Application of MS Excel Software in The Teaching and Learning of Anova Topic through Google Meet

Abstract

Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the face-to-face learning process of Malaysian students including the Gifted and Talented (GT) students. Since then, many applications have been used for online learning and one of the most popular is Google Meet. This study aimed to measure the level of understanding of GT students on the application of Microsoft Excel software in the online teaching of ANOVA topic. In addition, the study also examined the perception of GT students towards the application of MS Excel software in the teaching and learning of ANOVA topic through Google Meet. At Pusat GENIUS@Pintar Negara, UKM, the topic of ANOVA is taught to form 4 students (aged 15 and 16) who have a high level of intelligence and are identified as gifted. This study used a survey design based on an observation checklist. A total of 71 GT students were selected through a simple random sampling technique. This ANOVA topic is taught for two months through the Google Meet application. At the initial stage, students were given explanations related to the concept of the ANOVA topic and students had to complete a mini-research using MS Excel software. At the end of the study, students had to produce a poster and present all the mini research findings to the lecturer. The level of students’ understanding was measured through observation checklists for the research mini-presentation. Findings show that 60% of students have an excellent level of understanding, followed by 25% in the good category, 11% in the average category and 4% in the satisfactory category. The responses to the student perception questionnaire on the application of MS Excel software proved that 95% of students agreed with the application of MS Excel in learning improved students' understanding of concepts, motivation and achievement. Further research could be carried out on the application of MS Excel software to at an early stage so that students can apply these skills in the working world later.