Department of Education

TARLAC AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

College of Education

ACTION RESEARCH PROPOSAL

A. Research/Study Information
Project/Study Title : Enhancement of Grade 8 Students’ Interest to Promote Learning in
Science Through Experiential Learning Strategies Academic Year
2022-2023
Name/s of Research 1. Manrique, Jerome M.
Members 2. Mejia, John Christian G.

Project/Study Duration Three Months

Planned Start Date January 2023
Planned End Date
March 2023

B. Research/Study Description
B.1 Context and Rationale
The idea that science is a challenging subject is common. Teachers frequently overhear
student talks in which they express how challenging the science subject is for them, which causes
them to lose interest in learning it. According to Hadzigeorgiou et al., (2019) Bruner’s notion of
“narrative thinking and Egans “romantic understanding, offer an alternative approach to teaching
and learning science, in a way that engagement and understanding become a possibility. In line
with this, experiential learning is a process in which new data is comprehended by the learner and
transformed by means of experience (Kolb & Kolb, 2005). As an organisational method of
learning, experiential learning, if correctly developed, planned and implemented, may
progressively enhance learners’ learning style and enhance teachers’ teaching style. Detecting
learners’ challenges in certain areas in Science may ensure the effective use of experiential learning
methods and is therefore characterized by the setting of increasingly challenging exercises for the
learner to allow for growth during the learning process. Experiential learning focuses on the
promotion of the development of a learner’s potential, building on his/her strengths and taking
advantage of his/her talents. The promotion of a learner's potential should be developed through the
teacher’s teaching style.

B.1.1 Significance of the Study

The study is considered as important in enhancing the students’ engagement in their science
class through using the experiential learning strategy.

The findings of this study will benefit the following:

The teachers. The study will provide teachers with insight into how experiential learning
may be extremely beneficial in engaging children to learn and gain interest in the
 classroom. As a result, they can build more strategic teaching techniques in order to pique
students' interest and enhance learning in class.

The students. This study may urge all students to become more engaged and participative
in their science lesson. This can also assist children boost their interest in paying attention
to the teacher, especially during lesson instruction.

The researchers. The outcomes of this study will serve as a guide and foundation for
future researchers who find it relevant and connected to their research.

B.2 Study Design

B.2.1 Action Research Questions

This study aims to determine the effect of the Experiential Learning Strategy in enhancing the
Grade - 8 Students Interest to Promote Learning in Science at Marawi National High School,
Academic Year 2022-2023

Specifically, the study aims to answer the following questions:

RQ1. What is the level of academic performance of the Grade-8 students in Science Subject
in terms of:
1.1 Individual Aptitude
1.2 Understanding
1.3 Engagement

RQ2. What is the level of academic performance of the Grade-8 students in Science
Subject after the implementation of experiential learning strategies in terms of:
1.1 Individual Aptitude
1.2 Understanding
1.3 Engagement

RQ3. Is there a significant difference in the level of performance of the Grade 8 students’
before and after the implementation of experiential learning strategies?

B.2.2 Proposed Innovation, Intervention and Strategy

Marawi National High School is one of the schools with a secure, structural, healthy, and
intellectually stimulating environment for students to feel appreciated and connected with the
teachers and are engaged in the learning process, however, one of the major problems that can be
observed in the past few months of observing the students' behaviour patterns inside the classroom
is the lack of interest and involvement of the students in classroom discussions, which causes low
academic performance of the students. One of the reasons we see for this is the Pandemic's impact
on classroom-based learning. Students may have lost interest in learning as a result of the
pandemic that has occurred in the last two years, and they are accustomed to home-based modular
learning. As a result, we researchers and with us cooperating teachers have developed a concept
that we consider will reestablish students' interest in learning science and develop students' active
engagement in lessons.

Among the problems highlighted, the researcher opted to concentrate on promoting active learning
through the application of experiential learning strategies that help students understand science
concepts and motivate students to actively participate in class discussions.

To keep students interested in science, the researchers want to develop more interactive and
student-centered methods of teaching the subject through hands-on materials, simulations,
interactive games, and collaborative experiment activities. The researchers will employ an
experimental technique in which participants will be provided with a pre-assessment to see their
level of performance in the science subject without the intervention. The pre-assessment method
will also determine the prior knowledge of the students regarding the chosen topic in such a way to
identify the concepts that the students know and not know as a basis in creating the activity. Next,
as an intervention process, we will provide experiential learning activities based on the chosen
topic, it may be hands-on materials, simulations, collaborative experiment activities, or games.
This strategy will enrich and nurture the students’ interest and development in learning science. It
can make the learning process enjoyable for the students.

Furthermore, the student researcher intends to survey the respondents using a survey questionnaire
in order to determine how the experiential learning activities influenced their learning.

B.3 Action Research Methods

B.3.1 Participants and/or other Sources of Data and Information

The research site encompassed a public high school in Marawi, Camiling, Tarlac, specifically
in Marawi National High School headed by Dr. Ancho. The population consists of grade eight
students of Marawi National High School who are currently enrolled in the academic year
2022-2023.

B.3.2 Data Gathering Methods

The researchers will administer pre-test and post-test questionnaires developed by the
researchers to grade eight pupils at Marawi National High School to see if there is a difference
before and after they experience experiential learning.

B.3.3 Data Analysis Plan

Descriptive comparative method will be used in this study to gather data on the engagement
and learning of the students and their performance will be compared before and after they
undergo experiential learning to determine the effectiveness of the experiential learning
strategies/activities produced by the researchers.

B.4 Action Research Work Plan and Timelines

Activities January February March

2022 2022 2022

1. Research Team Planning of

research proposal

2. Drafting part I

Introduction on

Research Methodology

of the research study

3.Drafting of Pre-test, Post

Test and Questionnaire

Checklist

4. Preparation and

Validation of

Questionnaire-Checklist

5. Administration of Pre-test

to the selected

respondents

6. Presentation of research
proposal

7. Administration of the

mobile math tutorial to help

improved pupils’

performance who are lag

behind

8. Administration of Post-test

and the

questionnaire-checklist to the

respondents (Grade V-Section

Jupiter)

9. Retrieval of test

questionnaire and

Questionnaire-Checklist

10. Data analysis,

calculation and tabulation

of results

-Discussion of Results

based on tabulation

11. Completion of research

output

12. Final revision of output

13. Presentation of

results of the conducted

research
B.5 References

Sadera, J.R., Torres, R.Y., Rogayan, D. (2020). Challenges Encountered by Junior High School
Students in Learning Science: Basis for Action Plan. Universal Journal of Educational Research,
8(12A),7405 - 7414. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.082524. Retrieved from
https://www.hrpub.org/download/20201230/UJER24-19515592.pdf

Hadzigeorgiou, Y., and Schulz, RM. (2019). Engaging Students in Science: The Potential Role of
“Narrative Thinking” and “Romantic Understanding”. Front. Educ. 4:38. doi:
10.3389/feduc.2019.00038. Retrieved from
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2019.00038/full