FILL ME UP: A STRATEGY IN ENHANCING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE

RESPONDENT IN SCIENCE AMONG GRADE V PUPILS AT

A THESIS
Presented to the faculty of the
Teacher Education Program
Northern Bukidnon Community College
Kihare, ManoloFortich, Bukidnon

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the requirements for the Degree
BEEd-Gen. Ed.

By

BETE, FELIE DIANA D.

October 2019
 Chapter 1
THE PROBLEM

Introduction

Writing down information systematically is considered by the teachers as

an important aspect of learning. At the same time jotting notes helps the pupils in

practicing good penmanship. Pupils rely heavily on notes taken during class in

order to study later on, and typically, teachers expect that pupils are taking note

during class, especially when a traditional presentation format is being used.

Even though note-taking is useful in learning we can notice that only few

pupils’ are fond of taking down notes. At the same time note-taking also have

some of its disadvantages. According to Ada Chen Rekhi, Founder and Chief

Operating Officer of Notejoy in 2018, there are two primary disadvantages of

note-taking. One of the disadvantage in note-taking is it’s difficult to focus on the

content and record the takeaways. When pupils are listening to a lecture, it takes

focus to really digest the meaning of what the speaker is talking about. Trying to

capture what is happening, means pupils are multi-tasking, so pupils run the risk

of the value of the content being lost because you’re too busy trying to wr1qite it

down rather than thinking about what the speaker is trying to convey. The pupils

tend to focus on writing down the information rather than comprehending what

the teacher is trying to tell. Another disadvantage of note-taking is that it makes a

poor job of capturing what really happened. The pupil has a lot of power to define

what happened after the fact. Notes can be faulty or lousy because they are
biased by the particular interpretation that the pupil chooses to record down.

Sometimes pupils get so caught up in creating notes, trying to remember every

last detail, that pupils don’t actually pay attention to broader themes and ideas

(Rekhi, 2018).

Handouts was then used as a tool which lets the pupils have notes without

bothering to write anything. Gayle A. Brazeau stated in 2006 that with the present

technology, the teachers have the ability to easily provide extensive hand-outs to

pupils, this has been motivated by the altruistic intent to provide more information

than can be written on the board or to make life “easier” for our pupils. But with

the frequent use of presentation software and handout, pupils are deprived of the

opportunity to develop and enhance a critical skill that is necessary for being a

successful, directed life-long learner; specifically their ability to take, revise, and

review their own notes (Brazeau, 2006). Another problem we noticed is that as

the pupils have their handouts they disregard the teachers’ discussion. By having

handouts pupils then rely on their reading skills. Pupils’ attention tends to be on

the handouts rather than in the discussion. And at the same time pupils will

unlikely improve their handwriting.

Fill-me-up strategy on the other hand is an innovated strategy which

focuses on the improvement of the traditional hand-outs. In this handouts, some

of the information is omitted. This partially completed hand-outs are to be

completed during class by the teacher and the pupils. Utilizing fill-me-up strategy

helps pupils to organize lecture content and provides opportunities to actively

respond in the discussion because they won’t have too much time in writing. The
pupils will then have enough time to listen to the teacher and enough time to

write what is being discussed. Using fill-me-up strategy is one way of teaching

pupils how to organize information or ideas and thereby improve learning.

This study was conducted to determine if there is significant difference in

the enhancement of pupils’ performance in science and improvement in learning

with pupils taught using fill-me-up strategy from the pupils taught using traditional

method.

Theoretical Framework

This study was anchored on the following theories in order to know the

result of using fill-me-up strategy in teaching Science to Grade five pupils in

Dalirig Elementary School.

Activity theory. To Graham and Perin (2007), writing skills can also be

enhanced by providing them with assistance that helps them carry out one or

more writing assignments goals, help from peers to carry out some aspect of the

writing process: activities that help pupils generate, organize, and evaluate

possible ideas for writing, example of good writing that serve as a model for

pupils; and technological support such as word processing

Writing skill is one of the skills that is disregarded if one shifts from

note-taking to using handouts. But in using fill-me-up strategy, pupils will be

involved in activities which help them generate, organize and evaluate possible

ideas which were stated in the activity theory of Graham and Perin.
Discovery Learning. To Bruner (1915), this theory is a method of inquiry-based

instruction. The theorist believes that it is best for pupils to discover facts and

relationship for themselves. Pupils interact with the world by exploring and

manipulating objects, wrestling with questions and controversies, or performing

experiments.

This theory helped us in our assumption that by omitting information from

the handouts and letting the pupils figure it out by themselves we can enhance

their academic performance. As they discover the missing information we can

then enhance their learning abilities.

Information processing theory. According to Miller (1956), this theory

discusses the mechanism which learning occurs. This theory focuses on aspects

of memory encoding and retrieval. The basic idea of the theory is that the human

mind is like a computer or information processor. It states that pupils follow a

mechanism that is similar to a computer which receives input, process, and

delivers output.

This theory helped us in figuring out how important notes are. By knowing

that the mind works in this process we can then use fill-me-up strategy in order to

increase the pupils’ retention.

The theories presented above, are the theories which supported this

study. This theory helps us predict, explain and understand our study well.

Conceptual Framework
 The concept on which this study was based on the capability of using fill-

me-up strategy in teaching science on the performance of the Grade V pupils.

The findings of this study served as a guide and as a starting point for the school

to come with an intensive guidance program to improve the progressive

approach in teaching science.

The variable in the study are explicit in the paradigm presented in figure 1.

In the illustration, the independent variable is the use of fill-me-up strategy while

the dependent variable is the performance in science of the pupils.

Finally, the schematic diagram shows the interplay between variables. The

independent variable of the study is the use of fill-me-up strategy and the

dependent variable are the performance of the pupils in science.

Teaching Strategies

 Use of Fill-me-up
strategy
Academic
 Traditional Performance
Handouts In Science

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of the Study

The study aims to know the effectiveness of fill-me-up strategy in

enhancing pupil’s performance in science of Grade Five Pupils in Dalirig

Elementary School for school year 2019-2020

Specifically, the researchers attempt to answer the following questions:

1. What is the performance of the respondents in pretest and posttest?

2. Is there a significant difference in the science performance of Grade V pupils

between groups under traditional and Fill-me-up strategies?

Hypothesis of the Study

Problem 1 is hypothesis free. Problem 2 will be tested at 0.05 level of

significance.

Ho; There is no significant difference in the science performance of Grade V

pupils between groups under traditional and Fill-me-up strategies.

Ha There is a significant difference in the science performance of Grade V pupils

between groups under traditional and Fill-me-up strategies.

Significance of the Study

The results of the study can be beneficial to the Grade 5 pupils, teachers,

parents, school administrators and DepEd officials.

the need of new strategy that can help them to become more attentive during the

class discussion. The pupils would be able to love learning because of the

strategy that can help them to become more attentive and can make them

appreciate the discussion of their teacher. Children who are attentive and

understand well the lesson in every discussion can achieve better in their

academic field and have a greater opportunity to succeed in life.

Teachers. The teachers would be able to find out that in order to have a better

teaching and learning process a strategy must be use during the class

discussion. They could prevent the pupils from talking because they will be more

active and attentive in the class. In addition, the burden of the teachers in

teaching the pupils will be lessen because pupils will be more motivated to learn.

Parents. The parents would also benefit from this study as they would be able to

become aware of the factors which affect their children’s performance in school.

Becoming aware of these factors, the parents will be guided on the appropriate

activities that enhance their children’s readiness considering the different

developmental areas. In addition, they will be encouraged to exert extra effort to

help improve their children’s motivation towards school and to work closely with

the teachers to facilitate learning.

School Administrators. The administrators would also benefit since this study

may serve as a helping tool that would give them ideas on how to make the

teaching and learning process more effective. This study may help them to have
teachers who are globally competitive since the school development and

improvement lie in the hand of school administrators.

Supervisors. The DepEd officials would also benefit since this study may help

them on how to maintain the teachers and pupils performance in the teaching

and learning process, where pupils can be more attentive during class

discussion.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study focused on the effectiveness of Fill-me-up strategy in

enhancing the performance of the grade five pupils. The time frame of the study

will be the First Grading period of the School Year 2019-2020. The study will be

conducted in Dalirig Central Elementary School.

It intends to evaluate the significance of using Fill-me-up strategy which is

used as aid for teaching science.

This study includes Survey Questionnaire and Checklist will be based on

the gathered information from the respondents through the observation of the

researchers.

Definition of Terms

The following were terms with their corresponding meaning to help the

readers understand the study better. These are defined operationally.

Performance. This refers to the points accumulated by the pupils in the

assessment after the discussion.

performance of the pupils.

Fill-me-up strategy. Refers to the innovation of the traditional handouts. This

handouts omitted some information in order to assure that the pupils does not

focus on the handouts alone but also in the discussion.

Handouts. Refers to the tool which provides the necessary information for the

pupils. This is given to the pupils for them to read during the discussion.

Note-taking. Refers to the traditional way of gathering data during discussion.

Note-taking is the practice of writing down information systematically.