INTRODUCTION

The public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the Department of Education (DepEd) to deliver instruction through distance learning. This made teachers search for creative ways in order to catch the interest of the students in learning which posed challenges in the new normal.  Hence, the researcher explored the reinforcement of ThinkTok in teaching Science to improve the engagement of Grade 10 learners in Guipos National High School in their science class. Particularly, the research aims to answer the following questions:

1. How do learners perceive the use of ThinkTok in learning Science?
2. What is the learners’ engagement level before and after using ThinkTok?

The ThinkTok learning strategy involves three essential stages, as follows: (1) Think (Think or Reflective Dialog); (2) Talk (Speaking or Discussing); and (3) Share. The activity of thinking can be seen in the process of reading a science text or viewing video clips with science stories and then making reflections about what has been read or viewed. At the talking stage, learners join virtual groups to reflect, compose, and express ideas in discussion activities. Lastly, the next stage “share,” asks learners to conceptualize and execute their ideas through video-making and communicate the learned concept with scientific and logical explanations on the topic using social media platforms.

A mixed research method was used, particularly sequential exploratory design to explore the implementation of ThinkTok in learning Science and investigate its effects on students’ engagement in the learning process. The participants of this study were 39 purposively selected Grade 10 learners. Data was collected using both qualitative and quantitative methods. For safety and health reasons, interviews were done through call and video chat rooms. A validated Students’ Science Engagement Scale (SSES) adapted from Baraquia (2019) was used for the quantitative part. The scale was used to determine the level of engagement of students in the learning process when they were taught before and after the reinforcement of ThinkTok. The questionnaire was forwarded to the respondents through a Google Form. To analyze the qualitative data, the researcher employed thematic analysis. On the other hand, the quantitative data on learner engagement was analyzed using descriptive statistical measures such as mean and standard deviation.

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

Learners’ Perceptions on the Use of ThinkTok. Analyzing learners’ perceptions of ThinkTok in Science has emerged into three (3) themes: (1) stimulating learners to think, (2) making learning enjoyable and exciting, and (3) relevant to the new normal.

Firstly, the participants emphasized that the intervention has effectively stimulated learners’ thinking processes in science.

One learner remarked, “I can learn a lot in ThinkTok during science class.” Secondly, most of the participants expressed enjoyment and excitement in their science classes when utilizing ThinkTok, highlighting its capacity to enhance comprehension and memory through engaging activities. One learner stated, “I really enjoyed it, especially when we were asked to create a video about resiliency. It helps me understand the lessons more.” Finally, the participants underscored the relevance of ThinkTok in the context of the “new normal” brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, citing its accessibility and ability to facilitate learning outside traditional classroom settings. One learner commented, “ThinkTok is the source that gives us more information and to help students, especially now that we are facing this pandemic (S25).” Another noted, “As a student, I think the advantages of using ThinkTok in science class is that you don’t need to go to school to learn all you need is an internet connection and a smartphone (S1).”

Learners’ Level of Engagement. Table 1 shows learners’ level of engagement in learning Science before and after using ThinkTok. Results showed that on average, learners scored 3.22 before the integration of ThinkTok while 3.39 after the integration.

Table 1: Descriptive Statistics of Learners’ Level of Engagement

Scale: 1.00-1.75 Very Low; 1.76-2.50 Low; 2.51-3.25 High; 3.26- 4.00 Very High

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

The utilization of ThinkTok in learning Science stimulate students to think, makes learning enjoyable and exciting, and is very relevant to use as a teaching strategy in the new normal. The study found that the intervention has increased students’ level of engagement.

In line with the result, teachers are encouraged to utilize ThinkTok in delivering instructions remotely. School administrators may also consider conducting training and workshops on its effectivity. Teachers are also challenges to develop more strategies to increase retention and improve the quality of distance learning.