Teaching competencies of the Physics certificate program graduates : an analysis / Oliva C. Koh. 6

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, 1993.;A dissertation presented to the faculty of Graduate School of Arts, Sciences and Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education major in Educational Administration. 56

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ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to analyze the teaching competencies of the graduates of the Certificate Program in Physics held at the Philippine Normal University-Regional Science Teaching Center. The Certificate Program in Physics is a three-semester course designed to upgrade the teaching competencies of secondary school teachers who are teaching physics but are not majors in the subject. It is sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology through its various Regional Science Teaching Centers. The study sought to answer the following specific questions: 1. What is the level of competency of the graduates of the Certificate Program in Physics in terms of subject matter as perceived by them? 2. What is the level of competency of the graduates of the Certificate Program in Physics in terms of problem-solving skills as perceived by them? 3. What is the level of competency of the graduates of the Certificate Program in Physics in terms of teaching methodologies as perceived by them? 4. How do the three variables do: subject matter competence, problem-solving skills, and teaching methodologies, relate to one another? 5. Is there a significant difference in the perceived teaching competencies of the graduates of the Certificate Program in Physics from NCR and Region IV? 6. Are the teaching competencies in terms of subject matter, problem-solving skills, and teaching methodologies related to the following variables: a. number of years in teaching b. number of years in teaching Physics c. number of units earned in Physics d. number of in-service training programs attended in Physics? The study made use of the descriptive method of research utilizing the survey questionnaires the Achievement Test in Physics, and the Classroom Observation Scale as instruments in gathering the data. The respondents were the teachers who graduate from the Certificate Program in Physics from the start of its implementation in school year 1983-1984. The following are the findings of the study: 1. The PCP graduates perceived themselves to have satisfactory competence in subject matter with an average score of 3.41. 2. The topical areas difficult for teachers are atomic energy and electricity and electromagnetism. The topics rated as easy are motion and force and force and energy. 3. The teachers displayed above average teaching competency in subject matter through their performance in the achievement test which yielded a mean score of 60.4. 4. The teachers perceived themselves to be competent in problem-solving skills with an average score of 3.77. 5. One of the six skills, substitutes data correctly in a formula or equation got the highest score, followed by identifies correctly the equation/s involved in a particular problem and uses them in solving that problem. The teachers perceived themselves to be weak in skill no. 3 which is identifies from several given situations an example of a particular theory or law that is explicitly stated. 6. The teachers perceived themselves to be competent in teaching methodologies with an average score of 3.85. They rated themselves high in personality, classroom discipline, and acceptance of and respect for students. They rated themselves low in giving of enrichment or remedial work, formulation and distribution of questions skill in communicating ideas, and developing creativity in students. 7. The teaching competencies in terms of teaching methodologies was also found to be above average based on the results of the classroom observation conducted by the researcher and the teacher's department chairman. The average rating resulting from the observation is 3.89. 8. The teacher's perception of their teaching competence in terms of teaching methodology and the combined observation ratings of the researcher and the teacher's department head agreed with only a difference of 0.04 which is not significant. Thus, both the perceived and observed competencies confirmed that the teachers' competence in this aspect is above average. 9. The perceived competence in subject matter positively correlated with the perceived competence in teaching methodologies. The value obtained is .5572 which is highly significant. Thus, teachers who are weak in content are also weak in terms of skill in teaching. 10. The perceived competence in problem-solving skills is positively correlated with the perceived competence in teaching methodologies. The coefficient of correlation r obtained is .6978which is highly significant. 11. The perceived competence in subject matter is positively correlated with the perceived competence in problem-solving skills. The r value obtained is .7873 which is highly significant. 12. There is no significant relation between the achievement test scores and classroom observation rating (r= -0.126). 13. There is a significant difference in the teaching competencies in terms of problem-solving skills and teaching methodologies of the graduates from NCR and Region IV. The average score in problem-solving skills of NCR graduates is 3.70 while that of Region IV graduates is 3.90. The difference of 0.20 is significant at 10% level. The teaching methodology has an average score of 3.74 for NCR graduates and 3.94 for those from Region IV. The difference of 0.20 is significant at 10% level. 14. Region IV graduates have an average score of 3.46 in subject matter competence, while those from the NCR have an average score of 3.34. The difference of 0.12, however, is not significant. The graduates from the two regions agree on the topics which are easy, and which are difficult. The topics both groups considered to be difficult are atomic energy, electricity and magnetism, and those which are easy are force and energy and motion and force. 15. In the regression analysis of teacher variables affecting perceived competence in subject matter and problem-solving skills, only number of years in teaching Physics has entered as variables in the regression equation out of the four teacher variables namely: number of years in teaching, number of years in teaching Physics, and number of in-service training programs attended. For subject matter competence as the dependent variable, the F-ratio obtained is 6.47317 and the t-value is .0126, both of which are highly significant. For problem-solving skills as the dependent variable, the F-ratio is 8.11214 and the t value is 2.848. The two values are highly significant. The above results show that the number of years in teaching Physics has a significant influence on, and hence can predict, competencies in subject matter and problem-solving skills. This means that the longer the experience of the teacher in teaching Physics, the higher is his perception of his competencies in subject matter and problem-solving skills. 16. Not one of the four teacher variables has entered in the regression equation for achievement test scores as the dependent variable. This means that they do not have explanatory power to explain the variability in the scores in the achievement test. They could not predict achievement test scores. 17. Regression analysis showed that not one of the four teacher variables has entered in the regression equations for the perceived (based on survey questionnaire) and observed (based on classroom observation) teacher competency in terms of teaching methodology. This indicates that any variation in the dependent variables could not be explained by the independent variables. the group of teacher variables cannot predict the PCP graduates' observed and perceived teaching competence in terms of teaching methodologies.

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