The Effect of Teacher-Made Digital Flashcard Tool on Basic Arithmetic Skills of Grade Three Pupils in Dona Nieves Songco Memorial School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The Department of Education supports the use of technology by providing public schools with appropriate technologies that would enhance the teaching-learning process and meet the challenges of the 21st century (DO 78, s. 2010). The emergence of teacher-made digital flashcard tool, which cannot be downloaded on any other website, enable the teachers of Doña Nieves Songco Memorial School to provide suitable and appropriate computerized math intervention, particularly to the identified grade three below performing pupils who lacked the required competence on basic arithmetic skills. During the conduct of the study, there were 20 out of 49 or 40.82% Grade III pupils who demonstrated difficulty on basic arithmetic facts as indicated by the diagnostic test results.

METHODS

This study utilized the one-shot experimental research design wherein a single group of respondents were exposed to an experimental treatment and a single measurement was taken afterward. Purposive sampling was used to determine the forty-three grade, four pupil respondents. A five-minute timed test, utilizing the digital flashcard tool, was administered for four consecutive weeks to determine the effectiveness of the designed tool. For the period of four weeks, the tool covered adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing two 1digit numbers. Another research instrument was the pre-test, which was given before the exposure of the respondents on the said tool, and the post-test, given after the fourth week of the study. Both of the tests contained 100 items basic arithmetic facts. A chart was provided to record the daily progress of the pupils.

RESULTS

The effect of teacher-made tool was very evident because there was a big difference in the mean scores of pre-test and post-test. The findings imply that the daily exposure of the pupils on a digital flashcard tool has a positive effect on basic arithmetic skills of grade three below performing pupils. The result explains that there is a significant difference in basic arithmetic skills of grade three pupils before and after exposing them to teacher-made digital flashcard tool.

DISCUSSIONS

The statistical computations emphasized the necessity of implementation of the teacher-made tool to further improve their numeracy skills. It is hereby recommended to integrate the digital flashcard tool in everyday lessons in mathematics. A parallel research study may be conducted considering the positive effect of the teacher-made digital flashcard tool.