Enhancing Students' Performance in Biology through Blended Learning with Collaborative Tools and Interactive Online Activities

Abstract

The study focused on the assessment of the technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) of graduate students enrolled in the Master of Arts in Science Education (MASE) program and tested the effectiveness of a blended learning approach using online collaborative tools, a learning management system, and interactive resources in Biology. The specific objectives of the study included describing the profile of MASE students in terms of computer and internet resources and skills, measuring their confidence levels in the four TPACK constructs, finding significant differences in pretest and posttest scores, and obtaining student feedback on the use of Edmodo as a Learning Management System. The study employed a one-shot pretest-posttest experimental design using a combination of online resources and face-to-face interactions. Based on the results, there was an increase in the median values before and after the intervention, as shown by the difference between the pre-median and post-median. Pre-implementation, the TPACK confidence level of the students was rated fairly confident (FC), but it increased after to completely confident (CC). This suggests that the students' TPACK confidence level improved positively using the BL approach. Likewise, the t-stat value of 10.68 indicates a significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores after implementing the blended learning approach. This suggests that the blended learning approach had a positive and noteworthy impact on the student's performance, as seen in the improved test scores. The study's results highlighted the benefits of Edmodo as well as the use of interactive online activities in their performance and TPACK as reported by the students.