ABSTRACT
Engaging the learners in solving problems enhances their creative and logical thinking. Making them involved is allowing them to discover the result. Problematization-oriented game-based math tasks with structuring features enhanced students' reasoning with problems and channeled it to doing mathematics (Ke et al., 2024). For the previous years, based on the school data of Lul-Luno Elementary School, the mean percentage of learners in mathematics of Grade IV learners is seen as low and doesn’t reach at least 75%, and one of the least learned is solving multiplication and division numbers. This study aims to enhance the number sense of learners in Grade IV in solving numbers with the operations of division and multiplication through Division-Multiplication Hop. Purposive sampling is used to identify the participants, composed of 5 males and 7 females in Grade IV. This study aims to involve a traditional game that would make the learners learn with a twist. The quasi-experimental studies used pre-tests and post-tests to assess the learners. From the conducted pre-test, the mean score is 9.25, and it is increased in the post-test to 14.1666666666667. The proficiency level of the participants in mathematics increased wherein 1 female is in nearly proficient, 3 males and 4 females are proficient and 2 males and 2 females are highly proficient. Findings revealed that through the learning intervention division-multiplication hop, the MPS results in mathematics of learners increased. The research revealed that play-based learning encouraged the confidence of pupils to participate and challenged every learner to solve and find the correct answer. Joy is seen in the faces of participants. Teachers in Lul-Luno Elementary School are encouraged to adopt the game-based learning intervention Division-Multiplication Hop and can contextualize it through using other operations that can adhere to the needs of the learners. Through repetition of these activities, the needs of every learner can be enhanced. Furthermore, learners' engagement and manipulation of different instructional materials can develop the cognitive and physical skills of learners.
Keywords: number sense, enhance, play-based, engagement
INTRODUCTION
Numbers, operations, and problem solving are all encountered in our daily life, which are all in mathematics, and yet many of the learners are struggling in solving. Others also hate mathematics, which stresses their studies. Teaching numeracy to young learners is crucial for their lifelong learning. Children with low performance in early numeracy are at risk of facing learning difficulties in mathematics, and frequent and long-term interventions are needed for the positive effects to last (Lopez-Pedersen et al., 2022).
Teachers need to be vigilant in strategies and techniques, for the conditional direct and indirect effects of early numeracy skills on G4 math achievement suggest that children who had more proficient early literacy skills utilize strategies beyond just early numeracy skills to solve G4 math problems and that children's strategies to solve math problems may be enhanced by the proficiency of their literacy skills (Chang, 2023). At an early age, children are taught how to count and write numbers before learning the four basic operations. Numeracy skills are not just learning what numbers are; they are learning creatively and critically how to solve the problem with the basic operations.
Almost no students in the Philippines were top performers in mathematics, meaning that they attained Level 5 or 6 in the PISA mathematics test (OECD average: 9%). Six Asian countries and economies had the largest shares of students who did so: Singapore (41%), Chinese Taipei (32%), Macao (China) (29%), Hong Kong (China)* (27%), Japan (23%), and Korea (23%). At these levels, students can model complex situations mathematically and can select, compare, and evaluate appropriate problem-solving strategies for dealing with them. Only in 16 out of 81 countries and economies participating in PISA 2022 did more than 10% of students attain Level 5 or 6 proficiency (PISA 2022 Results (Volume I and II) - Country Notes: Philippines,” 2023). According to Balatas et al. (2019), continuous curriculum improvement of the Philippines' K–12 curriculum and implementation of relevant intervention programs and support systems from different education stakeholders, including country-based publishing and testing companies, are needed to address gaps in competencies found for the country to meet international benchmarks. Using a curriculum analysis matrix, the findings indicate that K-12 curricula may require conceptual and pedagogical refinements, particularly in the area of constructive alignment, technology integration, and specificity of its components. Barrot (2021) states that to uplift the education of Filipinos, the K-12 curriculum was enhanced and became the Matatag Curriculum, which will be gradually implemented in each grade. Innovation and creativity in teaching mathematics are necessary to make learners love mathematics. Creativity and problem solving are considered to be twenty-first-century competencies; therefore, promoting mathematical creativity should be an important part of school mathematics (Matić & Sliško, 2022).
Teachers need to think about teaching methods that indirectly motivate students to learn (Barekat ,2022). Teachers can take advantage of children’s curiosity for math when they organize creative learning environments and develop meaningful critical thinking experiences to increase children’s interactions with peers (Harris, n.d.), and a play-based approach to early mathematics certainly has great potential to become an innovation (Vogt et al., 2018). Lul-luno Elementary School, as shown from the consolidated mean percentage score of learners in mathematics from grades 4 in S.Y 2022-2024, found out that it was below 75%, and including from the least learned are multiplying two numbers and dividing two numbers without regrouping.
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