The Enhancement Functions of a Topic-Focused Material

as a Strategic Intervention Material on Solutions in Teaching Science

at Kalinga National High School

An Action Research Proposal

By
Charlene Asbucan Silao

THE PROPOSED ACTION RESEARCH

Situation Analysis
Science remains to be one tough subject matter that high school students find to
be rather difficult to tackle, given the wealth of topics that are embraced by this allencompassing discipline. Secondary schools are expected to build-up on the foundation
that elementary teachers have somehow established, and although this setup is
supposed to lead to a smoother transition from a lighter handling of topics to a more
intense transfer of knowledge as learners move from elementary to high school,
teachers of Science in the secondary level find it surprising that many students seem to
encounter many scientific concepts as practically new or strange to them.
Kalinga National High School (KNHS) is not excluded from this scenario.
Given its advantageous position as an urban school, and considering its
responsive mechanisms to upgrade itself by way of teachers with advanced training and
capacity to respond to the changing educational climate particularly the K to12
initiative KNHS can be described to still get its share of students who are somewhat
deficient in terms of keeping up with existing instructional materials.
The Dep-Ed textbook for public schools are without doubt written with the
intention of imbuing first-rate scientific knowledge to students, but even a well-written
material will always find users who cannot readily absorb all its contents since a
material uniformly distributed across a diverse population with varying exposure to
educational developments will most likely reveal some rather difficult areas in the book,
even with the most intense instructional skills of the teacher handling Science as a
subject.
Serving as base material in proposing intervention mechanisms include
evaluation activities like quizzes, exams, and very important the performance of
KNHS students in the National Achievement Test (NAT) for the previous year. All these
are likewise augmented by this researchers personal inclination to chemicals,
particularly the relations between chemicals a choice of topic in the subject of
chemistry which she has always pegged as something very useful for the learners.
All the above-mentioned observations and supporting materials sum up to justify
this proposal herein discussed fully.
The Problem
Science students of KNHS lack mastery in the specific topics on solvents and
solutions; elements and compounds; and the periodic table of elements. With these
enumerated topics as problem areas for KNHS students, this researcher proposes a
more focused take on solvents and solutions as the source of inspiration in the creation

of a material attuned to the provision of remedial lessons. Consolidating these

observations led this proponent to state the following problem:
This proposed study is directed towards the enhancement functions of a topicfocused material on Solutions as a strategic intervention material in teaching Science at
Kalinga National High School.
Culled out from the above-mentioned general statement of the problem are the
specific objectives:
1) To identify the specific topics in the Science textbook where the learners
classroom performance registered weak scores;
2) To design and produce a material that is intended to supplement the existing
subject content prescribed for Science;
3) To test and record the effectiveness of the material through its actual usage in
the classroom.
Relative to Specific Objective # 3 will be the following questions:
1. Is there a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test results
using the strategic intervention material?
2. Is there a significant difference between the garnered results of the two
groups of learners?
Generation of Alternative Solution
Taking the test results administered using the existing textbook as base material,
the strategic intervention material (SIM) on the topic on solutions will then be designed
and drafted, with close coordination with other Science teachers in Southern Tabuk
District and in the City Schools Division. The SIM will be conceptualized not as a
replacement on the chapter on solutions in the current textbook, but rather as a
supplemental material intended to enhance the learners mastery on solutions and its
related topics.
Plan of Action
A. Objectives:
1) To identify the specific topics in the Science textbook where the learners
classroom performance registered weak scores;

2) To design and produce a material that is intended to supplement the existing

subject content prescribed for Science;
3) To test and record the effectiveness of the material through its actual usage in
the classroom.
B. Time Frame: June 2015 September 2015
C. Subjects: Seventy-six (76) that comprise two sections of Grade 7 at the
Kalinga National High School
D. Activities Undertaken
Activities

Actions Taken

Time Frame

Persons Involved

Securing the approval of

KNHS Principal on the
conduct of the study

Submission of
proposal

June 2015

The researcher

Submission of proposal for

approval by Dep-Ed officials,
with endorsement by the
School Principal
Review of Data on classroom
performance based on
Primary sources

Submission of a full
proposal with inputs
from Principal

July 2015

The researcher
The Principal

Scrutiny of the
administered
quizzes & tests
taken from the
textbook

August 2015

The researcher
The students

Pre-test on solutes and

Solvents

Pre-testing and
recording the
results
Design and
preparation of the
SIM

August 2015

The researcher
The students

August 2015

Using the SIM

inside the
classroom
Conduct of Posttest using the SIM,
and recording the
results
Consolidate,
compare and
interpret the test
results
Summarize findings

September
2015

The researcher
The Principal
Other Science
teachers
The researcher
The students

September
2015

The researcher
The students

August 2015

The researcher

September

The researcher

Drafting & Production of the

strategic intervention material
Usage of the SIM
Post-test on Solutes &
Solvents
Analysis of the test results

Submission of report

to merit subsequent
recommendations
by Dep-Ed Officials
on the usage of the
SIM

2015

The Principal

E. Evaluation Criteria
A teacher made pretest will be developed and validated by Science content
experts and language experts. They will validate both the content of the test material, its
grammatical construction and appropriateness. The test will be administered to the
subjects to determine their initial performance level prior to the introduction of the
strategic intervention material. The SIM will be prepared and will be validated by experts
as well.
After the validation of the instructional materials, these instruments will be used
for instruction in the pre-determined topics where students find greatest difficulty
solutions. After the SIM was completely administered, a post-test parallel to the pre-test
will be administered to the subjects of the study. The same content, readability and
appropriateness requirements will be observed.
Research Design
This proposed study will use three instruments. (1) the pre-test; (2) the post-test;
and (3) the strategic intervention material. The SIM will be divided into parts on solutes
and solvents, with a copy herein attached.