REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

DAANBANTAYAN CAMPUS

AGUJO, DAANBANTAYAN CEBU

____________________________________________________________

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE TEACHING STRATEGIES USED IN

TEACHING MATH AMONG ALTERNATIVE LEARNING SYSTEM (ALS)

STUDENTS BEFORE AND DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

______________________________________

WINDEL Q. BOJOS

MAED – MATH
 Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS RESEARCH DESIGN

INTRODUCTION

Rationale

Education is the only vital mean for nation-building and progress, key for the

solution of problems. It unlocks the doors of prosperity and development. It is the sole

source of power to rule over the world. It is a process of preservation and promotion of

the intellectual capital that is used to understand and conquer this world. It is imparted

through formal, informal and non-formal ways. As many different teaching strategies

arise, we teachers questioned, what is the best or most effective strategy in teaching

Alternative Learning System (ALS) students specially in the field of mathematics. ALS is

a parallel learning system in the Philippines that provides a practical option to the existing

formal instruction. When one does not have or cannot access formal education in

schools, ALS is an alternate or substitute. ALS includes both the non-formal and informal

sources of knowledge and skills.

Students come from different backgrounds and have varied experiences and

abilities. Good teaching is not only dependent on teaching strategies or their

effectiveness but it also depends on individual needs and adequacy of the content.

Teachers can use strategies alone or with others. These strategies must suit the needs of

the principal and the teacher and must be appropriate for the students’ needs and
abilities (Picard, 2004). They are also “the approaches that can be used across curricular

areas to support the learning of students” (Herrell and Jordan, 2004: p.5).

The learning process requires active involvement from the students that results

from using appropriate teaching strategies. Teachers can use 4 different strategies in the

classroom to teach students. They can use pair discussion strategy to understand the

students' behavior and their interaction in the learning process. Moreover, student-

student and teacher-students interaction is very important for the students’ engagement

in the classroom and reinforces learning. Teachers can also use target questioning as a

very important strategy to get students’ responses. When the teachers ask students

personal questions they participate positively. The teachers’ role is to monitor the

students’ activities in the classroom (Kumar, 2007). When learning is active, students do

most of the work. They use their brains, study ideas, solve problems, and apply what they

learn. Active learning is fast-paced, fun, supportive, and personally engaging (Silberman,

1996:p ix) Some of the teaching strategies that teachers use in the classroom are whole-

class teaching, small group, work in pairs, individual assignments, role play, reflective

learning , structured discussion, decision making, games and mind maps, technologies

such as DVDs, computers, and overhead projectors. Teachers also have their students

give oral presentations and projects (The National Induction Programme for Teachers,

2013).

The biggest threat to any improvement to ALS is the deeply rooted negative

perception of the program. While learners welcome ALS as a viable second chance to
improve their lives, many stakeholders who can provide tangible value to the program

remain skeptical: higher education institutions, employers, and even some individuals

within DepEd. This low opinion of ALS is not unwarranted, and reforming this perspective

requires significantly better program execution. Some of the teaching strategies in

teaching Alternative Learning System (ALS) students in the field of mathematics won’t

work anymore during this pandemic. Teachers can’t do face-to-face discussion anymore

to their students, this lead us to the difficulty on how will the teacher deliver his/her lesson

to the students effectively. And the interaction between the students and the teacher is

lesser. This lead us to, among all the strategies used in teaching Alternative Learning

System (ALS) students in the field of mathematics is/are effective before and during the

novel corona virus COVID-19.

Theoretical Background

This study is anchored on the theories of cognitivism, behaviourism and

constructivism.

Another significant theory is the cognitive method. The first psychologist to do a

thorough investigation of cognitive development was Piaget (1936). As a result of

biological maturation and environmental experience, cognitive growth is a gradual

restructuring of mental processes. According to cognitive learning theory, learning

depends on how people interpret external inputs (Ormord, 1995). In response, Benjamin

Bloom developed a taxonomy of cognitive skills in 1956, including knowledge,

understanding, application, analysis, synthesis, and assessment. Bloom thought teachers

should support pupils in using and developing these skills. In their study, Anderson and
Krathwohl (2001), the six steps are further clarified and renamed Remembering,

Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating (Wilson, 2013). A cognitive

viewpoint suggests that a behavioral examination of education is frequently insufficient to

understand how instruction affects learning. Behavioral and cognitive techniques are still

present in contemporary educational psychology. The ability to solve problems is where

this theory is primarily used in mathematics education.

Behaviorist learning theories were primarily developed by Skinner (1972) and

Watson (1996). While Skinner noted that each of us develops habits as a result of our

unique experiences with operant learning, Watson claimed that human behavior is the

product of specific stimuli extrapolated from specific reactions (Shaffer, 2000). Kimble's

definition, which highlights three components of learning, is one of the most widely used

definitions of learning. Kimble (1961, p. 6) defined learning as "learning as a generally

permanent change in behavioral potentiality occurs as a result of reinforced practice." A

change in behavior is the first sign that learning has occurred. Second, this alteration in

behavior is essentially permanent. Third, the behavior modification does not happen right

away after the learning experience (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2005). Behaviorists

successfully implement the rewards and punishments system in their schools. They think

that incentives play big roles in education. The behaviorism-based teaching strategies

place a strong emphasis on the idea that reinforcement from repetition and practice may

mold behavior. They establish specific goals to support educators and students

(Hergehahn & Olson, 2005). The behaviorist theory is used in a mathematics lesson

where the teacher examines previous content and homework before demonstrating basic
problem solving and having the students copy what they saw (Stonewater, 2005). This

pedagogical strategy, which emphasizes the instructor as a knowledge transmitter

(teaching by example), is an example of behaviorist theory (Hackman, 2004). Using the

behaviorists' idea, the prevalent approach to teaching mathematics is lecture-based and

teacher-centered.

With the aid of the teacher's direction, students actively develop their knowledge

and understanding according to the constructivist method, which is learner-centered.

According to the constructivist theory, teachers shouldn't try to merely cram material into

the heads of their students. Instead, teachers should offer students the confidence they

need to explore their world, learn new things, evaluate issues, and exercise critical

thinking (Eby, Herrel & Jordan, 2005). In the modern world, constructivism may

emphasize teamwork as youngsters work together to learn and comprehend. Teaching

that emphasizes the active role of the learner in making sense of information and

developing knowledge is known as constructivism (Woolfolk, 2008). Students should

develop their own interpretation of the evidence, according to constructivists, and submit

it for review. Students are continually encouraged to evaluate how the activity is

advancing their learning by constructivist teachers. The constructivist approach was

proposed by William James' and John Dewey's philosophies of education and comes

from a wide range of individuals such as Jean Piaget, Maria Montessori, and Lev

Vygotsky and from educational movements such as education, inquiry or discovery

learning, open education, and whole progressive language teaching (Gagnon & Collay,

2001). Since the constructivist approach emphasizes that students form their own
interpretations of the evidence and submit them for review, students in mathematics

education must develop their own understanding of each mathematical concept. As a

result, the main responsibility of teaching is not to explain, lecture, or try to convey

mathematical knowledge, but rather to put students in situations that will encourage them

to develop the necessary mental structures. Of course, a constructivist lesson differs

dramatically from the traditional classroom model of the instructor as lecturer (Hanley,

1994). The constructivist school of thought holds that pupils actively build new

mathematical knowledge by reflecting on their own physical and mental behaviors.

Constructivists believe that learning is a social process that involves children conversing

with one another and others as they grow cognitively (Hanley, 1994). This approach is

the most effective way to depart from the conventional teacher-centered approaches,

giving teachers and students more authority to improve critical thinking and introduce

modifications to outdated teaching strategies (Sawada et al., 2002). According to Hanley

(1994), constructivist teaching involves the following procedures for teachers: eliciting

and utilizing students' questions and ideas; working together to develop and promote the

use of alternative information sources; encouraging students to challenge one another's

conceptualizations and ideas; promoting self-analysis; and involving students in the

search for knowledge that can be used to solve real-world problems.

Learning that takes place after pupils are required to conduct independent

research is referred to as discovery learning. For instance, the teacher might have the

pupils measure spherical items to determine the value themselves rather of being told the

value (Cruickshank, Bainer & Metcalf, 1995). Three educational objectives are achieved
by teachers through exploration learning. First and foremost, they want students to

understand how to do independent research and think for themselves. In fact, they want

children to acknowledge the opinions of others and rely less on professors for

information. Second, users of discovery learning want learners to understand how

knowledge is acquired. It suggests that educators want to give students the tools they

need to learn by compiling, organizing, and evaluating data to reach their own

conclusions. Thirdly, teachers want students to use their higher level thinking abilities.

They aim for pupils to be able to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information, among

other things (Cruickshank et al., 1995). One of the traits of discovery learning is that the

teacher's job is not to teach but to design and lead classroom activities that encourage

students to engage in knowledge discovery. The teacher encourages students to think

critically when they are dealing with discovery, which is discovery learning's second

attribute. The third characteristic is that students accept the difficulty of coming to a

realization on their own rather than expecting the teacher to give them the solutions

(Cruickshank et al., 1995).

In response to the people's intense clamor or demands for a fundamental

response in education, the following relevant provisions on education were promulgated;

finally adapted and made a significant part of the New Constitution which was ratified on

February 2, 1987 to become the new fundamental law of the land (Elevazo, 1995: 81).

Article XIV, Section 1. The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens

to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education

accessible to all.
 Section 2. The State shall:

1. Establish, maintain and support a complete, adequate and integrated

system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society.
2. Establish and maintain a system of free public education in the
elementary and high school levels.

The Education Act of 1982 delineates a number of rights of students in school.

Among these rights is:

The right to receive primarily through competent instruction, relevant

quality education in line with the national goals and conducive to their full
development.

The same law provides that:

“Every teacher shall be accountable for the efficient' and effective

attainment of specified learning objectives in pursuance to the national
development goals within the limits of available school resources”.
The Manual of Regulations for Private Schools,8th edition 1992, Section 8-
identifies the following objectives of Elementary Education (Calderon,1998:9):

1. To provide the basic knowledge and develop the skills, attitudes, and
values essential to personal development and necessary for living in and
contributing to a developing and changing social milieu;

2. To provide learning experiences which increase the child's awareness

of and responsiveness to the changes in a just demands of society and to prepare
him for constructive and effective involvement;

3. To promote and intensify the child's knowledge of, identification with,

and love for the nation and the people to which he belongs; and

4. To promote work experiences which develop the child's orientation to

the world of work and creativity and prepare him to engage in honest and gainful
work.

Parliamentary Bill No. 524, Chapter 3, Section 15, (Aquino,1997: 226)

enumerates the following duties and responsibilities of the students:

1. Exert his utmost to develop his potentialities for service, particularly

by undergoing an education suited to his abilities, in order that he may become
an asset to his family and to society.
 2. Uphold the academic integrity of the school, endeavor to achieve
academic excellence and abide by the rules and regulations governing his
academic responsibilities and moral integrity.

3.Promote and maintain the peace and tranquility of the school by

observing the rules of discipline, and by exerting efforts to attain harmonious
relationship with fellow students, the teaching and academic staff and other
school personnel.

4. Participate actively in civic affairs and in the promotion of the general

welfare, particularly in the social, economic and cultural development of his
community and in the attainment of a just, compassionate and orderly society.

5. Exercise his rights and responsibility in the knowledge that he is

answerable for any infringement or violation of the public welfare and of the
rights of others.

Students will have to cease as mere depositories of knowledge. They

must have all the opportunities to think creatively, critically and innovatively and

the courage to challenge even the most sacrosanct intellectual assumptions and

truths. Teachers will have to transform the classroom and every learning

situation under objective analysis and criticism with a view of refining theory and

generating new ideas.

 Conceptual Framework

Legal Basis
Article XIV, Section 1 & 2
Educational Act of 1982
kills and knowledge in the Alternative Learning System spells success in the future.
Manual of Regulation for Private School 1992 Section 8
Parliamentary Bill No. 524

INPUT

Data on:
Teachers Profile
Students’ Academic Performance
Problems Encountered

PROCESS

Statistical Treatment
Simple Percentage Formula
Weighted Mean
Sloven’s Formula
Pearson r
T-test

OUTPUT

Proposed Enhancement Measures

Review of Related Literature

Helping students understand better in the classroom is one of the primary

concerns of every teacher. Teachers need to motivate students how to learn. According

to Phil Schlecty (1994), students who understand the lesson tend to be more engaged

and show different characteristics such as they are attracted to do work, persist in the

work despite challenges and obstacles, and take visible delight in accomplishing their

work. In developing students' understanding to learn important concepts, teacher may

use a variety of teaching strategies that would work best for her/his students. According

to Raymond Wlodkowski and Margery Ginsberg (1995), research has shown no teaching

strategy that will consistently engage all learners. The key is helping students relate

lesson content to their own backgrounds which would include students' prior knowledge

in understanding new concepts. Due recognition should be given to the fact that interest,

according to Saucier (1989:167) directly or indirectly contributes to all learning. Yet, it

appears that many teachers apparently still need to accept this fundamental principle.

Teachers should mind the chief component of interest in the classroom. It is a means of

forming lasting effort in attaining the skills needed for life. Furthermore, teachers need to

vary teaching styles and techniques so as not to cause boredom to the students in the

classroom. Seeking greater insight into how children learn from the way teachers discuss

and handle the lesson in the classroom and teach students the life skills they need, could

be one of the greatest achievements in the teaching process.

Furthermore, researchers have begun to identify some aspects of the teaching

situation that help enhance students' motivation. Research made by Lucas (1990),
Weinert and Kluwe (1987) show that several styles could be employed by the teachers to

encourage students to become self-motivated independent learners. As identified,

teachers must give frequent positive feedback that supports students' beliefs that they

can do well; ensure opportunities for students' success by assigning tasks that are either

too easy nor too difficult; help students find personal meaning and value in the material;

and help students feel that they are valued members of a learning community. According

to Brock (1976), Cashin (1979) and Lucas (1990), it is necessary for teachers to work

from students' strengths and interests by finding out why students are in your class and

what are their expectations. Therefore it is important to take into consideration students'

needs and interests so as to focus instruction that is applicable to different groups of

students with different levels.

THE PROBLEM

The main purpose of this study is to compare the teaching strategies used in

teaching Math among ALS Students before and during COVID-19 pandemic.

Statement of the Problem

Specifically, it answers the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the Alternative Learning System (ALS) students in terms

of:

1.1 age and gender;

1.2 highest educational attainment;

 1.3 residency?

2. What is the academic performance of ALS students in terms of:

2.1 age and gender;

2.2 highest educational attainment

2.3 residency?

3. Is there a significant relationship between the teaching strategies and

academic performance of Alternative Learning System (ALS) students before

and during COVID-19 Pandemic?

4. Based on the findings of the study, what possible enhancement measures can

be proposed?

Hypothesis

The study sought to accept or reject the following hypotheses:

Ho There is no significant relationship between the teaching strategy and

academic performance of Alternative Learning System (ALS) students before and during

COVID-19 pandemic.

H1 There is significant relationship between the teaching strategy and

academic performance of Alternative Learning System (ALS) students before and during

COVID-19 pandemic.
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study will utilize the descriptive-normative survey design in deriving the

needed information specifically in comparing the academic performance of ALS students

before and during COVID-19 pandemic.

(explaination of descriptive-normative survey)

Environment.
 Division of City of Bogo is located in the north-eastern coast of Cebu province, on

the principal island of Cebu. It is 101 kilometres (63 mi) from Cebu City and is accessible

by land and sea. Bogo has an area of 103.5 square kilometers (40.0 sq mi), which
constitutes 2.3% of the area of Cebu Island and 2.1% of the total land area of Cebu

province.

Respondents. The respondents of this study are all students of ALS in the

Division of City of Bogo.

Instrument. The main instrument for the study is a researcher-designed

questionnaire on respondents profile and teaching strategies use in Alternative Learning

System (ALS) students before and during COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire

contains items on personal information of the respondents.

Procedure for Data Collection. The researcher will distribute the validated and

verified questionnaire to the respondents. This research ensured that valid data will be

collected from the respondents. The collected data will then be tabulated and interpreted.

Statistical Treatment

Treatment of the Data. The statistical treatment will follow immediately after all

the data were gathered. The statistical tools the researchers employed were the

percentage, weighted mean, pearson-r and t-test.

Percentage. This will be used in determining the profiles of the students in terms of age

and gender, educational attainment and residency. The percentage distribution for this

study derived as follows:

f
P= x 100
N

where:
P= Percentage
 f= frequency
N= number of respondents

Weighted Mean. This will be used in determining the academic performance of the

respondents in terms of their profile. The formula in getting the weighted mean is as

follows:

WM
WM=¿ ∑ N
where:
WM = weighted mean

N = total number of respondents

Pearson r correlation coefficient will be used to measure the strength of relationship

between two variables. The Pearson-r correlation coefficient for this study derived as

follows:

r = n ( ∑ XY )−( ∑ X ) (∑ Y )
√¿ ¿ ¿

where:
n = total number of respondents
X = first variable
Y = second variable
X 2 = square of the first variable
Y 2= square of the second variable
XY = product of the first and second variable
t-test. This will be used to determine the significant relationship between the teaching

strategy and academic performance of ALS students. The t-test distribution for this study

derived as follows:

t= r √n−2
√ 1−r 2
where:
r= pearson r value
n= no. of respondents
Significance of the Study

This study is beneficial to the following entities, to wit: school administrators,

parents, students, researchers and future researchers.

School Administrator. This study is valuable to the heads of the school

because they will be provided information as to the status of the academic performance

of ALS students.

Students. As the main beneficiary of this research, the students will be informed

on the effective and efficient learning strategy.

Teachers. This research will be helpful to the teachers to provide information as

to the effectiveness of the strategies employed and the adequacy of instructional

materials used in the teaching-learning process.

Other Researchers. The result of this research will be useful for other

researchers for it will give them idea that is applicable in their research.

,
 DEFINITION OF TERMS

To preclude the ambiguity of this study, the following terms are hereby defined

operationally.

Teaching strategies. This refers to face to face learning modality and modular

distance learning modality.

Academic performance. This refers to the grade of ALS students in

mathematics before and during COVID-19

Face to face learning modality. This refers to the teaching strategy where ALS

students physically attend classes.

Modular distance learning modality. This refers to the teaching strategy where

ALS students were provided with self-learning modules.

Age. This refers to