Analyzing the Misconceptions of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Students about the Concepts Related to Material and its Properties: Inputs to the Development of Proposed Virtual Activities

Misconceptions are the obstacles in meaningful learning most especially in Science. It is proven that the Philippines have low performance in terms of Science assessment in the previous years. One of the noticeable reasons in this issue is the misconceptions that held by students which are not scientifically accepted. This study analyzed the misconceptions of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics students of Lian Senior High School in the school year 2020-2021about the concepts related to the first topic of their General Chemistry 1 subject, matter or material and its properties. It includes the sources of learning Science concepts and the frequency and percentage analysis. The researcher made use of a descriptive-quantitative research design for the study. The online survey technique using Google Forms was used as a data collection tool. The statistical treatments that used in this study were mean, frequency and percentage. To interpret the test results, mean, frequency and percentage were used. The mean gain also used to determine the most effective virtual activities to be developed for the students. In terms of sources of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics students in learning concepts in science, it was determined that school teaching with an average weighted mean of 3.85 has the greatest influence in the students learning of science concepts. On the frequency and percent analysis related to material and its properties, it can be noticed that most of the student-respondents’ answer the questions with misconceptions incorrectly. Thus, the result signifies that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics students need intervention and/or activities that may correct and enhance their concepts and understanding about matter and its properties. Also, the study recommends science teachers for both elementary and junior high school may attend trainings and seminars that involves enhancing the science concepts or addressing sciences misconceptions.