BRU ELT JOURNAL

Improving Grade 12 SHS Students’ Reading Skills through Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) and Teacher - Directed Instructions

Alma S. Uayan, Kurt S. Candilas — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Reading, a fundamental skill for both academic and personal development, can be hindered when students overly concentrate on decoding tasks such as identifying thesis statements, summarizing, and elucidating text-specific ideas. Addressing this, the study evaluated the effectiveness of Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) Instruction versus Teacher-Directed Instruction (TDI) in improving reading skills among Grade 12 students in one of the senior high schools in Kinoguitan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines. A quasi-experimental design was employed, involving 70 participants who were equally divided into two groups of 35. Thirty-five (35) students were exposed to TPACK (experimental group) and the other thirty-five students in teacher-directed instruction (control group). For data analysis, descriptive statistics and t-tests were utilized to ensure a thorough assessment of the outcomes. The findings revealed that TPACK emerged as more effective in enhancing overall reading skills for Grade 12 students. Interestingly, this trend was not consistent across all aspects of reading; in the specific skill of summarizing, the TDI group exhibited a slight improvement over the TPACK group. This suggests that while TPACK is generally more beneficial, TDI has its strengths in certain areas of reading. In conclusion, the study indicates that both TPACK Instruction and Teacher-Directed Instruction have their respective merits in the context of Senior High School (SHS) reading skill development. TPACK is more effective in increasing reading skills except for summarizing where both approaches are comparably effective. It advocates for a blended approach in educational strategies, integrating technological tools with effective teacher facilitation, to enhance student learning outcomes comprehensively. This approach underscores the importance of a multifaceted educational methodology in cultivating vital reading competencies among students

Intercultural Awareness: Bridging the Gap for Global Understanding of EFL Learners

Suchanuch Sriprom, Anutsara Seetongsuk, Chaleomkiet Yenphech — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0700

In an increasingly globalized world, intercultural awareness plays a significant role in promoting effective communication, fostering understanding, and addressing societal challenges arising from cultural diversity. Therefore, the main goals of this mixed-methods study were to assess the level of current intercultural awareness of EFL learners and to examine the implications of intercultural awareness for effective communication and collaboration in multicultural settings. A sample of 73 EFL learners completed an intercultural awareness questionnaire, which was followed by semi-structured interviews with five EFL learners. They were selected by using the convenience sampling method. The results of the research were that 1) The EFL learners had a high level of intercultural awareness, and 2) Communication and collaboration with people from different cultures require intercultural awareness because it will help reduce conflict and work effectively. In addition, the study also found that EFL learners have a high intercultural attitude, intercultural skills, and intercultural knowledge. Moreover, it was found that EFL learners think that communicating with people of different cultures is not difficult if they know and understand that culture, but it is difficult when the culture is very different from one's own culture, such as language, lifestyle, food, and behavior.

Remediating Technical Vocational Livelihood (TVL) Students’ Oral Communication Skills Using Active and Didactic Learning Approaches

Alvin S. Taneo, Kurt S. Candilas — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0700

The ability to successfully convey information and ideas through spoken words, tone of voice, and non-verbal clues like body language is referred to as oral communication skills. The purpose of oral communication is to assist students in comprehending the characteristics and dynamics of various speaking contexts. In order to investigate the efficacy of didactic learning and active learning approaches in enhancing Grade 11 oral communication skills performance in a National Comprehensive High School in the Division of Misamis Oriental during the academic year 2023-2024, this research used a quasi-experimental design. Two (2) participant groups in the study: the first group, consisting of 34 students, was exposed to active learning, and the second group, also consisting of 34 students, was exposed to the didactic learning approach. The participants in the Active Learning Group has the mean equivalent to “fair” level while in the sub skills, comprehension, fluency, pronunciation, and grammar has the same mean level which is on the “fair” level and improved their performance in most sub-skills in Oral Communication from “fair” to “good” level, except for fluency, where they remained at the “fair” level. Furthermore, in terms of the test of difference, significant difference posted by the pre-test and post-test scores of the students in terms of their oral communication skills using the didactic learning approach is minimal in terms of its effects on their overall application and utilization of their oral communication skills in real life situations. In terms of Increment, there is a significant difference posted by the pre-test and post-test scores of the students in terms of their oral communication skills using the active learning approach. In terms of increment results, it can be inferred that the Active Learning Approach is more effective than the didactic Learning approach based on their means score. This implies that students become active knowledge creators when teachers implement an active learning approach in the classroom.

Improving College Students’ Metacognition through Self-Paced Learning and Direct Instruction in a Remote Learning Modality

Vanessa Crystal Estremos Balabag, Kurt Salac Candilas — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0700

The ability to take full ownership of one’s learning acquisition through metacognition is attributed to the success or failure of students’ educative process. This was the focal point of this quasi-experimental study on the efficacy of self-paced learning and direct instruction in enhancing metacognition among college students engaged in remote learning. The research addressed three primary objectives: first, to assess participants' metacognition levels before and after the intervention; second, to compare the before and after of the intervention in both group’s metacognition across planning, monitoring, and evaluating phases; and third, to determine the difference in metacognition levels between the two groups. 100 college students participated in the study with 50 respondents subjected to self-paced learning intervention and another 50 respondents for direct instruction. The results indicated significant improvements in metacognition levels among participants in both groups. However, the self-paced learning group demonstrated more substantial increases, with a majority shifting from "Low Metacognition" to "High Metacognition" categories. Self-paced learning exhibited larger effect sizes than direct instruction across all phases of metacognitive development. Self-paced learning group respondents experienced more significant increments in metacognitive skills than participants in the direct instruction group. However, future research attempts are encouraged to deepen further the understanding of the intricate play that self-paced learning and direct instruction contribute to enhancing metacognition.

Effectiveness of Constructivist and Behaviorist Approaches in Improving the Writing Skills of Grade 12 STEM Students with Writing Deficiency

Janna Kaye T. Bodiongan, Kurt S. Candilas — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Writing is an essential skill for interpersonal communication that enables people to share ideas, persuade, and convince one another. However, students struggle to express their ideas in writing. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Constructivist and Behaviorist approaches in improving the writing skills of Grade 12 STEM students who have writing deficiency. This study employed a quasi-experimental research design involving fifty (50) participants exposed to the constructivist approach, and the other fifty (50) were exposed to the behaviorist approach. They were chosen through total enumeration. The researcher administered a pretest and posttest through an argumentative essay. Results reveal that students exposed to both approaches progressed from the “Developing” level before the intervention to the “Proficient” level in all sub-skills, such as topic development, organization, vocabulary, sentence structure, and mechanics after the intervention. Furthermore, a significant improvement in the participants' writing skills was observed after the interventions. The constructivist and behaviorist approaches were both effective in improving the writing skills of the participants. However, the constructivist approach appeared to have better results than the behaviorist approach, especially on the sub-skill sentence structure. It is recommended that English teachers expose students to activities using a constructivist approach, such as active participation, peer review, and reflection practices.