Contributing factors to the performance of pre-service physical science teachers in the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) in the Philippines

Introduction: The Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) is a measurement of the quality and excellence of the Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) the country has produced. Passing the licensure exam brings prestige not only to pre-service physical science teachers but also to the academic institution, as it projects the public the impression of producing quality graduates. Purpose: The objective of the study is to determine the extent of the factors that contribute to the performance of pre-service physical science teachers in the licensure examination for teachers. Methodology: The purposive sampling technique was used. Since there are only 34 takers on the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) in the year 2012, the author decided to utilize the total enumeration with 6 out of the total population being maximized in the reliability testing. A descriptive method of research design was employed to determine the extent of the contributing factors. Results: The subsequent results revealed that, in terms of teacher and review class factors, it was rated as high extent. School facilities factor was rated moderately extent and student factor as very high extent. Referring to the significant difference in the extent of the factors on the performance of pre-service physical science teachers in the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), it was found that there is no significant difference among the factors. Recommendations/Classroom Implications: The findings suggest that intensive review classes should be strengthened with a strong focus on the specialization and professional education subject areas as they contribute 40% each of the total result in the LET

Facebook Messenger as an Educational Platform to Scaffold Deaf Students’ Conceptual Understanding in Environmental Science Subject: A Single Group Quasi-Experimental Study

The advent of technology proliferates the evolution of social media that creates a massive breakthrough in different aspects of life, especially in education. Teachers play a crucial role as they adapt to the new era of an educational system where students with special needs are mainstreamed in the regular learning environment. Student’s success in learning is attributed to teachers' effective techniques, methods, and approaches to deliver quality and meaningful learning to diverse students regardless of religion, ethnic groups, race, culture, and disabilities. This context inspired the author to investigate the effectiveness of Facebook Messenger as an educational platform in teaching to scaffold deaf students’ conceptual understanding in environmental science subject through a quasi-experiment to a single group composed of four (N=4) deaf college students in one selected State College of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Northern Negros Philippines. The findings revealed that deaf students had a very low conceptual understanding of the subject in the pre-test, however, manifested very high after the intervention (post-test). Moreover, results show that there was no significant difference in the level of the participants’ conceptual understanding between and among gender groups, however, the difference was significant in the pre-test and post-test gained scores. Furthermore, Facebook Messenger has been proven effective and thereby recommended to maximize its potential as an educational tool in teaching to scaffold deaf students’ conceptual understanding of science fields and other disciplines

Effect of Classroom Learning Environment on Basic Science Students' Academic Achievement and Retention at Upper Basic Education Level

The study investigated the effect of classroom environment on student’s academic achievement and retention in Basic Science at the upper education level. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design of pretest-posttest, and posttest non-equivalent control group design. Four research questions and four corresponding null hypothesis guided the study. The population of the study was all the upper basic two students in   public secondary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria. Two intact classes of Upper Basic Two (JSS2) students were purposively assigned to experimental and control groups. A sample size of 72 upper basic two students was used for the study. A 25-item Basic Science Test (BSAT) was designed by the researchers and used for data collection. Face and content validation were carried out by experts in Basic Science and Measurement and Evaluation. The instrument was trial tested using Kuder-Richardson reliability formula 20 (K-R 20) to determine the reliability coefficient index of 0.85 for the instrument. Mean and standard deviation was used to answer the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study shows that students exposed to treatment achieved and retain greater knowledge than their counterparts that were denied treatment. It was recommended that low achievers in Basic Science need to be involved more through increased interaction with teachers in the form of makeup classes, tutorial classes, or special coaching