Utilization of a Contextualized English Reading Module to Enhance Higher-Order Thinking Skills among Grade 10 Students through Socially Relevant Topics

Abstract

Philippine secondary education faces challenges in English literacy and higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), as evidenced by low PISA scores and declining EPI rankings. Philippine reading intervention strategies are based on lower-order fluency rather than on critical and analytical thinking. This study developed and tested a Contextualized English Reading Enhancement Module to improve the HOTS of Grade 10 learners through socially relevant issues. It employed a pre-experimental, single-group mixed-methods design at Fortune High School in Marikina City for the year 2025-2026. Forty-two Grade 10 pupils were tested. In order to determine the module structure consisting of 5 lessons, 10 local English teachers and 42 students were surveyed to find 5 relevant social topics: overcoming problems, family relationships, technology and social media, academic pressures, and culture; and 5 least demonstrated HOTS: problem-solving, evaluating, analytical thinking, critical thinking, and metacognition. The data for pretest-posttest comparisons using the Phil-IRI BOSY and MOSY were used to determine the effectiveness of the instruction. Ten teachers reviewed the module. The paired-samples t-test revealed a significantly higher posttest score (M = 21.67) than the pretest score (M = 15.60), t(41) = 8.04, p < .001. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test showed that the Phil-IRI significantly improved (W = 331.0, p = 0.034). Overall weighted mean = 3.54; teacher-evaluators have strongly agreed on the quality of the module. The contextualized reading module, based on students’ lived social experiences and Bloom’s revised taxonomy, could help enhance HOTS performance among Grade 10 Filipino students in a single-school setting.