Laro-ng-lahi - modified instructional activities and students performance in Mathematics

Abstract

This qualitative-quantitative quasi-experimental study aimed to determine whether or not 'Laro-ng-Lahi' - modified instructional activities (LNL) had an effect on student's performance in mathematics. Two intact classes of Grade 10 students in La Paz National High School were match-paired based upon their pretest scores. One group was exposed to LNL while the other group was exposed to traditional teaching (non-LNL). Laro-ng-lahi-modified instructional activities utilized Filipino street games which were modified and interconnected with mathematics content. The games were conducted every fourth session of the week. Sources of data were the 45-item validated and reliability-tested researcher-made mathematics performance test (MPT), questionnaire, and observation checklists. The mean and standard deviation were employed for the descriptive analysis, while t-test for dependent and independent samples set at 0.05 alpha were utilized for inferential statistics. The results revealed that both LNL and non-LNL groups had "low" performance in the pretest but had "average" performance in the posttest. No significant difference was noted on their pretest scores. This implies that the two groups were comparable prior to the conduct of the study. Significant differences were observed in the pretest and posttest students' performance within groups. Both LNL and traditional method were effective in improving students' performance in mathematics. However, though the mean score in the post-test and the mean gain of LNL group were higher than those of the non-LNL group, no significant differences were noted in the post-test and mean gain between groups. Generally, LNL was as effective as the traditional method of teaching in enhancing students' performance in mathematics. In the LNL, students not only had fun while learning mathematics but also developed social and mathematical skills. Moreover, students were motivated to become more enthusiastic in learning mathematics. Thus, mathematics teachers are encouraged to use LNL-modified instructional activities in lieu of the traditional method once in a while.