Assessment of Problem-Solving Skills of Grade Five Learners of LPES: Basis for Proposed Intervention Activities

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

This action research is an attempt to assess the problem-solving skills of Grade Five learners of Lemery Pilot Elementary School. It included the assessment of the learners relative to the strategies used by the teachers and the difficulties they encountered in solving word problems.

METHODS

The study used the descriptive method of research wherein the respondents of the study were 344 Grade Five pupils from the S.Y. 2017-2018. The researcher used the documentary analysis from tests and questionnaires. They were specifically designed by the researcher for gathering significant data and information needed for this study. The data collected were carefully analyzed, organized, tallied, tabulated, and presented in tables and graphs. Frequency counts, average weighted mean, and ranking were used in the interpretation of data to yield accurate and reliable results for the study.

RESULTS

The findings revealed that the learners' competence in solving word problems need to be enhanced to achieve 75% and a higher target proficiency level. The strategy frequently used by the teacher was "looking for the pattern" as revealed by the responses made by the subjects of this study. Representation and understanding problems were the difficulties was much felt by the learners, affecting their performance in mathematics. The findings of the study suggests exposing them to a variety of math problem types which will require them to think analytically and use higher order thinking skills. Solving problems using different problem-solving strategies suited to the problems will make them successful math problem solvers. From the results, intervention activities were crafted and utilized for the improvement of the academic performance of the learners in Mathematics.

DISCUSSIONS

School-based in-service trainings for teachers and exposure to various demonstration lessons utilizing the different strategies in problem-solving should be conducted as these methods will improve their competence in providing effective and quality instruction. Regular observation and monitoring should be conducted by the school head during actual classroom instructions. They must focus on assessing the techniques and strategies in teaching word problem-solving employed by the teachers.