ABSTRACT
It is said that one major requirement for learning Physics is the mastery of Mathematics. Comprehensively, one cannot really learn Physics if he or she has no background of Mathematics. While the mastery of Mathematics is a far-fetched, learning some of its basic concepts is beyond someone’s reach. The competence in basic Mathematics will drive someone to meaningful learning experiences in Physics. So the researcher suggests that one should consider learning basic Mathematics before he or she learns Physics. This study investigated the effectiveness of back-to-basic Mathematics on the Physics performance of students in Mindanao State University-Sulu in the Southern Philippines. Descriptive survey method was employed in this study. The researcher used a standardized questionnaire to obtain the necessary data. Likewise, the students’ grades in Physics were solicited from their subject teacher. The data gathered from the questionnaire and from the grades were analyzed using arithmetic mean. The significant difference between the Physics performances of the students when they are classified in terms of gender was interpreted using t-test for independent samples. Based on the findings, the study revealed that back-to-basic Mathematics is highly effective in improving the Physics performance of the students. The study also revealed that male students performed better than female students in Physics. Moreover, it is recommended that Physics teachers should start their classes by reviewing some basic concepts in Mathematics before they proceed to the discussion of Physics topics. The study concluded that back-to-basic Mathematics is effective in improving the Physics performance of the students.
Keywords: Physics performance, back-to-basic Mathematics, descriptive survey method, Mindanao State University-Sulu, Southern Philippines, Asia
INTRODUCTION
The continuous downfall of students’ academic performance in Science and Mathematics in the Philippine education system has been alarming. Result of national surveys indicates that most schools in the Philippines especially those that are in the remote region have a low performance rating in these subjects. The Philippine Information Agency cited in their website the result of 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which revealed that out 79 countries surveyed, Philippines ranked second lowest in both mathematics and science. While the survey focused on elementary education, the same holds true in the secondary. In the context of senior high school in the Philippines, the issue of Physics performance rating is evident. Much research in recent years suggested that in order to improve the learning performance in Physics, basic Mathematics should be recalled to the students at the start of the classes. This was demonstrated by the results of the study of Izaak (2015) which revealed that there is a positive relation between interest at Physics and knowledge of Mathematics basic concepts with students’ ability to solve Physics problems. (Dehipawala, Shekoyan & Yao (2014) added that mastery in basic arithmetic, algebra, and trigonometry is necessary to perform well in physics courses. Unfortunately, there remains a doubt of its effectiveness in improving the Physics performance of the students in the Southern Philippines.
This study investigated the effectiveness of back-to-basic Mathematics on the Physics performance of the senior high school students in Mindanao State University-Sulu in the Southern Philippines. The difference between the Physics performances of the students was also determined in this study.
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