Solving Math Problems and Writing Essays: The learning style of Grade 12 HUMSS and

STEM students

INTRODUCTION
In year 2022, students often choose writing essays as it is much easier than solving
mathematic problems. Students who prefer the learning style of writing an essay are mostly the
ones who finds it easier to write while the students who prefer solving math problems are the
ones that finds it difficult to write an essay. Most students who prefer writing essays are the
students from HUMSS, as what they say, they choose the strand HUMSS as it has no mathematic
subjects. Unlike the HUMSS, STEM students choose their strands because they like mathematics
and they are most likely to enjoy problem solving, like what they have said. Senior high school
students that like solving mathematical problems are mostly the ones that has a logical thinking.
Solving mathematical problems gives encouragement to the students to achieve their high order
thinking skills; the problem solving will be help them improve their thinking capability and will
help them sharpen their memory. Through the problem solving, students are able to develop their
critical and logical thinking. It might as well help them identify and exploit the opportunities in
the environment and exert control over the future. Solving mathematical problems does not only
happen in their school, it has also a crucial part in their everyday life both as individuals and
organizations. Aside from STEM students, there might be students who also likes to solve
problems even if they are from HUMSS strand or other strands. On the other hand, writing an
essay requires creative thinking skills and imaginable mind. Essays helps the students to
demonstrate their creative abilities through words. Writing essay also requires a wide vocabulary
as they need to use word to be creative. Essay promotes the critical thinking of students whereby
they reflect on the issues and reach on a conclusion. It also helps students to assess different
arguments so that they can come up with stronger positions or point for their grounds. Through
the essay, their critical thinking gets to improve so that they can see and observe an issue in
different perspectives and view. Essay is an art as it has a creative writing in it so that the author
can express their self-expression, point of view, and conclusions. Also, essay writing improves
the student’s communication.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The research study entitled “Solving Math Problems and Writing Essays: The learning
style of Grade 12 HUMSS and STEM students” discusses the most preferred style of senior high
school students in Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College when it comes to learning or studying. The
grade 12 STEM students are known for solving more mathematical problems than in writing
essays while the HUMSS students are more known for writing essays than in solving
mathematical problems. This study seeks to calculate the quantity of students that prefers solving
math problems or writing essay as their learning style.
Th following questions are expected to be answered through the study:
1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:
1.1 Age
1.2 Sex
1.3 Grade level
1.4 Strand
2. What is the level of assessment of the Grade 12 students in solving math problems and writing
essays as their learning style?
3. Is there a significant difference on the level of assessment of Grade 12 students in solving
math problems and writing essay as their learning style?
4. What recommendations can be drawn base on the findings of the study?

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The researchers conducted the study entitled “Solving Math Problems and Writing
Essays: The learning style of Grade 12 HUMSS and STEM students” that focuses on the Grade
12 HUMSS and STEM senior high school students of Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College. The main
purpose of this study is to know the most preferred learning style of senior high school students
in DCLC: solving math problems and writing essays. Therefore, the study’s targeted respondents
are all in grade 12 HUMSS and STEM students of Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study aims to know the learning style of the Grade 12 HUMSS and STEM students
when writing essays and problem-solving. As well as to know the difference in learning styles
when writing essays and solving problems:
Students – This study will help students to increase their knowledge and their learning style in
the respective subject (writing essay and solving problems), therefore helping their academic
performance as well.
Teachers – The study will help teachers to help students that has a unique learning style and is
struggling to do well in their academic performance when writing essays or solving problems.

HYPOTHESIS
Null Hypothesis
There is no significant difference on the level of assessment of Grade 12 students in solving math
problems and writing essay as their learning style.
Alternative Hypothesis
There is significant difference on the level of assessment of Grade 12 students in soling math
problems and writing essay as their learning style.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

According to Siniguian (2017), an article titled “Problem Solving in Mathematics: A
Tool for Cognitive Development from the University of New York'', states that problem solving
is, “the process wherein students encounter a problem – a question for which they have no
immediately apparent resolution, nor an algorithm that they can directly apply to get an answer.
They must then read the problem carefully, analyze it for whatever information it has, and
examine their mathematical knowledge to see if they can come up with a strategy that will help
them find a solution”, from this in-depth description of what problem-solving is, as stated in
Siniguian’s study, he thought that this is a great explanation for the process problem-solving and
how this is beneficial for a student in learning mathematics. However, despite the importance of
mathematics, some students are unwilling to go onto this subject, despite some having an
excellent understanding of mathematical concepts, they are inconsistent at analyzing and
computing. These students often struggle, making them end up in remedial classes despite
having the potential in having higher mathematical thinking; instead, they fail due to the fact that
most students are stressed about basic computation and the idea of “right answers'', creating
errors in their work by the reason of reading or carrying numbers incorrectly. (Students’
difficulty in solving mathematical problems, Marlon T. Siniguian, 2017)
Mathematics is a subject that requires a lot of problem-solving and requires abilities that
make students actualize learning at the highest level so that the knowledge that is gained
throughout the years of learning can be applied in day-to-day real-life situations. Mathematics is
an important subject, however, the majority of students find it less desirable, boring, and rather
difficult, creating a development of one of the weaknesses a student most likely has in problem-
solving. This is where most of the complaints and weaknesses of students in mathematics mostly
derive from, according to Novriani & Surya (2017).
According to another research by Widyatiningtyas, Kusumah, Sumarmo & Sabanda
(2015), every student can apply their critical thinking to mathematics, however, the problem is
how we bring critical thinking skills and mathematical development and increase mathematical
critical thinking skills through learning mathematics. There could be a possible effect on a
student’s critical thinking skills when it comes to facing difficult mathematical studies.

REFERENCES
  https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/249335829.pdf (Novriani, M. R., & Surya, E. (2017).
Analysis of student difficulties in mathematics problem solving ability at MTs SWASTA
IRA Medan. International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR),
33(3), 63-75.)
 https://garph.co.uk/IJAREAS/Feb2017/1.pdf (Siniguian, M. T. (2017). Students’
difficulty in solving mathematical problems. International Journal of Advanced Research
in Engineering and Applied Sciences, 6(2), 1-12.)
 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1079642.pdf (Widyatiningtyas, R., Kusumah, Y. S.,
Sumarmo, U., & Sabandar, J. (2015). The Impact of Problem-Based Learning Approach
to Senior High School Students' Mathematics Critical Thinking Ability. Indonesian
Mathematical Society Journal on Mathematics Education, 6(2), 30-38.)

REVISED:

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The researchers conducted the study entitled “Solving Math Problems and
Writing Essays: The learning style of Grade 12 HUMSS and STEM students” that
focuses on the Grade 12 HUMSS and STEM senior high school students of Dr. Carlos
S. Lanting College. The main purpose of this study is to know the most preferred
learning style of senior high school students in DCLC: solving math problems and
writing essays. Therefore, the study’s targeted respondents are all in grade 12
HUMSS and STEM students of Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study aims to know the learning style of the Grade 12 HUMSS and STEM
students when writing essays and problem-solving. As well as to know the
difference in learning styles when writing essays and solving problems:

Students – This study will help students to increase their knowledge and their
learning style in the respective subject (writing essay and solving problems),
therefore helping their academic performance as well.

Teachers – The study will help teachers to help students that has a unique learning
style and is struggling to do well in their academic performance when writing
essays or solving problems.
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

According to another research by Widyatiningtyas, Kusumah, Sumarmo &

Sabanda (2015), every student can apply their critical thinking to mathematics,
however, the problem is how we bring critical thinking skills and mathematical
development and increase mathematical critical thinking skills through learning
mathematics. There could be a possible effect on a student’s critical thinking skills
when it comes to facing difficult mathematical studies.

According to Setiani and Kuning(2018) in an article called “Students’

Difficulties of Writing an Essay” states that “writing is an activity in delivering ideas
or thoughts into written form”. An essay is one of the most popular writing forms in
history, it is a must for every senior high student to write essays, it plays an
essential role in a student’s learning style and academic performance as essays
usually makes students create thought-provoking statements.

According to Hasanuddin and Basalama(2020) in an article called “The

Students’ Writing Difficulties in Writing an Essay Based on Cognitive Process” states
that in writing an essay, students need knowledge and skill in composing a good
essay. Therefore, students must be skillful in writing a good essay, they must have
an adept mind to pick up necessary writing skills such as to see if their grammar is
correct, it is persuading, sometimes entertaining and the theme is intact and not all
over the place. Students need knowledge when writing essays to help them see if
there is anything wrong with what they are writing. Students can also develop a
good planning sense when writing an essay, students develop a great cognitive
sense of planning, it helps students to formulate plans and be concise at all times,
and it helps them sharpen their focus. In planning, they need to have the concepts
of writing an essay that focuses on the main idea and is related to the topic of the
essay (Hasanuddin & Basalama., (2020).

When writing an essay, students can also develop making good arguments
that are used to persuade people on ideological beliefs, religious beliefs, political
views, etc. arguments are key requirement of an essay according to Wingate
(2012) in an article called “Argument! Helping students understand what essay
writing is about.”

According to Nugraha (2018) in an article called “An Analysis of Difficulties in

Writing Essay at Second Grade of Education College of STKIP” states that students
only need one topic to discuss, making it easier for the students to write essays as
they only need one topic to write about. Since they only need one topic to tackle,
students can focus mainly on the topic they formulated in writing an essay.

However, according to Saprina et al. (2021) in an article called “Difficulties in

Developing Idea Encountered by Students in Writing Argumentative Essay”, is that
the major difficulty for the students are developing the main idea. It seems that
students still struggle in developing the main idea, it is a major problem for them
without the idea, it is impossible for a student to even start an essay, not only that
but students also struggle with other factors such as constructing a thesis
statement, combining ideas in correct sentences and organizing a paragraph
(Saprina et a., 2021).

REFERENCES

 https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/249335829.pdf (Novriani, M. R., & Surya,

E. (2017). Analysis of student difficulties in mathematics problem solving
ability at MTs SWASTA IRA Medan. International Journal of Sciences: Basic
and Applied Research (IJSBAR), 33(3), 63-75.)
 https://garph.co.uk/IJAREAS/Feb2017/1.pdf (Siniguian, M. T. (2017).
Students’ difficulty in solving mathematical problems. International Journal of
Advanced Research in Engineering and Applied Sciences, 6(2), 1-12.)
 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1079642.pdf (Widyatiningtyas, R.,
Kusumah, Y. S., Sumarmo, U., & Sabandar, J. (2015). The Impact of
Problem-Based Learning Approach to Senior High School Students'
Mathematics Critical Thinking Ability. Indonesian Mathematical Society
Journal on Mathematics Education, 6(2), 30-38.)
 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lulud-Oktaviani/publication/
345140655_ETHNIC_SNAKE_GAME_A_STUDY_ON_THE_USE_OF_MULTIMEDI
A_IN_SPEAKING_CLASS_FOR_ELECTRICAL_ENGINEERING_STUDENTS/
links/5f9ed59b299bf1b53e5657ee/ETHNIC-SNAKE-GAME-A-STUDY-ON-THE-
USE-OF-MULTIMEDIA-IN-SPEAKING-CLASS-FOR-ELECTRICAL-ENGINEERING-
STUDENTS.pdf#page=86 (Setiani, R, & Kuning, D.S(2018). Students’
Difficulties of Writing an Essay. 86)
 https://uia.e-journal.id/Lingua/article/view/560/483 (Hasanuddin, A, &
Basalama, N. (2020). The Students’ Writing Difficulties in Writing an Essay
Based on Cognitive Process. 1(16).
https://doi.org/10.34005/lingua.v16i1.560)
 https://journal.unpak.ac.id/index.php/Jet-Li/article/view/3419 (Satrina,
C.M., Rosyid, A., & Suryanti, Y. (2021). Difficulties in Developing Idea
Encountered by Students in Writing Argumentative Essay. 3(1).
https://doi.org/10.55215/jetli.v3i1.3419)
 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1475158511000762
(Wingate, U., (2012). Argument! Helping students understand what essay
writing is about. 11(2). 145-154.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2011.11.001)
 https://journal.institutpendidikan.ac.id/index.php/eeal/article/view/46/23
(Nugraha, I., (2018). An Analysis of Difficulties in Writing Essay at Second
Grade of Education College of STKIP. 1(1). https://doi.org/10.31980/eeal
%20journal.v1i1.46.g23)
 METHODOLOGY

This chapter consists of the research design, research respondents,

population and sampling, research instruments, research procedure and the
statistical treatment of the study.

Research Design
This study used the quantitative research design to collect and gather
information about the most preferred learning style of Grade 12 STEM and HUMSS
senior high school students: solving math problems and writing an essay. The study
also uses descriptive statistic method where in the researchers will analyze and
summarize the important characteristics of their collected and sample data. Google
Form is also used to distribute the survey questionnaires to collect information from
respondents.
This research aims to assess and explore the preferred learning style of the
students between solving mathematics problems and writing an essay. This
research is quantitative in nature and it used survey forms that is focusing in
gathering, synthesizing, analyzing, and computing quantitative data to determine
the outcomes of this research.
In addition, to get the targeted respondents, the researchers used the stratified
sampling method where in they will divide the groups into two and label them through
their strands: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strand and
Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) strand.
Additionally, the researchers employed the stratified sampling technique, which
divides the groups into two and labels them according to their foci: the STEM (sciences,
technology, engineering, and mathematics) strand and the HUMSS (humanities and social
sciences) strand.
Statistical Treatment
The researchers' goal is to ascertain the respondents' degree of evaluation in
their most favored learning style, as stated in the problem statement. The surveys
were grouped by the researchers based on the profiles that the respondents had
checked after they had completed the survey and given it to them. For the purpose
of presenting the data, the researchers made a table for each profile (age, sex,
grade level, and strand) provided by the respondents. The frequency with which
respondents chose to learn through doing arithmetic problems or by writing essays
was also recorded by the researchers in a table. Additionally, each factor's level of
assessment has a summary table on the Likert scale.
The researchers also used the Percentage Frequency Distribution. It is a
method where it identifies the frequency of each value in a data set or the results of
the respondent’s answers from each data point or group of data points. This
method will be used by the researchers to identify the percentage of the students
that will choose solving math problems or writing essay as their preferred learning
style in school. In addition, the researchers will also use Independent Sample T-
test. This method is used to find the significant difference in the level of assessment
of Grade 12 students in solving math problems and writing essays as their learning
style.

Furthermore, the researchers used Weighted Mean Interpretation where in

they will compute the quantitative outcome of the answers provided by the
respondents and then summing it all up. This method will be the diagram that will
show the weighted mean, scale, and interpretation of the Likert scale.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
The study's instrument used to collect the data of the respondents is a survey through the
Google Forms. The researchers used this as it is more applicable today considered that our
country where the virus is still spreading. It is also safe and easier to gather data for the study
using Google Forms since it analyzes or summarizes the data in a graphic chart. Since more
individuals are utilizing social media, using online platforms can help the researchers to perform
more surveys specifically in gathering data and information of the respondents. Google Forms
will also help the researchers to determine their research purposes and to solved the research
problem with the help of response of the respondents for this study.
RESEARCH RESPONDENTS
The researchers chose the Grade 12 students from Humanities and Social Science
(HUMSS) and Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strands as the
respective respondents that is the most appropriate and in line to participate in the research study
“Solving Math Problems and Writing Essays: The Learning Style of Grade 12 HUMSS and
STEM Students”. The researchers chose the HUMSS students as they specialized in writing
while the STEM students are proficient in problem-solving. A total of 40 students from the two
strands will be chosen as the research respondents of the study.