Chapter 5

SUMMARY, CONLCUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION

This chapter presents the summary of the study. It includes the summary,

findings, the conclusions drawn and recommendations are offered.

Summary

The study aimed to look into some selected variables affecting knowledge

management in Science and Technology instruction among Science teachers in the

National High Schools of the 1st congressional district in the province of

Zamboanga del Norte, school year 2007-2008.

Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions:

1. How do the respondents perceive the selected variables along:

a. Structure;

b. Culture;

c. Process;

d. Practices;

e. Strategies;

f. Communication;

g. Innovation; and

h. technology?
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2. Is there a significant difference between the teachers and student

respondent’s perception on the selected variables of culture, process,

practices, structure, strategies, communication, innovation and technology?

3. How do the teachers and students are knowledge management in terms of:

a. tacit knowledge; and

b. explicit knowledge?

4. Is there a significant difference between the teachers and students’ ratings

on the knowledge management in terms of tacit and explicit knowledge?

5. Is there a significant between the perceived levels of existence of the

Knowledge Management dimension to the level of utilization of

Knowledge Management in terms of tacit and explicit knowledge?

6. What strategic measures can be formulated in order to improve the

knowledge management in Science and Technology instruction?

This study attempted to set the following null hypotheses:

HO1: There is no significant difference between the students and teacher

respondents perceptions on the selected variables of culture, process,

practice, structure, strategies, communication, innovation and technology.

HO2: There is no significant difference between the teacher’s and student’s rating

on the knowledge management in terms of: tacit knowledge and explicit

knowledge.
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HO3: There is no significant relationship between the selected variables and the

level of utilization of knowledge management in terms of tacit and explicit

knowledge.

The descriptive survey method was used, with the aid of a research-made

questionnaire checklist in gathering the needed data. There were 194 teachers and

312 students who were included in the study. The main statistical tools used were

frequency count, mean computations, chi-square test of difference and Pearson r

Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation.

Findings

The gathered data revealed that:

1. The variables such as structure, culture, process, strategies,

communication and innovation were revealed by the students and

teachers as much evident. On the other hand, practices were perceive

by the teachers to be very much evident while the students rated it as

much evident. Technology was also rated by the teachers as evident

while the students rated it as much evident.

2. As to the extent of utilization of the variables, structure, culture,

process, practices, strategies, communication and innovation were

generally found by both respondents as well-utilized. On the other

hand, teachers found technology as just utilized while the students

rated it as well-utilized.
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3. There is no significant difference between the students’ and teachers’

perceptions of the different factors affecting knowledge management

among Science and Technology.

4. Tacit and Explicit Knowledge were revealed by both groups of

respondents as well-managed.

5. There was no significant difference between the ratings of the teachers

and on tacit and explicit knowledge.

6. There was a significant relationship between the identified factors and

the management of tacit and explicit knowledge among teachers.

Conclusions

Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions are

drawn:

1. The teachers know how to utilize the different factors associated with

knowledge management of the teachers.

2. The teachers and students’ perception have the same identified factors

associated with knowledge management.

3. There is a clear manifestation of tacit and explicit knowledge

management among teachers.

4. The ratings of the teachers and students on tacit and explicit knowledge

management among teachers do not differ.

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5. Knowledge management among teachers in Science and Technology

teachers are affected by the identified factors.

Recommendations

Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, the following

recommendations are hereby offered:

1. Teachers attend technologically advance institutes, making

instruction more advance in the same sense summer classes

using multi-media instruction so that they may be able to apply it

in classroom discussion.

2. Teachers continue to manifest a well balanced tacit and explicit

knowledge management so that there could be better utilization

of students’ abilities, skills and knowledge be achieved during

their stay in high school and that they may be able to bring

something when they enter college.

3. A research study on knowledge management be made among

teachers using different indicators so that the very idea of

knowledge management could clearly be understood by persons

concerned especially those who are in the field of management.

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TEACHING STRATEGIES AND TOOLS FOR

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY
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Part I

TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR TACIT KNOWLEDGE FOR

TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Rationale

Knowledge is an important part of a human being. The acquisition and

activation of knowledge, both the tacit and explicit, to help people to succeed in

their day-to-day endeavors. As such, it is useful for educators endeavor to increase

the tacit and explicit knowledge stores of their learners. A great deal of research in

education has addressed increasing knowledge in learners. A great deal of research

in education has addressed increasing knowledge in learners, but most of it so far

has focused on the development of explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge has been

mostly overlooked. Does this means that tacit knowledge cannot be taught?

As defined, tacit knowledge refers to the student’s knowledge based on

personal beliefs, experiences, instinct and values. Tacit knowledge can be taught

and learned. They said that “tacit knowledge typically is acquired with little or no

environmental support” (Sternberg, 2000), it is procedural, and it is practical and

useful. Shulman, in his article Shulman’s Model of Teaching stated that good

teaching of tacit knowledge requires deep knowledge of the content to be taught

interwoven with a set of actions like comprehension, transformation, instruction,

evaluation and reflection. Other strategies and methods are presented for use of

both teachers and students to further enhance the cultivation of tacit knowledge

such as Concept Mapping, Clinical Interviews, Reflection and Recording,

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Interactive Discussion, Question-Based Method, KWL, CONTACT 2 Software

and Interpretation of Topic Related Pictures.

Objectives

1. To be able to help the teachers cultivate the tacit knowledge of

their students through various activities.

2. To be able to improve the learning of the students by using the

previous knowledge about a certain topic.

3. To promote an interaction between the teacher and the students

and between the students themselves.

Concept Mapping

Concept Mapping is used by teachers to assess the students’ prior

knowledge about a particular topic. It aims at assessing and explicating and

individual depth of understanding of a set of concepts in a certain domain and of

the relationships that link them together.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The teacher will ask the students to remember all that they have learned

about a particular concept. Example: Matter

2. The students will be supplied with different concepts to matter.

Example: Substance, Mixtures, Elements, Compounds.

3. The students will then be asked to construct a concepts provided.

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4. The students will present their work for further evaluation and

interview from fellow students and from the teacher.

Clinical Interview

This strategy may be used after asking the students to make a concept map.

This strategy will help the teachers assess the student’s knowledge of everyday life

applications. The students will be asked to list as many everyday life applications

of the concepts as possible. This helps to reveal the student’s knowledge or

relevance of the addressed science concepts to their everyday lives, interests and

needs.

Sample Activity:

Procedures.

1. The teacher will ask the students to make a concept map. Example:

Matter, Substances, Mixtures, Elements, Compounds.

2. After making the concept map, the students will present it to their

teacher for review.

3. The students will be asked to relate the science concepts to everyday

activities.

4. Evaluation of students’ answers.

Reflection and Recording

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This is one of the simplest methods for helping students activate tacit

knowledge. It involves the students to gather background knowledge and prompt

them to bring to mind and state, write down, or otherwise record what they know.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The teacher will simply ask the students a simple question such as

“What do I already know about this topic?” Example-Evolution.

2. The students will either orally answer or in written form.

3. The Teacher will then give suggestions and other explanations that will

support the topic.

Interactive Discussion

This is an alternative to the Reflection and Reading Approach, where the

student’s reflection of prior knowledge is supplemented with interactive

discussion within a group.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The students will be grouped with not more than five members.

2. Each group will be given a certain topic to discuss about. Example: Acid

Rain.

3. Each member of the group will share their ideas that they learned before

about the topic.

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4. The group will present their ideals to the class for evaluation.

Question-Based Method

This method suggests that in order for teachers to facilitate student

activation of tacit knowledge they should answer the questions before and after

reading a new material. In this manner the teacher can evaluate the range of

learning that the student have.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The teacher will present an article or any reading material to the class.

Example: Nitrogen Cycle.

2. Before the students will read the article, the teacher will ask questions

first about the topic to know what they already learned.

3. The students will be given enough time to read the article.

4. The teacher will ask again the students about what they have just read.

5. Evaluation of the student’s answers.

KWL Strategy

This helps the students assess important background information before

reading nonfiction. It will gather what the students already KNOW, what they

WANT to find out and recall what the students already LEARNED.

Sample Activity:

Procedures:
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1. The class will be divided into five groups. Each group will be provided

with manila papers and pens.

2. The teacher will present a topic to discuss. Example: Force

3. The manila paper will be divided into three columns. One column for

what the students already KNOW, second column for what they WANT

to know and the third column is to recall what they already LEARNED

about the topic.

4. After the discussion, they will present their work in front of the class for

further discussion and evaluation.

CONTACT 2 Software

CONTACT 2 is a software that assists both the teachers and the students in

searching the perceptions, comparing and contrasting these preconceptions with

new information, and formulation, applying and evaluating new conceptions.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The teacher will let the students make an explanation or discussion of a

particular topic based upon what they have been taught or what they

have learned before. Example: Describe the process of water cycle.

2. The students will find out if their explanation or discussion about the

topic is correct by using the CONTACT 2 software.

3. Presentation of work or discussion of the class.

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Topic-Related Pictures

This method is a unique that combined building and activating tacit

knowledge. This method offers opportunity for students to interpret topic-related

pictures.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. A picture will be presented to the class. Example: Picture of a denuded

forest.

2. Each student will write or orally interpret the picture based upon his or

her previous knowledge about the topic or picture presented.

3. Discussion and evaluation of the student’s interpretation.

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Part II

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TOOLS USING

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Rationale

The goal of education is not only to teach facts. The goal is also to teach

students to thing and reason, to solve problems and to be able to communicate

within the subject area of the course. In the field of Science and Technology,

teachers often need to prepare a lot of instructional materials, laboratory activities

and other strategies and techniques to make learning more educational and fund. In

order to uplift and enhance the quality of education, there is a need for an

environment that suits the needs of both teachers and students. An environment

that helps the teachers organize and structure the course. And for the students to

participate the course through knowledge management.

One of the main roles of information technology in knowledge management

programs is to accelerate the speed of knowledge transfer and creation. There are

many knowledge management tools that intend to help the processes of collecting

and organizing knowledge of groups and individuals in order to make this

knowledge available in a share base. The different knowledge management

solutions are Internet Intelligence-Based Systems, Business Intelligence,

Knowledge Map Systems, Innovation Support, Competitive Intelligence Tools and

Knowledge Portals which are discussed in terms of potential contributions to the

process of creating, registering and sharing of explicit knowledge.

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Objectives

1. To be able to enhance the teacher’s way of teaching by using the

modern technology available.

2. To be able to help the students learn in a fast and easy way by using the

different methods and technology.

3. To improve the explicit knowledge of students through the different

knowledge management tools.

How to use the Knowledge Management Tools

In the knowledge-based society, the workers are supposed to be the

students, teachers and researchers at a time. There is a need to be organize and

share knowledge, teachers are expected to create a new knowledge as researchers

are supposed to do. In order to achieve this, the following methods using the

knowledge management tools will help.

1. Searching for and reading information from computer networks such as

the Internet.

2. Usage of software such as different knowledge management tools to

extend the information needed and easy transfer of information to the

students, teachers and the whole school.

3. Give the teachers and students the opportunity to use multi-media

presentations in delivering the lesson particularly in the subject Science

and Technology.
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4. Integrate the use of the different Knowledge management Tools in

searching people and information.

5. Make innovations especially in the subject Science and Technology with

aide of the innovation support tools.

The different Knowledge Management Tools are the trend of any

organizations today. Information Technology is only one of the dimensions of

Knowledge Management and technology alone does not transform information

into knowledge. The Knowledge Management ultimate challenge is to increase the

chances of innovation through knowledge creation. The role of IT in this context is

to extend human capacity of knowledge creation through speed, memory extension

and communication facilities of technology. As Senge (1998) emphasizes, a

person can receive more information due to technological facilities, but will not

make any difference if the person does not have the appropriate skills to apply this

specific information in a useful manner.

Internet-Based Systems

Description:

Intranets are private networks. The communication in it is usually passive

because the user has to pull the information. This “pull style” is an alternative to

the information overload created by e-mails. It emphasizes on internal information

and are constructing important links among organizations and their employees.
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Uses:

1. It facilitates the sharing of dynamical and linked information.

2. The hypertext structure of intranets eases the navigation between

information chunks.

3. It is an appropriate tool to systematize and add knowledge that is dispersed

through departments.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. Identify the scientific of the lesson.

Example: Pollution

2. Identify the problem from a given concept.

Example: Diseases

3. Formulate a hypothesis.

Example: Massive cleanliness drive.

4. Collection of information.

Example: The students will be given opportunity to collect

information from fellow students and their teachers in their school

using the intranet system.

5. Collect information from the students.

6. Analysis of the gathered information.

7. Provide explanation to the student’s answers.

8. Evaluate the important concepts, skills and processes of the activity.

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Electronic Document Management (EDM)

Description:

Electronic Document Management is an important tool in gathering, stories

and compiling of the needed information. It is also called Context Management

Tools. It contributes to the organization of the vast amount of documents

generated by organizational activities. Its features include cataloging and indexing

that were inherited from the traditional information retrieval systems, which are

studied in the field of Library Science. EDM systems deal only with the explicit

dimension of knowledge. Documents are efficient way to exchange explicit

knowledge that organized and combined, can lead to the new knowledge.

Uses:

1. Electronic Document Management provides a more efficient retrieval,

better security and version control of documents.

2. It facilitates the expansion of explicit dimension of knowledge by

exchanging reports, memos and a variety of other documents.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The teacher will secure a multimedia of science and hire a computer

expert to prepare a program indexing the science activities.

2. The teacher will instruct the students to research about Geophysical

Theories in Science and Technology.

Example: Continental Drift Theory

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3. The students will be directed to go to the library and use the computer to

find related activities of the given topic.

4. Presentation of research outputs.

5. Discussion and analysis.

6. Evaluation

Groupware

Description:

It is described as a type of software that is designed to help teams that are

geographically dispersed and need to work together. Groupware systems have a

push style where information is sent to the user. It is a blend of synchronous (like

chat), asynchronous (like e-mail) and community focused tools (like e-groups).

Informal communication predominates in a groupware environment.

Uses:

1. People feel free to exchange opinions and collaborate.

2. It is suited to support communities of practice, where specialists of a given

domain of knowledge, that they may be dispersed all over the world,

exchange their expertise in order to find solutions to specific problems.

3. It supports to visual and sound interaction.

4. The interaction and internalization of the tacit of knowledge will be

increasingly present.
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Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The teacher will assign the students to identify the types of minerals

present in the soil in our country.

2. The students will be given a task to identify the mineral present in the

soils of the different places in the Philippines.

3. Each student will submit the data they gathered using the Groupware

type of software.

4. The students will then consolidate all the data gathered by using the

computer.

5. Presentation, discussion and sharing of ideas using groupware.

Workflow

Description:

Workflow systems support standardized business processes. These systems

regulate the information flow from person to person, place to place, task to task, in

processes that require ordered and structure information. It is supported by three

basic elements roles: set of skills to execute a specific task, rules: features that

define how the data should be processes and routes: logical paths for the

knowledge flow through the process.

Uses:
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1. It establishes and accelerates the process flow, following its steps and

tracking each activity that composes the process.

2. It makes explicit the knowledge that is embedded in the standard

processes, mainly supporting the formal codification of existing

knowledge.

3. Workflow systems usually automate parts of handiwork process.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The teacher will ask the students to organize important items that the

have learned in their Science and Technology subject.

2. The teacher will let the students use the Workflow software for easier

organization of important items learned.

3. In this manner, all of the important items learned by the students will be

monitored by the teacher and can easily be checked and given

suggestions.

Artificial Intelligence-Based Systems

Description:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the Computer Science field that produced the

first studies relating information to knowledge. Expert system, CBR (Case Based

Reasoning) systems and neural networks are some types of systems that use AI

techniques. It is build on the observation of a specialist at work and on the

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mapping part of knowledge into derivation rules. This is a tacit to explicit

conversion process.

Uses:

1. It supports the learning from a set of narratives of cases related to a

problem. When a user has a problem, he can check in the case base in

order to find if it is related to a problem that has already been solved.

2. CBR systems have been successfully used in help-desk and call-center

applications.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The teacher will assign the students a certain topic.

Example: What causes eutrophication?

2. The students will give their preliminary answers to the question.

3. Teachers will let them use the Artificial Intelligence Systems to check if

their answers are correct.

4. Provision of answers according to information gathered from Artificial

Intelligence Systems.

5. Presentation of answers in the class.

6. Discussion and evaluation.

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Business Intelligence

Description:

Business Intelligence (BI) is a set of tools used to manipulate a mass of

operational data and to extract business information from them.

Uses:

1. Using computer-based data management and analysis tools,

organizations reveal terms and patterns that would otherwise remain

buried in their huge operational databases.

2. It allows users to crate multidimensional views of large amount of data

as they “slice and dice” the data in various ways to discover patterns

and trends.

3. BI systems excel in job sorting, categorizing and structuring

information, facilitating the reconfiguration of existing information, as

well as creating a new one.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The teacher will present a modified Business Intelligence for Science

and Technology to the class.

2. They will be asked to categorize the concepts.

3. Structure all the information using the Business Intelligence software as

a guide.

4. Presentation of work in class.

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5. Discussion and evaluation.

Knowledge Map Systems

Description:

The software in this category was specifically designed for Knowledge

Management. Knowledge Maps work like yellow-pages that contain the “who

knows what” list. A Knowledge Map does not store knowledge. The map just

points to people who own it, creating opportunities for knowledge exchange. A

standard knowledge map is fed with a profile of competencies of the members of

the organization.

Uses:

1. It provides an expert locator feature that helps users find the experts

best suited to work on specific problem or project.

2. It categorizes an organizations expertise into searchable catalogs.

3. Using Knowledge Map, it is easier to identify people in terms of who

they know, what they know how proficient they are at a given task.

4. It allows the construction of knowledge trees that represents the

organization’s human resources potential and gives a dynamic vision of

available competencies.

5. Knowledge Maps facilitate tacit and explicit knowledge exchange

because they provide a faster expert search and increase the chance of

personal meetings.
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Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The teacher will assign the students to interview someone who is an

expert about a certain topic in Science and Technology.

Example: Genetics

2. The students will be asked to use the computer particularly the

Knowledge Map software to locate persons who are an expert to this

field.

3. Students will collate the experts, organize the information and construct

the knowledge trees that represent the human resources.

4. Sharing the information gathered in the class and through the use of

computers.

Innovative Support Tools

Description:

It is the application of innovation of new ideas to products and services.

The result of innovation can be observed by the number of new patents, design

modifications of existing products and development of new products. It is also a

software that contributes to knowledge generation along the product design

process.

Uses:
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1. The teacher will ask the students to make a project about Science and

Technology.

Example: Make an improvised anemometer.

2. They will be asked to use to Innovation Support Tools Software for

more information related to the instrument.

3. Construct a modified anemometer based on the information gathered

through the uses of Innovative Support Tools.

4. Presentation of the project, critiquing for further developments.

5. Evaluation of the finished project for dissemination.

Competitive Intelligence Tools

Description:

It aims to systematically feed the organizational decision process with

information about the organizational environment in order to make to learn about

it and consequently make better decisions. In contrast to Business Intelligence, the

Competitive Intelligence Tools depend heavily on the collection and analysis of

qualitative information. The Competitive Tools concentrate on the combination

process on knowledge conversion spiral. They act like a probe information

sources; the information that is obtained is filtered and classified before

dissemination, so it is disseminated in an adequate format to facilitate

combination.
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Uses:

1. It accelerates the dissemination of reports by sending e-mail reports

according to user’s preferences.

2. It acts as an agent that performs the automatic collection of timely

information from news feds and search the internet and corporate

intranets for information form web sites and internal documents.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The teacher will ask the students to make a final written report of the

newly improvised anemometer.

2. Dissemination of reports by sending e-mails to post their articles.

3. They will check all the information in the electronic newspapers they

made by using the Competitive Intelligence Tools.

4. After checking, publication for general information.

Knowledge Portals

Description:

It is an attempt to consolidate the various departmental intranets,

organizations are constructing corporate intranets or portals which function as

home pages of departmental intranet sites and external resources. It supports

places where people can get in touch with other who share a common interest.

Uses:
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1. It integrates heterogeneous information sources, providing a standard

interface to the users.

2. It provides transparent directory of information already available

elsewhere, not act as separate source of information itself.

3. It helps in easy retrieval, a search engine that links to internal and

eternal web sites and information sources.

4. It integrates a single solution many knowledge management tools

featured before.

5. It enables the user to organize their work by community, interest, task

or job focus.

Sample Activity:

Procedure:

1. The teachers will ask their students to answer some assignments using

Knowledge Portal software.

2. The students will use the intranet existing in their school

3. They gather information through chat with other students.

4. The students will incorporate all the needed information that they have

gathered using the Knowledge Portal Software.

5. Presentation of work of the class.

6. Discussion and evaluation.