ENHANCING THE STUDENTS’ MATHEMATICAL

ACHIEVEMENT VIA PROJECT ADFEISM

PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL

2023
Volume: 13
Pages: 454-458
Document ID: 2023PEMJ1176
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8341638
Manuscript Accepted: 2023-11-9
Psych Educ, 2023, 13: 454-458, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1176, doi:10.5281/zenodo.8341638, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article

Enhancing the Students’ Mathematical Achievement Via Project ADFEISM

Rince Cheal A. Entice*, Mary Antoneth B. Gamayon, Jomar N. Apus
For affiliations and correspondence, see the last page.
Abstract
This study determined whether the implementation of project ADFEISM can enhance grade 9
students’ performance in learning quadratic equations. This study used a quasi-experimental design
with two intact classes of problematic sections. Both groups underwent the pretest before the lessons
on quadratic equations were introduced. The controlled group was exposed to the conventional
teaching method, while the experimental was exposed to teaching with the project ADFEISM with
the mastery learning approach. Based on the findings, it is proved that there is a significant difference
between the performance of the students in the control and experimental group towards learning
quadratic equation. This implies that teaching of Mathematics with a special emphasis of the basic
topics like what were included in the Project ADFEISM will help students enhance their mathematics
performance and make them more prepared to study advanced mathematical concepts.

Keywords: quasi-experimental, ADFEISM, learning quadratic equations, mastery learning approach,

mathematical concepts

Introduction effects create negative and positive outcomes. As a

developing country, the negative effects such as
unpreparedness in terms of gadgets, finances, and even
A solid mathematical foundation and the application of school equipment are so overwhelming. The changes
a mastery learning strategy have been identified as from formal face to face classes into modular-online
critical variables in increasing student mathematics approach is so hard to adapt, not just by the students
performance. This study aims to investigate the but especially by the teachers due to lack of trainings
relationship between a strong mathematical which lead to a low performance rate of teachers and
foundation, the mastery learning technique, and students during the first wave of the implementation of
students' mathematics performance, drawing on the new normal educational system in the country. On
relevant studies and research in the field. A good the opposite aspect, this pandemic serves as a blessing
mastery of essential mathematical concepts, principles, in disguise for it unleashes and awakens the bright and
and skills is referred to as having a firm mathematical innovative ideas of all the classroom teachers to create
foundation. Swanson et al. (2017) discovered that sublime and admirable strategies and interventions to
children with a strong mathematical background ensure that comprehensive teaching and learning
display better levels of mathematical competency and
experiences will still take place amidst this raging
problem-solving ability. This foundation serves as a
battle. Thus, as Mathematics classroom teachers of
scaffolding for additional mathematical learning,
San Francisco De Asis National High School, we have
allowing pupils to approach more complicated
initiated an innovation to address the learning gaps and
mathematical topics with confidence and ease.
make sure that concretized learning outcomes will still
Bloom's (1976) mastery learning model stresses be accomplished.
personalized training and mastery of learning
ADFEISM (Addition, Division, Decimals, Fraction,
objectives before proceeding to new information.
Factors, Exponents, Integers, Subtraction, Square
Students are given targeted feedback, further practice,
Roots, Multiplication and Multiples) in teaching
and opportunity for remediation in this technique until
they achieve mastery of the subject area. According to mathematics plays great role in developing and
Guskey and Pigott (2019), the mastery learning nurturing the mathematical capacity of every learner. It
strategy leads to considerable improvements in is a mnemonic of basic topics in mathematics which
mathematics performance because it allows students to reinforces the key foundational concepts that are
develop a deep comprehension of mathematical ideas critical for higher topics in mathematics. It is designed
and a solid knowledge base. for junior high school students who need support in
addition to their regular class instruction. Specifically,
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic creates very it is developed to address students' needs with the
abrupt changes in all facets of the educational system, basics of numbers and operations, content is sequenced
not just in the Philippines but across all countries; its and paced to build understanding and skills.

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Research Article

It is organized into 7 lessons that contains 2 meetings early mathematical education affected later academic
of 30-minute to 1-hour discussions that include step- success. Johnson and Williams (2018) delved into how
by-step teaching support, face to face instruction, peer a concentrated math curriculum in elementary schools
tutorial, video presentation, activity sheets and affected students' subsequent accomplishments.
embedded assessmen ts. The ADFEISM in According to the study, pupils who got intense
mathematics also employs Mastery Learning mathematics training in their early years performed
Approach where students are required to pass specific better on standardized examinations across the course
standards in every lesson. This assures the students’ of their academic careers in all subject areas. This
readiness in the next lesson. conclusion implies that a student's early exposure to
mathematics can act as a powerful predictor of future
Research Questions academic achievement.

This study determined whether the implementation of The literature also discusses how excellent teachers
project adfeism can enhance grade 9 students’ contribute to developing a solid mathematical
performance in learning quadratic equations. foundation. The academic accomplishment and
Specifically, this study answered the following mathematical performance of children were found to
questions: be positively improved by highly qualified and
experienced mathematics teachers in a study by Brown
1. What is the performance of the students in both and Robinson (2015). The study made a point of
control and experimental group before and after the highlighting the importance of good teaching
intervention? techniques, educational approaches, and learning
2. Is there a significant difference between the environments in encouraging mathematical
performance of the students in both control and engagement and learning. These results highlight the
experimental group before and after the intervention? value of teacher preparation programs and continued
3. Is there a significant difference between posttest professional development for raising the standard of
scores of the students across groups? math education.

In addition, studies have looked at how technological

Literature Review developments affect the formation of a solid
mathematical foundation. Wang and Chen (2020)
A solid mathematical foundation is essential for look ed into how ed ucat io n al tech n o lo gy
academic success and the development of critical resources—like interactive simulations and virtual
thinking skills. This review investigates the value of a manipulatives—affect students' academic achievement
solid mathematical foundation and the application of and mathematical knowledge. The research discovered
the mastery learning approach as a successful that include these digital tools in mathematics lessons
instructional strategy. The literature and studies improved students' conceptual comprehension,
considered in this review are within the last six years. problem-solving abilities, and general academic
performance. These findings highlight the potential of
Strong mathematical foundation on Academic technology as a supplement to conventional teaching
Performance strategies to enhance mathematical learning outcomes.

Several studies have stressed the importance of a solid Mastery learning approach as an effective
mathematical foundation in academic performance. instructional strategy
Smith et al. (2016), for instance conducted a
longitudinal study with a large sample of high school Hattie, Fisher, and Frey's (2017) study demonstrates
students and discovered that students with advanced the advantages of a mastery learning method in
mathematical skills performed better in science and mathematics instruction. Before moving on to more
technology topics than their classmates with poorer complicated subjects, mastery learning emphasizes
mathematical ability. Furthermore, the study getting students a firm grasp of basic mathematical
demonstrated the positive association between ideas. It enables tailored feedback and training, as well
mathematical competency and critical thinking skills, as the chance for students to learn each idea at their
revealing the larger implications of mathematical own rate. These conclusions are supported by a study
competence on overall academic success. by Son (2016), which shows that students who learned
through a mastery learning strategy attained higher
Another group of studies looked specifically at how levels of mathematics understanding and outperformed

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Research Article

peers in conventional educational settings on ability, closes achievement disparities, and strengthens
assessments. metacognitive skills. This strategy's use can
considerably improve kids' academic progress,
Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that developing cognitive growth, and knowledge of mathematics.
a solid mathematical foundation using the mastery
learning approach improves problem-solving abilities.
According to a 2017 study by Williams and Salgado, Methodology
students who participated in mastery learning showed
enhanced problem-solving skills and a higher degree
Sampling Method
of mathematical thinking. In a similar vein, Kim and
Lee's (2018) study discovered that students who were The participants of this study were the two (2) intact
taught utilizing the mastery learning approach had sections of grade 9. They were purposively chosen
improved problem-solving strategies, including since were found to be problematic in the said subject.
systematic analysis of problems, finding pertinent Section A is composed of thirty (30) students which
material, and applying appropriate mathematical comprised the controlled group while Section B is
procedures. composed of thirty-two (32) students which comprised
the experimental group.
A solid mathematical foundation and the mastery
learning technique have benefits outside of the Research Design
classroom in addition to academic success. According
to a study by Huang and Leung (2016), students who This study used quasi-experimental design with two
received mastery learning training expressed stronger intact classes of problematic sections. Both groups
levels of mathematical confidence and a greater underwent the pretest before the lessons on quadratic
enthusiasm in pursuing professions in the field. This equation were introduced. The controlled group was
research implies that students' attitudes and aspirations exposed to the conventional teaching method while the
toward mathematics and related subjects might be experimental was exposed to teaching with the project
favorably influenced by a solid mathematical ADFEISM with mastery learning approach.
foundation.
Statistical Treatment
In order to bridge achievement disparities, the mastery
learning approach has also been recognized as a In treating the data, statistical tools were used by the
successful strategy. The advantages of mastery researcher. For data in Problem 1, descriptive statistics
learning in narrowing achievement gaps across such are mean and standard deviation were used since
students from various socioeconomic backgrounds are the researcher wants to find out the average scores and
highlighted according to research by Cheung and its distance from the mean. Problem 2, the paired
Slavin (2016). Mastery learning's customized nature sample t-test is used to determine if there is a
enables focused support and interventions that aid significant difference between the scores of the
students in overcoming learning obstacles and students, both control and experimental, in the pretest
enhancing their mathematics ability.Research further and posttest. For Problem 3, the independent sample t-
supports the notion that mastery learning and a solid test is used to determine if there is a significant
mathematical foundation are directly related to higher- difference between the performance of the students
order thinking skills and metacognitive capacities. across groups in their posttest. All the tests used
Kaur and Widjaja's (2017) research contend that α=0.05 level of significance.
m astery learn ing p romo tes the growth of
metacognitive skills like self-control and learning Research Instrument
progress monitoring. To become independent learners
and engage in more complex mathematical thought, The research instrument used to gather the data and
students must develop these metacognitive skills. information of this study were the DepEd-made pre-
test and post-test questionnaires. The test consisted of
The reviewed literature and studies emphasize the 50 items multiple choices from the validated DepEd
value of a solid mathematical foundation and the modules that covered the Quadratic Equation.
effectiveness of the mastery learning approach in Students were given 1 hour and 30 minutes to answer
mathematics education, which brings us to our and finish the test. Pre-test was given before the
conclusion. The mastery learning approach facilitates intervention proper while the post-test was
individualized education, develops problem-solving administered after the intervention. There was no need

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Psych Educ, 2023, 13: 454-458, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1176, doi:10.5281/zenodo.8341638, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article

controlled group. As shown in the table, the

to conduct test validation, reliability test and pilot probability value is 0.00 which is lower than the alpha
testing since DepEd modules were properly screened, value of 0.05. This implied that there was strong
checked and validated by the experts in the evidence to reject the null hypothesis and to accept the
Department of Education. alternative hypothesis. This means that the
performance of the students who were exposed to
conventional method was significantly higher during
Results and Discussion the post-test as compared to their performance during
the pre-test.

Table 1. Performance of the students in both control Table 4. Significant difference between the
and experimental group before the intervention performance of the students in experimental group
before and after the intervention

Table 1 shows the distribution of the test scores of the

students in both controlled and experimental groups in
the pretest on quadratic equation. The data showed that
students in both groups have more or less the same
performance in the pretest as shown in their mean Table 4 presents the significant difference in the pre-
scores categorized as failed or needs improvement. test and post-test mean scores of students in the
experimental group. As shown in the table, the
Table 2. Performance of the students in both control probability value is 0.00 which is lower than the alpha
and experimental group after the intervention value of 0.05. This implied that there was strong
evidence to reject the null hypothesis and to accept the
alternative hypothesis. This means that the
performance of the students who were exposed to
project ADFEISM was significantly higher during the
post-test as compared to their performance during the
Table 2 presents the distribution of the test scores of pre-test.
the students in both controlled and experimental
groups in the posttest on quadratic equation. The data Table 5. Testing of significant difference between the
showed a positive change in the mean scores of the posttest scores of the students across groups
students for both groups which is a clear indication of
an increase in performance during the posttest. Despite
of the observable difference of the two groups on their
posttest scores, still both controlled and experimental
group are categorized as very satisfactory.
Table 5 shows the independent sample t-test of the
Table 3. Significant difference between the students’ performance in the posttest across the two
performance of the students in controlled group before groups. Note that the p-value is lower than 0.05 which
and after the intervention means that the difference is significant. This means
that students in the experimental group gained more
and better understanding in learning quadratic equation
through the project ADFEISMN intervention than
those of the students who underwent conventional
teaching.
Table 3 presents the significant difference in the pre-
test and post-test mean scores of students in the This finding conforms to the findings of Johnson and
Williams (2018) investigated the effects of a focused
mathematical curriculum in elementary schools and its

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Psych Educ, 2023, 13: 454-458, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1176, doi:10.5281/zenodo.8341638, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article

influence on students' future achievements. The study Guskey, T. R., & Pigott, T. D. (2019). The handbook of mastery
learning. SAGE Publications
revealed that students who received intensive
mathematical instruction in their early years Hattie, J., Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2017). Visible learning for
demonstrated higher scores in standardized tests across mathematics, grades K-12: What works best to optimize student
multiple subjects throughout their academic journey. learning. Corwin.
Additionally, Brown and Robinson (2015) discovered Huang, R., & Leung, A. (2016). Effects of mastery learning
that highly skilled and experienced mathematics approach on students' mathematics achievement and attitudes
teachers had a beneficial impact on students' academic towards mathematics: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology
Review, 28(4), 797-829. DOI: 10.1007/s10648-015-9325-4
success and mathematical proficiency. The study
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environments in promoting mathematical engagement Educational Psychology Review, 30(3), 685-712. DOI:
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importance of teacher training and ongoing Kaur, B., & Widjaja, W. (2017). Effects of a mastery learning
professional development to improve the quality of approach on mathematics performance
mathematical education. Kim, Y., & Lee, J. (2018). Enhancing mathematical problem solving
through mastery learning: Effects on mathematical problem-solving
strategies and mathematics self-efficacy. Journal of Educational
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ADFEISM will help students enhance their
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slots for this crucial intervention.Furthermore, it is also mastery learning on students' mathematical problem-solving
recommended to conduct more studies about the abilities. Journal of Education and Learning
implementation of project ADFEISM in teaching not
just Mathematics in order to thoroughly verify its Affiliations and Corresponding Information
efficacy, into several other areas. Rince Cheal A. Entice, MAEd
El Salvador City National High School
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