ASSESSING GAPS BETWEEN STUDENT’S PREREQUITIES SKILLS IN

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: AS BASIS FOR A PROPOSED INTERVENTION

STRATEGY

An Action Research

NINQUE C. SOLTERAL

ninquesolteral@deped.gov.ph

General Climaco National High School

July 2021
 ASSESSING GAPS BETWEEN STUDENT’S PREREQUITIES SKILLS IN

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: AS BASIS FOR A PROPOSED INTERVENTION

STRATEGY

I. Context/Rationale

Psychologists who study how we learn have stated that prerequisite skills is the single

most important factor in learning. Prerequisite skills make it easier for us to learn new things

because of how our brain works. When we learn, we connect new learning to what we already

have in our brains, forming something like a bridge, or connection, makes learning easier.

Prerequisite skills are commonly used as means of measuring knowledge to determine

whether a student is prepared to be immersed in a new lesson, most especially if the you are

gearing towards curriculum such as Physical Science. Students come to the classroom with a

broad range of pre-existing knowledge, skills, beliefs, and attitudes, which influence how they

attend, interpret and organize in-coming information.  How they process and integrate new

information will, in turn, affect how they remember, think, apply, and create new knowledge. 

Since new knowledge and skill is dependent on pre-existing knowledge and skill, knowing what

students know and can do when they come into the classroom or before they begin a new topic of

study, can help teachers craft instructional activities that build off of student strengths and

acknowledge and address their weaknesses. Prerequisite skills or prior knowledge are

quintessential to understand and perform better in the subject. Enrolling in a Senior High School

for which you have not met the prerequisite can set a student up for failure and hinder the

academic experience for other students. Some of the set of skills needed before learning Physical
 Science are; observing, classifying, measuring, inferring, predicting and communicating.

Moreover, Student’s motivation, engagement and interest also plays a vital role in learning and

retaining knowledge. If these skills were not met, it paves way for learning gaps. Learning

gap refers to the relative performance of individual students. The disparity between what a

student has actually learned and what he or she was expected to learn at a particular age or grade

level. One of the more consequential features of learning gaps is their tendency, if left

unaddressed, to compound over time and become more severe and pronounced, which can

increase the chances that a student will struggle academically and socially or drop out of school. 

As students progress through their education in these recent times, remediating learning gaps

tends to become more difficult because of the Covid 19 pandemic that resulted to the many

restrictions like travel, school closures and the like. Face to face engagement of students and

teachers within the school has also been suspended. The Philippines Educational system is in the

process of adapting to the new normal form of education, and continuous innovations of

educators and active involvement of other stakeholders for its success.

Hence, the key purpose of this research is to assess the gap in the prerequisite skills of

grade 11 students of General Climaco National High School School year 2020 – 2021. This is

also a basis for proposed a technology – based intervention strategy that would cater the needs of

learners amidst this turning point of educational instruction.

II. Statement of the Problem

The purpose of the study is to assess the gap between student’s prerequisite skill in

Physical Science in General Climaco National High School Year 2020-2021 . This serves as the

basis for the proposed intervention strategy.

 Specifically, the study seeks to answer the following;

1. What is the profile of the students in terms of;

1.1. distance from home to school;

1.2. accessibility to internet connection;

1.3. financial resources;

1.4. educational background of parents/guardians;

1.5. learning styles;

1.6. multiple intelligences?

2. What is the performance of Grade 11 students in General Climaco National High School

in terms of the:

2.1. student’s evel of mastery of the prerequisite skills in Physical Science;

2.2. mastered prerequisite skills in Physical Science?

3. Based from the assessed learning gaps in Physical Science, what intervention strategy can

be proposed?

III. Proposed Innovation, Intervention and Strategy

A chatbot is a software tool that interacts with users on a certain topic or in a specific

domain in a natural, conversational way using text and voice. For many different purposes,

chatbots have been used across a wide range of domains, including marketing, customer service,

technical support, as well as education and training. Current developments in this area suggest

that interaction with technologies, either by natural language or by speech, is possible because

technology develops, and users become more used to interacting with digital entities. Rather than
creating a human-like smart machine application, it is about creating effective digital assistants

who are able to provide information, answer questions, discuss a specific topic, or perform a

task.

Chatbots have had a long history of use as pedagogical agents in educational settings.

From the early 1970s, pedagogical agents within digital learning environments known as

Intelligent Tutoring Systems have been developed (Laurillard, 2013). Conversational

pedagogical agents use artificial intelligence techniques to enhance and personalize automation

in teaching. The design and research knowledge are important in developing engaging, useful,

and valuable pedagogical agents that not only make the most of technological advancements, but

also understand emotional, cognitive, and social educational concerns (Gulz, Haake, Silvervarg,

Sjödén, & Veletsianos, 2011) (King, 2002). In addition, conversational agents have been built

into software and devices. Moreover, in recent years more and more organizations have started to

exploit their capabilities beyond simple querying of information followed by a programmed

response. However, understandings of these innovations are frequently untheorized and

immature. Incorporation of chatbots into the educational area over the last decade implies an

increase in interest in the ways in which chatbots might be implemented for teaching and

learning. Useful chatbot systems can provide benefits of instant availability and ability to

respond naturally through a conversational interface with the same advantages as an interview.

Additionally, chatbots demonstrate the ability to create easygoing interactions with users so that

they can be leveraged to support engagement, as well as setting out goals, strategies and

outcomes of learning and training (Cinglevue, 2017).

IV Review of Literature

According to Jean Piaget (1896 - 1980), constructivist learning is an active process in

which people create their own subjective representation of reality. These representations are

subjective because new information is always linked to people’s prior knowledge. He said that

learning is an active, contextualized process, focused on building, not acquiring knowledge.

Personal experience, motivation, interest and engagement along with the learner’s environment,

help to build knowledge. Learners constantly test ideas through social negotiation. And since

everyone’s an individual, each person approaches it differently.

Edward Lee Thorndike (August 31, 1874 – August 9, 1949) was an

American psychologist whose life’s work led to the theory of connectionism. This law states that

learning can only take place when a student is ready to learn. When students feel ready,

they learn more effectively and with greater satisfaction than when not ready. The more a

person practices something, the better he or she is able to retain that knowledge. The

knowledge that has not been used becomes weakened and disappears from memory.

Learning design should take this into account and provide learners the opportunity to use

new information so that it sticks. This means repeating the information, applying it

immediately, or connecting the new information to existing knowledge. Learning is

strengthened when associated with a pleasant or satisfying feeling. Learning is more

likely to happen again in the future. Learning is weakened when associated with an

unpleasant feeling, becoming less likely for learning to occur again in the future.

Learning occurs when it results in satisfaction and the learner derives pleasure out of it.

Therefore, we can say students are more likely to learn when they feel satisfied or are
rewarded for learning, rather than punished for not learning. They need to feel good in

order to retain motivation.

In recent times, where learners have been immersed to the global internet connectivity,

extensive interest has been directed towards applying technologies in educational settings, to

enhance the learning process. Digitalizing education and reinventing the learning experience is

one of the big challenges in this age of information. In the field of E-learning, the application of

chatbot as a medium of learning Physical Science and as part of the education as a whole, has

shown interesting potential, both as a teaching and administrative tool (Smutny, 2020)

Studies show that there is a close relation between students’ learning styles and the

teachers’ teaching strategies (Usdan et al., 2001, Trigwell, 1999). However, students and

teachers may have different goals and their perspectives on how to learn and what to teach can

create a gap between the teaching strategies and the students’ learning styles (Hedin, 2006).

Therefore, to narrower this gap as it can affect the quality of learning it is vital to consider both

teachers’ and students’ needs when designing technology -based intervention for learning

purposes. In the student – centered learning environment, the main task is to promote students’

learning by giving them more control over their own learning and by disseminating new

knowledge and skills (Alagic, Gibson and Doyle, 2004).

Many learning theories including the theory of multiple intelligences emphasize that students

possess different learning styles. A categorization of students’ different ways of learning is

presented in the theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983; 1985; 1993; Gardner, 1999).

However, despite the widespread use of these theories and the impact they have on learning,
many teachers are unconvinced of their value and therefore, they continue to use the teacher-

centered approach to educate students (Lea et al. 2003; O’Neill and McMahon, 2005).

In a traditional classroom, it is common that the interaction between teacher and students

is restricted and the teacher plays an autocratic role. This situation was epitomized by Kassim

and Ali, in saying “The teacher is holding the power to knowledge, the power to deliver the

knowledge, and the power to control the learning and teaching environment.” (Kassim and Ali,

2007). In a SCL environment, in contrast the teachers become facilitators, and they encourage

their students to interact, help others, and to learn from one another. This form of teaching

enhances immediate communication between teachers and students. The communication

becomes even more effective when integrated with ICT (Li, 2007) and this assists the students

across the curriculum to work together and with other teachers to share their knowledge and

experiences at a distance (NFS, 2005).

As we know, the new generation of students has been growing up submerged in an

environment replete with electronic devices such as computers, social media, videogames, digital

music players, video cameras, cell phones, and a multitude of digital toys. “Our students have

changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was

designed to teach” (Prensky, 2001a, 2001b).

Through assessing gaps in learning, educators can constantly improve their skills and

become more proficient at their jobs. In the field of K-12 education, it is particularly imperative

for teachers to be at par with the changing times in education, use the new resources to cater the

needs of individual, multiple intelligent learners not only to ensure the best learning outcomes
for their students but also to be more effective and satisfied in various other aspects of their work

(Charlotte-Macklenburg Schools, 2019).

V. Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

Input Process Output

Part I – Demographic Profile I.

of the Respondents in terms 1. What is the
of: demographic
profile of the
a. Distance from school;
respondents?
b. Access to the internet;
2. What is the
c. Financial resources;
Performance of
d. Family background.
students in terms
e. Learning styles; and
of pre-requisite
f. Multiple intelligences
skills in Physical
Science?
Part II – Performance of 3. Based from the
students in terms of pre- findings, what Efficacy of the
intervention
requisite skills in Physical Proposed
strategy can be
Science: Intervention Material
proposed?
a. Observing; 4. Conclusions
b. Classifying; 5. Recommendations
c. Measuring; II. Statististical Treatment
d. Inferring;
e. Predicting; and
f. Communicating

Part III. Learning Gaps in

Physical Science

Figure 1. Research Paradigm

VI. Research Design

The researcher utilized the action research design in which the researcher collected data

through the administration of a diagnostic test to Grade 11 students in General Climaco National

High School. To determine the internal consistency, validity and reliability, the test has been

subjected to Cronbach’s Alpha. Slovin’s formula was employed to calculate the number of

respondents in this action research.

A survey-questionnaire was given to respondents via online with regards to their

demographic profile and background. The study was based on a descriptive research method.

From this the researcher will arrive at a conclusion as well as formulate recommendations and

suggestions. The result will serve as the basis for a proposed intervention strategy.

VII. Respondents

The research participants were taken using simple random sampling from 157 Grade 11

students for the School Year 2020 -2021.

The computation of the sample size that were applied was Slovin’s formula.

Formula:

N
n=
1+ Ne2

Where:

N = the population size

e2 = the margin of error

n = the sample size

N
n=
1+ Ne2
 225
¿ 2❑
1+157∗(.05)

225
¿
1+157∗.0025

157
¿
1+ 0.5625❑

= 112.7 or 113 is the research sample size

VIII. Locale of the Study

The research environment is located at General Climaco National High School in General

Climaco Toledo City. Formerly known as Malubog, is a barangay of Toledo City that comprises

of 3.72 % (6,337) of the total population in Toledo.

IX. Data Gathering Procedure

A questionnaire was designed and administered to participants. A letter of permission to

conduct the study was secured in the concerned office. After permission was granted to

undertake the study, the administration of the questionnaire followed. The questionnaire will be

constructed by the researcher himself and was subjected to test of validity and reliability. Of the

157 total population, only 113 respondents was taken from the total population using Slovin’s

Formula with a 0.05 margin of error. Small sample sizes can provide highly reliable findings

depending on the sampling procedures adopted by Schiffman and Kanuk, (1997).

X. Data Analysis

The following statistical treatment was applied:

Frequency and Percentage formulae will be used to describe the demographic profile in

terms of: (1.1. distance from home to school; 1.2. accessibility to internet connection;

1.3. financial resources; 1.4. educational background of parents/guardians; 1.5. learning

styles; 1.6. multiple intelligences).

A. Percentage

- Used to describe the demographic attribute of the respondents in terms of a selected

variable under demographic profile

- A whole expressed in hundredths or the results obtained by multiplying a number by a

percent.

F
P= x 100 Analysis of Data
N
 Where:

P = percentage

F = Frequency

N = population

100 = constant

X. RESULTS, CONCLUSION, REFLECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

A. Discussion of Results
1. What is the profile of the students in terms of:
1.1 Distance from house to school

According to the graph, 33.63% of the respondents commute to school for 100 and above

minutes. Since the school is located at the center of many remote barangays, it was evident that

students took long enough to reach school given they travelled by foot or commuted to school

either by jeepney or mortorcyle.

1.2. Access to the Internet

The chart displayed the student’s internet connectivity. Grade 11 students mainly uses
mobile data 4g with 49.56% followed by mobile data 3g which has 16.81 % while none of the
respondents used BPL and Satelite.

1.3. Financial Resources

The Grade 11 students’ monthly income comprises of 5,000 – 8,000 pesos with 27.43%
of the total population while only 1.77% respondents have a family income of 17,000 – 20,000
pesos monthly.
1.4. Family Literacy

It is evident in the graph that most of the respondent has a parent or guardian who is an
elementary graduate. It comprises of 23.89 percent of the total population which is 113
respondents. I is followed by respondents whose parents/guardian is a high school undergraduate
with 17.7%. Only 4.42% of the respondent has a parent/guardian who is a licenced professional.

1.5. Learning Styles

Most respondents are Visual learners with 68% out of 113 population. 14 % are auditory
while the remaining 18 % are kinesthetic learners.
1.6. Multiple Intelligences

2. What is the performance of the Grade 11 Students of General Climaco National High School
in terms of the:

2.1. Number of Learners who mastered the prerequisite skills in Physical Science
 There are 7 sections in Grade 11 for the S.Y. 2020-2021 which are Cookery, SMAW,

EIM, Dressmaking, HUMSS 1 and HUMSS 2 and CSS. It is evident in the graph that most of the

respondents haven’t mastered the prerequisite skills in Physical Science. 4 of the cookery

students, 1 o the SMAW students, 1 of the EIM Students, none of the Dressmaking Students, 9

HUMSS student and none of the CSS students have mastered the prerequisite skills.

2.2. Percentage of Mastered Prerequisite skills in Physical Science

According to the data gathered above, with regards to the 6 prerequisite skills in physical

science which is Observing, Classifying, Measuring, Inferring, Predicting and Communicating,

Predicting is the highest percentage among the other prerequisite skills among all sections

followed by classifying, observing, measuring, and inferring respectively. The HUMSS 1 and 2
sections have higher scores compared to the other sections. It can be said that the scores of the

sections are closer with each other signifying that they are homogenous in nature. Students have

a hard time measuring and inferring data which is why they scored low in the diagnostic test.

B. Conclusion
General Climaco National high school is undoubtedly the one of the most remote High

school in the Toledo City. Thus, the students took longer hours to reach school which makes it

harder for home visitation or have a one- on -one conference since most of the students lived in

remote sitios and barangays with a difficult terrain. Moreover, the only mode of transportation in

the barangay is the jeepney and motorcycle which adds to the burden of both the teachers and

students. The flow of intervention and other enhancement activities can be so strenuous even

more so amidst this pandemic. The average time it took to reach school is 1 hour and 10 minutes

for those with one way commute. Most of the students said that they commute for almost 1 hour

and 40 minutes. In terms of Internet accessibility, almost all students own a cellphone in one way

or another with 4g prepaid mobile data. The students have access to internet given that they also

used the internet in their modular learning studies. The students wrote that they have active

social media account such as facebook, twitter, whatsapp, Instagram, tiktok and messenger that

they use mainly to communicate with one another and their teachers. The teachers can mainly

reach them through email and messenger. The respondents wrote that their parents/guardians is

literate with 16.81% High School graduate, and 2.89% Elementary graduate. Although they are

literate, however, the level of their knowledge does not exceed that of their senior high school

students to teach them with the new curriculum. They will not be able to teach them Physical

Science and the students are left with their own devises to be able to learn the subject. Most of

the students opt to look for the answers in the internet and confide with their teachers. With this
restrictions, it was very difficult to have access to a library and understand modules so having

enhancement lessons via messenger or to sites that is easy to access is most welcome. Most of

the students are visual learners with 68% of the total population. To be able to have a material or

resources to read is usually the most preferred mode of intervention. Granted that the material is

easy to relate to, clear and interesting. In terms of multiple intelligences, 42.9 % of the

respondents are intrapersonal. People with high intrapersonal intelligence are aware of their

strengths and weaknesses. They preferred accomplishing the task alone and can do it by

themselves with less supervision.

After assessing the gaps with the student’s prerequisite skills through a diagnostic test

with regards to the 6 prerequisite skills in physical science which is observing, classifying,

measuring, inferring, predicting and communicating, a conclusion that be made that only 13.27%

or 15 students out of 113 have the skills to learn about Physical Science. Most of the respondents

don’t have the required skills and need to have intervention. The learning gap that needs to be

addressed are mainly measuring, inferring and communicating. Measurement is

the quantification of attributes of an object or event, which can be used to compare with other

objects or events. The scope and application of measurement are dependent on the context and

discipline. In physical science, experiments are usually performed. During these experiments,

readings should be taken. Thus, all these experiments require some measurements to be made.

Thus, measurements are quintessential. Inference is a judgment based on reasoning from

evidence or an explanation for an observation a person has made. They are based on their past

experiences and prior knowledge. Inferences are often changed when new observations are

made. When one is able to make inferences, and interpret and explain events around them, they

have a better appreciation of the environment. Scientists' hypotheses about why events happen as
they do are based on inferences regarding investigations. Moreover, when physicals science

students communicate more effectively, science thrives. Being able to communicate the

relevance and impact of their ideas and discoveries can enhance their ability to find a job. It

allows them to write better and more comprehensible research papers too. In conclusion, it is

imperative for the respondents to be able to learn independently and teachers should provide a

platform for them to gain access anytime. The platform should include a clear understanding of

the objectives of what prerequisite skills in physical science are needed and how to obtain them.

An intervention strategy that is accessible, clear and precise, and technology – based should be

made to cater the needs of individual learners and provide them with timely and quality

education.

C. Reflection
In response to the pandemic, educators have rapidly developed practices for remote

instruction and fought to address dire inequities. Our goal is not to get back to normal but to

build a better society that is inclusive. We are forced to reimagine new techniques to deliver our

lesson remotely. Virtual school is a whole other challenge of its own. When in traditional

classroom, you can assess firsthand the inadequacies of the students in terms of prerequisite

skills and address them. However, in the new normal it is quite a challenge since you don’t have

the facilities to assess the real needs of the learners. As an educator, being creative takes a lot of

time and takes a toll on us specially that we are also bombarded with reports and other task that

needs to be accomplished. But I think one of the biggest challenges has been the pressure I have

placed on myself. This year, more than any other, I have left school thinking about the day and

what I should have done differently or asking myself if my students are learning anything or if

what I am doing is even effective. I have not been following my own advice of giving myself
grace, which is so easy to say and to tell people, but when it comes to yourself, it’s hard

sometimes to take this well-intentioned advice. It is quite difficult most importantly that students

lack the desired skills to take on a certain lesson in Physical Science. That is why to design an

alternative technology – based intervention material is much needed in our education system.

When much is demanded from us, and when we are not there to answer our learners, we make

use of technology and technology will be there in our behalf.

D. Recommendation

With teacher’s busy schedule, therefore, a chatbot application software tool that interacts

with users on a certain topic or in a specific domain in a natural, conversational way using text

and voice is recommended. For many different purposes, chatbots have been used across a wide

range of domains, including marketing, customer service, technical support, as well as education

and training. Current developments in this area suggest that interaction with technologies, either

by natural language or by speech, is possible because technology develops, and users become

more used to interacting with digital entities. Rather than creating a human-like smart machine

application, it is about creating effective digital assistants who are able to provide information,

answer questions, discuss a specific topic, or perform a task. With this, teachers can design any

lesson or incorporate the prerequisite skills for the students to access remotely in their free time.

The software is quite flexible and if used properly, can deliver lesson well without supervision

since it is already programmed. Embracing change is one step closer to perfection.

XI. WORK PLAN

A. Work Plan

The presentation of the time table is shown below.

TIME TABLE/ GANTT CHART

Time Frame Strategies/Activities Success Indicator

January, 2021 Preparation of the action-research
proposal for approval
February - April,2021 Preparation of the research
instruments, validation, printing of
the diagnostic test and
administration
May (1st week), 2021 sets of the questionnaires floated
June (2nd week), 2021 Interpretation and analysis of the
results of the study
July, 2021 Application of the suggestions and
recommendations of the study
Action research proposal and
approval done
All of the preparation are
covered, research questionnaires
and diagnostic test are
validated, printed and
administered
Retrieval of all the floated
questionnaires
Action research proposal done
Sets of Intervention Strategy are
completed

B. COST ESTIMATES

Proposed Budget:

Expected Expenses Proposed Budget

* Computer's Ink Php. 1, 506.00

* Bond paper Php. 208.00

Total Cost Estimate Php. 1, 714.00

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