Contextualized Modules in Physics for Junior High School Students

Abstract

Making instruction relevant to students is significant in the implementation of the K-12 curriculum. In response to the call to contextualize curriculum, this study developed and validated contextualized modules in physics for junior high school students through research and development methodology. It involved three phases: planning phase, development phase, and validation phase. The planning phase involved intensive review of science curriculum and contextualization of instruction, and identification of relevant materials and processes as tools for contextualization. The developmental stage involved writing the modules using the identified inputs and reviewed instructional design. In the validation phase, the contextualized modules in physics were validated by five experts in the field of physics education in terms of objectives, content, learning activities and evaluative activity. In the field testing, the 86 Grade 9 students of the UNP-Laboratory High School served as the respondents. The result showed 1) the contextualized modules in physics are “Very Much Valid”, 2) the modular instruction group performed better in the posttest than the traditional lecture group, and 3) the modular instruction group improved their performance better than the traditional lecture group as shown in the normalized gain. It is concluded that the contextualized modules in physics are effective materials in improving students’ achievement in physics.