A Mobile Application for Improving the Performance in Precalculus (Conic Sections) of STEM Students in Laguna Senior High School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

One of the effects of the implementation of K-12 education in the Philippines, is the incorporation of Calculus in the curriculum for STEM Students. In the research locale which is Laguna Senior High School, the subject is considered as the most difficult subject for students, based qualitative and quantitative data. For this reason, the researcher aims to develop a mobile application. This is to help STEM Students take interest and improve in the field of Precalculus to bridge the gap to students who find it difficult and implement 21st century learning which is learning with ICT. The researcher aims to find out if utilizing the application will improve the skill of STEM Students in solving Precalculus questions.

METHODS

The application is developed using the Unity Game Engine and C#. The researcher programmed an application that generates questions and contains modules for the subject. Unlike other applications that covers Precalculus in which the questions are pre-made, the researcher created a system that generates the questions. This avoids repetition and ensures variation. The application is tested using the brute-force technique for verification of the questions generated. From a population of 333, the sample size of 178 respondents was determined using the Slovin method. This is halved for the control and experimental group and a Pretest-Posttest method was used to determine the performance of the students. The control group doesn't have the app while the experimental group uses the app.

RESULTS

There is a significant difference between the control and experimental groups. For the control group, there is a 35.05% decrease from the pretest mean score of 10.7 to the posttest mean score of 6.95. For the experimental group, there is a 174.65% increase from the pretest mean score of 10.69 to the posttest mean score of 29.36. The double tailed t-test conducted reveals that the computed p-value is lower than the significance level which is 0.05. Therefore, there is a significant increase in the performance of the students.

DISCUSSIONS

The results show that the mobile application developed greatly improved the students' performance in solving Precalculus questions. Furthermore, the application can be used as a tool for reviewing, practicing, and training students who want to improve on this particular field. With the success in LSHS which is the testing grounds of the application, the application is now ready for public distribution so everyone can have access to the application.