IMPLEMENTATION OF MODULAR LEARNING: ITS EFFECT ON

STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AT NORALA NATIONAL

HIGH SCHOOL

Katherine G. Baranda¹*, Norhaya M. Amba²** and Alyaser A. Odin³**

*3rd Year Student, Bachelor of Secondary Education
katherinebaranda146@gmail.com
**4th Year Students, Bachelor of Secondary Education
norhayaamba@sksu.edu.ph and alyaserodin@sksu.edu.ph
College of Teacher Education, Sultan Kudarat State University
Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, Philippines

ABSTRACT

The existence of COVID-19 pandemic brought extraordinary challenges to the stakeholders,

teachers, parents, and students. Thus, the researchers believed that there is an effect of
teaching-learning process in new normal education to students’ academic performance most
especially using modular type of learning. With this, the study sight to determine the
perception of the students regarding modular distance learning approach, to identify the
effects of modular learning approach to academic performance as perceived by the grade 10
students, identify the challenges of the students, and determine the significant difference on
perceptions when they grouped according to their gender. The inferential method of research
was utilized in this study. The researcher gathered one hundred twenty four (124) grade 10
students currently enrolled in Norala National High School through the used of stratified
random sampling. The survey questionnaire will apply in the study. Mean, frequency counts
and percentage are use to analyze and interpret the data.

Keywords: Education in COVID-19 pandemic, distance learning modalities, modular approach

in learning, module

I. Introduction

Education is a learning process where the students can learn and acquire knowledge
from their teachers and their fellow learners. According to Prof. H. Mahmud Yunus as cited
by Salamuddin A. (2021), education is a total effort that is deliberately chosen to influence
and assist children with the aim of improving knowledge, physical and moral that can
gradually deliver the child to the highest goal. Due to COVID-19 pandemic has brought
extraordinary challenges to the people around the world and has affected the educational
sectors in different societies. The DepEd decided to bring education to the comfort of their
homes as they continuously developed different learning modalities to ensure that education
is accessible to all and to ensure the continuity of education. The sudden transition from the
traditional to new normal in the teaching and learning process. Modular Distance Learning is
one of the types of distance learning modality which the DepEd offered for the school year
2020-2021. According to Mark Antony Llego (2020), modular distance learning is learners‟
learning at their own pace, in their own way and using self-learning modules (SLMs). It can
be printed/digitized format/electronic copy that is appropriate to learners, and other learning
resources like learners‟ materials, textbook, activity sheets, study guides and other learning
materials. Moreover, Norala National High School is one of the schools applying the SLMs
specifically the modular distance learning approach to provide and ensure all the students
have access in their academe. The key purpose of this research is to find out the challenges
encounter by the students in the implementation of modular learning, students' perceptions
regarding modular learning approach, and its effects to academic performances perceived by
the grade 10 students. Thus, the researchers aims to determine the difference on perception
of the students towards modular learning approach when group according to their gender.

II. Statement of the Problem

1. What are perception of the students regarding modular learning approach?

2. What are the effects of modular learning approach to academic performance as

perceived by the grade 10 students?

3. What are the challenges of the students towards modular distance learning approach?

4. Is there any significant difference on perceptions of the students towards

modular learning approach when group according to their gender?

III. Literature Review

Modular learning, as the word connotes, uses learning modules that facilitate student
learning by themselves. Modular learning is a form of distance learning that uses Self-
Learning Modules (SLM) based on the most essential learning competencies (MELCS)
developed by the teachers with the aid of curriculum developers. A module is considered to
be a set of learning opportunities organized around a well-defined topic which contains
elements of instruction, specific objectives, learning activities and self-assessment and
evaluation using criteria-referenced measurement.

A. Philippine Setting

The Philippines is in the process of adapting to the new normal form of education at
present, and continuous innovations of educators and active involvement of other
stakeholders are the driving force for its success. In the Philippine educational system alone,
enrollment for elementary and high school plunges by seven million (DepEd, 2020; Jorge,
2020). While this still leaves 74.6 percent out of the 27.7 million students in public and
private schools, the remaining 25.4 percent is still a huge drop in the ocean. Meanwhile, a 70
percent drop from last year’s 3.2 million enrollees is expected in private higher educational
institutions (HEIs) and state universities and colleges (SUCs) (CHED, 2020; Romero, 2020).
Among the top concerns of this virtual opening of classes are the access to the appropriate
technology required for remote learning, teachers’ training, and instructional materials, and
online curricula for modular approach (Altbach and De Wit, 2020; HESB, 2020). Thus, it
implies that numerous private and public HEIs and SUCs — and CHED as such — are not
equipped to implement the online learning system (Toquero, 2020). Education plays an
important role in shaping the lives of students. In the process, teachers are one of the essential
instruments in delivering quality learning. Due to the emergence of COVID-19 in the
Philippines, a lot of changes happened in the educational landscape. One of these is the mode
of instruction that was implemented by the Department of Education. The current COVID-19
crisis has obliged most education systems to adopt alternatives to face-to-face teaching and
learming. Many education systems moved activities online, to allow instruction to continue
despite school closures (OECD, 2020). The shift of the teaching-leaning delivery in schools
to modular distance leaming made more challenging, on the part of the school personnel, the
delivery of basic quality education. That is why DepEd leaders are always finding avenues to
solve the problems and capacitating its teachers and school heads to become more effective in
the field of modular distance learning (Bagood, 2020). The new normal of education along
with the different modalities faced different disapproval at first because of the risk but with
the effort of education sectors in the Philippines it is done systematically for the goal of
continuing education despite the pandemic. Most of the learners belong to modular (print)
especially in the rural areas where internet connection is not always available. They are
learning with the help of their parents or guardians who are now acting as their teachers at
home. The teachers on the other hand, guide the parents while teaching their children at home
especially the young ones. In a public secondary school in San Carlos City, Pangasinan,
modular learning also emerged as the most preferred learning mode. According to their local
LESFs, learners cited the lack of available gadgets and internet connection as the main
reasons why they preferred modular learning over online learning. Most of Western Visayas
students prefer the modular learning modality, according to the Department of Education.
DepEd Western Visayas regional information officer Dr. Lea Belleza said more than 50
percent of the students enrolled for the upcoming entrance from public schools in the region
prefer the modular learning delivery modality. Belleza explained that the preparation of
learning modules is assigned to the regions regarding subjects and grade levels and will be
integrated into the central office and will be downloaded to the regions.

According to Salandanan (2019), selfinstructional materials are those which are

described to be self-contained and the manner of presentation is such that the learning
activities can be undertaken individually or in small groups. These materials are most
effectively used in individualized instruction programs. The self-instructional module helps in
providing remedial instruction for slow learners and enrichment materials for fast learners.
Topics can best be presented through these self-instructional materials. About 41 percent of
parents in Region 3 (Central Luzon) preferred the modular approach for their children this
incoming school year, an enrolment survey conducted by Department of Education (DepEd)
showed. Teaching is possible but it has issues and concerns due to these abrupt changes in the
new educational system. The reading attitude and proficiency are seen to be the problem
among the learners of MSU- Integrated Laboratory School. They experience difficult on
reading of words. More students say they didn’t understand much what is in the modules. The
fundamental difficulties that the students in MSU-Integrated Laboratory School have
experienced are self-examining, helpless web association, absence of rest and time to answer
every one of the modules because of the incredible number of exercises, interruptions, and
absence of core interest. According to Briones, “In the long run, modular is really expensive.”
However, noted modular learning is the preferred mode of parents and students for the
distance learning since access to technology and connectivity remains a problem for most of
them. An online survey conducted by the multisectoral group Movement for Safe, Equitable,
Quality and Relevant Education (SEQuRE) found that 86.7% of students under modular
learning, 66% under online learning, and 74% under blended learning.

Knapp (2006) further explains that, it is very imperative that the course embraces
modules for the students, the modules should link unswervingly with the main text and have
drills that matches with the lessons. The activities in the modules should be thought-
provoking for the students and should be able to aid you, as a teacher evaluate where they, as
far as how well they have immersed the material and there is a need to review the lessons
again with them. By exhausting modules your faculty will also have enhanced inclusive
challenging notches.

B. Foreign Setting

For the first time ever the modular technology was mentioned in scientific papers at the
end of the 1860s. Then it was called the “Russian system” or the “Russian method”. This
approach to teaching was based on “the identification of clearly described components of
occupational skills (operations and actions) which were studied and brushed up element by
element” (Erofeeva, 2012). Using this approach, the teacher could control the process of
teaching a large number of students at the same time. Further on, the modular approach was
used extensively as an alternative to traditional education in 60-ies in the English-speaking
countries of Europe and the United States (Bashmakova, 2014). Modular teaching is one of
the most widespread and recognizes teaching learning techniques in United States, Australia
and many other Western countries including Asian region. Modular is used in almost all
subjects like natural science, especially in biology and medical education and even in social
sciences as well as in computers education. All kinds of subjects are being taught through
modules. It is a recent development based on programmed learning; a well established and
universally recognized phenomenon. It considering the individual differences among the
learners which necessitate the planning for adoption of the most appropriate teaching
techniques in order to help the individual grow and develop at her/his own pace.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced virtually all schools and universities to switch to
online education in South Korea. The nation's transition to online education has been mostly
smooth, and the reason for this is clear; South Korea has one of the best IT infrastructures in
the world. Before the pandemic, the country had realized 99% of 4G coverage, with 5G under
implementation; further, about 75% of households had access to computers, and 99.5% had
internet access. Coupled with the nation's prioritization of education, this makes the easy
implementation of online education and widespread acceptance of this mode by students and
teachers seem inevitable. Integrated modular teaching, each module was initiated by a clinical
teacher from Zhongshan Ophthalmic Centre with a suitable introduction, followed by a
discussion of individual topics. Pre- and post-class tests were conducted at the beginning of
the first module and the end of the last module, respectively, to assess the effectiveness of the
integrated modular teaching system. Test papers were designed based on the teachers’
discussions and approved by the examination administration of Sun Yat-sen University.
Scholars generally agree that modular degrees have many advantages for students in terms of
their capacity to offer flexibility, choice, access and mobility.It is also widely argued that
modular structures may be beneficial to universities in that they potentially allow institutions
to respond to the needs of employers, expand student markets, develop more efficient uses of
resources and increase opportunities for curricula breadth. However, it is also argued that
modularisation creates the possibility of fragmentation and incoherence of the educational
experience, potentially weakens learning outcomes and comes with epistemological,
structural and pedagogical challenges.

IV. Methodology
 The researchers gather the data using the inferential method of research in order to
determine the effects of modular distance learning towards students’ academic performance.
This method is use to gather information in order to test hypothesis or to answer questions
concerning the currents status of the subject of the study. The researchers went through a
sampling technique which is stratified random sampling technique was used to ensure the
fairness of the data gather. The total population is 496. Twenty five percent (25%) of the
population will be used and there will be 124 students-respondents out of 496 populations
which is compose of 61 male and 63 female. This 124 respondents are from the Grade 10
students at Norala National High School - Poblacion, Norala, South Cotabato. Further, the
respondents will be going through a checklist or survey questionnaire that consists of a set of
orderly arranged questions carefully prepare to answer to collect facts and informations. In
conducting this study, the researcher will send a letter asking permission to the office of the
principal of Norala National High School. After the approval, the chosen respondents as well
as their advisers will be informed about the conduct of research. The questionnaire will be
given to chosen respondents in the scheduled time and date. After the given time, the
researcher will retrieve the questionnaire from the respondents and the data will be tabulated
and statistically treated to find out the result of the study. Lastly, the researchers will use
Likert Scale Method in the survey questionnaires to specify the level of agreement of the
respondents to the statement.

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