Identification of Best Instructional Practices: Alternative Strategies for Teaching Grade Five Mathematics in Sto. tomas North Central School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Our national government has recognized the importance of Mathematics and the integration of technology in our present classrooms. To stay aligned with the educational standards, our teachers must be able to teach mathematics using various techniques and alternative strategies to reach our learners. The intervention program was designed to increase the Grade 5 pupils' literacy in mathematics using different forms of instructions; games, manipulative, real-life applications, differentiated instructions and integration of technology.

METHODS

The participants of this action research were the Grade 5 Math teachers and Grade 5 pupils of Sto. Tomas North Central School. An intervention and strategic plan were first created by putting in 5 different Math strategies namely: games, manipulative, real-life applications, differentiated instructions and integration of technology, to be used by the Math teachers in teaching the same lesson in Math to all sections of Grade 5 pupils. Scores were tallied, tabulated and statistically analyzed for interpretation. Moreover, a qualitative survey questionnaire was given to the teachers to identify the common instructional challenges they encounter in teaching Math to create a plan of action to aid them to become better in teaching performance.

RESULTS

Results show that the pupils taught with the integrated technology method got the highest in the percentage of 90.00% followed by games with 85.00% and then with differentiated instructions with 75.00%. However, pupils that received the manipulative methods got the lowest percentage of perfect scores with only 55.00%. And the top ten common instructional challenges the teachers encountered were pre-requisite knowledge, connections to real life, cheating issues, learners with "Math blocks issues," varying instructions, dealing with absenteeism, grading concerns, need for school tutoring, having learners with different abilities in class and homework issues.

DISCUSSIONS

It can be gleaned from the result of the study that the best teaching practices in teaching Mathematics were: use of games, use of the manipulative, real-life application, differentiated instruction, and integrating technology into mathematics instruction. Once aware of the best practices, teachers can begin to implement them in their classrooms which will begin to remedy the problem of low mathematics motivation and achievement among students. Furthermore, this research highlighted the best teaching practices in their instruction.