Research Publications

Academic theses and dissertations are regularly published and widely disseminated in YUOE Journal, Monographs, Universities Research Journal (URJ), Myanmar Academy of Arts and Science (MAAS) Journal, AsTEN Research Journal and International online Journals for sharing knowledge and contributing to the development of our education.

Myanmar Academy of Art & Science List of Research

No. Researcher Title Abstract Year
1311 Yu Yu Lwin THE EFFECT OF PARTICIPATORY TEACHING METHODS ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL The main purpose of the present research is to study the effect of participatory teaching methods on students’ achievement in mathematics at the middle school level. This study was conducted with both quantitative and qualitative research methods. For quantitative research, an experimental study was used to study the effect of participatory teaching methods. The experimental design adopted in this study was a true experimental design, namely, posttest only control group design. For this study, (120) Grade Six students were selected from schools such as BEHS (4), Pazundaung and BEHS (1), Latha by simple random sampling method. These students were divided into two groups: control and experimental. Experimental group was treated with participatory teaching methods and control group was taught with formal instruction. After that, a posttest was administered to two groups. Independent samples t-test was used to test whether there was significant difference between these two groups. Examination of the means and t-test at BEHS (4), Pazundaung (t = 9.036, p < .001) and BEHS (1), Latha (t = 17.428, p < .001) indicated that students who were taught by using participatory teaching methods demonstrated significantly better than those who were taught with formal instruction. For qualitative research, students from the experimental group from two selected schools were given a questionnaire. It consists of (15) items five-point Likert-scale. The results showed that students expressed their willingness to learn in participatory teaching methods and they had positive attitude towards participatory teaching methods. Research findings proved that participatory teaching methods have positive contribution to the mathematics teaching at the middle school level. 2020
1312 Khin Mar Aung TEACHERS' UNDERSTANDING OF TEACHING-LEARNING SITUATION AND INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES IN CHEMISTRY TEACHING The main aim of this study is to investigate understanding of high school chemistry teachers and their instructional practices in chemistry teaching. In this paper, questionnaire survey method, one of the descriptive methods, was used. Forty-eight high schools were selected with the adoption of stratified random sampling technique from Yangon Region. The participants of the sample were high school chemistry teachers. In order to get the required data, the questionnaire having sixty items with five point Likert-type scales and demographic data were developed. The questionnaire was based on five dimensions for teachers’ understanding: teaching profession, curricular context, instructional strategies, students’ learning needs and assessment. The questionnaire for instructional practices was based on three dimensions: structured practices, student-oriented practices and enhanced activities. The internal consistency of the pilot test was 0.837 and 0.8. The collected data of this study were systematically analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software version as it is widely used in quantitative research. The descriptive analysis techniques were used to tabulate percentages, means and standard deviations. The results showed that the percentages of moderate level of chemistry teachers’ understanding were more than high and low level of understanding teaching and learning aspects. According to Pearson product moment correlation result, it was found that there was a positive, moderate relationship between chemistry teachers’ understanding of teaching-learning situation and instructional practices, (r=.391).It can be interpreted that teachers’ understanding conveyed the associated ideas in chemistry teaching. 2020
1313 Yin Mon Aung A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF DIRECT INSTRUCTION AND INDIRECT INSTRUCTION ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN GEOMETRY The main purpose of this study is to investigate the achievement differences in geometry between Grade Six students those who are taught by using indirect instruction and those who are taught by using direct instruction. It is an experimental research and the design adopted in this study was posttest only control group design. Yankin and South Okkalapa townships were randomly selected from four strata in Yangon City Development Area. One high school from each township was also randomly selected. The participants in this study were (120) Grade Six students and they were randomly selected from each school. Sixteen lesson plans and posttest were developed based on Chapter (7), Area and Volume, from Grade Six Mathematics Textbook Volume (II). Level of posttest items were based on the four levels of Bloom Taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, application and analysis. During the study period, the experimental groups were provided instruction with indirect instruction and control groups were provided instruction with direct instruction. The duration of the study period was two weeks. The posttest scores were analyzed by using independent samples t-test to examine the differences in achievement result between experimental and control groups. The result of the study showed that there was a significant difference in the achievement in geometry between the experimental and control groups in each selected school. This finding pointed out that using indirect instruction is significantly better on students’ achievement in geometry than using direct instruction. It can be suggested that teachers who teach geometry should use indirect instruction to improve in students’ achievement result. 2020
1314 Thin Thin Htike A STUDY OF SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS AND ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS IN SCIENCE AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL The main purpose of this study was to investigate the science achievement of students who are taught with science process skills at the middle school level. This study was conducted with quantitative research method. The experimental design adopted in this study was a true experimental design, namely, posttest only control group design. This study was conducted in Yangon Region. The sample schools for this study were selected by using a random sampling method. Two high schools were selected from two different districts, Yangon Region. The subjects were Grade Seven students selected from No. (1) BEHS Latha and No. (4) BEHS Pazundaung. The reliability of instruments was calculated through a pilot testing with (30) Grade Seven students. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha) of the students’ achievement test was (.743). For this study, (120) Grade Seven students were selected from both schools by random sampling method. These students were divided into two groups: control and experimental. The experimental group was treated with science process skills and the control group was taught with formal instruction. After that, a posttest was administered to two groups. Independent samples t-test was used to test whether there was significant difference between these two groups. Examination of the means and t-test at No. (1) BEHS Latha (t=10.51, df = 58, MD=9.10, p=.000) and No. (4) BEHS Pazundaung (t=14.95, df=58, MD=10.70, p=.000) indicated that students who were taught by science process skills demonstrated significantly better than those who were taught with formal instruction. Research findings proved that science process skills has positive contribution to the science teaching at the middle school level. 2020
1315 Phyu Phyu Win FACTORS AFFECTING THE STUDENT’S INTEREST IN MATHEMATICS AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL The main purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting the student’s interest in mathematics at the middle school level. Especially, this study aims to investigate the teacher factors and student factors that affect students’ interest in mathematics. Quantitative method was used to gather required data. The research method for this study was descriptive research method. Four townships were randomly selected from four districts in Yangon Region. Two high schools and one middle school from each township were selected by using stratified random sampling technique. The subjects in this study consisted of (68) middle school mathematics teachers and (600) Grade Eight students. As instruments, teacher questionnaire, student questionnaire and students’ interest questionnaire were used. For obtaining questionnaire reliability of the pilot test was administered. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha) of five-point Likert-type of teacher questionnaire was (.721), student questionnaire was (.745) and students’ interest questionnaire was (.834). In order to know the correlation between the factors mentioned above and students’ interest in mathematics, Pearson product-moment correlation was used. According to the results, the correlation between teacher factors and students’ interest in mathematics was (r = .778, p< .01) and the correlation between student factors and their interest in mathematics was (r = .565, p < .01). These results showed that teacher factors and student factors were positively correlated with students’ interest in mathematics. 2020
1316 Phyo Thiri Cho A STUDY OF MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GEOMETRY IN MIDDLE SCHOOL LEARNERS The main purpose of this research is to study the misconceptions about geometry in middle school learners. Quantitative research methodology was mainly used to find out students’ misconceptions in geometry. The design adopted in this study was a descriptive research design. This study was conducted in Yangon Region. There are four districts in Yangon Region: East, West, South and North. One township from each district was randomly selected. Two basic education high schools and one basic education middle school from each township were randomly selected. Thus, eight high schools and four middle schools were included in this study. To obtain the required data, (600) students and (68) mathematics teachers were participated in this study. Two instruments: a test for Grade Eight students’ misconceptions in geometry and a questionnaire for mathematics teachers’ perceptions were employed. The test included eight content areas: angles, triangles, congruence of triangles, quadrilaterals, parallel lines, circles, Pythagoras’ theorem, and areas and volumes. The questionnaire consisted of (15) items on a five point Likert scale of (1) to (5) to explore attitude, attention, participation, doing exercises and conceptual understanding. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha) for the test and the questionnaire were (.740) and (.866) respectively. The research findings revealed that most of the students had misconceptions in geometry, and least of the students had understanding the concept and less understanding the concept in geometry. For Grade Eight students, the highest level of misconceptions in geometry was in Pythagoras’ theorem and the lowest level was in angles. For Grade Eight students, the highest level of the causes of misconceptions in geometry was in doing exercises (rote learning) and the lowest level was in attitude. To reduce misconceptions in geometry, it is necessary to ensure meaningful learning and quality education. 2020
1317 Hnin Oo Wai AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE DIFFICULTIES OF STUDENTS IN LEARNING BIOLOGY The main purpose of this study is to investigate the difficulties of students in learning biology. Especially, causes of difficulties in terms of subject matter, use of instructional materials, teachers’ styles of teaching, students’ attitudes, study habits and students’ anxiety in subject were examined. Difficult biology topics were also investigated. Sixteen high schools from eight townships of four districts in Yangon Region were randomly selected. (32) biology teachers and (640) Grade Ten science students from the selected schools participated in this study. Three instruments: questionnaire for teacher, questionnaire for student and an achievement test were used. For obtaining questionnaire reliability, the pilot test was administered. According to the questionnaires’ responses, causes of students’ difficulties learning in biology were presented as percentage. According to the teachers’ responses, the most serious causes of difficulties of students in learning biology were due to inadequate use of instructional materials and students’ poor study habits in biology. Based on the students’ responses, the most serious causes of difficulties were due to inadequate use of instructional materials and students’ anxiety. Difficult topics such as plant and animal cells, plant and animal tissues, bacterial cell and protozoa were mostly responded. And then, students’ achievement in biology was presented as mean score and standard deviation. Pearson product moment correlation was also used to study the relationship between students’ learning difficulties and their achievement in biology. The correlation between students’ learning difficulties and their achievement in biology was r=-.698, p < .01. These results showed that students who have difficulties in learning have lower achievement and vice versa. 2020
1318 Thet Htar Swe FACTORS INFLUENCING ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN LEARNING BIOLOGY The main purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence on students’ academic achievement in learning biology. Specifically, this study aimed at investigating school based factors and student factors that influence on students’ academic achievement in learning biology. Quantitative research methodology was mainly used to gather required data. The design adopted in this study was a descriptive research design. Sixteen high schools were selected from Yangon Region. A sample of (50) biology teachers and (640) Grade Ten science students was used. The school based factors considered in this study include: teaching methods, teaching and learning resources, and principal’s instructional supervisory role. The student factors considered in this study include: teacher- student relationship, students’ attitudes towards biology, students’ motivation towards biology, students’ study habits and parental involvement. A pilot study was conducted to test the reliability of the measuring instruments. Three sets of instruments were used to collect data. These included the students’ questionnaire, the teachers’ questionnaire and an achievement test. Descriptive Statistics such as mean, standard deviation and Pearson product – moment correlation coefficient were used to analyze data using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Programme (SPSS) version 25. The finding indicated that the correlation between school based factors and students’ biology achievement was r = .819, p < .01 and the correlation between student factors and students’ biology achievement was r = .889, p < .01. The results of this study revealed that school based factors and student factors were positively correlated with students’ biology achievement. 2020
1319 Than Than Hsint A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING ON STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT IN GRADE NINE ECONOMICS The major purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of cooperative learning on students' achievement in grade nine economics. This study was conducted using quantitative research method. Quantitatively, an experimental study was used to compare the students' economics achievement between the control group and the experimental group. The posttest only control group design was used in this study. In this experimental study, the subjects were Grade Nine students (economics combination) who were selected and tested from two schools; No. (1) Basic Education High School, Mayangone and No.(4) Basic Education High School, Insein from Yangon Region. The subjects, (64) Grade Nine student were chosen from each school. The students from each school were randomly divided into two groups: experimental group and control group. The subjects from the experimental group were taught by using cooperative learning method and those from the control group were taught by using formal instruction. After that, a posttest was administered to two groups. Independent samples t-test was used to analyze whether there were significant differences between two groups. The results showed that the students who received a treatment by using cooperative learning method were significantly higher than those who received formal instruction. Examination of the mean and t-test at No. (1) Basic Education High School, Mayangone was (t = 6.26, df = 62, MD = 3.00, p < .001) and No. (4) Basic Education High School, Insein was (t = 5.08, df = 62, MD = 2.56, p < .001). The result indicated that there was a significant difference between the two groups. Therefore, research findings proved that cooperative learning method has positive contribution to the economics teaching and learning at the high school level. 2020
1320 Myint Kyaw Hei A CASE STUDY OF USING SCIENCE LABORATORY IN TEACHING SCIENCE SUBJECTS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL The primary purpose of the study is to investigate the science teachers’ perception of using science laboratory in teaching science subjects at the high school level. Science laboratory is a setting in which the students work cooperatively in small groups to investigate scientific phenomena, a unique mode of instruction and unique mode of learning. The design applied in this study was the descriptive case study design. The sample size for this study was six science teachers from No. (1), BEHS, Hlegu and No. (1), BEHS, Mingalardon in Yangon Region. Triangulation, content analysis and cross site analysis were used to analyze the qualitative data such as interview, and observation records. The semi-structured interview and observation checklists were applied to collect the data. According to the result of the study, science teachers perceived that science laboratory had the impact on science teaching. Finally, discussion, and suggestions were provided for improving science teaching and learning at the high school level. 2020