IMPROVING SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SCIENCE

PHILLIP ARMAND G. LAJOM

Science is an interesting subject marked with versatility and sophistication to enhance the skills, knowledge, and understanding of learners for them to be able to grasp more and learn more about the world around them. Science, as an inquisitive discipline that includes a number of laboratoryexperiments to be performed by the learners under the guidance of the teacher, makes each lesson very interesting and unique to the learners. Although most of our students believe that sciencegreatly influences many of their activities, endeavors and decisions in life, but the actual point of how science works in particular aspects of their lives seems to be hard to figure out. Indeed, there is a need to connect the science lessons which are discussed inside the classroom and the actual environmental issues and phenomena that students observe each day of their lives in order to truly reali]e the true significance and relevance of science as a discipline. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics(STEM), as a senior high school track is multidisciplinary as it leads to different future occupations. What makes it challenging to high school students is that it requires them to focus on purelyacademics with combination of different theories, principles, concepts, formulas and equations. Some students become disillusioned with STEM due to difference between the knowledge-based high school learning strategy and the experience- based approach of future courses. There is no big deal regarding the importance of early exposure to a variety of math and science subjects especially forhigh school students who choose to pursue STEM careers, particularly in engineering. Majority of researches about student engagement and retention in STEM, however, focuses on learning settings in senior high schools, where the sciences are frequently subject-specific from the start of enrolment. Additionally, participation in post-secondary preparatory courses depends on passing previous courses with passing grades. +owever, as curricula become more speciali]ed, students frequently have less success earning course credit. In order to ensure that students who have innate passion in learning can succeed, it is crucial that learning aids be appropriately focused on them. Science is just as important as other courses like modern history. It is a challenging discipline to teach because the volume of contents to be taught and the students’ disengagement caused by the level of science mastery. %ut every educator’s consideration should center on the importance of teaching science. There are much more in teaching science than merely repeating the rules, concepts, and terminologies. This is where exploration, experimentation and discovery come into the play. Teachers teaching science need to tickle the minds of the learners in order to get them in the hook of curiosity. As curiosity grows in them, so as their craving grows in complications and as a result, they will be more inquisitive of the things surrounding them. As regards to the science and learning process, both students, and teachers play a vital role in the achievement of the goals as defined by science education. %oth students and teachers must work collaboratively in the attainment of common goals. Scientific ideas change now and then because knowledge is developing and growing exponentially. Students, like teachers, should know their role as well as their responsibility in the learning process. According to the findings of 2rgani]ation for Economic &ooperation and 'evelopment (2E&') and from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) exam given to students around the world, it has been found out that the best way of teaching science does not just confined with one or two strategies. The best way to teach Science, according to the data presented above, is through the combination of inquiry-based, teacher-directed, and adaptive teaching inquiry based on course discovery, hands-on, experiments, research, and investigations (2E&' Education and Skills Today, ). Science must be taught as a way of thinking and knowing.As teachers teaching science, we need to include in our teaching commitment scientific knowledge which would develop our students in terms of enhancing their scientific skills and their attitude towards the world of science. Thus, to improve student engagement and their academic performance, it is important to bear in mind some of the suggestions below from research experts, to wit Make learning science meaningful. In order to achieve full involvement of learners in teaching-learning process, it is crucial that learners believe that the activities they do are valuable and meaningful. According to researches, students may not engage in learning activity in an acceptable manner or may even completely disengage in response if they don’t believe it is worth their time and effort. ()redricks, %lumenfeld Paris,

). We can, for instance, relate assignments to students’ prior knowledge and experiences, emphasi]ing the significance of an assigned activity in ways that are personally relevant to the students. Additionally, adult, or professional modeling can assist in illuminating the benefits of a certain activity as well as its application in the actual world. The idea of competence can be seen as a student’s constant personal assessment of whether he or she can succeed in learning activity or task. 2ne of the suitable practices that could address this requirement is letting the learners conduct a scientific inquiry in a form of an investigatory project in order to promote the culture of research in studying science. 5esearch as a formidable endeavor, is an indispensable or vital part of modern life for existence and survival. )oster a sense of competence. 5esearchers have discovered that successfully completing an activity can influence subsequent participation in a beneficial way. (Schunk Mullen, ). In the event that the learners are able to complete and perform academic tasks like investigatory projects and scientific portfolios, they will be craving for more complex and challenging ones. Provide autonomy support. We might define this as encouraging the students’ sense of control over their actions and objectives. Student involvement levels are likely to rise when teachers give up control (without losing authority) to the students instead of encouraging obedience to orders and instructions (5eeve et al. ). This means letting the learners think out of the box or letting them become more creative and responsible on the way they wish to learn. This also means trusting the learners by making them co-director in filming our tomorrow. As teachers teaching science, making learning science meaningful in the perspectives of the learners fostering sense of competence among them and providing them the needed autonomy support will indeed make a difference in improving the senior high school students’ academic engagement and performance in science subjects.

-o2oThe author is Teacher III at =arago]a 1ational +igh School