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CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM

Background of the Study

A self-directed learning process is arguably the most powerful

model for facilitating and inspiring individual. It is to empower

people to guide themselves through their personal learning and

development journey. It is an aspiration for Science educators to

improve students’ engagement in the classroom and facilitate the role

of the teachers with more effective instructional strategies.

For many years Science education researchers are trying to

develop an engaging and motivating classroom environment, student-

centered classroom instructional strategies and positive behavior

reinforcement (Mecit, 2006). Research has documented that students

learn best when the whole brain is involved (Boer, Steyn &Toit, 2001).

Understanding the working of the brain give opportunity to teachers to

create an environment that provides students a higher chance for

success in learning (Prince and Audrey 2005).

Based from American Psychological Association (2016), the brain

begins to mature even before birth. Although it continues to mature

throughout most of life, the brain does not mature at the same rate in

each individual. The bodies grow at different rates. Human reach

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puberty at different ages and emotional maturity at different times as

well. Thus, it is important for teachers to understand that maturation

of the brain influences learning readiness. In addition, Amass (2018),

states that it is important for the teachers to understand how the

brain works in designing lessons and selecting which strategies to

use.

There are countless ways in which schools affect students’ brain,

for example stress, exercise, nutrition and social conditions and

brain-based issues like attention, classroom attendance and memory.

The brain is involved in everything we do at school and to ignore it

would be irresponsible (Jensen, 2005). Hence in 1999, a new method of

teaching based on brain research was established by college philosophy

instructor Chris Biffle, in Southern California known as the Whole

Brain Teaching Strategy (WBTS). This strategy is also called Power

Teaching. This strategy could be used by teachers in any subject and

any grade level (Biffle, 2010).

The 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article XIV, Section 2, the

state shall establish maintain and support a complete, adequate and

integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and

society. It is the responsibility of the Department of Education as

one of the agencies in educating the students to develop, adapt,

implement and integrate programs that will address the needs of the

nation.
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In line with this, the DepEd implemented the K to 12 Basic

Curriculum in the Philippines that requires all Filipino students to

have one year of kindergarten, six years of elementary schooling

(grades 1 to 6), four years of junior high school (grades 7 to 10),

and two years of senior high school (grades 11 to 12). The enhanced K

to 12 Curriculum is implemented in the Philippines to enable graduates

to join the workforce right after high school, and suitably prepare

those who want to go on to higher education. Alcober (2014), says that

the new curriculum will also support college graduates seeking work

abroad. Generally, to produce Filipinos who are competitive in the

international community.

De la Cruz (2017), points out that the last time the Philippines

participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science

Study in 2003, it obtained a score of 378 which placed on 34 th rank

out of 38 countries (HS II math) and 43rd of 46 (HS II science). In

addition, Orleans (2015), says that in the different science subject

areas, achievements in Physics of Filipino students appeared below the

international standards (US Department of Education National Center

for Education Statistics 2000, International Association for the

Evaluation of Educational Achievement 2004). The Philippines ranked

third and fourth to the last in the list of nations in the 1999 and

2003 TIMSS respectively.

Furthermore, the DepEd reports that the NAT mean percentage score

for high school in school year 2012-2013 was 51.41 percent, or 23.59
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percentage points away from the MPS target which is 75%. The MPS in

Science was 41.35 percent. Umil (2017), says that the key issues and

problems contributing to the dilemma are absenteeism, child labor,

drop-outs, economic status, behavior and non-readers.

It is also very alarming to know that in the Division of Sorsogon

the NAT results in Science from SY 2011-2012 to SY 2014-2015 were very

low. It did not reach the DepED target mean percentage score of 75%.

Based on the record of the Division Office of Sorsogon, the mean

percentage score from SY 2011-2012 was 36.81 percent, SY 2012-2013 was

42.12 percent and from SY 2014-2015, the mean percentage score was

49.52 percent. In addition, it was reported that from SY 2014-2015,

Gubat National High School, one of the biggest schools in the Division

of Sorsogon had a mean percentage score of 39.24 percent and ranked 72

out of 99 secondary schools in the Division of Sorsogon.

Based from the researcher’s experiences and observations, in most

classroom discussions of the lessons in Science specifically in

Physics, the teachers encountered problems on how to get the attention

of the students effectively, how to engage the students in the lessons

and retention of knowledge.

With these international, national and local educational issues

and concerns, the researcher was motivated to try the use of Whole

Brain Teaching Strategy (WBTS) on the topic Waves. Based from Khan

Academy (2010), waves are extremely important part of physics. An

understanding of waves is essential to understand a wide range of

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physical phenomena including light and the wave properties of matter

including electrons and atoms.

It is in these lights that the researcher would like to try out

Whole Brain Teaching Strategy (WBTS) in Gubat National High School as

intervention in teaching Science that can motivate and arouse the

interest of the students and eventually improve their academic

performance and lead to a better performance in NAT.

Statement of the Problem

This study determined the effectiveness of the Whole Brain

Teaching Strategy (WBTS) in teaching Waves for grade 7 students of

Gubat National High School, school year 2018-2019.

Specifically, it answered the following questions:

1. What is the level of performance of the control and experimental

group in the pre-test along the three topics:

a. waves

b. sound

c. light

2. Is there a significant difference between the pre-test results of

the control group and experimental group?

3. What is the level of performance of the four groups in the post-

test along the three topics?

4. Is there a significant difference between the pre-test and post-

test results of the two groups of respondents?

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5. Is there a significant difference among the performance of the

four groups in the post-test?

6. What demonstration teaching kit on WBTS may be proposed based from

the result of the study?

Significance of the Study

The result of this study may be beneficial to the following:

Students. The whole brain teaching strategy may primarily benefit

students being the direct beneficiaries of this strategy. This study

hopes to enhance students’ motivation, academic performance and

retention of gained knowledge particularly in Physics. It also helps

create a positive learning environment where students can actively

participate in learning and hence, create effective long-term

learning.

Teachers. This study may be beneficial to the teachers since they are

the front-liners in the teaching and learning process. Understanding

the WBTS could help them become experts in planning and designing

their own Whole Brain Teaching class to make their lessons more

engaging and fun to the learners that could improve their performance

level.

School Administrators. This study may help them address the low NAT

results in Science. They may use the findings of this study to

initiate trainings and workshops for teachers along the use of Whole

Brain Teaching Strategy not only among Science Teachers but also among
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other subjects as well. Teachers may be aided to become innovative and

creative in designing their own Whole Brain class.

Curriculum Planners. This study may provide them with information of

what teaching approach to infuse in a curriculum that may yield

positive effects on the performance and attitudes of the students.

This may encourage them to design and improve science curriculum by

considering the WBTS that could address the needs of the students.

Department of Education. The findings on the effectiveness of the

Whole Brain Teaching Strategy in learning Waves would give insights

the use of this strategy in teaching Science. This study may help them

design and implement programs and various strategies in teaching

Science that enable them to achieve the desired goal and increase

their academic performance in Science.

Community. This may inspire students to become active in performing

community activities in a way that the WBTS allows development of

positive attitude and values such as cooperation, adoptability,

collaboration and the like. Parents may likewise support their

children on their endeavors for community development.

Researcher. The findings, conclusions, gaps identified in the study,

and the output may serve as reference and basis to conduct further

studies on the subject particularly Brain-Based Learning and Whole

Brain Teaching.

Scope and Delimitation

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This study determined the effectiveness of Whole Brain Teaching

Strategy (WBTS) in learning Waves for grade 7 students of Gubat

National High School, school year 2018-2019. Specifically, this study

determined the level of performance of the control group and

experimental group in the pre-test, significant difference between the

pre-test results of the control group and experimental group, level of

performance of the four groups in the post-test, significant

difference between the pre-test and post-test results of the two

groups of respondents, significant difference among the performance of

the four groups in the post-test and proposed demonstration teaching

kit in Physics 7 using the Whole Brain Teaching Strategy.

The Solomon Four-Group design was used to determine the level of

performance of the students in Science using whole brain teaching

strategy (WBTS). This study covered the following topics in Physics 7

for the third quarter as indicated in the Science Curriculum Guide

such as waves, sound and light.

In addition, the competencies included were: 1. infer that waves

carry energy 2. differentiate transverse from longitudinal waves, and

mechanical from electromagnetic waves 3. relate the characteristics of

waves such as amplitude, wavelength and frequency 4. describe the

characteristics of sound using the concepts of wavelength, velocity,

and amplitude 5. explain sound production in the human voice box, and

how pitch, loudness, and quality of sound vary from one person to

another 6. describe how organisms produce, transmit, and receive sound

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of various frequencies (infrasonic, audible, and ultrasonic sound) 7.

relate characteristics of light such as color and intensity to

frequency and wavelength 8. infer that light travels in a straight

line.

Specific lessons on WBTS such as longitudinal and transverse

waves, electromagnetic and mechanical waves, characteristics of waves

which include the amplitude, wavelength, frequency and wave velocity,

characteristics of sound which include loudness, pitch and quality and

characteristics of light which include brightness or intensity and

color were developed in this study.

The respondents of the study were 120 students from the four

sections of grade 7. All belong to regular class. Among the five grade

7 sections teaching loads of the researcher, one section was not

determined as either control or experimental group during draw lots

was excluded in this study. Other grade levels of Gubat National High

School and grade 7 special class students were excluded in this study.

Topics in Physics 7 for the same quarter such as distance,

displacement, speed, velocity, acceleration, heat and electricity were

also excluded in this study.

Definition of Terms

For clearer understanding of this study, the following terms were

conceptually and operationally defined.

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Whole Brain Teaching Strategy (WBTS). It is a set of strategies that

combines the best attributes of Direct Instruction and Cooperative

Learning to create an engaging classroom environment for students and

an enjoyable workday for teachers (Macias, 2013). In this study, it

refers to a set of strategies composed of Class-Yes, Five Classroom

Rules, Teach-Okay, the Scoreboard, Hands and Eyes, Switch and Mirror

used in teaching waves in Physics 7 to experimental groups.

Waves. A disturbance that travels through a medium and carry energy

from one location to another location (Asuncion et al, 2013). In this

study, it refers to three topics such as waves, sound and light taught

to the control groups and experimental groups.

Effectiveness. This refers to the degree to which something is

successful in producing a desired result (Merriam-Webster, 2010). In

this study, it pertains to the degree to which the WBTS is successful

in empowering the performance of the grade 7 students in learning

waves.

Level of Performance. This is the degree or quality of proficiency

with which the learner is able to demonstrate his/her mastery of

knowledge and skills and internalization of values and attitudes in

relation to content standard (DepEd Order No. 8, s.

2015).Operationally, this refers to the degree of the performance of

the control and experimental groups in Physics 7 as reflected by their

scores in the pre-test and post-test described as outstanding, very

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satisfactory, satisfactory, fairly satisfactory and did not meet the

expectations.

Control group. It is defined as the group in an experiment or study

that does not receive treatment by the researchers and is then

measured as a benchmark to measure how the other tested subjects do

(Gravetter and Walnau, 2015). In this study, this refers to a group of

students wherein WBTS is not used in teaching waves.

Experimental group. It is a group that receives a treatment in an

experiment. The group is made up of test subjects and the treatment is

the variable one is studying for (Andale, 2015). In this study, it

refers to the set of grade 7 students who received lessons on waves in

Physics 7 using the WBTS.

Pre-test. It refers to a diagnostic test given to students to

determine their strength and weakness along the competency (DepEd

Order No. 8, s. 2015). In this study, it refers to the teacher-made

test given to the students in the first group of control and

experimental groups before the topic Waves was taught.

Post-test. It is a test administered after a lesson or instruction to

evaluate the progress achieved and to identify if the goal is attained

(DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2015). In this study, it refers to the teacher-

made test parallel to the pre-test and administered after teaching the

topics on waves.

Demonstration Teaching Kit. This refers to the output of the study

which aims to provide Science teachers readily available materials on

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WBTS. It includes the WBTS demonstration teaching guide, lesson plans

and a CD which contains videotaped lessons of the actual teaching

using WBTS on topic Waves for grade 7 students.