DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 1

PBA (PAST-BASED APPROACH) AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS IN IMPROVING

THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 8 STUDENTS IN ENGLISH:
BASIS FOR CRAFTING LEARNER’S MODULE

by:

JONNY S. VIRAY

MARCH 2018

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ABSTRACT

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Past-Based Approach in the

academic performance of Grade 8 students in English. Mixed method approach was

employed for a more comprehensive analysis of data. Quasi-experimental design was

first utilized which is followed by qualitative research. Control and experimental group

were chosen from the Grade 8 students which are clustered heterogeneously. While 5

students who met the qualification were interviewed to share their insights about the

effectiveness of PBA. Standardized test from the Division Office was used as a tool for

pretest and posttest. The experimental group was exposed to PBA while the control

group was taught using the traditional way. Scores were interpreted using mean and t-

test. It was revealed that the experimental group had a tremendous increase in their

academic performance compared with the control group. The analysis of two means

magnified that the difference between the two means is statistically significant. This

denotes that PBA is effective in improving the academic performance of Grade 8

students in English. After which, students underscored that connecting previous to

lessons and repeating the tough topics is what makes PBA effective. Study suggest that

PBA must be tested with other grade level or learning area.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Title Page ---------------------------------------------------------------------- i

Abstract-- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ii

Acknowledgement------------------------------------------------------------- iii

Rationale and Review of Related Literature and Studies----------- 1

Conceptual Framework ------------------------------------------------------ 6

Statement of the Problem --------------------------------------------------- 7

Hypotheses --------------------------------------------------------------------- 8

Significance of the Study ---------------------------------------------------- 8

Scope and Delimitation ---------------------------------------------------- 9

Type of Research ------------------------------------------------------------ 9

Respondents/Participants and Sampling Method------------------------ 11

Instruments --------------------------------------------------------------------- 12

Data Collection Procedure and Ethical Consideration------------------- 14

Data Analysis ------------------------------------------------------------------ 15

Results, Findings and Discussion -------------------------------------------- 17

Summary---- ------------------------------------------------------------------ 24

Conclusions ------------------------------------------------------------------ 24

Recommendations ------------------------------------------------------------ 25

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Rationale and Review of Related Literature

“Memories are good, but that’s all they are.” This is one of the most striking lines

in a final fantasy game by Squaresoft.

With the vast concepts and ideas we have, it is indeed a reality that no one is

capable of remembering all the things that happen in a day. However, it is very

important for every individual to have a good memory in learning concepts, and skills,

and even acquiring needed competencies.

“The better the memory, the better the learning.” This cannot be denied because

memories cannot only be applied in memorization but also in actual motor skills. Going

back on these memories of the people and using them in actual classroom setting is a

great way for better retention of concepts to aid the perennial problems being

experienced in school by the students.

Based on the analysis using the data of the school, the researcher found out a

number of recurring problems that needed to be addressed to make sure that quality

education is being provided to the students of Masantol High School. Data showed that

there is a gap of 12.42 on the target MPS of the English Department. This shows that it

is far from the target of the Division of Pampanga, as well as Department of Education

Central Office. On the other hand, considering the assessment of the results of the

periodic test based on the most mastered and least mastered skills, it was found out that

the target competencies in the curriculum grade are not being fully attained by the

students.

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A closer look on the educational attainment of teachers revealed that only two

teachers are not enrolled in post graduate schooling. It only means that majority of the

teachers seek professional development and additional knowledge that they can use in

their actual classroom teaching. In terms of the integration of ICT, teachers use computer

aided instruction. However, it is limited to powerpoint presentation, and video

presentation during the teaching-learning process.

Dealing with how teachers execute the lessons, it was found out that IMs and

new strategies in teaching-learning process is the most neglected part in the

accomplishment report of the teachers based on their Key Result Areas. Still, lack of

learners’ materials for Grade 8 students exists as the books are not (yet) delivered to the

school. Even though teachers, improvised and construct teaching materials for delivery

of lessons, still it is not enough to ensure that academic performance of students will

definitely increase and achieve the target of the Division of Pampanga.

Based on the problem specified, students’ short retention span of the concepts

and lessons during the teaching learning process is the priority problem that needed to be

solved in order to increase the academic performance of Grade 8 students in English.

Because of this, the researcher aims to use the Past-Based Approach to improve the

retention of lessons and memory of students in teaching-learning process which will

increase their academic performance in English. To address the difficulty faced by the

teachers and students, the researcher will employ innovative way of teaching through the

use of PBA to make every student learn and meet the skills and competencies before

going to the next quarter or next grade level.

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Past-Based Approach focuses on using the concepts, experiences, and lessons

from the past or previous topics in discussing or providing examples for the new lessons

or topics being presented to the students. In this way, concepts, ideas, and competencies

are being presented to the students more than once which strengthen their memories.

Thus, will give the higher chance for stronger retention span.

Literature and studies regarding Past-Based Approach are limited because it is a

new field that will be explored in the study. The researcher found related studies and

literature on improving the memory and retention span.

For the past years, cognitive psychologists and researchers have increasingly

shifted their focus towards identifying principles of learning and memory that can be

used to make recommendations about enhancing educational practices in school and

other educational institutions (Rohrer & Pashler, 2010; Willingham, 2009).

The progression of lessons is dependent on the previous concepts and lessons

tackled both by the teachers and the students. That is why it is very important for the

students to have a strong memory. It is because remembering what has happened enables

us to predict what is likely to happen and alter our behavior accordingly (McGaugh,

2013). According to Bernecker (2010), remembering is a fundamental cognitive process,

subserving virtually all other important cognitive functions. Thus, the learning of

students is a cognitive process which cannot be denied. These remembered concepts link

the previous lessons to the recent one.

Memory may also be considered as previous experiences of individuals. But not

all experiences are being remembered. Experiences that are emotionally arousing are

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well-remembered (Reisberg and Hertel, 2003). These experiences may be used as

examples in presenting lessons to the student or even setting their mood as the teachers

introduces the new topic. Teachers and students are being prepared to teach and to learn

future lessons when memories are being utilized. Yet, the benefit of preparation in

teaching makes a difference in the execution of the lessons and attaining the objectives.

The benefit of preparing to teach is not that the students

In the study of Schwartz and Son (2010), they pointed out that memory has four

principles (1) process material actively, 2) practice retrieval 3) use distributed practice,

and 4) use metamemory. To process materials actively means to emphasize active and

elaborative processing, sometimes also known as meaningful processing (Craik &

Lockhart, cited in Schwartz & Son, 2010).

While, to practice retrieval means to learn by recalling information from

memory. Retrieval practice can lead to far more learning than studying a concept

repeatedly (Roediger, 2009). In a study conducted by Roediger and Karpicke (2006)

where two groups were involved. First group of participants was given four chances to

read a passage. The second group was given only one reading period, but then had three

chances to practice recalling the passage. Findings reveal that the group who used

retrieval practice outperformed the restudy group by more than 50%.

Cepeda, Pashler, Vul, Wixted, & Rohrer, (2006) noted that distributed practice is

learning that is spread out across relatively long periods of time rather than massed all at

once. Kornell (2009) emphasized that memory can be improved without changing the

amount of time spend in studying through distributed practice which may be considered

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as the most powerful of method because the effects of distributed practice are strong,

consistent, but unfortunately, counterintuitive. On the contrary, Kornell & Bjork, (2008)

provided a contradicting result on distributed practice. The alternative to distributed

learning is to procrastinate and then “cram” just before a test. And while cramming can

work in the short term (Kornell, 2009), it does not result to long-term gains.

Memory is classified into two: long term and short term. Long term memories

refer to the experiences or ideas that are remembered on a long period of time, while the

short term memories are remembered on short period of time. In education, long term

memory is the target of each educator. Taylor and Rohrer (2010) suggested that teachers

may help their students by assigning topics in a way that lead to distributed practice.

Metamemory deals to judgments and decisions individuals make about their own

learning and memory (Metcalfe, 2009). Beliefs and judgments are referred to as memory

monitoring; where in the decisions are based on monitoring and actual experiences of

individuals.

Memories exist every day. It is very important for anyone to use these memories

from the past properly to have smooth flow of the future. These memories from the past

will be used by the researcher in its aim to address the low academic performance of the

students.

From the perspective of various researchers regarding the use of the past to

acquire new knowledge indicates that it is one of the useful available strategies in the

academe (Roediger, 2009). However, it requires a careful preparation before the actual

teaching-learning process for there is a need to establish a strong connection between the

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past and the current lessons. The analysis of available study magnifies that PBA is not a

common method applied in the Philippines for there is few to limited studies available

that will link it to the improvement of students’ academic performance. It gives a strong

motivation for the research to pursue the use of Past- Based Approach and measure its

effectiveness in the academic performance of Grade 8 students in English.

Conceptual Framework

The study will be anchored on the Memory Theory of Craik and Lockheart

(1972). Based on this theory, the strength of a memory trace depends upon the quality of

processing, or rehearsal, of a stimulus. In other words, the more we think about

something, the more long-lasting the memory we have of it (Craik & Lockhart, 1972,

cited in McLeod, 2007). In this context, going back to the previous experiences and

learning enhances the chance of retaining the lessons and concepts acquired in the

classroom.

Past-Based Approach (PBA) will be the independent variable of the study, while

the academic performance of students in Grade 8 English will be the dependent variable.

The arrow in the middle indicates the effect of PBA to the academic performance of

students in English.

The study aimed to find out the PBA in the academic performance of Grade 8

students in English.

The figure shows the Paradigm of the study.

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Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Students’ Academic
PBA Performance in English 8
(Past-Based Approach)

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram

Statement of the Problem

This School Year 2017-2018, the researcher aimed to help and assist the students

to improve their memory. If this would not be addressed, it would definitely hinder

students’ academic performance. In line with this, the researcher aimed to use PBA

(Past-Based Approach) as an innovation in order to address the perennial problem of the

students, which was the short retentions span of the students or their weak memory. The

effectiveness of PBA was measured at the end of the second quarter for School Year

2017-2018.

This study aimed to find out the effectiveness of PBA in the academic

performance of Grade 8 students in English.

Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:

1. How may the academic performance of the control and experimental group

be described as reflected in their pretest?

2. Is there a significant difference between the academic performance of the

control and experimental group in their pretest?

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3. How may the academic performance of the control and experimental group

be described as reflected in their posttest?

4. Is there a significant difference between the academic performance of the

control and experimental group in their posttest?

5. In what way does the Past-Based Approach help the students in improving

their academic performance?

6. Based on the findings, what may be proposed?

Hypotheses

1. There is no significant difference between the academic performance of the

control and experimental group in their pretest before using Past-Based

Approach.

2. There is no significant difference between the academic performance of the

control and experimental group in their posttest after using Past-Based

Approach.

Significance of the Study

This research sough to investigate the effectiveness of Past-Based Approach in

the academic performance of Grade 8 students in English. The following will benefit

from this study:

School Heads and Administrators. They may adapt the findings to come up

with interventions in integrating Past-Based Approach. The school may apply the use of

PBA to all the learning areas, which may serve as part of their technical assistance to

teachers as instructional supervisor.

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English Teachers. They may learn the new approach in teaching the

curriculum. Furthermore, the application of Past-Based Approach may help the teachers

to strengthen the memory of their students. Through, they may have a better chance of

achieving the desirable result for their students’ performance and may also help in

assisting teachers in complying with the things they need to do related to their duties and

responsibilities as classroom teachers.

Students. They will be the primary beneficiaries of the study as they may enjoy

the lessons and may be more familiarized with the lessons, concepts, and competencies

they need to learn. Additionally, using PBA may improve the memory of the students to

remember the lessons, concepts and competencies prescribed in the curriculum.

Researchers: The findings may serve as basis for future studies, and the output

will be added in the body of literature regarding strengthening the memory or other

similar studies. Furthermore, the recommendation section may open an avenue for new

Scope and Delimitation

The study was conducted during the second grading period of School Year 2017-

2018 at Masantol High School using control and experimental group from Grade 8

students. The study was delimited in determining the effect of Past-Based Approach in

the academic performance of Grade 8 students in English.

Type of Research

In order to come up with a comprehensive study, the researcher adopted the use

of mixed-method design. It is a combination of both qualitative and quantitative type of

study, which will be used in one research. According to Tashakkori and Teddlie (2003),

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the existence of mixed method as a third methodological movement in the social and

behavioral science started during the 1980’s. This is being used when one methodology

cannot provide all the information required to answer the specific problems of the study.

Its aim is not to just mix the beauty of two methods, but to have a better understanding

of a research problem or issue that either research approach cannot solve alone. One

method strengthens the weakness of the other.

Specifically, this research started with the use of quasi-experimental research

followed by qualitative data gathering and analysis. Quasi-experimental design involves

the creation of a comparison group and is most often used when it is not possible to

randomize individuals or groups to treatment and control groups. It is used to test

effectiveness or impact evaluation. According to Green, Camilli, & Elmore, (2006)

quasi-experiments are based on creative design techniques to reduce the various threats

that may cause a study’s findings to be invalid or unreliable. Quasi-experimental design

was employed in determining the effectiveness of Past-Based Approach in the academic

performance of Grade 8 students in English.

On the other hand, qualitative type of study focuses on reports of experience or

on data which cannot be adequately expressed numerically (Hancock, Ockleford, and

Windridge, 2009). It deals with giving explanations and making sense on the responses

of the target respondents. Qualitative research aims to have a deeper understanding of

the thoughts, ideas, and experiences of the target participants. As some ideas cannot be

quantified by numbers, it is appropriate to subject this kind of data to qualitative

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approach. This was used in analyzing the data or responses of the students on how the

PBA help them in increasing their academic performance.

The use of mixed method suits the purpose of the study in providing a more

comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of PBA in the academic performance of

Grade 8 students in English

Respondents/Participants and Sampling Method

Quantitative

In choosing the respondents of the study, it is a paramount consideration that the

most appropriate group of students will be source of needed information. To do this, the

researcher together with the school administrator collected the School Form 5 and

checked the general average of each student. Based on the data gathered on the School

Form 5, students were classified and were grouped heterogeneously. This is to make sure

that no section is better than the others. Students who are high performing, average

performing, and low performing were distributed equally to each section.

From this point, cluster sampling was utilized. It is a probability sampling that

makes the researcher isolates a set of individuals as sample members (Baraceros, 2016).

This becomes appropriate because the purpose of the research is to have a comparison of

results between those who received the treatment and those who did not. Two groups

were chosen to be the respondents of the study. First group is the control, while the other

is the experimental group. The adoption of the quasi-experimental design in this

investigation required the researcher to have at least two groups to be part of the study.

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Distribution of the students is presented on Table 1.

Table 1. Statistics of the Respondents

CONTROL GROUP EXPERIMENTAL GROUP
MALE FEMALE TOTAL MALE FEMALE TOTAL
21 18 39 21 17 38

It is glaring from the Table 1 that there are 21 males and 18 females from the

control group. On the other hand, experimental group shows that 21 males and 17

females were considered as respondents of the study. The groups are chosen with the

assistance of the school administrator.

Qualitative

The selection of the participants employed a purposive sampling technique. For

the qualitative part, it is a type of non-probability sampling where not all of the parts of

the group or population were given the equal chance to be selected. This is usually done

when the researcher aims to limit the source of data and ensure that the data collection

will be meaty enough to answer the specific problem of the study.

To know who among the students were chosen, the following criteria should be

met (1) has never been absent in the grading period during the treatment, (2) has a failing

score in the pretest, and (3) and part of the experimental group. From this criteria, 5

students were chosen.

These participants were interviewed to provide their perceptions about the

effectiveness of PBA in their academic performance. The conduct of the interview were

kept confidential and done during the most convenient time of the participants in the

school premises.

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Instruments

Quantitative

The researcher read various literature and studies related to memory, retention,

Past-Based Approach, and academic performance. After reading the literature, lessons

using Past-Based Approach were constructed to be used on the experimental group.

Lessons only used examples and concepts that were based on the past lessons to ensure

that the students would be more exposed on the concepts, ideas, and lessons they need to

learn.

After the lessons were crafted, the assistance of the master teachers, language

expert, and research experts were considered to improve the instrument to be used in this

research. The comments and suggestions were incorporated before the actual exposure to

treatment of the experimental group.

On the other hand, in assessing the academic performance of the control and

experimental group, the researcher used the standardized test from the Division of

Pampanga for Grade 8 English. The test consists of 50 items which tackled the

competencies prescribed in Grade 8 English Curriculum Guide. At the start of the third

grading period, the control and experimental group took the standardized test which

served as their pretest, while the posttest was based on the result of the standardized

periodic test on January.

Qualitative

For the qualitative part, semi-structured interview is the main tool for data

gathering. The question that was asked was presented to the teacher and school

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administrator to ensure that they were aware about the conduct of the research. These

questions once answered revealed themes needed for emerging framework that

highlighted the effectiveness of PBA. The question asked is open-ended question to

ensure that the students will be given the chance to freely express their thoughts and

ideas about the topic being discussed. The chosen participants were also given the choice

to use the language or medium they thought they are comfortable to use.

The question is validated according to (1) relevance to the research question, (2)

clarity and (3) sentence structure. Comments and recommendations of the experts were

incorporated for the betterment of the interview process.

A simple trial interview was done to foresee possible errors or challenges that may

occur. This was done in one of the students who is not chosen as participant. The

outcome of the trial served as basis on what to improve during the conduct of the actual

interview.

Data Collection Procedure and Ethical Considerations

Quantitative

Prior to the conduct of study, the researcher secured permission from the school

principal and division office to make sure that authorities are properly informed

regarding the intent of the researcher. Once the approval was secured, the researcher

conducted the study based on the action plan. The scores in the pretest and posttest of the

control and experimental group were collected and served as data for interpretation. One

grading period was spent to give enough time to the students to be exposed to the

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treatment. The students were not informed regarding the conduct of the study for ethical

considerations and to avoid hawthorne and placebo effect.

Qualitative

The conduct of the interview happened after the students are exposed to the

treatment. This gave them the enough experience, concepts, and ideas about the question

to be asked to have a concrete and comprehensive data for analysis. Questions were

given to the participants for them to have enough time to go back to their experiences

before the interview proper. This process ensured that students would not hurry in

answering the questions.

The actual interviews were recorded using an audio recorder with the permission

of the school guidance counselor and the school administrator. The recorder interviews

were converted to transcripts for identifying key points and assigning codes before

giving themes.

Data Analysis

Quantitative

In analyzing the collected data, appropriate statistical treatment were used:

1. Arithmetic Mean. This refers to the average of a set of numerical values,

computed by adding them together and dividing by the number of terms. It

will be used in determining the performance of the two groups.

2. Dependent T-test. It is an analysis of two means. A t-test shows the

difference between the samples when the variances of two normal

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distributions are not known. This will show the significant difference of the

academic performance of the two groups.

Qualitative

1. Thematic Analysis. The second data collected from semi-structured

interviews were converted to transcript. These direct quotations were grouped

according to their similarities and were assigned themes to represent all the

grouped quotations.

Figure 2 served as the guide of the researcher for a systematic and

comprehensive way of analyzing and presenting the findings of the qualitative part.

Transcription of
Transcript
Interview

Identification of Key
points Key Points

Coding of Key points Codes

Grouping of Similar
Codes Similar Codes

Analyzing Similar
Codes Themes

Figure 2. Data analysis diagram

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Formulation of themes was done using the following steps: (1) convert the

recordings to transcript, (2) identify key points, (3) code the key points, (4) group similar

codes, and (5) assign themes.

Qualitative data analysis was used in analyzing the responses of the key

informants from their interview. Data collected were transcribed, coded and grouped

according to similarities before the assignment of themes.

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Results, Findings and Discussion

As stated in the previous chapter, quantitative analysis started the study which is

followed by qualitative presentation of findings.

This study focused on determining the effectiveness of Past Based Approach in

the academic performance of Grade 8 students in English of Masantol High School for

School Year 2017-2018. The experimental group was taught using the PBA as part of

the classroom discussion and presentation of the lessons, while the control group was

taught using the traditional method. The researcher collected the data from the

experimental and control group.

For the quantitative, the results of the study were presented in tables together

with verbal description and interpretations. While in presenting the qualitative part,

thematic analysis was utilized to have a deeper understanding and give meaning to the

thoughts, ideas and experiences of the participants.

Academic Performance of the Two Groups before the Treatment

Prior to the exposure to Past-Based Approach, the control and experimental

group had their pretest using the standardized test from the Division of Pampanga in

order to determine their baseline level and comparability. It was done to measure a

starting point or the amount of pre-existing knowledge of the respondents on the subject.

It is evident on the table 2, that the academic performance of the control group is

a little bit higher compare with experimental group. Control group accumulated a mean

of 16.26 with a standard deviation of 3.26, while the experimental group has a mean of

15.89 with a standard deviation of 3.46.

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Table 2. Academic Performance before the Treatment

Experimental Control
Mean 15.89 16.26
Standard Deviation 3.46 3.26
Observations 38 39
t Stat -0.47123
P(T<=t) two-tail 0.638861
t Critical two-tail 1.992543

After calculating the pretest of the two groups, the scores were treated using t-

test with .05 level of significance to determine the comparability of the two groups. It is

glaring from the table that p value (0.64) accepts the first null hypothesis, indicating that

there is no significant difference between the academic performances of the two groups

in their pretest, which makes the two groups to be appropriate pair as respondents of the

study. The comparability of the two groups made sure that no group is better than the

other one.

It is an important consideration in any experimental study that the two groups are

comparable to avoid bias. This is the same concept stated in the study of Saint- Mont

(2015) as she cited that comparability contributes much to a compelling conclusion. The

results become more reliable and valid when the researcher was able to establish it.

Academic Performance of the Two Groups after the Treatment

After the pretest, lessons using PBA were conceptualized and prepared by the

researcher for the experimental group. The group was exposed to examples using their

past memories of the previous lessons. Ten weeks was spent and given to the treatment

group, while the control group was taught using the traditional method for 10 weeks.

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After ten weeks, the two groups both took the periodic test from the Division of

Pampanga. Raw scores were collected to compare their academic performance after the

treatment.

It is reflected from the table 3 that even using the traditional method, the

academic performance of the control group increased from 16.26 to 26.02 indicating that

there is an improvement in the control group. However, considering the tremendous

increase in the academic performance of the experimental group from 15.89 to 29.34, it

signifies that the academic performance of the experimental group who was exposed to

Past Based Approach is higher than the control group, which indicates that there is a vast

improvement on the part of the experimental group.

Table 3. Academic Performance After the Treatment

Experimental Control
Mean 29.34 26.02
Variance 4.35 3.51
Observations 38 39
t Stat 3.6743015
P(T<=t) two-tail 0.000459
t Critical two-tail 1.993943

Despite the result of the mean that shows the gap on their scores, the researcher

treated the raw scores of the two groups using t-test with .05 level of significance. It is

evident from the table that the p value (0.00) rejects the second null hypothesis, which

means that there is significant difference between the academic performances of the two

groups in their posttest, which makes the use of PBA effective for the experimental

group.

Experiences of Students using PBA

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As the researcher aims to explore the effectiveness of the PBA through

experiences of the students, the researcher conducted a personal interview with the select

students who met the qualification.

These direct quotations were classified and grouped together to formulate

themes:

Theme 1. Connecting Previous to Recent Lesson

The importance of digging to the memories and past of every individual has been

considered as one of the prerogatives of learning. As known in the lesson plans of every

teacher, review is one of the important parts being monitored by the person assigned to

check the lesson plan. In addition, even the revised lesson plan or the new daily lesson

log of the DepEd has a review on its part.

It is noted in the detailed lesson plan that lessons should have review especially if

it is a continuation of the previous topic. In this way, students are given the chance to

participate actively because they are given the chance to share what they already know.

It also increases their motivation to be engaged in the classroom interaction for they

know they can contribute something during the teaching-learning process. Most

importantly, when there is a connection between the previous and new lesson, it

strengthens the importance of the previous students. Students will realize that each

lesson is significant to the next.

The importance of connecting the lesson is encapsulated in the statements of the

participants:

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“Akakwa ming atandanan ing lesson mi dahil palagi ming

babalikan bayu kami munta queng casunud a lesson.” [We

remember our lessons because we always go back on them before

with connect it on the next lessons.] (KI1)

“Queng kakabalik king lesson makatuki kami kaya eke

malalakwan at atatayid miya keng bayung lesson.” [Because we

always go back on the lessons, we are not being left behind and

we are able to connect the new lesson.] (KI3)

When students feel that what they know matters in the classroom. It gives a sense

of satisfaction and sense of belongingness. The ideas they have in their mind from the

previous lessons are being appreciated by the teacher and their classmates. Even Kumar

(2007) highlighted that active learning exist inside the classroom when students can

participate actively during the teaching-learning process. When students were able to go

back on the lesson, a more in-depth learning appears (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking,

cited in Pingol, 2015).

Theme 2: Repeating the Tough Topics

Learning occurs when one concept or experience is repeated for a couple of

times. This drill of activities is supported by continuous practice of the skills and

knowledge for a student to master the necessary competencies required by the

curriculum.

In teaching most of the teachers give drills as a way to reinforce the learning.

However, this method consumes much of the time in the class and makes the next

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lessons suffer from time constraint. From this perspective, it is necessary that teachers

should know how to balance the time for each lesson. Yet, students magnified that it is

very important that the difficult lessons should be repeated to give them chance of

remembering them with accuracy.

This importance is cited in the quotations of the participants:

“Paulit-ulit na lang tuturung sir deng lesson mi kaya

atatandanan mila.” [Sir repeatedly teaches the lessons that is why

we remember them.] (KI2)

“Pabalik balik ing turu nang sir quecami.” [Sir always go

back on the old lessons and teach them.] (KI3)

The themes presented make it clear that students are learning from the lessons

using the PBA. Even though this is effective, it takes a lot of effort on the part of the

teacher to arrange and modify some part of the lesson to apply this innovation.

According to Caxton (cited in Kani and Saad, 2015), when the concepts or ideas

are repeatedly being taught, it increases the chance of long-lasting learning. This only

proves that there is a need to repeat some topics while new lessons are being introduced

because students need some recapitulation of the topics.

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Summary

The study focused on determining the effectiveness of Past Based Approach on

the academic performance of Grade 8 students in English of Masantol High School

during the School Year 2017-2018. Quasi-experimental design and qualitative method

were employed wherein the researcher used experimental and control group as part of

the study. The two groups had their pretest to determine their baseline level and

comparability. After the pretest, the experimental group was exposed in PBA while the

control group was taught using traditional method for 10 weeks. The periodic test from

the Division of Pampanga served as the posttest.

Findings reveal that there is a significant difference between the academic

performances of the two groups indicating that the PBA is effective in improving the

academic performance of Grade 8 students in English. Additionally, after the treatment,

the experimental group were interviewed regarding how did the PBA help them improve

their learning. Assessment shows that repeating the previous lessons and connecting it to

the new one will make the learning long lasting.

Conclusions

Based on the result of the study, the following conclusions are derived:

1. Past-Based Approach significantly affects the academic performance of Grade

8 students in English.

2. Using Past-Based Approach makes the learning long lasting when students

were able to use their memories about their previous topics or lessons.

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3. Students are able to connect their previous knowledge to the new lesson for

better mastery during the teaching-learning process.

4. Connecting the previous lesson to the new one and repeating the lessons for

mastery are the main concepts of PBA.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are

formulated:

1. Classroom teachers may apply PBA as one of the approaches so students may

participate actively in the classroom because they are familiar with the topics being

presented which may improve their academic performance.

2. Teachers are encouraged to always connect the previous lessons with their new

lessons which they may include in their daily lesson plans as they facilitate teaching-

learning process.

3. It is encouraged that a module or learner’s materials may be crafted for easier

application of PBA.

4. Researchers are encouraged to test the effectiveness of PBA with other group

of students.

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