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CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

Rationale

Shorthand, also known as Stenography, is a quick writing method that uses

symbols to replace letters, words, phrases and sentences. It is used in taking notes

easier at meetings, lectures, business conferences and court hearings. Even with the

advent of personal recording devices, it is still used to take notes. (Deneen, 2017)

In Bachelor of Science in Office Administration, shorthand is one of the major

subjects being offered. It’s primary goal Is to teach students on how to write shorthand

using strokes and techniques that allow them to catch what has been dictated quickly.

(Commission on Higher Education or CHED , 2017)

Shorthand is a two way process – from dictation to stroke to transcription and

vice versa. It is phonetic, meaning it records the sound of speech rather than the

spelling. Tagbilaran City College offers two subjects in Gregg Shorthand. The

Foundation of Shorthand and Advanced Shorthand.

Foundation of Shorthand, which aims for a thorough knowledge, understanding

and correct application of the fundamental rules through reading, writing and

transcribing of shorthand. It is offered during the first semester of first year students. The

second one is, Advanced Shorthand which intensifies reading and writing of shorthand
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phrase, develop students’ dictation speed to the highest possible point and layers a

solid foundation for rapid and accurate transcription. This subject is also offered on their

second semester.

Given these two difficult subjects which require memorization, summarizing and

active listening, the researchers conducted a preliminary interview about the common

problems encountered by second-year Office Administration Students. During the

interview, they stated that they have difficulties in Gregg Shorthand since they had just

introduced to a new subject in college. Due to this, they are not familiar with the strokes,

the alphabet and the rules in Gregg Shorthand. In fact, they found themselves

unmotivated because they needed a great help to fully understand these subjects.

To bridge the gap, the researchers chose the second-year office administration

in the academic year 2023-2024, and will be conducted in Tagbilaran City College

located at Satellite Road Dampas district, Tagbilaran City, Bohol. In this study, the

researchers will use pretest and post test to asses their performance in terms of written

transcription through an recorded dictation material.

Therefore, the researchers would like to conduct the study on the performance of

students in terms of written transcription in Gregg shorthand and hope this study will

serve as a tool to improve the performance of the students and also, to enhance the

teaching strategies of Instructors and Administrators at Tagbilaran City College and will

contribute to the performance of students in stenography. The researchers also

intended to propose an intervention based on the study's findings.

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Statement of the Problem

This study aims to assess the performance of Office Administration Students in

terms of transcribing written Gregg Shorthand. This study is conducted in the second

semester of 2023-2024.

Mainly, this study aims to answer the following specific problems:

1. What is the level of performance in written transcription ability of the respondents

in Gregg Shorthand in terms of:

1.1 Speed

1.2 Accuracy

2. Is there a significant correlation between speed and accuracy toward the

respondents' performance in Gregg Shorthand?

3. What intervention can be proposed based on the findings of the study?

Null Hypothesis

There is no significant correlation between speed and accuracy toward the

respondent’s performance in Gregg Shorthand

Significance of the Study

This study aims to assess the performance of Office Administration students in

Gregg Shorthand. The researchers believed that the study will be beneficial to the

following:

BSOAD Students. The result of this study will help the students to learn

techniques on how to improve their performance in Gregg Shorthand. It will also provide
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them with extensive knowledge and skills which are applicable to their future

employment.

Stenography Instructors. The result of the study will be beneficial to

Stenography Instructors in a way that, it will serve as a guide on how to improve the

performance of the BSOAD students in Gregg Shorthand. As a result, instructors can

impose better strategies for a more efficient teaching and learning process.

Administrators. Administrators will benefit from the data gathered in this study

that will aid in developing the findings of the study which can be used by the

administrators to gauge what area of teaching stenography needs further improvement

and intervention. This can also be the basis for providing extra trainings for instructors to

be more efficient in teaching the subject.

Future Researchers. The result of the study will provide opportunity for future

researchers to be used as a guide or reference to other researchers on the similar topic.

Scope of the Study

The study focuses on the level of performance of student in terms of transcription

ability in Written Stenography and to asses their speed and accuracy. This study will be

conducted at Tagbilaran City College located at Satellite Road, Dampas District,

Tagbilaran City, Bohol. The respondents of this study will be the 169 second-year Office

Administration students because these students had already taken the face-to-face

classes in Gregg shorthand. The researchers will use a experimental research design to

determine the level of performance of students in terms of speed and accuracy. In

gathering the data, the researchers will administer an assessment to the first-year Office
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Administration Students in Gregg Shorthand for the academic year 2023-2024 in which

a recorded dictation will be given with an average speed of 30 words per minute.
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CHAPTER II

RELATED LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter will explore the relevant literature to understand the study and

interpret the result of this convergent study. Also, discusses previous work on related

topics that provides the necessary background for this research. The literature review

concentrates on common problems encountered in written shorthand and the relation

between speed and accuracy performance.

Shorthand is the use of abbreviated spellings and or simplified symbols to record

information in a quicker more compact form. It is important to note that, the act of

shorthand writing involves multi-tasks, not only in relation to listening to the words,

making the respective shorthand outlines in the brain and, through motor coordination,

writing them on paper, but also performing everything with ease, speed and accuracy

(Cury, 2013).

There are four types of shorthand that is commonly used in business school

namely Pitman, Gregg, Speedwriting, and Teeline. Gregg shorthand, system of rapid

writing based on the sounds of words that uses the curvilinear motion of ordinary

longhand. It is a newer system based on Pitman because both use phonography. Most

professionals consider it more straightforward than its forefather. This system indicates

vowels with circles, and there is a heavy amount of symbols to memorize. While it may

take a long time to learn, this system will allow you to write over 200 words per minute

once you have mastered it.

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According to the study of Carlos (2006) students encountered difficulties in

shorthand in various ways. Writing Shorthand is difficult for beginners; every time office

administration student’s tries to learn one of the versions of Gregg Shorthand will

experience difficulties.

The suggested study refers to expressing the challenges students have when

writing in Gregg Shorthand for beginners. Because that Gregg is one of the key subjects

in office administration, the research primarily targets second-year students. Also, the

students are still getting used to the new topic they are learning, Gregg Shorthand.

According to Afribary (2013), other challenges and issues noted include the need

for increased student interest in shorthand, a lack of teaching and learning resources,

and insufficient teacher support. Students are experiencing anxiety, memory loss, a lack

of common vocabulary knowledge, lack of career counselling, attitudes about shorthand,

and huge class sizes.

This study is related to the study because students are having trouble with the

material since they are under pressure and can't remember what they have learned. a

variety of speakers with different speaking pauses. It may be challenging to identify

some of them because of their accents or speech difficulties. Many will use complicated,

technical language. Transcription needs to be both quick and extremely accurate. Even

for professionals who don't frequently use it, having some familiarity with Gregg

Shorthand might be beneficial.

According to Likho Steno Academy (2020), for a skill test of 80 words per

minutes, the candidate should be able to write at 85-90 words per minute, and for A Skill
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Test 100 words per minute, the candidate should be able to write at 105-110 words per

minute. The important part is how much accuracy the candidate is getting. It added, if

accuracy is below 97%, then the candidate will feel difficulty in Skill Test.

This article relates to the study in terms of skill of the students which are speed

and accuracy in measuring the level of performance through writing Gregg shorthand.

Since, the researchers want to measure the speed and accuracy in writing shorthand at

30 words per minute. The researchers also concluded that you could catch up to the

speed limit if you write more accurately. If not, then it will be harder for you. However,

this article conducts a skill test of 80 words per minute and 100 words per minute which

is beyond the extent of our study.

According to Agapito (2009), the skills to strengthen office administration

performances are heavily necessary to manage Shorthand. Speed and accuracy in

shorthand writing begin with the very first lesson. They depend almost wholly upon two

things: first, the clearness of the mental picture the student has of each form, and

second, his ability to execute correctly and rapidly the movements necessary to

reproduce the image. A good shorthand style depends, eventually, not upon what the

writer has in mind but upon what he can put on paper.

This article relates to our study in terms of the process in writing Gregg shorthand

because it involves speed and accuracy. In addition to the context, in writing written

shorthand you must first memorize the alphabet and the rulings in order to execute

rapidly and accurately.

The challenges encountered regarding dictation identity were encountered in the

study of Agnes et al. (2018). These are the inability to take dictations rapidly as the
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dictator gives it, change immediately, or make a connection during dictation, and recall

to use brief forms and derivatives while writing dictation. On the other hand, along with

transcription, the challenges encountered are under the steno alphabet letters, brief

forms, phrases, abbreviations, slowness, and inaccuracy in reading transcribed words.

As pointed out by Nabor et al. (2014) in their study on "Stenography Skills of

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration Students in Camarines Sur Polytechnic

Colleges, Nabua. Camarines Sur", one of the problems encountered by Office

Administration Students is the factor that affects in development of their Stenography

Skills in terms of Manual and Machine Shorthand. Some of those factors are lack of

technique to transcribe shorthand strokes, inability to take dictation completely, and

inability to read dictated data, wherein most students occasionally encountered these

factors. In terms of Machine Shorthand, lack of experience in handling the steno

machine, difficulties with using the steno machine and different stenographic strokes,

inability to read the transcription, and instructors who cannot assist all students for

individual instruction, which are also occasionally encountered by the students.

This also relates to our study in terms of the problems encountered by our

respondents ’second-year administration students because in our preliminary interview,

they've struggled in the subject Gregg shorthand since they have just introduce new

subject in their term. It is like an elementary learning an alphabet, yet students still

struggles to learn.

THEORY
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According to Moisey (2010), the mindset of the performer can also have an

impact on the performance. If a student does not want to learn, he will not learn.

Learning- for-understanding is closely related to performance. The study is supported by

the self-determination theory which distinguishes between the motivational dynamics

underlying activities that people do freely and those they feel coerced or pressured to

do.

This theory supports the proposed study, to be determining means to engage in

an activity with a complete sense of wanting, choosing, and personal endorsement.

When self-determined, students act in accordance with or express themselves. As a

concept, self-determination describes the regulation of behavior emanating from what

we call the integrated self. This means also that learning must be assessed through to

their performance and what students can do with their learning.

According to David A. Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory (1984), learning is an

engaged learning process in which students "learn by doing" and reflecting on their

experiences. Experiential learning is based on the idea that having experiences is the

best way to learn. Those experiences then stick out in your mind and help you retain

information and remember facts.

This theory is relevant to the proposed study because it states that knowledge is

socially constructed and based on experiences. Learning process is applied multiple

times in every interaction and experience of the students. A learning process is initiated

by a concrete experience which demands reflection, review, and perspective-taking

about the experience; then lead to abstract thinking to reach conclusion and
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conceptualize the meaning of the experiences then leading to a decision to act

engaging in active experimentation or trying out what you’ve learned. This cycle is so

natural and organic that students engage in it without being aware that they are

learning. It happens almost effortlessly all the time and is constantly changing students’

lives. By involving students in hands-on experiences and reflection, they are better able

to connect, participate, and be exposed to authentic professor demands and

expectations, as well as improve their skillfulness.

According to Section 1 of Article XIV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the state

shall protect all citizens' rights to quality education at all levels. It shall take appropriate

steps to make such education available to all. This means that the country must provide

high-quality education as part of the development training so that future workers are

productive and beneficial to the organization. In addition to this context, the country

should encourage proper training to develop and produce set workers in the future.

Workers who receive proper training will also perform well at work. Whatever the result

of this study, the school is still responsible for enhancing its performance in

Stenography since it is the training ground for students.

Moreover, CHED Memorandum No. 48 of 2012, entitled Policy-Standard

Enhancing the quality of Philippine Higher Education through Quality Assurance, states

that the “state shall produce students with high levels of academic thinking, behavioral

and technical skills/ competency that is aligned with national academic and industry

standards. This memorandum, bed Policy Standard Enhancing the Quality of Philippine

Higher Education Through Quality Assurance, was written by the Philippine Ministry of
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Education. The state's policy is to protect and promote all citizen's right to quality

education at all levels, as well as to establish, maintain, and support a comprehensive,

adequate, and integrated system of education that meets the needs of the people and

society means that learning in school should be subordinated to experiences and

exemplary performance in this context. Students equipped with knowledge and skills will

perform well in future jobs. As future stenographers, it is their right to acquire a high-

quality education to perform well at work. Since they have been given the privilege to be

beneficiaries of the Unified Assistance System for Financial Tertiary Education

(UniFAST), their responsibility is to be adequately trained to serve the government with

expertise as an expression of gratitude. With this, the researchers want to assess their

performance in Stenography as their primary subject, which is essential in building their

future careers.
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Figure 1. The Conceptual Framework

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

To achieve the purpose of this study, the researchers will use an Experimental

research design. The data will be gathered using an assessment tool wherein the

researchers will administer a recorded dictation material given three categories; 30

wpm, 40 wpm and, 50 wpm (Easy, Average, Hard) to the second-year Office

Administration students for Academic Year 2023-2024 in Tagbilaran City College to

measure the students’ performance in terms of written transcription ability in Gregg

shorthand. Through this method, the researchers will get the actual average words per

minute which will determine the current speed and accuracy of students using the

Gregg Shorthand in writing.

Research Environment

This study will be conducted at Tagbilaran City College located at Satellite Road,

Dampas District, Tagbilaran City. Bohol 6300. It has been operational since 2019 and

offers three major programs namely: BS Tourism Management, BS Entrepreneurship,

and BS Office Administration. Tagbilaran City College, after several years of service, is
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already a beneficiary of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA No-

10931), and it was duly recognized as a Higher Education Institution (HEI).

Research Participants

The participants of the study will be the first year BS OAd section B students of

Tagbilaran City College (TCC). Specifically, they are a total of 169 participants. There

are five (5) sections of first year in TCC but only section B is chosen. Only one (1)

section is chosen since the nature of the study is experimental which means that it

needs to be carefully done and participants should be monitored well by the

researchers. In addition section B will be the participants of the study since the

researchers used the simple random sampling technique in selecting the sample size to

create fairness among the other four (4) sections of first year. In the simple random

sampling process, the researchers wrote in 1/8 sheet of paper the five (5) sections and

put it in a transparent bowl. Then, Researcher Carmena Ceniza randomly picked a

piece of paper in the bowl of one 1/8 sheet of paper and picks a section which is

section B.

TABLE OF RESPONDENTS

Section Total Number of Students

OAD 1-A 39

OAD 1-B 33

OAD 1-C 39

OAD 1-D 32

OAD 1-E 26
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Research Instrument

The researchers will collect the data using experimental research instruments.

The researchers will use an recorded dictation material with three categories; Easy,

Hard, Average which is 30, 40, 50 words per minute test the speed and accuracy of the

Office Administration students in terms of written transcription ability in Gregg

shorthand. There are two categories in rating the performance of the Office

Administration students in Gregg shorthand (speed and accuracy).

Research Procedure

Phase I

Gathering Data. To obtain accurate data, the following steps will be followed:

The researchers will send a transmittal letter to the School Administrator of Tagbilaran

City College asking permission to allow the researchers to conduct the study. A letter

was also sent to the registrar asking permission to secure a copy of the list of First year

OAD students enrolled this semester (2023-2024).

Phase II

Procedure. After the approval will be granted, the researchers will administer the

recorded dictation material to the respondents to the with a dictation speed of 30, 40, 50
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words per minute to measure the speed and accuracy through dictation drills in three

minutes, and to know their performance in extent. Then the data will be gathered,

tabulated, computed, and analyzed.

Phase III

Treatment of Data. For analysis results, a formula will be used to analyze in

gathering the data.

In analyzing the data, Pearson Correlation Method will be used :

The level of speed shall be analyzed using the correlation method

The level of accuracy shall be analyzed using the correlation method.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

To aid understanding and minimize misunderstanding of this study, the following

terms will be operationally defined:

Accuracy. It is the proper way of executing the strokes.

Assessment. To evaluate the performance of Office Administration Students

toward Gregg Shorthand.

Audio Material. It is a thirty words per minute dictation used by the researchers

to measure the speed and accuracy of the respondents.

Brief Forms. It is a shortened symbolic writing method used by students

completing the assessment.

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Dictation. The process of uttering words by the dictator for someone else to write

down in Stenography.

Gregg shorthand. Gregg shorthand is phonetic and records the sounds of

speech rather than the spelling.

Speed. Determining how quickly a student writes or whether he or she can

exceed the time limit set.

Stenography. A method of writing uses symbols of abbreviations for sounds,

words, or phrases.

Transcribe. A brief form or words translated to Gregg Shorthand.