thing needs physical
activities such as to test velocity. So we need our body to
move. Not just sit and listen only”
(Andika, COMP-EXP, 11-16).

“Because of this experiment, we can see with our own eyes” 1. Able to see how it happens
(Sarah, DEVUN, 17-18).
“Yes like I said just now. I can see with my own eyes how it
happens. I did it by myself” (Sarah, DEVUN, 25-26).
“And I can see with my own eyes how the value changes for
every movement made. I can see with own eyes” (Sarah,
DEVUN, 57-59).
“…when we were experimenting, we know that there is a
difference in concepts. For example acceleration differs from
velocity. My understanding is better” (Sarah, DEVUN, 47-49).
“Experiments are interesting for me because I handle the 2. Interesting
computer” (Sarah, interest, 55-56).

“Because MCPL is easier for us, I understand because 1. Accurate data

of the motion sensor. It measures velocity, acceleration and force
accurately” (Adi, COM-EXP, 64-67).
“After completing the module, we feel excited because we had 1. Experience
new experiences which use the MCPL module, rarely used in
our school. It really helps in learning the topic we learn”
(Elias, experience, 76-80).
“…and all students have new inputs about Forces and Motion
from what we have already learnt” (Elias, CHR, 66-67). 2. More input compared to
“My understanding in the topic was quite low before using conventional approach
the MCPL module. After using the MCPL module, we find it
easier to understand and easy to answer teachers’ questions” 3. Better understanding
(Elias, DEVUN, 49-52). “We understand the topic more after
experimenting compared to being taught by the teacher”
(Elias, DEVUN, 30-31).
“After using the MCPL module to carry out experiments, we
understand better” (Elias, DEVUN, 57-58). 4. Interesting
“Using the MCPL module, experiments are more
interesting” (Elias, INTR, 63-64).
“I am quite good at using the computer” (Elias, COM- EXP, 5. Skill in using computer
9).
“The instructions in the MCPL module are clear and
systematic. And we can succeed in carrying out experiments 6. Clear easy instruction
smoothly without distractions” (Elias,
CHR, 42-45).
“We bring the students to relate daily life application. HOTS 1. Application level in HOTS
strengthens students’ understanding. It affirms what they
already understand. Even though it is an experiment, it bring
out their scope. It helps the students to think out of the box that
we gave” (Azlina, CHR, 136-140).
“They can compare, analyze faster” (Azlina, CHR, 38- 39). 2. Skill in experimenting
“In terms of learning the context, the student understands
the concept. Then they carry out the 3. Strengthens understanding

405
experiment. It strengthens their understanding” (Azlina,
DEVUN, 47-49).
“The students did the experiment many times. They can do 4. Satisfaction
experiments until they are satisfied with the data” (Azlina,
interest, 35-37).
“For example, the lab has no electricity, but it can still go to 5. Mobile lab setting
another place. In the school lab, the situation is just the same.
Lots of experiment can be carried out but outside. It’s fun”
(Azlina, POTGO, 150-153). “When they use computers, they
use Microsoft Word, surfing internet etc. But for this (MCPL) 6. Use of computer
there are other tools such as sensors” (Azlina, COM-EXP, 20-
22). “Absolutely, it really helped a lot. Saved time” (Azlina,
save time, 144-146). 7. Save time
“I can see their interest was high. They have fun doing
it. When they did experiments, instantly it got data” 8. Get data in short time
(Azlina, save time, 120-122).

“…for us to use at the moment and in future life” (Zul, 1. Application in daily life
DEVUN, 28-29).
“The experiments were easy because they use a laptop” (Zul, 2. Use of computer
interest, 55-56).
“My experience using MCPL was interesting because it 1. Interesting
was a new programme of all those I have ever known” (Yus,
interest, 12-15).
“The MCPL made it easier for students to record data without 2. Record data without error
error” (Yus, COMP-EXP, 26-27) and “I feel it helps me record
data without error, compared to what we have done
conventionally” (Yus, COMP-EXP, 73-
74).
“In my opinion, the experiments carried out are more 1. Interesting
interesting” (Hazri, interest, 50).
“In my opinion, the experiments carried out are more 2. Sophisticated tool
interesting compared to apparatus provided by the school
because they are sophisticated apparatus” (Hazri, COM-EXP,
50-52).
“…I remember more compared to reading etc.” (Hazri,
DEVUN, 20) and “…because the way of remembering is much 3. Retain memory
easier” (Hazri, DEVUN, 24).
“I think the mobile science lab is beneficial because it is easy
to carry out experiments, various experiments” (Hazri, COM-
EXP, 55-57). 4. Many experiments
“I have fun, I’m satisfied when I look at my answer. In 1. Satisfaction
comparison with conventional experiments, lab apparatus,
some of them are broken, malfunctioning, with a low number
of apparatus. So, my answers really dissatisfied me. When I
give answers [now], I am satisfied with my answer compared to
experiments in my school lab” (Amir, interest, 77-84).
“…because we do not feel bored because [in school
labs] we always stay at the same place” (Amir, POTGO, 65- 2. Mobile lab setting
66).

”By using the MCPL, the students get data instantly which is 1. Accurate data
more accurate” (Ahmad, COM-EXP, 52-53). “MCPL is more
on the computer but there is an advantage, it is easier and 2. Get data in short time
faster to get data” (Ahmad, COM-EXP, 43-44).
“MCPL is more on the computer but there is an advantage, it
is easier and faster to get data” (Ahmad, save time, 43-44). 3. Save Time

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 The subtheme were experience, Characteristics of MCPL Teaching and Learning Module (CHR), Development
of understanding Physics concepts relate to cognitive skills (DEVUN), engaging interest using experiments
(Interest), PoTGo and Computer-based experiment (COM-EXP). Based on experiential learning using MCPL, the
learning also affects students’ interest and conceptual understanding. It then extends to learning of HOTS.
Characteristics of the MCPL module, computer-based experiments and PoTGo are the strands that fulfilled students’
need and teachers’ need in teaching and learning, which shows their acceptance. The theme that emerged is MCPL
teaching and learning for Forces and Motion. Therefore, a framework of MCPL teaching using Experiential
Learning Theory in schools was developed.

THE FRAMEWORK OF MCPL TEACHING AND LEARNING USING EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

THEORY

Based on experiential learning using MCPL, the learning also affects students’ interest and conceptual
understanding. It then extends to learning of HOTS. Characteristics of the MCPL module, computer-based
experiments and Physics on the Go are the strands that fulfilled students’ need and teachers’ need in teaching and
learning, which shows their acceptance. The theme that emerged is MCPL teaching and learning for Forces and
Motion. Therefore, a framework of MCPL teaching using Experiential Learning Theory in schools was developed in
Figure 2. It consists of three main strands. These are MCPL module, computer-based experiments and Physics on
the Go (PoTGo). MCPL teaching and learning can be carried out when computer-based experiments, MCPL modules
and PoTGo are applied. The MCPL Module is dialectically related to (see two-way arrow) computer-based
experiments and the same goes to the MCPL module that is dialectically related to PoTGo. Eventually, PoTGo can
be used with computer-based experiments. The uni-directional arrow shows that PoTGo is a part of computer-based
experiments and the availability of PoTGo is necessary, only then can computer-based experiments be carried out.

FIGURE 2 The MCPL Framework teaching using Experiential Learning Theory in schools

The framework also consists of experiences and engagement with interest by the students. Firstly, students have
concrete experiences which involve engaging fully and freely in their own new experience. At the same time, they
engage with interest such as in new experiences, hands-on activities that relate to real life contexts, easy instruction
and systematic procedures, and are able to understand relationships, analyse and reflect, and experience satisfaction
with data accuracy. Students then engage in reflective observation. They are in a state of reflecting upon their
knowledge of concepts and experiences. They distinguish between meaningful variables and concepts from the
observation and conceptualize concepts. They determine variables that should be investigated such as control,
manipulated and responding variables. These were at a stage of abstract conceptualization and analysis. Next, they
engage in active experimentation. They want to investigate the variables. They then run experiments using PASCO
and data is displayed in tables and graphs. They interpreted the graphs shown. Then, they answered the questions in
the module at HOTS level as they assessed their understanding and were able to answer correctly. They assessed their
own understanding. In this mode also, their conceptual understanding can be seen when they understand the concept
behind the given phenomena, exploring learning by investigating variables, relating changes to values and physical

407
quantities, strengthening understanding of HOTS and finally carrying out application in daily life. The cycle is
continued when students are exposed to new experience.

DISCUSSION
The laboratory is important to serve as a tool in providing practical experiments for the students to explore learning.
Problems relate to laboratory malfunction such as a lack of apparatus, and non-availability of certain apparatus leads
to a lower number of experiments being carried out (UNESCO, 2013; MOE, 2013; NFER, 2011). As a suggestion,
PoTGo can be fit for solution. As the study shows, PoTGo is able to serve in the MCPL intervention, it can also travel
to more places and more schools. The Ministry of Education can use PoTGo to implement formal science learning
especially Physics. Other than that, engagement in science can be nurtured when students have new experiences in
conducting experiments. As we noticed, the computer-based experiments have gained a lot of attention such that
students want to do more experiments. Problems regarding lack of apparatus and functional laboratories can be solved.
The facility of PoTGo can be upgraded and is replicable for a cost saving travelling science laboratory. The teaching
and learning module is developed to guide students to carry out experiments and activities. Further experiments in
different districts can be carried out as the PoTGo travels. For the District level Education Office, the PoTGo can
serve as activities to generate interest among various levels of students, from lower primary school until secondary
school such as games, displays, and experiments using probe ware. They spend a shorter time and it is safer for them
to learn. Programs such as Science is Fun or STEM learning can also involve the PoTGo in different settings and at
different times for convenience.
Besides, time constraints are faced by most Physics teachers (Ojediran et al., 2014; NFER, 2011; Zacharia and
Constantinou, 2008). The syllabus at the Physics secondary school level is wider. Teachers need to focus on important
concepts and details for every topic. The module of MCPL helps in reducing longer times to shorter time consumption.
The teacher needs to plan teaching and learning according to the phenomena in the module and concepts. Then,
students can do more experiments, as they need more experiments to experience them. They only have two years to
learn Physics and sit for national assessment. However, when the teacher neglects to do an experiment, due to time
constraints, students have no skills in experiments. Then, they enroll to tertiary level in the science and technology
field. The problems continue when they need to carry out advanced experiments, while they are unable to do
experiments even with simple measurement.
Furthermore, PoTGo can also be conducted during non-formal learning when it reaches the schools, and as
informal learning as suggested by NFER (2011). Teachers can also apply teaching and learning using computer-based
experiments. Students can be engaged in science and further studies in science, and have future careers in science.
Low enrolment in science can be developed and the number will increase years from now. Teachers can have a short
course in using the PASCO apparatus efficiently. Teaching and learning can be conducted in a new way by using
various experiments. In the long term, teachers in every rural area have the opportunity to use up to date apparatus
and new experiments that make them want to know more and apply higher thinking in understanding concepts.
Previously, teachers have described that there is a lack of modules for experiments (Ojediran et al., 2014; Nik
Syaharudin et al., 2015; Norlidah and Siraj, 2012). Teachers follow guidance in textbooks and the experiment only
verifies theory based on established experiments. Therefore, students find that they tend to forget the experiment and
memorize it only when they need to sit for examination. Teachers need modules to carry out experiments using
inquiry. Experiments can be a strategy to develop students’ conceptual understanding instead of lectures only.
Students are attached to teaching strategies that are exam oriented and involve mastery learning, applied most of the
time. Therefore, a lack of creativity in teaching produces boring teaching and learning. Most students turn to other
fields when they enter tertiary level, as they find they are not suited to areas of rigorous and hard subjects. Therefore,
various students’ profiles need different strategies for teaching and learning. The ability to achieve concepts also
differs therefore, and teachers can apply MCPL teaching and learning that requires students to take part actively in the
learning. The teaching approach can also be moved from teacher-centred to student-centred strategies which provide
authority to students to investigate and explore science. For students, they have more experiments and exposure to
various experiments using advanced apparatus. The time taken is also shorter and more thinking skills are instilled
by using the MCPL module. Students are happy and interested to use new things in a new approach. The computer-
based experiments give experience to carry out experiments many times and the data acquired is real time. They do
not have to calculate and plot graphs in order to find the representations of value. They can interpret graphs and relate
to the experiments and variables investigated. The MCPL module helps them through easy instruction and inquiry-
based investigation. Hence, the implications for students learning are huge, significantly improving interest and
conceptual understanding in Forces and Motion.

408
 The students can also allocate longer learning time for computer-based experiments compared to conventional
laboratories (NFER, 2011) that they had before doing experiments. MCPL is a complete module for teachers to help
students explore concepts in Forces and Motion while they explore their learning and use experiences. Therefore,
more students can have better understanding and continue to study in the field.
The framework developed for this research is an essential guide for teachers to implement MCPL teaching and
learning for Forces and Motion using experiential learning. It helps teachers to use MCPL in relation to modules and
the use of PASCO. The PoTGo is an additional element that can be used together and separately. The framework
guides teachers to facilitate students to grasp concept and structure in the context of daily life. Students must be able
to have concrete experiences first, then they must be able to reflect their observation. They can transform their
experience to their knowledge of the concept. They distinguish meaningful variables and concepts from their
observation and conceptualize the concepts. They determined variables that should be investigated and that are
relevant to students who are engaging in abstract conceptualization and analysis. Next, the students investigate these
variables. Then, they run the experiment, data is displayed in tables and graphs, and they interpret the graphs. This is
active experimentation. Then, they answer the question in the module on HOTS as they assess their understanding.
At this point, their conceptual understanding can be seen when they understand the concept behind given phenomena,
explore learning by investigating variables, relate changes to value and physical quantities, strengthen their
understanding on HOTS, and finally apply these to daily life. Based on the MCPL framework, the teachers can ensure
the students can increase their achievement and interest by using both IMI and IMP-MCPL instruments.
The framework for MCPL teaching and learning Forces and Motion uses Experiential Learning Theory, helping
teachers provide students with conceptual understanding and develop their interest throughout the learning process.
Teachers have guidelines to conduct learning and ensure that students can achieve the concepts. The schools also gain
benefits from the framework as they can have better teachers in teaching practice and better skills with motivation,
higher interest in learning, better achievement and emphasizing experiential learning. The Ministry of Education also
benefits from the framework since some school laboratories do not have enough apparatus and some are broken. The
ministry can allocate greater amounts of funds to the PoTGo. A better vehicle for PoTGo and replicability of more
PoTGo can serve more schools throughout the nation. The ministry can implement Physics learning with experiments
using MCPL. The framework is vital for the ministry to provide the necessary knowledge for teachers to know in
depth how MCPL works and their effects on students’ learning and interest using experiential learning. In conclusion,
educationists from the ministry, district level to teachers can acknowledge the MCPL framework to suit needs in
Physics learning, especially in computer-based experiments using experiential learning.

CONCLUSION

The research exploring students’ interest, achievement and HOTS in Forces and Motion, as well as perceptions of
MCPL, suggests that teachers can apply teaching using computer-based experiments instead of lectures. Experiential
Learning Theory becomes an effective form of learning when students experience modes in MCPL learning. These
are concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and analysis, and active experimentation to
assess understanding. Therefore, a framework can be developed to guide teachers in using the computer-based Physics
laboratory and using PoTGo in MCPL teaching and learning with experiential learning. The research shows that
students’ interest, achievement in the topic Forces and Motion, and achievement in HOTS questions are significantly
increased, and students’ and teachers’ perceptions are positive towards MCPL. The perception was explored using
interviews which resulted in positive perception. The findings show that students and teachers perceived the MCPL
as one way to carry out computer-based experiments. The framework developed serves as a guide for Malaysian
teachers to use MCPL teaching and learning for Forces and Motion using experiential learning. The impact of the
research can be concluded as being positive, showing positive impact in interest, achievement, achievement at HOTS
and perception. Even though the research is not empirically proven to have negative impact on teachers and students,
it can be explored further to give more benefit and improvise PoTGo for future service with better facility

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 The Implementation of a Flipped Classroom Methodology
to The Subject “Numerical Methods and Optimization” of
Chemical Engineering Degree at The Universiti Malaysia
Pahang
Norazwina Zainol, Rozaimi Abu Samah

Faculty of Chemical & Natural Resources Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Lebuhraya Tun Razak, 26300
Gambang, Kuantan, Pahang
Malaysia

Abstract. Alongside the rise of educational technology, many lecturers have been taking gradual but innovative steps
to redesign their teaching methods. For example, in flipped learning or a flipped classroom, students watch instructional
videos outside the classroom and do assignments or engage in activities inside the classroom. Such an approach may
offer great benefits for both the lecturers and students since classroom time can be applied for more interactive tasks.
By extending classroom hours in this way, lecturers can focus to successfully address all subjects in the curriculum.
The aim of this study is (a) to introduce the implementation of a flipped classroom into a Chemical Engineering course
and (b) to gain insights into the perceptions of Chemical Engineering students in Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) on
flipped classroom. A total of 100 Chemical Engineering students participated in this study. Qualitative research design
was used and data were collected via an open-ended questions survey. Findings of the study indicate that Chemical
Engineering students had positive perceptions towards the use of the flipped classroom as an integral part of face-to-
face courses. It can be concluded that flipped classroom was beneficial in terms of three categories based on the content
analysis of the responses: learning at one’s own pace, preparation in advance, and increased participation in the
classroom. The study also provides recommendations towards implementing flipped classrooms in other Chemical
Engineering courses.

Keywords: Flipped classroom, Chemical Engineering, Numerical Methods

IMPLEMENTATION OF A FLIPPED CLASSROOM

Many models have been presented in the literature for flipped classroom, however, no single accepted model
has been established. It can even be stated that there are as many approaches to the flipped classroom
implementation as there are researchers implementing it. The term flipped classroom is commonly used for any
class in which pre- recorded videos are used for learning activities. However, the magic in a flipped classroom is in
the overall approach—the integration of videos with new applications of class time. Further, the pre-recorded
videos should be combined with the in-class activities alongside the other integrated elements of technology.
Otherwise, class time may prove ineffective and time-consuming. The flipped classroom has an underlying idea
that instruction should take place both in and outside the classroom through various medium.
A flipped classroom can be divided into two learning environments, which are outside and inside the
classroom. Both sides must be perfectly integrated for this model to be effective. The first step for the lecturer is to
plan in detail of what will happen in each environment. The second step is to select appropriate activities that
address the needs of all learners. Such an approach may provide rich learning opportunities for students with
different learning styles. The third step is to determine how to integrate tasks and activities that occur in both
environments. This step is especially important since a flipped classroom is intended to be a blended approach.
Therefore, no part can be planned or implemented separately. The fourth step is to use a learning management
system (LMS) where in UMP it is called UMP KALAM, presenting all activities in an organized way. An LMS is
an integral part of a flipped classroom because it connects the outside and inside parts like a bridge.
In Numerical Methods & Optimization course, movie notes were recorded before all learning sessions and sent
to students through UMP KALAM. In this course, the class was divided into groups of students (two students per
group). For every chapter, each group was assigned with two take-home quizzes (THQ) consisting of two different
numerical methods to solve (Figure 1). The lecturer provided movie notes as guides for the students to solve the
THQ. The students solved the THQ together with their respective group member and discussed at their own
convenience location and time. However, they need to submit the THQ according to the given deadline. This
activity motivated the students to learn about the given topic as they need to teach their group member. At the
same time, they also need to learn about other topics from their classmates. To strengthen their understanding,
another question was given to them to solve after they submitted the THQ. This new question was named an

411
application quiz (AQ) which covered a real chemical engineering problem where they needed to discuss and
brainstorm using the information and knowledge that they obtained previously. This activity helped the students to
learn from their classmates in small groups effectively.
The assessments involved in this course were quizzes, test, assignments, interview, portfolio, and final
examination (Figure 1). Instructional Evaluation (e-PAT) system was also used to collect information from the
students about their underlying attitudes to teaching and learning and their perceptions about the value of the
approach used. The e-PAT system provides a platform for the students to evaluate the teaching and learning
delivery methods by academicians in UMP.

• Take Home Quiz

• Application Quiz
Quizzes • 12%

• 15%
Test

• Assignment 1
• Assignment 2
Assignments • 15%

• 10%
Interview

• 8%
Portfolio

• 40%
Final
Examination

FIGURE 1. Assessment methods in Numerical Methods & Optimization course

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

The e-PAT system can be accessed via Student E-community, an online portal for all UMP students. The
students are encouraged to evaluate because their feedbacks and comments are highly needed to help lecturers
improve the teaching and learning method in the future. The evaluation is normally performed twice in every
semester—in the middle and end of the semester.

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 PERCEPTIONS OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING STUDENTS TOWARDS FLIPPED
CLASSROOMS
The participants of this study indicate three major benefits which are learning at one’s own pace (Category 1),
preparation in advance (Category 2), and increased participation in the classroom (Category 3). Tables 1–3 shows
some original excerpts from the student comments in e-PAT system for each category of flipped classroom
benefits, respectively.

TABLE (1). Comments from Category 1

No Comments
1 I like self-study
2 She is a good lecturer.the notes that she gave very precise and understandable
3 Teaching skill very unique, she encourages study to find solution by own effort
4 Deliver the topic in an interesting way, short notes given through KALAM are useful to students
5 Take home quiz helps me understand each chapter.
6 Movie notes and take home quizzes
7 Applies self learning in her subject
8 The self learning method for students (movie notes) is a very good teaching method to enhance the
students to think and analyze by themselves.
9 Nota & latihan Take Home Quiz, buat saya lebih faham
10 Provide a very simple video for every topic for students better understanding.
11 She used the video in order to give the notes for each chapter and the notes given are really helpful
12 The self-learning approach that she used to teach students is very effective
13 Make the easy note that simple and meaningful
14 Saya suka cara dr buat nota by video, senang faham
15 Movie notes simple and easier to understand
16 Always find the way to ease students for quick understanding
17 Movie notes are clear and can be understood easily
18 Take home quiz help student do more exercise
19 Take home quiz really help us to understand that chapter before you teach
20 Asking the students to learn about the topic by ourselves is a good teaching technique
21 Cara pembelajaran sendiri yang bagus
22 I love self-paced learning
23 Dr Wina make us study first before entering class through take home quiz
24 Her step-by-step learning using movie notes for each class to fulfill the courses needs

TABLE (2). Comments from Category 2

No Comments
1 The way Numerical Method lecturers teach is literally the best. They ask us to do THQ first at home
without teaching us but with assist of movie notes. So that we can actually learn it ourselves first and
then during class they will teach us the theory and explain further to us. A very nice way of teaching
so that can ensure that at least student study first before coming to class.
2 We are divided into several groups. She gives us take home quiz and ask us to understand the method
first. After that we need to explain to other friends so that we can fully understand about the concept
3 The way she made us study in group is very effective
4 A lot of quizes will force me to study, else I will study last minute before exam
5 Student centered learning help me prepare before coming to class

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 6 Two way communication between student and lecturer. The quizzes are given to make student more
understand about the topic before class. Application question helps student understand
7 Very friendly lecture. like to give a lot of take home quiz that will make student easier to understand
with her own movie note.
8 Notes that were uploaded in KALAM before the class can make the student get more prepared to
come to the class
9 Lecturer uploaded resource materials online so that students can get easy access
10 She gives exercises (take home quiz) to ensure that students can more understand and expert about
the topic
11 She is very enthusiastic about teaching the course. She always gives us a lot of exercises that can
increase our understanding of the subjects. Besides, she also made us work in group, and from it, i got
new friends. Then, she uploads notes in the form of video, which makes us easy to revise and more
understanding.
12 Nice and interesting notes to prepare ourself before coming to class
13 She made KALAM as the platform for the students to download notes. this is very good.
14 I like how Dr. Wina makes a movie note for every part of the chapter and ask us to refer the movie
notes first for our take home quiz and then recap about it during the class. She's a very nice and
sporting lecturer!
15 The movie note and take home quiz help me to prepare before class
16 Take home quiz make it easy for me to understand the methods
17 Lecturer gives us movie note before class and will recap in class to make students understand the
courses.
18 I love the concept of movie notes
19 I like the self-teaching by take home quiz

TABLE (3). Comments from Category 3

No Comments
1 I like the two way communication between student and lecturer
2 The method to approach the student is more awesome and does not make us to fall sleep in class
3 Love two ways communication and her teaching styles
4 I enjoy peer teaching in class
5 I like the teaching techniques
6 The class is fun
7 The lecturer introduced peer teaching in the class. If the students do not understand, she will explain
detailed in the front.
8 The lecturer's lessons are easily understandable.
9 Even Dr Wina apply SCL method in the class for the whole semester, she is very reliable and kind to
answer every single thing that students cannot understand during the discussion.
10 Every class have peer teaching
11 I like it when the lecturer encouraged two-way communication in class.
12 I like to be in Dr Azwina class because she is very cool and very easy to deal with even she is
actually a fierce lecturer.
13 The class is never boring
14 Clearly explain each topic and have clear activity to do each class
15 Despite being strict, she is very friendly and helpful. Besides her notes are very straight to the point
and very helpful for me.I pretty much enjoyed her class very much.
16 Dr Azwina is very creative in handling the class.
17 The class is not boring
18 She always smiles, always gives us exercises, guide us on how to solve problems
19 Happy learning environment
20 I like her teaching style
21 I really understand the subject because of the ways this subject been delivered to us. i hope that every

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 single subject that we learn in our course will be delivered using this method.
22 How she makes the students involved during the teaching and learning process
23 Sangat baik dan kelakar (membuatkan masa pembelajaran tidak bosan).
24 Happy class with you Dr.
25 A responsible lecturer who make sure we understand every single part of the lesson.
26 The assessment made for students was very useful to improve the students' skill in so many ways
27 She is very funny lecturer that I ever met.this makes us comfortable to participate in class
28 She so enthusiastic when teaching like first day when people start working
29 The way she conducts the class, she made me always waiting to come to her class :)
30 Funny lecturer, always make us enjoy during class
31 Lecturer able to conduct class more interesting, for example group discussion, knowledge sharing.
32 Lecturer encourage team learning
33 Lecturer let students have discussion
34 Lecturer used one of the active learning approaches which may include team learning, problem-based
learning, student-centered learning and self-directed learning
35 Lecturer able to respond to our misconceptions or difficulties and promote understanding via
explanations of particularly difficult concepts.
36 No wasting time, very high tech, use the efficient way to teach us
37 She understands her students
38 Study in a group so easy to understand
39 Studying in an enjoyable environment without stress at all
40 Saya suka aktiviti berkumpulan
41 Fun and full of interaction while in the class
42 A great lecturer who knows how to teach and at the same time make the class a fun one.
43 Dr.Wina is so kind. So cheerful, so supporting, it is really sad when the numerical classes are about to
end for this sem.
44 Belajar cara mentor mentee. sebenarnya best dan berkesan
45 Comfortable learning environment
46 A very kind lecturer and I don't get stress in her class.
47 Humour, couldn't feel boring in the class.
48 She is kind to her students always giving us ways or learning methods to solve Numerical Methods.
One of the funny lecturer in UMP and always full of jokes and funny stuff. She is quite unique in her
own way
49 The calculation is interesting and fun. I enjoy the class very much.
50 Sharing knowledge session really help the student more understand, application quiz during class also
really helpful for student to get familiar with the examination format
51 I love learning Numerical with madam Wina. I feel happy and enjoy study in her class
52 Belajar cara berkumpulan sangat efektif
53 Discussion in group very helpful
54 I like the style of her creative teaching, she always has a good inisiative to make students have fun
during lecture and she always helps student regarding the topic that learned.
55 Every single class, we feel very enjoyed and ease with her characters.
56 She likes us to do exercise in group and she always gives us a lot of exercises that make us familiar to
the exam question.
57 She treats us like a friend and I feel comfortable to participate in class.

Based on the comments, a flipped classroom can contribute to personalization with video lectures, which
present opportunities to watch or re-watch the lessons as needed. Moreover, with various materials in addition to
the lecture videos, the flip can contribute even further to the individual needs of students (Strayer, 2007).
Thyagharajan and Nayak (2007) observed, “Personalization is a key premise for an improved learning
experience”.

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Other researchers claimed that using computer technologies is superior to traditional teaching in that “a computer
can supervise students individually; in principle at least, it is feasible to tailor education to the particular needs of
a student” (Mazur, 1991). Despite the same content and learning objective, personalized learning allows students
to “progress through the material at different speeds according to their learning needs. Some students take longer
to finish a topic, might skip topics that cover information they already know, or might repeat topics if they need
more help” (Parsons & Beauchamp, 2012).
In addition, flipping classroom provides many other advantages. Extra focus can be channeled to the students
who really need the assistance in verifying their knowledge obtained via their self-paced learning process. It
offers more one-to-one time with the respective students for clarifying any specific problems for specific
students. Roach (2014) lists this advantage along with the opportunities for active and collaborative learning and
missed lectures. Also, flipped learning offers chances for greater intercommunication where the students engage
the learning sessions with their peers, which in turn increases the understanding level for any specific topics
(Karabulut-Ilgu et al., 2018; Brewer & Movahedazarhouligh, 2018).

CONCLUSION
The findings of this study indicate that the Chemical Engineering students had positive perceptions towards
the use of the flipped classroom as an integral part of face-to-face courses. It can be concluded that flipped
classroom was beneficial in terms of the three categories from the content analysis of the responses—learning at
one’s own pace, preparation in advance, and increased participation in the classroom.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank the Centre for Academic Innovation & Competitiveness (CAIC), UMP for
the e- PAT data analysis.

REFERENCES
1. Basal, A. (2015). The Implementation of A Flipped Classroom In Foreign Language Teaching. Turkish Online Journal of
Distance Education-TOJDE, 16 (4), 28–37.
2. Brewer R., & Movahedazarhouligh, S. (2018). Successful stories and conflicts: A literature review on the effectiveness of
flipped learning in higher education. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 34, 409–416.
3. Karabulut‐Ilgu, A., Jaramillo Cherrez, N., & Jahren, C. T. (2018). A systematic review of research on the flipped learning
method in engineering education. British Journal of Education Technology, 49, 398–411.
4. Mazur, E. (1991). Can we teach computers to teach? Computers in Physics, 5(1), 31–38.
5. Parsons, J., & Beauchamp, L. (2012). From knowledge to action: Shaping the future of curriculum development in Alberta.
Edmonton, AB, Canada: Alberta Education.
6. Roach, T. (2014). Student perceptions toward flipped learning: New methods to increase interaction and active learning in
economics. International Review of Economics Education, 17, 74–84.
7. Strayer, J. (2007). The effects of the classroom flip on the learning environment: A comparison of learning activity in a
traditional classroom and a flip classroom that used an intelligent tutoring system. (Doctoral dissertation).
8. Thyagharajan, K. K., & Nayak, R. (2007). Adaptive content creation for personalized e-learning using web services.
Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 3(9), 828–836.

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 Using Kahoot! In the Classroom
Poomagal Chandran
SJK(T) Tun Sambanthan
Kompleks Sekolah Wawasan, USJ 15, 47630 Subang Jaya. Malaysia

Abstract. Technology plays an important role in teaching environment. Network – based learning content (Malin en,
Kari, & Tiusanen,2003) or technology – based curriculum )Anderson,2003). Appearance of a new pedagogical
approach which promotes students learning experience. This article presents outcomes of research that examined
students’ understanding using game-based activities. Kahoot ! is a game based application that includes students
participation in answering Multiple Choice of Question (MCQ). Kahoot application is known as an interactive
approach in conduction quizzes. This article presents that outcome of research that the effectiveness of kahoot
application as an assessment tool in classroom activities. The qualitative approach applied to conduct this research.

INTRODUCTION
In the new Malaysia Education Blueprint (2013-2025), there are 11 strategic and operational shifts required in
transforming the system and achieving the vision of 21 st education. The seventh shift of blue print aims to “force ICT
to scale up quality learning across Malaysia.’’ In accordance with the 21 st century demand, technology
implementation in the classroom has attempted to revolutionize the teaching and learning process in Malaysia.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) Malaysia aims to maximize the use of ICT for students in class room. Kahoot
applications is one of the ICT tools to expand to high – quality of teaching. The game based learning such as Kahoot
provides a platform for students’ learning. The students can share the instructional material, make class enouncement
or they can communicate with each other through online platform. (Lonn & Teasley). Online teaching and learning
plays a main role in the educations sectors

Currently the game based learning, kahoot has a positive effect among the students. Studies found that game
based learning can improve student’s motivation and provide effective feedback to them. One of the emerging game
based learning platform used in education is Kahoot. With the help of Kahoot, the rate of collaborative learning in a
classroom can be achieved up to maximum level.

The teacher and students in the classroom playing Kahoot! game for achieving cooperative and interactive
engagement learning as shown in the prototype below.

Fig 1. Using Kahoot in the classroom.

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 OBJECTIVE

Why teacher use Kahoot in the class room.

Kahoot provides teachers a number of the benefits that can help them to conduct teaching more efficiently. The
efficiency offered by kahoot are:

a. Streamline process. By using Kahoot application, teacher can have their communication with their students. At
the same time, teacher can provide activities or co- ordinate an activity in an easy way. By using kahoot,
teacher can conduct more quizzes based on the topics learned. It is an n easy way for the teachers because they
can conduct the class in multiple locations and can reduce the use of paper by making online teaching.

b. Save time: teacher can use these electronic tools to grade their students work on time. Students can view their
result after the quiz was carried out. The teachers can show their students the results using an internet
connection.

c. Enhance collaboration. Whenever teacher upload the quiz on kahoot application students can access by
individual or by group. Teacher can conduct activity in groups or by individual. From this opportunity,
students can communicate with their classmates or with their group members.

There are three research question guided this study:

1. How does Kahoot! Influence classroom dynamics? (R1)

2. Does the use of Kahoot! Influence students’ engagement and how? (R2)
3. In what ways does the use of kahoot! Influence students’ motivation towards learning? (R3)

What is Kahoot?

Fig 2: “ kahoot ” password

To create Kahoot game based learning, teachers need to login to the kahoot applications website (https//
getkahoot.com). After choosing a Kahoot option, the teacher creates a password to log in personally. Once, the teacher
has logged in to the website, the teacher can choose available features there. Finally, the teacher will receive an
automatically – generated code. Using laptop or Smartphone, students can access the games based learning by using
the Kahoot app or by browsing the website.

A. Interactive Quiz Session

The usage of Kahoot application in education helps student to interact with each other. Kahoot is the
platform which measures the students’ understanding level.

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B. Group Collaboration
Using a code that is displayed on screen, students are allowed to log in to the quiz. It helps that teacher to
detect the student’s entry. This may increase the student’s concentration.

C. Monitoring Learning Behaviour of the Students

The purpose of these Score board is to understand students’ perceptions of the technology as well as their
behaviours towards answering questions. The questions are inspected in terms of cognitive to determine the
effectiveness of the students’ engagement

D. Performance Measure
The application is tested with standard three students in a classroom. Standard three students are grouped in
five. The scores are calculated based on their outcomes in the quiz.

Teaching the lessons

The teacher shared the course content question in the classroom with the kahoot application. Question –and – answer
technique to repeat and restarts the topic for the last 20 minutes of lesson.

How to play Kahoot in the class?

1. Choose the kahoot that one wants to play: Teacher logs into Kahoot account. Kahoot is formed on “My
Kahoots” or kahoot games create by other users will be listed. A new Kahoot can also be created. Students need
to launch by clicking on “play” button. “Launch” screen will appear.

2. Reflect the game with projection: Game is projected on the board by the computer connected to the projection.
Students can access with usable devices such as computer or mobile phone. There are various options available
for teachers in this field. Randomiza Order of questions and Randomize order of answer in each question are
specific options for teachers.

3. Students join the game: Students do not need to sign up. They can directly play the game. The password is
given only after the students know how to join the game and it will be valid for that particular session only and
new password will be created for each game. Students are expected to log in on kahoot. Students have to write
their password and then write their “nicknames” for the game and enter the game. The names and number of the
students who entered the game are shown on the projector screen. After all the students joined the game the
game is started by start Now button. Students get higher points depending on their speed. In the beginning, only
question is shown for 5 seconds. In this way student are expected to think. Then, picture, video depending on
the question are shown and then the time starts. When they ‘on’ the button with their right answers, the timer
will continue for their friend to answer. When the time ends, the result will be automatically shown in the
classroom.

4. Obtain feedback for the question: Information about the general level of the class is obtained. The number of
students who gave the correct answer to the question asked is shown. The information bar also indicates the
number of the students who answered the question incorrectly. In this case, the teacher has the right to start a
classroom discussion or to review the topic.

METHODOLOGY
This study involved of 25 participants from a primary school SJKT Tun Sambanthan. Fifteen of the participants
were male and the rest ten were female. Qualitative research approach applied in this study. According to this research
qualitative approach is more relevant to utilise in this study. This approach is used to find the context of students’
participation, motivation and learning. The sampling and participants data as follow:

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Data Processing and analysis

Students who participate were asked question related to Kahoot application. The question were focused on
understanding students experiences using Kahoot! and describe their general experience with the tool. Sample question
iis “How do you feel learning by Kahoot application? and Do you feel that Kahoot! increase your academic result? The
students responses to the question. The outcomes were used to anwser the three research question (RQ1-RQ2)

Table 1. Participants marks detail before and after using Kahoot.

Student Before assessment After using Kahoot

S1 45 60
S2 60 76
S3 55 67
S4 47 57
S5 39 67
S6 67 76
S7 93 97
S9 78 80
S10 56 78
S11 49 56
S12 37 45
S13 39 40
S14 29 44
S15 40 69
S16 44 46
S17 67 76
S18 87 77
S19 98 87
S20 45 56
S21 35 67
S22 78 84
S23 56 67
S24 57 87
S25 78 85

Comparison of the students’ academic performance

In order to evaluate student’s performance, after participating in the Kahoot! The result obtained were improved. It
should be specified that the structure of both exams were quite similar. As can be observed in Table 1, the students
overall marks were significantly higher.

DISCUSSION

RQ1. Hoe does Kahoot! influence classroom dynamic?

The students has more time and opportunities to communicate with teachers. It also creates a learning experience that
was described as “game”, which contributed to useful classroom engagement dynamics. This was a particularly
different learning experience to the traditional “chalk and talk” method. Finding also suggested that the application of
Kahoot! create competition among students .

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RQ2. Does the use of Kahoot ! influence students’ engagement, and how?

Students felt that kahoot! is useful teaching tools captured their attention during lesson. This learning platform helped
students to maintain interest during lesson. Their willingness to perform was also influenced by the level of secrecy
afforded by Kahoot!. this application generates new ideas during problem solving, and during discussion time. The
finding also shows that the communication between teacher and student were improved.

RQ3. In what waus does the use of Kahoot! influence students’ motivation towards learning?

Kahoot! application encourage interaction in the classroom. Students were motivated to be score high mark. The
learning environment wanted them perform well during lesson. Limited time fixed to each question turn student
motivated. Kahoot! also motivated competition in the classroom, where students were see their name at the top of the
leader board. This effect enhanced attention and “healthy” competition among the students.

CONCLUSION
The introduction of Kahoot! Application in the classroom has proven to be positive for the student’s academic
performance. This can be seen in their marks or in the number of students that passed the exam. Furthermore, it has
been observed that the application Kahoot! Had an influence on the students’ marks. Kahoot application is a practical
and makes learning fun. It used to motivate students to learn more effectively.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The research was supported by Head Master SJKT Tun Sambanthan. I would like to express sincere appreciation for all
the support provided.

REFERENCES
1. Aderson, 1.2002). Revealing the hidden curriculum of eLearning. Dalam C.Vrasidas. & G.Y. Glss (Eds.) Current
persepectives in applied information technologies. Greenwich. CT: information age.
2. Boerner, G.L (2002). The brave new word of wireless technologies. A primer for educators, Syllabus Technology for Higher
Education. Jun 20, 2004, http://www.campus-technology.com/article.
3. Nurul Nisa Omar (2017)The effectiveness of Kahoot Application towards student’ Good Feedback Practice.KDU University
College, Selangor.Volume 3 Issue 2, pp 2551-2562
4. Sherlock A. Licorish, Helen E, Owen, Ben Daniel and Jade Li George 2018 Students’ perception of kahoot!’s influence on
teaching and learning. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning 2018.
5. Harlina binti Ishak, Zubaidah Mat Nor @ Aninee Ahmad ,Pembelajaran Interaktif Berasaskan Aplikasi Kahoot dalam
Pengajran Abad Ke-21. Jabatan Pendidikan Khas Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Darulaman Jitra.kedah,
6. Muhd Al-Aarifin Ismail, Jamilah Al- Muhammady Mohammad , Kahoot: A Promissing Tool for formative Assesment in
Medical Education.Department of Medical Education, School of Medical Sciences, USM,Malaysia. Volume 9, Issue 2 2017.
7. https://www.moe.gov.my/images/dasar-kpm/articlefile_file_003108.pdf

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 UTM Engineering Service Learning Program to address 21st
Century Curriculum for Enhancing Collaborative Skills
among Multidiscipline Undergraduates

Aznah Nor Anuar, Mohd Fadzil Daud, Syed Ahmad Helmi Syed Hassan,
Dayang Norulfairuz Abang Zaidel, Wan Akmal Izzati Wan Mohd Zawawi,
Noraini Ibrahim, Fatin Aliah Phang,
Yudariah Mohammad Yusof and Khairiyah Mohd Yusof
Centre for Engineering Education Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 81310, Johor, Malaysia

Abstract: In the 21st Century, globalization and the growth of multinational companies throughout the world today
means that the need for global workers or professionals is rising. People in different cultures may have different ways
of thinking, norms, working, etc. Some language or behaviour may be considered perfectly acceptable in one culture,
but inappropriate in another. As such, since the end of the 20th Century, there is an increasing trend for engineers to
work in multi-cultural and multi- nation environments. There are several attributes reported under the brand of “Global
Engineers” as early as 1997 under the Manifesto for Global Engineering Education, stated that global engineers not
only have a good grasp of engineering knowledge and understanding but also have multidisciplinary perspective and
understanding of interrelatedness of their expert area with others. They need to be able to appreciate other culture and the
diversity, flexible, dynamic, have good communication and team-working skills. Thus, as part of the UTM effort to
nurture future engineers with 21st century attributes especially in developing skills such as problem solving,
communication and collaborative skills, UTM Centre for Engineering Education had designed and conducted
engineering service learning program. It is an intensive program using the concept of a multi-disciplinary team, to instill
21st century attributes among students. Students from different engineering disciplinary were grouped together to
identify local issues in the community. They then create and implement the solution.

Keywords: Engineering Service Learning, 21st Century Engineering attributes, collaborative skills

INTRODUCTION
Today’s rapidly advancing technological environment and increasingly global economy has prompted a
widespread call for new transformation in engineering education. As a result, engineering programs have placed
greater emphasis on active, experiential, problem-based, and team-based learning. While the call for new
transformation has resulted in significant changes in the manner in which engineering is taught, the literature shows
that the current model for engineering education continues to fall short in preparing engineering graduates to tackle
the challenges of the 21st century. Evidence suggests that engineers are particularly in need of greater developed “soft
skills,” which embrace communication and leadership skills as well as social, economic, and environmental
sustainability awareness (Downey, 2013).
To address this, there have been significant efforts in recent years to incorporate community based service in
teaching and learning (Koyle et.al, 2005 and Tsang, 2007). Service learning is a pedagogy that emphasizes experiential
learning through structured community service. The partnership between the academic institution and the community
is founded on a mutually beneficial relationship that provides learning experiences for students while satisfying real
needs within the community. Service learning bridges the technical and social context of engineering and therefore
addresses a number of shortcomings in traditional engineering pedagogies. The extent of learning is aided by the fact
that the projects are inductive and based on real-world problems. Research on problem-based learning has shown that
real-world problems increase motivation and satisfaction, foster problem-solving skills, cultivate extensible and
flexible knowledge bases, and promote long-term retention and motivation for life-long learning (Tsang, 2007). The
service-learning projects are team-based and involve interactions between students and members of the community,
which additionally promote the development of interpersonal and collaborative skills. Service learning projects can
also be carried out in an international level, which adds another dimension of learning. Research has shown that
international experiences in general promote cultural sensitivity, the development of a global perspective, the
development of communication skills, problem-solving skills, and the ability to adapt to unpredictable environment
(Cone and Harris, 1996).

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 The service-learning method ties in well with a teaching philosophy known as constructivism. Constructivism is
an educational theory rooted in psychology and sociology. It asserts that learners construct knowledge from previous
knowledge rather than passively absorbing knowledge from outside sources (Smith et.al, 1994). Furthermore, learning
includes both creation of new factual knowledge and understanding the connections between different nodes of
knowledge (Bransford and Stein, 1993). Service-learning provides an environment where students can actively
construct knowledge while engaging in actual projects. The reflection portion of service-learning gives students time
to create connections between old and new knowledge.

Engineering Programs with Service Learning

Many different universities have incorporated service-learning into their curricula to address the contextual,
motivational, and multi-disciplinary team needs. Purdue University created the Engineering Projects in
Community Service (EPICS) program in 1995. Under this program, freshman to senior undergraduate engineering
students form multi-disciplinary teams to meet community needs. Students earn a variable number of credit hours
based on their year in school and related contribution to the project. At Purdue, the service projects are long-term and
students earn up to seven semesters worth of credit working on the service project.
The EPICS program at Purdue as well as service-learning programs at other universities, have succeeded in
offering students practical experience, context, and motivation for engineering. Seventy seven percent of the students
who were able to come back to the EPICS program stayed for additional semesters. On student evaluations, 70% of
students indicated that the program positively impacted their decision to stay in engineering; of the 30% that responded
differently, several indicated they had previously decided to stay in the engineering before the program and thus, the
program did not affect their decision to stay in engineering. On evaluation comments, students also expressed that
EPICS had completely changed their view of engineering, giving them both meaning and direction in all of their
engineering studies (http://epics-high.ecn.purdue.edu/).
The Creativity Station program, an innovative, community-based engineering service learning program (Seo
et al., 2013), is a collaborative effort between Pusan National University Innovative Engineering Education Hub
Centre, Korea with Centre for Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Electronica Polytechnic
of Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia (PENS), Polytechnic of Negeri Bali, Indonesia (PNB) and Telkom University,
Bandung, Indonesia (TU). The PNU Hub Centre for Innovative Engineering Education provided most of the funding
and design the activities for the program. Creativity Station provides an opportunity for engineering students to apply
the knowledge they learned in university to solve an inter-disciplinary, local-community problem with technology
based solution through activities that foster creativity and innovation.
Penn State University has created a certificate program entitled 'Humanitarian Engineering and Social
Entrepreneurship (HESE)'. The Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) program is a
service-learning program that engages students from all majors in solving impactful, interdisciplinary problems in
developing contexts. We create and launch ventures that are culturally appropriate, self-sustainable, and life changing
for millions of people – from product design to business model creation. Alongside the social enterprises, we work on
original publishable research that strengthens ventures by ensuring they use an evidence-based and data-driven
approach. The overarching goal is to deliver sustainable impact while preparing students for careers in social
innovation and global sustainable development (http://sites.psu.edu/hese/).
Clemson University also hosts Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries (CEDC), a multi-level
immersive student-led organization and class that provides Clemson students of any major with service-learning and
project experience. The focus of the program is to provide sustainable solutions aimed at improving the quality of life
for those living in the emerging world while using students for all design, planning, and project implementation.
CEDC has a student-led corporate organizational structure, including vertical integration from freshmen to graduate
students and horizontal integration from over 30 majors, and works on between 15 and 20 projects per semester. The
program also features multidisciplinary teams of 2–4 student interns who live in Haiti year- round, fall and spring
break trips to Haiti for groups of 10–14 students to collect data for their projects, and a course at Clemson University
for students to work on their multi-semester projects. The program has designed and managed over $2 million in
construction projects in Haiti, all with direct oversight and management from the CEDC interns who are housed
by Partners in Health. To date, CEDC students have implemented projects all over Haiti's rural Central Plateau
(including several in Cange), which include several water systems, a fish hatchery, a bio-digester system, and
repairing public schools (https://cecas.clemson.edu/cedc/).

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 Many engineering faculty members believe the educational solution lies in taking a more constructivist
approach, where students construct knowledge and connections between nodes of knowledge as opposed to passively
absorbing knowledge. Educators see service-learning as a way to both implement a constructivism in engineering
education as well as match the teaching styles to the learning styles of typical engineering students. As a result, many
engineering schools have begun to integrate service-learning into their curricula.

UTM-ESL Program Design

Thus, as part of the UTM’s effort to nurture future engineers with 21st century attributes especially in
developing skills such as problem solving, communication and collaborative skills, Centre for Engineering Education,
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia had designed and conducted engineering service learning program. It is an intensive
program using the concept of a multi-disciplinary team, to instill 21st century attributes among students. Students from
different engineering disciplinary were grouped together to identify local issues in the community. They then create
and implement the solution.
This UTM-ESL (Engineering Service Learning), designed to expose undergraduate students to the power of
engineering. Through continuing partnerships with local nonprofits (community engagement), students design
meaningful solutions to the challenges their partners encounter. The unique opportunities presented by the UTM-ESL
program are:

1. Participation by students from all majors and grade levels

2. Spans the course of a student's undergraduate career
3. Developing ties to their communities through relationships with local nonprofits (community/village)

The design of service learning projects are taken into account both goals for student learning and goals for meeting
community partners’ needs. The goals are categorizes into eight (8) main elements, as described in Table 1.

Table 1.0: Learning Goals of UTM-ESL program

ELEMENTS GOALS
Applying Knowledge  Student will be able to apply the tools, habits and skills of an engineer
to a societal problem :
i. Synthesize information to frame a problem of relevance to the
community served
ii. Gain confidence in describing ideas using engineering graphic
to build the solution
iii. Apply engineering design thinking to create and implement
the solution
iv. Critically evaluate the societal issues and possible solution
v. Use strategic analysis to evaluate an engineering problem in
context of society

Communication/Engineering  Student will be able to communicate engineering ideas orally and in

Literacy writing, in ways that are effective for the community serve.
 Student will evaluate sources of information for reliability.
 Student will identify central community concerns that tie into your
geoscience topic by reviewing local news sources or social media.

Collaboration  Student will contribute to the understanding of a societal problem and

report and reflect contribution to team problem solving.
 Student will meet all responsibilities on project timeline and maintain a
reliable connection with community and team.

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 Becoming Proactive  Student will develop solutions for community that are aligned with
their needs.
 Student will design and making a product (engineering equipment/tool)
that enable to become proactive solution for community they serve.
 Student will describe how the participation influences his/her future
decision making/problem solving.

Diversity/Justice  Student will incorporate the views and ideas of the community that they
are serving into the service-learning project.
 Student will incorporate diverse perspectives of contributors into the
service-learning project.
 Student will be able to describe the diversity of disciplines, ideas, and
people needed to address the problem.
Sustainability  Student will be able to describe how engineering solutions are directly
tied to responses in spheres of sustainability (environmental, societal,
and economic).
 Student will describe how service-learning project relates to a greater
challenge.

Reflection  Student will reflect on the relevance of the work to the

community/partner they serve.
 Student will reflect on the relevance of the work to the future decision
making/practical solutions.

Leadership  Student will lead an activity that engage a community.

 Student will present a product they create for a community.

Through ESL, students may learn to apply the tools, habits, and knowledge of the engineering disciplines to
societal problems. The experience of dealing with uncertainty and complexity or with ethical issues, as well as the
chance to see how material they have studied can be applied in the real world, are all likely and important outcomes.
ESL provides students with the chance to lead and manage projects. They learn from seeing models for designing and
running a project that can be applied in other situations. They also develop self-confidence and self-efficacy and may
begin to view themselves as professionals. The dedication and effort required for service-learning projects are
recognized by many employers, and students also gain access to resources and networks through their involvement
with organizations outside the college or university. This program also have positive effects on the relationship
between the university and nearby community.

UTM-ESL Program Implementation

The overall flow of the program was designed for 2 weeks, include team building, meet the neighborhood,
finding local issues, deriving new idea, product design, making the product and installing the product. Figure 1.0
shows the flow of the activities conducted under this ESL program. Each student was provided with a program book
containing the details of each activity. In the team building activities, the student teams were first introduced with ice-
breaking activities and teambuilding games. Each team had to come up with a team name and slogan to be declared
in front of the team managers. Education classes such as TRIZ workshop, Engineering Design and Social
Entrepreneurship is conducted in the first-two days of program before the ESL project start. The learning objectives
of those classes is to enhance student’s knowledge with emphasizing on how to be creative and innovative.
The main activity of ESL program start at day-3 begin with finding local issues, whereby each team was
assigned to a different area in the village. They started to find local issues by surveying and interviewing the local
people. After they have found 5 main issues or problems at the assigned area, they discussed among the team members
to identify and select the most crucial problem of the five issues. Discussion and brainstorming was carried out to
derive a new idea to design a product for solving the identified problem. In common, each team had 2 days to come
up with a practical idea and completing the design of product. During the process, each team will always have a
discussion with the team's project manager to seek opinion and comment. There is also one session was arranged for
the students to present their final idea and design with invited panels among lecturers, industries and community
representatives. This was conducted before students start purchasing the materials. The final design for making the
product will be based on improvement made from comments and suggestion given by panels. They are given 3 days
to spend in the TVET lab/workshop for fabrication of their engineering product.

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 The final product was inspected and certified by the project managers before installation. At the end of the
program they installed the product for use in the local community. During the final day, students wrote their
reflection notes and shared the team solution with all participants. During the 2 weeks program, the students were
also involved with other light group activities such as daily morning walk, sports and BBQ dinner. These activities
were conducted to reduce the stress among students during product design and develop good relationship within
the team.

TRIZ, Eng.
Design, SE

Figure 1.0: Flow of activities conducted during UTM-ESL

CONCLUSION
UTM ESL is the program explicitly focus on interdisciplinary collaboration that is frequently an element of
service- learning projects and valuable for every discipline. The full engagement of community members of all
ages and roles is an asset to service-learning projects, regardless of discipline. Safety issues that related to work
either in the field or in the laboratory or to interactions between participants are important as well regardless of
discipline. Furthermore, service-learning builds skills that are needed and valued by employers. Problem solving,
communication and team working are among the skills employers often prize that are developed through service-
learning. Service learning is also an opportunity for students to explore potential careers and develop portfolios
they can use to demonstrate their expertise to potential employers.

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