ENHANCING THE PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS IN PHYSICS OF GRADE 9

LEARNERS USING INSTRUCTIONAL SCAFFOLDING STRATEGIES

HASNA S. AKMAD
ZYRENE J. EVANGELISTA

Action Research Submitted to the Secondary Education Department,

College of Education, University of Southern Mindanao,
Kabacan, Cotabato in Partial Fulfilment of the
Requirements for the Degree of

BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

Science

MAY 2021
 CONTEXT AND RATIONALE

Problem-solving is one of the 21st-century skills recommended to be owned by

individuals in daily life. Problem-solving skills are a mental and intellectual process that

students use to relate their prior knowledge and the problems they are facing. They also

call on their experience of pain solving to get a solution to the problem. Since the

Pandemic arose at the most unexpected time, students didn’t have a chance to learn

the basics of solving problems in Physics. It has brought a downfall to the learning of

students. When limited face-to-face classes open, many students encounter difficulty in

different subjects, including the branch of Science – physics; although perceived as

valuable and essential for progress, it is often the least preferred Science subject.

The academic performance of students in numerical problems in Physics

provides evidence of poor problem-solving skills; this is because students do not learn

what the steps in solving problems and do not know how to solve problems are; they

merely memorize solutions explained by teachers in line with the traditional method of

teaching. This was supported by (Ogunleye 2009), students who find problem-solving

difficult have been identified by many researchers as students failing to construct

meanings from the problem statement, not being able to link the importance of the

problem to their knowledge structures, or simply lacking the appropriate knowledge

structure for that specific content area. They rely on how teachers give the given,

understand what is needed in the problem, and determine the solution they need to use.

As Kamble and Tembe (2013) stated, problem-solving is a complex activity that involves

various components that include concepts, rules, and principles; it also involves
structural knowledge, ampliative skills, and metacognition skills.

Numerous researchers have identified the rationale for the difficulty in problem-

solving in physics as physics students fail to construct the meanings of the problem

statement, unable to interlink the statement’s purpose. Most students lack the

appropriate knowledge of structural construction in specific content areas (Ogunleye,

2009). To help the students understand and analyze the context of the Physics lessons,

the researchers developed an intervention using scaffolding strategies such as visual

aids, which help students think more deeply about the problem, breaking up the

problems into smaller steps, and using the students’ prior knowledge by linking what

they know to the current word problems they are facing. Arifin, Zulkardi, Putri, Hartono,

and Susanti concluded that scaffolding could help solve students' problem-solving.

Scaffolding informs written questions and directed guidance with step by step as a

bridge in solving problems. Scaffolding which starts with sketching, can be teacher

feedback in knowing the concept of student images.

This study will benefit the learners since it will help them be better problem-

solvers and better critical thinkers. It will help the students fully understand and analyze

the word problems by looking at them. Linking to their prior knowledge, the students will

be able to enhance their skills and help them solve physics problems on their own

rather than relying on their teachers.

 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The primary goal of this research was to improve the problem-solving skills in

Physics of Grade 9 Graham students. Furthermore, the researchers ought to answer

the following questions:

1. What are the effects of using instructional scaffolding strategies in discussing

Physics problems with Grade 9 learners?

2. What are the students’ perceptions of using the scaffolding strategies in

understanding the context of word problems in Physics?

 PROPOSED INTERVENTION

Scaffolding strategies help students to improve not only their problem-solving

skills but also their critical thinking. Scaffolding strategy will be beneficial for the novice

or inexperienced teacher, providing them with the necessary support and guidance at

the initial stage so that they will be able to organize their thoughts, develop specific

knowledge or skills that bridge their prior knowledge to the current word problem they

are facing, and eventually facilitates problem-solving. Instructional scaffolding is a

systematic process through which a more knowledgeable person adds support for

students to move them progressively toward stronger understanding and ultimately

greater independence in learning (Govindasamy, M. 2020). Wood, Bruner, and Ross, as

cited in McLeod (2019), highlighted that in scaffolding, the more competent person must

control the elements of the task that are initially beyond the learner’s capability,

permitting the novice to concentrate upon and complete only those elements that are

within his or her range of competence.

The benefit of using scaffolding is to provide help to achieve the objectives of

learning that cover the domains of attitude, process, and the content of physics

(Podolefsky, Moore, & Perkins, 2013). The instructional scaffolding strategies this study

has used visual aids, linking the prior knowledge of students and breaking/chunking the

problems into smaller steps as the intervention in enhancing the problem-solving skills

of students. Scaffolding tools include visual aids like graphic organizers, photographs,

and charts. Graphic organizers are unique in that they assist children in visually

representing their thoughts, organizing information, and grasping concepts like

sequencing and cause and effect. As Alber, R. (2011) concluded even if there are some

students can go right into a discussion, writing essays, or analyzing several hypotheses

without utilizing a graphic organizer, many of our students benefit from using one when

faced with challenging materials or new information – consider graphic organizers to be

transitory instructional wheels that are intended to be removed. This helps learners to

visualize what they needed to learn. Ringenberg & Van Lehn (2006) indicated that using

scaffolding in physics classes can help students answer problems more easily.

With the prior knowledge a student has, the teacher can create an instructional

activity that is slightly above the students' present knowledge level so that the

scaffolding provided can assist them to connect between the targeted new knowledge

state and their current knowledge state. When students reach the first targeted state,

further scaffolding support can be provided to help them expand their learning even

further (Lin and Singh, 2016). This was also agreed by Uduafemhe (2015) saying

scaffolding is a constructivist instructional approach in which students share the

responsibility of teaching and learning by using scaffolds (support) that force them to go

beyond the skills and knowledge they already have. Using the chunking method as a

scaffolding tool also helps students to become better at problem-solving, not just that

but also to become critical thinkers.

For the study to be efficacious, the plan of innovation to be carried out are as

follows: (1) the researcher will give a checklist wherein students need to fill in to obtain

the data needed by the researcher. The plan is to know the effectiveness of using

instructional materials in enhancing the problem-solving skills of the students. (2) If the

collected data is in the hands of the researchers, they will tally and get weighted each
statement. (3) If the data yields a positive effect, then the intervention proposed which is

using instructional scaffolding strategies in problem-solving is helpful and the

researchers will continue to use this strategy in teaching.

 METHODOLOGY

Research Design

In gathering the data required for this study the researcher used descriptive

design in collecting the data on the effects of using instructional scaffolding strategies in

discussing Physics problems with Grade 9 learners and the students’ perceptions of

using the scaffolding strategies in understanding the context of word problems in

Physics.

Participants

The researchers used completed enumeration in collecting the desired

data. The respondents of this study were the 20 students – 14 girls and 6 boys – from

the 9th grade Graham, a Special Program in the Arts (SPA) section.

Research Instrument

The researcher adopted a questionnaire from the research of Govindasamy and

Kwe (2020) entitled “Scaffolding Problem Solving in Teaching and Learning the DPACE

Model - A Design Thinking Approach”. The questionnaire is composed of 10

statements, which talk about how the instructional scaffolding strategies help them in

solving word problems in Physics. This questionnaire used the 4-point Likert Scale to

determine the effects and students’ perception of using the scaffolding strategies to help

them become better problem-solver students. Indicated below are the scale, mean

range, verbal description, and interpretation of the results.

Scale Mean Range Verbal Description Interpretation

4 3.50-4.00 Strongly Agree The strategy is highly

effective.

3 2.50-3.49 Agree The strategy is moderately

effective.

2 1.50-2.49 Disagree The strategy is poorly

effective.

1 1.00-1.49 Strongly Disagree The strategy is not effective.

Data Gathering Procedure

In gathering the desired data for this study, the questionnaire was first-handedly

distributed by the researchers after they discussed the lesson. Beforehand, the

researchers use different instructional scaffolding strategies in all of their classes so

they can see how students enhance their problem-solving skills using the intervention

proposed.

The data obtained from the survey will be tallied, analyzed, and interpreted using

descriptive analysis which was also used to summarize and analyze the data gathered.

Weighted mean was used to know the effects of using instructional scaffolding
strategies in discussing Physics problems with Grade 9 learners and the students’

perceptions of using the scaffolding strategies in understanding the context of word

problems in Physics.

Data Analysis

Descriptive analysis was also used to summarize and analyze the data gathered.

Weighted mean was used to know the effects of using instructional scaffolding

strategies in discussing Physics problems with Grade 9 learners and the students’

perceptions of using the scaffolding strategies in understanding the context of word

problems in Physics. Using the scale mean range, the researcher will know what are the

effects and what are the perceptions of students in using the instructional scaffolding

strategies used in enhancing their problem-solving skills.

 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter discusses data interpretation and analysis, as well as the effects of

using instructional scaffolding strategies in the problem-solving skills in Physics of

Grade 9 Graham. There are 20 respondents, who are all grade 9 section Graham. The

information was gathered through the use of an online survey questionnaire.

Effects of using Instructional Scaffolding Strategies in the Problem-solving Skills

in Physics of Grade 9 Graham

Effects of using instructional scaffolding strategies in the problem-solving skills in

Physics gathered an overall mean of 3.29 which means that the different scaffolding

strategies used by the teachers to teach problem-solving in Physics helps the students

to learn and solve Physics problem and it is moderately effective for the students based

on the results. Table 1 shows that statement 6 “doing the step-by-step procedure help

us reach the desired outcome of the word problem” had the highest mean of 3.50

among the ten statements. This showed that the students learn more effectively when

the teacher taught them the step-by-step process of how to solve world problems in

Physics. While statements 1 “The visual aid used helps us analyze the word problems
presented”, 2 “The probing strategies helped me reach the answer”, 3 “The questions

enable me to understand what is needed to be done”, 4 “The strategies help me to

organize my problem-solving process systemically”, 5 “The scaffolding strategy helped

me break the problems into smaller details”, 7 “Linking our prior knowledge to the

current problems helped us to answer the word problems”, 8 “The scaffolding guidance

strategy helped me to understand and comprehend the word problem”, 9 “The

scaffolding provided through questions and strategies helped me to create a practical

solution to the word problem” and 10 “I believe I can solve word problems in physics

better now” has weighted mean of 3.20, 3.15, 3.35, 3.25, 3.45, 3.30, 3.35, 3.15 and 3.20

which indicates that these were moderately effective as scaffolding strategies.

The most effective scaffolding strategy that most students understand and are

easy to use is the step-by-step strategy when solving Physics problems. They can

easily identify the given, what to find and the formula that will be used in the solution .

Abubakar and Danjuma investigated the effect of an explicit problem-solving technique

(focused on the problem, identifying the problems, designing a solution, taking

appropriate action, and evaluating the solution) on students' academic achievement and

memory in 2012. In this study, which was conducted with 80 high school students, they

used a quartet Solomon model. The researchers developed their physics achievement

test to use as a measurement tool. This technique, according to the results of the three-

dimensional performance measures, is the best strategy for improving students'

academic progress in high school physics classes and enabling them to remember

previous knowledge (Abubakar and Danjuma, 2012).

Table 1. Effects of using instructional scaffolding strategies in the problem-solving skills
in Physics of Grade 9 Graham

WEIGHTED VERBAL
STATEMENTS INTERPRETATION
MEAN DESCRIPTION

1. The visual aid used

helps us analyze the word 3.20 Agree Moderately effective
problems presented.
2. The probing strategies
helped me reach the 3.15 Agree Moderately effective
answer.
3. The questions enable
me to understand what is 3.35 Agree Moderately effective
needed to be done.
4. The strategies help me
to organize my problem- 3.25 Agree Moderately effective
solving process
systemically.
5. The scaffolding
strategy helped me break
3.45 Agree Moderately effective
the problems into smaller
details.
6. Doing the step-by-step
procedure help us reach
3.50 Strongly Agree Highly effective
the desired outcome of
the word problem.
7. Linking our prior
knowledge to the current
problems helped us to 3.30 Agree Moderately effective
answer the word
problems.
8. The scaffolding guidance
strategy helped me to 3.35 Agree Moderately effective
understand and
comprehend the word
problem.
9. The scaffolding provided
through questions and
strategies helped me to 3.15 Agree Moderately effective
create a practical solution
to the word problem.
10. I believe I can solve
word problems in physics 3.20 Agree Moderately effective
better now.
Moderately
OVERALL MEAN 3.29 Agree
effective

RANGE OF MEANS VERBAL DESCRIPTION INTERPRETATION

3.50 – 4.00 Strongly Agree Highly effective

2.50 – 3.49 Agree Moderately effective

1.50 – 2.49 Disagree Poorly Effective

1.00 – 1.49 Strongly Disagree No Alignment

 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The following findings were drawn based on statistical data, descriptive ratings,

and interpretations of the study's results and discussions:

1. Based on the results of the study using instructional scaffolding strategies is

effective in enhancing the problem-solving skills of the learners. The students of grade 9

Graham have different strategies for solving their Physics problems. It is found that the

step-by-step strategy is highly effective when used as a strategy in teaching. This kind

of strategy helps the student to know what is the given, what is asked, and the formula

that will be used in solution when solving word problems in Physics. Students learn

more when word problems are chunked into smaller details for them to know what is the

next step to do in solving the problem.

As a continuation of the research, the researchers recommend the following:

1. Schools, teachers, and the educational system must design an appropriate

strategy for solving problems, especially in Physics and Chemistry. Enhancing the use

of instructional scaffolding strategies for learners will help them to improve their

problem-solving skills and hone their critical minds. Science teachers should use these

strategies more often to practice the students to be independent in solving.

2. Future research could expand more research by conducting surveys and

involving a broader sample of students from various levels of schooling. Conducting

pre-test and post-test exams can also be done to show the validity of the results.

REFLECTION

The problem-solving skill of students is the first skill that can be observed when

teaching subjects like Physics. Before conducting the research, the researchers thought

of many possible interventions to enhance the skills of the learners, but enhancing the

problem-solving skills means you need to enhance the analysis of students. they must

hone their critical thinking to analyze the situations in word problems. So, the

researchers, studied the instructional scaffolding strategies since it will not only enhance

the problem-solving skills of the learners but also their critical thinking. They can link

their prior knowledge to the current word problems they are facing, they can chunk the

problem into smaller steps to reach the desired data and they can visualize images so

that they can understand the word problems given to them. As classes still going on, the

researchers can see the differences in how students can solve problems on their own

now than from the first two weeks of classes when the students are spoon-fed with

ideas since their critical thinking skills and problem-solving skills were at rest for almost

3 years.

This instructional scaffolding strategy will practice using the critical thinking skills

that were sometimes used because of the pandemic. Science teachers or any subject-
specific teachers should scaffold the students minds to practice enhancing their skills

and guide them to become better learners.

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