Lived Experiences of the Pupils on the Utilization of Game-Based Learning (GBL) in Mathematics

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Quality education in the 21st century is the end-goal of every academic institution. Honing the literacy and numeracy skills are the keys to develop 21st-century learners who are ready to face challenges foster by the fast-changing world today. In Papaya Elementary School, one of the major problems is the poor performance of pupils, specifically Grade 6 pupils when it comes to Numeracy. Though it is our pupils' performance, most of the time it is a teacher factor why pupils only learn a small portion of what they are really expected to learn because of the way we teach and present our topic. There is a lack of knowledge when it comes to the integration of play and games in learning.

METHODS

The study utilized the mixed method research design, which used a pre-test and post-test questionnaire together with an interview in gathering the necessary data. To analyze data collected, the researcher used frequency counts and percentage to determine learnings experiences of pupils from the thematic analysis of the responses. Weighted Mean, Standard Deviation and Mean Performance Score was used to measure the academic performance of learners in terms of pre-test and post-test. Purposive sampling was used because they were the handled class of the researcher. There are forty-five (45) pupils, which were composed of twenty-six (26) males and nineteen (19) females. All of them were enrolled in Grade 6 Newton at Papaya Elementary School, Nasugbu West district for the School Year 2018-2019.

RESULTS

Most of the pupils agreed that learning is interesting, enjoyable and meaningful. Pupils also believed that games contribute to the holistic development of young people and helping them how to deal with competition and how to cope with both winning and losing. Moreover, rewards tend to create a feeling of pride and achievement among students thus motivating them to be more productive and that teamwork function as an aid in skill development in a risk-free environment.

DISCUSSIONS

Games made pupils an active learner that is aware of their own academic performance. It must be used as an instructional aide to create meaningful and lifelong learning. True to the fact that GBL made the lesson easier because of the varied games/activities in the process. It thrilled pupils to discover and learn new things in Mathematics by games. Moreover, it must be strengthened across the curriculum and other learning areas so it will become PPST aligned.