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Abstract
This paper examines the attempt of Science, Technology and Environment Partnership Centre (STEP
Centre), a unit under Ministry of Education to increase the uptake of science stream students in the
national upper secondary level to 40% from its current value by means of organised practical approaches.
Through conducting a variety of science activities, Program Peningkatan Pencapaian Sains (PPPS) or
“Enhancing Achievement in Science” programme was thus created. The emphasis is on full participation
of “hands-on” and “out-of-classroom” activities in order to achieve the objective. It is co-ordinated with the
collaboration of 6 selected government schools (3 primary schools and 3 secondary schools). With the
first phase of 3-year period almost complete, some 10 big-scale science activities were implemented.
The science teachers of those schools act as activity creators with an average of around 100 students
involved per activity. Based on a series of surveys and informal discussions, the activities arousing
science interest and achievement involve games that are fun to do yet inquiry-type, problem-solving tasks
and encourage teamwork discussions. Those which received many positive comments as reflected by
the students and teachers were Science Trail, Science Fair, Study Visits and Science Educational
Games. However, PPPS alone is insufficient to justify students’ bona fide improved performance thus
inclined them to pursue education in science stream as many other contributing factors would have come
into play. The finding is hoped to significantly provide an impetus for other interested parties in identifying
or creating programmes which serve similar purpose. Further research to assess the high success rate
and effectiveness of an activity associated towards enhancing student achievement must be undertaken
before one is deemed as the best “problem-solver” for such an eminent issue.
INTRODUCTION
Background
A student’s academic performance in any particular subject has always been based on
the end-of-year results especially in public examinations. The statistics derived from
this help determine the relative standard of education for that particular academic
institution the student is studying in. For Brunei Darussalam, the Ministry of Education
(MOE) in its Strategic Plan for 2007 – 2011 (MOE, 2007) stated specific benchmarks
that must be achieved by government schools. In terms of science subject, the
attainment indicator is to achieve 40% of total number of students enrolled in the
science stream at upper secondary level. Another related indicator states that 5%
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annual increase in credit passes in core subjects namely Bahasa Melayu, Mathematics,
English and Science at PSR, PMB, GCE “O” Level and GCE “A” Level must be
achieved. Currently, the percentage of students nationwide entering the science stream
is lower than 40%. MOE is very concerned of the current status and thus seek different
bodies within the ministry to implement various strategies to overcome this shortcoming.
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Pencapaian Sains (PPPS) or “Enhancing Achievement in Science” programme was
devised by STEP Centre (STEP Centre, 2009). Through PPPS, some of the activities
which received positive outcome are highlighted in this paper. It must be stressed that
PPPS programme only provides suggestive out-of-classroom science activities involving
mass students which hopefully help improve their performance. At the same time, the
effectiveness of PPPS is reviewed via informal discussions and surveys. A more
scientific and specific study is thus recommended in discussing the approach.
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FIGURE 1. PPPS PROGRAMME CONCEPT MAP
Goals:
1). = or > 40% enter science stream in Form 4 per school.
2). 5% annual increase in credit passes in science for PMB,
PSR, GCE “O” and “A” Levels per school.
PROJECTS / PROGRAMMES /
ACTIVITIES
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School Participants
As part of a trial, 6 pilot schools were chosen for this programme - 3 primary and 3
secondary schools. Over a period of 3-year phase, the progress and feedback of the
students were analysed. The primary and secondary students are mainly from Primary
4 and Form 1 respectively when PPPS first introduced in 2007. Their results in the
public examinations by the end of 2009 will be used as an indicative tool for PPPS.
Primary 6 students sit for Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (PSR) examination whilst Form 3
students sit for Penilaian Menengah Bawah (PMB). The six chosen schools are within a
cluster area. The students in the three primary schools are most likely transferred to
one of the secondary schools involved in PPPS. This will give a better result if the
programme is monitored for a long period. The names of the schools are:
Primary Schools:
1) Sekolah Rendah Dato Jamil
2) Sekolah Rendah PAP Hajah Besar
3) Sekolah Rendah Junjungan
Secondary Schools:
1) Sekolah Menengah Awang Semaun
2) Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Umar Al-Khattab
3) Sekolah Menengah Masin
Each school came up with their own science activities which were participated by
student cohort of the other two schools. The activities for primary were: Study visit to
PAP Rashidah Nursing College, science enrichment programme at Oil and Gas
Discovery Centre in Seria, Science Trail at Hadfa Plant Nursery and Science
Educational Games. The activities for secondary were: Secondary science quiz,
science teacher workshop on identifying appropriate science field trips, science camps,
study visits to Mengkubau Water Treatment Plant and Tasek Merimbun Heritage Park
and Science Fair (see Figure 2). A lead school co-ordinated each activity (see Figure
3). The leading school for each activity would first discuss the proposal paper with
STEP Centre together with the other 2 related schools. The primary teachers who
prepared them were the science teachers of the upper primary for each school. For
secondary, the Head of Science Department (HOD) was responsible along with the
staff. All activities were done together in one particular venue. Hence, only about 100
students were involved in each PPPS activity as it was not possible to involve all the
students logistically. The co-operation of the teachers involved was crucial for
conducting such big scale activities.
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FIGURE 2. PPPS ACTIVITIES IMPLEMENTED BETWEEN 2007 - 2009
Science Fair
(17 January 2009)
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FIGURE 3. SCHOOL CO-ORDINATORS OF PPPS PROGRAMME
DISCUSSIONS
Analysis Of PPPS
As a preliminary study, the performance of the same students in science subject at the
end of 2007 (Form 1) and 2008 (Form 2) for secondary schools concerned was
analysed. Only two schools had given the results. These schools recorded a drop in
the number of students achieving credit (50% and higher) in science (Lower Secondary
Science). In SM Awang Semaun, the number of students who achieved credit out of a
total 215 students dropped from 34% to 13% in 2007 and 2008 respectively (SM Awang
Semaun, 2009). For SM Masin, based on the marks of each student (population = 254
students), about 88% of the students achieved lower grades than the previous year’s
mark. Do these results reflect negatively on PPPS? Not really. In reality, PPPS could
not account for the negative result in the two secondary schools. This is mainly due to
several reasons:
1) The number of PPPS activities per year was very low, about 2 or 3 per year.
Most consisted of one-day affair with the most was 4 days (science camps).
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2) Not all the students were involved in PPPS due to absence or limited number
allowed to participate. Even the frequency of participation also differed. For
example, in SM Semaun, percentage of participants involved in 4 activities was
2%, 3 activities was 20%, 2 activities was 29%, 1 activity was 12% and nil was
12%.
3) Other factor – as suggested by one of the schools – was due to a science
teacher who pursued further studies by joining a local university in the middle of
the year. Replacement was late and the class had disruptive science lessons
(reliance only on relief teachers).
STEP Centre and the HODs agreed that a more extensive analysis must be made to
ensure the validity of PPPS’ success towards the goals. Similarly, all the schools
involved (including the primary schools) must provide all the required statistics for
comparison as this was not done so.
Science Trail
It was held at a commercial man-made natural park called Hadfa Park in Rimba Village,
Gadong. The leading school was SR PAP Hajah Besar. It involved 112 students and
40 teachers from the 3 participating primary schools. Teachers designed the trail using
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their own creativity. The stations for the trail included observing and describing certain
plants and measuring the length and temperature of a Tilapia fish from a pond. Prizes
were given to the top three teams that were made up of a mixed group of students from
the 3 different schools at the end of the trail. It was also publicised in the local
newspaper and television. Science trail provided a bridge between the curriculum learnt
in school with the daily lives as well as appreciating our natural and cultural heritage
(STEP Centre, 2008). The students also explored the rich flora and fauna grown in that
park. Students sat for a pre-test a day earlier and the post-test upon their return to
schools the next day. Results showed an improvement in the scores showing that the
Science Trail is viable and offer additional extension to the curriculum learnt in school.
Science Fair
It was a one-day event full of hands-on science activities based on the syllabus.
Students were exposed to a different perspective of learning science and the winners
even got to win some prizes. The leading school was SM Sayyidina Umar Al-Khattab.
The leading school also added some other features during that fair by inviting relevant
agencies to exhibit their areas such as the Narcotics Control Bureau and Oil and Gas
Discovery Centre (OGDC) which showcased science and technology games and
materials. 120 students from the three schools joined the activity. The science
teachers devised several activities and named them as:
• Activity 1: Quicksand “Run’’way
• Activity 2: Killer Loop
• Activity 3: Burst-Me-Not
• Activity 4: Smoking Pail
• Activity 5: Rocket Splash
• Activity 6: Win, Lose or Draw
• Activity 7: Surprise Pool
• Activity 9: Unit Conversion
• Activity 10: BMI
• Activity 11: Egg in a bottle
• Activity 12: Fantastic Contraption
These activities were placed in 12 different stations/venues of the school. Pre-Tests
and Post-Tests were done to evaluate the students using similar questions. From the
result obtained, the students fared better in the post-test as expected. According to the
organising school, students have enjoyed most of the hands-on activities. It made them
aware of the role that science plays in their daily lives. The teachers also felt that more
participants could be accommodated if there was enough manpower (teachers) and the
duration of the fair was made longer, for example 2 days.
Study Visits (to Mengkubau Water Reservoir And Water Treatment Plant and National
Heritage Tasek Merimbun)
A one-day study visit to venues that most of the students had never been before is a
very effective way to ensure the students learnt what they saw, observed or
experienced. For the study visits, the lead school was SM Awang Semaun. Both visits
were concurrent. The students were divided into 2 groups as both locations could not
cater for big number of students. Each location accommodated 45 students (15
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students from each school). Each group was accompanied by 6 teachers with the
assistance of 5 Scout members provided by the lead school. The students had a quick
pre-test related to the areas they were visiting before departure that morning. A post-
test was done before they left the sites. The questions were prepared by SM Awang
Semaun teachers who had pre-visited the sites earlier. To motivate the students
further, separate prize presentation in each school was done. Besides creating more
interest and knowledge in scientific areas, the students were able to improve their
question-and-answer skills especially with the experts in those areas.
It was made formal with the prize presentation ceremony held after the event by an
Assistant Director of the Primary Section of the Ministry of Education. The
headmistress of the leading school reported that the students and teachers enjoyed and
learnt some relevant science concepts from SEG. She also pointed out that the
students were able to interact in a conducive manner and strengthened the bond
between the three schools as they seldom had such an opportunity.
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CONCLUSIONS
A more scientific analysis should be carried out to justify genuine effectiveness of PPPS
towards improving mass student academic performance especially in science, thus
improving the number of science stream uptake in Form 4. Such study must also be
able to assess the success rate of each “value-added” activity mentioned in this PPPS
programme. This paper describes a very brief guide towards introducing and
implementing the selected scientific activities. Nevertheless, the basic findings and
activity suggestions are hoped to provide an impetus for schools, in particular, in
identifying or creating similar science enrichment programmes for their students. The
activities arousing science interest and improving achievement involved those which
incorporate games, fun to do yet exercising their problem-solving skills as well as
encouraging discussions. Those which received many positive comments as reflected
by the students and teachers were Science Trail, Science Fair, Study Visits and
Science Educational Games.
REFERENCES
MOE Brunei Darussalam (2007), The Ministry of Education Strategic Plan 2007 – 2011,
2nd Edition, Brunei.
SM Awang Semaun (2009), Report about PPPS initiated by STEP Centre, MOE,
Unpublished report submitted to STEP Centre.
STEP Centre (2008), Exploring Nature Through Science Trail, STEP Forward
Newsletter, June 2008 edition.
STEP Centre (2009), Laporan Progress PPPS, Unpublished report submitted to MOE
Brunei Darussalam.
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