Psych Educ, Document ID: PEMJ0, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.

7047121, ISSN 2822-4353

Research Article

Comparative Study of the Center-Based Learning Approach and Conventional

Approach: An Academic Performance of Learners Exposed to Approaches
May Q. Apat*
For affiliations and correspondence, see the last page.

Abstract
Every Filipino student will be given a practical understanding of scientific principles and concepts relevant to
daily life as well as the scientific information, values, and skills necessary to assess and solve issues on a
regular basis through the Science Program in the Basic Education Curriculum. The purpose of the study was
to compare the performance of the two regular Grade VI elementary Science and Health classes after
exposure to two approaches, the Center-Based Learning Approach and the Conventional Approach in
teaching. It used a quasi-experimental design. A 50- item-multiple choice knowledge pre-test and post-tests
were given. The mean ratings of performance test between the two groups were computed. The researcher
used ANCOVA in finding the difference of the performance of the two intact Grade Six classes. The analysis
of Covariance Results showed that the performance of the Grade VI pupils in Science and Health subject
when taught with Center-Based Learning Approach and Conventional Approach, differ significantly. The
observed significant level which is <.0005 is less than .05 which led to the rejection of the null hypothesis
which means there is significant difference on Grade VI pupils’ performance in science subject. Between the
two approaches, the Grade VI pupils performed better when exposed to Center-Based Learning Approach
than when pupils were exposed to the Conventional Approach. The Center-Based Learning Approach was
capable of producing better learning performance in teaching than the Conventional Approach in Teaching
Science and Health subject in the elementary grades. The Center-Based Learning Approach therefore is an
effective approach in teaching elementary Science and Health subject and is therefore recommended for
utilization and application.

Keywords: Center-Based Learning Approach, Teaching Science, Innovative Approach, Effectiveness

of Pedagogy, Comparative Performance

Introduction conservation. In the third year, learners focus on

chemistry, which deals with the properties and
The Science Program in the Basic Education chemical behavior of matter, atomic structure,
Curriculum from 2002 aims to give every Filipino chemical changes, and technology affecting the
student a practical understanding of scientific environment and society. In the fourth year, the
principles and concepts related to everyday life as well graduating students have the option to take up either
as the scientific knowledge, values, and abilities Physics or Advanced Chemistry (DepEd 2002).
required to analyze and solve problems on a daily
Several different mediums and resources are used to
basis. Grades 1 and 2 of the restructured curricula
deliver science content. Schools are urged to employ
cover elementary scientific principles and techniques
information and communication technology (ICT) and
in both English and Makabayan. Children are first
community resources to broaden access to knowledge
introduced to science when they are taught how to
and to enrich learning, moving away from a textbook-
notice, track, and explain their interactions with their
driven coverage of material. Learners, teachers,
immediate surroundings. Science is first taught as a
instructional materials, and information technology all
separate subject in third grade. Basic health principles
interact with one another as part of the teaching-
are covered in science in Grades 3to 6, hence the term
learning process. A variety of metrics are used to
"Science and Health." In grades 4 to 6, more time is
evaluate learning. The goal is to compile
provided for science (DepEd, 2002). Additionally, in
comprehensive data on the learners' progress.
the secondary curriculum for First Year, Integrated
Innovative, multidisciplinary, and integrative
Science builds on elementary science and presents
modalities of institutional delivery are used in the
basic concepts in earth science, biology, chemistry,
reformed curriculum (DepEd 2012). Math and science
and physics. In the second year, students study
are deemed to be great subjects to test children on
biology, which is concerned with the living world of
because they are taught and assessed without
human and non-human species, human interactions
consideration for culture or emotion (Dela Cruz,
and relationships with the environment, and the issues
2012). Science, math, and language are taught in
we face in terms of health, reproduction and heredity,
schools all throughout the world as auxiliary topics.
food production, resource management, and
Furthermore, the Philippines placed 36th overall out of

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Psych Educ, Document ID: PEMJ0, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7047121, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article

38 nations in the 1999, Third International

Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for second-
year high school science. The nation achieved a Methodology
comparable outcome in the same subject in 2003,
coming in at number 23 out of 25 nations for Grade 4 Research Design and Sampling Procedure of the
Science. The educational system's issue first surfaced Study
in the Philippines. Thus, the Philippines placed 42nd
out of 45 nations in second-year science at the high The Quasi-Experimental Research Design was
school level. The Philippines skipped the 2007 TIMSS employed in the study to examine the effectiveness of
(Dela Cruz, 2012). It is a fact; Asians are the ones the two randomly chosen Grade VI Science classes.
topping the TIMSS. These include Hong Kong, China, The Narra class was the experimental group which was
Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. Filipino exposed to the Center-Based Learning Approach, and
the Lawaan class was the control group which was
students occasionally place first in international
exposed to the conventional approach. The
science competitions, although they typically attend
experimental and the control classes were taught with
high schools with dedicated programs in science the subject Science and Health within one grading
(Batomalaque, 2010). period, the third grading period in particular. Both
were taught by one teacher demonstrator. The
Though grades are significantly influenced by experimental group, Narra, was taught science subjects
instruction itself, a student's performance on exams in every 8:05 to 9:05 am daily for two hours, and the
the courses/subjects cannot foretell his/her success in control group, Lawaan, was taught every 10:00 to
life (Dela Cruz, 2012). Poor science performance may 12:00 for two hours also.
be attributed to someone's schooling rather than their
own lack of intelligence. In order for students to meet In relation, one section was chosen randomly as the
the standards, a teacher should use the appropriate type experimental group, and the other one, also chosen
of instruction and approaches. A teacher should select randomly, was the control group. The experimental
group was taught using the center-based learning
pedagogical approaches that can lead learners to
approach and the control group with the conventional
higher comprehension and learning in science subjects
approach. Wherein, one teacher handled the two
(ICSU, 2011). Teachers should have the intelligence to classes. Before the pupils’ exposure to the two
incorporate the Multiple Intellect Theory into their learning approaches, namely, the Center-Based
subjects and create demanding and interactive Learning Approach and the Conventional Approach,
activities that will encourage participation while the two intact Grade VI classes were given a 50-item
enhancing learners' intelligence (Apat, 2004). The pre-test.
author believes that the Center-Based Learning
Approach (Apat, 2004) can move students toward This study was conducted at East Prosperidad Central
greater scientific understanding and learning. So, this Elementary School and East Prosperidad SpEd School
study aimed to investigate and assess the effectiveness in the division of Agusan del Sur, Philippines. The
subjects of the study were the 98 pupils of EPCES.
of this pedagogy through comparing the performances
The 43 Grade VI pupils of Narra class are the
of Grade VI pupils in Science and Health subjects after
Experimental Group, and the 45 Grade VI pupils of
exposure to two approaches: the Center-Based Lawaan class are the Control Group. The experiment
Learning Approach and the Conventional Approach. covered one grading period, the third grading period in
particular. The data gathering tool used in this study
Research Objectives was the 50-item knowledge test, conducted as the pre-
test and post-test during the third grading period. The
This study aimed to investigate and assess the test covered learning competencies found in the Grade
effectiveness of the pedagogy, the center-based VI 'Third Grading Science Learning Continuum'. The
learning approach, through comparing the performance fourteen (14) third grade learning competencies
of the two intact Grade VI elementary pupils in
Science and Health subjects after exposure to two
learning approaches, the center-based learning
approach and the conventional approach.

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Research Article

covered topics about volcanoes, volcano eruptions, it was presented to the district supervisor and school
earthquakes due to volcano eruptions, effects of principals of the schools where the subject and
eruptions, precautionary measures before, during, and respondents were located. The test was administered
after volcanic eruptions, and climate and its types. The
personally by the researcher. It was done to ensure that
test is composed of 50 items, which includes 60 easy
category items (30 items), 30% average (15 items), the test paper was recovered completely and to obtain
and 10% difficult category (5 items) percentage. an accurate assessment of the performance of the two
Grade VI classes. Before conducting the pre-test on
The test items were shown and reviewed by ten the respondents, they were made to understand the
respected teachers from East Prosperidad Central purpose and goal of the study. The result of the pre-
Elementary School and East Prosperidad SpEd School, test was not announced to the pupils. A post-test was
Division of Agusan del Sur, Philippines. They were
conducted after one grading period, the 3rd grading
requested to review the items on the test. All of them
gave positive remarks on the instrument. They period in particular. The researcher collected the data
commented that the items are appropriate for assessing from the pre-test and the post-test for the Narra, the
a learner’s performance in Science and Health VI, experimental group, and Lawaan, the control group.
third grade learning competencies. The items are The researcher compared the performance of the two
understandable to students in Grade VI. It suits the grade 6 classes to find the extent of performance after
vocabulary level of the respondents, and the content of exposure to center-based learning approach (CBLA)
every item accurately reflects the third-grade learning
and conventional approach (CA). Thus, an analysis of
competencies. They also commented that each item
a given 50-item multiple choice knowledge pre-test
measures the understanding and performance of the
Grade VI learners on Science and Health subject and post-test for center-based learning approach and
learning competencies, 3rd quarter, third grading conventional approach was done. The mean ratings of
period, and is accurately presented for the purpose and performance tests between the two groups were
goal of the study. explicitly computed. The researcher utilized
ANCOVA in finding the difference in the performance
The term "reliability" refers to the test's consistency.
of the two grade six classes exposed to the Center-
According to Arthur Traxler (1973), stated that points
out that a test which is reliable will yield Based Learning Approach (CBLA) and the
approximately the same result upon repeated Conventional Approach (CA).
administration. The reliability of a test is determined
by computing the coefficient of correlation between
the test result and the test as administered either singly Results and Discussion
or twice. The test's reliability was evaluated by ten
public elementary Grade VI Science and Health
teachers assigned to East Prosperidad Central As for the result, after the control group pupils were
Elementary School (EPCES). The reviewers were exposed to the conventional approach of teaching
Science VI for one grading period, their mean
requested to check any of the two columns, such as
performance increased from 12.20 to 28.64 with an SD
"very appropriate" and "not appropriate. Hence, if
the answer is very appropriate, a weight of 1 is
of 1.69 to 4.30. Herein, there is a mastery level
credited. If it is not appropriate, there is no credit given
increase from 24.40% to 57.28%, which is higher than
to the response. After getting the scores, the coefficient
the DepEd Mastery Level Standard (50%), as shown in
of reliability was computed using the Cronbach
formula (1970). Withal, it was found that the
table 1. Whereas the mean performance of the
computed (r) was 0.84 and is considered highlyexperimental group who were exposed to the Center-
Based Learning Approach for one grading period was
reliable. According to Downie and Health (1984), in
explicitly increased (table 1) from 10.77 to 36.14, with
every usage of r, 0.8 and above is considered a high
coefficient. SD from 2.06 to 4.67, the mastery level improved from
21.54% to 72.28%, which is higher than the DepEd
Nonetheless, before the test was given to the
mastery level standard procedure.
participants of the study, permission to conduct the
study was secured from the school division
superintendent of DepEd Agusan del Sur. After which,

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Research Article

Table 1. Mean performance of the Grade VI pupils center. Thus, the classroom was seen as a community
inScience and Health subjects. of learners engaged in activity, discourse, and
reflection. It creates an environment where learners
develop real-life skills such as time management,
cooperation, responsibility, and flexibility.
Empowering learners to think for themselves makes
them skillful and autonomous learners.

According to Bottini and Grossman (2005), learning

centers in the classroom not only give learners the
chance to experiment, investigate, and build their own
knowledge, but they also give them the chance to
move around, interact with others, make decisions,
take responsibility, and solve problems. They went on
Table 2 shows the analysis of covariance results of the
to say that the centers' creative and stress-relieving
academic performance of the Grade VI pupils in
activities in the arts, music, and dance encouraged self-
Science and Health subjects when taught with two
expression of thoughts and feelings. According to the
learning approaches, namely, the Center-Based
study of an approach in teaching by Patel (2003), an
Learning Approach (CBLA) and the Conventional
effective approach leads to a stimulating learning
Approach (CA), which differ significantly. The
environment that influences and inspires critical
observed significant level, which is <.0005, is less than
learners. Ownership of knowledge is vital in the
.05, which led to the rejection of the null hypothesis of
learning process because it provides confidence and a
the study.
sense of participation in the knowledge community,
Table 2. Analysis of Covariance Results leading to independence. He stated further that an
approach should accommodate and recognize different
kinds of students and varying ethnic groups. A modern
university, especially in a multicultural and open
society, needs to be able to meet the needs of a diverse
student population.

Moreover, philosophers such as Plato and Rousseau

argued that education had to address multiple
dimensions of the individual while relating the person
The covariate, which is the pre-test, showed that the to society. According to Campbell (2011), educators
performance scores of the experimental group and could adapt a wide variety of lessons with traditional
control group were not significantly impacted, which and new media; address post-modern educational
means that they had the same performance. Moreover, concerns such as multiculturalism, diversity of
the R2 (0.420) indicated that 42% of the variance in the perspectives, respect for the individual learner, and
observed performance scores could be explained by critical thinking as strategies for helping students;
the teacher methods used (Table 2). encourage intellectual inquiry, embrace imagination,
promote social change and transformation, and help
Between the two approaches, the Grade VI pupils people to live peacefully with one another. The
perform better when exposed to the Center-Based teacher-respondents witnessed that the center-based
Learning Approach (CBLA), than when they are approach had special effects on learners. In the
exposed to the Conventional Approach (CA) computer center, the learners were motivated to
explore the subject content since the lessons were
Based on the findings, the Center-Based Learning structured to branch out into many possibilities
Approach (CBLA) was capable of producing better depending on their interests and capabilities. In all the
learning academic performance than the conventional centers, the learners made attempts to maximize
approach in teaching science and health subjects in the understanding until their curiosity was satisfied. The
elementary grades (subject). According to Apat pupils perceived the learning tasks as interesting and
(2004), Center-Based Learning created and expanded personally involving.
opportunities for different learning styles and multiple
intelligences as well as teaching practices while coping As perceived by the researcher, the center-based tasks
with this rapidly changing world in the computer demanded a higher degree of learner activity in the

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Research Article

pursuit of knowledge and skills. The pupils explored References

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Dela Cruz, R. (2012). The Science Dilemma in Philippine schools.

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http://www.science.ph/full_story.php?type=News&key=6602:the-sc
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The Center-Based Learning Approach (CBLA) was Department of Education (DepEd) (2002). The 2002 Basic
capable of producing better learning performance in Education Curriculum.
teaching than the conventional approach in teaching
Department of Education (DepEd) 2002 Primer on 2002 Secondary
science and health subjects in the elementary grades. Education Curriculum.
As a result, the Center-Based Learning Approach is an
effective method for teaching elementary Science and Department of Education (DepEd) 2002 Primer on 2002 Elementary
education Curriculum.
Health subjects.
Department of Education (DepEd) 2002 Handbook in Science and
Based on the result of the study, the following are Health (Elementary)
recommended: (1) There are already lots of computer-
Department of Education (DepEd) 2002 Operations Handbook in
aided lessons and simulated lessons in ICT. It is
Science (Secondary)
recommended that the teachers get acquainted with
them through virtual explorations and internet surfing. Department of Education (DepEd) 2012 K-12 Curriculum
The teachers could also program daily lessons by http://www.deped.gov.ph/k-to-12/curriculum-guides ICSU 2011
Report of the ICSU Ad-hoc Review Panel on Science Education.
themselves. (2) The teachers of Department of International Council for Science, Paris. ISBN: 978-0-930357-83-2,
Education should utilize the pedagogy, The Center- © ICSU 2011. 2 p.
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Patel, N. (2003). A holistic approach to learning and teaching
aimed for better performance of their pupils. (3)
interaction: Factors in the development of critical. The International
Center-Based Learning Approach (CBLA) is therefore Journal of Educational Management 17. 6/7 (2003): 272-284.
recommended for utilization and application.
Affiliations and Corresponding Information
May Apat, PhD
Philippine Normal University-Mindanao
Agusan Del Sur, Philippines

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