ABSTRACT
Through the establishment of many initiatives in line with one of its guiding principles, Makakalikasan, the Department of Education (DepEd) strengthens and reinforces the integration of environmental education into the basic education curriculum. In fact, DepEd ordered all institutions and schools to amplify environmental education lessons across all science subjects, as well as in class discussions, activities, and drills. Due to this, educational institutions should prioritize practices and the development of instructional materials that support environmental proficiency development.
Thus, this research identified the best practices of sustainable and eco-friendly schools in Region V—Bicol, which were used as a foundation to develop the learning materials for junior high school science. Specifically, it answered the following research problems: (1) What are the best practices of sustainable and eco-friendly schools in Region V—Bicol, along the following: (a) climate change and adaptation; (b) disaster risk reduction (DRR); (c) environmental protection and conservation; and (d) sustainable development? (2) What learning materials may be developed from the identified best practices? (3) What lessons using the developed learning materials may be developed in teaching junior high school science? (4) What are the teachers’ levels of acceptability of the developed learning materials and lessons?
The study used a descriptive-developmental research design. The descriptive- developmental research design was utilized since one of the main goals of the study was to identify the best practices of sustainable and eco-friendly schools through documentary analysis. The designed survey instrument was utilized to collect relevant data, such as the best practices, how they are implemented, challenges and difficulties encountered during implementations, project analysis, funding requirements, and photo documentation. Hence, from the identified best practices of sustainable and eco-friendly schools, the researcher developed learning materials and lessons that can be used in teaching junior high school science in which the identified best practices were used. Furthermore, the results of the juror validation using the tools for the developed learning materials and lessons were also used, specifically the juror’s evaluations, comments, suggestions, and recommendations. On the other hand, the study is quantitative in nature since the question posed was answered by numerical data in order to analyze the validation results and the teacher’s level of acceptability of the developed learning materials and lessons. A weighted mean was used to statistically treat the data collected for the validation process of the developed learning materials and lessons. Furthermore, a mean percentage was used to present the collected data from the experts and to present data on the teacher's level of acceptability of the developed learning materials and lessons.
The study yielded the following results: The best practices of sustainable and eco- friendly schools implemented under (a) climate change and adaptation; (b) disaster risk reduction (DRR); (c) protection and conservation of the environment; and (d) sustainable development were identified and served as the basis for the development of learning materials. There were nine (9) learning materials developed that served as a foundation for lesson development. These learning materials followed the 5E format, which includes the following phases: engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation. There were ten (9) lessons developed using the specific learning competencies from the curriculum guide, in which the best practices were also integrated. Said lessons followed the 5E instructional approach. Then, the ten science teachers determined the level of acceptability of the developed learning materials and lessons using the tool for teachers’ level of acceptability.
To be more specific, the best practices of sustainable and eco-friendly schools were identified using the developed interview guide, which was validated by the experts. The interview guide was rigorously developed in order to capture all of the necessary data to develop learning materials, which is the study's major purpose. The identified best practices are strong points for schools, teachers, and environmental education implementers in order to create a high level of environmental awareness, increase environmental literacy, and instill the value of properly caring for the environment in the minds of learners.
Using the identified best practices of sustainable and eco-friendly schools, the development of learning materials has been successful. The identified sustainable and eco-friendly best practices were used to create effective and meaningful learning materials that can be used in teaching junior high school science. The developed learning materials were validated by the experts using the Department of Education’s LRMDS Experts Evaluation Rating Sheets for Print and Non-Print Resources and yielded very good passing remarks from the validators, which implies recommending approval for public school use. The juror’s evaluation tool on the integration of the identified best practices of sustainable and eco-friendly schools in the developed learning materials was used by the experts and yielded a mean score of 4.61, regarded as "highly integrated," implying that the identified best practices of sustainable and eco-friendly schools were successfully integrated into the materials.
The integration of the developed learning materials into the designed lessons for teaching junior high school science was also successful. Nine (9) lessons have been developed and validated by experts in the field using the lesson validation tool. The alignment of learning objectives to learning activities and learning assessments was assessed, and the following results were obtained: the learning objective has a mean score of 3.76 (highly observed), the learning activities received a mean score of 3.70 (highly observed), and the learning assessment received a mean score of 3.80 (highly observed), resulting in an overall mean of 3.77, interpreted as highly observed. A tool was also used to ensure the integration of the identified best practices into the developed lessons. Based on the expert’s evaluation, all lessons developed garnered a mean score of 4.59, regarded as "highly integrated," which implies that the identified best practices were successfully integrated into the lessons developed.
The teacher’s level of acceptability of the developed learning materials was gathered and analyzed from the evaluation of purposively selected ten (10) teachers teaching science subjects with the use of an adopted and modified acceptability test from a previous study. All nine (9) developed learning materials were evaluated and given a highly acceptable level of acceptance for the three (3) criteria, namely: content, usefulness, and design. Overall mean ratings were totaled for each criterion. Under the content criteria, all learning materials got a mean rating of 4.59 (highly acceptable), while on the usefulness criteria, all materials got a mean score of 4.60 (highly acceptable), and lastly, on the design criteria, the materials got an average score of 4.62 (highly acceptable). Thus, the teacher’s level of acceptability of the developed learning materials, as evaluated by the experts, garnered an overall mean score of 4.61, interpreted as "highly acceptable." Furthermore, based on the results of the jurors’ level of acceptability of the developed learning materials, it is also revealed that 80%, or 8 out of 10 teachers, said that the developed learning materials are "highly acceptable," and thus, 20%, or 2 out of 10 teachers, said that the developed learning materials are "moderately acceptable."
The acceptability of the developed lessons received exceptional feedback from the teachers who took the acceptability test. The acceptability of the developed lessons received exceptional feedback from the teachers; to be exact, 90% of teachers, or 9 out of 10, said that the developed lessons are highly acceptable, while 10% of teachers, or 1 out of 10, said that the developed lessons are moderately acceptable. All nine developed lessons got a mean score of 4.55, which is interpreted as highly acceptable. This implies that the developed lessons are compliant with the DepEd’s standard for developing lessons; thus, the lessons can be used by the teachers in delivering quality instruction.
The study concludes that programs that help safeguard the environment are among the identified best practices of sustainable and eco-friendly schools. As the school implements these practices, they serve as a model for what is appropriate and what learners should do in order to contribute to environmental stewardship and become responsible stewards. The identified best practices of sustainable and eco-friendly schools were successfully used as a foundation for the development of learning materials that can be used by teachers in teaching junior high school science. The jurors gave all nine (9) developed learning materials passing marks in terms of content, format, presentation, organization, accuracy, and up-to-datedness of information, recommending approval for public school use. The developed lessons using the developed learning materials were assessed by the experts and deemed very good. The alignment of the learning objectives, learning activities, and learning assessment were evaluated and assessed by the experts and garnered passing marks, recommending their approval to be used in teaching science lessons. The learning materials were highly acceptable based on their content, usefulness, and design, while the developed lessons were also highly acceptable based on their learning objectives, learning activities, and learning assessment.
The following actions are recommended: The best practices of sustainable and eco-friendly schools that have been identified must be thoroughly examined, evaluated, and presented in the form of a school handbook. It is highly recommended to develop a school handbook about the best practices to assist schools, teachers, and other organizations on how to adopt and which environmental programs to implement; the developed learning materials can be adapted to improve the dissemination of information about the identified best practices of sustainable and environmentally friendly schools, which can be done by many schools. It can also be utilized as a direct instructional tool in teaching junior high school science. Furthermore, the developed learning materials, which are based on identified best practices in sustainable and eco-friendly schools, are highly recommended for implementation to see if they are beneficial in instilling a love of nature in learners and increasing their environmental literacy; science teachers teaching science subjects may apply and adopt the developed lessons using the learning materials in which the identified best practices for sustainable and eco-friendly schools have been integrated. Teachers may also modify any of the features of the lessons, bringing better implications for their students' learning; and the level of acceptability for the developed learning materials can also be gathered from the students, which is significant as they will be the ones to use the materials. Likewise, the teachers who determined the level of acceptability of the developed lessons may come from various divisions under the Department of Education and other interested institutions who view that there is a need to integrate environmental initiatives in today’s education.
Keywords: best practices, climate change adaptation, challenges, eco-friendly schools, sustainable development
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