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1The Graduate School, University of Santo Tomas, España, Manila
2College of Arts and Sciences, Manila Tytana College, Pasay City
3Graduate Institute of Science Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
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The particulate nature of matter is the foundation for higher chemistry concepts applicable to gas behaviours, abstract and difficult to understand. This descriptive comparative study aims to fill the gap by analyzing the level of understanding between STEM and non-STEM grade 11 Filipino learners on the particulate nature of gases using the researcher-made and validated tool, the Particulate Nature Gas Concept Test (PNGCT). Participants were four hundred thirty-five (n=435) with STEM (n=284) and non-STEM (n=151), grade 11 senior high school learners of an accredited private school. Results revealed that these groups of learners have a mid-level understanding of the different gas behaviors with a significant difference (p=<0.001) between STEM and non-STEM learners and with different performances on the disaggregated concepts when grouped as high, middle, and low learners. Moreover, these learners could better understand the particulate nature of gas and diffusion than when gas was affected by temperature and pressure. However, low STEM learners had difficulty in diffusion. Generally, learners correctly understand particulate nature and diffusion but do not understand the effects of temperature and pressure. Results can help the teachers plan classroom instruction to challenge learners’ understanding of matter’s particulate nature and provide meaningful understanding.
