Improving Refrigerant Flow Analysis and Diagnostic Reasoning among BTLED-IA 3 Students Through a Metacognitive Diagnostic Problem-Based Learning Approach with Realia Integration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24155646Keywords:
metacognitive diagnostic problem-based learning, refrigerant flow, diagnostic reasoning, realia, BTLED-Industrial Arts, action researchAbstract
Understanding refrigerant flow, pressure–temperature relationships, and component functions is a core competency in Domestic Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning (DomRAC), yet students often struggle because these processes cannot be directly observed. This classroom-based action research examined written-test performance and diagnostic task outcomes among 20 third-year Bachelor of Technology and Livelihood Education–Industrial Arts (BTLED-IA) students at Davao Oriental State University following a four-week Metacognitive Diagnostic Problem-Based Learning (MD-PBL) intervention with realia integration. Using a single-group pre-test/post-test design, the intervention combined instructor think-aloud modeling, team diagnostic rotations following a Plan, Test, Monitor, and Fix Proposal sequence with an actual air-conditioning unit, manifold gauge, and diagnostic scenario cards, a defense symposium, and reflection journals. Data were gathered through content-validated 20-item written tests and four-point analytic rubrics for scenario analysis, practical demonstration, diagnostic defense, and reflection journals, and were analyzed using means, standard deviations, percentages, a paired-samples t-test, and Cohen’s dz. Mean written-test scores increased from 10.95 (SD = 1.54; 54.75%) to 18.35 (SD = 1.04; 91.75%), a gain of 7.40 points, t(19) = 15.85, p < .001, dz = 3.54. Reported weighted rubric means were 3.78 for scenario analysis, 3.62 for demonstration, 3.38 for the defense symposium, and 3.56 for reflection journals, with planning, monitoring, and evaluation each rated 3.75. These ratings describe assessed performance rather than improvement from baseline. The written-test increase was associated with the intervention period, but the absence of a control group, unestablished test-form equivalence, and the lack of a reported reliability coefficient limit causal interpretation. The MD-PBL approach offers a structured, low-cost instructional sequence for further classroom use and evaluation in refrigeration and air-conditioning education.
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