Effectiveness of Using Crossword Puzzles in Enhancing Science Vocabulary among Grade Six Learners

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The teacher is one of the components that determine the success of education. During the process of learning, teachers should use the media of learning that make students more interactive so that the desired learning goal is achieved optimally. In improving the learners' achievement in teaching-learning process, teachers are in constant search of various educational activities and appropriate teaching strategies. It is essential that students become familiar with Science vocabulary to facilitate understanding of terminologies used in Science class. Students have traditionally been encouraged to learn terminologies by rote memorization and recall, strategies that students try to avoid. Hence, this study was conducted to test whether crossword puzzles might be an effective aid in enhancing Science vocabulary among grade six learners.

METHODS

The action the researcher utilized is the experimental design since its main purpose was to determine the effectiveness of crossword puzzles in enhancing Science vocabulary. The class with thirty-eight pupils was divided into two groups. They were taught the same lessons for seven weeks of the SY 2018-2019.

The control group was given the standardized type of evaluation at the end of each lesson while the experimental group was given specially designed crossword puzzles having the same Science terms. Tests were given before and after the intervention. The results of the pretest and the posttest were compared to determine whether using crossword is effective or not.

RESULTS

The results showed that the posttest scores of the experimental group with the crossword puzzle intervention are remarkably better as compared to the control group. The experimental group obtained the MPS of 54.53, Mean of 27.26 and SD of 1.52 while the control group obtained the MPS of 49.47, Mean of 24.74 and SD of 2.96. In the posttest, both groups improved in the post-intervention test but the students given the crossword puzzles had significantly better grades than the students in the control group. The findings showed that students exposed to specially designed crossword puzzles showed better recall of terms than students who only used the traditional rote learning. This also supports the view that the use of crossword puzzles during a defined learning period is more effective than simple memorization of the terms and their definitions.

DISCUSSIONS

The crossword puzzles employed in this study were designed to meet the necessary motivational factors to improve the student's learning process and enhance the Science vocabulary. It can be concluded that the use of crossword puzzles could improve the students' active participation in the vocabulary teaching and learning process.