Examining the effect of LENS exploration and navigation stations on students’ gain score in bio-inspired optics

Abstract

The study examines the impact of lens exploration and navigation stations (LENS) activity on students’ academic performance in bio-inspired optics, focusing on the gain score, to provide empirical evidence on its effectiveness in fostering deeper comprehension and engagement. The design of the study is quantitative research and uses a pretest-posttest control group in a quasi-experimental approach. The design makes it possible to compare the LENS activity’s efficacy with the traditional method of teaching by comparing the students’ pre- and post-test scores. The researcher chooses one class comprising 56 students from academic track, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) strand where random assignment was used to determine the treatment group and control group (N=28). The study utilizes dependent sample comparing pretest and posttest scores, and independent sample comparing posttest mean scores between experimental and control groups. The study found that there is a significant difference in post-test scores between the experimental group using LENS activity and the control group using traditional teaching methods. The study indicates that LENS activity significantly increased students’ academic performance in understanding bio-inspired optics, demonstrating its effectiveness in enhancing learning outcomes and deeper understanding of the subject. This highlights the importance of activity-based learning (ABL) in enhancing learning outcomes.