Developing a Laboratory Activity Based on the Content of 3D Wave Visualization in Learning Earthquake

Abstract

3D Wave Visualization is a simulation that shows the traveling of earthquake waves in the layer of the earth. It was made by the NSF SAGE EarthScope Consortium. Based on the pre-assessment survey by three (3) in-service principals and eight (8) in-service science teachers, one of the difficult topics in the 2nd quarter of grade 8 was the earthquake. It shows that earthquake is a challenging topic and it is difficult to engage the students with abstract concepts. Some students cannot imagine how waves travel. This led the researcher to develop a laboratory activity based on the content of the 3D Wave Visualization to enhance the conceptual understanding of the Grade 8 students on earthquakes. The developed laboratory activity was evaluated in terms of content, format, presentation & organization, accuracy, and up-to-date information and rated as Excellent. It was administered to the forty (40) grade 8 students currently enrolled for the academic year 2024-2025 in one of the public schools in Balindong Lanao del Sur. In addition, a pilot test was conducted and it revealed that the mean scores of the pretest and post-test were 9.93 (SD=1.77and 19.76(SD=3.11). The actual implementation revealed that the mean scores of the pretest and post-test were 14.56(SD=2.59) and 23.08(SD=1.69) respectively. This indicates that the mean difference is 8.52. It signifies that there was a significant difference in the pretest and post-test results of the student’s performance during the actual implementation. This implies that the intervention significantly improved the conceptual understanding of the respondents. This study concludes that utilizing 3D wave visualization as a laboratory activity increases the performance of the students.