PROPONENTS: Isabelita R. Hizon, Ed. D. Susan O. Habacon INQUIRY-BASED COLLABORATIVE LEARNING PROGRAM (ICLP) FOR MANAGING LARGE CLASSES AND ITS EFFECT ON ACHIEVEMENT AND DROP OUT RATE OF GRADE 8 SCIENCE STUDENTS

Inquiry-Based Collaborative Learning Program (ICLP) For Managing Large Classes and its Effects on Achievement and Drop-Out Rate was developed due to the increasing number of enrolment per year and definitely in the succeeding years. The increasing number of students per classroom ratio led to difficulties in conducting lessons and would also led to low performance in science. INTRODUCTION

Discomforts brought by physical constraints, lack of individual attentions, and difficulty on evaluation were some problems arising from large class settings. In effect, students academic performance in science was very low based on the result on National Achievement Test for the last three years.

Inquiry approach in teaching and learning Colburn (2000) defined inquiry-based instruction as the creation of a classroom where students are engaged in essentially open- ended, student-centered, hands-on activities LITERATURE REVIEW

Collaborative learning Collaborative learning involves small group of students working towards an academic goal with emphasis on student involvement in active learning and the development of social skills (Kaufman, Sutow & Dunn, 1997).

LITERATURE REVIEW Critical thinking Critical thinking is another aspect that this study focused on. Scriven and Paul (1987) describe critical thinking as the process of “actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information.

Specifically, the study sought to answers the following: 1.Is there a significant difference between the pre-post test scores of students in control and experimental groups in the pilot testing stage? 2.Is there a significant difference between the scores of students in control and experimental groups based on 2 nd and 3 rd quarter examinations during implementation stage? RESEARCH QUESTIONS

3. What is the level of critical thinking skills of the students before and after the implementation of ICLP? 4. How did ICLP help in improving the critical thinking skills of the students based on the perspective of the students and the teacher handling the class? 5. How did ICLP help on reducing the drop-out rate of students?

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

METHODOLOGY Research Design:  Quasi-experimental A. Pilot Testing (1 st Grading Period) B. Implementation Stage (2 nd -3 rd Grading Period)  Mixed method, which includes quantitative and qualitative analyses

Selection of Participants: Stratified random sampling was done in selecting the participants of the study. Using draw lots, students that formed the control and experimental groups were selected. There were 60 students in both groups. PARTICIPANTS

The following instruments were used to determine the outcomes of the ICLP 1.Focused Group Discussion (FGD) 2.ICLP Assessment form 3.The 2 nd and 3 rd quarter examinations 4.Critical thinking Skills Assessment 5.Teacher Journal 6.Classroom Observation 7.ICLP Over-all Assessment Instrument IMPLEMENTATION STAGE

1. Significant Difference between the Pre-test and Post-test Scores of students in Control and Experimental Groups during Pilot Testing Stage RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

2. Significant Difference in the Scores of students in Control and Experimental Groups based on the 2 nd and 3 rd quarter examinations during implementation stage

3. Level of critical thinking skills of students in Experimental Group Before and After the Implementation of Finalized ICLP

4. On how ICLP help in improving various aspects of critical thinking skills of students based on the perspective of the students and the teacher handling the class.

The perspectives of teacher handling the class and the students in the experimental group on their assessment on how ICLP helped in improving critical thinking skills of the students were obtained. The teacher and the students agreed that the program encouraged the students to think and analyze more the lessons being taught by the teacher. More importantly, they were trained to think critically about the situations/experiments assigned to them.

5. On how ICLP help on reducing the drop-out rate of students.

As part of everyday routine, daily attendance was monitored. Based on the records in the School Register (Form 1) it was noted that students’ attendance significantly improved and therefore zero-drop out was attained. Moreover, according to student interviews, they mentioned that they enjoyed attending classes due to the technique used by the teacher, which was the ICLP. Thus, revealing that using ICLP was effective in helping reduce drop-out rate of students used in the program.

CONCLUSIONS Based on the results obtained, the following conclusions were drawn: 1.Both students in control and experimental groups performed better in their post-test compared to their pre-test during pilot testing and showed improvement in their achievement in Grade 8 Science. 2.Students subjected to ICLP (experimental group) performed significantly higher than students in the control group based on their second and third periodical examinations. Students taught using ICLP significantly improved their achievement in Science despite of having large class setting..

3.Students, when taught using ICLP, performed better and significantly improved their critical thinking skills. 4.The teacher and students agreed that ICLP helped in improving the critical thinking skills of students by encouraging them to think and analyze more, to actively seek knowledge,information, and to apply the knowledge they have learned in real-life situations. 5.Students’ attendance was noted to improve upon implementation of ICLP, which resulted to zero drop-out rate in the two groups of students and improved the academic performance.

RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the aforecited findings and conclusions of the study, the following are hereby recommended: 1. In teaching science, the Inquiry-based Collaborative Learning Program should be implemented as it results to better academic performance of students despite large class setting. 2. The Inquiry-based Collaborative Learning Program should be utilized towards the improvement of critical thinking and collaborative skills of students even if the class consists of more than 50 students. 3. Studies on inquiry-based teaching and collaborative learning should be shared in other schools to test its effects on the implementation of the K to 12 curriculum..

4. The proponents would like to impart inquiry based collaborative learning activities to all Grade 8 teachers in order to improve students’ academic performance. 5. ICLP is highly recommended in teaching and learning K to 12 curriculum.

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS!