DIRECTED RESEARCH

Grade Frequency Percent
A 6 23.1
B 10 38.5
C 10 38.5
26 100
Total

Table 4.5: Treatment Group’s Performance Grade

Table 4.6 shows a one-way Anova Test conducted to compare the effects of academic
performance by using mnemonic methods on students’ achievement in Science subjects.
The findings of the analysis stated that there was no significant difference in the effect
of academic performance on achievement in Science subjects based on the use of
mnemonic methods [F (2,23) = 0.25, p> 0.05]. In other words, student achievement in
Science subjects using mnemonic methods is not influenced by academic performance
in Science.

Effect of academic ability Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 6.00 2 3.00 .025 .975

Within Groups 2776.00 23 120.70

Total 2782.00 25

Table 4.6: The Effect of Science Academic Ability on Student Achievement in
Science

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4.5 CONCLUSION
This chapter has reported the findings of the study to answer all the research questions
stated in Chapter 1. The result obtained has answered the first research question and the
conclusion is the academic performance of students in Science is mostly excellent, good
and satisfactory. The results of the t-test also answered the second research question by
showing the mnemonic methods used in the treatment group were effective in
improving the achievement of students in Science subject. Finally, the findings of one-
way Anova test analysis have answered the third research question where students’
achievement in Science subjects using mnemonic methods is not influenced by their
academic performance in Science. This proves that the use of mnemonic methods can
improve the achievement of Year 4 students in Science subjects.

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CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The discussion in the previous chapter emphasized on practical and effective methods
to improve students’ achievement. This study was conducted to overcome the problem
of The Year 4 students who often forget about the facts that they have learnt in the
Science subject. This study was planned, implemented, and evaluated through the
effects of the use of mnemonic methods and to determine the extent of its effectiveness
influenced by the initial academic performance of students. However, due to the limited
scope of the study and the limited time constraints of the study, the scope of the study
is only in the researcher’s researcher environment. Furthermore, the selection of
respondents and the title of the study is seen as appropriate to the background of the
respondents in the area.
This chapter aims to provide an explanation regarding the overall course of the study
starting with the study planning, administering the study according to the
methodologies, and evaluating the effectiveness of mnemonic methods especially in
improving the achievement of the Year 4 students in Science subject. In this chapter, a
summary of the study, discussions of the findings and further research
recommendations are discussed in detail.

5.1 SUMMARY
This study aims to plan, implement research guidelines, and assess the mnemonic
effects in learning. This study is a quasi-experimental study involving two groups of
respondents, namely the control group and the treatment group where the control group
used the conventional methods while the treatment group used the mnemonic methods.

41

This study used instruments that have been certified by the academic experts in the
fields related to Science subjects. The study was conducted within a predetermined
period. Teaching and learning matters are managed by the researcher herself because
the researcher teaches the respondents for both control and treatment groups. Before
conducting the pre-test, the final examination marks when the respondents were in Year
3 were taken to determine the academic performance of the respondents in Science
subjects. Their academic performance was closely related to existing knowledge which
is an important basis in preparing respondents to receive the content of the next lesson.
After that, pre-tests were conducted before the students learn about the new topic and
pre-test scores were recorded. Then, the researcher started the learning session with the
learning methods that have been set for both groups. Respondents in the control group
used the conventional method where only textbooks and whiteboards were used while
the mnemonic method was implemented to the treatment group. The mnemonic method
is a summary of facts arranged in the form of special tricks such as acronyms, relevance
or rhythm so that respondents can easily remember the important facts in the subject of
Science. The learning time period is four weeks equivalent to eight face-to-face
interactions. At the end of the learning period, a post test was conducted and to
determine the difference in achievement for both respondents of the control and
treatment groups. Based on this study, both groups were seen to have improved
performance, but the treatment group was seen to achieve much better performance than
the treatment group. The level of academic performance of the respondents who have
been identified from their achievement in the year end assessment is associated with the
effect of the use of mnemonic methods. However, the results of this study found that
the level of academic performance of the respondents did not actually directly affect the
results of their improvement after the use of mnemonic methods. This shows that the

42

mnemonic method can be used by all students and is not focused on only a single level
of students’ academic performance. It is comprehensive.

5.2 DISCUSSION

5.2.1 Academic Performance of Year 4 Students for Science Subjects
The students' academic performance will reflect the level of academic ability and can
anticipate the level of readiness to accept new content. Usually students who have good
academic performance do not have difficulty in accepting new content. However, the
significant change in their current learning patterns at level one is very different from
level two. For Science subjects, level one emphasizes only a few aspects of Science
skills as well as a few simple facts regarding the content of the lesson while level two
emphasizes aspects of more detailed content and knowledge development along with
manipulative skills that need to be learned. Adding more facts will change students'
thinking patterns. In this study, it was found that most of the students involved are
students with academic potential. This can be proven through the results of the final
examination when they were in Year 3 where most of the respondents are students with
excellent academic performance, good and moderate where 44 (93.6%) respondents
obtained grade A + B + C and 19 (40.4%) among them obtained grade B in the subject.
Information on academic performance is an indicator of students’ achievement in the
future. The findings of the study are supported by a study conducted by Amin &
Suardiman (2016) who stated that success in academics provides an indication of the
level of ability and capability of individuals based on their learning outcomes.

43

5.2.2 The Effect of Mnemonic Methods on The Achievement of Year 4
Students in Science Subjects.

To see the effect of mnemonic methods on achievement, comparisons between the pre-
test and post-test were made to both control and treatment groups. The findings of the
analysis showed that the mean values for the treatment group were higher than the
control group. This large difference in mean values indicates that the use of mnemonic
methods is more effective than the conventional methods used in the control group. The
findings of the T-Test inference analysis also showed that there was a significant
difference of P <0.05 (.000) where the achievement obtained by the treatment group
was seen to be better than the control group. The positive effects of the mnemonic
method can be seen through a detailed analysis of the achievement of the treatment
group where majority of the respondents of the treatment group obtained an
encouraging improvement (85.2%). This finding is supported by a study conducted by
Nur Fazirah and Siti Nur Diyana (2018) which showed a significant improvement after
being taught using mnemonic methods and indirectly has improved the achievement in
Science subjects.
In addition, based on the researcher's observations, the treatment group respondents
gave full focus during the learning process. The mnemonic method that used special
tricks always makes the respondents look forward to the mnemonic methods that will
be used in the learning session that day. This will indirectly increase students' interest
in Science subjects.
Among other aspects that have been obtained is the increment in the creativity of
respondents because some respondents have spontaneously tried to build their own
mnemonics based on the topic that they learned. This makes the treatment group class
always active and creates a conducive atmosphere during the learning process.

44

5.2.3 The Influence of Students' Academic Achievement on The Impact of
Mnemonic Used in Science Subjects.
The findings of the Anova Test analysis found that there was no significant difference
in the influence of students' academic achievement with the effect of using mnemonic
methods in Science subjects. This means that the improvement in achievement in
Science subjects is not directly related to the level of academic performance and even a
significant improvement can be seen in all students.
This shows that mnemonic methods do not only improve the achievement of students
with low academic performance but also can improve the achievement of students with
moderate and good academic performance. This finding is supported by, Uthaya
Kumaran (2013) who stated that mnemonic methods have successfully increased the
mean, median and test mode of students in Science subjects where respondents consist
of all levels of student performance that is excellent, moderate and weak.
Based on the researcher's observation, the mnemonic method is an effective strategy to
review lessons more easily and quickly. The mnemonic method is very practical,
suitable for all academic performance, able to save a huge number of times preparing
the learning materials and energy saving because teachers do not need to prepare other
supporting materials. This can be seen when the treatment group respondents’ review
the lesson before performing the post test. Respondents in the treatment group did not
have to read so much information but they just simply memorized brief mnemonics and
continued to recall the facts they had previously learned. This coincides with the
findings of Meili Yanti’s (2018) study which stated that mnemonic methods make it
easier for students to recall and reproduce information when needed.

45

5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
There are several suggestions for the improvement of this study that is, to increase the
number of respondents by taking the entire Year 4 students which is a total of 125
students as respondents of the study compared to this study which only involved 47
students. The purpose of increasing the number of respondents is to increase the
reliability of the findings of the study.
Researchers can also expand the scope of the study to several schools in the same zone.
This is because studies involving one school alone do not provide a comprehensive
picture of the effectiveness of the use of mnemonic methods in Science subjects. The
next further suggestions is the researcher can add some other topics that are difficult
and loaded with facts in order to form a network of mnemonic diversity that can be used
to see a greater mnemonic effects if tested in exams.
In addition, through the observation of respondents' behaviour in this study, the
researcher can study the mnemonic effects based on aspects of interest and creativity.
Both aspects can be clearly seen in this study. Furthermore, the District Education
Office together with the State Education Department can organize mnemonic formation
courses and workshops to provide exposure and encouragement to teachers to use
mnemonic methods so that the positive effects of mnemonic used can be expanded.

5.5 CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, this study has shown a very good effect on the use of mnemonics on
the achievement of Year 4 students in Science subjects. The use of mnemonics should
be expanding so that the advantages of this method can be fully utilized by the students.
Through this study, it is realized that the development of effective learning materials

46

such as mnemonics do not require high expenses and a long time to produce. Enough
with paper and pencil as well as a little thinking skills and creativity while building
mnemonics. It is hoped that this study can create positive awareness to the teachers,
schools and then the Ministry of Education Malaysia about the benefits of using
mnemonics in learning.
.

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APPENDIX A

MNEMONICS FOR THE TOPIC OF PLANTS
MNEMONIC 1

MNEMONIC 2
MNEMONIC 3

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APPENDIX B
VALIDATION OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
ACADEMIC EXPERT 1

Continue…
52

Continue…
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APPENDIX C

ACADEMIC EXPERT 2

54

55

APPENDIX D

PRE / POST TEST PAPER

56

57

58

59

60

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APPENDIX E

PRE / POST TEST ANSWER SCHEME

62

63