Effectiveness of Project RISE as a Classroom-Based Research Intervention for Struggling Non-STEM Learners

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Project Research, Innovation, and Scientific Exploration (RISE), contextualized as a classroom intervention for struggling non-STEM learners in Mountain Province General Comprehensive High School, Bontoc, Mountain Province. Specifically, it was conducted to assess the perceived level of effectiveness of Project RISE in improving the research skills of Grade 12 non-STEM learners, evaluate their academic performance in their Grade 12 research subject, and establish the relationship between these two variables. The study employed a quantitative, descriptive-correlational research design involving 25 learners from the Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) strand, selected through total population sampling. An adapted Research Skill Scale assessed the intervention’s effectiveness across three domains: methods and analysis, writing and reporting of results, and problem conceptualization. Academic performance was evaluated using the final grades of the students in Inquiries, Investigation, and Immersion (III). Descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency, and percentage were used to summarize the data, while Spearman’s rho was used to examine the relationship between the intervention’s perceived effectiveness and student academic performance. Results indicate that students perceive the Project RISE as an effective intervention for improving the research skills of struggling non-STEM learners. Moreover, a correlation coefficient (ρ = 0.541) indicated a strong positive and statistically significant relationship between the perceived effectiveness of the intervention and the students’ academic performance (p = 0.005). Regression analysis further revealed that perceived effectiveness significantly predicted academic performance in III (B = 6.4111, t = 3.321, p = 0.003). The coefficient of determination (R² = .3214) indicated that perceived effectiveness explains 32.14% of the variation in students’ performance, suggesting a moderate level of influence. These findings suggest that the Project RISE may be adopted as a school-based intervention program for struggling learners, particularly those with no early research exposure.