CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHOD

3.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the Research Method which is divided into Research Design, Population and Sample, Research Instruments, Procedure for Data Collection, Procedure for Data Analyses, Pilot Study, and Summary. This research used experimental design to investigate the effects of prerequisite mathematics ability, English language skills, and teaching method on mathematics achievement.

3.2 Research Design

A factorial experimental design was used to investigate the effects of three independent variables; namely, prerequisite mathematics ability, English language skills, and teaching method; on the dependent variable of mathematics achievement. This section will explain the factorial design with each of the independent variable having two levels. The two levels of prerequisite mathematics ability were low and high; the two levels of English language skills were low and high; and the two levels of teaching method were direct instruction and cooperative learning. A (2x2x2) factorial design was used in this research with a total of eight groups/cells. The factorial design is shown in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1: (2x2x2) Factorial Design on Mathematics Achievement

Prerequisite Mathematics Ability

Low High

English Language Skills: Low Direct Instruction Direct InstructionEnglish Language Skills: High Direct Instruction Direct Instruction

Prerequisite Mathematics Ability

Low High

English Language Skills: Low Cooperative Learning

Cooperative Learning

English Language Skills: High Cooperative Learning

Cooperative Learning

3.3 Population and Sample

This was a part of an action research planned for a public secondary school in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. The research population comprised of all the Form 4 students in the school for the school year of 2009. A total of 240 Form 4 students were randomly selected as research sample. Other population and sample were not considered in this research, since it was an action research for the school.

3.4 Research Instruments

There were four instruments used in this research, namely: (a) Backgrounds Questionnaire to collect data on backgrounds of respondents; (b) Prerequisite Mathematics Pretest to measure students’ prerequisite mathematics ability; (c) English Language Pretest to measure students’ English language skills; and (d) Mathematics Posttest to measure students’ mathematics achievement. The four research instruments were developed by two mathematics teachers and two English Language teachers from the school. The Backgrounds Questionnaire was focused on students’ gender, ethnic, stream, and PMR Mathematics grade. The Mathematics Pretest and Posttest were developed based on the topic of Probability and Statistics, while the English Language Pretest was developed based on Form 4 syllabus.

3.5 Procedure for Data Collection

The 240 Form 4 students were called to meet the School Principal and researchers at the school’s hall. They were briefed about the research and were given the Backgrounds Questionnaire, Prerequisite Mathematics Pretest, and English Language Pretest. After the results of the Prerequisite Mathematics Pretest and English Language Pretest were obtained, the students were classified into four groups of 60 students each, namely: (a) students with “low” Prerequisite Mathematics scores and “low” in English Language scores; (b) students with “low” Prerequisite Mathematics scores and “high” in English Language scores; (c) students with “high” Prerequisite Mathematics scores and “low” in English Language scores; and (d) students with “high” Prerequisite Mathematics scores and “high” in English Language scores.

Each of the four groups of students was later assigned randomly to two groups of 30 students each to form a total of eight groups. One mathematics teacher was trained on how to teach mathematics using Direct Instruction, and another mathematics teacher was trained to teach mathematics using Cooperative Learning. After the training, one of the mathematics teachers taught four of groups of students on the topic of Probability and Statistics for a period of three weeks using Direct Instruction. The other four groups of students were taught by the other mathematics teacher on the topic of Probability and Statistics also for a period of three weeks using Cooperative Learning. At the end of three weeks, all students were given the Mathematics Posttest.

3.6 Procedure for Data Analyses

One English language teacher was asked to mark the English Language Pretest answer scripts, one mathematics teacher was asked to mark the Prerequisite Mathematics Pretest answer scripts, and another mathematics teacher was asked to mark the Mathematics Posttest answer scripts, based on the marking schemes provided by the researcher. The backgrounds information of the students and their Prerequisite Mathematics Pretest scores, English Language Pretest scores, and Mathematics Posttest scores were entered into a computer file for analyses. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to

analyze the research data. Frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the backgrounds of students who participated in the research.

The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the following null hypotheses on the main effects of the independent variables investigated at 0.05 level of significant. The following null hypotheses were formulated to answer the research questions:

(a) There is no difference in mathematics achievement between students with low and high prerequisite mathematics abilities.

(b) There is no difference in mathematics achievement between students who are taught using lecture method and cooperative method.

(c) There is no difference in mathematics achievement between students with low and high English language skills.

3.7 Pilot Study

A pilot study for the research was carried out in the same school when the two mathematics teachers were given the training on how to teach mathematics using Direct Instruction and Cooperative Learning. A small sample of 20 students was used in the pilot study, whereby the students were given the Backgrounds Questionnaire, English Language Pretest, Prerequisite Mathematics Pretest, and Mathematics Posttest. The students were interviewed by the researcher on their understanding of the Questionnaire, Pretests, and Posttest. The researcher had refined the Questionnaire, and a new set of equivalent English Language Pretest, Prerequisite Mathematics Pretest, and Mathematics Posttest were developed by the same two mathematics teachers and two English Language teachers based on the comments from students.

3.8 Summary

This chapter presented the Research Method that was focused on the Research Design, Population and Sample, Research Instruments, Procedure for Data Collection, Procedure for Data Analyses and Pilot Study. The research was carried out on 240 Form 4 students from a public secondary school in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. A Backgrounds Questionnaire, an English Language Pretest, a Prerequisite Mathematics Pretest, and a Mathematics Posttest were used as research instruments. A pilot study was carried out at the same school and the instruments were refined based on students’ comments. Descriptive statistics were used to explain the backgrounds of respondents, while ANOVA was used to test the null hypotheses of the research.