Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study Background of the Study

The Republic of the Philippines is one of the members of ASEAN nations.

Hence, being in this association has the most opportunities in terms of

economics— import and export taxes— and security and peace between nations,

however, it also has the most privilege [CITATION PAC15 \l 1033 ]. ASEAN’s

economic integration is very beneficial in the country. It builds up many

opportunities such as jobs, cheap and wider range of goods and services, and

many more[ CITATION NAT17 \l 1033 ]. The enhancement of education is part of the

ASEAN integration. The Republic of the Philippines is the only one nation in the

association that has only 10-year basic curriculum. Thus, this led to the

implementation of K-12 curriculum with the guidance of ASEAN nations.

The Government of the Philippines recently added two more years in High

School, called Senior High School (Formoso, 2016). This is to create globally

competitive individuals in the near future and equip them with basic skills to be a

productive citizen of the society (Patrinos, 2016). The students are allowed to

choose between Academic, Sports, Arts, and Design, and Technical-Vocational-

Livelihood Track.

Each track comprises different strands. There are three strands that

compose the Academic Track namely Science, Technology, Engineering, and

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Mathematics (STEM) strand, Accountancy and Business Management (ABM)

strand, and General Academic Strand (GAS). (Formoso, 2016)

Each strand that makes up the Academic Track have different

specializations and focus, thus generating different specialization and applied

tracksubjects that some of the students find difficult to learn. In the second

semester of Grade 11, STEM strand students will face Empowerment

Technologies, and Research 1 as their Applied Track Subjects and Basic

Calculus as their Specialized Subject (deped.gov. ph., 2016). These subjects

were never taught in some of the students who completed Junior High School

which makes it hard to deal with.

The researchers aim to discover the different learning techniques used by

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students of Tagum

City National High School deal with Empowerment Technologies, Research 1

and Basic Calculus. Furthermore, the researcher aims to determine the subjects

that Senior High School students find the hardest and the reason why they find it

hard.

This study may help with the further understanding on students' difficulty in

learning. This can also be used as a reference for teachers, and a way to find the

students' difficulties and find ways to teach the mentioned subjects better.

2
Purpose of the study

The purpose of this Phenomenological study is to identify the different

methods Senior High School students use to cope up Basic Calculus, which is

the student's Specialized Subject on their Second Semester of their year 11, for

the Senior High School student at Tagum CIty National High School. At this

stage in research, the different methods used by the students to cope up with

Basic Calculus will be generally defined as the different techniques used by the

students to understand their lessons well that will not lead to failing grades of the

students. This study also aims to identify why the students find Basic Calculus to

learn and understand. The researchers also aim to help other students who are

struggling with their specialized subject by identifying ways to learn successfully

by trying out new techniques in learning done by their co-students through this

study.

Research Questions

At the end of this research, the researchers will be able to answer the following

questions:

1) Why do the students of Tagum City National High School find Basic

Calculus hard?

2) What are the causes why the students find Basic Calculus hard?

3
 3) What are the different methods and resources used by Senior High

School Students of Tagum City National High School to cope up with

Basic Calculus?

Theoretical Lens

Experiential Learning

Carl Rogers distinguish two types of learning: cognitive and experiential.

Experiential Learning includes (1) setting a positive climate for learning, (2)

clarifying the purposes of the learner(s), (3) organizing and making available

learning resources, (4) balancing intellectual and emotional components of

learning, and (5) sharing feelings and thoughts with learners but not dominating.

According to Rogers, learning is facilitated when: (1) the student participates

completely in the learning process and has control over its nature and direction,

(2) it is primarily based upon direct confrontation with practical, social, personal

or research problems, and (3) self-evaluation is the principal method of

assessing progress or success.

Algo-Heuristic Theory

This theory by L. Landa involves identifying mental processes that

underlie expert learning. There are classes of problems for which it is necessary

to execute operations in a well structured, predefined sequence (algorithmic

problems). For such problem classes, it is possible to formulate a set of precise

unambiguous instructions (algorithms) as to what one should do mentally and/or

4
physically in order to successfully solve any problem belonging to that class.

There are also classes of problems (creative or heuristic problems) for which

precise and unambiguous sets of instructions cannot be formulated. For such

classes of problems, it is possible to formulate instructions that contain a certain

degree of uncertainty (heuristics). Landa also describes semi-algorithmic and

semi-heuristic problems, processes and instructions The theory suggests that all

cognitive activities can be analyzed into operations of an algorithmic, semi-

algorithmic, heuristic, or semi-heuristic nature. Once discovered, these

operations and their systems can serve as the basis for instructional strategies

and methods. The theory specifies that students ought to be taught not only

knowledge but the algorithms and heuristics of experts as well. They also have to

be taught how to discover algorithms and heuristics on their own.

Conversation Theory

This theory by Gordon Pask states that that learning occurs through

conversations about a subject matter which serve to make knowledge explicit.

Conversations can be conducted at a number of different levels: natural

language (general discussion), object languages (for discussing the subject

matter), and metalanguages (for talking about learning/language).

Symbol Systems

Salomon (1981) focuses on the reciprocal nature of instructional

communications, the instructional setting, and the learner. Salomon argues that

5
schema play a major role in determining how messages are perceived -- in terms

of creating an anticipatory bias that influences what information is selected and

how it is interpreted. Furthermore, media create new schema which affect

subsequent cognitive processing.

Significance of the Study

This study will be able to help identify the way students deal with their

difficult subjects at school. It will be helpful for other students who find it hard to

study Empowerment Technologies, Basic Calculus and Research 1 find other

ways to cope up with the mentioned subjects through testing the ways on how

other students use to learn these subjects efficiently. This study could be used in

discovering new learning techniques that are effective to some, thus resulting to

a better academic performance. This study could contribute on the further

understanding on learning strategies and learning mechanisms used by Senior

High School students. This research can also be a guide for teachers on how to

teach their students more efficiently by learning the different techniques used by

their learners.

In the Philippines, K-12 Curriculum is the recent program that the

Department of Education was implemented thus along with it is the first opening

of the Senior High School. The first students in this batch of Senior High School

have the most difficult part because of some concerns such as the government of

the Philippines is not ready therefore affecting the learning materials that are

needed by both students and teachers.

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 Thus the outcome of this phenomenological research will benefit the

following entities:

DepEd Officials. They will be enlightened of how the fast implementation

of the program created problems not only financially but physically and mentally

on the students of public school specifically in the Tagum City National High

School.

School Head. They will be aware of the problems in regards with the

inadequate resources that the government has provided. Thus, they can help to

find other ways on how to lessen those problems.

Teachers. The study will help them on how to aid and support the students

because of the inadequacy of the program in terms of the learning materials. This

study can also be a guide for teachers on how to teach their students more

efficiently by learning the different techniques used by their learners.

Students. This study will be able to help identify the way students deal

with their difficult subjects at school. It will be helpful for other students who find it

hard to study Empowerment Technologies, Basic Calculus and Research 1 find

other ways to cope up with the mentioned subjects through testing the ways on

how other students use to learn these subjects efficiently.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This study aims to only identify the different methods and resources used

by Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students of

7
Tagum City National High School to cope up with Basic Calculus; as well as why

they find the mentioned subject hard. Core subjects of the STEM strand is

beyond the scope of the study. In addition, students who chose Technical-

Vocational-Livelihood, Arts and Designs, Sports Track are not included in the

study. Furthermore, evaluation of the students' performance is beyond the scope

and causes why students prefer their own strategies and its effectiveness is

beyond the scope of this study.

The researchers gathered information from the Senior High School

students of Tagum City National High School through eight (8) In-depth

Interviews and 6-membered Focus Group Discussion. The gathered data was

analyzed through triangulation. The study was conducted on the senior high

school student’s second semester, from November to March 2016, of their 12 th

grade.

Definition of Terms

Applied Track Subject.Applied Track Subject have the same

competencies as the others which ensure that all students will have the same

competencies as every other student, but the content will not be the same. The

contents depend on which track a particular student choose.

Cope-up. How a person deals with various problems and difficult

situations and try to come up with solutions and on how they are going to

overcome a particular in different situation.

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 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strand.One

of the four strands of the academic track which is designed for limited learners

who aim to take up natural sciences, engineering, architecture, mathematics, and

medicine in college.

Senior High School. An additional two years that includes grade 11 and

grade 12. In Senior High School, students will go under a track of their choice

and decisions.

Specialized Subjects.Specialization of subjects offersdifferent content and

different competencies that depend on the track that students are going to take.

Strategy.A high level of plan that includes tactics and tricks to achieve one

or more goals or desires that u wanted to get under the condition uncertainty.

Techniques.A method and procedure of doing some task or performing

something by using a skillful trick to achieve something and it includes manner

and ability on how you are going to deal with a particular situation.

Organization of the Study

Chapter 1. This composed of the Background of the Study which has the

summary of the whole study, Purpose of the Study, Research Questions that will

be answered after the study is conducted, Theories that support the study,

9
Importance of the Study, Scope and Limitation of the Study, Definition of Terms

used in this study.

Chapter 2. Consists of studies and literature that is related to the study.

These studies help in understanding the research more and find connections to

the present problem.

Chapter 3.Tackles about Methodology, Research Design, the Role of the

researchers, Research Participants, Data Collection and Analysis,

Trustworthiness, Credibility, Transferability, Ethical Consideration and

Dependability of the study.

Chapter 4.Consists of the Research Participants, Categorization of Data

and themes that were generated from the answers of the participants, and

triangulation from the Focus Group Discussion.

Chapter 5. This chapter further tackles about the themes generated from

the participants' answer along with Implications for Practice, Implications for

Further research and Concluding Remarks

10
 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Senior High School

The Philippines is the last country in Asia and one of only three countries

worldwide with a 10-year pre-university cycle (Angola and Djibouti are the other

two) and so, a 13-year program is found to be the best period for learning under

basic education. It is also the recognized standard for students and professionals

globally (The K to 12 Basic Education Program, 2015).

Senior High School is the most controversial topic of the school year

2016-2017. It started when the 15 th president of the Philippines, President

Benigno Simeon Aquino III signed the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013

into law, more commonly known as the K-12 program (Rappler, 2013). This K-12

program covers 13 years of basic education with the following key stages:

Kindergarten to Grade 3, Grades 4 to 6, Grades 7 to 10 (Junior High School),

and Grades 11 and 12 (Senior High School) (DepEd, 2016).

The Senior High School (SHS) is the last two years in of the K-12 program

that includes Grade 11 and Grade 12. In Senior High School, students will go

through a core curriculum and subjects under the strand and track of their choice.

Those tracks are divided into four which are the Academic Track, Technical-

Vocational-Livelihood Track, Sports Track, and Arts and Design Track. The said

tracks have also each of their own strands such as in Academic Track; it has four

strands which are the Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM) Strand,

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Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) Strand, Science, Technology,

Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Strand, and the General Academic Strand

(Department of Education, 2016).

The Challenge to Senior High students in the Philippines

Senior high school (15 to 18 years) is a difficult time for many students

especially that the implementation of the program is all of a sudden. Students

frequently feel under considerable pressure to perform well academically, as

performance at high school impacts on university entry and future career

prospects. A large scale study in Sydney, Australia, involving over 400 high

school students showed that over 50% of respondents had levels of anxiety,

depression and stress that were above the ‘normal’ range (Smith & Sinclair,

2000). Some parents also added the pressure of their students because of their

higher demands about their grades so that they can go to some prestigious

school in their country (Leonard, 2015). High school students typically worry

about a range of issues including academic performance, relationships, family,

and friends and peers (Amen & Reglin, 1992). Aside from the stressors that

affects the students, the readiness of the country also affects the performance of

the students. In the research of Takbir Ali (2012), the education indicators of the

subjected topic area of his research was fall below the National level thus affects

the quality of education in the region because of its inferiority to the rest of the

country. That means that the status of a country will matter to the quality of

education.

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 The Philippine country welcomes challenges to become a

significant part of the global community, and education is one of the factors to

consider since it is still a top priority in the Philippine context. The Commission on

Higher Education (CHEd) strategic plan 2011-2016 stated that Philippine has a

deteriorating quality of education. And it was 2010 when the Department of

Education (DepEd) introduced the K to 12 education system to the country as an

effective solution. K to 12 education system means kindergarten plus six years of

elementary, four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school

which is common education system all over the world. The Department of

Education has issues and plans to face the implications of the new basic

education system. On the other hand, higher education institutions are not yet

geared up to K to 12’s domino effect. The future of higher education in the

Philippines relies to the success of K to 12 basic education systems. It is said

that the graduates of senior high school are well-prepared to enter higher

education because they have a better understanding and it is not necessary for

remedial courses; however, this also implies that they are ready for work. The

concept of the graduates is both well-equipped for higher education and

employment. The higher education institutions must change their formation

strategy. They must do research about the handling first year students that have

ages around 17 to 19 with high level of intellectual capacity. Though other higher

education institutions abroad have this formation concept for ages 17 to 19, the

Philippines’ higher education institutions must work on how it will fit to Philippine

culture. K to 12 has also an implication to both basic and higher education

13
curriculum. Mainly, basic education has development or revisions to its

curriculum because of its additional senior high school level. For higher

education, there is a possibility of major revisions or shortening of their college

curriculum due to the changes in the K to 12 systems. [ CITATION Jho17 \l 1033 ]

On June 23, 2016, the National Academy of Science and Technology,

Philippines, through the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Division (MPSD),

conducted the Forum on the Challenges and Opportunities in the Implementation

of the K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

Curriculum. Various stakeholders of the program, from the academe and public

and private institutions, participated in the forum. Academician William G.

Padolina, member of MPSD, welcomed the participants and pointed out that

"having the K-12 system in place does not exactly mean that there is no more

room for improvement.” He acknowledges that “there is still work that needs to be

done in addressing the challenges in implementation and in improving the

system and the curriculum itself as we are already in the last phase of the

transition period.” [ CITATION Placeholder1 \l 1033 ]

STEM Strand

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and

Mathematics. STEM is essential since it plagues all aspects of our lives. Science

is wherever in our general surroundings. Technology is constantly venturing into

each part of our lives. Engineering is the fundamental outlines of streets and

extensions, additionally handles the difficulties of changing worldwide climate

14
and naturally well-disposed changes to our home. Mathematics is in each

occupation, each movement we do in our lives. By presenting understudies to

STEM and giving them chances to investigate STEM-related ideas, they will build

up passion for it and ideally seek after a vocation in a STEM field [CITATION

Why17 \l 1033 ].

In the Schools of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

(STEM) they focus on providing opportunities of study for students who express

interest in the above disciplines in preparation for post-secondary study or for

entry into related professions. The science strand guides students with a

particular interest in scientific fact and methodology. Students become involved

with all aspects of the scientific process and develop a solid proficiency in

foundation knowledge. From there, students have the opportunity to further

explore and study various specialized scientific methodologies including earth-

based sciences, genetic studies, biology, chemistry, physics, environmental

science and forensics.  Students within this strand are guided accordingly for

post-secondary studies and post-secondary career opportunities. [CITATION

Lon17 \l 1033 ]

STEM is an educational program in light of teaching understudies in four

particular controls — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an

interdisciplinary and connected approach. Instead of instruct, the four teaches as

isolated and discrete subjects. STEM incorporates them into a strong learning

worldview in light of true applications [ CITATION Hom14 \l 1033 ].

15
Coping Strategies

Coping strategies refer to the specific efforts, both behavioural and

psychological, that people employ to master, tolerate, reduce, or minimize

stressful events. Two general coping strategies have been distinguished:

problem-solving strategies are efforts to do something active to alleviate stressful

circumstances, whereas emotion-focused coping strategies involve efforts to

regulate the emotional consequences of stressful or potentially stressful

events[CITATION Rev87 \l 1033 ]

Learning Strategies of Students

Learning strategies are the thoughts and actions that students use to

complete learning tasks [CITATION Nat \l 1033 ].

Learning is biologically and developmentally imposed. Not everyone has

the same learning styles; some methods may be effective for some but

ineffective for others. Learning style also encompasses motivation, on-task

persistence versus the need for multiple assignments simultaneously, the kind

and amount of structure required, and conformity versus nonconformity

(California Journal of Science Education, 2002).

In the study of Dewi (2014) about the learning strategies used by students

of the eleventh grade of Senior High School Batik 2 Surakarta in developing

Reading Skill, the three students (their participants) used almost all three aspects

of learning strategies that is proposed by O’Malley (1990). They used meta-

16
cognitive strategies, cognitive strategies and socio-affective strategies, but there

is difference quantity of strategies each student.

Children may develop different coping strategies as they grow older that

are powerful enough to use in their older years for problem-solving and encode

knowledge. (Bereiter and Scardamalia, 2009)

As mentioned, there are different leaning methods used by different

students. One of which is Externalization of students' thoughts via interview,

teach-back, or think-aloud protocol. (Schmeck, 1988)

Problems in Learning

Students have their own reasons why they find a certain subject hard. For

Calculus, students lack understanding of their precedent lesson, say for example

about limit and then proceeds to another topic that involves limit (Kovacevic,

2015). Students also fail to recall fundamental theorems they learned in Algebra,

Geometry and Pre-Calculus (Harris, 2015).

A specific learning difficulty for Mathematics is perceived as Dyscalculia.

"Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) is a specific learning disorder that is

characterized by impairments in learning basic arithmetic facts, processing

numerical magnitude and performing accurate and fluent calculations. " (British

Dyslexia Associaltion, 2016)

According to the hypotheses on a survey of Uri Treisman (2010) there are

four beliefs about the causes of minority student failure, first is the lack of

17
motivation. It was stated that even the small gap in motivation highly affects in

the highly competitive and difficult subjects, those students who are motivated,

work extraordinary hard which results to an A, they are also the students who

excels. Second is inadequate preparation which means minority of the students

who entered college has low SATs and has fewer credit hours of science and

mathematics; this also means that it is not the university’s fault but the student’s

lack of motivation and prior preparation. Third argument is the “vertical”

organization of math and science, this states that these subjects depend on the

subjects that preceded them, courses depend on the courses that preceded

them, this is the reason why students struggle to improve their performance once

they encounter difficulties. Even though the students are committed to

improvement, the intensity and speed of the subjects are the hindrance in

catching up. The last problem is connected to lack of family support or

understanding of higher education, this means that the families of the students

doesn’t have rich educational backgrounds which results to not giving their kids

the survival skills they need in college. [CITATION Uri92 \l 13321 ]

According in the article written by AK Whitney (2015), in the five-

year study surveyed 213 colleges and universities, 502 instructors, and more

than 14,000 students, edited by professors from Macalester College, University

of Michigan–Ann Arbor, and San Diego State University, and funded in part by

the National Science Foundation, and was released in October, found that there

was not only a drop in math confidence after taking Calculus 1, but also a drop in

18
math enjoyment, and an increased sense of worry among students that they

couldn’t handle new material.

The failure of the students to express meaningful ideas on the optimization

concepts role in Calculus may be due to inappropriate and weak ideas and

knowledge about the mental links in calculus such as derivatives. [ CITATION

Deo13 \l 13321 ]. In the study of Brijlall and Ndlovu (2013) it appeared that the

students who are currently learning Calculus have difficulty in linking their

previous knowledge in their current topic.

Basic Calculus

Calculus was developed by Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz. It is

concerned with comparing quantities which vary in a non-linear way. This could

be applied extensively in Science and Engineering. Calculus is about quantities

constantly changing and studying what is going on with these changes. (Bourne,

2016)

Integral and Derivatives are the two basic concepts of Calculus.

"Derivative is a measure of the rate change, the integral a measure for the total

effect of a process of continuous change." (Richard Courant, Fritz John, 1989)

Basic Calculus as part of the subjects in the second semester of the

Grade 11 in Senior High School aims to teach students about determining the

limit of a function, differentiation, and integrate algebraic, exponential,

logarithmic, and trigonometric functions in one variable, and to formulate and

solve problems involving continuity, extreme values, related rates, population

19
models, and areas of plane regions. [CITATION Edu16 \l 13321 ] It focuses on

mastery of the methods applied in differentiation and its application on problem

solving that maximizes and minimizes to higher level that can be linked on real

life situations. [ CITATION Deo13 \l 13321 ]

Stated in the National Curriculum Statement by the Department of

Education, 2007:51 "the purpose of mathematics is the establishment of proper

connections between mathematics as a discipline and application of mathematics

in real world contexts. Mathematical modelling provides learners with the means

to analyse and describe their world mathematically, and so allows learners to

deepen their understanding of mathematics while adding to their mathematical

tools for solving real world problems” [ CITATION Deo13 \l 13321 ]

Classroom Environment

A study was conducted by Reyes, Maria R.; Brackett, Marc A.; Rivers,

Susan E.; White, Mark; Salovey, Peter entitled Classroom emotional climate,

student engagement, and academic achievement shows that emotional

attachments of the students to their foster classroom positively affects their

school performance. [ CITATION Rey12 \l 13321 ]

On the book of Jonathan Erwin (2004) entitled Classroom of Choice, he

stated that “Employing students to teach or tutor other students empowers both

the student doing the teaching and, by increasing her chances for success, the

student being tutored. It can also help bridge the time gap between the students

who achieve mastery on the first assessment and those who need more time. “

20
How the pre-requisite subjects affect the current learning of the students

A pre-requisite is a specific course that must be completed in order to

proceed to the higher course at the next grade level. It is important to ensure that

the students entered into a course with prior knowledge. This helps the teacher

to teach at a certain academic level and the students to feel comfortable and

confident with the subject matter. [ CITATION OCA16 \l 13321 ]

It was stated in the study of James Crane, and Jennifer Cox (2013) that

“While the importance of bioscience education to nursing practice has been long

recognized, nursing students, as a group, have a well documented struggle with

science subjects. This struggle has been largely attributed to the lower university

entrance scores required for nursing courses and a lack of previous science

study. However, as in any complex system, a multitude of factors are likely to be

responsible for the difficulty faced by many nursing students in their science

studies.” In their study they argued that the engagement of science related

courses before taking a nursing course would significantly influence the students’

feelings toward the science subjects, achievement goal that they set, and their

interest in learning science.

In addition, on the study of Azad Ali and David Smith (2014) entitled

Teaching an Introductory Programming Language in a General Education

Course the introductory programming course, CS program a pre-requisite to the

advance programming course is needed for CS students to prepare them for the

upper level programming courses.

21
Effects of Resources in Learning

Before, instructors and strategy producers trusted that by giving

more resources they could straightforwardly enhance understudy learning

results. To their frustration, this turns out not to be totally valid. Resources might

be important however they are not adequate. Resources themselves are not self-

instituting, that is, they don't roll out improvement unavoidable. Contrasts in their

impacts rely on upon contrasts in their utilization. This is additionally valid on

account of instructive advances [ CITATION Kur11 \l 1033 ].

According to the results of the study of Lois & Milevicich (2010),

that the recent evolution of digital materials leads to devote a specific interest to

the change of activities induced by virtual learning environments which allow new

forms of collaboration between students, and between teachers and students.

The Use of Internet

Our findings are consistent with the study of Deore (2012) that the internet

is a most powerful educational tool for teaching and learning. The study also

concluded that it is useful for self-study to students, gives student a lot of

information that could be used for their assignments and for their progress to

achieve their goals. The Internet can also motivate the students, make teaching

more fun, and allows variation in teaching according to the study of Brändström

(2011).

22
Impact of teacher’s teaching technique

Research reveals that being taught by an effective teacher has important

consequences for student achievement [CITATION Tea12 \l 1033 ].

The study of Johnson, Kraft & Papay (2012) found out that the conditions

of teachers’ work matter a great deal. Therefore, it will help students to learn

easier.

Synthesis

The additional two (2) years in high school called Senior High School

which was recently implemented by former president Benigno Simeon Aquino III

in the Philippines on 2015 was said to help the students be globally competitive

(Rappler, 2013). It was also said that it is the solution to the deteriorating quality

of education.

The Senior High School is composed of the 11 th and 12th grade in high

school. It is divided into tracks which are the Academic Track, Technical-

Vocational-Livelihood Track, Sports Track, and Arts and Design Track.

Furthermore, these tracks are divided into strands, this study focuses on the

Academic Track which is divided into Accountancy, Business and Management

(ABM) Strand, Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) Strand, Science,

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Strand, and the General

Academic Strand (GAS) (Department of Education, 2016).

23
 The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strands,

just like the others, have core and specialized subject. One of the specialized

subject is the Basic Calculus which the Senior High School students are having a

difficulty. This is because the students lack understanding and comprehension of

their precedent lessons which are needed in their future lessons (Kovacevic,

2015). In addition, students also fail to recall fundamental theorems they learned

in Algebra, Geometry and Pre-Calculus (Harris, 2015) and fail to connect these

previous lessons to their current topic (Brijlall and Ndlovu, 2013).

As a response, the students have developed different learning strategies

to cope up with their Basic Calculus. This includes the internet which they use to

research about their current topic, having good classroom environment where

they can find a peer tutor to help them understand the topic, having additional

educational resources and good teaching technique of the teacher (Deore 2012;

Erwin, 2004; Johnson, Kraft & Papay 2012; Kurdziolek, 2011)

24
 Chapter 3

Methodology

In this chapter, the methods of the study is discussed, including the

Research Design, Role of the Researchers, the Research Participants, Data

Collection and Analysis, Trustworthiness, Credibility, Transferability and Ethical

Consideration of this paper.

Research Design

This study focused on the coping strategies of the Senior High School

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strand. Qualitative

Research is used in this study, specifically Phenomenological. This type

approach is used to describe a phenomenon through the lived experience

[ CITATION DrJ16 \l 13321 ].

The researchers gathered information from eight participants of In-depth

Interview (IDI) and six participants for Focus Group Discussion (FGD). According

to Diaz (2009) profound interview is the most appropriate data collection strategy

for a Phenomenological Study.

Role of the Researchers

The researchers roles are purely etic, this means that the researchers only

acted as an objective viewer. The researchers also equally distributed the work

to successfully finish this paper. All of the researchers conducted interview to the

eight participants of the in-depth interview, in which they also transcribed and

translated the information gathered from the participants of the In-depth

25
Interview. One of the researchers is the moderator of the Focus Group

Discussion and the other one assisted. The third researcher transcribed the

Focus Group Discussion and the other is the one who translated it.

Research Participants

The participants and informants of this study are the purposely selected

students from the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

Strand Senior High School students of Tagum City National High School. For the

for the informants of In-depth Interview (IDI), the researchers picked students

from the first two sections of the STEM Strand, the first selected student is

struggling with Basic Calculus and another two students are those who find Basic

Calculus fair and just right for their intellectual capacity. On the other two

sections, two students who find Basic Calculus hard and two students who find

Basic Calculus fair was selected. The same qualifications were considered for

the six participants of the Focus Group Discussion (FGD).

The informants selected for the In-depth Interview and participants of the

Focus Group Discussion are mixed Male and Female whose age ranges from 16

to 18.

Data Collection

The researchers first identified the participants of the study from the four

sections of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Strand. The

participants from each section include a student who is having a difficulty in Basic

Calculus and the others are those who find Basic Calculus just fine and fit for

their intellectual capacity.

26
 Before the interview, the researchers first consulted the chosen students

regarding the time and day of the interview. On the day of the interview, the

researchers first informed the participants about the name of the moderator, the

title and the purpose of the study, and also the moderator informed the

interviewee that they can clarify those questions which are not clear and that they

should not hesitate in doing so. After the introductory part of the interview, the

moderator proceeded with asking the interview questions, those questions that

are already answered from the previous ones are skipped and follow up question

were given for those answers that are not clear. After the interview, the

moderator gave the interviewee snack as token of appreciation for their time and

effort.

The researchers planned for a specific time and day for the Focus Group

Discussion and consulted each participant for their availability for the assigned

time and day. On March 1,2017 the researchers gathered the participant and

then conducted the Focus Group Discussion. The recorder was passed

clockwise by the participants to record their answers for each questions. After the

Focus Group Discussion, the researchers gave the participants snacks as a

token of appreciation for their time, effort and information.

Data Analysis

After conducting the In-depth Interview and Focus Group Discussion, the

researchers categorized the general, typical and variant information from the

participants to generate themes. Under the general category are answers that

27
are true to all the participants and respondents. On the other hand, on typical

category are answers that are true to three (3) to five (5) participants and

respondents and those answers under the variant category are true to one (1) to

two (2) respondents and participants.

From these categories, the researchers grouped the data into general

themes through triangulation.

Trustworthiness

During the interview, we informed our participants with regards to their

rights and their counterpart conditions as our informant. We handed them the

informed consent that will guarantee that their answers will be kept confidential

as long as with their identities. We let our informants answer the questions

without restrictions and without any opinion from the moderator.

Credibility

After the transcription and the translation of the data that the researchers

collected from our participants, the researchers made sure that the transcripts

are verified by the informants and participants to ensure that the information that

collected are synchronized and have not undergo any manipulation from their

answers that was recorded.

Transferability

The problems in dealing with Basic Calculus are not faced only by the

Senior High School STEM Strand students of Tagum City National High School

28
hence, future researchers or researchers from other schools in any place in the

Division of Tagum, Davao Region, Philippines or other countries can conduct the

study and develop this research. Furthermore, Basic Calculus is not the only

subject that the students are having difficulty with, hence other researchers can

apply this study on those other subjects that the students are struggling with.

Future studies could be conducted not only on Senior High School but also to

Junior High School.

Ethical Consideration

Before the interview was conducted, the researchers made sure that they

handed the participants an informed consent. The researchers explained to them

the content of the consent to verify and clear some of the questions about the

conditions written on the paper. The researchers also made the participants sign

on the consent paper which states that their participation on this research

interview is voluntary and not forced. And by any means, they can withdraw their

involvement any time without giving any reason. The researchers are also

sensitive in the participant’s emotion throughout the interview. The researchers

do not judge their answers and thus respected it.

Dependability

29
 Dependability is defined by the replicability or repeatability of the study.

Thus, the researchers ensured that the researchers took into account the ever-

changing contexts within which the study occurred. This means that this study is

responsible for describing the changes that occurred in this study and how it

affected this research. [ CITATION Tro06 \l 13321 ]

30
 Chapter 4

RESULTS

This study is about identifying the different coping strategies of the

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Strand students in

dealing with Basic Calculus. The researchers also identified the reason why the

students find Basic Calculus and the resources and the reasons why they find

the mentioned subject difficult. The following general questions were the basis for

the interview question and what the study aimed to answer,

1) Why do the students of Tagum City National High School find Basic

Calculus hard?

2) What are the causes why the students find Basic Calculus hard?

3) What are the different methods and resources used by Senior High

School Students of Tagum City National High School to cope up with

Basic Calculus?

In order to collect the information needed for this study, the researchers

conducted In-depth Interview with eight students and Focus Group Discussion

with six participants.

This chapter is divided into four parts; the first part includes the data of the

participants who were interviewed for this study. The second part tackles about

the categorization of data gathered and the data analysis procedures that the

researchers followed. The third part includes the themes that were identified from

31
the participants’ answers in the In-depth Interview and Focus Group Discussion

under each research questions. The fourth part contains the summary of the

themes gathered from the responses of the informants and participants’ answers.

Participants

Key Informants.The researchers selected eight (8) participants for the In-

depth Interview which is within the range interview participants given by

Mason (2010), five to twenty-five participants.

Focus Group Discussion. There were six (6) participants for the FGD

governed by the researchers. A focus Group works well with four to twelve

people. [ CITATION Man93 \l 13321 ]. The participants involved were an

assortment of the students who are struggling with Basic Calculus and

students who are fairly good in dealing Basic Calculus.

Table 1. Participants’ Information

Pseudonym Gender Age Study group

Thin Male 17 IDI

Nikko Male 17 IDI

Pitch Female 16 IDI

Boy Male 18 IDI

Dane Female 17 IDI

Brown Male 18 IDI

Junior Male 18 IDI

Girl Female 17 IDI

Boyish Female 17 FGD

32
 Victor Female 17 FGD

Brent Female 17 FGD

Joyce Female 17 FGD

Guy Male 17 FGD

Curly Female 17 FGD

The interview with the participants, both in the In-depth and Focus Group,

went smoothly. The researchers hardly encountered difficulty in gathering

information from the participants. There were no participants that was emotional

during the interview but there were also those who were sensitive and optimistic.

Categorization of Data

The interviews that were conducted was recorded on a mobile phone and

was transcribed immediately by the researchers. They ensured that no alteration

from the original statement was made and as much as possible accurately

translated the statements. The researchers observed ethical considerations

before, during and after the interview and Focus Group Discussion.

Research Question No. 1:

Why do the students find Basic Calculus hard?

33
 The following are the questions asked by the researchers to gather

information from the informants and participants to answer the first research

Question

I. Do find the subject Basic Calculus difficult? Why? (Nalisuran ba ka

sa Reseach 1? Ngano)

A. Do you find the whole subject difficult or just some parts

of it?

B. What do you do when you encounter a difficult lesson?

C. What kind of help do you seek when dealing with a

difficult lesson?

D. Who do you go for to ask for help?

Table 2. First for General Question 1 IDI

Students who General “uhm… oo, nalisudan ko sa basic

experience calculus kay uhm… naa lay part sa
difficulty subject na lisod pero dili whole subject
lisuran ko.” (uhm... yes, I find basic
calculus hard uhm... there are just some
parts that I find hard but not the whole
subject) TCIDIS01

“actually, lisod gyud ang calculus, pero

gina cope up ra nako para makaya nako
siya.” (actually...calculus is really hard,
but I cope up for me to make it easy.)
TCIDIS02

“oo nalisodan jud ko kay lahi raman siya

sa general mathematics kay.” (yes I
really find it hard because it is different
from general mathematics) TCIDIS03

34
 “oo kay Uhmm naa mang guy usahay
nga kanang maka nakalimot ko sakuan
ba? Kanang… unsaon gani pag kuan
gani pag kuan gani pareha anang
manggawas na subjects sa grade 9 ug
grade 10

As shown on Table 2, most of the participants experienced difficulty on the

subject mentioned. Subject Calculus is first time to for them that’s the reason

they are having difficulty in Basic Calculus.

Table 3. Second for General Question 1 IDI

Student’s Typical “aw syempre mangutana jud sa tapad

strategy when basin naka sabot diay siya di, may
they encounter nalang matabangan ko niya nya.. mao
difficult lesson lang” (oh of course, I ask the one beside
me maybe he understands, in that way
he can help me then...that's all)
TCIDIS02

“kung makaagi kug lisod kay usahay

magpatuldo nalang ko or.. kuan kung di
madalag tudlo kung dugay makasabot,
no choice sundog.” (When I encounter
difficulty, sometimes I let others teach
or.. when being taught is not enough,
when it takes time to understand, no
choice cheat.) TCIDIS04
“so when i encounter a difficult lesson,
first kay mag ask kog questions sa mga
taong nakapalibot nako or mangayo kog
more examples kay mas makatuon amn
ko if in-ana.” (so when I encounter a
difficult lesson, first I ask the people
around me or ask for more examples
because I can really learn if it's like that)

35
 TCIDI08

Variant “uhm… I will just study on that, that

difficult topic or subject to strive more
and dili, mas mag focus ko ana subject
na lisran ko para makapasa.” (uhm... I
will just study on that, that difficult topic
or subject to strive more and no, I will
focus on that subject which I find hard to
pass) TCIDIS01

In Table 3, it is shown that there are two types of answer from different

interviewee. Most of them when they encounter difficulty they will immediately

ask their classmates to help them in the lesson. While the other participant

he/she will just study the topic to learn.

Table 4. Third for General Question 1 IDI

Hindrance in General “oo, nalisudan ko sa basic calculus kay,

Learning before sa junior pako, kay dili kay hawd
ug math.” (I find basic calculus hard
because even before that I was still a
junior, I am not really good with math)
TCIDIS01

“kuan naa lang joy part na lisod, lisod

sabton lisod sya kuanon, basta lisod jud
siya sabton kay dili ko kasabot.” (uh there
are just parts that are hard, hard to
understand, hard to uh, you know it's
really hard to understand because I don't
understand it.) TCIDIS02

“uhhmm naay part sa subject na lisod,

36
 pareha atong kuan uhm kaning karon
kaning differential calclulus.” (uhmm
there are just parts of the subjects that
are hard, like that uhm this right now, this
differentialcalculus.) TCIDIS04

“uh mostly difficult, so biskan unsa pa na

na subject kay naa jud nay times na
muabot sa point na lisod siya.” (uh
mostly difficult, so even if whatever
subject that is there are times that it will
come to a point that it will become
hard)TCIDI08

“nakalisod ang part niya kay ang mga

formulas ba tag as kaayo mao na mag
lisod gyud kag sabot gyud”(the hard
part... the one part that makes it hard is
the formulas which are so long that's why
I really find it difficult to understand)
TCIDIS03

“kaning lisudan ko kay… daghag mga

formula na memorison … Tibuok sub
Typical
subject... kuan… ay dili ay kuan lang
murag kaning mga mga… more in Math
and kuan mga english bitaw.” (I find it
difficult because… it has many formulas
that has to be memorized… Whole sub
subject… uhm… is not is uhm only
maybe this the the… more in Math and
uhm the English indeed)” TCIDIS05

Variant “murag na pressure gani ko kay murag

lisud na kayo lisud na diay kayo ang mga
kuan diay mga topic nga gideal sa

37
 Calculus mao tong… maglisud kog cope
up sa kanagn kuan sa Basic Calculus
nga subject karon.” (it’s like I got really
pressured because the topic is really
hard to deal with the Calculus so… It’s
really hard for me to cope up in the
subject Basic Calculus right
now.)TCIDI07

As shown in the Table 4, there are different types of responses from the

participants. It shown that they are not good in math and the knowledge they

acquired is not enough.

Research Question No.2:

What are the causes why the students find Basic Calculus hard?

II. What do you think causes these difficulties that you encounter while

learning Basic Calculus

A. What kind of classroom environment do you have?

B. How does your classroom environment affect your learning?

C. In what way do your subjects’ previous lessons and pre-

requisite subject about the mentioned subject affect your current

learning?

38
Table 5. First for General Question 2 IDI

Problems within Typical “siguro nag lisod ko kay hinay kog math?
self Mao lang” (Maybe I struggle because I am
slow when it comes to math? That's all)
TCIDIS02

“Kay actually dili jud ko kuan no kanang

bright jud ug Math… kay mao jud siya akong
kanang… pinakagagmay jud nako na
grades…” (Actually, I’m not really bright in
Math… because that is really my… my
lowest grades) TCIDIS06

“ah… nag, mga reason wwhy nalisdan ko sa

basic calulus kay ang... kanang... usahay...
kanang... pagmalesson ang… pagmagtackle
ang teacher sa usa ka subject, nay some
part na dili ko makasabot and then...”
(ahh...the reasons why I find Basic Calculus
hard because, uh sometimes uh when there
is a lesson the... when the teacher tackles
about a subject, there are some parts that I
don't understand and then…) TCIDIS01

“uhmmm... siguro kay kuan wala lang jud ko

kasabot sa kuan kanag..., usahay dili
makapaminaw kanang dili kaayo ko hasa sa
math kanang... yes... mao ra to.” (uhmmm
maybe because uh i just dont understhat the
uh... sometimes couldn’t listen uh I am not
that good in math uh... yes that's it.)TCIDI04

39
 “Siguro tapulan ko kay…… kaning kada
lesson kay di man ko maminaw, ay kada
maglesson si… whatever… for example sa
BaCal… maglesson si Ma’am, dili jud ko
kayo makapaminaw sa iyaha pero ginatry
nako… and kana lang.” (Maybe I’m lazy yes
okay… I don’t pay attention every lesson,
uhm every lesson he… whatever… for
example in BaCal… Ma’am will discuss a
Variant lesson, I can’t really listen to her but I’m
trying… and that’s all.) TCIDIS05

“…dili man kayo ko naga kanang dili jud ko

nagastudy ug kanang kuan dili ko nagastudy
ug Math ba nga kanang murag gibaliwala
lang gyud nako gani…” (The hmmm… what
uhm I really didn’t do uhm I really don’t study
and uhm I really don’t study Math) TCIDIS07

As shown on Table 5. There are two typical answers which are difficulty in Basic

Calculus because they are not good at math and the other is the lack of

concentration during lectures. Meanwhile, there are two variant answers which

are being lazy and not listening to lectures and overestimating the subject.

Table 6. Second for General Question 2 IDI

“syempre makatoun jud kag dali jud, nya

kuan…maganahan kag paminaw sa
lesson sa discussion sa teacher nya
Classroom
makaapas ka, dili ka mabehind ba mao
Environments ng mao nay epekto” (the effect of this
General
helps in learning classroom environment in learning basic
Basic Calculus calculus, of course you will really learn
easily, then uh..you will like to listen to the
lessons during the discussionof the
teacher then you can cope up,you will not

40
 be behind, that is, that's the effect)
TCIDIS03

“Nakaepekto sa ako kay naga makagain

kog kaning more kaning kaning more
kaning hope nga makatuon ko kay
ginatabangan man ko nila so mao to.” (It
affects me because I can gain this more
this this more-is hope so that I can learn
because they give me advices so that’s
all.) TCIDIS05

“ang maka kuan siya, bali ma, ma….

Takdan ka ba, bali makatagud siya para
sakoa kay syempre kanang
magpalahilahi ka sailaha unya imong
mga classmate in ana ilang mga gusto
kay majority wins baya.” (uh it uhm, like
ma, ma...catch it, like you can catch it for
me because of course if you differ from
them then your classmates like those kind
because majority wins) TCIDIS04
Variant “nakaapekto sa ako kay kanang kuan…
kuan sakong giingon ganina kanang
mapressure ka sa ilaha kay kanang
bright sila then… murag murag maningka
ma maningkamot ka sa imong
kaugalingon nga magtuon para… para
dili pud kayo ulaw nga kanang… gam
gagmay kaayog iscore samantalang sila
kay dako kayo… murag ma murag gani
kanang kuan kanang ulaw ra pud kayo sa
imuhang… kaugalingon” (… uhm on what
I said earlier you’ll be pressured by them
because they are bright then… it’s like
like you’ll stri… st… strive with yourself so
that… so that it will not be ashamed for
yourself because… your score is really
low while others got high… it’s like it’s

41
 really ashamed for yourself that)
TCIDISO7

In Table 6, it is shown that almost all of the interviewees are helped by their

classroom environment. On the other hand, only one participant answered that

he is pressured by the classroom environment.

Table 7. Fourth for General Question 2 IDI

“uhm.. sa mga past lesson sa calculus

kay mas nakatabang siya kay kanang
murag naa koy mga naakoy mmmmga
background knowledge about ana na
subject.” (uhm.. the past lessons on
calculus really helps because uhm it
seems like I have background
knowledge about that subject) TCIDIS01

“kuan… na maspadali ang basic-cal kay

tungod sa pre-cal” (uh...Basic-Cal is
easier because of pre-cal) TCIDIS02

Pre-requisite “dako jud kay nig tabang kung wala mi

Subjects helps nakaagi ug pre-calculus mag lisod jud
General kog kuan cope up sa basic calculus kay
the students in
Coping Up naa man guy steps sa pre-calculus na
magamit nimo sa basic calculus.” (the
help of the previous calculus uh it helps
a lot if we didn't undergo pre-calculus we
would really struggle in uh coping with
basic calculus because there are really
steps in pre-calculus that you will use in
Basic Calculus) TCIDIS03

“katong… trigonometry kaning mga cos,

mga csc manggawas karon sa
differential calculus bali mgamit nimo sa
pagderive derive ba.” (what? those uh...
trigonometry these cos, csc they are
present now in differential calculus, like
42
 you can use then in deriving.) TCIDIS04

As shown in Table 7 the participants all answered that the pre-requisite subjects

and the subjects that were taught in Junior High School are helpful in their

learning Basic Calculus.

Research Question No. 3: What are the different methods and resources used by

Senior High School Students to cope up with Basic Calculus?

I. What kinds of resources do you have around to help understand the

lesson?

a. How do these resources affect your learning?

b. How does the internet help you in understanding the difficult part of

the subjects mentioned?

c. How does your teacher’s teaching technique affect your

understanding about the subject matter?

Table 8. First for General Question 3 IDI

Effects of General “kuan mga epekto kay mas mas ma mas

Resources in maka improve siya saakong learning and
Learning skills kay tungod ana na resources
matabagan ko niya saakong pagskwela
tungod ana na resources.” (the effect is that
you know, it's a...it helps improve my
learning and skills because, because those
resources help me in my studies because
of those resources) TCIDIS01

“kuan dako kay siyag epekto sakoa kay

43
 mas napada mas napadali mas dali ko
makasabot kung sila mutodlo sakoa
kuntahay namali ko nya naa man sila
nakabantay nya kung unsaon pagsolve ana
nya pagkahuman gitudloan ko nila kung
unsaon pag solve.” (uh it has big effect on
me because it makes...it's easier... it's
easier for me to understand if they are the
one who will teach me, for example when I
am wrong and they are there to notice then
how to solve that then after they teach me
how to solve.)TCIDIS02

“dako kay ni siyag epekto kay daghan kay

kog natun an kay maka study sa balay,
kanang pag magpalesson si ma'am naa mi
gina kuan sa notebook para dali rami
makatoun.” (It really affects me big time
because I really learned a lot because I can
study at home, uh when ma'am gives
lesson we have something in our notebook
so that we can easily learn)TCIDIS03

“Ay… dako pud siyag tabang kay… mas

makasabot man jud jud ka kay personal
ang pagtudlo sa imuha especially sa imong
mga classmates or friends.”(Ahhh… It helps
a lot because… I can really understand it
because the lessons were personally taught
especially by my classmates or friends.)
TCIDI06
Typical “Ahhhmm… ang epekto ani kay…
(*thinking and laughing) Makita tag kaning
mga… mga examples sa mga… sa mga…
uhhmmm… mga website na didto nako
ginakuha ay didto nakogi… kaning
ginakuha ang mga kaning mga sa solution
sa pagsolve sa mga problems sa BaCal.”
(Ahhhmm… the effect on this is… uhm
this… It can… we can see this (*thinking
and laughing) we can see the… the
examples in the… in the… uhhmmm… I got
it on the website, I mean I got it… I get
these solutions to solve the problems in
BaCal.) TCIDIS05

44
 “so these resources..ano dako siyag effect
kay mao mani siya ang way para ma solve
nako ang isa ka problem sa calculus.” (so
these resources...uhm has a big effect
because it is the way for me to solve a
problem in calculus)
TCIDI08
“(*thinking)… Ang epekto ani kay kanang…
ng always na lang gyud ka manundug
always na lang gyud ka mangutana sa
imohang… class friend or classmate,
kanang murag… dili murag wala lang pud
ka nagsalig sa imong ay although dili man
kanang ingon nga kanang kuan… bawal
naka mangutana kay natural man ang
mangutan pero dili jud ingon na perminti ka
mangutana or patudlo sa imong classmate
kanang… kanang ikaw mismo ang
kanang… nang… ikaw mismo ang
maningkamot para makabalo makabalo
imong kaugalingon ug unsaon pagsolve or
Variant pagkuan mga problem. Next.”((*thinking) …
the effect on this is uhm… of course you
know… it’s like you know… you know…
you’re always copying you’re always asking
to your… class- friend or classmate, just
like… no it’s like you do not rely on your,
no, although you can not you know say that
uhm you are not allowed to ask questions
because it’s natural to ask but not
necessarily that you’ll always ask or let your
classmates teach you, you know you
yourself will you know… uhm… you
yourself will strive so that you will know by
yourself on how to solve or something the
problems. Next.)TCIDI07

In Table 8, it is shown that there are the four general answers that together

responded that the resources really help them big in improving their

understanding the lessons in Basic Calculus. Meanwhile, there are two typical

answers which are they can find the steps in solving a problem in Calculus with

those resources. On the other hand, only one participant answered that the effect

45
of resources to him is that he keeps on copying and asking questions from his

classmates and was at the same time, according to him was both bad and good.

Table 9.Second for General Question 3 IDI

The Use of General “Sa pag sa pag..naka tabang ang

Internet internet sa pagsabot sa mga lisod na
lesson kay ang kay ang kay sa internet
mas may mas dali raka kay mas internet
ang way or tool para murag dali raka
makasabot didtoa and then.. mao to” (In
the in the..the internet helps in
understanding the difficult lessons
because the.. because the… because in
the internet it is easier for you... because
the internet is the way or tool for like
easier for you to understand there and
then... that's all) TCIDI01

“dako kayug tabang ang internet sa pag

sabot nako sa mga lisod na lesson sa
basic calculus kay naa koy source na
makuha sa internet kanang pag tanaw
sa youtube, pag search sa mga mga
lesson na nabehind ko ma.. mao ng
tabang sa internet para makatoun ko.”
(Internet helps a lot in my understanding
about difficult lessons in Basic Calculus
because I have source I can get in the
internet, uh watching YouTube,
researching about the lessons that I am
behind that... that is the help of the
internet for me to learn)TCIDI03

“uhm... mag mag, parehas sa anang

youtube mag search kag answer kung
giunsa to pagkuha sa mga something
something.” (uhm... to..to.., like in
youtube you can search answers on how
to get the something something) TCIDI04

46
 “It helps kanang kuan… kanang about sa
ana nga topic naa jud sa Internet then
research ire iresearch na lang pud nako
na ang kanang iresearch na lang pud
nako ng na answer or naay ipahimo si
Ma’am na kanang magku mag… pwede
magkanang… maghimo sa imong
pareho atong example tong optimization
kanang… explain… magkuha kag
kanang problem with solution nga
explain pud nimo. Mao ng makatabang
ang internet sa imoha. Next.” (It helps
you know uhm… you know there really is
you know uhm you know about that topic
is reall in the internet then research… I’ll
just research that and you know I’ll just
research that answer or Ma’am asks us
to do something… it’s possible to…
make your… the same as the example,
the optimization you know, explain… you
get you know problems with solutions
that you’ll have to explain. That’s how the
internet helps you. Next.) TCIDI07

“internet so… dako siyag natabang kay

halos tanan information kay naa
didtoa?...” (internet so... it helps a lot
because almost all information are
there?...) TCIDI02

“Ahh… nakatabang ni sa akoa ug dako

kay dira man gud nato ma… ma… makit-
Typical
an ang mga kinahang kinanghalangnon
nato”

(Ahh… It helps me a lot because that is

where we can… can… we can get the
things that we need.) TCIDI05

47
As shown in Table 15, there are four participants that answered that the internet

helps them in understanding the lessons in the subject easier. There are also two

participants that both agree that the internet almost have the information they

needed.

Table 10.Third for General Question 3 IDI

Impact of General “naka, unsay strategy nila? uhm ilang

teacher’s technique na ginagamit like gina
teaching spoonfeed nila ang mga students like
technique ilang, untahay ilang gina gina teach nila
ang lessons sa mga students, ilang
ginatudlo ug tarong like ilaha jung step
by step ug some then somewhat gina
pareport nila ang mga students, in that
way, in that way… mas maka toun ang
students ug maayo sa ilang particular na
subject.” (it, what strategy they use? uhm
the technique they use... like they spawn
spread the students like they, for
example they uh teach the lessons to the
students, they teach it really well like they
teach it step-by-step and some. then
somewhat they make the students report,
in that way, in that way..the students will
learn better in their particular
subject)TCIDI01

“dako kay syag… dako kay syag kuan…

kanang…. Natabang sakoa, kay si maam
kay bisag maglisod ko iya gyud kung
ginatabngan nga ma ma kuan ko ana na
lesson kana? Kani? Bisag lisod na gyud
kaayo kayanon lang nya salig lang sa
tapad. (haha)” (she really helps..she
really uh..you know...help me, because
ma'am even though I am struggling she

48
really helps me to uh you know uh that
lesson this? that? Even if it's really hard I
would overcome it and then trust in my
seatmate haha) TCIDI02

“ang epekto nga sa pamaagi o strategy

sa among maestra sa among pagtoun sa
basic calculus kay kuan kanang dali
rajud kay ka makasabot kay among
teacher man saamong basic calculus
gina pasabot gyud niya kung unsaon to
na pamaagi, unsa to na lesson ug kung
dili ka kasabot mangutana, iya gyud kang
tubagon ug maayo maong...maong ang
epekto gyud makatoun gyud kag pag ayo
sa iyang pagtudlo sa imoha sa basic
calculus sa iyang lesson, ug maon lang.
yaaaatisss.” (the effect of the way or
strategy of our teacher in our learning
Basic Calculus is uh you know, you can
easily understand because our teacher in
Basic Calculus she really makes us
understand on how to do that way, what
that lesson is and if you didn't
understand, ask, she will really answer
you well that's... the effect really is you
can learn really well in her teaching of the
lessons in Basic Calculus, and that's
all...craaaaaap.)TCIDI03

“kanang… gi bali mag ano sya og…

kanang…magano siya og kanang...
unsay tawag ani oy, board work or paper
work kung makabalo, bali murag balik sa
summative ba, performance task ba kay
para murag makabalo ba jud ay kaning
para makabalo ba jud ka.” (uh... it’s like
she uh... uhm… she uh… what do you
call this, board work or paper work to
know, like back to summative,
performance task to really know, ah so
that you really know)

49
 TCIDI04

“Ay… okay man mutudlo si Ma’am kay

pag dili kasabot kay iya man jung balikon
pero naa lang juy times na ako… ako
personally kay di jud ko makasabot so na
anang sa mga classmates na lang ko
magpatudlo.” (Uhm… Ma’am teaches
okay because if you haven’t understood
the lesson, she will review it again but
sometimes I… I, personally, I can’t really
understand so I go to my classmates and
ask to teach me.) TCIDI06

“tagaan lang kag problem sa isa ka

teacher kay kanang… nya murag kanang
paminaw nimo kanang pag-explain ni
Ma’am murag nakasabot nakasabot naka
ang epekto sa akoa kanang pagtudlo ni
Ma’am sa amoa kanang while si Ma’am
nagadiscuss sa amoa ug kanang Basic
Calculus kanang… naa man gyung
kanang kuan na dili ko kasabot sa
kanang kuan dili ko kasabot sa iyahang
gidiscuss… murag mapressure ka sa
Variant inyong mga classmate” (you’ll be given
problem… problem from a teacher
because you know… then you feel that
you understand what Ma’am discusses…
the effect to me you know how Ma’am
teaches us you know while Ma’am
discusses to us you know Basic Calculus
you know… there is you know uhm that I
don’t understand in you know uhm I don’t
understand her discussion… you’ll get
pressured by your classmates) TCIDI07

50
In Table 10, it shows that almost of the participants answered the same that their

teacher has a great effect on them and really helps them in understanding the

subject easier. On the other hand, there is only one participant that answered

differently. He answered that their teacher teaches good but sometimes he feels

that he already understands the lesson but still it never sinks-in on his mind.

Also, he said that he was pressured on his classmates.

Table 11. First for General Question 1 FGD

“Basic calculus is really hard, kay labi na

kay dili kayko hmmm dili kay maka focus
kay daghan pud kay kog ginabusyhan so
usahay mag lisod jud ko.” (uhm. Basic
Variant
Calculus is really hard, specially that I am
not hmmm cannot focus because there are
also a lot of things that I am busy with so
sometimes I struggle) brent_FGD_01

Table 11, it's shown that most of the participants are really good at the

subject matter, unlike that one interviewee has really experienced difficulties on

subject Basic Calculus.

Table 12. Second for General Question 1 FGD

Student’s General
strategy when
they encounter “uhmm.. pag maka encounter kog ing ana
difficult lesson kay mangutana dayun ko either kang
maam or sa nakabalo nako na

51
classmates murag ah kay especially
saakong mga classmate kay dali raman
ko makasabot saila kay kay maningkamot
mana silag explain saako”

(uhm… when I encounter something like

that is I would immediately ask maam or
those classmates that know it like uhm
scpecially in my my classmates because I
can easily understand when it comes to
them because because they work hard to
explain to me) brent_FGD_01

“pero kung dili nako masabtan kung dili

na nako makaya mangayo kog tabang
saakong classmate na nakasabot
jud.”(but if I would not understand when I
can’t take it I ask help to my classmates
who really understood)Joyce_FGD_02

“so if ever maka encounter ko ug mga

difficulties kay first kay, una ginaanalyze
nako nganong nag nagkalisod ko ani nga
part ug so nagapangayo kog tabang
saakong mga classmates or sa teacher
ba ug also naga search pud ko sa net
para sa ginabuhat ni curly if ever nay
maka tabang saako na mga old na mga
lesson like sa mga, mga sites nga
makatabang saimo” (so if ever I encounter
difficulties is that first, I anylize why I find
that part difficult and so I ask help to my
classmates or to the teacher and also I
search the internet like what curly does if
ever there are old lessons that would help
me like those, those sites that can help
you) Boyish_FGD_04

52
 “akoa first jud nako buhaton kay
mangutana dayun sa katapad then pag
murag mag lisod pud sila mudristo dayun
mi kay maam mag ask mi ani then pag
muingon siya nga kuan uhmm.. uhmm..
mag search lang ka about ani uhmm.. tan
awa atong grade 9 ka?... grade 8.. uhmm
e, e analyze imong lessons ato na time”
(for me, the first thing I do is immediately
ask my seatmate the if they are struggling
as well we would go right away to
maam,we’ll ask about this then when she
says that uh uhmmm uhmm… you search
about this uhm.. look when you were still
grade 9?..grade 8?.. uhm analyze your
lessons back then,) Victor_FGD_05

Variant “so kung naa koy ma encounter basic

difficulty kay first kay e review pa nako
akong notes”(so when I encounter basic
difficulty is that first I review my notes)
Joyce_FGD_02

“ang akong ginabuhat kung naa koy ma

encounter na lisod kay balik balikon nako
tong mga for ay examples na gihatag,
sige lang nakog balik balik para
makasabot ko or kung dili nako siya
masabtan kay naga search ko ug mga
ways para unsaon gani siya masabtan ug
dali kanag lain pa na mga examples
kanang murag connected lang gud sa
kana lessons para makasabot ko.” (what I
do when I encounter difficulties is I reread
the for oh examples that were given, I
always read for me to understand or when

53
 I coundn’t understand it I search for ways
to understand it easily uhm other
examples that are like connected to that
lessons for me to understand)
Curly_FGD_03

“ako kay ginatry sa nako ang basics, then

gina recap sa nako ang mga samples na
gihatag then compare nako sa katapad.”
(me I try the basics, then I recap the
examples that are given then compare
with my seatmate.) Guy_FGD_06

As shown on Table 12, half of the participants go to their classmates to seek for

a help to understand about the subject and to learn and the other half they recap

about the past topic and to analyze the lesson in order to cope Basic Calculus.

Table 13. Third for General Question 1 FGD

Hindrance in General “murag sakoa kay sakoa jung self murag

Learning kulangan jud ko ug concentration kanang
daan najud ko giingnan saakong papa
mag bantay bantay kay murag hina jud
daw ko ug analysis ug comprehension so
kailangan mag focus ko pero mao rana sa
ang problema sakoa kulang kay kog focus
dili kay kog concentrate sa problem mao
to dili kay nako to dayun makuha
maglisod pako napatudlo jud ko.”(For me
is myself because I lack concentration like
I was already told by my dad that I take

54
 safety measures because I like am not
good in analysis and comprehension so I
really need to focus but that’s the only
problem in me I really lack focus I can’t
concentrate that much on the problem
that’s why I can’t immediately understand
the lesson, I struggle then I ask others to
teach me). Brent_FGD_01

“so lack of concentration kay kanang sa

untahay mag lesson si maam kay kanang
katulogon ko haha ana kay dili ko
maminaw usahay kay mutan aw ko sa
board pero dili ko maminaw.” (so lack of
concentration because uhm sometimes,
for instance ma’am is presenting a lesson
uh I am sleepy haha that I won’t listen,
sometimes I look at the board but I don’t
listen). Joyce_FGD_02

“ah sakoa boring man jud ang math, pero

mawal an jud ko ug focus tapos kung nay
times kung katulogon jud kay katulogn jud
kay ko kay matulog ko naa guy rag uhmm
half-conscious ko naminaw ko ka maam
pero wa gihapon nako, wala nako na
internalize iyahang ginaingon so mao to
kailangan lang jud nakog focus so mao ng
maglisod ko.” (ah for me Math is really
boring, but I always loose focus then
when there are times that I am sleepy, I
am really sleepy, there is uhmmm like
times when I am half-conscious in
listening to maam but I still don’t, I didn’t
internalize the things she said so that’s
why, I just really need to focus so that’s
why I struggle.) victor_FGD_05

Variant “akoa kay if makalimot na gud ko sa

lessons nako dati kanang murag
makalimot nako kung unsaon pagsolve
na katong mga basics na wala nako
kasabot unya kanang pag ganing, kana

55
ganing time kay murag kadaghanan kay
mga 1 nya pag 1 kay tingkatulog baya na
nya mao to dili name maminaw.” (me, if I
forgot about the lessons in the past uhm
like I forgot how to solve those basics, I
couldn’t understand then when uhm, that
time is mostly when it’s 1 p.m then when
it’s 1 p.m. it’s a time to take a nap that’s
why we don’t listen) Curly_FGD_03

“uhm first daghan mga factors na, na, na

observe nako nganong mag lisod jud ko
magkuan sa bacal kay first kay after man
jud sya sa recess so magkaun jud ka, so
kailangan pa jud nimo I digest nimo
imong pagkaon then permente ko mag
zone out pag pag food man gud mag
focus lang jud ko sa food then dili ko ka
concentrate especially nga moderitso
lang every time kanang pag ma late ko
kay mo deritso nag discuss si maam then
mag zone out ko then mag internalize pa
nako iyang first gi discuss then I sumpay
sumpay second naa pud koy mentality
nga dili nga dili nako forte ang math so
boot pasabot maglisod mog perceive
saiyahang mga lesson kay, oy? Oy? Dili
nako ni kaya ana gud mentality daan so
mao siya akong pipila na factors na
napansin jud so maglisod jud ko ug kuan
sa bacal.” (uhm first there are a lot of
factors that that, I observe why I really find
it hard in uhmmm dealing with Basic
Calculus, first is that it’s after recess so
you are you know, so you really need to
digest the food then I always zone out
when when it comes to food, I only focus
on the food then I cannot concentrate
specially everytime ma’am goes uhm

56
 when I’m late ma’am discusses right away
then II zone out then I first internalize the
first thing she discussed then connect it;
then second I have that mentality that I
don’t I am not uh math is nogt my forte so
that means you find it hard for her lessons
to perceive because “oy? Oy I cannot do
this”, that mentality. So that’s some of the
factors that I observe so I am really
struggling with Basic Calculus)
Boyish_FGD_04

“akoa kay kuan siguro kay peer pressure

then ang kanang sa time siguro and ang
kanang paspas kaayo ang dagan nya
kana ang kuan siguro kay… dili pud nako
forte ang math dili nako hilig.” (for me
maybe it’s peer pressure then maybe the
time and uhm the pace is too fast then
that uhm maybe because…Math is not my
forte too, it’s not on my interest)
Guy_FGD_06

As observe on Table 13, there are three participants are lack of concentration

and the others are not interested to listen about the topic on their subject Basic

Calculus.

Table 14. First for General Question 2 FGD

Problems within General “murag sakoa kay sakoa jung self murag
self kulangan jud ko ug concentration kanang
daan najud ko giingnan saakong papa
mag bantay bantay kay murag hina jud
daw ko ug analysis ug comprehension so
kailangan mag focus ko pero mao rana
sa ang problema sakoa kulang kay kog

57
focus dili kay kog concentrate sa
problem.” ( For me is myself because I
lack concentration like I was already told
by my dad that I should be cautious
because I like am not good in analysis
and comprehension so I really need to
focus but that’s the only problem in me I
really lack focus I can’t concentrate that
much on the problem) brent_FGD_01

“lack of concentration kay kanang sa

untahay mag lesson si maam kay kanang
katulogon ko haha ana kay dili ko
maminaw usahay kay mutan aw ko sa
board pero dili ko maminaw.” (so lack of
concentration because uhm sometimes,
for instance ma’am is presenting a lesson
uh I am sleepy haha that I won’t listen,
sometimes I look at the board but I don’t
listen) brent_FGD_02

“naa pud koy mentality nga dili nga dili

nako forte ang math so boot pasabot
maglisod mog perceive saiyahang mga
lesson kay, oy? Oy? Dili nako ni kaya
ana gud mentality daan” ( I have that
mentality that I don’t I am not uh math is
not my forte so that means you find it
hard for her lessons to perceive because
“oy? Oy I cannot do this”, that
mentality)boyish_FGD_04

“..ug focus tapos kung nay times kung

katulogon jud kay katulogn jud kay ko
kay matulog ko naa guy rag uhmm half-
conscious ko naminaw ko ka maam pero
wa gihapon nako, wala nako na
internalize iyahang ginaingon so mao to
kailangan lang jud nakog focus”(… I
always loose focus then when there are
times that I am sleepy, I am really sleepy,
there is uhmmm like times when I am
half-conscious in listening to maam but I

58
 still don’t, I didn’t internalize the things
she said) victor_FGD_05
“if makalimot na gud ko sa lessons nako
dati kanang murag makalimot nako kung
unsaon pagsolve na katong mga basics
na wala nako kasabot” (I forgot about the
lessons in the past uhm like I forgot how
to solve those basics, I couldn’t
understand) curly_FGD_03
Variant
“akoa kay kuan siguro kay peer pressure
then ang kanang sa time siguro and ang
kanang paspas kaayo ang dagan”
(maybe it’s peer pressure then maybe the
time and uhm the pace is too
fast)guy_FGD_06

As shown on Table 14, the participants mostly answered that the reasons why

the find the subject difficult is within their selves which is not being good in math

and lack of concentration. The other two participants had different answers which

are forgetting the previous lessons and peer pressure.

Table 15. Second for General Question 2 FGD

Classroom General “daghan rajud kaayo kayg nakasabot

environment saamo so ano tungod kay murag kanang
helps in learning makasabot rapud ka kay sila man gud
kay na mga tao kasi mang share mag
gud ug nasabtan so nya pagmangutana
sila ma share dayun sa uban so mato
makasabot mi dayun kay nagka share
share man sila” (there are lots them that
understands so uhm because of that like
I can understand too because they are
the type of people who shares what they
understood so then when they ask the
others can share immediately so that’s
why we can understand easily because

59
 they share) brent_FGD_01

“ang mga tao gyud samoa kay

magtinabangay gyud ing ana” (the
people in our classroom really helps
each other, like that) joyce_FGD_02

“”so ang environment saamong room

kay 1 mind, 1mouth kay nag kaisa mi
diraa nag tinabangay mi” (so the
environment in our room is one mind one
mouth, because we are united there we
are helping each other) guy_FGD_06

“independent gyud bawat isa dili mi

nagasinundugaynay kanang mag solve
ka? Dili jud siya na ang imohang gi solve
kay ang imohang katapad ay imohang
answer kay gicopy lang nimo ang
answer nimo sa uban. amo pud kay
kailangan jud namo mag work
individually” (everyone is independent,
we don’t cheat, when you solve? It’s not
that what you solve is uhm your
seatmate is ah your answer is not copied
from others. Ours too is that we really
need to work individually) curly_FGD_03

“mura jug kami tanan kay mag agad

saamong pinakahawd sa math then
kanang as naga solve mi kay kanang
murag kay naga patudlo gud mi saiyaha
so murag balig naga share share pud
mig information about sa acitivity” (when
Variant there is an activity given, the first thing
we do is answer then it’s like all of us are
dependent to the person who is very
good at math then as we solve is like we
are letting him teach us so it’s like we are
sharing information about the activity)
boyish_FGD_05

60
On Table 15, most of the Focus Group Discussion participants agreed that their

classroom environment helps them but in different ways. Only one participant

answered that their classroom environment makes them dependent on one

person.

Table 16. Third for General Question 2 FGD

Pre-requisite General “magamit jud siya naa man gud juy mha
subjects help in kuan properties and such na kanang
students’ magamit gani kaayo sa pre, sa pre cal
learning ug ba cal” (there are really uhm
properties and such that uhm you can
really use pre, in pre-calculus and basic
calculus so like those are things that can
really help) brent_FGD_01

“so gamit jud kaayo pa ang mga past

lesson so dapat nimo na hinumduman
tong mga kuan basic concepts” (so the
past lessons are really helpful so you
need to remember those uhm basic
concepts) joyce_FGD_02

“kay importante kay ang mga past

lessons kay ano man gud mao ni sya ang
magtabang saimo para mas mahimu lang
ug dali ang basic calculus” (past lessons
are really important because uhm this can
help you to make Basic Calculus easy)
curly_FGD_03

“dako jud siyag tabang ang mga past

lessons since mao jud to ang murag
basic na foundation saimong knowledge,
labi na karon nag basic calculus na so
dako jud siyag tabang” (the past lessons

61
 are really helpful since they are like the
basic foundation in your knowledge,
especially now it’s already basic calculus
so it really helps a lot.) boyish_FGD_04

As can be seen on Table 16, all the participants agreed that Pre-calculus and the

previous math related subjects are very helpful in their learning on their current

subject, Basic Calculus.

Table 17. Second for General Question 3 FGD

Effects of General “so ang mga resources kay tabang kay siya
Resources in so example internet tahay naa koy wala
Learning nasabtan sa lesson ni maam tungod sa
internet kay murag makasabot ko kay
maka search man kog mga tutorial tapos
examples niya. naa pud biya nay mga
exercise na ma answer-answeran tapos
katong notes tung past tung previous uh
katong mga past notes kay makatabang
pud to siya murag ma review gani katong
mga basic concepts na magamit sa
kuan..na lesson kanang karon na lesson”
(so the resources are very helpful, so for
example the internet, for instance i have
something that i don;t understand in
madam's lesson then because of the
internet I can understand because I can
search for tutorials then examples of it.
There are also exercises that you can
answer then for the notes, the previous
notes ug those past notes really helps to
review those basic concepts used in…
used in the current lesson) Joyce_FGD_02

“para sa ako kay dako siyag tabang so

para sa akoa sa internet kay pareha gani
sa akong giingon ganina na dili man jud ko

62
 nagasulat no? so murag malibog ko, ay
panagsa makalimot ko kay wala koy sulat
so kailangan nako mu access pa sa mga...
sa internet mag search ko. niya para sa
akoa kay makatabang man siya kay mas
dali, nakoy dali makita na mga examples,
dali lang siya makit'an” (for me it really
helps but it also has little disadvantages. so
for me, the internet as I meantioned earlier
that I don't really write so I will be confused,
oh and sometimes I forgot and then I don't
write so I really need to access the...
internet I will search. For me, it really helps
because it easier, I can easily see
examples, it's easy to find)
Curly_FGD_03

“sa ako ma...mga resources... mga

resources na nakapalibot sa ako kay mas
napadali niya ug kanang mapadali niya ang
mga lessons na nadiscuss also sa tabang
pud sa internet mas madali, mas muhatag
siyag other way para masolve ang specific
na problem or unsaon pag assess ang isa
ka certain na topic”(for me the..the
resources.. the resources around me
makes... like it makes the lessons that were
discussed easier. Aalso the help of the
internet, it's easier, it provides another way
of solving a specific problem or how to
assess a certain topic so for me it's really
easier.)
Boyish_FGD_04
Typical “naa man guy uban na lahi iyang pag solve
sa pag solve ni maam so malibog nako,
unsa man jud akong kuhaon kani or kana,
tapos kung kani akong kuhaon basin
mamali akong answer pag kana kay basig
dili dawaton ni maam so didto nalang jud
ko mu stick nalang jud ko kay maam. kung
mukuha man ko sa internet kay i- i ano
lang nako, i compare kung unsa man jud
ang mas dali tapos kung feel nako na mas
dali to siya tapos same lang gihapon
among answer kay kato nalang pud akoa”
(there are some that solves in a different

63
 way that maam does so it makes me
confused, which will I use this or that, then
if Iwill use this there is a tendency that my
answer will be wrong and if that maybe
ma'am will not consider so I will just stick to
ma'am. If i'll get something from the
internet, is I...I will compare if which is
easier and when I feel that the other is
easier then the answer is the same then
that is what I'll get) Victor_FGD_05
“so ang... ang... resources gyud kay uhm
para sa akoa kay ang mas credible jud kay
si maam kay kay si mama man gud kay
more on man siya... tapulan man gud na si
mama mao na ang iyahang mga ginatudlo
kay more on shortcuts gani so pag mag
mag… mangita kag pamaagui sa internet
kay lahi jud siya kay shortcut man gud
nang ginatudlo ni mama, niya ang mga
books pud na iyang gina basehan kay mao
pud to, kasagaran mga shortcut layo ra sa
naa sa internet.” (so the…the resources are
uhm for me ma'am is more credible
because mom is more on... she is...mom is
lazy that's why what she teaches the
students are more on shortcuts so if if if..
you'll search ways in the internet it will be
different because mom teaches shortcuts,
then the books too that is her basis is that's
it, mostly shortcuts are different from the
internet) Guy_FGD_06

Variant “uhm, (laughs)siguro pag kanang kuntahay

no internet? so kung wala koy time para
mag internet so dili ko maka, murag maka
search ug kanang maka study ug daan sa
kanang gipanghatag na topics ni maam
then sa notes kanang kuntahay naay
ubang notes na nawala so murag kato siya
murag masayang imong mga natun-an sa
una. niya sa people..uhm ano lang pag
mali, kung mamali sila ay kung mali ang

64
 pagkatudlo sa imo mamali pud kag tuon.”
(uhmm, example the internet? so if i dont
have time for internet so i can't, like search
and study in advance those topics given by
maam; then for notes , for example there
are missing notes so its like your learnings
before is put to waste; then for people, uhm
when its wrong, when he/she is wrong, ah if
he taught you wrong then you will learn
wrong.) Brent_FGD_01

As shown in Table 17, there are three general answers which together says that

the resources have a big effect on them especially with the use of internet and

notes. Meanwhile, there are two typical answers that says that they used internet

just to compare answers and to ease the confusion they get because of the

different sources they have. On the other hand, only one participant has

answered differently from the rest. Her answers were negative and indistinct and

keep on saying what if she doesn’t have internet and notes.

Table 18. Third for General Question 3 FGD

The use of General “uhm ang internet well naa man gud
Internet silay..naa man gud silay kanang
gina..kanang murag gina..simplyfy gyud
gud nila ang mga problems murag gina
step by step gyud nila so murag didto
makasabot ko pero naa puy times na di
jud siya kay naa may uban na naga
shortcut so kanang murag in-ana na na
siya depende kung asa ka nagkuha ug
source sa internet so..pero mostly kay
kanang ano lang jud tan'awon lang gyud
tung naka step-by-step tapos kung naay
mga exercise kay naga try try pud ko

65
 murag mas makasot pa ko.” (uhm the
internet, well they have… they have… uh
like things that… they really simplify the
problems like they do it step-by-step so that
is when I can understand but there are
times that it won't work because there are
some that uses shortcut so like that's it, it
also depends on where you get your
sources in the internet...but mostly is that
uh look at those that are in a step-by-step
then if there are exercises I try (to answer),
I understand more) Brent_FGD_01
“makatabang gyud kaayo ang internet kay
naa biyay mga tutorials niya kanang mga
videos gani tapos kay naa puy mga
exercise, usahay gina answeran nako na
pero kanang usahay pud sa tutorial kay
maglibog lang ka ang uban kay lahi gani
ang process na gigamit.” (the internet really
helps because there are tutorials uh videos
then there are also exercises, sometimes I
try to answer it but sometimes the tutorials
make me confuse because some uses
different process.)
Joyce_FGD_02
“para sa ako kay dako kay siyag tabang
ang internet kay sa mga tutorials na
ginahatag nila mas maka...sabot ka niya
nagahatag silag mga exercises, examples
niya gina solve nila step-by-step so kabalo
ka kung giunsa jud nila pag solve, nganong
naka kuan sila ana na answer”(for me it
internet really helps a lot becuase in the
tutorials given by them you can..
understand better then they give exercises,
examples of it the solve it step-by-step so
you will know how did they solved it, why
they come up with that answer)
Curly_FGD_03

Typical “so kailangan lang jud nimo siguro nga

66
 mag compare lang jud ka, dili lang jud ka
mag stick sa isa ka side. compare lang jud
ka tapos kung maka kita nakag mga
similarities ato, uhm mao na to imong
gamiton” (so you'll need to make sure,
maybe just compare, don't stick on one
side. Compare then if you'll find similarities,
then that's what you will use.)
Victor_FGD_05
“didto ko mangita sa internet then ang
exercises mao to, sample kay ang KOTA
software, tabang kaayo kay naga...gina
compare lang nako ang akong answer then
mao to kay ang tabang oud niya kay
mahasa ka kay...kung mutan'aw ka kay sa
answer key man gud sa kota software kay
answer diretso so ikaw gyuy mangitag
pamaagi. mao to i compare na nako.” (then
that's when I search the internet then the
exercises that's it, example is KOTA
software, it really helps..I just compare the
answers then it's contribution is that you will
be traine/ if you look at the answer because
in the KOTA software it's jus the naswer so
it will be you who will find ways, then that's
it I compare)
Guy_FGD_06

Variant “so ang internet kay gi emphasize naman

nako ganiha nga dako jud siyag tabang kay
dali ra pud nimo makuha ang imformation
didto, dali ra pud ka maka access kung
naay certain topic na libog para sa imo also
daghan pud silag ginahatag na ways in
order to...
so mao lang to siya ang main na
disadvantage pero overall dako man siyag
tabang” (so the internet, I emphasized
earlier that it really helps a lot because you
can easily get information, you can easily
access if there is a certain topic that is

67
 confusing for you, also they provide other
ways in order to
so it's really true because they give other
ways there is a tendency that it is different
from what is taugh in school so that's is it'
main disadvantage, but overall it really
helps a lot) Boyish_FGD_04

On Table 18, it has shown that three participants have answered that internet

have help them in finding simplified, step-by-step answers in solving a problem in

Calculus. They used internet to watch tutorials and search exercises. There are

also two typical answers which stated that they use internet to compare answers

and process from their teacher teachings. On the other hand, only one participant

had answered that the use of internet has a disadvantage but at the same time,

she said that it is still useful.

Table 19.Fourth for General Question 3 FGD

Impact of General “so uhm...uhm ang teacher's technique

teacher’s kanang si maam man gud mutudlo
teaching is...kanang detailed gud kanang ipasabot
jud niya ang unsa iyang dapat ipasabot then
technique
pagkahuman kay kana na problem no kay
kanang dili kaayo mi makasabot, naka find
gyud mig difficulty kay i explain man niya
pero murag maingon lang jud namo
kay...lahi jud siya ug way mutudlo” (so
uhm..uhm the teacher's teaching technique
uh ma'am teaches.. like it's detailed uh she
makes us unsderstand what she wants us
to understand then if we don't understand

68
that problem, when we really find a difficulty
she will explain but the only thing we can
say is...she teaches in a different way)
Brent_FGD_01

“Among teacher kay kanag detailed gani

siya mukuan tapos sa board kay..di gyud
siya mag kanang sa kuan kay magsulat jud
siya kay detailed tapos step by step.” (Our
teacher, is, uhm, he/she's detailed in
his/her..on the board she don't uhm on the
thing when he/she writes it is detailed and
step-by-step. ) Joyce_FGD_02

“kunyari mag libog ka kung asa siya gikan

ana so ibalik niya to...itudlo niya tong mga
way nganong nakuha niya to na mga
answer so naa siya mga balikan. niya ang
ganahan pud nako kay maam kay if
nakalimot na mi sa mga basics murag naga
effort siya na itudlo sa amoag balik biskan
kanang murag kadali lang kanag gina kuan
niya...gina refresh niya among mind na
mahinuduman namo to ang mga
kailanganon bago mi mag start sa isa
ka...bag-o na pud na lesson.” (… one
technique of ma'am is first, its organize
when she solves and then really, she do it in
a step-by-step so uh its easier since it is in a
step-by-step. Then she teaches what
processes she wan...that is right for that for
you to get that certain thing. Then there are
time that she will input numbers like you'll
be confused where did she got it so she will
get back to it...she will teach the ways why
she got that answer so there things that
she'll go back to. Then the thing I like about
ma'am is if we forgot the basics like she will
do an effort to teach it again to us even if in
a short period of time like she uh...she
refreshes our mind for us to remember the
things needed before starting a… new

69
 lesson) Curly_FGD_03

“then the way pud siya mag tudlo kay is

kanang brief pud ug concise then when it
comes to kanang dako ang kanang lisod na
topic kay iyaha jung gina break down into
simplier forms so mas easy siya, easy siya
ma percieve sa students so dako pud siyag
tabang.” (The the way she teaches is brief
and concise then when it comes to big uh
difficult topic she really breaks it down into
simplier forms so it's easier, it's easier for
the students to percieve so it helps a lot.)
Boyish_FGD_04

“muingon jud ko na iyaha jung way of

teaching is like... step by step jud tapos
uhm...(laughs) uhm kanang lisod man jud
siya, lisod man jud kaayo ang BaCal pero
tungod sa iyaha kay murag mag okay lang
gud mag... wala gud sa time na nagdali ko
ay kanang ang ano is madalian nalang ka
sa pag sabot kay tungod... tungod sa
iyahang way of teaching.” (So for me, I can
say that her way of teaching is like...really in
a step-by-step uhm...(laughs) it's really
hard, Basic Calculus is really hard but
because of her it will be just okay... it's not
because i'm in a hurry but uh the thing is it's
easier for you to understand because…
because of the way she teaches. uhmmm...)
Victor_FGD_05

Variant “tabang kaayo ang technique ni maam

kay...ang stlye ni maam kay basics
jud...basic before ang kuan then mao to
tabang kaayo siya kay.....ang disadvantage
lang kay muhatag lang dayon si mama ug
kanang mga lisod which is lisod na kaayo
layo na sa basics mao na. mao pud nay
problema.” (the technique of maam helps
70
 because...her style is really into
basics...basics before the thing then that's
why it helps because...the only
disadvantage is that mom gives difficult right
away the uh hard stuffs which are really
hard and far from the basics that't it. that's
one of the problem) Guy_FGD_06

As shown in Table 18, almost of the Focus Group Discussion participants had

answered that their teacher’s teaching technique is organized, step-by-step, and

brief that they will easily understand the lesson. They also said that their teacher

keeps on reminding them the lesson. On the other hand, only one participant has

a different answer which that his teacher’s teaching technique will start from the

beginning but will give some hard exercises or quizzes after the discussion.

Chapter 5

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The study aims only to identify the reasons why the students find Basic

Calculus hard, the reasons why they find the subject hard and the coping

strategies they use to overcome the difficulties they face. Since Basic Calculus is

only tackled in STEM strand students, the HUMSS Stand is beyond the scope of

the study. This study only focuses on Basic Calculus; hence the core subjects

are beyond the scope.

71
 In accordance to the goal of the researchers, to understand the reasons

why the students find Basic Calculus hard and having a difficulty as well as to

identify the coping strategies used, they used the Phenomenological Approach in

this Qualitative study. According to Creswell (2012), the type of problem best

suited for a Phenomenological Approach is those who is to understand the

common shared experiences of the people on a certain phenomenon.

For the first research questions, the following themes were generated

Newness of the subject

The first reason why students in Senior High School experience difficulties

because they haven’t encountered Basic Calculus in Junior High School days as

it is their first time. In fact the knowledge they acquired insight Basic Calculus are

not enough.

Girl said that,

“uhm… oo, nalisudan ko sa basic calculus kay uhm… naa lay

part sa subject na lisod pero dili whole subject lisuran ko.”
(uhm... yes, I find basic calculus hard uhm... there are just some
parts that I find hard but not the whole subject)
Another answer by Nikko,

Ahhhh… Para sa ko kuan (*thinking) ahhh… kaning lisudan ko

kay… daghag mga formula na memorison (Ahhh… For me
(*thinking) ahhh… I find it difficult because… it has many formulas
that has to be memorized…)
The calculus represents the first time in which the student is confronted

with the limit concept, involving calculations that are no longer performed by

simple arithmetic and algebra, and infinite processes that can only be carried out

72
by indirect arguments. Teachers often attempt to circumvent the problems by

using an “informal” approach playing down the technicalities. However, whatever

method is used, a general dissatisfaction with the calculus course has emerged

in various countries round the world in the last decade [CITATION Tal \l 1033 ].

Peer tutoring and reviewing notes

The students have many ideas to think of what to do in order to learn.

Based on the data gathered some of the interviewee’s strategies is to seek help

for their classmates and seatmates to teach them to learn, while the other one

he/she will take his/her note to study and strive more to learn.

Brown said that,

“kung makaagi kug lisod kay usahay magpatuldo nalang ko or..

kuan kung di madalag tudlo kung dugay makasabot, no choice
sundog.” (When I encounter difficulty, sometimes I let others teach
or.. when being taught is not enough, when it takes time to
understand, no choice cheat.)

Girl stated that,

“uhm.. I will just study on that, that difficult topic or subject to strive
more and dili, mas mag focus ko ana subject na lisran ko para
makapasa.” (uhm.. I will just study on that, that difficult topic or
subject to strive more and no, I will focus on that subject which I
find hard to pass)
When students meet difficulties, a dominant strategy for coping is to

concentrate on the procedural aspects that are usually set in examinations.

Because the teacher knows that conceptual questions are rarely answered

correctly, the vicious circle of procedural questions is set in motion. Indeed, for

73
those students who take an initial calculus course based on elementary

procedures, there is evidence that this may have an unforeseen limiting effect on

their attitudes when they take a more rigorous course at a later stage.

Commenting on the results of a large study comparing the results of students

taking advanced placement calculus courses in school, Ferrini-Mundy & Gaudard

(1992).[CITATION Dav \l 1033 ]

Lack of concentration and knowledge

First of all, according to the participants’ why students have hindrance in

learning subject Basic Calculus is either lack of concentration or lack of

knowledge because all Senior High School doesn’t have experience about Basic

Calculus and what Basic Calculus is all about.

Nikko stated that,

“kaning lisudan ko kay… daghag mga formula na memorison … (I

find it difficult because… it has many formulas that has to be
memorized) “Tibuok sub subject... kuan… ay dili ay kuan lang
murag kaning mga mga… more in Math and kuan mga english
bitaw. (Whole sub subject… uhm… is not is uhm only maybe this
the the… more in Math and uhm the English indeed)
There is much apprehension from students taking Calculus. It seems that

for many people, "Calculus" is synonymous with "difficult." However, any teacher

of Calculus will tell you that the reason that students are not successful in

Calculus is not because of the Calculus, it's because their algebra and

trigonometry skills are weak. You see, Calculus is really just one additional step

beyond algebra and trig. Calculus is algebra and trigonometry with limits and

limits aren't really that hard once you figure them out. There is often only one

74
step in the problem that actually involves calculus, the rest is simplifying using

algebra and trigonometry. That's why it is crucial that you have a good

background in those subjects to be successful in calculus [ CITATION Ski1 \l 1033 ]

For the second research questions, the following themes were generated

Problems within self

The reasons why the Senior High School students are struggling with

Basic Calculus are typically because of their lack of concentration during the

lecture and the fact that they are not good in Mathematics or the subjects related

to it.

Thin stated that,

siguro nag lisod ko kay hinay kog math? Mao lang (Maybe I
struggle because I am slow when it comes to math? That's all)

In addition, triangulated from the FGD, Brent said,

murag sakoa kay sakoa jung self murag kulangan jud ko ug

concentration kanang daan najud ko giingnan saakong papa mag
bantay bantay kay murag hina jud daw ko ug analysis ug
comprehension so kailangan mag focus ko pero mao rana sa ang
problema sakoa kulang kay kog focus dili kay kog concentrate sa
problem
.( For me is my self because I lack concentration like I was already
told by my dad that I should be cautious because I like am not good
in analysis and comprehension so I really need to focus but that’s
the only problem in me I really lack focus I can’t concentrate that
much on the problem)

On the other hand, Brown said,

75
 uhmmm.. siguro kay kuan wala lang jud ko kasabot sa kuan
kanag..,usahay dili makapaminaw kanang dili kaayo ko hasa sa
math kanang.. yes.. mao ra to.uhmmm maybe because uh i just
dont understand the uh.. sometimes couldn’t listen uh I am not that
good
in math uh.. yes that's it.)

The failure of the students to express meaningful ideas on the optimization

concepts role in Calculus may be due to inappropriate and weak ideas and

knowledge about the mental links in calculus such as derivatives. [ CITATION

Deo13 \l 13321 ]. In the study of Brijlall and Ndlovu (2013) it appeared that the

students who are currently learning Calculus has difficulty in linking their previous

knowledge in their current topic.

Classroom Environments helps in learning Basic Calculus

In accordance to the data gathered, students who are surrounded with

people who are good at Basic Calculus and a classroom filled with students who

are willing to help each other out really helps those who are having difficulty with

Basic Calculus. There is also an informant who is motivated to do well in a

competitive environment.

Nikko said,

Mainspire ko kay mga classmate nako kay manabang, tudluan ko.

Manghat manghatag silag tambag sa akoa para may at may kaning
magtuon jud ko ug maayo and especially kang… sa akong amigo
si Leuter diha jud naka ay ginatambagan jud ko kung maayo kay sa
pag-eskwela kailangan jud natog tyaga and sa masaligan nato na
na tao. (I’m inspired because my classmates help me, teach me.

76
 They ga gave me advices so that I can really study very well and
especially to… to my friend Leuter, that’s where, no, they really give
me advices very well because in studying we really need
perseverance and person to be trusted.)

Furthermore, Guy said,

“so ang environment saamong room kay 1 mind, 1mouth kay nag
kaisa mi diraa nag tinabangay mi” (so the environment in our room
is one mind one mouth, because we are united there we are
helping each other)

Meanwhile Pitch stated,

“so mas maka..mas maka lihok ko kay knowing na competetive

ang mga tao sa palibot nako so murag mas maganahan ata ko niya
matama pa jud so malipay ko.” (So i uh...I can move better knowing
that the people around me are competitive so uh i like it then the
answer will be correct so I will be happy)

On the other hand, Boyish said,

mura jug kami tanan kay mag agad saamong pinakahawd sa math
then kanang as naga solve mi kay kanang murag kay naga
patudlo gud mi saiyaha so murag balig naga share share pud mig
information about sa acitivity (when there is an activity given, the
first thing we do is answer then it’s like all of us are dependent to
the person who is very good at math then as we solve is like we are
letting him teach us so it’s like we are sharing information about the
activity)

Supporting this idea is the study conducted by Reyes, Maria R.; Brackett,

Marc A.; Rivers, Susan E.; White, Mark; Salovey, Peter entitled Classroom

77
emotional climate, student engagement, and academic achievement shows that

emotional attachments of the students to their foster classroom positively affects

their school performance. [ CITATION Rey12 \l 13321 ]

Pre-requisite Subjects helps the students in Coping Up

The informants generally answered that the Mathematics related subjects

taught in their Junior High School and the Pre-requisite subject, Pre-Calculus,

taught in their first semester of the 11 th Grade helped a ton during the discussion

of Basic Calculus.

Junior said,

dako jud kay nig tabang kung wala mi nakaagi ug pre calculus mag
lisod jud kog kuan cope up sa basic calculus kay naa man guy
steps sa pre calculus na magamit nimo sa basic calculus. (the help
of the previous calculus uh it helps a lot if we didn't undergo pre
calculus we would really struggle in uh coping with basic calculus
because there are really steps in pre calculus that you will use in
Basic Calculus)
Triangulated from the Focus Group Discussion,

Boyish stated that,

dako jud siyag tabang ang mga past lessons since mao jud to ang
murag basic na foundation saimong knowledge, labi na karon nag
basic calculus na so dako jud siyag tabang(the past lessons are
really helpful since they are like the basic foundation in your
knowledge, specially now it’s already basic calculus so it really
helps a lot.)

78
 From the study of Azad Ali and David Smith (2014) entitled Teaching an

Introductory Programming Language in a General Education Course, it was

stated that pre-requisite subject, CS Program, is needed and would be helpful in

their upper level programming courses.

For the third research questions, the following four themes were generated

Additional educational resources helps in learning

The data gathered from the informants shown that resources have a great

effect in the students’ performance. It shows that having these resources helps

them in understanding on the lessons of Basic Calculus. Some stated that he

keeps on copying and asking questions from his classmates. The informants

stated:

Thin stated,

“kuan dako kay siyag epekto sakoa kay mas napada

mas napadali mas dali ko makasabot kung sila
mutodlo sakoa kuntahay namali ko nya naa man sila
nakabantay nya kung unsaon pagsolve ana nya
pagkahuman gitudloan ko nila kung unsaon pag
solve.” (uh it has big effect on me because it
makes..it's easier.. it's easier for me to understand if
they are the one who will teach me, for example when
I am wrong and they are there to notice then how to
solve that then after they teach me how to solve.)

On the other hand, Boy answered

“(*thinking)… Ang epekto ani kay kanang… ng always na
lang gyud ka manundug always na lang gyud ka mangutana
sa imohang… class friend or classmate, kanang murag…
dili murag wala lang pud ka nagsalig sa imong ay although

79
 dili man kanang ingon nga kanang kuan… bawal naka
mangutana kay natural man ang mangutan pero dili jud
ingon na perminti ka mangutana or patudlo sa imong
classmate kanang… kanang ikaw mismo ang kanang…
nang… ikaw mismo ang maningkamot para makabalo
makabalo imong kaugalingon ug unsaon pagsolve or
pagkuan mga problem. Next.” ((*thinking) … the effect on
this is uhm… of course you know… it’s like you know… you
know… you’re always copying you’re always asking to
your… class- friend or classmate, just like… no it’s like you
do not rely on your, no, although you can not you know say
that uhm you are not allowed to ask questions because its
natural to ask but not necessarily that you’ll always ask or let
your classmates teach you, you know you yourself will you
know… uhm… you yourself will strive so that you will know
by yourself on how to solve or something the problems.
Next.)

This was triangulated through FGD.

Curly stated,

“para sa ako kay dako siyag tabang so para sa akoa sa

internet kay pareha gani sa akong giingon ganina na dili
man jud ko nagasulat no? so murag malibog ko, ay panagsa
makalimot ko kay wala koy sulat so kailangan nako mu
access pa sa mga... sa internet mag search ko. niya para sa
akoa kay makatabang man siya kay mas dali, nakoy dali
makita na mga examples, dali lang siya makit'an” (for me it
really helps but it also has little disadvantages. so for me, the
internet as I meantioned earlier that I don't really write so I
will be confused, oh and sometimes I forgot and then I don't
write so I really need to access the.. internet I will search.
For me, it really helps because it easier, I can easily see
examples, it's easy to find)

According to the results of the study of Lois & Milevicich (2010), that the

recent evolution of digital materials leads to devote a specific interest to the

80
change of activities induced by virtual learning environments which allow new

forms of collaboration between students, and between teachers and students.

Before, instructors and strategy producers trusted that by giving more

resources they could straightforwardly enhance understudy learning results.

Resources might be important however they are not adequate. Resources

themselves are not self-instituting, that is, they don't roll out improvement

unavoidable. Contrasts in their impacts rely on upon contrasts in their utilization.

This is additionally valid on account of instructive advances [ CITATION Kur11 \l

1033 ].

The Use of Internet

The data gathered from the informants stated that the internet helps them

in understanding the lessons, as it has almost of the information needed, with the

use of tutorial videos and exercises sheets that has step-by-step answers in

solving problems in Basic Calculus. It was also stated that it has disadvantages

but at the same is still useful.

Junior stated,
“dako kayug tabang ang internet sa pag sabot nako sa mga
lisod na lesson sa basic calculus kay naa koy source na
makuha sa internet kanang pag tanaw sa youtube, pag
search sa mga mga lesson na nabehind ko ma.. mao ng
tabang sa internet para makatoun ko.” (Internet helps a lot in
my understanding about difficult lessons in Basic Calculus
because I have source I can get in the internet, uh watching
YouTube, researching about the lessons that I am behind
that.. that is the help of the internet for me to learn)

81
This was triangulated through FGD.

Joyce mentioned,

“makatabang gyud kaayo ang internet kay naa biyay mga

tutorials niya kanang mga videos gani tapos kay naa puy
mga exercise, usahay gina answeran nako na pero kanang
usahay pud sa tutorial kay maglibog lang ka ang uban kay
lahi gani ang process na gigamit.” (the internet really helps
because there are tutorials uh videos then there are also
exercises, sometimes I try to answer it but sometimes the
tutorials make me confuse because some uses different
process.)

Boyish also answered differently,

“so ang internet kay gi emphasize naman nako ganiha nga

dako jud siyag tabang kay dali ra pud nimo makuha ang
imformation didto, dali ra pud ka maka access kung naay
certain topic na libog para sa imo also daghan pud silag
ginahatag na ways in order to.. so mao lang to siya ang
main na disadvantage pero overall dako man siyag tabang”
(so the internet, I emphasized earlier that it really helps a lot
because you can easily get information, you can easily
access if there is a certain topic that is confusing for you,
also they provide other ways in order toso it's really true
because they give other ways there is a tendency that it is
different from what is taugh in school so that's is it' main
disadvantage, but overall it really helps a lot)

Our findings are consistent with the study of Deore (2012) that the internet

is a most powerful educational tool for teaching learning. The study also

concluded that it is useful for self-study to student, gives student a lot of

information that could be used for their assignments and for their progress to

achieve their goals. The Internet can also motivate the students, make teaching

more fun, and allows variation in teaching according to the study of Brändström

(2011).

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Good teaching technique helps the students understand better

The informants and participants have stated that their teacher has a great

effect on them as she teaches in organize, step-by-step, and brief way that helps

them in understanding the lessons in Basic Calculus easier. Only one informant

answered that he thinks he already understand the lesson but still it never sinks-

in on his mind and he is also pressured on his classmates.

Junior answered,

“ang epekto nga sa pamaagi o strategy sa among maestra

sa among pagtoun sa basic calculus kay kuan kanang dali
rajud kay ka makasabot kay among teacher man saamong
basic calculus gina pasabot gyud niya kung unsaon to na
pamaagi, unsa to na lesson ug kung dili ka kasabot
mangutana, iya gyud kang tubagon ug maayo
maong...maong ang epekto gyud makatoun gyud kag pag
ayo sa iyang pagtudlo sa imoha sa basic calculus sa iyang
lesson, ug maon lang. yaaaatisss.” (the effect of the way or
strategy of our teacher in our learning Basic Calculus is uh
you know, you can easily understand because our teacher in
Basic Calculus she really makes us understand on how to do
that way, what that lesson is and if you didn't understand,
ask, she will really answer you well that's.. the effect really is
you can learn really well in her teaching of the lessons in
Basic Calculus, and that's all..craaaaaap.)

On the other hand, Boy answered differently

“tagaan lang kag problem sa isa ka teacher kay kanang…

nya murag kanang paminaw nimo kanang pag-explain ni
Ma’am murag nakasabot nakasabot naka ang epekto sa
akoa kanang pagtudlo ni Ma’am sa amoa kanang while si
Ma’am nagadiscuss sa amoa ug kanang Basic Calculus
kanang… naa man gyung kanang kuan na dili ko kasabot sa
kanang kuan dili ko kasabot sa iyahang gidiscuss… murag
mapressure ka sa inyong mga classmate” (you’ll be given
problem… problem from a teacher because you know…
then you feel that you understand what Ma’am discusses…

83
 the effect to me you know how Ma’am teaches us you know
while Ma’am discusses to us you know Basic Calculus you
know… there is you know uhm that I don’t understand in you
know uhm I don’t understand her discussion… you’ll get
pressured by your classmates)

This was triangulated through FGD.

Brent stated,

“so uhm...uhm ang teacher's technique kanang si maam

man gud mutudlo is...kanang detailed gud kanang ipasabot
jud niya ang unsa iyang dapat ipasabot then pagkahuman
kay kana na problem no kay kanang dili kaayo mi
makasabot, naka find gyud mig difficulty kay i explain man
niya pero murag maingon lang jud namo kay... lahi jud siya
ug way mutudlo” (so uhm..uhm the teacher's teaching
technique uh ma'am teaches.. like it's detailed uh she makes
us understand what she wants us to understand then if we
don't understand that problem, when we really find a
difficulty she will explain but the only thing we can say
is...she teaches in a different way)

Research reveals that being taught by an effective teacher has important

consequences for student achievement [CITATION Tea12 \l 1033 ]. The study of

Johnson, Kraft & Papay (2012) found out that the conditions of teachers’ work

matter a great deal. Therefore, it will help students to learn easier.

Implications for Practice

On the coping strategies used by students in learning Basic Calculus,

there were themes that we have identified that would help in comprehending the

phenomenon. This phenomenological study would help provide deeper

understanding about the strategies that the Senior High School STEM strand

students of Tagum City National High School do in order to cope up and learn

84
comprehensively from the lessons on the subject Basic Calculus. This

phenomenological study would help teachers in finding alternative ways so that

their students will have a better understanding on the subject matter.

Furthermore, this would also motivate the students in striving hard in amidst of

the insufficiency of the resources they had.

Implications for further research

This phenomenological study is trustworthy and has very essential results

that may aid both the students and the teachers in the Senior High School in

Tagum City National High School and in other public schools that offers Science,

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics strand in Academic track. However,

this phenomenological study was only conducted in a limited time-frame thus the

researchers didn't have enough time to dig deeper to have a deep understanding

of the phenomenon. So, we, researchers would recommend this study to

undergo further research to have a thorough understanding to the study. To the

future researchers with the sane topic of interest as our study, should exert a lot

of time and effort to fortify the validity of the results of this study. The researchers

should conduct different study with the same phenomenon in order to understand

on what coping strategies do the students in Senior high school used while

learning Basic Calculus. We, the researchers, would like the future researchers

to use the data findings of this study in their future research.

Concluding Remarks

85
 From the data gathered, it shows that there are three major themes for

this study. These themes are about the reasons for the difficulty faced in learning

Basic Calculus, the coping strategies used by the students to cope up, and the

aids while learning the mentioned subject.

Results show that students are having difficulty in learning Basic Calculus

because of their problems within theirselves, namely lack of concentration during

the discussion and not being good with mathematics or subject related to it.

There are a lot of aspects that help the student in learning Basic Calculus.

Participants said that their pre-requisite subject, Pre-Calculus and their subjects

in Junior High School related to Mathematics are the foundation of their

knowledge. Books, internet, classmates, teachers also help the student in

learning and understanding the subject more. In addition, competitive and

inspirational environment motivates the students to strive hard and do better in

class. Lastly, the teacher’s teaching technique has an effect as the students learn

Basic Calculus.

The researchers therefore conclude that the environment and teacher’s

teaching technique has a positive effect in learning Basic Calculus. Furthermore,

asking classmates for help, reading and reviewing notes, and striving hard are

the coping strategies that the Senior High School students use in order to cope

up with the subject’s difficulty.

86
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 Appendix A.

Data Collection Tool

A standard header was used for each transcription of te In-depth

Interview, this includes the Archival Number, Site, Data collector, Date of Data

collection,Data collection method,Transcriber, Translator, Typist, Date of

computer data entry, Pseudonym, Age and Gender.

Table 20. Sample of Header for Transcripts

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 Sample of Header for Transcripts

Archival Number: TCIDIS01

Site: Tagum City

Data collector: Melky Jay T. Moya

Date of Data collection: February 22, 2017

Data collection method: IDI

Transcriber: Melky Jay T. Moya

Translator: Vanessa Mae G. Avila

Typist: Melky Jay T. Moya

Date of computer data entry: February 25, 2017

Pseudonym: Girl

Age: 17

Gender: Female

The researcher also created an archival log to list the sequential numbers

assigned to the participants. This log also helped the researchers to track data.

Table 20 shows the sample of the archival log.

Table 21. Sample Archival Log

Archival Log

Interview Data Tracking Form

Date Of Language
the of the
Archival # Category Interviewer Transcriber Translator typist interview interview Sex Age

92
TCIDIS01 S MJ.Moya MJ.Moya VM.Avila MJ.Moya 2/25 Cebuano F 17

TCIDIS02 S MJ.Moya MJ.Moya VM.Avila MJ.Moya 2/25 Cebuano M 17

TCIDIS03 S MJ.Moya MJ.Moya VM.Avila MJ.Moya 2/25 Cebuano M 18

TCIDIS04 S MJ.Moya MJ.Moya VM.Avila MJ.Moya 2/25 Cebuano M 18

TCIDIS05 S VM.Avila KM.Tongco KM.Tongco KM.Tongco 3/9 Cebuano M 17

TCIDIS06 S VM.Avila KM.Tongco KM.Tongco KM.Tongco 3/13 Cebuano F 17

TCIDIS07 S KM.Tongco KM.Tongco KM.Tongco KM.Tongco 3/14 Cebuano M 18

TCIDIS08 S VM.Avila VM.Avila VM.Avila VM.Avila 3/10 Cebuano F 16

TCFGDS01 S VM.Avila MJ.Moya VM.Avila MJ.Moya 3/1 Cebuano F 16

TCFGDS02 S VM.Avila MJ.Moya VM.Avila MJ.Moya 3/1 Cebuano F 16

TCFGDS03 S VM.Avila VM.Avila VM.Avila VM.Avila 3/1 Cebuano F 17

TCFGDS04 S VM.Avila VM.Avila VM.Avila VM.Avila 3/1 Cebuano F 17

TCFGDS05 S KM.Tongco MJ.Moya VM.Avila MJ.Moya 3/1 Cebuano F 17

TCFGDS06 S KM.Tongco MJ.Moya VM.Avila MJ.Moya 3/1 Cebuano M 17

Focus Group Note- Taker Form

Archival Number: TCFGDS01 Site: Tagum City

Date: March 1, 2017 Focus Group Category: Students

Start Time: 11:00 A.M Moderator: Vanessa Mae G.

Avila

End Time: 12:00 P.M Note-Taker: Kristine Mae R.

Tongco

Figure 1.Seating Chart:

93
Curly
3
 Joyce Boyish
2 4

Brent Victor
1 5

K. Guy
Tongco 6
V.
oo
Avila
Appendix B.

Interview Guide Questions

I. Do find the subject Basic Calculus difficult? Why? (Nalisuran ba ka sa

Reseach 1? Ngano)
a. Do you find the whole subject difficult or just some parts of it? (Ang tibuok
subject ba ang lisod or naa lay parte na lisod?)
b. What do you do when you encounter a difficult lesson? (Unsa imong
ginabuhat kung maka-agi ka ug lisod na lesson?)
c. What kind of help do you seek when dealing with a difficult lesson?
(Unsang klaseng tabang ang imong kinahanglan kung maka-agi ka ug
lisod na lesson?)
d. Who do you go for to ask for help? (Kinsa na mga tao ang imong
ginduolan para matabangan ka?)

II. What do you think causes these difficulties that you encounter while learning
Basic Calculus? (Unsa ang mga hinungdan nganong nagkalisod ka sa Basic
Calculus?)
a. What kind of classroom environment do you have? (Unsa na classroom
environment ang naa sa inyong section? Example: Competitive, Passive
or Inspirational)

94
 b. How does your classroom environment affect your learning? (Unsa ang
epekto sa kani na classroom environment sa imong pagtuon?)
c. In what way do your subjects’ previous lessons and pre-requisite subject
about the mentioned subject affect your current learning? (Unsay
natabang sa Pre-Calculus na pre-requisite sa imong pagtuon karon sa
Basic Calculus?)

III. What kinds of resources do you have around to help understand the lesson?
(Unsa na mga resources (tao, bagay) ang naa sa imong palibot na
makatabang sa pagsabot sa Basic Calculus?)
a. How do these resources affect your learning? (Unsay epekto ani na mga
resources sa imong pagtuon sa Basic Calculus?)
b. How does the internet help you in understanding the difficult part of the
subjects mentioned? (Unsay natabang sa Internet sa pagsabot nimo sa
mga lisod na lesson sa Basic Calculus?)
c. How does your teacher’s teaching technique affect your understanding
about the subject matter? (Unsay epekto sa pamaagi or strategy sa
pagtudlo sa imong maestro sa Basic Calculus sa imong pagtuon?)

Appendix C.

INFORMED CONSENTS

Title of the Study: Coping Strategies in Basic Calculus: A Qualitative study on

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Strand Senior High
School Students of Tagum City National High School

Name of Researchers: Melky Jay T. Moya, Vanessa Mae G. Avila, and Kristine
Mae R. Tongco

1. I confirm that I have read and understood the information sheet for the
above study and have had the opportunity to ask clarification about my
participation.

2. I am aware of my voluntary participationin this research and that I am

free to retract at any time, without giving any reason.

3. I do not have any hesitation if my interview is video taped or audio

taped and transcribed for data analysis.

95
 4. I fully understand that copies of transcripts will be returned to me for
verification and my real name will be kept in secret and I will be identified
by a pseudonym in any publications arising from the research.

5. I agree to take part in the above study.

________________________________ _________________

Name of the participant Date Signature

Melky Jay T. Moya _____________ __________________

Name of the Researcher Date Signature

Vanessa Mae G. Avila_____________ __________________

Name of the Researcher Date Signature

Kristine Mae R. Tongco_____________ __________________

Name of the Researcher Date Signature

Appendix C.

INFORMED CONSENT

I hereby give my consent for my participation in the current study concerning the
Coping Strategies in Basic Calculus: A Qualitative study on Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Strand Senior High School Students of
Tagum City National High School. I know that this endeavor is a Thesis study of
Melky Jay T. Moya, Vanessa Mae G. Avila, and Kristine Mae R. Tongco, Senior
High School students from the Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (STEM) Strand from Tagum City National High School, Mangga,
Visayan Village, Tagum City.

Melky Jay T. Moya, Vanessa Mae G. Avila, and Kristine Mae R. Tongco have
already explained to me that my participation in this study will engage a face to
face interview which will require to divulge sensitive information regarding
personal experiences connected to the focus study. The information obtained in
this study is expected to increase understanding in teaching the students.
Furthermore, it was also explained that there is no expected risks to me as a
result of participation.

96
I knew that my participation in this study is voluntary in nature and do not bear
negative consequences to me if I choose not to participate. Any information I will
provide shall be kept confidential. My name shall never be attached to any
information gathered in this study and that only the researchers have the access
to this.

The researchers have agreed to answer any questions that I may have
concerning the procedure. I understand that I may discontinue my personal
participation at any time I choose without penalty. Furthermore, we agreed to
have the face to face interview with the researcher on ___________atTagum
City National High School.

Date Signed: ______________

Signature over Printed Name of the Participant: ______________________

Appendix D.

PARENTAL CONSENT FORM

Dear Parent or Guardian:

My name is ____________________ and I am a student at Tagum City National

High School and (I/we) are asking you to participate in a research project. We
are asking your permission for your child to participate in an interview being
conducted to selected students in school. The interview will ask questions about
______________. It is our hope that data from this interview will contribute to a
better understanding of
_____________________________________________________________.

Your child’s responses to the interview will be confidential or anonymous.

Although the researcher may know who your child is, no identifiable information
will be kept and only the researcher/research team will know who you are.

Rest assured that no identifiable information will be collected and that no one,
including the researcher/research team will know who your child is because the

97
information will be coded. However, the data may be used in
publications/presentations.

Your consent and your child’s participation are completely voluntary and your
child may withdraw at any time. There is no reward for participating or
consequence for not participating. Any risks associated with participation in the
study are no greater than those of daily living. We will also seek your child’s
assent to participate before he or she begins the study.

For further information on this research please contact

______________________ at (mobile number and email address).

If you have any questions about your rights or child’s right as a research
participant you may contact the Tagum City National High School Principal’s
Office at (084)218-5945.

There are two copies of this letter. After signing them, keep one copy for your
records and return the other one to your child’s school.

“By signing below I agree to allow my child to participate. “

Signature: ____________________________________________________

Name (please print): ___________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________

98
 CURRICULUM VITAE

Personal Info

Name: Melky Jay T. Moya

Age: 17

Sex: Male

Date of Birth: July 11, 1999

Place of Birth: Apokon, Tagum City

Civil Status: Single

Religion: Pentecostal

Father: Melbourne E. Moya

Mother: Marissa T. Moya

99
Residence: Prk 6-B Lower Apokon, Tagum City

Educational Background:

Secondary: Tagum City National High School

Mangga, Visayan Village, Tagum City

Primary: Apokon Elementary School

Prk 2, Durian, Apokon Tagum City

Seminars Attended:

Computer Aided Drafting Seminar

Entrepreneurial Seminar

CURRICULUM VITAE

Personal Info

Name: Kristine Mae R. Tongco

Age: 17

Sex: Female

Date of Birth: August 19, 1999

Place of Birth: Bishop Regan Memorial Hospital

Civil Status: Single

Religion: Roman Catholic

Father: Nicomedes P. Tongco

Mother: Alfreda R. Tongco

100
Residence: Prk. 6-A, Baranggay Magdum, Tagum City

Educational Background:

Secondary: Tagum City National High School

Mangga, Visayan Village, Tagum City

Primary: Don Ricardo Briz Central Elementary School

Briz District, Magugpo East, Tagum CIty

Seminars Attended:

Computer Aided Drafting Seminar

Entrepreneurial Seminar

CURRICULUM VITAE

Personal Info

Name: Vanessa Mae G. Avila

Age: 16

Sex: Female

Date of Birth: April 12, 2000

Place of Birth: Prk 2, Nabunturan ComVal Province

Civil Status: Single

Religion: Roman Catholic

Father: Ronaldo P. Avila

Mother: Annaliza G. Avila

101
Residence: Blk 7, Lot 2 Betty’s Subdivision, Apokon, Tagum City

Educational Background:

Secondary: Tagum City National High School

Mangga, Visayan Village, Tagum City

Primary: St. Mary’s College of Tagum, Inc.

National Highway Tagum City

Seminars Attended:

Computer Aided Drafting Seminar

Entrepreneurial Seminar

102