Development of Digital Courseware in Transmission Genetics

This study aimed to develop a digital courseware in transmission genetics, have it validated and try it out to the Grade 8 students as a learning tool. Needs analysis was done with in-service biology teachers in order to contextualize the problems cited in the literature towards this competency based on Philippine settings. The results of literature review, need analysis and principles of Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Learning were used to develop the digital courseware. After the development of the courseware, it was validated by the three content-experts and three IT Experts to evaluate the content, format and design, and organization and technical content of the digital courseware. In the expert validation, both criteria of Content and IT Expert validations, the digital courseware obtained a remark of 'very appropriate' which means it is suitable as a learning tool in transmission genetics. The validated digital courseware underwent pilot-testing to the two groups of grade 8 students. One group was assigned as Digital Courseware class (DCC) in which digital courseware was utilized and another group was assigned as Direct Instructions Class (DIC) in which Lecture-Discussion was employed. Both groups of students took parallel questions in the pre- and post-test about Mendelian Genetics to measure the improvement of the scores. It was found out that the students of DCC group had the same positive average gained score after the treatment as compared with the DIC. Based on this, the digital courseware can be used as alternative learning tool to learn transmission genetics. The researcher would like to recommend the following: (1) pilot test the third lesson of this material to grade 9 students since this topic is in this grade level; (2) this digital courseware is encouraged to be used by the junior high school science teacher in the Philippines in order to attains its goals such as to improve conceptual understanding, promote mastery and lessen the misconceptions in transmission genetics; (3) a similar study that utilizes this digital courseware in transmission genetics with other grade 8 respondents to verify and firmly establish its effectiveness and statistical validity; and, (4) more educators are encouraged to develop other digital courseware that will address the result of conducted needs analysis especially in the competencies like Cellular Respiration, Photosynthesis and Protein Synthesis in which it occupied the highest ranks in terms of low level of conceptual understanding and least mastered competency with numerous misconceptions.