Learning Vessels: An Inquiry-Based Learning Instrument for Senior High School Students

Abstract

The research study intended to devise a learning instrument that will supplement and cater both the teachers and students’ needs when it comes to their respective teaching and learning practices; and to determine the effects of the inclusion of Learning Vessels: An Inquiry-Based Learning Instrument on the Earth and Life Science academic performance of senior high school students. The study utilized quantitative attributes in the design, data collection and analysis. It made use of the descriptive developmental research design. The researchers analysed and interpreted the results of the pre-test and post-test, which were given to the respondents before and after the instructional process through the utilization of statistical tools, such as Mean and t-Test with 0.05 level of significance. The study described, discovered, and interpreted the assessment and evaluation of the students, and presented facts in order to promote better teaching-learning process through the use of Learning Vessels as a learning instrument in Earth and Life Science, which was introduced to the respondents before its pilot test. There is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the class, thus the null hypothesis states that there is no significant difference between the pre-test scores and post-test scores is rejected. The use of Learning Vessels is an effective strategy to cultivate learning, thus yielding better learning outcomes as evident by the scores of the learners in the conducted action research. The class obtained pre-test and post mean scores of 14.30 and 23.60 respectively, which means that, between the two figures, there is a difference of 9.30. This indicates that the performance of the students subjected to the learning vessels as instrument in the delivery of the lesson increased; the comparison of the mean paired differences of students’ scores in the pre-test and post-test of the class. The data were tested at 95% level of confidence or 0.05 level of significance. The data showed that the t-value of mean pre-test scores and post-test of the class is 8.694. It means that the t-value is of the rejection area of the bell curve which was determined through the use of degree of freedom with a value of 2.045. It indicates that there is significant difference in the pre-test and post-test scores of the class. Thus, inclusion of the learning vessels in teaching is an effective method as evident in the performance of the students of the class. Based on the results of the difference in the frequency scores, it may be gleaned that the better performance of the class could have been due to the use of learning vessels as a learning instrument in the teaching-learning process to promote better understanding of the subject matter. It is also observed that students learned best when they are actively engaged in learning activities as compared to those who were did not remain as passive learners (Martin, 2012).