Effect of D.E.S.I.R.E. (Drill Exercises Towards Students’ Increased Responsive Engagement) on the Improvement of Higher Math Skills

Abstract

The teacher-researcher conducted a study to develop, implement, and evaluate a teaching strategy utilizing mental math and speed tests to improve the higher math skills of 4th-grade learners at Apolinario Mabini Elementary School, Division of City Schools, Manila. The study included 40 4th-grade students whose learning progress fell under "fairly satisfactory" (75-79) during the previous grading period. Twenty students were assigned to receive the interventions at least three times a week for four weeks, while another twenty were assigned to the "Non-Intervention Group." The researcher collected qualitative (through teachers' and students' interviews) and quantitative (through pre- and post-assessment scores/results) data from both intervention and non-intervention groups. The mean score of the intervention group was 5.20 out of a 20-item pretest, with a standard deviation of 1.58. The computed t-value for the pretest was 0.47, and for the post-test, it was 3.97. The intervention strategy increases the performance of the pupils. The researcher suggests that Drill Exercises for Students' Increased Responsive Engagement (DESIRE) be used as an instructional method to increase the learners' performance in higher mathematics.