Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 23

DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 1

QUIPPER SCHOOL AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS


IN THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF
GRADE 8 STUDENTS IN ENGLISH

by:

JONNY S. VIRAY

NOVEMBER 2016

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 2
Rationale and Review of Related Literature

Once a lesson is taught in a way students enjoy it through the techniques

and strategies that students want it the most, learning takes place. Teaching

lessons using the traditional method is one of the things that hinders students’

interest and participation. As an educator, the target of education is to make

sure that students acquire the necessary competencies through active

participation during the teaching learning process, reflected in their academic

performance.

The number of competencies in the Grade 8 English Curriculum is vast.

Considering the number of activities and amount of time to teach the target

competencies in the curriculum guide, teacher must have a way in order to

maximize time in the teaching-learning process and assessment of learning to

familiarize students or attract their interest.

The integration of technology and other modern gadgets in education is

rampant and now common in the field of research. To name a few, it may be

understood as teachers’ computer use in classrooms, or how teachers use

technology to carry out familiar activities more effectively, or how teachers use

technology to develop students’ thinking skills (Hew and Brush, 2007). The use

of computer-mediated communication tools, for example, can help students from

various geographical locations ‘‘talk’’ to one another conveniently. In the study of

Bransford, Brown, & Cocking (2000), they encapsulated that the increased

ability to communicate with experts enhances students’ learning process.

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 3
Selwyn (2007) validates that computers and other aspects of Information and

Communication Technologies (ICTs) allow children, students, and young people

a wide variety of activities and experiences that can support learning, yet many

of these transactions do not take place in traditional educational settings.

Using the data of the school and the gap analysis, the researcher found

out a number of recurring problems that needed to be addressed to make sure

that quality education is being provided to the students of Masantol High School.

Based on the data, the average MPS of the English Department is 58.49, which

is far from the target of the Division of Pampanga, as well as Department of

Education Central Office. It shows that the target competencies in the curriculum

grade are not being fully attained by the students.

In terms of the teachers, there is only one teacher who is not enrolled in post

graduate schooling. It shows that teachers are eager to improve their knowledge

in teaching and in education. As reflected in the submitted lesson plans, 25 % of

the teachers do not cover the entire course outline. In terms of the integration of

ICT, teachers use computer aided instruction. However, it is limited to

powerpoint presentation, and video presentation during the teaching-learning

process.

Dealing with teaching strategies, the traditional way of teaching still

exists. Lack of learners’ materials for Grade 8 students still exists as the books

are not (yet) delivered to the school. Even though teachers, improvised and

construct teaching materials for delivery of lessons, still it is not enough to

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 4
ensure that academic performance of students will definitely increase and

achieve the target of the Division of Pampanga.

Based on the problem specified, the lack of learners’ materials and

students’ engagement during the teaching learning process are the priority

problems that needed to be solved in order to increase the academic

performance of Grade 8 students in English. In line with this, the researcher

aims to address the lack of learners’ materials to maximize time for teaching and

to improve the engagement of students in teaching-learning process in a way

which is very familiar with them, using Facebook and Quipper School. To

address the difficulty faced by the teachers and students, Educators thought of

using innovative way with the aid of technology in teaching through the use of

Quipper School Philippines to make every student learn and meet the skills and

competencies before going to the next quarter or next grade level.

Instructional resources which are educational inputs are vital importance

to the teaching of any subject in the school curriculum (Likoko, Mutsotso, and

Nasongo, 2013). The existence of inadequacy is a must to be addressed by the

school and by teachers. Improvisation of instructional materials which is

available in the local of the school is one important consideration in the

construction of instructional materials. The needs of alternative tool in teaching

and learning come in to enhance the ability of students in academics (Saadiyah

Darus, 2009).

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 5
In terms of the existence of technology, the most common social media

website nowadays is the Facebook. Anyone can sign up for an account.

Nowadays, students are connected with their friends, relatives, and teachers

through Facebook. Sometimes, it is being used for posting of announcements

and submission of projects and outputs of students. However, the use of

Facebook is not only limited to announcement and submission. As mentioned by

Miron and Ravid (2015), the familiarity with Facebook platform and its very

frequent use by students makes it an appealing candidate for various learning

enhancing applications. It is linked to other websites and educational portals

including Quipper School.

A social networking service is an online platform or medium used to

establish social networks or social relations among individuals who share

interests and activities, and most social networking services allow users to share

their opinions, interests, activities and events within their individual networks

(Ping, and Maniam, 2015). Facebook is a social networking platform. It is not

initially designed for educational purposes. However, it has great potential for

teaching and learning because of its unique features and affordances (Wang,

Woo, Quek, and Yang, 2010).

The access to technology is everywhere. It can be on a desktop, laptop,

or even cellphone. Quipper School can now be accessed through Facebook.

Considering also the factor that free data service is being offered by some data

service providers. Browers-Campbell (2008) argues that the use of Facebook

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 6
may be helpful in improving low self-efficacy and self-regulated learning. Senges

(2008) discovers that by using Facebook students have more chances of finding

experts or fellow students to discuss and investigate a subject.

The use of Quipper School aims to revolutionize the way people learn

and share knowledge, by leveraging the mobile internet (Morron, 2015).

Additionally, Francisco (2014) suggested that teachers should use Quipper

School to vary their instructional strategies. Students learn in different ways and

Quipper School offers a fun way of online learning. All the paper works is

lessened through electronic grading and you can create a class and

assignments in a flash! This will definitely save time and effort on the part of the

teacher and the students. Furthermore, the use of Quipper School is free. It is

one interactive way of e-learning.

Considering the possibility of the access to Quipper School through

Facebook is a priority. According to the NSBC (2007) survey, 96% of the

students with online access reported using social networking technologies, and

on average they spent 9 hours per week chatting, blogging, and visiting online

communities. The study proves that the access to Facebook of the students is

feasible.

In terms of the use of Quipper School, there are only few studies

conducted to assess the effectiveness in the academic performance of students.

The researcher aims to find out the effect and feasibility of Quipper

School in improving the academic performance of grade 8 students in English.

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 7
Conceptual Framework

The study was anchored on cognitive learning theory, in which an

individual learns through thinking. It can be explained through analyzing the

mental processes of an individual.

The use of Quipper School through Facebook was the independent

variable of the study, while the academic performance of students in Grade 8

English is the dependent variable. The arrow in the middle indicates the effect of

Quipper School to the academic performance of students in English.

The study aimed to find out the effectiveness of the Quipper School in the

academic performance of Grade 8 students in English.

The figure below shows the Paradigm of the study.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Students’ Academic
Quipper School Performance in English 8

Statement of the Problem

This School Year 2016-2017, lack of learner’s materials for Grade 8

students still exists in Masantol High School. The teacher and the students still

needed to face this inadequacy of learner’s materials, which would definitely

hinder students’ academic performance. In line with this, the researcher aimed

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 8
to use Quipper School through Facebook as an innovation in order to address

the time constraint in teaching and the lack of learner’s materials. The

effectiveness of Quipper school was measured at the end of the second quarter

for School Year 2016-2017.

This study aimed to find out the effectiveness of Quipper in the academic

performance of Grade 8 students in English.

Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:

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

experimental group as reflected in their pretest?

2. Is there a significant difference between the academic performance of

the control and experimental group in their pretest?

3. What is the level of academic performance of control group and

experimental group as reflected in their posttest?

4. Is there a significant difference between the academic performance of

the control and experimental group in their posttest?

5. How may the students assess the feasibility of using Quipper School

in terms of:

5.1. access,

5.2. cost, and

5.3. time to use?

6. Based on the findings, what may be suggested?

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 9
Hypotheses

1. There is no significant difference between the academic performance

of the control and experimental group in their pretest before using

Quipper School.

2. There is no significant difference between the academic performance

of the control and experimental group in their posttest after using

Quipper School.

Significance of the Study

This action research seeks to determine the effectiveness of Quipper

School in the academic performance of Grade 8 students in English.The

following will benefit from this study:

English Teachers. They will learn a new way of ICT-based approach in

teaching the curriculum. Furthermore, the application of Quipper School will

save them time in checking the outputs or quizzes.

Students. They will be the primary beneficiaries of the study as they will

enjoy the lessons through a familiarize medium - Facebook. Additionally, the

integration of ICT will pave way in improving their academic performance.

School Heads and Administrators. They may adapt the findings to

come up with interventions in integrating Quipper School. The school may also

have its own quipper school portal for the other subjects.

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 10
Researchers: The findings will serve as basis for future studies, and the

output will be added in the body of literature for ICT integration, use of

Facebook, and use of Quipper School.

Scope and Delimitation

The study was conducted during the second grading period of School

Year 2016-2017 at Masantol High School using control and experimental group

as part of the study. The study was delimited in determining the effect of Quipper

School in the academic performance of Grade 8 students in English.

Type of Research

In order to come up with a comprehensive study, the researcher adopted

descriptive and quasi-experimental design. The researcher used two groups of

students for the study: the control and the experimental group.

Quasi-experimental design involves the creation of a comparison group

and is most often used when it is not possible to randomize individuals or groups

to treatment and control groups. It is used to test effectiveness or impact

evaluation. Salaria (2012) defined descriptive method as a purposive process of

gathering, analyzing, classifying, and tabulating data about prevailing conditions,

practices, beliefs, processes, trends, and then making an adequate and precise

interpretation about gathered data. Quasi-experimental design determined the

effect of Quipper School in the academic performance while the descriptive

showed the feasibility of using Quipper School.

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 11
Respondents and Sampling Method

The researcher and the school administrators collected the School Form

5 and checked the general average of each student. Students were grouped

heterogeneously to make sure that students who are high performing, average

performing, and low performing are equally distributed in each section. This

ensured that no section is better than the other one.

As part of the study, the researcher uses control and experimental group.

Distribution of the students is presented on Table 1.

Table 1. Statistics of the Respondents


CONTROL GROUP EXPERIMENTAL GROUP
MALE FEMALE TOTAL MALE FEMALE TOTAL
19 21 40 20 21 41

Table 1 reflects that there are 19 males and 21 females from the control

group. On the other hand, experimental group shows that 20 males and 21

females were considered as respondents of the study.

Instruments

The researcher read various literature and studies related to Quipper

School, Facebook, and students’ academic performance. After reading the

literature, the researcher opened a Quipper School Account for the experimental

group in order to conduct the experiment. This became the main strategy of the

researcher in order to improve the academic performance of experimental

group.

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 12
At the start of the second grading period, the control and experimental

group took a standardized test which served as their pretest. The control and

experimental group had their periodic test on November which served as their

posttest.

Data Collection Procedure and Ethical Considerations

Prior to the conduct of study, the researcher asked for permission from

the school principal and division office. After the approval, the researcher

conducted the study based on the action plan.

The scores in the pretest and posttest of the control and experimental

group were collected and served as data for interpretation.

Data Analysis

In analyzing the collected data, appropriate statistical treatment were

used:

1. Arithmetic Mean. This refers to the average of a set of numerical

values, computed by adding them together and dividing by the number

of terms. It was used in determining the performance of the two

groups.

2. T-test. IT is an analysis of two means. A t-test shows the difference

between the samples when the variances of two normal distributions

are not known. This showed the significant difference of the academic

performance of the two groups.

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 13
3. Weighted Mean. It is a kind of average. Some data points contribute

more “weight” than others. It was used in determining the feasibility of

the Quipper School.

4. Likert Scale

For a better understanding for the feasibility, this Likert Scale was

used:

Scale Description
4 Strongly Agree
3 Agree
2 Somewhat Agree
1 Disagree

For the interpretation of result, the following rating was utilized:

Rating Description
3.51-4.00 Strongly Agree
2.51-3.50 Agree
1.51-2.50 Somewhat Agree
1.00-1.50 Disagree

Results and Discussion

This study focused on determining the effect of Quipper School on the

academic performance of Grade 8 students and its feasibility in English of

Masantol High School for School Year 2016-2017. The researcher collected the

data from the experimental and control group. The experimental group was

exposed to Quipper School as part of the classroom discussion and

assessment, while the control group was taught using the traditional method.

The findings of the study were presented in tables together with verbal

description and interpretations.

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 14
Academic Performance of the Two Groups before the Treatment

Prior to the exposure to Quipper School, the control and experimental

group had their pretest using the standardized test from the Division of

Pampanga in order to determine their baseline level and comparability. It was

done to measure a starting point or the amount of pre-existing knowledge of the

respondents on the subject.

It is evident on the table 2, that the academic performance of the control

group is a little bit higher compare with experimental group. Control group

accumulated a mean of 15.33, while the experimental group has a mean of

14.80.

Table 2. Academic Performance before the Treatment


Group Mean
Control 15.33
Experimental 14.80

After calculating the pretest of the two groups, the scores were treated

using t-test with .05 level of significance to determine the comparability of the

two groups. It is glaring from the table that p value (0.51) accepts the first null

hypothesis, indicating that there is no significant difference between the

academic performances of the two groups in their pretest, which makes the two

groups to be appropriate pair as respondents of the study. The comparability of

the two groups made sure that no group is better than the other one.

Table 3. Difference between pretest


Indicator Value
t-Critical 1.99
P .51

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 15
Academic Performance of the Two Groups after the Treatment

After the pretest, a Quipper School account was set up for the

experimental group. The group was taught on how to access the website using

their Facebook account, and join the class assigned to the experimental group.

Ten weeks of exposure to Quipper School was provided to the experimental

group as part of the treatment, while the control group was taught using the

traditional method for 10 weeks.

After ten weeks, the two groups both took the periodic test from the

Division of Pampanga. Raw scores were collected to compare their academic

performance after the treatment.

It is reflected from the table 4 that even using the traditional method, the

academic performance of the control group increased from 15.33 to 26.55

indicating that there is an improvement in the control group. However,

considering the tremendous increase in the academic performance of the

experimental group from 14.80 to 30.46, it is signifies that the academic

performance of the experimental group who was exposed to Quipper School is

higher than the control group, which indicates that there is a vast improvement

on the part of the experimental group.

Table 4. Academic Performance before and after the Treatment


Group Pretest Posttest
Control 15.33 26.65
Experimental 14.80 30.46

Despite the result of the mean that shows the gap on their scores, the

researcher treated the raw scores of the two groups using t-test with .05 level of

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 16
significance. It is evident from the table that the p value (0.01) rejects the second

null hypothesis. It is glaring from the table that p value (0.51) accepts the first

null hypothesis, which means that there is significant difference between the

academic performances of the two groups in their posttest, which makes the use

of the Quipper School effective for the experimental group.

Table 5. Difference between posttest


Indicator Value
t-Critical 1.99
P .01

The same finding is also reflected in the study of Morron (2015) that the

Quipper School is effective in increasing the academic performance of students.

It is also shown in his study that teachers must be adept with ICT-based

instruction such as the Quipper School.

The use of ICT-based instruction inside the classroom should not be only

limited to the use of powerpoint presentations. Students should be engaged

using the ICT.

Feasibility of Using Quipper School

After the treatment, the students in the experimental group were

interviewed to determine the feasibility of using the Quipper School as part of

classroom instruction in terms of access, cost, and time to use.

Table 6 illustrates that the students “Agree” that the access to Quipper is

feasible as reflected in its general weighted mean 3.35. It is also evident that all

three indicators were rated “Agree”. First indicator “I have access to Quipper

School through Facebook” has a mean of 3.33; second indicator “The internet

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 17
connection in the school is strong and reliable” accumulated a mean of 3.35,

while the third indicator “I experience no issue accessing the Quipper School”

garnered a mean of 3.38.

Table 6. Access to Quipper School


Access Mean Verbal
Indicator Description
1. I have access to Quipper School through 3.33 Agree
Facebook.
2. The internet connection in the school is 3.35 Agree
strong and reliable.
3. I experience no issue accessing the 3.38 Agree
Quipper School.
General Weighted Mean 3.35 Agree

The findings indicate that it is possible for the students to access the

Quipper School. According to Brown and Adler (2008), the use of internet is

likely the current methods of teaching and learning that is needed to prepare

students for the lives that they will lead in the twenty‐first century. The use of

internet access prepares the students for their future endeavor as they progress

academically and socially.

On the other hand, regarding the cost of accessing Quipper School,

student rated the cost 3.35 which is interpreted as “Agree”. Additionally, the first

indicator “Using Quipper School is economical” garnered a mean of 3.28 or

“Agree”, second indicator “The cost in Using Quipper School outside school

premises is reasonable” accumulated a mean of 3.35 with verbal interpretation

of “Agree”, and the third indicator “I can use Quipper School in Masantol High

School for free” is interpreted as “Agree” which is reflected in its mean of 3.43.

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 18
The assessment of the students makes it clear that it is not costly to use

Quipper School for academic purposes. Students even without the Quipper

School are already accessing Facebook for other matters such as social

interaction, and communication with their classmates, friends, family, and school

assignment purposes.

Table 7. Cost of Quipper School


Cost Mean Verbal
Indicator Description
1. Using Quipper School is economical. 3.28 Agree
2. The cost in Using Quipper School outside 3.35 Agree
school premises is reasonable.
3. I can use Quipper School in Masantol 3.43 Agree
High School for free.
General Weighted Mean 3.35 Agree

The cost in accessing the internet nowadays becomes less expensive as

the internet providers have special promos like unlimited internet access, free

Facebook, and others. As stated in RA 10533, students should be holistically

developed and functionally literate. Quipper School is a great avenue in

accomplishing this goal.

Due to geographical location of Masantol, most of the students are living

in coastal areas. The time to use the Quipper School is an important factor to

consider in determining feasibility.

Students assessed the time to use of Quipper School and rated it as

“Agree” which is reflected in its general weighted mean of 3.43. Furthermore, the

first indicator “I can use Quipper School anytime” accumulated a mean of 3.33

with verbal description of “Agree”, second indicator “Quipper School does not

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 19
conflict with my schedule with other subjects” tabulated a mean of 3.35 which is

interpreted as “Agree”, while the third indicator “Quipper School saves time for

studying” has a mean of 3.53 or “Agree”.

Table 8. Time to Use of Quipper School


Time to Use Mean Verbal
Indicator Description
1. I can use Quipper School anytime. 3.33 Agree
2. Quipper School does not conflict with my 3.35 Agree
schedule with other subjects.
3. Quipper School saves time for studying. 3.53 Agree
General Weighted Mean 3.40 Agree

Findings depict that the use of Quipper School does not conflict with the

time of students with their other subjects. It can be accessed inside and outside

the school which saves time for the students that they can spend with their other

activities.

Summary

The study focused on determining the feasibility of using Quipper School and

its effect on the academic performance of Grade 8 students in English of

Masantol High School during the School Year 2016-2017. Descriptive and quasi-

experimental design was employed wherein the researcher used experimental

and control group as part of the study. The two groups had their pretest to

determine their baseline level and comparability. After the pretest, the

experimental group was exposed in Quipper School while the control group was

taught using traditional method for 10 weeks. The periodic test from the Division

of Pampanga served as the pretest.

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 20
Findings reveal that there is a significant difference between the

academic performances of the two groups indicating that the Quipper School is

effective in improving the academic performance of Grade 8 students in English.

Additionally, after the treatment, the experimental group assessed the feasibility

of using the Quipper School in terms of access, cost, and time to use.

Respondents assessed that Quipper School is feasible to use.

Conclusions

Based on the result of the study, the following conclusions are derived:

1. Quipper School significantly affects the academic performance of

Grade 8 students in English.

2. The use of Quipper School is feasible in terms of access, cost, and

time to use.

3. Quipper School as ICT-based instruction engages student to

participate during classroom discussion.

4. The use of Quipper School saves time for the teacher and the

students.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are

formulated:

1. Quipper School should be applied as one of the ICT-based approach

to improve the academic performance of students.

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 21
2. Teachers are encouraged to use Quipper School to save time for

checking notes, and preparing assessments.

3. Schools should invest more on providing access to students to internet

for academic purposes.

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 22
References

Bowers-Campbell, J. (2008). Cyber "Pokes": motivational antidote for


developmental college readers. Journal of College Reading and Learning,
39(1):74-87.

Brown, J.S., Adler, R.P., (2008). Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail,
and Learning 2.0. EDUCAUSE Review, Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 16 – 32.

Francisco, R. (2014). Quipper School’s Adaptive Teaching Raises NAT Scores


by 13% by Roderick Francisco. Retrieved from
http://philippines.quipperschool.com/page/12

Hew, K. F. & Brush, T. (2007). “Integrating technology into K-12 teaching


and learning: Current knowledge gaps and recommendations for future
research.” Education Technology Research Development, 55, 223-252.

Likoko, S., Mutsotso, S. and Nasongo, J. (2013). The Adequacy of Instructional


Materials and Physical Facilities and their Effects on Quality of Teacher
Preparation in Emerging Private PrimaryTeacher Training Colleges in
Bungoma County, Kenya

Miron,E., and Ravid, G. (2015). Facebook Groups as an Academic Teaching


Aid: Case Study and Recommendations for Educators

Morron, A. (2015). The Effect of Quipper School on the Performance of Grade 7


Students of Bacoor National High School – Gawaran in Teaching
Mathematics.

NSBC (2007). Creating & connecting research and guidelines on online social-
and educational-networking.

Ping, N. Maniam, N. (2015). The Effectiveness of Facebook Group Discussions


on Writing Performance: A Study in Matriculation College. International
Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE) Vol.4, No.1

Republic Act 10533. Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.

Saadiyah Darus (2009). The Current Situation and Issues of the Teaching of
English in Malaysia. Presented at International Symposium of the
Graduate School of Language Education and Information Sciences.

Salaria, N. (2012). Meaning of the Term- Descriptive Survey Research

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade


DIVISION OF PAMPANGA 23
Method.International Journal of Transformations in Business
Management.

Senges, M. (2008). Facebook for teaching and learning.

Selwyn, N. (2007). Web 2.0 Applications as Alternative Environments For


Informal Learning - A Critical Review. OCEDKERIS International
expert meeting on ICT and educational performance. Cheju Island,
South Korea: Organization for Economic Co-Operation and
Development.

Wang, Q., Woo, H., Quek, C., and Yang, Y. (2010). Use of Facebook for
Teaching and Learning: A Review of the Research.

Quipper School and Its Effectiveness in the Academic Performance of Grade

You might also like