CUBE (Creating well-equipped students in Understanding Basic mathematical operation to achieve Excellent Mathematical Skills)-Project MDAS

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The basis of a good performing school is not only focused on the number of students it produces but with the quality of learning the students have acquired. With this, the Continuous Improvement Project team of Bugtongnapulo National High School came up with another program that will address students' academic needs. The comparison of the NAT results for three consecutive years led to the conclusion that there was a drastic drop in the result in Mathematics. The four basic mathematical operations--addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division--have application even in the most advanced mathematical theories. Thus, mastering them is one of the keys to progressing in an understanding of math. With this, the CI Team ventured to this CUBE-Project MDAS, which aims to harness the performance of students in Mathematics by improving their grasp of the four fundamental operations.

METHODS

To identify the root cause of the low achievement in Mathematics, the CI Team studied the available NAT results in Mathematics, the least-learned competencies and even talked with the teachers to strengthen the foundation of the program. Afterward, the CI Team conducted an interview with the students chosen through random sampling. Then, the team found out that students not only find it difficult to comprehend mathematical concepts but also do not know how to perform basic mathematical operations especially multiplication and division. To validate the identified primary source of the problem, the CI Team came up with the pre-test given to all Grade 7-students. Among the three sections, Grade 7-Love students got the lowest score with an MPS of 43.89. Nine out of 35 students or 25.71% passed the pre-test in basic operations. This also means that 26 out of 35 students or 74.28% have difficulty in the four fundamental operations.

RESULTS

The Post-test revealed that 31 out of 35 students or 89% passed the assessment. It shows that there is an increase of 64% in the students' performance in MDAS evaluation.

DISCUSSIONS

The four basic mathematical operations--addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division--have application even in the most advanced mathematical theories. Thus, mastering them is one of the keys to progressing in an understanding of math. Diagnosing students' weakness in this area is important to be able to address the concern. In this way, more complex competencies will not be compromised.