Differentiated instruction and performance in numeracy skills of kindergartners

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study was an attempt to determine the use of Differentiated Instruction in determining the performance of kindergartners in their numeracy skills using the quasi-experimental method. The participants were thirty matched paired pupils from the two public schools in the Third District of Iloilo for the school year 2017-2018. Fifteen of these pupils comprised the experimental group and were taught using differentiated instruction. The other fifteen pupils served as the control group and were taught using the National Kindergarten Curriculum Guide and without the use of differentiated instruction. The kindergartners' numeracy skills were ascertained through the researcher made pretest and posttest. The statistical tools employed in this study were the means and standard deviations for descriptive statistics, and the t-test for independent samples for inferential statistics, set at 0.05 level of significance. Results after the intervention showed that both groups manifested "advanced" level in their numeracy skills. Although both groups improved in their numeracy skills, it was noteworthy that there is an increase in the mean scores of the experimental group. The standard deviation obtained during posttest, showed that the dispersion of the scores of the experimental group was closer to the central tendency than that of the control group. It simply showed that using differentiated instruction was effective in enriching the numeracy skills of the children. Overall performance of both groups taught using differentiate instruction and the traditional way exhibited significant difference, implying that there was significant increase in their numeracy skills after the intervention. Results revealed that the use of differentiated instruction improved the numeracy skills of the pupils. Moreover, both methods were found effective in enhancing the pupils' numeracy skills.