Students' Learning Strategies and Academic Performance and their Perceptions of Teachers' Teaching Styles: Basis for School -Based Training Program in Science

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The study was conducted to investigate the relationships of students' learning strategies and academic performance and the junior high school students’ perceptions of teachers' teaching styles used in Grade 7 Science and as an output, a school - based training program in Science was proposed to enhance the students' academic performance in Tagaytay City Science National High School for school year 2015 -2016.

METHODS

Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire was used which is a self-scored instrument adapted from the MSLQ developed by Pintrich, et al. (1991). This has two categories, cognitive strategies and resource management strategies of twenty items each. While the academic performance of Grade 7 students was based on the K-12 Basic Education levels of Proficiency in Science I for the second grading period. The 30-item Junior High School Teacher's Teaching Style Questionnaire developed by Chen in 2008 was also used to measure the perceptions of the students of their teachers' teaching styles as to authoritarian, democratic, and laissez faire. Lottery technique was used in the study to determine the sample size. Statistics such as frequency count, percentage, mean, weighted mean, and chi-square test of significant relationship was utilized.

RESULTS

Results showed that majority of the junior high school Grade 7 students use cognitive strategies with high extent in dealing with Science tasks. Students' academic performance in Science is Approaching Proficiency (AP). Moreover, the dominant teachers' teaching style as perceived by Grade 7 students is democratic with high orientation. The teachers set firm expectations for student behavior and learning but flexible and responsive to various needs of students. Their students are given more freedom to make decisions in the teaching and learning environment.

DISCUSSIONS

Teachers should raise the students' academic performance in Science from Approaching Proficiency (AP) to Proficient (P) and Advanced (A) levels by engaging the students to differentiated instructions that will lead them to perform and achieve better in Science. Future researchers may conduct a replication of the study using other learning areas in the K to 12 curriculum to compare and contrast the teachers' teaching styles, students' learning strategies and academic performance. School principals and teachers should implement the School-Based Training Program (SBTP) in Science to enhance learning strategies and academic performance and teachers' teaching styles.