Academic Performance In Science Research Articles

Learning Styles of Students Amidst Pandemic Vis-À-Vis Academic Performance in Science 10: A Basis For Proposed Intervention Plan

This research looked upon the learning styles of selected Grade 10 students amidst pandemic vis-à-vis academic performance in science to have a basis for proposed intervention plan to better deliver science instructions for the best teaching and learning experiences where correlations of academic performance and learning styles of the respondents were analyzed. The result shows that majority of the respondents are auditory learners. There are very few kinesthetic learners. Most of the respondents got a Satisfactory level on their academic performance during the first quarter. While there was a noticeable increase in their academic performance during the second quarter where majority of the respondents got Very Satisfactory level. Learning style of the respondents significantly affect their academic performance. This implies that learning style correlates highly to the academic performance. This means that the learning style of the students is connected to their academic performance. Being aware of this, teachers can develop lessons and activities that suits well their learners learning styles. In this way, they are helping their students in developing their skills and increasing their academic performance.

COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT IN SCIENCE

This study determined the students’ academic achievement and engagement in science. A quasi-experimental research design was utilized. The study results showed that students exposed to CAI obtained “fairly satisfactory” results in the post-test, while those exposed to non-CAI showed “needs improvements” both in the pretest and post-test. Moreover, for students’ engagement in science, the CAI group had a high engagement level for affective, cognitive, and behavioral domains. In contrast, the non-CAI group had moderate engagement before and after the intervention. The students’ academic performance in science exposed to CAI is significantly higher than those exposed to non-CAI. Also, there is a significant difference in students’ engagement level for a cognitive domain in favor of CAI. It is concluded that CAI as a science learning tool enhances the students’ cognitive engagement.

Zambian Secondary School Biology Teachers’ Profiles of Planned Topic-specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Respiration

Teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has the potential to influence lesson planning, teaching and students’ academic performance in science. Since PCK is embodied in lesson planning (as planned PCK), this study employed the multiple-case design to describe in-depth the biology teachers’ profiles of planned topic-specific PCK (plTSPCK) for teaching respiration. While the target population comprised all biology teachers in Chipata district of Zambia, data were collected from nine teachers drawn from six secondary schools. The study used face-to-face lesson planning interviews which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Mavhunga and Rollnick’s model of TSPCK was adopted as the analytical framework. After analysing each interview transcript, the teachers’ integration of plTSPCK components was summarised into plTSPCK maps. The findings reveal that (a) the integration of the plTSPCK components in the teachers’ profiles was idiosyncratic; (b) the components conceptual teaching strategies, curricular saliency and students’ prior knowledge were central to the integration of plTSPCK; and (c) representations and what makes the topic easy/difficult were the least integrated components. The study recommends enhancing teachers’ PCK through teacher professional development activities such as lesson studies using the TSPCK framework as an analysis tool for the lesson plans and the observed lesson to demonstrate the planned and enacted PCK respectively.

Integrating Project-based Activity in Improving the Science Academic Performance of Learners in the New Normal

The objective of this paper was to determine the efficacy of Project-based learning in increasing the academic performance of learners in remote learning amidst the pandemic. There were eight (8) Project-based instructional activities across six (6) most essential learning competencies in Earth Science were included in the Grade 9 Unit three Earth Science. The computed t value of 5.08 is greater than the t critical value of 2.0049 at level of significance of 0.05, the statistical decision is to reject the null hypothesis. There is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test of the respondents who were subjected to project-based activity. Result implied that there is enough evidence to support the claim that integrating project-based activity can effectively improve the academic performance of the respondents. Based on the analysis gathered by the researcher, the use of project-based activity in on-line teaching is highly effective in improving the academic performance of students in Earth Science. Therefore, I, the researcher, recommends the use of project-based method of teaching in the on-line distance learning.

Findings From a Two-Year Effectiveness Trial of the Science Notebook in a Universal Design for Learning Environment

This cluster randomized control trial examines the effects of the Science Notebook in a Universal Design for Learning Environment (SNUDLE) on elementary school student science academic achievement and motivation outcomes. Multilevel analyses examined the impact of SNUDLE for all students and important student subgroups. Overall, students who received the SNUDLE intervention had similar motivation and academic achievement in science to their peers who did not receive the SNUDLE intervention. However, relative to students with disabilities in the comparison group, students with disabilities who used SNUDLE scored significantly higher on motivation in science and science academic achievement, with effect sizes (ES) ranging from 0.82 to 1.01. Furthermore, SNUDLE appeared to have a small but statistically significant positive impact on science academic performance among students whose home language is other than English or Spanish with an ES of 0.35. Fidelity of implementation analysis shows sufficient teacher training but fidelity of teacher and student usage of SNUDLE needs to be improved. The qualitative analysis of teacher interviews suggests that teachers perceived benefits of SNUDLE in support language acquisition and science writing skills. Both quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that SNUDLE holds promise for improving academic performance in science and confidence and motivation among some of the most vulnerable student populations.

Science Teachers’ Teaching Styles, Students’ Learning Styles and Their Academic Performance in The Secondary Public Schools of Zambales

This research was conducted to determine the relationship of Science teachers’ teaching styles and the students’ learning styles and academic performance. The study was conducted among the public secondary school in Subic, Zambales during the academic year 2018 – 2019. The descriptive survey research design was used where the teaching styles of eighty-five teachers and six hundred high school students. Data were analyzed using the percentage, mean and chi square test. The findings of the study revealed that the science teachers are adults with the most of them are female. The students are teenagers mostly male in Grade 8. The teaching styles of the science teachers is of a formal authority and the learning styles of the students is generally visual. The academic performance in science is satisfactory. The teaching styles of the teachers was dependent on education, field of specialization, length of service. The learning styles of the students were not dependent significantly on their age and year level. The learning styles of the students were significantly dependent on teaching styles of their science teachers and the academic performance of the students significantly dependent on the teaching styles of the science teachers. The academic performance of students are significantly dependent on their learning styles. With these findings and conclusions follow up studies exploring other factors affecting the performance level of the students in Science is recommended as well as the effectiveness of the various teaching styles and learning styles to promote learning and better understanding in the subject must be conducted.

Teachers and Students Perception of the Low Academic Performance of Senior High School Students in Integrated Science in Ghana

The purpose of this study was to determine school and teacher-related factors affecting low academic performance of senior high school students in integrated science in some selected districts in western region of Ghana. The research design used in this study is descriptive cross-sectional survey. The population of the study was made up of students and science teachers in selected senior high schools in the study area which comprises three districts; Ellembele District, Jomoro District and Nzema-East Municipal. A Sample of 342 students and 18 teachers were used for this study. In carrying out the study, a questionnaire was used as the main instrument for the data collected which were analyzed using descriptive statistics. From the results, it was seen that school-related factors causing poor performance in Integrated Science among students include; the inadequacy of facilities, poor state of existing facilities, general disturbances in class and the ineffective supervision of teaching. Moreover, inadequate number of science teachers, inability to complete syllabi, poor teaching style and little time spent in teaching were among the teacher-related factors which caused low academic performance in Science.

Influence of FG Vega Technique on students’ academic performance in science 8

This study was conducted to determine the influence of the FG Vega technique on students' academic performance to address the least learned competency in Science 8. Seventy students from Grade 8 classes served as respondents of the study. The study employed a quasi-experimental method. The mean score of students who took the post-test is 32.03 and 27.57 respectively for the experimental and control group. The results can be gleaned that the score of each student in the experimental group has a little variation of mean with 6.71 as compared to the control group with a variation of 7.52. The results can be observed that the mean score of students in the pre-test under the control group is 8.80 and 11.34 under the experimental group. Thus, the results of the study can be further concluded that the students under the experimental group outperformed the students in the control group. Since the significant level is lesser than the p-value of 0.05, indicates that there is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test under the experimental group. Hence, there is a significant difference between the post-test of the experimental and control group.

Asynchronous Learning: Its Effects on Academic Performance and Students’ Motivation In Science

The main purpose of the study is to determine the effect of asynchronous learning to academic performance and students’ motivation towards Science. It is necessary since motivation serves as a foundation for better understanding of science concepts in an asynchronous setting. The respondents are 201 grade 11 students of Iligan Computer Institute (ICI) who are enrolled during the Academic Year 2020-2021. The ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) model was used in the study for the development of asynchronous lesson on Genetic Engineering with Google Classroom as the online platform. The research utilized SMTSL (Students Motivation Towards Science Learning) questionnaire developed by Tuan, et al. (2005) composed of 35 questions encompassing six (6) domains of motivation namely, self-efficacy, active learning strategies, science learning value, performance goal, achievement goal and learning environment stimulation. Quantitative data together with qualitative analysis showed that students are moderately motivated towards science learning in an asynchronous environment. The highest identified domain is science learning value indicating that students find the relevance of science with daily life which makes them motivated to learn science even in a remote learning environment where there is no direct contact and supervision. In contrast, self-efficacy and performance goal are the least domains suggesting that students are least concerned with their own ability to perform well in science learning tasks and they do not compete with other students and get attention from the teacher. Using the researcher-made achievement test and performance task to measure their academic performance, 80% of the students belong to approaching proficiency, proficient and advanced groups showing that students did well in science in an asynchronous learning environment. Moreover, students’ motivation was significantly correlated with science academic performance so science academic performance can be used as indirect evidence of students’ motivation. Based on these findings, it is recommended that curriculum experts and educators consider factors of motivation in revisiting the science curriculum in an asynchronous environment.

Can Self-Efficacy and Task Values Buffer Perceived Costs? Exploring Introductory- and Upper-Level Physics Courses

Students’ cost perceptions have been associated with lower retention and academic performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Guided by expectancy-value theory, we examined whether relations between perceived costs and physics outcomes (i.e., engagement and achievement) varied as a function of self-efficacy or task values among undergraduate physics students (N = 1,124). We also examined whether the interactive relations were further moderated by course level in the curricular sequence. Overall, findings from moderated moderation analyses indicated that perceived costs were negatively related to different components of engagement (i.e., effort, persistence, procrastination, and choice) and achievement (i.e., physics course grades). However, the magnitude of relations often depended on levels of self-efficacy or task value. Some of the interactive relations between these variables also differed between introductory- and upper-level physics courses. Taken together, results indicated that higher self-efficacy or task values do not compensate for the negative effects of perceiving high cost on engagement. Moreover, cost perceptions were in some cases more negatively related to engagement when students reported higher self-efficacy or task values. Finally, mitigating cost perceptions may be particularly important in introductory undergraduate physics courses. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Understanding the Students’ Adversities in the Science Classroom

Science has long been regarded as an important subject in a school curriculum and science teachers play a vital role in the learning process of the students in the science classrooms as well as in other subjects. However, students still encounter problems related to their science teachers, which significantly influence their academic performance in science. Using a qualitative-phenomenological design, an in-depth and systematic analysis of the students’ experiences gathered during the face-to-face interview provided a detailed explanation of the teacher-based adversities in the science classroom. The students who participated in this study revealed that they had encountered various teacher-based adversities, which disrupted and affected their learning and performance in the science classroom. Students experienced having a teacher of limited pedagogical content knowledge in science, and little commitment to teach science in the classroom. Consequently, the students were not encouraged to learn science; they lost interest to learn science as well as they have developed a negative attitude towards their teachers and the subject. In the same manner, the students experienced difficulty in understanding the topic and inability to connect previous information to a new one because of having a teacher of little commitment in the instruction of science. With this, the interested parties such as the teachers, administrators, students can develop appropriate actions to address these problems not only in the science classroom but in the school in general.

MOTHER TONGUE-BASED MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES LEARNERS IN SOUTHERN PALAWAN, PHILIPPINES

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the Mother- Tongue Based Multilingual Education to the indigenous peoples’ learners in Palawan. Indigenous peoples’ learners and their teachers were the respondents of the study. Mean, frequency counts, percentages, Pearson moment correlation, t-test and ANOVA were the statistical tools employed in this study. Most of the grade three learner were in the appropriate age for their grade level, male, belong to big families, spoke Palaw’an at home, belong to Palaw’an ethnic tribe, lived in highlands, live with the core members of the family with large households, and were less privileged. Pupils’ level of academic performance in the core subjects using the three different mediums of instruction did not meet expectation. Teachers had difficulty in dealing with learners’ individual differences, interest and needs as well as integrating MTBMLE to other subjects. The academic performance of the learners was not influenced by their demographic profile except for gender. The learners’ academic performance in Science and Mathematics was influenced by the medium of instruction while the level of academic performance of the learners in the Language subjects was not influenced by the medium of instruction except for mother tongue.

Exploring Spatial Cognitive Process Among STEM Students and Its Role in STEM Education

Spatial ability is a powerful systematic source of individual differences in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and technology (STEM). Abundant research has evidenced that psychometrically assessed spatial ability is a strong predictor of STEM achievement. However, its underlying cognitive process and relevant role in STEM education are unknown. From the perspective of cognitive neuroscience, spatial ability is also considered a human intelligence deriving from the cognitive processing of spatial information in the brain. With the help of the cognitive neuroscience paradigm of spatial navigation, in the present work, we investigate the spatial cognitive process among STEM students and its role in STEM education. A total of 172 undergraduates majoring in veterinary science participated in a spatial navigation test. Participants attempted to return a toy to its original place in an arena when given either internal self-motion cues only, external landmark cues only, or both in a spatial navigation task. Modelling analysis of 172 participants’ spatial navigation behaviours showed that all the participants’ spatial cognitive processes featured navigation cue integration. The results of the different tests showed that students with higher levels of navigation cue integration had better academic performance in STEM learning. The results also indicated that, surprisingly, better academic performance in science and mathematics relied more on the use of internal self-motion cues, while better academic performance in engineering and technology relied more on the use of external landmark cues. This study sheds some light on the spatial cognitive process and its role in STEM education from the cognitive neuroscience perspective, thus deepening the functional understanding of spatial ability as a systemic source of individual differences for STEM education, and provides an empirical reference point for interdisciplinary studies on the role of cognition in the context of STEM education. Implications on STEM learning design and STEM teaching were discussed.

The Effectiveness of Integrating PhET Interactive Simulation-based Activities in Improving the Student’s Academic Performance in Science

The Effectiveness of Integrating PhET Interactive Simulation-based Activities in Improving the Student’s Academic Performance in Science

Problem Solving Skills of Grade 9 Students in Science and their Science Academic Performance (A Proposed Differentiated Materials)

The study determined the problem-solving skills and the academic performance in science of grade 9 students as basis for the preparation of differentiated materials on the science subject. Focusing on specific topics like electronic structure of matter, chemical bonding, carbon compound and mole concept, it involved the participation of 52 grade 9 students. The findings showed that the level of problem-solving skills of the Grade 9 students was generally described as above average, their academic performance in Science was found to be at the same above average level. The data led to the rejection of the hypothesis explaining a moderate relationship between the level of problem-solving skills and the academic performance of the students in the subject. A number of instructional materials were developed to address the weakness of the students in problem solving. Further studies on the problem-solving skills of the students are strongly recommended.

Physical activity in and out-of-school and academic performance in Spain

Background: Academic performance in school stems from an interaction of factors associated with students, families and schools. Among these factors, physical activity could play a very relevant role. Objective: The goal of this study was to determine whether students’ physical activities in and outside school were related to their academic performance. Design, setting and method: We used the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 database for Spain using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models to answer our research questions. Results: Results suggest a positive association between the number of days per week doing moderate physical activities and academic performance in science, reading and mathematics. However, a higher number of days per week doing vigorous physical activities was associated with lower scores in reading and science. We also find a negative association between exercising or practising sports before going to school and the scores achieved in the three competences evaluated. Conclusions: Our results show that physical activity can play an important role in academic performance and that the effects of physical activity on children and teenagers should be further investigated.

Exploring the relationship between school bullying and academic performance: the mediating role of students’ sense of belonging at school

ABSTRACT In extending the understanding of how school bullying impacts student learning, this research explored the relationships among school bullying, students’ sense of belonging at school and academic performance in science, maths and reading. Data analysis was conducted using Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Guangdong (China) data of the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA2015). The results showed that both bullying victimisation and bullying climate had significant and negative relationships with students’ science, maths and reading performance. Students’ sense of belonging at school partially mediated the effects of both bullying victimisation and bullying climate on academic performance in science, maths and reading. Implications for bullying intervention and further research were also discussed.

Students’ perception of science teachers’ instructional strategies in Senior Secondary Schools.

The study focused on the perception of students on the instructional strategies used by science teachers in senior secondary schools, using descriptive research of the survey type. The participants were 540 out of 5,318 science students in Ekiti State public Senior Secondary Schools who were selected through multi-stage sampling procedure. An instrument tagged “Science Teachers’ Instructional Strategies Scale (STISS)” was used to collect data from science students across the three senatorial districts of Ekiti State. The data collected were collated and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics involving mean, standard deviation, Analysis of Variance and t-test. The results of the study revealed that teacher-centred and discipline-centred are the most frequently used instructional strategies by science teachers in senior secondary schools. The results further revealed that the students-centred which is the least frequently used instructional strategies by science teachers is the most alluring to science students. It was therefore recommended among others that government should organize appropriate training through workshops; conferences and seminars for science teachers to enhance professional competencies in their jobs which could as well exposed them to various strategies of teaching which are students-centred. This will help to demystify science in its entirety and simplify the perceived abstract nature of science-concepts which will in turn improve students' enrolment and attitude towards science as well as their academic performance in science to enhance national technological growth with the view of "VISION 2030" and "Sustainable Development Goal" (SDG) in mind.

Effectiveness of science infographics in improving academic performance among sixth grade pupils of one laboratory school in the Philippines

This study determined the effectiveness of science infographics in improving academic performance among sixth-grade pupils of Batangas State University ARASOF-Nasugbu Laboratory School. Based on the results of the multiple pre-test and post-tests of 26 pupils, the findings elucidated that the respondents performed significantly better in their post-test. The results implied that infographics were significant in terms of improving academic performance in Science among learners. Additionally, findings revealed that critical thinking skills, recall information, understanding complex information, and organizing information into logical groups may be improved through infographics. Further, infographics were found to improve learners' ability to communicate to others what they have learned, improve presentation skills, acquire teamwork, increase motivation to learn, improve the ability to give and receive feedback, and gain self-confidence to learn and succeed. An infographics paradigm was developed based on the study results to understand further the infographics' potentials in the teaching and learning process.

Self-Efficacy, Study Habits and Teaching Strategies and It’s Influence on Student Science Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study

Various studies have found that several factors affect student academic performance. The focus of this study was to determine influence of self-efficacy, study habits and teaching strategies to student performance in science of the Junior High School students. The study utilized descriptive research design examining the relationship of self-efficacy, study habits and teaching strategies to Science performance across grade levels. The results revealed that the overall Science performance of the 323 sample respondents from Grades 7 to 10 is satisfactory. Varied teaching strategies in teaching Science were experienced about half of the lessons by the students. Significant differences in student’s performance in science and teaching strategies experienced among grade levels while no significant difference was found in the students study habits and self-efficacy. The overall rating on the study habits of the students is moderately good, and among the three variables, only self-efficacy can significantly influence the academic performance in Science of the Junior High School students. It is recommended that in-depth study to qualitatively determine the relationship of variables studied in this research.