Chapter 1
Introduction
The World Wide Web, CD-ROMs, and other media disseminate vast quantities of
quantitative information. The level of mathematical thinking and problem solving needed
in the workplace has increased dramatically. In such a world, those who understand and
can do mathematics will have opportunities that others do not. Mathematical competence
doors. Students have different abilities, needs, and interests. Yet everyone needs to be
able to use mathematics in his or her personal life, in the workplace, and in further study.
All students deserve an opportunity to understand the power and beauty of mathematics.
Students need to learn a new set of mathematics basics that enable them to compute
It has taken such a long time to discover the importance of Mathematics in our
world the discoveries lead us to more technological or what was called Industrial Era,
wherein the different usage of technological devices occurred. In this era, application of
Mathematics helps to develop and invent such technological devices. Through these
applications our life became easier. Nowadays, Mathematics is the key to all Sciences.
2
Despite explaining more about mathematics and the proof that its really
important, the students today do not like this subject. They think that the Mathematics is
a boring subject, and its hard to understand formulas, they always say Why should we
study Mathematics, only four major operations are enough and the rest no longer needed.
We do use graphs and formulas in our daily living. Only if they understand the logic
behind this subject and the principles applied in different problems, if they get what
Mathematics really meant to be, they will find that it is not a boring subject, that
mathematics is an interesting one. Mathematics becomes part of our life, not only in our
academic subjects, but in all part of our integral life. We dont see that even in simple
conversation mathematics take place. In our transportation it also occurs, and in our daily
Mathematics achievement has shown that the students from each major level of
Education in Asia seemed to outperform their counterparts. Many studies have examined
students thinking about school and their attitude toward Mathematics. Mathematics
relationship between mathematics performance and students factor has been studied
performance.
3
Wendy Hansen (2008) stated that boys are more likely than girls to be math
geniuses. The researcher found that neither gender consistently outpaced the other in any
state or at any grade level. Even on test questions from the National Assessment of
Education Progress that were designed to measure complex reasoning skills, the gender
role in the acquisition of math skills and knowledge students who are engaged in the
learning process will tend to learn more and be more receptive to further learning.
Student engagement also has an impact upon course selection, educational pathways and
achieve, providing instruction based on individual student needs and using a variety of
methods to reach all learners. One factor has been aligning the math curriculum to ensure
Theoretical Framework
Dweck, C. S. (1999) stated that students believe that their ability is fixed,
probably at birth, and there is very little if anything they can do to improve it is called
fixed IQ theorists. They believe ability comes from talent rather than from the slow
development of skills through learning. It's all in the genes. Either you can do it with
little effort, or you will never be able to do it, so you might as well give up in the face of
difficulty. E.g. I can't do math. And Untapped Potential theorists, students believe that
ability and success are due to learning, and learning requires time and effort. In the case
of difficulty one must try harder, try another approach, or seek help etc.
Inzlicht (2003) stated that entity and incremental theories of ability were assessed
was examined by controlling for prior math performance. Entity theory was expected to
positive predictor.
Guohua Peng (2002) stated that simple traditional methods gradually make the
students feel that mathematics is pointless and has little value to them in real life. It
becomes a subject they are forced to study, but one that is useless to them in real life.
Dan Hull (1999) stated that growing numbers of teachers todayespecially those
standard tests are discovering that most students interest and achievement in math,
science, and language improve dramatically when they are helped to make connections
between new information (knowledge) and experiences they have had, or with other
5
increases significantly when they are taught why they are learning the concepts and how
those concepts can be used outside the classroom. And most students learn much more
efficiently when they are allowed to work cooperatively with other students in groups or
teams.
Conceptual Framework
Figure 1; shows the relationship of input variables which contain the extent of the
student-related factors and the extent of the teacher-related factors. While in the process
contains the survey, data gathering, data analysis, and data interpretation. And output
STUDENT-RELATED
FACTORS
Interest
Study Habits
An Analysis of student-
Survey related factors
TEACHER-RELATED
Data Gathering
FACTORS
Data Analysis An analysis of teacher-
Data Interpretation related factors
Personality Traits
Teaching Skills
Instructional Materials
Laboratory High School Students at Laguna State Polytechnic University Academic Year
2009-2010.
1.1 Interest
of:
students-related factors?
teacher-related factors?
8
Hypothesis
School Administrator. The result of this study could serve as a baseline data to
Curriculum Planner. The result of this study will help them appraise the existing
programs in terms of the students needs and abilities and make changes as required.
Guidance Councilor. This study will help develop the guidance program in line
Facilitators. The results of this study may serve as an eye opener to create and
innovates instructional materials, and to use varied and appropriate teaching strategies.
Students. This study will help the students to develop their interest toward
Parents. Who are directly concerned with the education of their children
Future Researcher. The result of this study can serve as basis for further study
This study is limited only to Laboratory High School Students of Laguna State
School Students was the focus of this research. The information needed will be gathered
using the checklist style research-made questionnaire. All information and conclusions
drawn from this study were obtained only to this particular group of students.
Definition of Terms
For better clarification and understanding of the terms related to this study, the
knowledge in Mathematics.
or equipment used. It can high technology or simple materials that can use in learning
preference.
Interest. This refers to the amount of the students dislike or like of particular things.
Personality Traits. This refers to the good relationship of the mathematics teachers
Chapter 2
This chapter presents the review of related literature and studies of the sub-topics
of this research; interest, study habits, personality traits, teaching skills and instructional
materials.
mathematical education. It reflects both the variety of research concerns within the field
and the range of methods used to study them. Articles deal with didactical,
methodological and pedagogical subjects, rather than with specific programs for teaching
mathematics. The journal emphasizes high-level articles that go beyond local or national
interest.
Fulk (2002) stated that students with sequencing difficulties need help to
maximize their engagement and improve their retention of learning use humor,
results of an empirical study with 500 German students of grades 7 and 8. The study
as on the relation between these two constructs. In particular, the results show that the
on the achievement level of the specific classroom and therefore on the specific
12
mathematics achievement Moreover, our findings suggest that the students show hardly
attitudes, and behaviors in math classes that also shows the importance of analyzing the
math. It attempts to discover ways to increase girls interest and achievement in math. It
concludes with 15 practical recommendations for the improvement of math education for
girls.
Davis-Kean (2000) analyzed how parents' values and attitudes affect children's
math performance and later interest, and how these attitudes vary by the child's gender.
They used data from a longitudinal study of more than 800 children and a large group of
STUDY HABITS
intelligence; all these three have peculiar influence to performance. Success in study does
not depend on ability and hard work but also on effective methods of study.
study habit will mean the ability to learn and make use of what one is reading or
studying. Study skills when properly embedded will help students understand their own
13
potentials for intellectual growth and self-direction. It is for this reason that the strategies
Simmons (2002) note that "good writing spawns from a close understanding of
text and great writing result from an interactive analysis and fluency with our reading."
He adds that inadequate writing is a direct result of inadequate reading and studying.
Postgraduate students are scholars in training and have the responsibility of becoming
prolific and critical writers in their disciplines and careers. The spirit of responsibility and
Richardson et al (2000) compared college students who are deaf and hard of
hearing in mainstreamed classes with hearing peers. In both studies, the students who are
deaf had comparable study behaviors to those of their hearing peers. Similarly, both
studies employed a survey design that precluded the researchers from obtaining in-depth
knowledge of participants' skills, and in particular, their use of notes as a study text.
These studies are similar to several others that attempt to survey the study habits of
Aquino (2003) pointed out that study skills can be taught effectively only after
grade level can be provided with development (or enrichment) exercises, which will
enable them to become more proficient in the skills they have already acquired or which
Fielden (2004) states that good study habits help the student in critical reflection
PERSONALITY TRAITS
Rohwes W. Jr. et al. as cited by Sainz (2000) further discussed the teachers need
to find ways of determining whether or not her instruction have been successful. The
procedure and method of determining such success can take the form of test of various
kinds to determine whether the students have reached the objectives they have set for
them.
temperaments called the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, or MBTI. It has gone on the
become the most famous personality test of all time. The traits are seen as opposites, and
the first set is introversion and extraversion. Introversion refers to a tendency to prefer
the world inside oneself. The more obvious aspects of introversion are shyness, distaste
for social functions, and a love of privacy. Extraversion is the tendency to look to the
factors such as needs, interest, curiosity, and enjoyment. A student who is intrinsically
motivated undertakes an activity for its own sake, because the activity itself is
Gordon Allport (1998) extensively investigated the ways in which traits combine
to form normal personalities, cataloguing over 18,000 separate traits over a period of 30
years. He proposed that each person has about seven central traits that dominate his or her
behavior.
Hans Eysenck (1998) claimed that personality could be described based on three
fundamental factors: psychoticism (such antisocial traits as cruelty and rejection of social
TEACHING SKILLS
Tomlinson (1999) stated that teachers can differentiate content, process, and/or
product for students. Differentiation of content refers to a change in the material being
learned by a student. For example, if the classroom objective is for all students to subtract
using renaming, some of the students may learn to subtract two-digit numbers, while
others may learn to subtract larger numbers in the context of word problems.
Differentiation of process refers to the way in which a student accesses material. One
student may explore a learning center, while another student collects information from
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the web. Differentiation of product refers to the way in which a student shows what he or
she has learned. For example, to demonstrate understanding of a geometric concept, one
inclusion discover a vast range of current articles about teaching methodologies, ideal
projects and integrating technology in your classroom. These resources will help you gain
the experience and expertise you need to become a successful teacher, whether you're a
classroom time testing students through questions. In fact, observations of teachers at all
levels of education reveal that most spend more than 90 percent of their instructional time
testing students (through questioning). And most of the questions teachers ask are
Rhodes and Bellamy (1999) stated that a teacher tells, a facilitator asks; a teacher
lectures from the front, a facilitator supports from the back; a teacher gives answers
environment for the learner to arrive at his or her own conclusions; a teacher mostly gives
which is a way of assessing the true potential of learners that differs significantly from
conventional tests. Here the essentially interactive nature of learning is extended to the
process of assessment. Rather than viewing assessment as a process carried out by one
between both instructor and learner. The role of the assessor becomes one of entering into
dialogue with the persons being assessed to find out their current level of performance on
any task and sharing with them possible ways in which that performance might be
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
Siemens (2002) stated that instructional design can be defined as the systematic
process of translating principles of learning and instruction into plans for instructional
materials and activities. However, there are many different definitions for instructional
design and all of them are an expression of underlying philosophies and viewpoints of
achievement depends on the achievement level of the specific classroom and therefore on
predictor for mathematics achievement. Moreover, he suggests that the students show
Burgess (2000) stated that changes in society and workplace have exerted
schools are required to produce graduates who do not only possess relevant knowledge
but also interpersonal relations and communication skills, ability to work in various
Wang & Woo (2007) to facilitate student-centered learning, many authors suggest
Jonassen, Peck, & Wilson (1999) stated that learning technologies should shift
their role from being conveyors of information to a means for engaging students in
provide related cases and information resources, a social medium to support learning
reflecting.
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Chapter 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the research design, research procedure, the subject of the
Research Design
study focuses on the present condition. The purpose is to find new truth, which may come
increased insights into factors, which are operating, the discovery of a new causal
relationship, a more accurate formulation of the problem to be solved and many others.
Since this study measured data that already exists and the number of respondents
is not large, the descriptive correlation method of studies is best suited. As mentioned,
the student-related factors in terms of interest and study habits, and the teacher-related
factors in terms of personality traits, teaching skills and instructional materials were
The respondents in this study were the one hundred twenty six (126) Laboratory
High School Students at Laguna State Polytechnic University Academic Year 2009-2010.
Research Instrument
The main tool used in this study was a researcher made questionnaire
checklist. Set of questionnaire-checklist was constructed for the student respondents. The
study habits and their teachers personality traits, teaching skills and instructional
Mathematics presented five(5) statements and the students study habits presented ten(10)
situations. These were given one set of five checkboxes each. The five checkboxes were
ranked as:
5 Always
4 Often
3 Sometimes
2 Rarely
1 Never
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materials used in teaching as rated by the students. Each statement was given one set of
5 Always
4 Often
3 Sometimes
2 Rarely
1 Never
Research Procedure
The original title proposed by the researcher was checked, revised and rechecked
questionnaire-checklist that aims to draw out proper responses on the objectives of this
study was constructed. This questionnaire checklist made by the researcher and was
presented to, analyzed and checked by the research adviser to ensure the validity of
Permit to conduct research and study was secured of letter requesting permission
and analyzed according to the research design described in this chapter using Microsoft
Excel and prepared for final presentation to the experts of different fields of
specialization.
in terms of:
1.1 Interest
in terms of:
performance. kurtosis.
Chapter 4
This chapter presents, analyzes and interprets the data gathered from the students
level of interest in Mathematics was rated based on the students self-perceived level of
preparation for the Mathematics subject, attention given to teachers lectures, active
participation in class, their desire to get good grades and their desire to listen to
The item I want to get good grades on tests, quizzes, assignments and projects. ranked
first with an average weighted mean of 4.77. The item I get frustrated when the
discussion is interrupted or the teacher is absent. got the lowest rating with an average
Weighted Verbal
Interest Rank
Mean Interpretation
1. I make myself prepared for the math subject 3.79 4 Often
2. I listen attentively to the lecture of my math
4.10 2 Often
teacher.
3. I actively participate in the discussion,
students are often interested in this subject. Among questionnaire items, the desire to
get good grades is the most interesting to students but the desire to attend discussion
Table 2 shows the lists of ten (10) items about situational/action statements used
in the data gathering and the corresponding weighted means of the students responses
ranked from the highest to lowest weighted mean together with the verbal interpretation.
The criteria in obtaining students level of study habits were based on their personal
Overall, the extent of study habits as perceived by the students themselves gained
an often result with an overall weighted mean of 3.60. Among each situational/action
statements or items given, the item I study harder to improved my performance when I
get low grades. ranked first with an average weighted mean of 4.34 but the item I spend
less time with my friends during school days to concentrate more on my studies. got the
. Table 3 shows the data on the extent of personality traits of the teachers with the
computed weighted mean, rank and interpretation. Extent of teachers personality traits
Weighted Verbal
Study Habits Rank
Mean Interpretation
1. I do my assignments regularly. 4.09 2 Often
were ranked based on their relationship with the students, their smartness, confidence and
firmness in making decisions, their imposing proper discipline and not lenient in
following the prescribed rules, their personality with good sense of humor and their
The table reveals that item number 1 ranked first with an average weighted mean
of 4.60 and interpreted as always which means that the teacher always has a good
relationship with the students. The item number 2 ranked second with an average
weighted mean of 4.58 also interpreted as always which means that the teacher always
shows their smartness, confidence and firmness in making decisions. Items 3, 4, and 5
Weighted Verbal
Personality Traits
Mean Rank Interpretation
1. Has a good relationship with the students and
4.60 1 always
teachers.
2. Shows smartness, confidence and firmness in
4.58 2 always
making decisions.
3. Imposes proper discipline and is not lenient in
4.43 4 often
following the prescribed rules.
4. Has an appealing personality with good sense of
4.41 5 often
humor.
5. Is open to suggestions and opinions and is worthy
4.48 3 often
of praise.
Average Weighted Mean 4.50 always
interpreted as often with the weighted means of 4.48, 4.43, and 4.41 for ranks 3, 4, and
5 respectively.
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Mathematics as perceived by the students. The overall weighted mean of the teachers in
Weighted Verbal
Teaching Skills
Mean Rank Interpretation
1. Explains the objectives of the lesson clearly at
4.51 2 always
the start of each period.
2. Has mastery of the subject matter. 4.70 1 always
3. Is organized in presenting subject matters by
4.40 4 often
systematically following course outline.
4. Is updated with present trends, relevant to the
4.46 3 often
subject matter.
5. Uses various strategies, teaching aids/devices
3.96 5 often
and techniques in presenting the lessons.
Average Weighted Mean 4.41 often
Looking closely at the table item per item, it was observed that the The teacher
has mastery of the subject matter has the highest average weighted mean among the five
items and interpreted as always followed by the item The teacher explains the
objectives of the lesson clearly at the start of each period also interpreted as always.
Items The teacher is updated with present trends, relevant to the subject matter , The
outline, and The teacher uses various strategies, teaching aids/devices and techniques
in presenting the lessons interpreted as often with the average weighted means of
Mathematics. It shows that the teachers always used chalk and blackboard in
explaining the lessons with an average weighted mean of 4.93. The teachers used
with the average weighted means of 3.45 and 2.55 for ranks 2 and 3. The teachers used
articles interpreted as rarely with an average weighted mean of 2.48. Lastly, used of
power point presentation got the lowest extent of instructional materials with an average
Weighted
Instructional Materials Verbal Interpretation
Mean Rank
1. Chalk and blackboard in
4.93 1 always
explaining the lessons.
2. workbooks/textbooks 3.45 2 sometimes
3. PowerPoint presentations (visual
1.49 5 never
aids)
4. articles 2.48 4 rarely
5. materials for project development 2.55 3 sometimes
Average Weighted Mean 2.98 sometimes
perceived by the students gained sometimes result with an overall average weighted
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mean of 2.98. This means that the teacher in Mathematics sometimes uses instructional
materials.
skewness and kurtosis. The grades presented are the means of the grades of students-
respondents in third grading period obtained through documentary analysis of Form 138
of 4.84. The skewness of the level of students is -1.13 which, which skewed to the
peaked distribution.
It reveals that several of the students really wanted the subject of Mathematics.
Only few of the students got low and the rest got the high grades.
Performance of Laboratory High School. As seen on the table, the Pearson r of the five
(5) factors such as Interest, Study Habits, Personality Traits, Teaching Skills and
Instructional Materials have high degree of correlation but the t revealed the lesser value
the students.
The table reveals that the interest, study habits, personality traits, teaching skills
and instructional materials do not affect the Mathematics performance of the Students of
Chapter 5
This chapter presents the summary of findings; the conclusions made and the
recommendations offered.
Summary
Laguna, with a total of one hundred fifteen respondents of laboratory high school.
Descriptive method was used in this study. The researcher used a checklist-questionnaire
Polytechnic University Academic Year 2009-2010. It aims to find out the appropriate
answers to the following questions: What is the extent of the student-related factors in
terms of interest and study habits? What is the extent of teacher-related factors as
evaluated by the students in terms of personality traits, teaching skills and instructional
related factors?
33
Through this problems stated, the researcher came up with the following null
performance and student-related factors in terms of interest and study habits. Ho There is
related factors in terms of personality traits, teaching skills and instructional materials.
After administering the questionnaire, the researcher used weighted mean and
rank to determine the extent of student-related factors in terms of interest and study
habits; and extent of teacher-related factors in terms of personality traits, teaching skills
and instructional materials. Mean, median, mode, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis
were used to determine the level of performance of students in Mathematics. And to test
Conclusions
Based on the data gathered, the overall weighted mean of level of interest in
mathematics was 3.90 and interpreted as often. Study habits had an average weighted
mean of 3.60 and also interpreted as often. Personality traits had an average weighted
mean of 4.50 and interpreted as always. Teaching skills had an average weighted mean
of 4.41 and interpreted as often. Instructional materials had an average weighted mean
obtained the mean grade of 88.23 with verbal interpretation of Satisfactory and
Through the test of significance, the researcher came up with the following
and their performance in mathematics. Their computed z-value is 0.54 which is less than
the tabular z-value of 2.10 at = .05. There is no significant correlation between study
habits and their performance in mathematics. The computed z-value is -0.47 which is less
than the tabular z-value of -2.10 at =0.05. This means that the performance of the
personality traits, teaching skills and instructional materials and the performance of the
students in mathematics. Their computed z-values are -0.10, 0.98 and -1.04 which are
less than the tabular z-value of -2.10, 2.10 and -2.10 respectively. Thus, teacher-related
Recommendations
35
Based on the conclusions made, the following recommendations are given: that a
researchers to determine a more focused result on the relationship; that teachers use more
interactive teaching techniques that would boost interest in mathematics; that a more
thorough research on study habits be made by future researchers to determine its effect on
student performance.