Development and Evaluation of Collapsible Model House for Electrical Installation Simulation in Response to the Challenge of 21st Century Learning

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Quality education is seen as a pillar of success. in accordance with school improvement goals and to comply with Department of Education's objective of "innovative strategies to achieve universal basic education" to ensure the production of highly skilled and competent graduates, this project mainly focused on the development and evaluation of Collapsible Model Houses (CMH) for students' training in Electrical installation and Maintenance (EIM). in this school, EIM is offered under the TVL track where students are expected to acquire NCII skills after they graduate. Their valuable experience would be satisfied by a hands-on activity that stimulates their critical thinking and creativity in relation to the competencies required by the program. Hence, the proponent benchmark with other experts' strategies in training their students. The researcher developed a 5 x 8 x 6 feet collapsible model house, made up of metal studs, in a skeletal structure, as an alternative instructional material to the Traditional Wiring Board (TWB) for students' simulation to demonstrate their acquired skills and reinforce their electrical installation and maintenance training.

METHODS

A two-grouped experimental research design was employed to test the efficiency of CMH with a total population of 48 EIM students. There were two conditions employed: TWB for the control group and CMH for the experimental group. Experts from the field of engineering and architecture were consulted to assess the acceptability of the CMH as to its functionality, practicability, instructional applicability, innovation, and safety for students' training. Rubrics and FGD were used to analyze the work output of the students.

RESULTS

Experts rated the CMH as a highly acceptable (M=89.9) alternative instructional material for students' skills training. A significant difference between the two models is evident from the Wilcoxon signed test (p < .002). It rejects the null hypothesis that the average difference of the two observed measurements is 0. The participants have a high satisfaction level in using CMH in terms of its acceptability (M=4.3) and its efficiency (4.4) as compared to that of the TWB.

DISCUSSIONS

This study shows that the CMH is highly acceptable as an alternative instructional tool for students' demonstration of their acquired skills. The participants show high satisfaction with their skills practice in single-phase electrical wiring through the CMH than the TBW. It is suggested to fabricate the CMH for a simulation activity and conduct a three-phase system to illustrate differences for future use.