ABSTRACT
The study would like to determine the improvement of numeracy level of Grade 4 pupils in Sto. Tomas North Central School through project Math-ALINO. The researcher used a descriptive method of research. Descriptive statistics will also be used to calculate the percentage that best characterizes the study's variables. The study focuses on the result of the Numeracy Test for Grade Four wherein out of 411 Grade Four learners, 98 or 23.84% of learners fall under Non-numerates. The study recorded the pretest result of the numeracy test and determined the improvement after the intervention was made.
Based on the result, it was found that after using the intervention plan of Project Math-ALINO, the numeracy level of Grade 4 pupils improved. The 98 or 23.84% of learners under the non-numerate level in the pretest reduced to only 15 or 3.65% of learners in the post-test after the intervention had been applied.
All subsequent math lessons are built on the foundation of early arithmetic and numeracy skills. Research indicates that if students arrive at school without these foundational math skills, they will struggle all through their math education. Teachers need to know the best practices for teaching math and numeracy and appropriate strategies, innovations, and interventions that build a strong foundation of numeracy skills. Hence, if a learner is readily equipped with a strong foundation in math and numeracy skills, they don’t have to struggle for the rest of their math education.
Keywords: Improvement, Numeracy, Non-numerate
INTRODUCTION:
Numeracy refers to the everyday uses of mathematics and includes the ability to reason and apply simple numerical concepts, such as addition and subtraction. Just like reading and writing, numeracy is a necessary life skill, and someone who possesses adequate numeracy skills can handle and respond to the everyday mathematical demands of life. According to Pagan (2016), numeracy is the set of mathematical knowledge, problem-solving abilities, and communication skills needed by everyone to get by in today's technologically advanced society.
The occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a profound impact on basic education. Over 1.6 billion children and youth—nearly 80% of all enrolled students worldwide—were forced to miss school as a result of this pandemic in 161 countries (Saavedra, 2020). In addition to the problem is the reality that the percentage of children who cannot read and comprehend at age 10 stood at 53% whose parents belong to low and middle-income countries even before the outbreak started ( World Bank, 2020 cited in DepEd,2020). The status of these children will continue to worsen if teachers do not act realistically on how to help them, especially those who are already identified as non-readers and non-numerates (Saavedra, 2020).
In the opening of the school year 2022-2023, one of the challenges faced by the schools is how to fill the learning gap brought on by the pandemic. It is observed that higher grades in elementary found difficulty in mathematics because they have not mastered the four fundamental operations.
As per Section 031 of Division Memorandum, s. 2023 which is the Administration of Division Unified Numeracy Test for Elementary and Secondary Level that aims to determine the status of learners’ mastery of the fundamental operations in Mathematics which shall guide all teachers and school heads in developing intervention programs. Results of the Division Unified Numeracy Test show that in Sto. Tomas North Central School 10.45% found to be non-numerates out of their total population. It has been observed that students struggle to understand the subject of mathematics regardless of their level of proficiency. Even though there aren't many experts in the field, learning must be improved and reinforced to advance to the next level of mastery. Conversely, students who are struggling with the material must receive remediation for them to acquire the necessary subject-matter competencies. The students' low level of numeracy proficiency suggested that they had not learned or met the required learning objectives for their grade.
According to the results of the Grade Four Numeracy Test, 98, or 23.84%, of the 411 students in Grade Four are classified as non-numerate. Hence, the researcher who is a Grade Four Mathematics teacher has experienced difficulties in teaching their grade level learning competencies in mathematics because of the low numeracy level of her learners. Having this percentage of non-numerate in her grade level, the researcher is very eager to determine the least mastered learning competencies and find interventions that will improve the numeracy level of non-numerate learners. The researcher also believes that it is the teachers’ and school’s duty to equip students with a sure foundation of mathematical concepts and symbols so as not to leave them in the dark when they pursue their learning in higher education.
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