Factors Affecting Student Concentration

FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ CONCENTRATION IN LEARNING ARALING PANLIPUNAN AT ACT-IS

A Research Presented to The Junior High School Department Asian College of Technology-Integrated School Bulacao, Talisay City, Cebu

Members: BALLARES, DAN PAOLO B. CARAMOL, FRANCES ABIGAIL B. CARREON, KIMBERLEE GIL E. EDILLOR, JAMES RYAN GUMERA, KURT JAVIER N. LAWAS, ANDREW SHANNON P. PLAZA, ALNZEL C.

S.Y 2019-2020

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Acknowledgement

First and foremost, we would like to thank God for this wonderful and successful research proposal we just had. For the blessings he had given us.

We would like to express our deep and sincere gratitude to our research supervisor, Ms. Roxan Mae T. Jao, our Research teacher, for giving us an opportunity to do our research and providing invaluable guidance throughout this research. Her sincerity and motivation have deeply inspired us. She has taught us the methods to carry out the research and to present our research works as clearly as possible. It was a great privilege and honor to work and study under her guidance.

We are extremely grateful for our parents for their love, caring and sacrifices for educating and preparing us for our future. Their support and sacrifices for us to learn in Asian College of Technology and we wouldn’t have come this far if it is not because of them.

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CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING Rationale Each individual has a variety of ways in learning something, specifically in learning certain topics. Others could still be very traditional when they study their lessons – they may read books from the library, solidify their opinions through reading facts from the newspaper or use the encyclopedia to share new discoveries to their fellow classmates. Yet, due to the evolving 21st century flow and system of learning, students improve as well. As the technology grows and continues to help in providing thousands of information to the students, the learning styles of the 21st century learners change as well. For instance, students-researchers gather inspiration for their chosen study from the online studies posted by professional researchers on the web. With this, different concepts and ideas can be found and innovated by student-researchers to improve the study and to better find the solution to the problem. In layman’s terms, learning style refers to the preferential way in which the student absorbs processes, comprehends and retains information.

The students’ concentration is needed also in getting to the topic but, there are factors that may also affect the students’ interest – the students themselves, teachers’ teaching styles or even the environment.

One of the subjects that is part of the enhanced, context-based, and spiral progression learning curriculum implemented by the Department of Education for Grades 1 to 10 is the subject Araling Panlipunan, an online newspaper under Sun Star; a number of Filipino students find the subject dull and boring. As mentioned by the same site, aside from the learners, the subject teachers are more challenged to make their students process and comprehend the lessons

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and have interest in the subject itself. Students of this generation look for interesting methods and approaches as to how the teachers would teach and handle this subject (pressreader.com)

With the aforementioned concern, this study’s main purpose is to find the most evident and worsening factors that impact the students’ interest towards the subject. Upon discovering those factors at the end of the study, the researchers can therefore conclude and formulate possible and effective suggestions and recommendations to solve the approach and treatment of the students towards the subject, specifically from the chosen locale which is Asian College of Technology Junior High School Department.

Scope and Limitation The scope and limitation of the study is Asian College of Technology Integrated School in Bulacao Talisay City, Cebu.

Main Problem of the Study Factors Affecting Students’ Concentration in learning Araling Panlipunan.

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Theoretical-Conceptual Framework

In this chapter, the researchers will provide theories which support the analysis of the thesis or research. The theories given will be about the school curriculum on behalf of Araling Panlipunan, the students, teachers and the environment theory. Therefore, this section will give an overview of relevant aspects of the given theories.

Students’ Concentration

Factors

Students

Teachers

Distraction – Conflict Theory

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Enviroment

Statement of the Problem

The study aimed to identify the factors that influenced students’ concentration in Araling Panlipunan subjects. It specifically seeks to answer the following: 1. What are the factors affecting the interest of students in AP subjects?

1.1 Student 1.2 Teachers 1.3 Environment 2. What are the signs that a student loses interest?

2.1 Sleepiness 2.2 Absence of Mind 2.3 Mismatched Learning Style 3. What are the impacts of AP subject to the students?

Significance of the Study The study is conducted for the benefits of the students which would help them learn.

Learning styles that are used by the proctor or professor in which the students would be intrigued by the lectures that would be given by the proctor. Most of the students find class boring which would make them absent-minded. When a class is boring and not intriguing enough for the students, the outcome is that they would not learn anything and they would have a hard time getting its main point of the lecture.

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The main beneficiary of this study is the school in Bulacao, Talisay City, Cebu which is Asian College of Technology; since the school is the number 1 in child development center in Cebu and Cebu City South and also in multiple intelligences.

Most people have a preferred way to learn. Some learn best by listening, some have to observe every step, while others have to do it to learn it. The fact is that individuals need all three modalities to truly commit information to memory: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. While most are typically stronger in one area than another, the trick is figuring out the preferred modality and capitalizing on strengths.

Definition of Terms Concentration- the action of putting students’ focal points into a task that they are supposed to finish or be attentive to in learning the subject AP.

Learning styles- various ways of grasping knowledge about facts and information. Performing different techniques in order to gather knowledge regarding the subject AP.

Motivation- the main positive or negative reason as to why students are supposed to achieve a certain task or goal. What keeps them going on doing a task and getting the job done. The main cause as to why someone or something will achieve

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Factor- a particular possibility that can or might contribute to the outcome of what has happened to the explanation of a topic, the effect of a certain event, and many more.

Interest- the solid circumstance of wanting or having the desire to learn about a certain person, topic, event, or subject in this world.

Araling Panlipunan - Araling Panlipunan, or Social Science in English, is the study of human society, important events in the history of society of the world and social relationships. Araling Panlipunan or Social Sciences is also the study of Economics, Politics, and History of the World.

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CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In exploration, we find new techniques, methods, or even reasons on why there is ongoing detachment and the lack of enthusiasm and interest among students whenever the period or subject in school is in all relation to Araling Panlipunan. The researchers employ this study to understand the situation furthermore and to find out the logistics in order to make this study more efficient. The subject itself wholly benefits and contributes to the development of a citizen – a student, who needs to have awareness and critically analyze current issues and concerns in the local and global level.

In this era of globalization and technological subversion, education is considered as a first step for every human activity. It plays an essential role in the development of human capital and is linked with an individual’s well-being and opportunities for better living (Battle & Lewis, 2002). It ensures the acquisition of knowledge and skills that enable individuals to increase their productivity and improve their quality of life. This increase in productivity also leads towards new sources of earning which enhances the economic growth of a country (Saxton, 2000). The quality of a students’ performance remains at top priority for educators. It is meant for making a difference locally, regionally, nationally and globally. Educators, trainers, and researchers have long been interested in exploring variables contributing effectively for the quality of performance of learners. These variables are inside and outside school that affect students’ quality of academic achievement.

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Araling Panlipunan is characterized with Meaningful Integrative Value (Llanos, 2017), that is, meaningful when students see the relevance and connection of their lesson/s to themselves and their lives because it has the real, so-called “world application”. It is extensive for students to recognize the subject matter because it is important for them to use disciplined inquiry or high thinking skills to construct meaning. This makes their learning authentic and credible.

Sadly enough, a major count of students find this subject irrelevant or boring since they don’t really see the application of the subject to their future lives. In other schools, only 12% of high school seniors were considered proficient in History-related classes by the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ or NAEP (Foley, 2016). The subject primarily deals with economics, politics, history, the government, and even our society today. The contents of the subject are highly objective in nature and should be taught in an exact and comprehensive way.

If not, then, it is one of the reasons why the chances of their academic success are diminished.

Many teachers struggle with finding out how to motivate students to learn, and this is especially true when teaching social studies (Sun Star Pampanga, 2017). If teachers feel as if their teaching strategies are not effective enough, they must go for another alternative. They should use different teaching strategies to tap into their interests and to help improve the chances of academic success in the Araling Panlipunan subject. Motivation would always hold the key for effective flow of academic activities within a classroom. It ignites the students to achieve optimum learning experiences through having a better understanding of a certain unit. According

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to Eric Jensen (2005), author of Teaching with the Brain in Mind, motivation is “arousal and drive”. Arousal is the orientation towards a goal while drive is caring enough to do something about achieving a goal. Ultimately, success in the classroom may be formed in many different ways, but there are a few points that are absolutely necessary.

Various studies have been done and found that peer influence also has an impact on student performance (Hanushek, 2002; Goethals, 2001) and also have been shown that peer influence has more powerful effects. Peer support was positively related to students’ examination score and grade. Wilkinson and Fung (2002) in their study concluded that by grouping students in heterogeneous learning ability (low ability students grouped with high ability students) will show an improvement in learning process and outcomes.

As we are living in a visual world, it is a reason why something as small as conveying a photograph or seeing a historical event captured in a movie may just be the piece that captivates a student and keeps them engaged (Garcia, 2017). A single suggestion is that the teacher should try finding a powerful photograph and have the students critique the picture. They would try to convey what the picture is trying to tell them and they would be able to discuss with their class what they think of the photograph and the kind of events that happened in the past. Or even trying to search historical events captured on films that have relevance to the current topic/s discussed in class. Content subjects and concepts in Araling Panlipunan are rich in realistic bases and inspiration. In that manner, students could bring historical events and social issues to life by acting a particular scene as a part of their school’s concept or field to life. Afterwards, they can

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talk about what they have learned and discuss the presentation. Activities that involve the interaction between the students and their classmates would engross them and improve interest and their connections, as well as understanding. Supporting the findings from Fung (2002) and Schindler (2003), Giuliodori, Lujan and DiCarlo (2006) added that peer interaction could increase student ability on solving problem-solving questions and the peer instruction will also promote student’s participation and improve student’s performance. Documentations, skits, or talk shows are substantial ways to engage students and to motivate them to find an interest or love for the subject, Araling Panlipunan. Bringing a historical event to life is much easier with the help of technology. A majority of students might be lazy but it is solely our ways of research that have changed. It is not just about databases, but also about primary and secondary books that are now fully or partially accessible online through the school you are enrolled at (Schnieber, 2016). This is why students prefer searching from the Internet.

This adds up to the student’s feelings. In an article by Patricia Hardre (2003), a motivational model for students’ intentions to persist in, versus drop out of school, she surveyed students in asking them to rate the importance of certain qualities. The questions like, “My teachers provide me with options and choices,” and “My teachers try to understand how I see things before they suggest to me how they would handle a certain situation”, were scored very highly and are viewed by the students as the most important aspect of a well-rounded teacher. If a teacher provides the student with several ways to come up with an answer, it will not only encourage the child to learn, but it will show them that the teacher is interested in their success and they have high expectations for them. The perception of a student about his or her student is critical, and plays a major role in whether or not a student would be successful. The expectations 12

an educator places on their students will help shape the way the class learned from the first day until the very last.

These characteristics are very important, but what will lead to the student’s success in learning is the teacher’s ability to motivate and come up with ways to construct a compelling method to get them interested in the certain class or subject. Isaac Friedman (2011) explained that having a positive attitude will ultimately build a student’s confidence and make them feel supported and believed in. Students are also often faced with tasks that they have difficulty and those that they find daunting, and without a support system it can easily be told that a student would lose the ability to face a challenge. In a study by a Johnmarshall Reeve (2003), it is excruciatingly painful to observe a classroom where a teacher has made other students feel special and others have been made to feel incompetent. One of the main problems is that teachers are still trying to lecture students and expect them to retain a vast amount of facts, instead of trying to answer the correct interpretation. This means that if you require your students to sift through material and put together the pertinent information themselves, they are much more likely to hold onto that information (Skinner, 2008). This higher level of learning will give the student more confidence because they will believe that the teacher has faith in them.

Though Araling Panlipunan is a prime subject, it is up to the teacher, instructor, or proctor to catch and tickle the attention of the students. In addition, the teacher responsible for the subject must make information relevant to the students and their respective lives. Tie topics to the students’ interests and connect what they know to what is happening around them. It is one

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way for them to see and realize that Araling Panlipunan is not just about living under the nook of a textbook, but it is also happening in the society they partake in. Students are most likely to be engaged when they have input over what they are learning.

Technology can be the best friend of a student but also their great adversary. Another reason why students’ lose interest during the period is that they prefer not to search more about the topic. According to Rudgers Today (2019), the students who cannot stop texting and browsing the Internet even at night perform poorer than their counterparts that use technologies moderately. Students were sleepier during the classes and absorbed less knowledge. Besides, staying up late disrupted their natural rhythm, which also impacted performance.

It is also of significant importance to the academic achievement of students. But instead of achieving academically, students turned out to be a cheating instrument. Most researchers concur that the incidence of academic misconduct in our middle schools and highschool has increased significantly in recent years (Underwood and Szaba, 2003). Although educators and academics disagree on the root causes of this alarming behaviour. Students would look into the side of the Internet just for the purpose of passing a certain subject without learning anything at all.

That does not make it an excuse for the students to have low performance levels whenever the class is in relation to Araling Panlipunan. Class attendance is also believed to have a positive relationship with students’ academic performance. It was expected that high absentees 14

from the class would have a negative effect on the student’s academic grades and would decrease their examination scores and grades. Many researchers recognized that class attendance is an important aspect in improving student’s performance.Marburger (2001) concluded that students who missed class were significantly more likely to respond incorrectly to questions relating to material covered that day than were students who were present.Arulam palam et al. (2007) found that there is a causal effect of absence on performance for students: a missing class or the impartiality of a certain class leads to poorer performance.On the other hand, Martins and Walker (2006) mentioned that there are no significant effects from class attendance. This is also supported by Park and Kerr (1990) and Schmidt (1993) who found an inverse relationship between students’ attendance and their grades. Jennjou Chen (2006), in his study “Class attendance and exam performance: A randomized experiment”, found that class attendance has produced a positive and significant impact on students’ exam performance. His result revealed that, on average, attending lectures corresponds to a 7.66% improvement in exam performance.

Karemera (2003) found out that the students' performance is significantly correlated with satisfaction with academic environment and service received. Environmental influence before now has not been considered as one of the factors that affect academic performance in secondary schools hence it has little or no attention in educational discourse and consideration. But over the past decade remarkable studies have indicated a correlation between the environment and academic performance of students. Environment plays a major role in the life of every individual whether a student, teachers, employer or employee. Though some people are yet to believe that the environment brings about better performance. Therefore for the student to carry out their learning process effectively and efficiently, it is necessary that learning should take place in a 15

conducive environment. Hence, it is penitent to critically look at the environmental factors that influence the academic performance of the students. So as with measures that can help improve their academic performance to be able to understand further on what a certain facility, organization, or educational institution lacks.

One of the factors that influence academic performance is the school location/site of the school. This is so because in a situation where the school is sited in a noisy area like the airport or in the heart of a city like Manila, where activities disrupt the teaching/learning of the students.

One will not expert such students in this area to be doing well academically. Onukwo (2004) in his note says that a conducive environment enhances a child's growth and development. Children feel happy in a peaceful and friendly environment whereas schools sited in noisy urban streets are associated with deficits in mental concentration leading to student’s poor performance. Noise is anything that interferes with the teaching/learning process. Noise produces influence on children's information processing strategies, feelings of personal control as well as their level of arousal. As culture has to do with beliefs, values, norms and socializations, research evidence have shown that the environment whether urban or rural industrial also contributes to what a child learns and how it is being learned. Some communities have a history/tradition of formal education and modern education influences. Then some are not so well equipped. The gadgets, resources, facilities in both types of community will influence the learning processes of the child.

Student's cannot single handedly achieve all their goals. So they must be equipped with adequate technological facilities such as textbooks, clients, computer, visual and audio-visual aids, photographs and posters Vikoo (2003) views instructional material as "any device with instructional content or function that is used for teaching purpose, including books, 16

supplementary reading materials, audio-visual and other sensory materials, scripts for radio and television instrumentation programs for computer management packaged sets of materials for construction or manipulation.

Relating this study to international occurrences are also the assertions of Williams, Perand, and Turnet (2008), quoting Marsden (2005), which reported that safe and orderly classroom environment (aspect of instructional space) and school facilities (accessories) were significantly related to students academic performance in schools. While it is asserted that a comfortable and caring environment among other treatments helped to contribute to students’ academic performance. Educational services are often not tangible and are difficult to measure because they result in the transformation of knowledge, life skills and behaviour modifications of learners (Tsinidou, Gerogiannis, & Fitsilis, 2010). So there is no commonly agreed upon definition of quality that is applied to the education field. The environment and the personal characteristics of learners play an important role in their academic success. The school personnel, members of the families and communities provide help and support to students for the quality of their academic performance. This social assistance has a crucial role for the accomplishment of performance goals of students at school (Goddard, 2003).

Many researchers have been done discussing the different factors that affect the students’ academic performance. There are two types of factors that affect the students’ academic performance which show that internal and external classroom factors are strongly affecting the students’ performance. Internal classroom factors include students’ competence in Araling

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Panlipunan, class schedules, class size, Araling Panlipunan textbooks, class test results, learning facilities, homework, environment of the class, complexity of the course material, teachers’ role in the class, technology used in the class and examinations system. External classroom factors include extracurricular activities, family problems, work and financial, social and other problems. Research studies show that students’ performance depends on many factors such as learning facilities, age and gender differences and many other factors that can affect student performance.

The academic performance of students in a classroom is very important as this is capable of determining whether or not the student is doing well during lectures. School administrators should attach importance to students’ academic performance. This is to see if they are doing well academically. Academic performance defines the totality of a student in their school life.It has been showed that the engaged students learn more, retain more, and enjoy learning activities more than students who are not engaged and they are the most successful (Kirsch, 2002).Strategic studying techniques may help students achieve a higher score in the examination.

Felder et al. (2000) recommended that active learning is one of the learning strategy methods that work. In addition, Felder and Brent (2003) mentioned that as little as five minutes of active learning in a 50-minute class session can produce a major boost in learning. According to them, active learning wakes students up.

Another factor associated with strategic studying technique is time management skill.

Time management skills are also important to academic success. Time management skills

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include activities performed by students such as planning in advance, prioritizing work, test preparation, and following schedules. Balancing time management and study techniques may achieve higher academic performance effectively (Powell, 2004). Syed Tahir Hijazi and Raza Naqri (2006) in their study found that attitude towards time allocation for study has a significant influence on class performance.

The factors affecting a student's academic performance is an important issue in higher education especially in the current educational programme. It is interesting to note that all of the research conducted supports the hypothesis that students’ performance in their academics depend on different socio-economic, psychological and environmental factors.

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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design This study is qualitative and quantitative research which focuses on seeking deep understanding and social phenomena and the research also needs to have statistical, computational or mathematical formulas to derive results. This study is a mixed method as the researchers will use verbal interview and survey questionnaires to gather data for the researchers to derive the result.

Research Environment

The research was conducted at Asian College of Technology Integrated School, Bulacao Talisay City, Cebu Philippines. The researchers conducted the research in this location because they are very familiar with the facilities which makes it very convenient for them.

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Respondents of the Study

The respondents of the study are the students of Asian College of Technology. The researchers will mainly focus on junior high school. We will randomly choose 5 respondents in junior high school both grade 10 and 9 levels as the researchers observed that most of the students at both grade levels are having a hard time to learn the subject. The researchers are going to have verbal interviews and survey questionnaires.

Research Instrument The researcher will use a variety of tools to gather data. It includes the following: 1. Verbal Interview The researchers will be conducting an interview to observe the reaction and how will they answer the subject or the questions that the researchers will ask.

2. Survey Questionnaires

This tool is used to know the insights of the respondents to the subject, what they think about the subject, how useful the subject is and their opinion about the subject. We are going to have 2 tests. The first test is going to be survey questionnaires and the second test is going to an interview conducted by the researcher.

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Data Gathering Procedure

The procedure in data gathering is that we, the researchers, will make survey questionnaires and conduct an interview for the chosen respondents to answer the questions we seek. The respondents are coming from the Junior High School, specifically from Grades 9 to 10.

Then the researchers will gather all the data or answers and assess the answers of the respondents, so the researchers will be able to prove its hypothesis, conclude and recommend for the betterment of the study.

Once the study succeeds, we will ask permission from the school to give the research to the AP teacher or for the future AP teacher to use our research as a basis on how they will make a student interested in the subject and what learning styles should be implemented.

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CHAPTER 4 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter talks about the data that has been gathered. When the researchers already have their subjects with the address of consent letter and the proper permission to proceed, the researchers will start to interview with the research instruments to the subjects about their insights about Araling Panlipunan. The questions asked by the researchers to the subjects are shown in table below.

Strongly Agree ( Grade 9 ) Araling Panlipunan is varied in topics.

The subject is engaging.

It expands your knowledge.

Air conditioners make you drowsy.

A noisy class distracts you from learning.

The walls aren’t soundproof.

A teacher's teaching tactics are essential.

The teacher communicates with the students.

The teacher enjoys teaching the subject.

The student's interest is essential in learning.

Students have different learning styles.

The student enjoys learning about the topic.

2.50% 0% 2.50% 0% 12.50% 2.50% 10% 7.50% 5% 7.50% 15% 2.50%

Agree 20% 22.50% 20% 12.50% 7.50% 15% 12.50% 15% 12.50% 12.50% 7.50% 12.50%

Disagree 2.50% 2.50% 2.50% 7.50% 2.50% 7.50% 2.50% 2.50% 7.50% 2.50% 2.50% 7.50%

Strongly Disagree 0% 0% 0% 5% 2.50% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2.50% 0% 2.50%

Table 1 (Grade 9) Table 1 shows the result conducted by the researchers. It shows that the highest percentage in the table is 22.50% on the factor of the subject itself in which the grade 9 students agreed that the subject is engaging. The highest percentage on the factor “environment” is 12.50% which they agreed that a noisy class distracts you from learning . The highest percentage on the factor “teacher” is 10% which agreed that a teacher’s teaching tactics are essential. And the highest 23

percentage on the factor “student’s themselves” is 15% which they agreed that students have different learning styles.

Table 2 (Grade 10) Strongly Agree (Grade 10) Araling Panlipunan is varied in topics The subject is engaging.

It expands your knowledge.

Air conditioners make you drowsy.

A noisy class distracts you from learning.

The walls aren’t soundproof.

A teacher's teaching tactics are essential.

The teacher communicates with the students.

The teacher enjoys teaching the subject.

The student's interest is essential in learning.

Students have different learning styles.

The student enjoys learning about the topic.

10% 12.50% 17.50% 15% 20% 12.50% 15% 10% 10% 17.50% 20% 5%

Agree 15% 10% 2.50% 5% 2.50% 7.50% 10% 15% 15% 5% 5% 10%

Disagree 0% 2.50% 2.50% 2.50% 2.50% 5% 0% 0% 0% 2.50% 0% 5%

Strongly Disagree 0% 0% 2.50% 2.50% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 5%

Table 2 shows the result conducted by the researchers. It shows that the highest percentage in the table is 17.50% on the factor “subject itself” in which the grade 10 students agreed that the subject expands a student's knowledge. The highest percentage on the factor “environment” is 20% which agrees that a noisy class distracts you from learning. The highest percentage on the factor “teacher” is 15% which they agreed that a teacher’s teaching tactics are essential. And the highest percentage on the factor “student’s themselves” is 15% which they agreed that students have different learning styles.

CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, & RECOMMENDATIONS 24

This chapter will show the final outcome of the research. This chapter will provide the summary of findings gathered with the research instruments. This chapter will also present the implication, conclusion and recommendations.

Summary of Findings

As the researchers already gathered the data with the research instruments, we found out there are factors that affect student’s concentration in learning AP subjects. During the tests and interview the participants observed that they mostly had the same answers. The study really helps in solving the conflict that affects the students and teachers. Environment of the school really matters to students as they learn the subject. Students have different ways of learning a subject. Teaching tactics must reach the learning styles of the students in order to not lose students’ concentration and the teacher or proctor must also show interest towards the subject to make the subject more interesting and intriguing to the students. We also found out that one of the major factors that affect the students’ concentration is distraction of their environment, specifically noises around students. Time schedules also affect the students’ concentration in learning the subject especially when the subject is scheduled in the afternoon. Students prefer to have the subject in the morning as they’re more energetic and more awake.

Conclusion

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This research study proves that the three factors: the students themselves, who go through their preferred ways of learning, a teacher’s teaching tactic/s or the influence they have on students and the school environment have different effects on students. Most of the students lose their concentration in learning AP subjects because of these three factors. Students’ interest is essential as it is one of the major factors that affect the students’ concentration in learning the subject, AP. Students should know the different ways in learning in which they would find the most effective way/s that they would use in order to learn the subject easier and at the same time it gives them interest. A teacher’s teaching tactics must reach the students’ standards and at the same time, it challenges or pushes the students to learn the subject. School environment really matters as students are learning. Even the students’ attention to the subject is one hundred percent, when its environment is noisy or distractful, some of the percentage of attention would be affected which is why environment really matters in learning. Among all the factors, the major factor that really affects the students’ concentration is the environment where students are learning.

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Recommendations

To further improve the study, the researchers recommend the following: 1. A teacher’s tactics must reach the students' standard of learning.

2. Different learning styles must be presented to the students.

3. Silence in the room must be observed frequently and must be strictly followed during class hours.

4. The subject must be engaging enough to test the abilities and preferences of the students.

5. Pep or motivational talks should be done in order to boost the students morale.

6. Better observation techniques during classes.

7. The schedule of this subject, AP, must be in the morning.

8. A teacher’s interest must be presented to the students.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cummins , E. (2017, July 5). Robert Zajonc & Social Facilitation. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/robert-zajonc-social-facilitation.html

Fowlkes, S. (2010, January 18). WHY DO MOST STUDENTS REGARD HISTORY AS A BORING SUBJECT? [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://archive.org/post/286793/why-do-moststudents-regard-history-as-a-boring-subject

Garcia, E. (2017, March 22). HOW TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS TO LOVE ARALING PANLIPUNAN. Retrieved from https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/sunstar-pampanga/20170322/281608125255143

Mushtaq, I. Nawaz, S. (2012, June). Factors Affecting Students’ Academic Performance.

Retrieved from https://globaljournals.org/GJMBR_Volume12/3-Factors-Affecting-StudentsAcademic.pdf

Pearson, S. (2017). The powerful impact of good teachers on student achievement. Retrieved from https://www.tsc.nsw.edu.au/tscnews/the-powerful-impact-of-good-teachers-on-studentachievement

Rivera, A. (2017, October 24). Strategies in Teaching AP and ESP in the K12 Curriculum.

Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/sirarnelPHhistory/teaching-strategies-in-ap-and-esp 28

Sauer, K. (2012, December). The Impact of Student Interest and Instructor Effectiveness on Student Performance. Retrieved from https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi? article=1244&context=education_ETD_masters

Shrestha, P. (2017, December 7). Social Facilitation Theory . Retrieved from https://www.psychestudy.com/social/social-facilitation-theory

Rum Tan 30 October 2018 Top 5 Reasons Students HATE History – And what you can do to change that Retrieved from https://smiletutor.sg/top-5-reasons-students-hate-history-and-whatyou-can-do-to-change-that/

Warfield, K. (2016, May 5). How Surroundings Affect Students’ Learning [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://exchange.character.org/how-surroundings-affect-students-learning/

Appendix A: Transmittal Letter

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The attached letter is proof that the Asian College of Technology International Educational Foundation has given us the permission to conduct the said study in Bulacao, Talisay City.

Appendix B: Survey Questionnaires 30

4 = Strongly Agree

3 = Agree

2 = Disagree

1 = Strongly Disagree

Subject 1. Araling Panlipunan is varied in topics.

2. The subject is engaging 3. It expands your knowledge.

Environment 4. Air conditioners make you drowsy.

5. A noisy class distracts you from learning.

6. The walls aren’t soundproof.

Teacher 7. A teacher’s teaching tactics are essential.

8. The teacher communicates with the students.

9. The teacher enjoys teaching the subject.

Students 10. A student’s interest is essential in learning.

11. Students have different learning styles.

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12. The student enjoys learning about the topics in the subject.

Appendix C: Verbal Interview Questionnaires

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1. What do you think about the subject, Araling Panlipunan?

2. Do you think teaching methods affect the learning of the students?

3. Does the environment affect your concentration in class?

4. Does the schedule of the subject affect your concentration in class?

Appendix D: Research Location The research was conducted at Asian College of Technology Bulacao, Talisay City, Cebu. The picture below is the exact location.

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