Utilization of Double Exposure in Teaching Mathematics to Improve Performance of Grade Four Pupils

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Double exposure in teaching refers to an approach wherein learning competency in a particular subject area is taught by using the mother tongue in the first exposure and English language in the second exposure (Paraon et al., 2011). Actual classroom situations reveal that pupils find it hard to understand and apply what is taught when the medium of instruction from Filipino to English is used. With the transition of teaching the subject, the researcher found that only a few pupils participate in classroom activities resulting in low scores in their evaluation. This is realized among Grade Four pupils, particularly in their Mathematics subject. Pupils still require their teacher to translate, from English to Filipino, the instructions on mathematical problems before they would be able to understand and consequently answer the given problem.

METHODS

The study is descriptive research. The descriptive research design is a scientific method which involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way. In essence, descriptive research aimed at casting light on current issues or problems through a process of data collection that enabled them to describe the situation more completely.

RESULTS

Performance of Grade 4 pupils was determined by administering a diagnostic test at the start of the school year. A 56% mean percentage score (MPS) was obtained for the diagnostic test given. The result of the diagnostic test urged the teacher-researcher to conduct a pre-test for mathematics to determine their ability. A 40-item test was administered and the mean percentage score was then computed. The pre-test yielded a57% MPS in English and a 63.13% in Filipino which confirmed the MPS gained during the diagnostic test. These two preliminary tests were further supported by the grades for the first two grading periods which revealed that these grade four pupils had low performance in their Mathematics subject.

DISCUSSIONS

Almost half of the class got low grades during the first grading period. Meanwhile, during the second grading period, a very slight improvement was observed. There were 21 pupils (16 boys and 5 girls) who earned grades ranging from 74-76; 4 girls got grades ranging from 77-79 and 18 (7 boys and 11 girls) received grades ranging from 80-82; two girls achieved grades 83-85 and 1 boy and 1 girl earned grades ranging from 86-88. These results gave the researcher a good reason to teach the subject using double exposure.