Development and Validation of Contextualized Lessons in Science, Technology, and Society (STS): Impacts on Students’ Conceptual Understanding, Science Process Skills, and Attitudes toward Science
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47750/pegegog.15.02.04Keywords:
Contextualization, Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL), Science, Technology, and Society (STS), Conceptual Understanding, Higher EducationAbstract
Contextual teaching and learning (CTL) has been widely recognized for its effectiveness in enhancing student learning by connecting academic content to real-world contexts. This study employed a descriptive-developmental and true-experimental research design to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of contextualized lesson exemplars in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) for first-year undergraduate students. 40 students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education program at a public university in Masbate, Philippines, were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, with each group consisting of 20 participants. The experimental group received the contextualized lesson exemplars, while the control group followed traditional teaching methods. Pretest and posttest assessments measured the students' conceptual understanding, science process skills, and attitudes toward science. Results showed that the developed contextualized learning materials were excellent (4.68) as rated by the jurors. Inter-rater reliability analysis (κ = 0.61) demonstrated satisfactory agreement among evaluators. The paired t-test results revealed significant differences between pretest and posttest scores in the experimental group, with large effect sizes (d > 1.8) across all five lessons. Posttest scores in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group, with substantial improvements in conceptual understanding (d = 2.75; p < 0.001), science process skills (d = 2.16; p < 0.001), and attitudes toward science (d = 2.52; p < 0.001). These findings indicate that the contextualized lesson exemplars were highly effective in enhancing student learning outcomes, even among non-science majors.
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