Misconceptions on the Use of Statistical Tools in Agricultural Researches in Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines: Basis for Professional Development
Craig N. Refugio¹, Craig N. Refugio²
¹Mathematics Department, Jose Rizal Memorial State University, Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines; ²Mathematics Department, Charles Flowers High School,Prince George's County Public Schools, Springdale, MD, United States

This study sought to determine the misconceptions on the use of statistical tools in agricultural researches in Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines with an endview of offering a professional development in Statistics and Research. The term misconceptions in this study is defined as the incorrect or inappropriate use of statistical tools in research and the professional development was mainly focused on the choice of appropriate statistical tools in conducting research with emphasis on the use of technology.

A documentary analysis was conducted among agricultural researches in the following government agencies in Zamboanga del Norte Philippines: Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, Department of Agriculture in Dipolog and Dapitan Cities; Department of Agriculture in the Municipalities of Katipunan, Polanco,Sibutad, La Libertad, Rizal, Roxas, Manukan, Sindangan, Leon Postigo, Salug, Liloy, Labason, Gutalac, Sergio Osmena and Tampilisan. Each of the researches was examined by a three-man panel in terms of the appropriateness of statistical tools that were used. A thorough evaluation was conducted and misconceptions on the used of statistical tools were recorded, analyzed and interpreted.

It is concluded that there were many misconceptions on the use of statistical tools in agricultural researches in Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines specifically on confidence intervals and in the making of statistical inferences. In line with this conclusion through an allocated budget from the government and other private agencies, a professional development in Statistics and Research was conducted focusing on the choice of appropriate statistical tools and technology integration. The course was focused on descriptive statistics, probability, discrete probability distributions,normal probability distributions, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, correlation and regression, chi-square test and F distribution and parametric tests. The delivery of the program was in terms of a workshop following the “I do”, “I do” and “I do” model. Pre-test and post-test were utilized to determine the effectiveness of the professional development program. Statistical analysis revealed that there was a sufficient evidence to conclude that there was a difference between the pre-test and post- test in favor of the post test which implied an effectiveness of the professional development program at 5% level of significance.

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Keywords: Misconceptions; Statistical Tools; Agricultural Researches; Professional Development

Biography: Craig N. Refugio is a PhD in Education major in Research and Evaluation, MA in Mathematics Education, B.Sc. major in Mathematics and Associate Professor of Jose Rizal Memorial State University, Dapitan City, Philippines. Currently, he is a contract-exchange faculty at Charles Herbert Flowers High School of Prince George's County Public Schools, State of Maryland, United States of America. He is a member of the International Association for Statistics Education, American Statistical Association,National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Jean Piaget Society, Psychology of Mathematics Education-North American Chapter, Maryland State Education Association, Mathematical Society of the Philippines and the Philippine Council of Mathematics Teacher Educators. He has presented research papers on the following international conferences: 2007 Kansas Mathematical Association, USA; 2009 Philippine Council of Math Teacher Educators' Mathematics Education Conference in Puerto Princesa, Philippines; and the 2010 Psychology of Mathematics Education-North American Chapter Conference.