Collaborative-Programmed-Discovery Method: An Intervention to Improve the Mathematics Performance of Grade Ix Students of Jose Rizal National High School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The Department of Education continuously makes innovations to improve the performance of the students in Mathematics. However, the students still have difficulty with this subject. After I conducted an interview with the students, I found out that they find difficulty in solving problems when the teacher is no longer guiding them. They also revealed that they were used to depend on what the teacher is teaching them instead of constructing their own knowledge. In this study, I explored the effectiveness of the innovation I made to enhance the performance of the students in Mathematics. This innovation is called Collaborative-Programmed-Discovery Method (CPDM).

METHODS

In this study, a combination of the quasi-experimental and correlational design was utilized. There were eighty-one (81) students who served as the subjects of the study. They were divided into two groups, the control and the experimental. The control group was taught using the conventional teaching method while the experimental was taught with the use of Collaborative-Programmed-Discovery-Method (CPDM). The said method utilized a researcher-made learning material called the Programmed-Discovery Worksheets (PDW).

RESULTS

The pre-test scores of the comparative groups have no significant difference. It means that the Mathematics performances of each group are the same prior to the conduct of the intervention. After the intervention was conducted to the respondents, post-test was administered to them. It was found out that there was a significant difference between the scores of the control group and the experimental group. The improvement of the experimental group, which was significantly higher as compared to the control group, can be attributed to the utilization of the Collaborative-Programmed-Discovery Method. It was also found out that the CPDM significantly affects the Mathematics performance of the students as shown by the correlation of their scores in the Programmed-Discovery Worksheets, summative quiz, post-test, and their Mathematics grades.

DISCUSSIONS

The results show that Collaborative-Programmed-Discovery Method was really effective in enhancing the performance of students in Mathematics. Students' understanding and retention became better when they were given the opportunity to construct their own knowledge collaboratively. Thus, utilization of teaching strategies and materials that promotes students' active participation in the learning process must be intensified.