Abstract

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has altered educational systems globally, particularly in the Philippines. The Department of Education utilizes printed self-learning modules (SLMs) to facilitate modular distance learning (MDL). This abrupt shift resulted in students' difficulty learning amid crisis, especially in mathematics. This situation is alarming as it is becoming rampant in public schools wherein several students have difficulty. This study explored students' challenges in learning mathematics using printed self-learning modules. The study took place in December 2021 at the Alfonso Ang Militante Integrated School (AAMIS) in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental, Mindanao. The study employed a phenomenological research design, with ten (10) randomly selected grade 9 students participating in semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interviews were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis to analyze and interpret the findings. The study's findings yielded six (6) central themes: difficult lessons and activities, distractions in learning, difficulty understanding English instruction, absence of assistance from people, poor quality of modules, and lack of time management. This study has implications for the Department of Education (DepEd) alternative learning modality in new normal education, parents and teachers' student support, and students' independent learning and capability.

1. Introduction

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the educational systems globally. In the Philippines, the Department of Education utilizes printed self-learning modules (SLMs) to facilitate modular distance learning (MDL). A self-learning module is a short unit of instruction dealing with a single conceptual unit of subject matter with a self-contained and independent unit of instruction with the primary focus on a few well-defined objectives ¹. It is an essential tool in modular distance learning that serves as a catalyst in continuing quality education among Filipino students during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a study conducted at Balbalayang National High School and Baguio National High School, Philippines, shows that most students can neither study independently nor efficiently follow the instructions in the modules, resulting in blank answer sheets ². Moreover, most learners have difficulty answering the learning modules and stated that mathematics is the most challenging. ²

Junior high school students from Alfonso Ang Militante Integrated School, Gingoog City, Philippines, have faced the same problem in answering their self-learning modules, specifically in mathematics. As observed by the researchers as mathematics teachers, most students have difficulty answering their modules, leaving no answers submitted. The researchers interviewed other mathematics teachers about the incident to further verify the existing problem in other schools to substantiate the phenomenon. The teachers found that their students had submitted math modules with no answers on activities and were effortless in answering self-learning modules.

Several researchers undertook phenomenological investigations using various learning modalities in the Philippines during the COVID-19 epidemic. However, there is only limited research tackling phenomenology involving the study of mathematics using printed self-learning modules amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study aims to explore the students' challenges in learning mathematics using the self-learning module in COVID-19.

Knowing the difficulties and challenges those students have encountered will put the researchers in the best position to offer alternatives to the problem. Indeed, we can only provide practical solutions to the situation when we diagnose. And in the case of grade 9 students in Alfonso Ang Militante Integrated School, Gingoog City, Philippines, determining their challenges and exploring the factors that shape their behavior towards submission of blank answer sheets is essential in addressing the problem.

2. Methodology

This study utilized a phenomenological research design to explore students' experiences in studying mathematics using self-learning modules during the COVID-19 pandemic. It allows participants to tell their stories without distortions and prosecutions and enable the researchers to incorporate other knowledge and expand their knowledge base ³.

The study was participated by grade 9 students in Alfonso Ang Militante Integrated School (AAMIS). The researchers purposively chose the participants based on the following criteria.

1) finished grade 8 in Alfonso Ang Militante Integrated School in 2020-2021;

2) enrolled as grade 9 in Alfonso Ang Militante Integrated School in 2021-2022;

3) studied mathematics using a self-learning module from 2020-2021 to the present; and

4) submitted their mathematics self-learning modules with no answers most of the time in grade 8 and continuously in grade 9.

After the selection of the participants, the researchers conducted an orientation with all the parents of the possible participants. The parents followed the COVID-19 healthy protocols. The orientation was about the data gathering procedure, confidentiality, and voluntary participation under the Republic Act 10173, known as the Data Privacy Act. Also, the researchers informed the parents that the interview would be recorded with their permission and use vernacular (Sinugbuanong Binisaya) language to express their experiences freely. After the orientation, the researchers asked for parents' permits for their child's participation in the study. The participants are of minor age and are not competent to make autonomous decisions on their behalf ⁴.

The following day, the researchers conducted a semi-structured in-depth interview guided by the researcher-made semi-structured interview questions based on the study's research objectives (Table 1). The interview was conducted inside the classroom with the researchers and participants only present and was held in private to ensure confidentiality.

The researcher-interviewer informed the participants that the interviewer would audio record the interview prior to the interview. She also informed the participant that they could use vernacular (Sinugbuanong Binisaya) language to express their experiences freely. In addition, she asked for assent from the participants to get their affirmative agreement to participate in the research.

The data was analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis procedures such as familiarization, coding, theme generation, theme review, theme defining and naming, and writing up. In this study, the researchers familiarized the data by repeatedly listening to the interview voice recording of the participants to transcribe verbatim. After the researchers transcribed the data, the researchers translated the transcribed data into the English language. Then, the researchers used the translated transcription to code data. Next, the researchers generated themes from the coded data and reviewed them by double-checking the translated transcriptions. Next, the researchers named the emerging themes and defined them based on the translated transcription and coded data. Lastly, the researchers wrote the data analysis based on the data gathered and its emerging themes.

After the data analysis, the researchers presented it to the participants to seek clarification and confirmation of the data analysis to avoid misconceptions and biases. The trustworthiness of results is the bedrock of high-quality qualitative research studies ⁵. Moreover, the researchers used pseudonyms to hide the identity of the participants. For example, participant 1 is to P1; participant 2 is to P2, and so on.

3. Results and Discussion

The findings of the study on grade 9 students' challenges experienced in studying mathematics amidst the COVID-19 pandemic yielded six (6) central themes: difficult lessons and activities, distractions in learning, difficulty understanding English instruction, absence of assistance from people, poor quality of module, and lack of time management.

The first theme discusses how the students had difficulty learning the lessons and answering activities in the mathematics self-learning module. Even in the pre-COVID era, students had trouble learning mathematics due to various factors, which persisted in the COVID crisis. During the interview, the participants expressed their difficulty answering lessons involving variables. According to P4, " It was difficult for me to answer activities that have variables x and y." P6 added, "lessons with variables x and y were difficult."

In addition, some participants had difficulty understanding lessons involving exponents such as squares of a number. P10 stated that "there are topics that contain squares and topics like that." She said further that she does not know what to do because she is unsure. In addition, P4 shared that "expressions with exponents are challenging."

Mathematics is known for its abstract concepts that contribute to its difficulty. Students lack the prerequisite knowledge of basic concepts involving variables and exponents, resulting in difficulty understanding lesson concepts in mathematics 8. Most calculus students had difficulty using variables as generalized numbers and varying quantities ⁶.

The limited examples given in the module triggered the challenging experiences of the students in learning difficult lessons because sometimes, the examples given do not coincide with the activities in the module to be answered, resulting in participants' difficulty in answering the activities in the module. P1 mentioned that "It's challenging because there were just a few examples." P5 said, "There were instances when the examples provided differed from the activities in terms of the lessons and activities."

Given examples in the self-learning module, perhaps it is the only guidance the participants could lean on. Yet, mathematics self-learning modules provide only a few examples in every topic and are sometimes different from the activities found in the module. Hence, when the participants tried to answer the activities in the module, they could not answer them as they had limited resources on how to respond to the various problems. Modular distance learning (MDL) benefits participants but requires essential learning resources for quality learning ⁷. One of the factors that students have difficulty answering their modules is the lack of information in their learning materials ⁷.

With all the difficulties experienced, participants acknowledged their lapses, saying they opted to submit blank answer sheets. According to P1 and P3, "Sometimes when the activity is difficult, I don't answer some of its questions." and "Because of the complexity of the questions, I sometimes do not answer them," respectively.

The participants have left no choice but to leave answer sheets in the module blank because of the level of difficulty in the activities provided in the module. This study's findings support the previous result that most learners have difficulty answering the learning modules and stated that mathematics is the most challenging self-learning module ^{2, 9}.

The second theme discusses the students' experienced while learning mathematics using the self-learning modules. Students experienced various disruptions while learning mathematics. Hence, this theme has four (4) categories which are as follows: household chores, noisy environment, cellphone, and friends.

The participants had expressed their frustration with their household chores as a distraction in learning mathematics at home. P4 said, "When I answer my module, someone asks me to do housework." P5 added, "I get out of focus while doing my module because someone asks me to do household chores." Moreover, all the participants emphasized that they attended household chores first, followed by answering modules in their free time. P6 mentioned, "I had to do my household chores first, then answer my modules after."

Learning at home is one of the benefits of modular distance learning. However, household chores take over the time of the participants. Most learners could not focus due to various distractions, such as household chores, that negatively affected the students ¹⁰.

The participants had shared how a noisy environment affected their learning in mathematics at home using the self-learning modules. P4 said that "There is karaoke and television. These caused me to have trouble concentrating." While P5 mentioned, "The loud talking, radio, and television inside the house distracts me."

A conducive learning environment is one of the critical factors a teacher should consider. However, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, learners had to learn at home. The parents have neglected the concept of a conducive learning environment at home as para-teachers in the new normal situation. A generally polluted environment with loud noises and elevated levels indicates a high probability of negatively affecting students' cognitive abilities ¹¹. The learning environments usually available for students in their homes are also polluted by noise, thus affecting students' ability to learn ¹¹.

Moreover, the cellphone was also a factor in the distraction of learning. The participants shared that they get distracted by cell phones. P1 stated, "I check updates on Facebook now and then while answering the module." P10 added, "I watch videos on TikTok and try to learn dance moves."

The use of technology is rampant in our society as it offers vast benefits to its users. However, we cannot deny that students are prone to the various applications a cellphone could offer, like Facebook and Tiktok, which distract learners when used too much that may harm their learning. Despite the positive effects, it still adversely impacts students ¹². Smartphones shift users' focus because of their addictive nature, intruding on calls during lecture hours. The tendency to check social media platforms that distract learning on the part of distance learning students, and some of the inhibiting factors found were unreliable internet connectivity. The screen and sizes make smartphones uncomfortable for learning ¹².

Lastly, the participants mentioned that friends played a role in distractions in learning. P6 stated, "I choose to hang out with my friends than answer my math modules." And P7 added, "There are times when I hang out with friends and forget to answer the module."

Friends are a blessing to our life. They put colors on it. Nevertheless, an individual should set limitations and establish self-regulation. Hanging out with friends is good, but it should succeed with priorities to focus on what is more important at present.

This third theme showcases how language affects their understanding in studying the self-learning module. The participants expressed that they had difficulty understanding the mathematics self-learning module, especially on how to solve the mathematical problems because it is written in English. P2 said, "I sometimes don't understand the topic because it was written in English."

The lack of English vocabulary led to the inability to comprehend English in the mathematics self-learning module, resulting in students' incapacity to understand and learn the mathematics lessons, concepts, and solving. This substantial precedent is one of the factors that students had difficulty learning mathematics amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Moreover, students learning English through self-learning modules had difficulty as they were deficient in vocabulary ⁸. They required language fluency and proficiency to comprehend and express themselves effectively in both oral and written processes to learn through self-learning modules.

In addition, this finding supports a similar student experience who had difficulty completing the learning modules due to a language barrier ⁷. Furthermore, students can neither study independently nor efficiently follow the instructions in the modules due to a lack of English vocabulary, resulting in blank answer sheets ².

The fourth theme describes how the participants received no help from others while learning mathematics using the self-learning module. COVID-19 has forced students to develop independent learning to contain the virus. Yet, the study participant expressed their frustration during the interview on not receiving assistance while learning mathematics during modular distance learning. According to P1, "My parents and siblings were busy," while P6 said, "I don't have internet access, we don't have any neighbors, and I don't have a classmate to approach."

Independent learning with no assistance from people in the environment is laborious. Students in modular distance learning need help from parents who serve as para-teachers at home. These expressed dissatisfaction due to difficulty communicating with respective teachers ² and identified the absence of a competent guide ⁷.

Furthermore, amid difficult experiences in learning the lessons and answering the activities, participants expressed their sentiments on the additional burden on independent learning. It was hard for the students to learn independently with no assistance. P9 said, "It's difficult when no one helps me understand the lesson." P7 highlighted, "I can't understand the lesson because no one explained it to me."

Independent learning is expected from students as the new normal education emerges. As the participants experienced, the development of it was challenging for them. The participants sought assistance from their community, especially from parents and teachers, in learning mathematics using self-learning modules. Nonetheless, the stakeholders did not address the participants' sentiments. In a study, most students disagreed with the modular distance learning approach because they felt abandoned. They learned independently using self-learning modules (SLMS) such as commonly printed and audio materials with delayed feedback ⁸. Moreover, students' learning through self-learning modules should have the assistance of parents, siblings, relatives, and other significant others who serve as the home's acting teacher for effective instruction ⁷.

The fifth theme describes how the participants perceive the quality of provided printed mathematics self-learning modules from the Department of Education (DepEd) in the Philippines. Learning resources are an essential factor in learning as it guides the students, especially in the absence of the teacher in times of a crisis. Nevertheless, the study participants had an issue with the quality of self-learning modules provided to them. P1 said, "Texts in the modules were not clear." And P3 mentioned, "There were rumbled pages, and there were repeated pages."

These sentiments prove that the quality of self-learning modules provided by the Department of Education (DepEd) was not in its best condition. Learning resources are significant in distance education, especially if students have no other learning resources. Yet, the Department of Education had failed to fulfill this aspect of modular distance learning. There was a lack of funding for the production of modules, a lack of supplementary materials ⁷, and the schools provided low-quality printed modules wherein students and teachers were disappointed ². Thus, each school must be adequately supported and funded to ensure proper module replication ⁹.

The limited number of examples provided in the module caused students to have difficulties learning math lessons. P3 said that "some lessons were difficult to learn because they lack examples."

Most participants relied on the given examples in the self-learning modules provided. However, it was not sufficient for the participants to fully grasp the lesson concept, especially considering limited learning resources as a guide. Modular distance learning (MDL) benefits participants but requires essential learning resources for quality learning ⁷. One of the factors that students have difficulty answering their modules is the lack of information in their learning materials ⁷.

The sixth theme showcases how the study participants mismanaged their time at home instead of learning in a modular distance learning setup. Given the various distractions the students encountered by the study's findings, students could not manage their time. Participants had shared how they mismanaged their time at home during the modular distance learning setup. According to P1, "I answer my modules when the deadline is near." Whereas P3 said, "I'm not good at managing my time. I complete my module whenever I feel like it."

Modular distance learning develops learners' discipline in self-regulation and self-perseverance. Nonetheless, not all students can develop this characteristic. In contrast, students could tend to relax too much that would end up cramming, which is a clear disadvantage to students. The majority of the learners have time management issues, and they are unable to focus due to various distractions, such as household chores, that result in poor time management ¹⁰.

4. Conclusion

Thus, the researchers conclude that students experienced difficulties learning mathematics using printed self-learning modules amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The students' stories and shared experiences with mathematics learning during the COVID-19 pandemic illuminated and clarified how these concerns affect students' lives, notably those who study mathematics utilizing printed self-learning modules. The occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic baffled the Department of Education (DepEd). It forced them to implement an abrupt shift in the educational system in the Philippines, requiring students, parents, and teachers to immediately adopt a new normal education, specifically modular distance learning using mathematics printed self-learning modules. However, based on the study's findings, this implicated on individuals involved were not yet attuned to the new normal and is in the process of absorption.

While modular distance education utilizing printed self-learning modules requires students to learn independently, they are not capable of it. The issue was the students' limited English vocabulary and comprehension. Students were supposed to read, comprehend, and study lessons independently at home, but their lack of these fundamental skills rendered them incapable of doing so.

Additionally, students lack sufficient basic knowledge or notions about the instructional topics. It makes it more difficult for students to grasp the complicated concepts that prompted them to submit unanswered self-learning modules. Students' inattention to response activities harmed their academic performance and grade. In short, the choice of modular distance learning via printed self-learning modules is incompatible with students' capacities, as it requires more than students' capabilities.

Modular distance learning emphasizes individual learning. Distance education's theoretical constructs strongly recommend assistance from parents, teachers, and others to aid students' learning. However, these individuals lack the necessary understanding to assist students. Despite their enthusiasm to help, parents' unpreparedness for the scenario of becoming a home para-teacher harmed pupils. Indeed, siblings aided students more than parents, but siblings with their learning modules are equally occupied. The reality of this situation is that the more students have access to the internet, the more they find answers to their activities without exerting additional effort to comprehend the lessons' concepts. This situation indicates that students were more concerned with completing activities correctly to achieve a higher score and grade than internalizing the mathematical lecture concepts.

While the Department of Education (DepEd) has always prioritized a conducive learning environment, the decisive event of the pandemic crisis that kept students at home harmed students' concentration while learning mathematics. Additionally, students did home duties and engaged in other activities during the day that diverted their attention away from learning. This occurrence demonstrates that education was ignored and not addressed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In terms of poor-quality modules offered to students, this reflects the Department of Education's (DepEd) lack of preparedness, particularly among its frontline educators and instructors. Additionally, the teacher provided inadequate attention to each learner, which contributed to the students' negative experiences when learning mathematics via printed self-learning modules, particularly in following the safety regulations and social distancing.

The entire experience of students learning mathematics during the COVID-19 pandemic indicated a lack of decision-making in preparation for the new normal education in the Department of Education (DepEd), specifically the teachers and staff of the school. The alternate mode of instruction adopted was incompatible with students' capacities, resulting in low-quality learning that contradicted the DepEd's school mission and vision, which aspires to provide quality education to Filipino learners.

The study's findings may highlight various concerns affecting the Department of Education (DepEd), teachers, parents, and students in the Philippines. The Department of Education (DepEd) serves as the system's brain as the national education department. Their reliable research comes up with relative solutions and innovations that cope with the crisis. However, the students' negative experiences must be alarming to DepEd should reconsider other learning alternatives in times of crisis that could cater to Filipino learners.

Teachers serve as the light amid students ' dark times as the front liners in education and the implementor of innovations. Extending assistance amid a crisis may be challenging regarding health protocols, but the students need it. Those students seek and rely on the teachers' support to continue learning in this pandemic. And it is what the teachers should provide as front liners of education amid crises.

Parents as stakeholders have become para-teachers. Despite the lack of knowledge parents can offer their learners, showing full support to their children's learning is relevant. Students get strength from them amid crises and boost students confidence and self-reliance to conquer these difficult times.

Lastly, as the prime benefactor of this department, students should learn to adapt to changes that require them to do so in reality. Students should help themselves among others as it is in ourselves that we achieve success in challenging moments. Independent learning, self-reliance, self-determination, and others are the necessary qualities that should be possessed and beneficial for developing and being ready in real-life scenarios.

References