Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region VI- Western Visayas
Division of Negros Occidental
PURITA L. MORA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Talisay City

STRENGTHENING NUMERACY SKILLS THROUGH

PROJECT TIKAA (TU-ON ISIP, KABULIG ANG ALUMNI)

An Action Research
Presented to
Schools Division of Negros Occidental

ADYENT L. PRAYCO

Researcher
 STRENGTHENING NUMERACY SKILLS THROUGH
PROJECT TIKAA (TU-ON ISIP, KABULIG ANG ALUMNI)

Content and Rationale

The main purpose of mathematics teaching is to enable students to solve

problems in daily life. Unfortunately, according to the latest national test results,

most students lack mathematical problem-solving skills. This proves to be one of the

reasons why overall achievement in mathematics is considered quite low. It also

reflects that students have difficulties in comprehending mathematical problems

affecting the process of problem-solving (Phonapichat, et al, (2017).

However, as we move towards face-to-face learning, many learners are

stocked in a myriad of learning issues coming from isolation during the COVID-19

Home Distance Learning. To date, schools, teachers and curriculum authorities have

not generally acknowledged the range of challenges associated with learners'

numeracy but without much action, it would be impossible to succeed in

implementing a successful numeracy plan in every school (Victoria State

Government, 2022).

Collaborative learning is considered as one of the many effective ways to

teach children with numeracy, especially at this time when young learners have just

returned from a very long isolated self-studying at home. The presence of the

teachers will eventually correct the discrepancies in children’s learning but without a

doubt, there is a whole lot of workloads for teachers, thus there is a need to re-

enforce para-teachers who could help learners in honing their numeracy skill outside
of school hours. This is where PROJECT TIKAA (TU-ON ISIP, KABULIG ANG

ALUMNI) intends to come in.

This action research proposes to identify 25 Grade 6 learners in Purita Mora

Elementary School in District 1, Talisay City, Division of Negros Occidental. The

work “tikaa” is an Ilonggo word which means “to make a surprise peep inside”. This

comes with a surprise element because this project intends to utilize the alumni of

the school who are now in their tertiary (college) years.

The researcher acknowledges the fact that the time left for teachers to fully

achieve the objective of improving the numeracy skills of learners may not just be

enough. While the alumni of the school, who are presently in their college education,

are willing to volunteer and act as para-teachers to teach children with their

numeracy in their vacant time during weekends.

This collaborative effort aims to strengthen the numeracy skills of the 25 pre-

selected students who belong to the bottom of each class section. They will be

pooled into one group but will be divided amount volunteers as they take small-

group sessions learning the basics of Grade 6 Mathematics.

This is anchored on the principle of collaborative learning of Hattie and

Marzano (2020) who conducted a study in the United Kingdom. The use of TIKAA

as an action research program will help learners understand numeracy better as

they will be attended to personally by the para-teachers who are volunteers.

Proposed Action and Intervention

In line with the thrust of the government through the Department of Education

to improve numeracy from a younger age, there was an acknowledgement by the

stakeholders of the need to assist learners in coping with face-to-face learning

needs and catch up with numeracy skills. With a very limited time, this study

proposes to provide back-up learning sessions outside of classroom hours to help

Grade 6 learners strengthen their numeracy skills.

The principles of collaborative learning will be used as this study’s theoretical

framework, Furthermore, this study intended to use the following strategies to help

Grade 6 learners improve their numeracy skills.

These are the proposed interventions:

Identify all bottom Mathematics performers in Grades 6 across all sections of

Purita L. Mora Elementary School in the District of Talisay 1, Division of Negros

Occidental.

o The researcher will pre-select and contact 10 volunteers who are

former students of Purita L. Mora Elementary School who are now

pursuing their college degrees. These alumni will serve as volunteers

to teach Grade 6 pupils with their lessons in Math. The volunteer

alumni who are now college students are Junior and Senior College

students.

o The program will provide weekly assistance on numeracy lessons by

repeating the weekly Math lessons provided to them.

o In the course of their collaborative tutorials, they will be given weekly

assignments as some form of learning confirmation. They will also be

given on-the-spot assessments to determine their level of

improvement.
 o The researcher will be the one to provide volunteers with the lesson

contents to be taken up with the participants. All results will be

documented including the actual conduct of weekly remedial classes.

o The participants will be enjoined in one closed group chat so they can

seek assistance with any of the volunteers when they need it any day.

Table 1. Target Activities

Week Lesson Content Activities

No.
1 Numbers and Number Theory Divisibility
Rules
Evaluate Exponents
2 Focusing on Ratio, Proportion and Percentage Solving Word
Problems with
ratio and
proportion
3 Linking Geometry and Measurement Finding
dimensions like
area, height
volume
4 Modeling Algebra Given
relationship
between two
parties, find
total amount
5 Fractions Divide Numbers
by a Proper
Fraction;
dividing
fraction with a
whole number
6 Linking Geometry and Measurement Find unknown
angles in
geometrical
figures
involving
square,
rectangle and
triangle
 7 Understanding Signed Numbers Understanding
integers;
Integers on
Number lines;
addition and
subtraction rule
on integers
8 Assessments Assessments

Table 2. Matrix of Activities

Activities Timeline

1. Identification of target participants,

Pre-documentation of Baseline data,
making of research instrument.
Scheduling: pretest and posttest including
implementing guidelines and the proposed
intervention plans of the project, letters, etc.
2. Presentation of the Study to the School Head prior
to implementation.
3. Validation of the Research Instrument with a Jury of
2 Master Teachers.
4. Virtual Meeting with the Parents to explain the
purpose and the mechanics of the study.
5. Virtual Orientation Program for participants.
6. Profiling of participants

7. Administration of the Pretest

8. Project Implementation / Intervention

9. Conducting observation, documentation of progress

10. Monitoring of Weekly Progress
11. Conduct Posttest/Final Assessment
12. Consolidation of data and results: final analysis

13. Formulation of conclusions, recommendations

based on the actual outcome of the study.
 14. Presentation of conclusions and recommendations
to higher office.

Action Research Questions

This program aims to improve the numeracy skills of Grade 6 learners who

are enrolled for School Year 2022-2023 at Purita L. Mora Elementary School,

Talisay City District 1, Division of Negros Occidental. The intervention will mainly

focus in achieving higher learners’ engagement in Mathematics which eventually

helped improve their academic performance.

The study further seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the level of Grade 6 learners’ performance in Mathematics before the

implementation of the program?

2. What is the level of Grade 6 learners’ academic performance in Mathematics

after the implementation of the program?

3. Is there a significant difference in the level of Grade 5 pupils’ academic

performance in Math before and after the implementation of the program?

Action Research Methods

The researchers will be using the single-subject quasi-experimental design- a

one-group pretest-posttest design in which the same dependent variable is

measured in one group of participants before (pretest) and after (posttest) a

treatment is administered. It is a quantitative type of research that involves studying

in detail the behavior of each of a small number of participants. It is also noted that

the single subject experimental design consists of a set of groups of individuals

being studied. Single subject- quasi experimental design controls treatment and

condition applied only to a particular group (Mujis, D. 2011).

A. Participants

The participants of the study are the 20 Grade 6 learners who are officially

enrolled in Purita L. Mora Elementary School, in Talisay District 1, Division of Negros

Occidental for the School Year 2022-2023. These participants are the identified

bottom performers from different sections in Grade 6. Total enumeration is the

sampling technique used.

Table 3. Breakdown of Respondents

This table shows the distribution of the respondents according to their sex. The

academic status and the socio-cultural backgrounds of the participant is

heterogenous.

Respondents Population Percentage

(N) (%)

Male 7 35.00

Female 13 65.00

Total 20 100.00

B. Data Gathering Methods

The researcher used a self-made questionnaire adapted from the actual

assessment administered to Grade 6 pupils for the 1 st and 2nd quarters of School

Year 2022-2023.

The assessment material in the pretest and posttest were the same, with 25

items covering basic mathematical operations such as Number and Number theory,

fractions, Ration and proportion and others.

 In the quantitative data, the single-subject quasi-experimental design will be

used. It is a one-group pretest-posttest design in which the same dependent variable

is measured in one group of participants before (pretest) and after (posttest) a

treatment is administered. It is a quantitative type of research that involves studying

in detail the behavior of each of a small number of participants. It can also be noted

that the single subject experimental design consists of a set of groups of individuals

being studied. Single subject- quasi experimental design controls treatment and

condition applied only to a particular group (Mujis, D. 2011).

The study was implemented in three (3) phases, to wit, Pretest, Intervention and

Posttest.

The pre-implementation of the study will mainly revolve in establishing the

participants’ profile information and other baseline data. During the identification and

profiling of the participants, class records, test results and the pupils’ first and

second quarter grades will be considered as part of baseline data gathering.

Phase 1. The academic performance of the participants will be determined from

the Pretest. This served as the base-line that will guide the direction of the program

implementation. The result will also guide the intervention process of the program

because it will determine the weaker and stronger points of the pupils.

Phase 2. The most important phase of the program will be the intervention which

was administered for 2 months. Program monitoring will be through calls, chats,

SMS by the proponent of the study with the learners and their parents. Parental

involvement is critical to the success of program implementation. There was a

weekly assessment to measure learners’ progress.

 Phase 3: In this stage, the impact of the program will be measured through a

posttest. The administration of the Posttest will signal the culmination program. The

results will be compared to the Pretest and there will be a determination of

individual’s learners’ progress.

C. Data Analysis Plan

The statistical tools that were used in analyzing the gathered data were as

follows: To answer questions No. 1 and 2, mean will be used.

To answer question No. 3, t-test will be used.

Mean refers to the mean or average that is used to derive the central

tendency of the data in question. It is determined by adding all the data points in a

population and then dividing the total by the number of points. The resulting number

is known as the mean or the average.

Whereas, a t-test is any statistical test for which the distribution of the test

statistic under the null hypothesis can be approximated by a normal distribution. In

statistics, t-tests are calculations that can be used to compare sample and

population means to see if there is a significant difference.

D. Ethical Considerations

As the study participants are minors, it was necessary to secure parental consent

for all learners. The consent form detailed the willingness of the parents/guardians to

allow their children to take part in the study. The waiver will also contain an

expressed assurance from the researcher that learners’ scores, test sheets and

other results will be confidentially kept. Most importantly, the identity of the individual

child will all be protected.

 To ensure that the parents fully understand the purpose of the study, there will be

an accompanying cover letter to each of the parents. This will be sent together with

the consent form which will be sent to all of the parents of the 40 participants.

Costing

Persons Resources
Activities Involved Needed Amount
1. Identification of target 1 Bond Paper
participants, Pre-documentation Researcher (4 reams @ Php720.00
of Baseline data, making of self- 180)
made pre-study questionnaire,
pretest and posttest including
implementing guidelines and the
proposed intervention plans of
the project, letters, etc.
2. Validation of the 1 Snacks – Php320.00
Pretest/Posttest Materials with Researcher P80/pax @ 4 Php150.00
Jurors 2 Validators Transpo Php100.00
Folders, etc.
3. Conduct Reliability Test for the 1 Pretest Sheets
questionnaire using another Researcher Bondpaper Php360.00
section of Grade 6 pupils. 20 pupils (2 rms @ 180)
4. Meeting: Parents and teachers 1 School Virtual
to provide the details of the Head Php300.00
study, distribution of parent’s 1 Internet Load
waiver/consent.
Researcher
20 Parents
5. Orientation Program for 1 Internet Load Php300.00
participants. Researcher
20 Pupils
6. Conduct Pretest/Profiling of 1 Test Forms Php300.00
participants Researcher
20 Pupils
7. Project Implementation / 1 Test Forms Php0.00
Intervention Researcher Learning
20 Pupils Materials, etc
5 Reams Bond Php900.00
3 Printer inks Php340.00
 Fare, Cellphone Php3,000.0
load for 0
contacts
8. Conducting observation, 10Research Monitoring Php0.00
documentation of progress er Forms Php0.00
40 Pupils DCR
9. Monitoring of Weekly Progress. 3Researche Monitoring Php0.00
rs Sheets
40 Pupils
10. Conduct Posttest/Final 3 Test sheets
Assessment Researcher Php340.00
s
40 Pupils
11. Consolidation of data and 3 Forms, record Php0.00
results: final analysis Researcher
s

12. Formulation of conclusions, 3 Class Records

recommendations based on the Researcher Pretest/Posttest
actual outcome of the study. s 5 reams bond Php900.00
papers Php340.00
3 printer ink
13. Presentation of conclusions and Bond Papers Php540.00
recommendations to higher 3 Finalized Data
office. Researcher
s

TOTAL
AMOUNT PHP

Plan of Dissemination and Advocacy

The effectivity of this proposed program to improve learners’ academic

performance in Mathematics will be based on the results of the study. The results of

the study may be used as basis for the duplication of the program.
 The success in improving learners’ performance in mathematics will give way

to the adoption of collaborative learning in other sections, or possibly in other grade

levels. This learning strategy will be endorsed for duplication to other Grade levels

by the School Head through the Office of the PSDS and finally, if approved by the

CID Chief or the Schools Division Superintendent. The entire process will be fully

documented to ensure that every step of the way is captured.

 ACTION RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

Name: _______________________________ Date: _____________

Pretest / / Posttest / / Score: _____________

Directions: Put a check beside the right answer.

Write the 2 numbers in the sequence 2, 4, 8 …

_____ 10, 12 ____ 16, 18

______16, 32 ____ 6, 10

Calculate the average of these 3 numbers … 10+10+10

_____ 10 _____ 12

______11 _____ 30

Find the volume of a rectangle with Height = 6inches; Width = 5 inches and length = 10
inches

_____ 56 _____ 404

_____ 39 _____ 300

Find the Product of 35 multiplied by 3

_____ 75 _____ 111

_____ 105 _____ 63

Find the Sum of 134 and 98

_____ 232 _____ 216

_____ 444 _____ 311

Express this fraction to its simplest form … 16/24

____ 2/3 _____4/6

____4/3 _____ 8/4

There are 45 mangoes in the basket. These will be distributed to 9 children. How many
mangoes will go to each child?

____ 5 _____ 7

____ 8 _____ 9

Find the quotient of 1000 divided by 5

_____ 25 ______ 250

_____ 200 ______ 100

What is the SUM of -100 + 100?

_____ 100 _____ 0

_____ 1000 _____ 10

What is the PRODUCT of -10 multiplied by -10

_____ - 100 _____ -10

_____ 100 _____ 10

What is ½ Plus ½ ?

_____ 1 _____ 3/5

_____ ½ _____ 2/1

When MULTIPLYING a Negative number to another Negative number, the product will be …

_____ Positive _____ Depends on which number is bigger

____ Negative _____ depends on what number is smaller

When Multiplying a NEGATIVE and a POSITIVE number, the sign of the product will be …

____ Negative _____ depends on bigger number

____ Positive _____ depends on smaller number

What is the product of -7 multiplied by 10?

____ 70 _____ -70

____ 700 _____ -700

Going LEFT on the number line means what?

____ Negative sign _____ zero

____ Positive sign _____ no effect

Multiply the following numbers and determine the product: (5) (-9) (-2)

____ 90 _____ -90

____ -45 _____ 47

Answer the following: -12 - (-8)

____ -4 _____ 4

____ 20 _____ -22

Compute this by performing mathematical operations: 8+-7-(-6)+1

____ -7 ____ 8

____ 16 ____ -4
A dolphin is swimming 10 feet below the surface. It descends another 12 feet

before rising 4 feet. Which of the following would be the correct way to solve

this word problem?

____ -10+(-12)+(-4) ____ -10 -12+4

____ -10 -12+4 ____ -10 +12 +4

Jeffery plans to rent a beach house for his sister's birthday and will use his

savings to pay for it. The company charges a $25.00 cleaning fee plus $10.00

per hour for the house. If he rents the house for 6 hours, what will be the

change in Jeffery's savings?

____ -60 ____ -85

____ -35 ____ -25

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