AUTHENTIC LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR MASTERY IN MATHEMATICS GRADE IV

Title :                AUTHENTIC LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR MASTERY IN

MATHEMATICS GRADE IV

Researcher :   BHEL H. BERMEO

Degree :           Master of Arts in Education                      

School :           University of Caloocan City

Year :               March, 2018

  

ABSTRACT

     Mathematics has the reputation of confusing, frightening, and frustrating learners of all ages. Probably among the most confused, frightened, and frustrated are Filipinos, because we always ranked very low in global Math ratings. The most dismal perhaps was in 2011 when, among eight Southeast Asian countries surveyed, the Philippines ranked second to the last in terms of competency in Math. The problem is it is impossible to get away with Math, because more than being academic, it is a necessary part of our everyday lives. Which is why it might work if teaching Mathematics would be based on Constructivism, which is basically learning by experience.

     This was the basis of the study on an authentic learning experience for mastery in Mathematics focusing on Grade 4 pupils. Two Grade 4 sections - specifically, two teachers, and 75 pupils all in all - in Bagumbong Elementary School - Annex, Caloocan were the subjects of the study. The researcher used evaluation and descriptive normative survey methods of research, and frequency, percentage, and weighted mean were employed as statistical tools.

      From the data gathered, the researcher finds out that Grade 4 pupils struggle the most in mastering computational skills, especially when the problem involves two or more digits, as well as in explaining the processes they did or need to do to solve these problems. Learning based on Simulation, Inquiry, Peers and Project are found to be practical authentic learning practices for Mathematics Grade 4. Pupils who underwent such instruction gradually improved in their overall standing from the first to the third grading period. The researcher thus recommends that teaching Mathematics Grade IV should focus on improving the computational skills of the students as well as their mastery of the processes of solving mathematical problems. But more studies should be conducted regarding how Mathematics performance of basic education students can improve drastically, or if there is really a probability of such, most especially for public school students. The Department of Education must also support and focus its attention in developing learning exemplars that will improve students’ performance in Mathematics without the need for them to go to training or review centers.

PLAY BASED TEACHING STRATEGY IN KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ATTITUDE (KSA) DEVELOPMENT OF KINDERGARTEN PUPILS

Title :                PLAY BASED TEACHING STRATEGY IN KNOWLEDGE, 
                         SKILLS, AND ATTITUDE (KSA) DEVELOPMENT OF 
                         KINDERGARTEN PUPILS

Researcher :   MARIA SALVACION TUNOG SECRETARIO

Degree :           Master of Arts in Teaching Early Grades                        

School :           University of Caloocan City

Year :               March, 2018

ABSTRACT

Play fills up a child's world, until they go to school. Teachers often try to catch their attention through the use of colorful and creative materials, yet pupils are still wont to prefer their toys over their books. If everything around the pupils is already suggestive of fun and play, then why not play in the classroom? This unconventional method of learning is actually already being practiced in many primary institutions around the world. But here in the Philippines, there is not much published studies about the effectiveness of play-based instruction on early learners.

This study, therefore, aims to develop a prototype play-based teaching strategy which will focus on the knowledge, skills, and attitude (KSA) development of kindergarten pupils. The respondents are 9 Kindergarten teachers, 1 master teacher, and 1 school head of Silanganan Elementary School in Caloocan City North. Evaluation, descriptive, and quasi-experiment methods of research are employed to explore its effects. The researcher then used t-Test and weighted mean to check whether KSA play-based teaching strategy really enhanced the overall development of kindergarten pupils.

Based on the findings, the most common play activities for kindergarten pupils can be categorized into three sets: Knowledge, Skills, and Attitude.  For knowledge, the activities could be matching games, sorting objects based on size, color, and shape, assembling simple puzzles, matching upper and lower case letters, letter relays, stating which pictures or words are similar or different, memory games, letter and word hunt, count and match relay, complete and solving problems (addition and subtraction), completing patterns, and more or less games. In the Skills set, the activities were building blocks, play dough, letter design, counting steps, and draw objects using geometric forms. And finally, the Attitudes group consists of role play (comforting playmates in distress), waiting for his/her turn, and playing organized group games fairly. Pre-test scores of the pupils are reflective of delay in overall development. But after the post-test, scores of the pupils in gross motor, fine motor, self-help, receptive and expressive language, cognition and socio-emotional performance showed average overall development. Significant difference is also established between the scores. But the large size of the pupils and lack of space, insufficient teaching and learning materials, inability of pupils to fully grasp the intent of the activities, and insufficient facilities challenged the implementation of KSA play-based teaching for kindergarten pupils.

Given these findings, the researcher recommends the use of Knowledge, Skills, and Attitude or KSA as a strategy for play-based teaching in the kindergarten level. Further studies for a teaching strategy for the next level, possibly also play-based, that will boost post-test results to above-average level is also recommended. It would also be advantageous if implementation of KSA play-based teaching for kindergarten pupils is continued in Silanganan Elementary School, as well as in other public primary schools. The researcher also calls on the Department of Education to address the problems encountered during the pilot testing for KSA play-based teaching, since these are actually already common and long-standing problems in public schools. The researcher believes that the proposed teaching strategy will be able to further improve the test scores of the pupils if only the large class sizes are brought down to acceptable levels for beginner learners, if spaces are enough for both indoor and outdoor activities, and if provision of facilities and teaching and learning materials is well-supported.

KSA Innovative Learning Materials in Teaching Kindergarten Pupils in Silanganan Elementary School

Title :               KSA Innovative Learning Materials in Teaching Kindergarten
                         Pupils in Silanganan Elementary School

Researcher :   MICHELLE P. DIAMANTE

Degree :           Master of Arts in Teaching Early Grades                        

Adviser :          DR. DIZON

School :           University of Caloocan City

Year :               March, 2018

ABSTRACT

Philippine law expressly supports education for all regardless of status in life. This is why basic education is supposed to be free, but there are times when provisions for resources are just not enough. Teachers turn to the Internet and innovate, but the resulting materials are usually not apt for Filipino children. Thus, it is high time that innovative learning materials fit for Filipino learners especially those taking basic education be developed.

This study focused on the Development and Evaluation of Indigenous Learning Materials (ILM) in Teaching Kindergarten Pupils in  using evaluation, descriptive, and quasi-experimental methods of research. The respondents are 40 pupils underwent pre-test, instruction using the ILM, and post-test on their gross motor skills, fine motor skills, self help skills, receptive language skills, expressive language skills, cognition skills, and socio-emotional skills. After which, T-test and weighted mean are used to gauge if there is significant difference in the test scores.

From the findings, it was found out that cognition skills were the most enhanced using the ILM, followed by socio-emotional skills, receptive language skills, expressive language skills, self-help skills, and fine motor skills. Improvement in these areas are found to be significant, but gross motor skills only showed a little improvement. Also, based on the ECCD checklist, all the pupils registered overall development after the post-test, a far cry from the pre-test when the comment is to suggest delay in development. All in all, the ILM is proven to be highly effective in improving the learning skills of kindergarten pupils. But confusion on the part of both the teachers and the pupils, time constraint, support, and lack of materials challenged the researcher during the conduct of the study.

Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommends further support of the implementation of the Innovative Learning Materials in schools for the development of cognition skills, socio-emotional skills, receptive language skills, expressive language skills, self help skills, and fine motor skills of kindergarten pupils. It is also recommended to devise another chapter in the ILM or a supplementary program to enhance the gross motor skills of kindergarten pupils, which is the only area found to have the least significant improvement in the conduct of the study. The researcher also encourages the school administrator and other stakeholders as well as the Department of Education to allocate funding for at least the circulation and training in the use and development of Innovative Learning Materials for kindergarten teachers who would like to get ideas on how to run their classes, and suggests further studies to enhance the developed ILM so it will be able to catapult the overall development of pupils beyond the average level, and on more ILMs for Filipino students from Filipino educators.

CHALLENGES OF GRADE ONE TEACHERS IN DEVELOPING PUPIL’S COMPETENCE AND SOCIAL SKILLS IN SELECTED SCHOOLS IN CALOOCAN NORTH DISTRICT IV

Title :                 CHALLENGES OF GRADE ONE TEACHERS IN

DEVELOPING PUPIL’S COMPETENCE AND SOCIAL

SKILLS IN SELECTED SCHOOLS IN CALOOCAN NORTH

DISTRICT IV

Researcher :     RACHEL ANN A. GOMEZ  

Degree :            Master of Arts in Teaching Early Grades                        

Adviser :            ROSARIO C. DE OCERA, Ed.D

School :             University of Caloocan City

Year :                 March, 2018

ABSTRACT

"Education for All" (EFA) encapsulates the vision, mission, and goals of the Department of Education, which basically means catering to all students fairly, whatever their status in life is and whatever difficulties and challenges they may pose to teachers may be. But EFA, in itself, is not an assurance that one hundred percent of children who went to school will actually finish armed with quality education. Not even the new curriculum, otherwise known as the K+12 curriculum, could assure that the students would really be knowledgeable, since it is really just implemented so that the country's education system will be at par with that of other countries. The issue is with the educators themselves lacking in the foundation, discipline, and training needed to really encourage children to learn, a problem prevalent among teachers teaching Grade One pupils in Caloocan North District IV.

To assess the challenges encountered by Grade One teachers in developing their pupils' competence and social skills, the researcher employed the evaluation and descriptive-normative survey methods of research in seeking the responses of 65 teachers teaching Grade One pupils in selected schools in Caloocan North District IV, namely Bagumbong Elementary School, Bagbaguin Elementary School, Caybiga Elementary School, Llano Elementary School, Deparo Elementary School, and Sampaguita Elementary School. Afterwards, the researcher measured and gauged the gathered data using the following statistical tools: frequency, percentage, and weighted mean.

Based on the data generated by the surveys and interviews of the respondents, the researcher found out that majority of teachers teaching Grade One pupils in Caloocan North District IV are in the middle ages, but are new in the service. Notably, however, there is a small number that are almost retirable already. Most Grade One teachers are married. While all are College Graduates and some even progressed to having Masters’ Degrees, only a few actually specialize in Early Childhood education. Generally, developing the learning competencies of Grade One pupils in Caloocan North District IV sometimes pose challenges to teachers, commonly in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and social skills. Writing is usually seldom a problem area, although there are some who say it always challenges them. There are also some teachers who say reading, listening, and social skills of Grade One pupils are hard to develop, but it is also worthy of note that there are a small number who said that developing the writing and reading competencies of the pupils has never been a problem to them. Grade One teachers adequately employ measures to improve, but more knowledge and skills advancement is needed to be able to really master the needed "work-arounds" in every situation.

From the results of the study, the researcher thus recommends the hiring of more teachers who have a background in Early Childhood Development to teach Grade  One pupils in North Caloocan District IV.  For those who are already in the roster of Grade One teachers but do not have Early Childhood specializations yet, it is recommended that the authorities come up with seminars and trainings for them so they will better understand what the pupils need and come up with better measures to enhance their learning. Continual training, studies, and evaluations of teachers teaching Grade One pupils in Caloocan North District IV is recommended to minimize the occurrences of all the challenges they encounter in developing the learning competencies of their pupils, since it is always best that they address all of the problems. These are the bases of the matrix of the training program the researcher has developed for teachers teaching Grade One pupils in Caloocan North District IV

READING RECOVERY PROGRAM AND ITS EFFECTS AMONG SELECTED GRADE 3 PUPILS

Title :              READING RECOVERY PROGRAM AND ITS EFFECTS AMONG 
                       SELECTED GRADE 3 PUPILS 

Researcher :  WILMA V. CAPILI

Degree :         Master of Arts in Teaching Early Grades                        

Adviser :        DR. JOSEFINA DELA CRUZ

School :         University of Caloocan City

Year :             March, 2018

ABSTRACT

During the learning process in primary schools, teachers will find that some of their pupils are fast-learners, average-learners, and most importantly, slow-learners who are the subject of intervention and remedial classes in every school and sometimes even have a hard time being promoted to the next grade level. It was observed that the niche and basis of these learning developments is oftentimes in a student's skill level in reading comprehension. That is why reading intervention programs are a trend in every district and school these days. These programs are what this study, READING RECOVERY PROGRAM AND ITS EFFECTS AMONG SELECTED GRADE 3 PUPILS intends to be and to replicate.

Using evaluation and descriptive methods of research, the researcher tapped as respondents 16 Grade 3 teachers and 133 Grade 3 pupils from Santo Nino Elementary School in Caloocan North II District. The pupils were made to take the pre-test, where 71 were identified as frustrated readers based on the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory or Phil-IRI assessment tool. These pupils were made to undergo the Reading Recovery program for (GAANO KATAGAL?). After the program, they took a post-test to check if there will be a significant difference from the scores prior to implementation of the program.

Based on the mean scores, it was found out that the pupils' reading proficiency not only increased, but actually leapt to almost 100%. Significant difference is therefore established, invalidating the null hypothesis.

However, the researcher encountered difficulties largely stemming from disinterest and lack of cooperation from both the pupils, the teachers, and the school itself, which should supposedly help in the provision of materials for the program. But findings so far show that the current instruction used by the teachers in implementing the Reading Recovery program to their pupils seem to be legitimately effective so far in vastly improving their pupils’ reading prowess. This could be incorporated in reading materials for the implementation of the program to Grade 3 pupils, with the addition of a mechanism that shall allow teachers to tailor-fit instruction to their pupils, in order to address the problems encountered during the conduct of the study.

The researcher therefore recommends encouraging public elementary schools to periodically rate their pupils' reading proficiencies to put a plug to potential learning problems in the future, and to institute the Reading Recovery Program as a requirement for all Grade 3 pupils who will be identified as frustrated readers. The Department of Education should also be tapped to implement a more proactive Reading Recovery Program in all early grade levels, and to really invest in Reading Recovery materials that shall be available for all, especially public school teachers. It is also advisable to come up with a mechanism to make Reading Recovery more appealing to the pupils. One way is to allow for the teacher to tailor-fit instruction to the personality and lifestyle of the pupil.