Conceptual Understanding and Interest in Kinematics among Senior High School Students of MSU-Saguiaran in a Cooperative Learning Environment

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the level of conceptual understanding and interest in Kinematics of 66 non-science curriculum high school students under a cooperative learning environment randomly assigned to the control (Traditional Method of Teaching) and experimental group (Cooperative Learning Approach). Student’s level of conceptual understanding was measured using a SOLO level-based Conceptual Understanding Test (CUT) and interest in kinematics was measured using a Student’s Interest in Kinematics Questionnaire. Before intervention, findings revealed that almost all of them could not answer questions that require one piece or more than one piece of given information, fact, or idea, obtained directly from the problem or ideas each used separately. They could not also answer two or more distinct steps, with no integration of the ideas or in doing algorithms with numbers using a set of useful information. Majority of them were on the prestructural and same level of conceptual understanding and has not really understand the concept asked, or with very little understanding, but they differ on interest level in learning kinematics in favour to the students assigned in the control group. After intervention, students exposed to Cooperative Learning Approach have significantly higher Pretest-Posttest mean gain score in the CUT than the students exposed to Traditional Learning Method. Almost half of the respondents were on the unistructural and less than one fourth were on the multistructural SOLO levels of conceptual understanding. However, students exposed to traditional method of teaching have interest that is significantly higher than the students exposed to cooperative learning approach. In terms of students performance students exposed to cooperative learning approach performed significantly higher than the students exposed to traditional teaching methods.