Professional Documents
Culture Documents
INTRODUCTION
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted education at all levels in various ways.
learning delivery modality, where learning takes place between the teacher and the
learners who are geographically remote from each other during instruction. This
modality has three types: Modular Distance Learning (MDL), Online Distance Learning
Modular learning is the most popular type of Distance Learning. In the Philippines,
this learning modality is currently used by all public schools. Students are expected to
complete the task and submit their outputs. The learners may ask assistance from the
teacher via e-mail, telephone, text message/instant messaging among others. Where
assistance.
On the other hand, online learning is education that takes place over the Internet. It
and among students themselves. The online process requires both instructor and
Chemistry subject are generally related to or based on the matter which seems to be a
1
difficult subject for many students. Chemistry courses commonly incorporate many
abstract concepts which are central to advanced learning in the rest of the natural and
physical sciences. Typical high school chemistry instruction and assessment involves
quantitative problem solving and symbolic manipulations assuming the students learn
improving and testing the existing structure of knowledge. Now, it is still a constant
challenge for both teachers and learners on how to engage in Chemistry class given
these modalities.
It is in this premise that this action research will be conducted to determine whether
the use of online learning as learning modality is better improving the performance of
students in learning Chemistry than the modular learning. The participants of the study
were the 75 STEM students of Cuartero National High School for the school year 2020-
2021. The research instrument used in the gathering of data was the teacher-made
The result of the study is utmost beneficial to the researchers for they are also
teachers and they will be able to determine what would be the best teaching modality
they should employ in teaching Chemistry. The study is also beneficial to educators who
process. Also, this study benefit the administrators and policy makers. The result of this
study may give them insights in developing policies and program that would improve the
quality of education.
2
II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The study sought to answer the following questions:
1. What is the performance level of control and experimental group in pretest?
2. What is the performance level of control and experimental group in posttest?
3. Is there a significant difference in the pretest performance of the students in
Chemistry both in experimental and control group?
4. Is there a significant difference between the pretest and posttest performance of
Chemistry students in the control group?
5. Is there a significant difference between the pretest and posttest performance of
Chemistry students in the experimental group?
6. Is there a significant difference in the posttest performance of Chemistry students
both in the experimental and in control group?
7. Which among the learning modalities, Modular Learning and Online learning, has
the highest improvement in terms of the students’ performance in Chemistry?
Distance learning refers to the delivery modality where learning takes place between
the teacher and the learners who are geographically remote from each other during
instruction. This modality has three types: Modular Distance Learning (MDL), Online
Distance Learning (ODL), and TV/Radio-Based Instruction.
3
Among the benefits of distance education for school-age children are increases in
enrollment or time in school as education programs reach underserved regions, broader
educational opportunity for students who are unable to attend traditional schools,
access to resources and instructors not locally available, and increases in student-
teacher communication. Students in virtual schools showed greater improvement that
their conventional school counterparts in critical thinking, researching, using computers,
learning independently, problem-solving, creative thinking, decision-making, and time
management (Barker & Wendel, 2001).
4
Modular Learning
Investigating the impact of the use of the teaching modules in teaching the
science in the achievement study and the creative thinking for high school, and to
achieve that the researcher prepared an achievement test and applied the creative
thinking for Mr. Khair Allah, the sample consists of (68) male and female students were
evenly distributed tow groups experimental and control, the results showed that there
was a grow in the ability of the members of the experimental group (who were trained
by using the teaching modules) in creative thinking more than the students who studied
in the conventional method.
Another study was to investigate the strategic impact of the modules based on
perfection and investigation of the chemical concepts for the students of the secondary
level, the sample consists of (90) students distributed into three groups: the first
experimental group whose students study with the perfection teaching modules, the
second experimental group whose students study with the investigation study and third
group studied in the conventional method. The analysis result showed differences with
statistic significant for the level (á≤0.05) among the average of the students marks for
5
the three groups (modules, investigation, ordinary) to understand the chemical concept
post-test and the differences were for the favor of the modules. Rababeh Study (2007)
Online learning
In an online environment, the role of the teacher changes from “the sage on the
stage” to “guide on the side”. Such new roles for online instructors require training and
support. Faculty training and support is a key component of quality online education.
Participants’ satisfaction towards the learning environment is a critical factor in online
learning.
Hong (2002) and Hong, Liau, and Lee (2006) reported that participants tend to
perceive flexibility in course structure as strength of online courses, and they found their
learning experiences in these courses to be motivated. In fact, they stated that positive
attitudes towards learning, self-discipline and high self-motivations were the basis for
their success in online courses. According to Krebs (2004), participants of online
courses tend to view online learning environment as enabling them to study at their own
pace, be actively involved in the learning activities, improve their intrinsic motivation to
6
learn and practice self-study compared to those attending traditional face-to-face
classes. They appreciate the flexibility and the structures in online classes where
learning can be carried out individually and independently (Pedone, 2003)
IV. METHODS
A.) RESEARCH DESIGN
This research was conducted to determine whether the use of online learning as a
learning modality is more effective in improving the performance of students in learning
Chemistry subject than the modular learning. The participants of the study were the 75
Grade 12 STEM students of Cuartero National High School for the school year 2020 –
2021. They were divided into two groups, the control and experimental group. The
intervention lasted for two weeks or 10 school days. The students’ level of performance
was determined using the 30 – item Performance Evaluation Test constructed by the
researcher and duly validated by experts.
7
This study employs the pretest – posttest non-equivalent group quasi –
experimental design. In the words of Best and Khan (1998), quasi – experimental
design provides control of when and whom the measurement is applied, but because
the random assignment to experimental and control treatment has not been applied, the
equivalence of the group is not assured. The pretest – posttest nonequivalent group
design is often used in classroom experiments wherein experimental and control groups
are such naturally assembled groups.
The statistical tools used in the analysis of data were mean, standard deviation,
and t-test for independent samples. All statistical computations were computer-
processed via the SPSS software, and the level of significance for all inferential tests
were set to .05 alpha.
8
C.) INSTRUMENTATION
The data needed for the study were gathered using the 30 item teacher – made
Performance Evaluation Test in Chemistry. The test was content validated by three
secondary teachers teaching Chemistry subject. Their suggestions, corrections and
recommendations were incorporated in the modification of the instrument.
The validated instrument was pilot tested to 50 Grade 11 STEM students. Data
gathered in the pilot test were used in item analysis. Through item analysis, the
discrimination indices and difficulty indices of every test items were identified. Only the
test items that were deemed to be “good items” will be included in the final construction
of the Performance Evaluation Test in Chemistry.
9
The selected students will be divided into two: experimental group (with
intervention) and control group (without intervention). The control group will experience
modular learning wherein respondents are given self-learning modules in as a mode in
learning Chemistry. On the other group, they will experience online learning wherein
respondents need to attend the online class set by the teacher. The teacher for this
group will be allowed to use any teaching methods and strategies but explicitly teaching
Chemistry concepts similar to the self-learning module.10-days was the whole duration
for the treatment of both group.
After 10 days, the teacher will administer to the students of both groups a post-test;
the same test given in the pre-test. The result of this test will be gathered and compared
to the pretest. Thereafter, the gathered data were tabulated, analyzed and interpreted
using the appropriate statistical tools.
F. DATA ANALYSIS
The researcher used quantitative method in analyzing the gathered data. The
researcher compared the pretest and posttest scores of students in control and
experimental group. To analyze the data, the researcher employed the following
statistical tests: mean, standard deviation, and t-test for independent samples. The 0.05
alpha level was set for all inferential tests.
The research used SPSS statistical software in analyzing the gathered data.
10
The statistical result was reported using descriptive statistics. The data was
summarized using a combination of tabulated description, graphical description and
statistical commentary (discussion of the results).
G. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The researcher conducted an orientation both on the control and experimental
group explaining the nature and purpose of the study. The researcher also seek written
approval from the office of the Principal and the participants is purely voluntary in nature
as long as they have an access in the internet. The participants who will join both in
experimental group and in control group will sign a parent’s consent form to be provided
by the researchers. If they do consent, students and their parents will be informed that
they can withdraw from the research without their grades being affected. Researchers
will explains to the control group what benefits they could gain if the research was found
to be successful via google meeting online.
The students in the experimental group may feel deprived because they won’t have
the same privileges as with the students in control group in terms of access in
technology. This may lead to disinterest in the part of students in the experimental
group.
On the other hand, the students in control group may abuse the use of technology.
In this regard, the researcher monitors closely the online activities of the participants in
the control group.
Furthermore, the pretest and posttest results were treated with utmost
confidentiality.
11
VII. CONCLUSIONS
These are conclusions based from the possible result of this study.
On the contrary, limited device and Internet access in some areas can be link to
student getting low performance in Chemistry. Also, it is difficult to conduct lab –work
activities for teacher and student. For teachers, it is difficult to assess chemistry learning
outcomes. There is also a greater chance of misconceptions because teachers cannot
control their students’ understanding. The decreased teacher-student interaction
reduces the teacher's role in instilling character education.
2. Modular learning has also pros and cons in learning Chemistry concepts. Using
this modality, students can set their own schedule in finishing the tasks in the module.
Since the accomplishment of tasks is self-paced, students learn to have a sense of
responsibility. It allows the student to choose his own learning mode. Choice among
different learning modes is desirable, if we assume that learners solve problems and
learn, using different techniques based on unique behavioral repertoires or prior
knowledge. It also allows students to identify their strengths and weaknesses and to
"recycle" through remedial modules, repetition, or a change in learning mode.
12
Furthermore, self-pacing nature of modular instruction may have a delicate side-
effect. Since some of the students will be fast and others slow learners and students will
have more or less prior knowledge, learning efficiency and student output will be totally
different among students. Most students also do their modules for formality
purposes and teachers don’t have the ability to foresee their students in the
premises of their homes. The great number of activities in each module is one of the
main problems that emerged in the implementation of Modular Distance Learning. One
of the concerns of the students is that they do not have enough time to answer all the
modules within a week resulting to low performance in their Chemistry subject.
VIII. IMPLICATIONS
Theoretical Implications
If the outcome of this study found out that online learning is better than modular
learning, it will agree to the results of the studies conducted by several researchers. In a
chemistry course (n=134), online learning was found to be more effective than modular
learning because students earned higher grades and were more successful at passing
an exam on the first attempt (Pereira et al., 2007). In a study by Chandra and Watters
(2012), students in the treatment group utilized a teacher-created website to
supplement their in-class learning of chemistry while the control group did not use the
website (n=80). An assessment instrument showed the treatment group to have a
significant increase in chemistry knowledge from pretest to posttest while the control did
not. The online portion of blended learning allows students to learn content in their own
time, organize themselves for self-directed learning, and then reflect on the meaning of
their learning. Students reported that this positively enhanced their overall learning
experience when they were engaged and stimulated by the ideas and processes
included in the online module (Bliuc et al., 2007). However, Chandra & Sharma (2018)
identified three major challenges in deploying chemistry teaching online, these are
selecting a suitable learning resource for the target group, presenting essentially
demonstration experiments and difficulty in extraction students’ communication of their
learning, application and understanding of chemistry.
13
Chandra & Sharma (2018)
identified three major
challenges in deploying
chemistry
teaching online, these are
selecting a suitable learning
resource for the target group,
presenting
essentially demonstration
experiments and difficulty in
extraction students’
communication of
their learning, application and
understanding of chemistry.
14
Chandra & Sharma (2018)
identified three major
challenges in deploying
chemistry
teaching online, these are
selecting a suitable learning
resource for the target group,
presenting
essentially demonstration
experiments and difficulty in
extraction students’
communication of
their learning, application and
understanding of chemistry.
15
Chandra & Sharma (2018)
identified three major
challenges in deploying
chemistry
teaching online, these are
selecting a suitable learning
resource for the target group,
presenting
essentially demonstration
experiments and difficulty in
extraction students’
communication of
their learning, application and
understanding of chemistry.
On the other hand, if the outcome shows that modular learning is better improving
than online learning it will agree to the results of the studies conducted by researchers.
Student experiences provided with the self-learning modules can be considered higher
16
level. All students can follow directions. They really have an opportunity to develop and
use creative problem-solving skills, or to demonstrate a true understanding of the
various concepts being addressed (Paullias, 2003). A similar viewpoint stated that self-
learning modules allow for a wider scope in the study of technology. Jensen also felt
that “…if one views our system of technology as content, it is the methodology of
modular instruction that helps to model the aspects of management that we need to
include in our instruction of technology as content (Jensen, 2000).
Practical Implications
With a sudden move to modular and online teaching due to COVID-19 pandemic,
Chemistry became more challenging for both students and educators with the
emergence of new technological challenges and instructional strategies. The Chemistry
class at Cuartero National High school was shifted to modular and online distance
learning model in an attempt to mimic face-to-face teaching as well as maintaining
active learning. This communication highlights the instructor’s perspectives on the
challenges and insights gained for teaching Chemistry (lecture component) in the time
of COVID-19. Several research studies have showed the advantages and
disadvantages of having online learning and modular learning in Chemistry subject. It
can be inferred that there is no best learning modality to employ in learning Chemistry.
Both of these are important and by having both modular and online learning in the realm
of Chemistry can provide way for effective content delivery, active learning, and
increasing student’s engagement.
For more effective online learning, instructors must be directly involved in the
creation of online content and resources for their students. As teachers design and edit
the online layout they can also differentiate for learning styles and abilities by providing
a wide variety of learning tools. The online lessons must provide more than just reading
material for the students and teachers should be able to edit the content in accordance
with student needs.
17
feedback. Interviews with students indicated those were the most effective components
of the online content and many research studies have shown online simulations to
encourage student learning. While teachers may not be able to design their own
simulations, many are already available online and could be added as links within the
course content.
IX. RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the possible findings and conclusions drawn from the study, the following
recommendations were presented:
For the students. As the primary beneficial of this scientific inquiry, the students
are encouraged to develop positive attitude towards information and computer
technology that could help improve their intellectual capability and technical skills. They
should take advantage of the benefits that the new technology can offer to improve
academic performance. Students are also encouraged to be independent and
explorative, as learning is not confined in the four corners of the classroom or on the
pages of the textbooks.
19
Strategies Activities Time Data to be Data analysis
frame collected
1. Use of
technology-based Video August Chemistry To improve
communication/ documentati 2021 lessons students’
instruction in daily ons of onwards involving mastery in
laboratory laboratory chemistry,
distance learning (Once in
works/ works/ this
class in chemistry. a week) activities intervention
activities in
chemistry. will be
Powerpoint implemented
Use of files of The teacher
PowerPoint Chemistry will provide
presentation lessons the students
for chemistry from first with
classroom semester technology-
based
Use of online Result activities
games to sheet of which will
assess and online quiz increase
support from excel their mastery
learning. file and learning
on chemistry
concepts.
20
instructional Evaluation
scaffolding sheets
Grouped
information
into chunks
Provide
that reduced
procedural
potential
prompts
overload to
students.
Self-monitor
and evaluate
the strategy
Giving
used
students a
constructive
feedback on
Include their work to
feedback improve their
sessions in performance.
online class.
Recruit a
full time
Learning
Technologi Work
es reports
Developer made by
on every IT
school specialist
possible to
21
support
academics
to use
currently
available
technology
and identify
new
5. Enhancement of
Self-Learning reduction Self- To ensure
Modules of learning the
activities modules in acquisition of
take out Chemistry better self-
the Before study or
unnecess the start learning
ary and skills among
exercises within students.
give each the Avoid
student school misconceptio
ample year n and
time to confusions
22
complete and to
the promote
module positive
provision attitude in
of learning
coloured Chemistry
printed using
modules modules.
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/principals/governance/strategicpla
nningph.pdf
https://www.boisestate.edu/ctl-idea/teaching-with-tech/primer/using-a-modular-
approach-to-course-design/
https://edu.rsc.org/how-to-teach-practical-chemistry-remotely/4011361.article
https://blog.planbook.com/remote-chemistry-lesson-plans/
https://web.learningupgrade.com/2020/03/18/learning-upgrades-remote-learning-action-
plan/
23