Journal of Innovation, Advancement, and Methodology in STEM education

Beverage Powder: A STEM Education Project in PTEC Student Teachers

2024-12-06T22:10:10+07:00

Worldwide economic growth has been consistent with technological advancements in the labor market. In this sense, STEM education is very significant in strengthening the ability of students to have the appropriate skills for the needs of the 21^st century. Thus, this project intends to process agricultural raw materials such seasonal fruits into completed products that can be preserved for a long time in daily life and enhance the growth of local agricultural products. The STEM learning activity will be developed based on Sutaphan and Yuenyong (2019) which consisted of 7 stages including (1) Identification of social issues, (2) Identification of potential solutions, (3) Need for knowledge, (4) Decision-making, (5) Development of prototype or product, (6) Test and evaluation of the solution, and (7) Socialization and completion decision stage. As a result, many beverage powders are made using raw materials such as oranges, lemons and mangoes. This beverage powder can also be further processed using standard equipment such as mesh mixers, dryers and grinders to a fine powder, which can then be used as a raw material for making candy and ice cream. When kept and handled appropriately, this powder can last up to a year without the need for artificial preservatives. Regarding the experiment, analysis, evaluation and reflection, there was found that the delicious beverage powder can be composed of fruits, vegetables, flowers mixed with a little sugar, salt and lemon powder then dried under the sunlight or dryers. The study will issue on student teachers’ experiences in integrated STEM knowledge throughout these activities. Furthermore, student teachers could apply this approach in their actual classes in the future.

Effects of Guided Inquiry-Oriented Modular Instruction on Grade 7 Students’ Science Process Skills, Epistemological Beliefs in Science and Conceptual Understanding in Ecology

2024-12-17T23:06:05+07:00

This study aimed to investigate the effects of Guided Inquiry-Oriented Modular Instruction on Grade 7 students’ science process skills, epistemological beliefs in science and conceptual understanding on Ecology. A quasi-experimental design, the matching only pretest-posttest control group was employed in this study. The participants of the study involved two intact sections of Grade 7 students of MSU-Tugaya High School located in the municipality of Tugaya, Lanao del Sur of school year 2016-2017. The study used one adopted instrument from A.M. Conley et al. (2000)-the Epistemological Beliefs in Science Questionnaire (EBSQ) and two researcher-made instruments- the Science Process Skills (SPS) Checklist and the Conceptual Understanding Test in Ecology (CUTE). Other sources of data are journal writings, interview guide questions, and reflection questions in the module. Quantitative data were analyzed using t-test for independent samples and Chi-square (χ2) test and were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Qualitative data were statistics free and were used to support the quantitative data to fully explain the phenomenon investigated. In the comparison between the control and experimental groups’ science process skills mean score, before the intervention, the control group posted higher mean score (9.91) than the experimental group (8.30); however the difference is not significant (t =0.91, p=0.37 > .05). After the intervention, the experimental group posted higher mean score (14.48) than the control group (8.57) and the difference is significant (t=-2.76, p= 0.01 < .05) in favor of the experimental group. On the epistemological beliefs in science (EBS) before the intervention, students in both control and experimental groups demonstrated transitionary beliefs in all of the four dimensions. After intervention, the control group demonstrated a continuum of naïve-transitionary-informed beliefs while the experimental group demonstrated informed beliefs in two of the EBS dimensions. There is no significant difference in the EBS mean score between the control and experimental groups of students in all the four EBS dimensions before and after intervention (all p’s > .05). On the conceptual understanding level before intervention, the control and experimental groups demonstrated low and average levels. After intervention, the control group still demonstrated low and average levels while the experimental group demonstrated low, average, and high levels of conceptual understanding. In the comparison of control and experimental groups’ conceptual understanding test mean score, before the intervention, the control and experimental groups posted closer mean score (28.7 vs. 29.1) and the difference is not significant (t = -0.36; p=0.72 >0.05). After intervention, the experimental group posted higher mean score (36.6) than the control group (31.5) and the difference is significant (t = -3.87;p= 0.00< .05) in favor of the experimental group. In the evaluation of the Guided Inquiry-Oriented Modular Instruction’s features, the students rated excellent in the overall. It helped students’ conceptual understandings and science processes skills improved, and promoted their epistemological beliefs in science. The findings of the study underscore the need to develop teaching approaches that promote and facilitate activation of students’ science process skills, informed epistemological beliefs in science and deeper conceptual understandings in ecology. It is recommended to school administrators and science teachers to utilize guided inquiry-oriented modular teaching approach in teaching science topic domains.

Development of Contextualized Learning Packets in Ecosystem for Grade 7 Learners

2024-12-26T22:37:58+07:00

This study aimed to develop Contextualized Learning Packets on the topics of Ecosystem, focusing on the least mastered competencies with codes S7LT-IIh-9 and S7LT-IIj-12. The needs assessment results revealed a strong demand for the creation of packets for the participating school. The packets received excellent ratings for content, format, presentation, accuracy, and up-to-date information, with an average mean score of 3.87, reflecting overall satisfaction. Additionally, learners expressed positive feedback regarding the packets, with an overall weighted mean of 3.63, indicating strong agreement with the effectiveness of the materials. Furthermore, the science teachers shared favorable perceptions of the packets, particularly regarding the appropriateness of the content, contextualization, task simplicity, and the overall attractive design and layout.

Development and Validation of Video Lessons as Supplementary Materials in Teaching Heredity Among Grade 10 Students

2024-12-31T11:26:19+07:00

This study aimed at developing video lessons that can be used as supplementary materials in teaching heredity among grad 10 students. This study emphasizes the integration of STEM education using video lessons to explain the concept of heredity. The researchers administered needs assessment survey to five (5) in-service science teachers to gather valuable information about the significance and needs to develop video lessons on heredity. The needs assessment results show a high demand for video lessons as these will not only make learning more interactive and interesting, but they also pique the curiosity of students and teachers alike. For the development of video lessons, the researchers followed 4D model. It was designed as engaging, interactive, and provides illustrative visuals to improve the students conceptual understanding on the lessons under heredity. The developed materials were evaluated by five (5) science teachers in terms of its content, instructional, technical quality, conceptual error, accuracy and up-to-datedness of information. The evaluation result revealed that the developed video lesson passed all the categories and was rated as ‘excellent’ M = 3.56. Therefore, the developed video lessons were recommended and accepted for its distribution to utilize as instructional material in supplementing the teaching of heredity among grade ten students.

Development of Micro-Lectures Videos in Teaching Ecosystem for Grade 10 Students

2024-12-25T22:40:23+07:00

In STEM education, studying ecosystems is also crucial to sustainable education. The Philippines environment is now facing major environmental problems with these Filipino students’ needs to develop their sense of ecological practices, this study aims to develop a micro-lecture video and learning activities. The researchers had undergone a needs assessment with the in-service science teacher aimed at gathering valuable information as a basis for crafting the developed materials. For the development of the micro-lecture videos, the researchers made use of the SAM Model. This was evaluated based on the four factors to be satisfied. Based on the evaluation results in the micro-lecture videos, the flow of energy was rated as very satisfactory of a mean (3.2425), biodiversity and stability were excellent (3.54365), and population growth and carrying capacity were Excellent (3.36115). The design learning activities were also evaluated; the content factors obtained an Excellent with a mean of (3.428), the format also obtained Excellent (3.3444), the presentation and organization obtained Excellent (3.8000), and the accuracy and up-to-datedness of information obtained an Excellent (3.7500). Hence, the development of micro-lecture videos and activities is recommended and accepted for its distribution to use as a learning material in the teaching ecosystem because this satisfies all factors that guarantee its quality. Through this study, a remarkable way to enhance the understanding of the concept of ecosystem and promote awareness of the environment.