The Effect of Project BALSA (Basic Learning of Students in Arithmetic) on the Performance of Grade 7 Students in Four Fundamental Functions

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The objective of this study is to improve the skills of the selected Grade 7 students on the basic fundamental operations in Mathematics specifically on whole numbers. In six years of the students in Elementary, basic Mathematics skills have already been taught. But despite those years, there are still students who are not skilled or struggle in basic Mathematics computation. It is important for students to know the four fundamental operations of Mathematics. Through this study, the performance of the students with the fundamental operations can be improved through the help of their teachers and peers and the teachers could focus on the lesson instead of re-teaching the four fundamental operations.

METHODS

Pretest-posttest Design was used in the study. It is the simplest method of testing the effectiveness of an intervention. This design, which uses two groups, one group is given the treatment and the results are gathered at the end. The control group receives no treatment over the same period of time but undergoes exactly the same test. Students who got a percentage score of 75% and below based on the Pretest in Four Fundamental Operations were given the treatment.

RESULTS

The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the Project BaLSa on the performance of the Grade 7 students in Four Fundamental Operations in Naic Coastal National High School year 2018-2019. The scores of the participants were obtained and upon computing the mean and standard deviation of their scores, the values showed that there is a significant difference between the scores of the participants in the Post-test after the program. 109 out of 109 participants got a score of 75% and above after the Program BaLSa. The highest percent difference is 28 % while the lowest percent difference is 6.67%. Moreover, the average percent difference shows a positive 18.34% which means that the scores of the participants generally surpassed 75%.

DISCUSSIONS

Each of the students has different abilities in Mathematics. Despite the interventions done by the teachers still, there are students who are not able to do the tasks as per time frame. Since there is a significant difference in the Posttest scores of the Grade 7 participants after the Program BaLSa, it could be an effective way to improve and help the students who struggle with fundamental operations in Mathematics. This research could be a program implemented in school, district, division level to further improve the basic skills of students in fundamental operations.