Improving the Confidence Level of Senior High School Students Towards Mathematics

Abstract

Mathematics has an important role in training students' logical and critical thinking skills. From that point, teachers in schools are encouraged to monitor the performance of the students and the factors affecting their confidence and learning in mathematics. Due to this, the researchers aimed to determine the confidence level of Senior High School students before and after the integration of different ICT applications as an intervention in improving their confidence level. The confidence of the respondents had two components namely the comfortability of the learners in learning Mathematics and their fear in the subject. The results in this study became the basis in the formulation of the Mathematics Directory and Guide book of Teaching-Learning Applications. This study employed a Quasi-Experimental research design specifically a Pre-test and Post-test method. The controlled group was selected through purposive sampling and an adopted questionnaire was utilized. Weighted mean and paired sample t-test were the statistical tools being used. Likewise, it involved collecting qualitative data through focus group discussion after the quantitative phase to provide an in-depth explanation of the quantitative data. Under the comfortability component, both the pretest and post-test revealed a high level of confidence of the respondents towards Mathematics. By comparing the means of the two tests, the post-test was higher than the pretest. On the fear component, there was an average level on the two tests. However, the result in the pretest was higher than in the post-test, which implies that the fear in learning Mathematics had decreased. Moreover, a significant difference was revealed between the pretest and post-test under the students' comfortability. For the fear of the learners, there was no significant difference between the identified variables. Though difference did not exist, if the intervention would be continued, somehow it would be significantly different. The results further implied that the use of different ICT applications was effective because there was an increase in the confidence level of the respondents under comfortability and a decrease in the fear of the learners towards Mathematics. Additionally, as been said by the learners in the focus group discussion, they enjoyed the activity while their self-esteem and efficiency in the subject were boosted and their anxiety was lessened as they were confidently participating in the activities.