Enhancing the Scientific Research Skills of Grade 9 Students Through Constructivist-Based Instructional Enrichment Material

Abstract

This study aimed to enhance the scientific research skills of the Grade 9 high school students through constructivist-based instructional enrichment material. Learning competencies in Research 1 as prescribed during the first quarter was developed. These lessons include scientific research skills to be enhanced by the students. The respondents were the Grade 9 high school students with a population size of 115 enrolled in Science, Technology and Engineering (STE) Program. A questionnaire was developed and validated to determine the level of scientific research skills. Afterwards, the material and the achievement test were developed, evaluated and validated. The administration of the pretest was conducted. Afterwards, the learning material was utilized which is intended for the first quarter to test the validity of the material then the post-test was administered. One group pretest-posttest design was used to determine if the pretest and posttest scores have significant difference. The researcher used range intervals with corresponding descriptive ratings to interpret the level of scientific research skills. Two-sample z-test was used to assess the significant difference between the scores of pretest and posttest. The weighted mean was used to determine the level of acceptability towards the material. It was demonstrated that “comparing and contrasting” has the highest mean value which is 8.14 that falls under “highly skilled” while scientific research skills such as “causal explanations,” “classification,” and “generating and testing hypotheses” have corresponding mean values of 3.67, 3.60 and 3.42 respectively that fall under “less skilled”. The developed instructional material includes topics such as introduction to research, study and thinking skills and investigative processes. The mean value of the student-respondents in posttest (38.71) is higher than the mean value for pretest (21.67). The calculated <i>z</i>-value of 27.085 is greater than the critical <i>z</i>-value of 1.96 with a level of significance that is equal to 0.05. Thus, the null hypothesis was rejected. The weighted mean values for the level of acceptability of the material are 3.50, 3.42, 3.37, 3.40, and 3.44 for the learning objectives, activities, clarity, appeal, and usability. These criteria fall under “strongly agree”. Research findings revealed the student-respondents need intervention materials especially for those who are less and moderately skilled. The developed material is ready for adoption since it was revealed that it is a valid tool which is commendable for use. Teachers may adopt the developed instructional material in enhancing the scientific research skills to improve the least mastered scientific research skills.