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 pillar of success. In accordance with school improvement goal and to comply with the Department of Education's objective "¦innovative strategies to achieve universal basic education" to ensure the production of highly skilled and competent graduates, this project focused on the development and evaluation of a Collapsible Model House (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 level after they graduate. Their valuable experience is demonstrated by hands-on activity that stimulates their critical thinking and creativity in relation to the competencies required for 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 of metal studs in a skeletal structure as an alternative instructional material to the Traditional Wiring Board (TWB) for students' simulation to demonstrate their acquiredskills and reinforce their electrical installation and maintenancetraining.

METHODS

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

RESULTS

Experts rated the CMH as highly acceptable (M=89.9) as alternative instructional materials for students' skills training. A significant difference between two models is evident with 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 using CMH as on its acceptability (M=4.3) and efficiency (4.4) than the TWB.

DISCUSSIONSThis result 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 simulation activity and conduct three-phase system to illustrate differences for future use.