DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF WEBQUEST ON PROBABILITY OF SIMPLE

EVENTS

KEZIAH GRACE B. PRESTO AND MARIDEL M. DUE AS1

MYRNA E. LAHOYLAHOY2
JOAN ROSE T. LUIB3
JAN CLEO D. CANOY4

Abstract

The study focused on the development and validation of a WebQuest on

Probability of Simple Events. The WebQuest was validated by pre-service and in-
service Mathematics teachers and an Information and Communications Technology
(ICT) expert.

The overall mean rating given to the developed WebQuest by the ICT expert was
33 which was described as "Good" while the over-all mean rating by the pre-service
and in-service Mathematics teachers were 38 and 44.5 respectively, which were
described as "Very Good".

The revised WebQuest was then tried-out. Five comic strips were made as the
respondents’ final output; two were rated as "Excellent" and three were rated as "Very
Good".

The results of the study showed that the scores of the students in their posttest
were remarkably higher than in their pretest. Thus, there was a significant difference
between the students’ performance in the pretest and posttest.

1
Keziah Grace B. Presto and Maridel M. Due as are BSEd-Mathematics
students of College of Education, MSU- Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City,
Lanao Del Norte, Philippines.
2
Dr. Myrna E. Lahoylahoy is a senior faculty of the College of Education,
MSU- Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City, Lanao Del Norte, Philippines.
3
Joan Rose T. Luib is a junior faculty of the College of Education, MSU- Iligan
Institute of Technology, Iligan City, Lanao Del Norte, Philippines.
4
Jan Cleo D. Canoy is a teacher of Naawan Integrated Developmental
School, MSU-Naawan, Naawan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines.
 Introduction
The use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in education
lends itself to more student-centered learning settings. But with the world moving rapidly
into digital media and information, the role of ICT in education is becoming more and
more important and this importance will continue to grow and develop in the 21st
century (Noor-Ul-Amin, 2013).

According to the Constructivism Theory (Bruner, 1960) people learn through

experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When one encounters new
things, he or she tends to reconcile it with his or her previous ideas and experiences.
Bruner in 1973, states that learners engage in discovery learning— obtaining
knowledge by themselves. They select and transform information, construct
hypotheses, and make decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so. In order for
discovery to occur, learners require background preparation in the form of a cognitive
structure that provides meaning and organization to experiences and allows the
individual to "go beyond the information given".

A WebQuest, which uses the constructivist learning approach, is an inquiry-

oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes
from resources on the Internet. WebQuest activity is divided into several sections,
including: (a) Introduction, (b) Task, (c) Process, (d) Evaluation, and (e) Conclusion
(Dodge, 1995). WebQuest is a scaffold learning structure that uses links to essential
resources on the World Wide Web and an authentic task to motivate students'
investigation of an open-ended question, development of individual expertise, and
participation in a group process that transforms newly acquired information into a more
sophisticated understanding. The best WebQuests inspire students to see richer
thematic relationships, to contribute to the real world of learning, and to reflect on their
own metacognitive processes (March, 2003).

According to Tom March (2003), who is credited as a major contributor to the

development and refinement of WebQuests in the early stages, WebQuests bring
learner-centered principles from the realm of noble idea to daily practice. As the
American Psychological Association (1997/2003) articulated, the implementation of
these principles benefits both students and teachers. When teachers facilitate well-
designed WebQuests, they gain in-process professional development, moving them
toward learning-centered practice.

Statement of the Problem

This study aimed to develop and validate a WebQuest on Probability of Simple
Events. Throughout the study, the researchers sought to answer the following
questions: (1.) How was the WebQuest developed? (2.) What were the ratings,
comments and suggestions regarding the developed WebQuest by the: (a.) ICT expert?
(b.) pre-service Mathematics teachers? (c.) in-service Mathematics teachers? (3.) Is
there a significant difference between the students’ pretest and posttest scores? (4.)
What was the quality of the comic strip created by the students? (5.) What were the
perceptions of the students towards the WebQuest activity?

The Conceptual Framework

Input Process Output

Conceptual
Understanding
Development and
Prior Knowedge
Validation of
on Probability of Developed and
WebQuest used
Simple Events Validated

WebQuest
Perceptions of
Try-Out
the Learners in
the Activity

Figure 1. Conceptual Paradigm

Review of Related Literature

According to the teaching theory of Constructivism, knowledge is uncertain; the
learning process of knowledge is also the construction process of knowledge; students
are the main body of learning activity and they construct knowledge on their own
initiatives; teachers are the helpers and the drivers for students constructing knowledge
(Jia, 2010).

Muniandy, et. al in (2007) states that the convergence of constructivism,

technology and project-based learning is bringing together theories of learning,
educational technology, and pedagogy. Based on the literature and findings of their
study, it is found that synergizing pedagogy (teaching method), learning theory
(constructivism), and technology (computer technology) is a way forward to achieve a
higher and better learning outcome. As cited in Kang, et. al in 2007, ever since its
encounter with Information Technology (IT) in the early 1990’s (i.e., hypermedia, WBL,
online learning, and recently, u-Learning), is generally considered the theoretical basis
for emerging IT-enhanced learning and teaching (to name a few, Bonk, 2004; Downe,
2005; Duffy, 2004). Based on Bork (2000), as cited in Kang, et. al in 2007, the important
factors in the new learning paradigm are as follows: 1) highly interactive-like
conversation, 2) individualized (learning style or individualized attention), 3) adaptive to
students' current needs 4) creative (constructing, discovering), 5) problem-solving,
rather than being memory-based, 6) highly interactive distance learning for internal
motivation, 7) peer learning in small groups along with parent or others' involvement to
their learning circles.
Furthermore, the role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in
education has been peripheral, with new technologies being added to the traditional
teacher centered model of instruction. Students in the global economy of the 21 st
century need to be creative thinkers and innovators. The integration of teaching and
research is becoming a key issue in higher education, not only to differentiate the
character of universities from other teaching and learning institutions, but also to find
ways to create the kind of knowledge needed in a world characterized by a turbulent
environment and increasing change in daily life (Salleh, et al., 2011). On the other hand,
putting students in a position where they have to produce knowledge, demonstrate the
skills they have learnt, and work, in short, on an integrated project (in which the
technologies and contents are closely intertwined) is a pedagogical conception that they
consider interesting for the methodological change that it represents (Illera & Escofet,
2009).

In the spring of 1995, Dr. Bernie Dodge, professor of educational technology at

San Diego State University, developed and named the concept WebQuest while
teaching a class for pre-service teachers. A WebQuest can be defined as an inquiry-
oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from
the Internet. The WebQuest approach offers access to online primary sources, a
structure for evaluating those sources, and teacher supervision in identifying
appropriate and relevant content. The teacher selects websites and then creates a web
page that guides the students through five stages: (1) introduction, (2) task, (3) process,
(4) evaluation, and (5) conclusion. The first stage, introduction, provides key
background information and motivates students with an intriguing question or problem.
The second stage, task, describes the final product expected from the students. The
final product may be as elaborate as an oral presentation using PowerPoint, or as basic
as a poster depicting the students' findings. The third stage, process, gives step-by-step
instructions for completing the task, as well as the list of resources needed to complete
each step. Students are provided with links to Internet resources selected by the
teacher, as well as a list of additional off-line sources needed to complete the task.
WebQuest resources might include government or educational websites, online
searchable databases, e-mail addresses of experts, and sources physically available in
the classroom. The fourth stage, evaluation, explains how learners will be assessed on
their final product. The final stage, conclusion, summarizes the main goals of the activity
and encourages additional investigations on related topics (Milson & Downey, 2001).

Research Design
The researchers utilized the quantitative-qualitative research design for this study
which was concerned with the development and validation of WebQuest on Probability
of Simple Events. The quantitative data were obtained from the performance of the
respondents based on their pretest and posttest scores; while the qualitative data were
obtained from the comments and suggestions of the ICT expert, in-service and pre-
service Mathematics teachers based on the rubric for evaluating WebQuests and from
the ratings of the comic strip based on the rubric for evaluating comic strips

The revisions of the activity were based on the comments and suggestions made by the
ICT expert, and in-service and pre-service Mathematics teachers. Table 3 shows the
comparison between the developed WebQuest activity and its revised version.
Table 4. Developed and Revised Version of the WebQuest on Probability of
Simple Events
Developed WebQuest
Title
Is there still a Chance?
Introduction
You may hear people
every day saying "there is
a 50% chance that it will
rain tomorrow or a 50%
chance that it will not rain
tomorrow. You are
businessmen who own a
pet shop in your town
where your team is
assigned to predict
chances and analyze a
data from the given
information.
Probability mainly deals
with the measurement of
uncertainty. It is very
important to study
probability in order for you
to better understand the
world we live in particularly
problems which involves
probable outcomes.
In this WebQuest, you
will learn interesting
problems about probability
and will create a comic
strip from the given
problem by your teacher.
Results and Discussions
Comments and Revised WebQuest
Suggestions
“It should be related in Title
the activity.” WebQuest on Probability of Simple
Events
Is there still a Chance?
"Maybe a more Introduction
catchy, thought Almost every day you use the
provoking lines/text concept of probability. The
may capture the difference is that sometimes you
learners’ interest use it but you do it unknowingly.
that will direct them
to proceed to read Imagine that you have to
the whole quest.” go somewhere. Now when you
step out of your house you
“Improve your realize that the bright sunny day
introduction. has turned into a cloudy one all
Establish of a sudden. This is when you
coherences of use your probability skills to
sentences and decide whether you would bring
paragraphs.” an umbrella with you or not.
Probability mainly deals with
the measurement of uncertainty.
It is very important to study
probability in order for you to
better understand the world we
live in particularly problems which
involves probable outcomes.
In this WebQuest, your team is
challenge to help the owner of a
pet shop with many large colors
of fish to determine the
probability of reaching and
scooping a certain color of fish in
the aquarium. But before you will
do that, you need to learn the
concepts of probability of simple
events.
Table 4 Continuation
Developed WebQuest
Task
In this activity, your
team will solve and
analyze a word problem
about probability that you
will put into your comic
strip. Before you will be
able to create a comic
strip, you need to have a
solid foundation about the
concept of probability
through research and
inquiry.
This task needs
computer, Internet
connection, pencil, art
materials and 1/8
illustration board. Finally,
each team will show their
final project, which is the
comic strip, to the class as
they share their ideas on
how they come up on the
solution and the final
project which is the comic
strip.
Process
In groups of seven,
each member will now
choose one of the
following roles: 1 member
will be the researcher, 2
will be the story writers, 2
will be the cartoonists and
1 will be the problem
solver. Each role will be
given a guide form by your
teacher to help you
accomplish the task.
Comments and Revised WebQuest
Suggestions
Task
“Rephrase the In this activity, each team will
sentence.” be assigned to find the probability
of a certain color of fish in the
aquarium and help the owner of
the pet shop to understand the
concepts of probability through
making a comic strip.
Before you will be able to
create a comic strip, you need to
have a solid foundation about the
concept of probability through
research and inquiry.
This task needs computer,
internet connection, pencil, art
materials and 1/8 illustration
board. Finally, each team will
show their final project, which is
the comic strip, to the class as
they share their ideas on how
they come up on the solution.
“Are these guide forms Process
all ready? Because
these are important, In groups of seven, each
as these give detailed member will now choose one of
info and instructions to
the following roles: 1 member will
the students.‖
be the researcher, 2 will be the
story writers, 2 will be the
cartoonists and 1 will be the
problem solver. Each role will be
given a guide form by your
teacher to help you accomplish
the task.
Table 4 Continuation
Developed WebQuest Comments and Revised WebQuest
Suggestions

Step 3: Extending Your Step 3: Extending Your

Knowledge “So they will be Knowledge
the one to get a
word problem,
1. The researcher will click the not the teacher? 1. The researcher will click the
link below and copy the given How will you link below and copy the given
word problem as well as the ensure that all word problem as well as the
mechanics of comic strip. groups will not mechanics of comic strip. He/she
He/she will share it to the choose the will share it to the group.
group. same problem?”
Word problems
http://gg.gg/3z8l3 group 1-
https://sites.google.com/a/g.msuii
http://www.mykidsadventures. t.edu.ph/basic-concepts-of-
com/create-comic-strip-kids/ probability/probabili

2. The problem solvers will group 2-

now solve and look for the https://sites.google.com/a/g.msuii
solution of the word problem t.edu.ph/basic-concepts-of-
probability/group-3
3. The story writers will write a
short dialogue which shows group 3-
the solution and the final https://sites.google.com/a/g.msuii
answer based from the given t.edu.ph/basic-concepts-of-
word problem. Also, refer to probability/group-3-1
the sample comic strips below
in the Resources section. group 4-
https://sites.google.com/a/g.msuii
4. The cartoonists will now t.edu.ph/basic-concepts-of-
sketch the characters with the probability/group
dialogue on a long bond
paper. group 5-
https://sites.google.com/a/g.msuii
5.Show the draft to your t.edu.ph/basic-concepts-of-
teacher for approval. probability/group-1
http://www.mykidsadventures.co
6. Draw the final revision in an m/create-comic-strip-kids/
illustration board. Be creative
and artistic in making the mechanics of comic strip
comic strip http://www.mykidsadventures.co
. m/create-comic-strip-kids/
Table 4 Continuation
Developed WebQuest
Drills/Exercises/Worksheets
http://goo.gl/forms/hgMYFJfL
Qf
http://goo.gl/forms/dnRoXq1
sKC
Word Problem for Comic
Strip
http://goo.gl/forms/LW1QZZv
J1L
Mechanics and Sample
Comic Strips
http://www.mykidsadventure
s.com/create-comic-strip-
kids/
http://www.thecomicstrips.co
m/subject/The-Mechanic-
Comic-Strips.php/1
http://www.thecomicstrips.co
m/subject/The-
Auto+Mechanic-Comic-
Strips.php
http://www.thecomicstrips.co
m/subject/The-Mechanic-
Comic-Strips-by-
Speed+Bump.php
Evaluation
Your comic strip will be
graded based from the
comic strip rubric below by
your teacher
(See Appendix G).
*Highlighted texts are the changes made
Comments and Revised WebQuest
Suggestions
Resources
Basic Concepts on Probability
http://www.studyzone.org/mtestpr
ep/math8/g/introprobless.cfm
https://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-
8/probability-of-simple-events
https://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-
8/probability-of-simple-events
http://www.probabilityformula.org/
probability-word-problems.html
Drills/Exercises/Worksheets
http://goo.gl/forms/hgMYFJfLQf
http://goo.gl/forms/dnRoXq1sKC
Word problems
group 1-
https://sites.google.com/a/g.msuii
t.edu.ph/basic-concepts-of-
probability/probabili
group 2-
https://sites.google.com/a/g.msuii
t.edu.ph/basic-concepts-of-
probability/group-3
group 3-
https://sites.google.com/a/g.msuii
t.edu.ph/basic-concepts-of-
probability/group-3-1
group 4-
https://sites.google.com/a/g.msuii
t.edu.ph/basic-concepts-of-
probability/group
group 5-
https://sites.google.com/a/g.msuii
t.edu.ph/basic-concepts-of- /
probability group-1
Evaluation
Your comic strip will be graded
based from the comic strip rubric
below by your teacher
(See Appendix G).
 Students Performance in the Laboratory Activities

Students' Performance in Pretest and Posttest

30
Achievement Test Scores

25
20
15
10
5
0

Respondents

Pretest Score Posttest Score

Figure 4. Students’ Pretest and Posttest Performance

As shown in figure 4 above, the mean pretest performance of the students is

8.30 with the standard deviation of 2.27, while the mean posttest performance is 15.21
with the standard deviation of 5.29. This clearly shows an increase in the scores of the
students’ performance from the given pretest and posttest. Thus, it implies that there is
a significant difference in the students’ performance in the pretest and posttest scores.

Table 5. Comparison of the Students’ Pretest and Posttest Performance in the

Achievement Test
Compared Group Pretest Posttest
Mean 8.30 15.21
Standard Deviation 2.27 5.29
Mean Difference 6.91
Standard Deviation 4.83
Degrees of Freedom 32
–value 8.22
-value 0.000
*Significant level at 0.05
Hₒ: There is no significant difference between the respondents’ pretest and posttest
scores.

Table 5 shows the comparison of the respondents’ performance in the pretest and
posttest. As seen in the table, there is an improvement in the means of the scores which
were 8.30 and 15.21, respectively. It shows that there was a mean difference of 6.91
and an increase in the mean scores. The computed p-value resulted to 0.000 which is
less than the significance level of . Thus, the null hypothesis Hₒ is rejected.
Therefore, there is a significant difference in the students’ performance in the pretest
and posttest scores.

Table 6. Ratings of the Pre-service and In-Service Mathematics Teachers on the

Comic Strip
Mean Rating Per Criterion
Criteria
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5
Clarity of
8.3 8.3 7.3 8.3 8.7
Message
Relevance 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.3
Answer and
8.3 9.3 10.0 10.0 10.0
Solution
Creativity Shown
in the Overall 8.0 8.0 8.7 9.3 9.7
Display
Total 33.6 34.6 35 36.6 37.7
Description Very Good Very Good Excellent Excellent Excellent

As shown in table 6, three of the groups received an ―Excellent‖ rating for their
comic strip (see appendix P), while two of the groups received a ―Very Good‖ rating
(see appendix Q). This means that the students understood the concept in probability of
simple events through the given WebQuest activity which enabled them to create a
comic strip.

Respondents’ Perception Towards the Developed WebQuest Activity

The respondents’ perceptions towards the developed WebQuest activity were

obtained from the given self-assessment by completing the following statements:
1. What do you like the most in the activity?
a. “I really like in the problem solving part of the activity”. (F8, M5)
b. “I’ve learned a lot about probability” (F5, F6, F7)
c. “I’ve learned to solve the probability of a certain event.” (F16, F9,
F2, M11, F4, M3, M14)
2. What are the problems you have encountered in the activity?
a. “I find it difficult to draw comics.” (F16, F9, F2, F6, F4, F7, M14, M4,M1)
b. “It’s hard for me to make a dialogue in making the storyline for our
comics.” (F8)
c. “At first, I find it hard to solve for the probability of a problem.” (F5, M11,
M3, M7)
d. “All of my members don’t know how to draw.” (M5)
 3. What have you learned about the activity?
a. “I’ve learned how to solve probability” (F16, F5, F9, F2, M11, F6, F4, F7,
M7, F8, M14, M4, M5)
b. “I’ve learned what probability is all about, an outcome, an event, and a
sample space through the activity” (F14)
c. “I’ve learned concepts about probability which help me accomplished the
different task in the WebQuest” (M3)
d. ”I learned how to draw comic strip which helped enhance my creativity.”
(M1,F6)
4. What is the importance of the activity in your life?
a. “I can use this for my everyday life”. (M3)
b. “through this activity, I’ve learned to make a comic strip” (M11)
c. “It help me to develop my problem solving skills that I can use in the real
world situations.” (F16,F4,F7)
d. “It is useful in my studies.” (F14, F8)
5. How can you use the concepts of probability in your day-to-day activities?
a. “It helps me to know the probability of winning in a lottery.” (M14)
b. “It helps me to predict the chances of raining.” (F16, F9, F4, F8, M5)

Conclusions
Based upon the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn:
Teaching probability with the use of WebQuest activity has a positive impact on
the students’ performance.

The WebQuest activity helped the respondents to develop their collaboration

skills, as well as their self-accountability and social responsibility skills through the
activity. They also developed their critical thinking skills particularly on their analytic and
manipulative skills in solving real-life problems.

The integration of technology in the classroom such as using a WebQuest

activity has been found effective in teaching probability and other fields in Mathematics.

Recommendation
1. Results have shown that the WebQuest activity has a positive impact on the
students’ performance. Their problem solving skills and collaborative skills were
developed. Thus, the researchers recommend the use of the WebQuest in
teaching probability and other fields in Mathematics.
2. The researchers recommend that the teacher should be present during the
activity in case of questions and need of assistance from the students.
3. As curriculum developer, the teachers may create WebQuest for the students to
better understand other least learned topics in Mathematics.
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